55 To receve that call. Stephen, sad the prest. 1s rhe to cast out from rhe creatures of God the evl sprgreatest honour that the Almghty God can be- ts thar have power over them. the power, the austow upon a man. No kng or emperor on ths thorty, ro make the great God of Hcaven come earrh ha the power o the prest of God. No angel down upon the altar and take the farm of bread or archangel n hclven. no sant. not even the and wne. What an awful power, Stephen! Blesed Vrgn herself has d~e power or a prest of Joycc, Porlro~l oj thr Arlrt God: the power at the keys, the power to bnd and or n Yolng Man, V ro lmse from sn, the power of exorcsm, the puwer 20.5 1 God! n the Western tradton, the dea of God has generated a very volumnous dscusson..the quotatons ncluded here represent, we hope, a judcous selecton from that dscusson, but many aspects of t, especally ntrcate subtletcs that delght phlosophers and theologans, cannot be adequately covered, and sonle are not even touchcd on. The noton of a sngle dety, or reference to God n the sngular, s not confned to books that rcflect the Jewsh and Chrstan faths. Such references are also to be found n the wrtngs of the Greek and Roman pocrs and sck by sdc wth rcferences to the Olympan detes or the gods ol the Korran pantheon. n fact, the works of Plato and Arstotle contan passages that have come to be looked npon as antcpatons of thc doctrnes about God's nature and attrbutes and of the demonstraton of God's exstence that are morc fully developed later n thc wrtngs of Chrstan theologans. The other rnajor source upon whch the theologans draw s, of course: the Old and the New Testament, the latter especally for the doctrncs of thc trnty: of the n^ carnaton, and of the rrsurrccton. For theologcal exegess, the tnost remarkable scrptural passage s, perhaps, the one n Ex- odus, n whch God announces hmself to Moses n the words: " am that am." A great many of the. quotatons drawn from the theologans and phlosophers deal wth the queston of God's exstence and wth the arlprnents that are clamed to demonstrate t. One argument n partcular, the famous ontologcal argument frst proposed by Anselm. s rejected by theologans and phlosophers who thnk that the exstence of God must be proved or at least affrmed on some bass other than the conccpton we cntertan of the supreme beng. The postons of the dest and the panthest, as well as of the agnostc and the athest, arr represented herc along wth a varety of versons of orthodox thesm. As the rcader would expect, the reader w? fnd.4ugustne, Anselm, Aqunas, Luther, Calvn, Descartes, Hohbcs, Lebnz: and Lockr algned, n one way or another, aganst Sprroza, Hume, Vol~are, Kant, Netzsche, Rertrancl Russcll, and Freud. Pascal's contrbuton to thc dscusson stands out for ts emphass on the mystery of God and on the reasonableness of seekng God even though reason tself affords no assurance of fndng hm through arguments or proofs. Other dscussorrs relcvant to our kno\l-
20.5. God 1 131 1 edge of God wll be found n Secton 6.4 on nkn FATH, and Secton 17.1 on ~Hl~oso~tls ERROR, GP(OR.&NCE, AVD THE Lnrs OF HUMAN AND PHLOSOPHERS. KNOWLEDGE, Secton 6.5 on OPKON, BELEF, M- sad, wll now turn asde, md see ths great r~ght, why the bush s not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned asde to see, God callcd unto hm out of the mdsr of the bush, and sad, Mosm, Moses. And he sad, Here am. And he sad, Draw not ngh hther: put off thy shoes lrom off thy feet, for the place whercon thou standest r holy ground. Moreover he sad, am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of saac, and the God of Jacob. And Mosrs hd hs lacc; for he was afrad to look upon God. Exadvr 3:3-6 2 God rad unto Moses, am la1 urn: and he sad, Thor shalt thou say unro the rhldrcn of srael, am hat12 rent me unto you. And God sad morcover unto hloses, Thus shalt thou ray unto the chldren of srael, The Lord God of your lathers, the God ol Abraham, thc God of slac, and rhe God ol Jacob, hath sent me unto you: ths s my name for cver, and ths s my memoral unto all generarons. Exdw 3:14-15 3 Thcn sang Moses and the chldren of srael ths song unto the Lord, and spakc. sayng, wll sng unto the Lord, for he hath trumphed glorourly: the horse and hs rder hath he thrown nto the sea. The Lord s my strcngth md song, and he s become my salvaton: he r m~ God, and wll prepare hm an habtaton; my lather's God, and wll exalt hm. The Lord s a man of war: the Lod s hs name. Pharaoh's charots and hs host halh he cast nto the sea: hs chosen captans also are drowned n the Red sea. The depths have covered them: they rank nto the bottom as a stone. Thy rght hand, 0 Lord, s became glorous n power: thy rght hand, 0 Lord, hath dashed n peces the enemy. And n the greatness of chne excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up aganst thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, whch consumed them as rrubblc. And wth the blast of thy nostrls the waters were gathered together, the lloads stood uptght as an heap, and the dr.prhs werc congealed n the hcart of the sea. The encmyaad, l wll pursue, wll overtake, wll dvde the spol; my lust shall be satsfed upn them; wll draw my sward, my hand shall dcstroy them. Thou ddat blow wth thy wnd, thc sea covcred them: thry sank as lead n the mghty watcn. Who s lke unto rhec, 0 Lord, among the gods? who r lke thee, glorous n holnew, fe~rful n prarcs, dong wonders? Exudus 15:l-11 4 Thou canst not see my fare: for there shall no man scc me, and lve. Exodz 33:20 5 The Lord bless thce, and kcep thee: The Lord make hs lace shne upon thee, and be gracous unto thee: The Lord lft up hs muntcnance upon thee, and gve thee peace..vu,nbe,. 624-26 6 The Lord thy God s a consumng fre, even a jealous God. Llrlcrono,g 424 7 And hc [the angel of the Lord) sad, Go forth, and stand upon thc mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord ~asred by, md a grear and strong wnd rent the mountans, and brake n peces the rocks before thelord; but the Lord was not n thc wnd: and after the wnd an earthquake; but the Lord was not n the earthquake: And alter the earthquake a fre: but the Lod was not n the lre: and afrer thc fre a stll snlall VU~C. Kngs 19:ll-12 8 Though he slay me. yet wll trust n hm: but \r.ll mantan mne own ways before hm Job 13:15 9 The heavens declare the glory ol God; and tl~c frmament shcweth hs handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and nghr unto nght shcweth knowledgr. 'Thrre s no speech nor language, where ther voce s not heard. Ther ln~ s gonc out rhraugh all tbc earth, and ther words to the end of the world. n them hath he set a tabernacle for rhe sun, \Vhch s as a brdegroom co~rl~~g our of hs chamber, and rejoceth as a strong man to run a race.
