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Reply. The reply is in the negative and of faith
according to the Scriptures, where we read: "O Lord,
Lord, almighty king, for all things are in Thy power,
and there is none that can resist Thy will, if Thou
determine to save Israel."[948]
The reason is that, since God is the first and most
universal cause (without whom second causes cannot act),
it is impossible that anything can happen beyond the order
of the divine governance.
Evil cannot happen without the divine permission, and
God permits evil for some greater good, as He permits
persecution for the sake of the patience and glory of
martyrs. Moreover, from God's viewpoint nothing
happens by chance, for from eternity God willed or
permitted the accidental conjunctions of second causes.
Similarly, two servants of the same master meet each
other by chance, but it is not a matter of chance for the
master who sent the servants to the same place.
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