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IN CHRISTIAN THOUGHT In Christian Thought , the importance of the concept is that God as a Simple Being is not divisible, and thus, he is present in his entirety everywhere that he is present, if he is present anywhere. In light of this idea, Thomas Aquinas , in Summa Theologiae , wrote that because God is ''infinitely simple'', he can only appear to the finite mind as though he were infinitely complex. This doctrine also helps keep trinitarianism from drifting or morphing into Tritheism , belief in multiple distinct Gods. See also: Trinity , Nontrinitarianism IN JEWISH THOUGHT In Jewish Philosophy and in Jewish Mysticism Divine Simplicity is addressed via discussion of the Attributes (תוארים) of God, particularly by Jewish Philosophers within the Muslim sphere of influence such as Saadia Gaon , Bahya Ibn Paquda , Yehuda Halevi , and Maimonides , as well by Raabad III in Provence . Some identify Divine simplicity as a and thus free of any Property (and hence an absolute unity); see Negative Theology . For others, Converse ly, the Axiom of Divine Unity (see '' Shema Yisrael '') informs the understanding of Divine Simplicity. Bahya Ibn Paquda ( ''Duties Of The Heart'' 1:8 ) points out that God's Oneness is "true oneness" (האחד האמת) as opposed to merely "circumstantial oneness" (האחד המקרי). He develops this idea to show that an entity which is truly one must be free of properties and thus indescribable - and unlike anything else. (Additionally such an entity would be absolutely unsubject to change, as well as utterly independent and the root of everything.) [http://www.torah.org/learning/spiritual-excellence/classes/doh-1-8.html] The implication is so strong that the two concepts are often presented as synonymous: : "God is not two or more entities, but a single entity of a oneness even more single and unique than any single thing in creation… He cannot be sub-divided into different parts — therefore, it is impossible for Him to be anything other than one. It is a , '' Mishneh Torah '', ''Mada'' 1:7 ). Despite its apparent simplicity, this concept is recognised as raising many difficulties. Divine simplicity entails a Dichotomy , arising out of our inability to comprehend the idea of absolute unity:
The resultant '' I:1:5 ) The Kabbalists address this paradox by explaining that “God created a spiritual dimension… which He interacts with the Universe... It is this dimension which makes it possible for us to speak of God’s multifaceted relationship to the universe without violating the basic principle of His unity and simplicity” ( Aryeh Kaplan , ''Innerspace''). The Kabbalistic approach is explained in various Chassidic writings; see for example, ''Shaar Hayichud'', below, for a detailed discussion. See also: Tzimtzum ; Negative Theology ; Jewish Principles Of Faith ; Free Will In Jewish Thought ; Kuzari EXTERNAL LINKS AND REFERENCES
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