153MONTAIGNE, MICHEL DEGod’s own creative actions. The CCFs
are contingent, yet are true prior to any
creative decision on God’s part, and their
truth or falsity is not under divine
control. Knowledge of the CCFs is of
immense value to God in God’s providen-
tial governing of the world, since it
enables God to arrange circumstances in
such a way as to elicit precisely the
responses from free creatures that are
most conducive to God’s providential
purposes, without at all abridging their
freedom. Critics of middle knowledge
claim that these truths which God is
alleged to know do not exist to be known;
there is no “grounding in reality” for their
truth in the innumerable cases in which
the choices in question are never actually
made. Thomists, furthermore, insist that
the existence of such truths is an unac-
ceptable infringement on divine sover-
eignty. The defenders of Molinism have
ingenious replies to these objections, and
they point with satisfaction to the advan-
tages for the doctrine of providence if
their views are accepted.
MOLTMANN, JÜRGEN (1926– ). A
German Protestant theologian whose
work stresses hope in the resurrection of
Christ. Brought up in a secular education,
Moltmann served in the German army in
World War II. During his time as a pris-
oner of war, Moltmann converted to
Christianity. Moltmann argued on histor-
ical grounds for the reliability of belief in
the resurrection of Christ, and he built his
theology on the grounds of eschatology.
An important further development of
his theology included a strong stance on
God’s identification and solidarity with
the oppressed. His works include Theology
of Hope (1964), The Crucified God (1972),
The Church in the Power of the Spirit
(1975), The Trinity and the Kingdom
(1980), God in Creation (1985), The Way
of Jesus Christ (1989), The Spirit of Life
(1992), and The Coming of God (1996).MONISM. Traditionally, the thesis that
all is matter. More recently defined as: all
is matter and energy. A current alterna-
tive is the thesis that all that exists will
be described and explained by an ideal
physics.MONOTHEISM. The belief that there is
only one God. See also CHRISTIANITY;
ISLAM; and JUDAISM.MONTAIGNE, MICHEL DE (1533–
1592). A highly influential French thinker
who developed his philosophical posi-
tions in the form of essays. Against what
he saw as the dogmatism and intolerance
of his age, Montaigne advanced a form of
skepticism that ruled out both religious
bigotry and the secular dismissal of all
religion. His famous motto was “What do
I know?” (Que sais-je?). He thought that
cruelty was the most grave vice.