~ me. Hs gong forth s from the end of rhe heaven, and hs crcut unto thc ends of t: and there s nothng hd from the heat rhereof. The law of the 1,ord s perfect. convertng the soul: the testmony of the Lord s sure, makng wse the smple. The statutcs of the Lord are rght, rejocrlg the heart: the commandment of rhe Lord s pure, enlghtenng the eyes. Thc fear af the Lord s clean, endurng for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and rghteous altogether. &lore to be desred are they than gold. yea, than nmch fne gold: sweeter alu, than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them s thy servant warned: and n keepng of rhem there s great reward. Who can nndcrstand hs errors? clransc thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant am from presumptuous sns; let them not have domnon over me: then shall 1 be uprght, and shall be nuocent from the great trausgrcaron. Let the words of my mouth, and the medtaton of my heart, be acceptable n thy sght, 0 Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalm 19:l-14 1 10 Hear, 0 my people, and wll speak; 0 srael, and wll testfy aganst thee: am God, even thy God. wll not reprovc thee for thy sacrfces or thy burnt oflerugr. to have been contnually befare wll take no bullock out af thy housc, nor he oala out of thy folds. For c>cn beast of thc forest s mne, and the cattle upon a rhousaud hlls. know all the fowls af the mountans: and the wld bcasu of the feld are mnc. f were hongry, would nor tell thee: for the world s mnc, and the fulness thereof. 'om 50::-12 1 11 The fool hath sad n hs heart, There s no God. Prolrn 53:1 12 0 Lord, thou hacr scarched me, and known we. Thou knoweat my downsttrl,~ and mne ups-! ns, thou undersrandest my thought afar off. 'Thou compasrest my path and my lyng down, and art acquanted wth all ruy wqs. For therc s nor a word n my tonguel but, lo, 0 Lord, thou knowest t altogether. Thou hast beser me hehnd and before, and lad thne hand upon me. Such knowledge s too \voud~rful for me; t 1s! hgh, cannot attan urltu t. Whther shall 1 go from thy sprt? or whchcr shall flce fronl thy prerertcc? f ascend up nto heaven, thou art there: f make my bed n bell, behold, thou art there. f take the wngs of the mornng, and dwell n the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy rght hand shall hold me. f say, Surely the durknrs shall cover me; even thc nghr shall be lghr about me. Yea, the darknew hdeth not from thee; but the nght shneth as the day: the darkness and the lght are both alke to thee. Prnlm 139:l-12 13 The voce of hrn that ereth n the wlderness, Prepare ye the way of thc Lord, make straght n the desert a hghway for our God. Eve? valley shall be exalted, and every mountan and hll shall be made low: and the erookcd shall be made straght, and the rouqh places plan: And the gloq of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see t topethcr: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken t. The voce sad. Cry. And hc sad, What shall cry? All flesh s grass, and all the goodlncs rhereof s as rhe flower of the lcld: The grass wthereth, the flower fadeth: because the sprt of the Lord bloweth upon t: surely thc people s grm. The grass wthereth, the flow~rr ladeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. rnnh 30:3-8 14 And above the frmament rhat was orcr rher heads was the lken= of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphre stone: and upon the lkeness of the throne was the lkenesr as the appearance of a man above upon t. And saw as the eoluur of amber, as the appearance of fre round about wthn t; from the appearance of hs lons even upward, and from the appearance of hs lom ercn downward, saw as t were thc appearanrc af fre, and r had brght~~csa round about. As the appearance of the bow rhat s n rhc cloud n the day of ran. so was the appcaance of the brghtness round about. Ths was the appearance of the lkeness of the glory of the Lord. Ezekel l:2&28 5 Dormo. God mngles no1 wth man; but through Love all the ntercourse and converse of god wth mau, whether awake or asleep, s carrcd on. Plaro_.Tymporh;~ 203A 16 Socro!es. God [s] prrfectly smple and rue borh n word and deed; he cl~angca not; he deceves not. ether by sgn or word, by dream or wakng rsou. Plata, feplblr, 11, 382B l 'There s... somethng whch s always nloved
