Classical Christian Theism and the Criterion of Particularity

This article acknowledges the importance of doing theology proper under the guidance of special revelation and its particular conception of G od and argues, against a common contemporary outlook, that the classical C hristian theism of A quinas and the R eformed tradition resonates with the criterion of particularity. To make this case, three features of classical C hristian theism (the inference from creatio ex nihilo to the actuality of G od, G od's freedom from being in a genus and the tendency to treat the divine essence and attributes largely before the treatment of the T rinity) are examined and found to comport formally and materially with the rule of C hristian particularity.