> At the heart of Ash’ari metaphysics is the idea of occasionalism, a doctrine that denies natural causality. Put simply, it suggests natural necessity cannot e

> At the heart of Ash’ari metaphysics is the idea of occasionalism, a doctrine that denies natural causality. Put simply, it suggests natural necessity cannot exist because God’s will is completely free. Ash’arites believed that God is the only cause, so that the world is a series of discrete physical events each willed by God. Oof, that's a handicap. I never knew of this strain of thought until now. It's not unreasonable until you accept the failure of theodicy (or observe the long-term consequences). Being a people of the book can get you far, but at some point you need to stop being a people of the book, and become a people of all books.