20.5. God 1 1313 wth an unceasng moton, whch s moton n a crcle; and ths s plan not n theory only but n facr. Therelore the frst heaven musr be e~ernal. 'bere n therefore also somethng whch moves t. And snce,hat whch nlores and s moved s ntermcdare, there s somethng whch moves wthout beng moved, beng ctcrnal, substance, and acmalty. And the object of desre and the objccr of thought move n ths way: they move wthout beng moved. The prmav objerts of desre and of thought arc thc samc. For the apparenr good s the object of appette, and the real good r the prmary object of ratonal wsh. But desre s consequent on opnon rather than opnon on desre; for the thnkng s the startng~ponr. And thought s mowd by the object of thought, and one of the two columns of oppostes s n tself the object of thought; and n ths, substance s frst, and n substance, that whch s smple and exsts actually. (The one and the smple arc nor the same; for 'onc' rncans a measure, but 'smple' means that the thng tsell has a certan nature.) But the beautful. also, and char whch s n &lf desrable are n the slnlr column: and the frst n any class s always best, or analogous to the best. That a fnal cause may exst among unchangeable enttes n shown by thc drrncton of ts meannp. For the fnal causc s (a) somr beng for whose good an adon s done, and (6) somethng at whch the acton ams; and of these thc lattrr exsts among unchangeable enttes though thc former does not. The fnal cause, then, produccs moton as beng loved, but all other thngs nmvc by beng moved. row f somethng s movcd t s capable of beng otherwse than as t s. Therefore f ts acrualty s the prmary form of spatal mo- [on, [hen n so far as t s subject to change, n ths respect r s capable ol bcns otherwse,-n place, cvcn f not n substancc. Rut snce there r somethng whch moves whle tself unmuverl, cxstng acrually, ths can n no way be otherwse rhan as t s. For moton n space s the frst of rhe knds of chanze, and moton n a crclc the frst knd of spatal moton; aud ths thr frst mover pra<lwe$. The frst mover, then, exs~r of necessty; and n so far as t exsts by nccesty; ts mode of bens s good, and t s n ths scnse a lnt prncple. Fa( the necessary has all these scnrcr-that whch n necessary perforce because r s contrary to Llle natural mpulse, thar wthout whch the good s mpossble, aud that whch cannot bc otherwse but can exst only u a snglc way. On such a prncple. thcn, dcpmd thc hcavens and the world nl natuce. And t s a lfe such as the bcst whch ~ vcnjoy, and enjoy lor but a short tme (for t s ever n ths state, whch we cannot be); succ ts actualty n also pleasure (And for ths reason are wakng. percepton, and thnkng nmst pleasant, and hope; and mcmores arc so on account of these.) Anrl th~nkn~ tself deals wth that whch s best n trcll, and that whch s thnkng n rhe fullest sense \vth rhat whch s best n the fnllest sense. And thought thnks on tsell because t shares thr natnre of the objecr of thousht; for t becomes an object of thought n comng nto contact wth and thnkng rr objccrs. so that thought and object ol thoughr arc the same. For that whch s copobr of recevng the object of thought,.e. the essence, n thought. But t s arlur when t poerru thn object. Therefore the posseson rather than the receptvty s the dvne element whch thougllt seems to contan, and the act of contemplaton s what s most pleasant and best. f, then, God s always n that good state n whch we rometms are, ths comprs our wonder; and f n a better ths compels t yet morc. And God n a bettcr state. And lfe also brlonp to God; far the actualty of thought s lfe. and C-d n rhat actualty; and God's self.de. pcndcnt actualty s lfe most good and eternal. We say therefore thar God s a lvng beng, eternal, most sood, so that lfe and duraton contnnous and etcrnal belong to God; for ths ~ Cod. Arstotle, Meloph9rrr. 1072~20 18 The nature of the dvne thought nvol\.cs certan prablcms; for whle thought s held to be the mnsr dvne of thngs observed by us, the queston how r must be stuated n order to havc that chancrer nvolves dffcultes. For f t thnks of nothng, what s there here of dpty? t s just lke one who rlceps. And U t thnks, but ths depends on romerhng else, then (snce that whch r ts subsrancc s not the act of thnkng, but a potency) t cannot bc the best substance; for t s through thnkng that ts valuc belongs to t. Fnrthcr, whether ts substance s the laculry of thought or rhe act of chnkng, what does t thmk of? Ether of tself or of somethug rlse; and f of somethng else, ether of the samr thng always or of romethng dfferent. Does t matrer, [hen, or not, whether t thnks of thc guod or of any chance thng? Are there not somc rhnsr abour whch t s ncredble rhat t should rhuk? Evdently, then, t thnks of that whch s most dvne and precous, aud t does not change; for change would be changc for thc worac. and ths would be already a movement. Frst, then, f 'thought' s not the act of thnkng but a potency, t would be reasonable to suppose that thc canrnuty of ts thnkng s wearsome to t. Secondly, therc would evdently k somcthns clre rnorc precous than thought, vb. tlmt whch s thought of. For both thnkng and the act of choughr wll belong even to one who thnks of the wont thng n the world, so that f ths ought to bc avodcd (and t ought, for there are?\,en some thngs whch r s better not to scr than to acej, the act of thnkng cauuot bc thc bat of thnss. Therefore t must be of tself that the dvue thou~ht thuks (snce t s thr most esccl~ lcnt of thngs), and ts thnkng s a thnkng on thnkng.
