20.1 Support for the dynamic ontology

The assertions in the theism being developed have been made on the basis of the dynamic ontology developed in Part II. They are in accord with the principles developed there. We follow the slogan ‘No process without structure, no structure without substance, no substance without power, no power without process,’ even as it applies not only to temporal beings, but also to God. We follow the ontology of substance and form. We do not need to resort to exotic ontologies that make, for example, information basic. We do not have to understand how act may be an attribute that applies at all levels including in pureness even to God.^20.1 All of us, as well as God, follow the basic principles of causation by interaction. The past is definite and never retrospectively changeable. Even God, who always works in the present by means of an eternal view of the future, does not change the past once it exists. As images of God, at least in our rational capacities, we are given abilities to understand what we need to know about the substance and operation of the universe, both physical and mental. These are not essentially or perpetually impossible to understand. The details may be difficult to comprehend, but the means and the perseverance are available to let us understand at least some of the ways God and the universe are organized in relation to each other.