That God is impassible means at least three things.
1. God is the uncaused cause of all that exists, the unmoved mover of all that happens. From him and through him and to him are all things.
1. God is the uncaused cause of all that exists, the unmoved mover of all that happens. From him and through him and to him are all things.
2. God has no appetite to acquire anything (Maximus the Confessor). He is all-sufficient in and of himself, the blessed and only Sovereign. God does not receive gifts from his creatures; he is not enriched by his creatures. He is the absolute giver of every good and perfect gift.
3. God has no disordered desires. Unlike the gods of Olympus, the true and living God is not subject to passions. He is not tempted nor can he be tempted. Morally speaking, God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.
That God is impassible *does not* mean at least two things.
1. That God makes no moral judgments/evaluations regarding our actions. God approves of what is good and disapproves of what is evil.
1. That God makes no moral judgments/evaluations regarding our actions. God approves of what is good and disapproves of what is evil.
2. That God never acts in *response* to our actions. God immutably decrees various responses to human actions: he justifies the ungodly; he condemns the wicked; etc. However, all of God's responses to our actions are *determined* by his being and will, not by our actions.
OK, sorry, one more thing: With apologies to many 20th century theologians, divine impassibility has nothing--zero, zilch, nada--to do with "apathy."
For further reflections, see @dprmsy on Anthony Burgess: reformation21.org
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