But evdently knowledsc and percepton and opnon and understandng have always samethng else as ther object, and themselves only by the way. Fnrther, f thnkng and hcng rhought af ~c dfcrent. n respect of whch docs goodness belong to thought? For to be an act of thnkng and to b an object of thought are not rhe same thng. We answer that n some casa the knon.1- cdge s rhe object. n the productve scences t s thc substance or ewence of the object, matter orntred, and n the theoretcal aences the defnton or the act of thnkng s the objecr. Snce, then, thought and the object of thought are nor dfcrent n the case of thngs that have not matter, the dvne thought and ts object wll be the same..e. the thnkng wll be one wth the object of ts thought. A further queston s left-whether the object of the dvne thought s composte; for t were, thought would change n passng from part to part of the whole. We answer that everythng whch has not matter s ndrsble-as human thought, or rather the thought of composte bengs, s n a certan of rme (for t does not posses the good at ths moment or at that, but ts best, beng somethng dtjercnl from t, s attaned only n a whole pcrod of tme), so throughout eternty s the thought whch has trelj for ts ohjrct. Arstotle, hfelophjro; 1074b15 19 l'hc actvty of C'hd. whch surpasses all others n blessedness, must bc con tenlplatve; and of human actvtes, rheteforr; that whch s most akn to ths musr be most of thc natutc of happness. Anstotle. Elhr. 117Bb22 20 Vellrur. God n completely nactve and unfettered by thc nccd for mcupaton. Hc ncthcr tals nor labors, but dclghts n hs own wsdom and rrtue. Hc know for certan that he wll always enjoy pcrfert and eternal pleaures. 1 hs s the God whom wr cau properly call happy.... But f the world tself s consdered to he God, what could he lerr restful than to revolve at ncredble speed around an axs, wthout a sngle moment af respte? Repare s a ncceuary coudton for happness. But on the other hand, f some god dwells n rhc world as ts ruler and plot, mantanng the courre of the rtars, thc change5 of season, aud all the proccrrrr of creaton, watchng over all the nterests of man on land aud sea, what a borldage to tresome and laharar~r husness that would be. Ccero, Dc.Volua Dconm,, 19 21 Nature r nothug else but God and thr dvnc Rrason that pervades the whole uuverse. You may. f you wah, addrcss ths creator of the world by dlermt namrr. such as Jupter Best and Greatest, the Thunderer, or the Stayer. Ths hsl ttlr docs not derve lrom the tale told by hstorans about the Roman battle-lne beng stayed from flght n answer to prayers. t smply means chat all thngs are npheld by hs benefts. Thus he s called Stayer and Stablzer. You may also call hm Fatc; that would be no mstake. For snce Fate s only a connected chan of causes, he s the frst of the causes on whch all sncceedng ones depend. Any name that you choose to apply to hm wll be approprate f t connotes a power that operates n heaven. Hs ttles are as countless as hs benefts. Seneca, On Bmejlr, V, 7 22 n the begnnng was the Word, and the Word was wth God, and the Word wss God. The same wss n rh? begnnng wth God. All thngs were madc by hm: and wthout hm was not any thns made that was made. n hm was lle; and the lfe %,as thr lght of men. And the lght shneth n darkness: and thr darkness comprchcnded r not. There was a man sent from God, whose namc was John. The ramc came for a wtness, to bear wtness of the Lght, that all mcn through hm mght beleve. He was not that Lght, but was sent to hear wtness of that Lght. That WM the true Lght, whch lghteth ever). man that cameth nto the world. He war n the world, and the world was made by hm, and the world knew hm nor. He came unto hs own, and hs own rceeved hm not. But as many as receved hm, ta them gave he power ro become the sons of Gad, cvcn to them that beleve on hs name. Jaht, 1:l-12 23 God s a Sprt: and thcy that worshp hm musr worshp hm n sprt and n truth. John 4:24 24 t s a fearful thng to fall nto the hands of the lvng God. Hebnm 10:31 25 God s lghl, and n hm s no darkness at all. John 1:5 26 Beloved, let us love one another: for love s of God; and every one that loveth s born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God s love. John 4:74 27 am Alpha and Omega, the beglnnlng and the end~ng, ssth the Lord, whch s, and whch WM,
and whch s to come, the Almghty. Reuclnhon 1 :8 26 God governs the world, not by rresstble forcc, but prrsuauve argument and reason, controllng t nto romplance wth hs eternal purpose,. Plutarch, Phacon 29 We ought frst to learn that there s a God and that he provder for all thngs; also that t s not possble to conceal from hm our acts, or even our ntentons and thoughts. The next thng s to learn what s the nature of rhc Gods; lor such as they are dscovered to bc, he, who would please and abcy them, must tv wth all hs power to be lke thcm. f the dvne s fathful, man also must be fathful; f t s free, man also must be free; f benefecnt, man also must he benefcent; f magnanmous, man also must be magnanmous; as beng then an mtator of God, he must do and say everythng consstently wth ths fact. Epctetus, Drcaurr<x, 11, 14 30 Seekng nothng, possessng nothlng, lackn, nothng, the One s perfect and, n our metaphor, has overflowed, and ts exuberance has produced the new. Plotnus. F$h Ennead, 11, 1 31 What... s my God, what but the Lord God? Far Who s Lord bur rhe Lnrd, or U..?o s God bu our Cad? 0 Thou, the grcatert and the best. mghtest, almghty, most mercful and most just, utterly hdden and utterly present, most beautful and most strong, abdng yct mysterous, sufferng no change and changng all thngs: never new, never