Subjectivity In The Divine Mind

Subjectivity in human experiences is commonly acknowledged, even though its ramifications are misunderstood by all but a minority.  Subjectivity in the divine mind--the mind of God--has yet to be grappled with on any significant level, however, as theists tend to ignore the issue or tend to be ignorant of it.  There is nothing in the notion of divine subjectivity that threatens or contradicts Christianity, and a basic analysis of the concept makes this plain.

Any consciousness by necessity perceives from its standpoint as a subject, though the objectivity of the laws of logic remains invariably, intrinsically constant.  God is not exempt from this simply because he is the uncaused cause.  While some might mistake the idea of divine subjectivity as an affront to Christianity or to general theism, Christianity in particular describes God as clearly having his own will (1 Peter 2:15), emotions (Exodus 22:24), and desires (2 Peter 3:9).

If the uncaused cause is a mind, as Christianity and other forms of theism hold, then it must perceive from its own perspective as a thinking subject, even though it belongs in a category that excludes all contingent/created minds.  If the Bible denied this, the Bible would be in error!  However, the Bible does not teach that God is devoid of subjective traits like intent, preferences, and thoughts.  On the contrary, the Bible describes the uncaused cause as a thoroughly personal being.

Despite being entirely Biblical (and, more importantly/foundationally, rational), divine subjectivity is particularly concerning to Christian presuppositionalists, who falsely regard God as the metaphysical basis for everything.  Objectivity is metaphysically and epistemologically rooted in the laws of logic, not in any mind--not even the divine mind.  Without God, there might be no objective anchor for morality, and thus there could be no morality, but without logic, there can be no deity: apart from logic God could not even be what he is (the law of identity)!  God is not and could not possibly be the supreme metaphysical existent; logic, the one thing that exists in the absence of all else and the one thing that cannot change in any way, is the ultimate metaphysical existent [1].

The truth of divine subjectivity need not alarm Christians.  Conservative Christians in particular are likely to reject the idea without even understanding what it does and does not entail, as if they can avoid conclusions that necessarily follow from premises that are themselves necessarily true (all consciousness involves subjectivity) by hoping they cease to be true.  God might be metaphysically superior to humans, but he is not so dissimilar to us that he does not experience subjectivity of his own.


[1].  https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-ramifications-of-axioms.html