The Short History of Infinity #2 # The Throne of God and Scholastic Thought: The Fear of Limitlessness in the Middle Ages

 

Following the mind bending infinity debates of ancient philosophers, the Middle Ages opened a very different curtain for humanity. Shaped by the shadow of theology, infinity was no longer just an abstract mathematical puzzle or a philosophical topic of debate; it had become directly the absolute attribute of God.

For medieval scholastic scholars and theologians, humans lived in a neat, orderly, and finite universe with a beginning and an end. Only and exclusively God was infinite (eternal and uncreated), limitless, and uncontainable. However, this flawless theological framework raised a question that intensely challenged the minds of the era: If God is infinite, how can a finite human mind comprehend Him? And more importantly, could a physical infinity exist in the universe, or was this merely a dangerous boundary violation reserved solely for the Creator?

During the scholastic period, thinkers like Thomas Aquinas walked a very fine line. They divided infinity into two: Potential infinity (processes that God could add to at any moment) and Actual infinity (an infinity that already exists as a completed, actual whole).

The Church and the philosophers of the era fiercely opposed the idea that an actual infinity could exist in the physical world. Why? Because attributing an actual infinity to matter or the universe meant shaking God's sole monopoly over infinity. To claim that physical space or time was truly infinite was seen as almost trespassing into the divine realm effectively shadowing God's uniqueness.

Scholastic scholars spent centuries consuming their lives debating questions like these: Could God create a line longer than the universe? What lies beyond the edge of the universe? Is there a literal void outside the heavens?

Aristotle's influence was so grand that the Church adopted the view that "nature abhors a vacuum." A true void implied a limitless area (infinity) existing independently of God, outside of Him. To protect the order of the cosmos, the universe had to be closed and limited.

Thinkers like Nicolaus Cusanus argued that the universe had neither a center nor a circumference, planting the seeds of an infinite universe concept that would shatter that medieval dome in the future.

While the Middle Ages tried to safely lock infinity beneath the throne of God, it had unintentionally prepared the human intellect for history's greatest explosion. Once the courage to look beyond the divine borders was shown, the remaining abyss was now waiting to be opened.

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