old, makng all thngs new, b~kq,ng 081 u@n the prou!o?tdlh~ hou, t no/; ever n acton, cver at rest, gatherng all thngs to Thee and needng none; sustanng and hlfllng and prutectng, creatng and nourshng and makng pcrfect; ever scekng though lackng nothng. Thou lovert wthout subjecton to pason, Thou are jcnlour bur not wth fear; Thou canst know repentance but not rarrow, be angry yyet unperturbed by angcr. Thou canst change thc works Thou hast made but Thy mnd stands changeless. Thou dost fnd and recevc back what Thou ddst never lose; art ncvcr n need but dost rejoce n Thy gans, art not grcedy but dost exact nterest manfold. Men pay Thee more than s of oblgaton to wn return from Thee, yet who has anythng that s not already Thnc? Thou owest nothng yrt dost pay as l n debt to Thy creature, forgvest what s owed to Thee yet dost not lose thereby. And wth all ths, what have sad, my God and my Lfe and my sacred Delght? What can anyone say when he speaks of Thee? Yet wnc to them that speak not of Thee ar all, snce those who say mort are bur dumb. Augustnc, CunJe~~anr, 1, 4 32 Heaven and earth and all that s n them tell me whcrrver 1 look that should love You, and they ccare not to tell t to all men, so that there s no cxcure for them. For Ygu r~ll have mcrq on mhorn You UN hn:.c merr); and You rudl show mvg to whom You u~n rhou: rnelq: otherwse heaven and earth cry ther prase of You to deal can. But what s t that 1or.e when love You? Not the beauty of any bodly thng, nor the order of seasons, not the hrghtncsr of lght that rejoees the eye, nor the sn,cet melodes of all songs, nor the swcet fragrance of flowers and ontments and spces: not manna nor howy, not the lmbs that carnal love embraces. None of these thngs do love n lovng my God. Yet n a sense do love lght and melody and fragrance and food and embrace when 1 love my God-the lght and the voce and the fragrance and thc food and embrace n the soul, when that lght shner upon my soul whch no place can contan, chat voce rounds whch no tme ean take from me, breathe that lragrance whch no wnd seatterr, eat the food whch s not lessened by eatng, and 1 le n thr embrace wheh satety never comes to sunder. Ths t s that lovc, when 1ol.c my God. Augustnc, ConJtsstnnr, X, 6 33 What s... God? 1 asked the earth and t answered: " am not He"; and all thngs that are n the earth made the same conferron. 1 dked the sea and the deeps and the creepns thngs, and they answered: "We are nor your God; reck hgher." asked the wnds that hlon., and the wholc ar wth all that s n r answered: "Anaxmene was wrong; am not God." asked the hcavenr, thc sun, the moon, the stars, and they answered: "Nether arc we God whom you seek." And sad to all the thngs that throng about the gateways of the senses: "Tell me of my God, snce you are not He. Tell me somethng of Hm." And they ered out n a great voce: "Hc made us." My queston was my gazng upon them, and ther anwr:r was ther beauty. And turned to mysel and sad: "And you, who are you?" And answered: "A man." Now, clearly there s a body and a roul n me, one exteror, one nteror. From whch of these two should have enqured of my God? had already sought Hm by my body, from earth to hcaven, as lar as my eye could send ts beams on the quest. But the nteror part s the better, seeng that all my body's messengers delvered to t, as ruler and judge, the answers that heaven and earth and all thngs n them made when they sad: "M'e are not God," and, "He made us." The nner man knows these thnp through the mnstry of the OU~C man: the nner man knew them, 1, 1 the soul. through the senses of the body. asked the whole franle of the unverse about my Gr~d and t answered me: " am not He, but e made me." Au,w.ustne, Canfersonr, X, 6
j!! 34 \r worshp that God Who has apponted to the 3: natures created by Hm both the begnnngs and the end of ther exstng and movng: Wha holds, knows, and dsposes the causes of thnp; Who hath created the vrtue of seeds; Who hath gven to what creatures He would a ratonal soul, whch s called mnd; Who harh bestowed the laculty and use of speech; Who hath mparted the gft of foretellng future thngs to whatever sprts t seemed to Hm good: Who also Hmsel predcts future thngs through whom He pleases, and through whom He wll remove dseases; Who, when the human race s to be corrected and chaa~ tsed by wars, replates also the begnnngs? progress, and ends of these wars; Who hath created 3~ and governs the most vehement and most volent fre of ths world, n due relaton and proporton to the other elements of mmense nature; Who s thc governor of all the waters: Who hath made the sun brghtest of all materal lghts, and hath gven hm sutable power and moton; Who hath not wthdrawn, even from the nhabtants of the nether world. Hs domnon and powcr; Who hath apponted to mortal natures ther sutable seed and nourshment, dry or lqud; Who estab- lshes and nakes frutful the earth; Who buntfully bestows ts fruts on anmals and on men; Who knows and ordans, not only prncpal raus~ er, hut also subsequent causes; Who hath dctermned for the moon her moton; Who affords ways n heaver, and on earrh lor passage from one place to another; Who hath granted also to human mnds, whch He hath created, the knowledge of the varous arts for the help of lfe and naturr; Wl~o hath apponted the unon of male and emale for the propagaton of olsprng; Who hath favoured the socetes of mcn wth the gft of terrestral fre for the smplest and mmt famlar purposes, to burn on the hearrh and to gve lght. These are, then, the thngs whch that most acute and most learned mau Varro has laboured to ds! trbute arnong thc select gods, by know not what physcal utcr~retaton, whch hc has got from other sources and also conjecrured for hnlrelf. But these thngs the one true God make; and does, but as lhr rome God-that s, as He who s wholly eucr)whele, ncluded n no space, bound by no chans, mutable u no part of Hs beng, fllng heaven aud earth wth omnpresent power, not wth a nrcdy nature. Therefore He governs all thngs n such a mauner as to allorv thcm to perform aud exercse ther awn proper movements. For although they can be nothn* wthout Hm, the? are not what He s. Hc does also many thng through angels; but only from Hmrelf doer He beatfy angels. Srr also, though He scnd angels to men lor certan purposes, He does not for all that bearb mmeu by the good uhcrent n the augrlr, bur by Hmbclf, as He docs the augcls rhcmsrlves. Aogus~ne, Cy ojco:od V, 30 God s ever thc rarlrrant foreknowng ovewer. and the everpresent etrrnry of Hs sght moves n harmony wth the future nature of our actons, ar t dspenser rewards to the good, and punshn~ents to the bad. Hopes are not vanly put n God, nor prayers n van offered: f rhese are rght, they cannot but be answered. Turn therelore from vee: ensue vrtue: rase your soul to uprght hopes: send up on hgh your prayers from ths earth. f you would be honest, great r the neeessty enjoned upon your goodness, snce all you do s done before the cyer of an all-seeng Judge. Boerhus, Conroloton oj Phlo~oph~, V Lord, do thou, who dost gve understandng to fath, gve me. so far as thou knowest t to be proftable, to understand that thou art as we beleve; and that thou art that whch we beleve. And, ndeed, we beleve that thou art a beng than wbeh nothng grcatcr can be conceved Or r there no such nature, snce the fool hrth sad n hs heart, thcre s no God? But, at any rate, ths very fool, when he hears of ths beng of whch rpeak-a bcng than whch nothng grcater can be conceved-understands what he bran, and what he understands s n hs understandng; although he does not understand t to exst. For, t n one thng lor an objecr go be n the understandng, artd another tu undcrnand that the object exsts. When a panter lrst conceves of what he wll altcwards perform, he has t n hs understandng, but he docs not yer understand t to be, brcaur he has not yer performed c. But after he has made the he both has t n hs understandng. and he understands that t exsts, because he has made t. Hence, even the loo1 n convnced rhat somethng exsts n the understandng, at least, than whch nothng greater can br conceved For, when he hcan af ths, he understands t. And whatever s understood, exrrs n the undrrstandng. And assuredly that, than whcr nothrtg greater cau be conceved. cannot exst n the understandng alone. For, suppose t exah n the undentandng alone: then t can be conceved to exst n realry; whch s greater. Therefore, f that, than whch uothng greatcr can be conceved, exsts n the underatandns alone, the very beng, than whch nothng greatcr ran be conce~cd, s oue, lmn whch a greater call be conceved. But obvously ths s mpasble. Hence, thcre n no doubt that there errts a bcn~, than whch nothng preatcr can be conccvrrl, and t exsts both n tbe undcrstandug and n realty..n4 t assuredly cxsts so truly, that t cannot be coneered uot to exst. For, t s to concevr. of a beng whch cannot be couccved not to exst; and ths s greater than one whch can be conceved uot to exst. Heuce, f that, than whch norhng greater can be eonccred, can bc eou-
20.5. God 1 131 7 ccved not to cxst, t s not thnr, than whch nathng greater can be conceved. But ths s nn rreconclable contradcton. Thcre s, thm, so truly a beng than whch nothng greater ran be conceved to exst, that t cannot even be ronceved not to exst; and ths beng hou art, 0 Lord, our God So rruly, therefore, dost thou cxsr, 0 Lord. my God, that thou canst not be conceved not to exst; and rghtly. For, f a mnd could conceve of a beng better than thee, the creature would rsc above the Creator; and ths s moat absurd. And. ndeed, whatever else there s, except thec alone, can be conceved not to exst. To thee alone, therefore, t belongs co cxst more truly than all other beng, and hence n a hgher degree than all othen. For, whatever rlsr exsts docs not exst so truly, and henee n a less degree t belong to t to rxst. Why, then, has the fool sad n hs heart, rhere s no God, snce t s w evd~nt, to a ratonal mnd, rhat thou dost exst n the hghest degree of all? Why, except that he s dull and a fool? Anselm of Canterbury, Pror~~um, 11-111 37 But how art thou omnpotent, f thou art not capable of all thngs? Or, f thou canst not he corrupted, and canst nor le. nor make what s true, falsc-as, for example, f thou shouldst make what has been done not to have been done, and the ; ke-how art thou capable of all thngs? Or else to be capable of these thngs s not power, but mpotence. For, he who s capable of these thngs! s caoablc of what s not for hs u mod. and of what he ought not to do; and rhc more capable of them hc s, the more power haw adrersty and perversl- tv aeanst hm: and the less has he h~tnself aeanrt, " these. Anselm of Canterbuq Pmrlqum, V 38 O.ord, our God, the rnore rruly art thou omupotent, snce thou arc capable of notlng throueh mpotence, and nothns hns ponw aganst thee. Anselm of Canterbury, Pro'rur~~um, V1 39 Truly, 0 Lord, ths s the unapproachable lght n whch thou dwellest; lor tculy there s nothng elsc whch can penrtr.te chs lght. that t may see thee there. Truly, see t nor, because t s tw brght for me. And yet, whatsoever sce, see through t, as the weak eye sees what t sees through thc lght o! the sun, whch n the sun uelf t cannot look upon. My undetstandng cannot reach that lght, for t rhhes too brght. t does not comprehend t, nor does the eyr 01 my soul rndure to gaze upan t long. t s dazzled by the brghtncrs; t s overcome hy the greatness, t s orerwhclmed by thc nfnn.. t s dazed by the largeness, of the lghr. 0 aupre~~lc and nr~pp~nachablr lght! 0 whole and blessed ruth, how far art thou from me, who am so near ro thee! How far removed art thou from my vson, though arn so near to thne! Everywhe~ thou art wholly present, and see thee not. n thee move. and n thee have my brug; and cannot come to thee Thou art wthn me, and ahout me, and feel thee not. Anselrn of Canterbury. Prulo~um, XV 40 Assuredly thou art lfe, thou arc wsdom. thou art truth, thou art goodness, thou art blessedness, rho" art eternty, and thou art creq true good. Mang are these attrbutes: my stratened understandng cannot see so man) at one vew, that t may be gladdened by all ar once. Haw, then, O Lord, art thou all these thngs? Are they parts a1 thee, or s each one of these rather the whole. whch thou art? For, whatever s composed ol parts s not dtoqether onc, bur s n some sort plural, and dverse from tself; and ether n fact or n concept s capable of dssoluton. Bur these thng are alen to thee, than whom nothng better can be conceved 01. Henee, the~r are no parts n thee, Lord, nor art thou more than one But thou art so truly a untary benp, and so dentcal wth thyself, that n no respect art thou unlke thyself; rather thou art unty tself, ndvsble by any concepton. Therefore, lfe and wsdom and the rest are not parts of thee, but all are one; and each of these s the whole. whch thou art, and whch all the rest are. n ths way, then, t appears chat thou hast no parts, and that thy eternty, whch thou art. s nowhere and never a part of thee or of thy eternty But everywhere thou art as a whole, and thy eternty enats as a whole forcx.er. Arlselm of Canterbuq, Pr~sagrvn~ X\' 41 To know that God exsu n a general and cun~ fused way s mplanted n ur by nature. snce God s rnan's Happness. For man naturally desres happness. and what s naturally desred by man must be naturally known to hm. Ths, however, s not to know absolutely that Gad exsts. Aquna~, Junno Throlqeca. 1, 2, 1 42 Perhaps not everyone n,ho hears chs word "God" undersmndh t to agnly norrlerhng than x,hch nothrlg greater ean be thoughc, seeng that some have beleved God to be a body. Yet, granted that eseryone undrrstands that by ths word "God" s sgnfed somethng than wheh nothng greater can be thought, nevertheless, t does not therefore follow rhat he understands that what the word sgnfes cxsts acrually, but only that t exsts n the ntellect. Nor can t be argucd that t act~ally ex~rr, unlcrr t be admtted that there actually exst5 ~o~nethng than whch nothnp greater can be thought. And ths s what s not admtted by =hose whn hnl~l that Cnd doc\ not exst. Aqunar, Surnmo Teolupo,, 2, 1
20. Relgon 43 The exsrence of G d and othcr lke truths ahout God whch can be known by natural rcason, arc not artcles of fath, but are preambles to the artclcs. For fath presnpposes natnral knowledge, even as grace presupposes nature, and perfecton supposes somethng that can be perfected. Nevertheless, there s nothng to prevent a man who cannot grasp a proof acceptng, as a matter of ath, somethng whch n tself s capable 01 beng known and demonstrated. Aqunas, Surntna Theoogm,, 2, 2 44 n the world of sense we fnd there s an order of effcent causes. There s no c- known (nor ndeed, s t possble) n whch a thng s found to be the effcenr cause of tself, because n that case t would be pror ro tself, whch s mpossble. Now n effcent causes t s uot possble to go on to nfnty, becanse n all effcent causes followng n order, the frst s the cause of the ntermedate cause, and the ntermedate s the cause of the nltmate cause, whether the ntermedate cause be several, or one only. Now to take away the cause s to take away the effect. Therefore, f there be no frst cause among effcent causes, there wll be no nltmate, nor any ntermedate canse. But f n elfcent causes t a possble to go on to nfnty, there wll be no frst effcent cause, nether wll there be an nltmate elfect, nor any ntermedate effcent causes, all of whch s planly false. Therefore t s necessary to admt a frst effcent cause, to whch everyone gves the name of God.... We fnd n nature thngs that are possblc to be and not to be, snce they are found to be generated, and to be corrupted, and cousequeutly they are possble to be and not to be. Bnt t s mpossblc for these always to exst, for that whch s porsble not to be at some tme s not. Therefore, f everythng s possble not to be, then at one tme there could have been nothng n exstence. Now l ths were trur, even now there would be nothng u exstence, because that whch does nor exst only begns to exst by somethng alrcady exstng. Therefore, f at one tme nothng was n exstence, t would have been mpossble for anythng to have be-wn to exst; and thus ere11 now nothng would be n exstence-whch s clearly false. Therefore, not all bengs are merely possble, but there must exst somethng the exstence of whch s necesary. But every ncccsary thng cther has ts necessty caused by another, or nor. Now t s mpossble to go on to nfnv n necessary thngs whch have ther nrcesrly caused by another, as has been already proved u regard to effcent causes. Therefore we must admt the exstmcc of some beng havng of tsrlf ts own nccerrty, and not recevng t from another: but rather causng n orhrrs ther necessty. Ths all men speak of ar God. Aqunas, Su~lrmma Thealo,gra,, 2, 3 45 n some way God s n cvery place, and ths s to be everywhere. Frst, as He s n all thngs as gvng them beng,p,ower, and operaton, so He s n every place as gmng t beng and power to be n a place. Agan, rhngs placed are n place n so lar as they fll a place: and God llls every place; not, ndeed, as a body, for a body s sad to fll place n so far as t excludes the presence of another body; but by God beng n a place, others are not them by excluded lrom t; rather ndeed, He Hmself flls every place by the very lact that He gves beng to the thngs that fll every place. Aqunas. Sutntna Theolozca,, 8, 2 46 Eternty s nothng else but God Hmself. Hence God s not called eternal as f He were n any way rneasnred, but the noton of measnrement s there taken accordng to the apprehenson of our mnd alone. Aqunas, Sutnm Theoogca,, 10, 2 45 God comprehends n Hmself the whole perfecton of beng. f then many gods exsted, they would necessarly dffer lrom each other. Somerhng therefore would belong to one whch dd not belong to another. And f ths were a prvaron, one of them would not be absolutely perfect; but f a perfecton, one of them would be wthout t. So t s mpossble for many gods to exst. Hencc also the ancent phlosophen, constraned as t were by truth tsell, when they asserted an nfnte prncple asterted lkewse that there was only one snch prncple. Aqunas, Summa Thcolo@a,, 11, 3 48 Oh grace aboundng, wheren presnmed to fx my lmk on the eternal lght so long that consnmed my sght thereon! Wthn ts dcpths saw ngathered, bound by love n one volume, the scattered leaves of all the unverse; substance and accdents and thcr relatons, as though together lused, after such fashon that what tell of s one smple flame. The unversal form of ths complex thnk that beheld, because more larrely, as 1 say ths, feel that rejoce. A sngle moment makcth a deeper letharg for me than tweuty and fve centures have wrourht on the emprse that erst threw Neptune n amaze at Argo's shadow. Thus all suspended dd my mnd gaze fxed, m~ movable, ntent, ever enkndled by ts gazng. Such at that lght doth mall become that to turn thencc to any other sght could not by posblty bc ever yelded. For the gmd, whch s the object of the d l, s theren wholly gathered, and outsde t that same thng s defectve whch theren s perfect. Kou. shall my speech fall farther short even of whar call remcmber than an nfant's who stll bathes hs tongue at breast.
20.5 God 13 19 Not that more than a sngle semblance was n the lvng lght whereon wked, whch cvcr s such as t was before; bul by the sght that gathrred strengh n me one sole appearance even as changed worked on my gaze. n the profound and shnng beng of thc deep lght appeared to me three crcles, of thrrc colours and one magntude; one by the second as rs by rs seemed reflected, and the thrd ~eemed a fre breathed equally from one and from the other. Oh but how scant the utterance, and haw fant, to my concet! and t, to what saw, s such that t ruflceth not to call t lttle. 0 Lght ctrrnal who only n thyself nbdcst, only thyself dost understand, and to thyself, self-understwd self-undenrandnp, turnest love and smlng! That crclng u,hch appeared n thec to he anccved as a rcflectcd lght, by mne eyes $canned somr lttle, n tself, of ts own colour, sce~ned to bc panted wth our effgy, and thereat my sght war all commtted to t. As the gcameter who all sets hmself to measure the crclcand who fndcth not, thnk as hr may, thc prncple he lacketh; such %,as at ths uew seen ~pectacle; would pcrccve how the mage consortcth wth thc erde, and how t xttlcth there; but not br ths wcre my pmpcr wngs, save that my mnd war smtten by a flash u,heren ts wll came to t. To the hgh fantasy here power faled; but already my desre and were rolled-ven as a whecl that movcrh equally-by the Lovc that mover the sun and fhc othcr stars. Dante, Pnmd.ra, XhXl, 82 49 1 can't understand what must be n a man's mnd f he doesn't feel serously that thcre s a Gd when he sees the sun rse. t nust at tmes occur to hm that therc ar eternal thngs, or elsc he must push hs face nto the drt lke a sow. Far t's ncredble that they [the plancts] be obrerved to move wthout nqurng whether thetc sn't somebody who moves them..uther, Table Tolk. 447 50 Though our mnd cannot conceve of Gad, wthout ascrbng romc worshp to hm, t wll not be suffcent mcrcly to apprehend that he s the only proper object of unversal warshp and adoraton, unless we arc also pcnuaded that he s the fountan of all gwd, 2nd rerk for nonr but n hm. Ths mantan, nor only because he sustaus the uuvrrsr, as he once made t, by hs nfutc power, governs t by hs wsdom, prcscnes ~ by hs goodness, and especally rc.qns over the human race n rghteousness and judgment, cnercsng a tnerclul forbearance, and defendng them by hs protcc~ ton; but bccaure there cannot be found the least partcle of wsdom, lght. rghteousness, power, rectrude, or sncere truth whch does not proceed from hm, and clam hm for ts author. Calvn, trttuler o/ the Chrrtan Relgnt. 1, 2 51 To represent God as a Creator only for a moment, who entrely fnshed all hs work at once, were frgd and jcjune; and n ths t behoves us especally to dffer from thc hcathen, that the prescnce of the Dvne powcr may appear to us no less n the perpetual state of the world than n B frst orgn. Calvn, hrttuter o/thc Cl~ran Rrllgan,, 16 52 Cod, wshng to teach us that the good have somethng else to hopc for. and the wcked somethng else to fear, than the fortuncs and rnsfortuncs 01 ths world, handles and allots these accordng to hs acult dsposton, and deprvcs us of the means 01 foolshly makng our proft of them. Montagne, Errgx,, 32, Wc Should Meddle Soberly 3 What s thcre... more van than to tv to dvne God by our analoges and conjecturer, to repulate hm and the world by our capacty and our laws, and to use at the expense of the Dcty ths lttle shred of ablty that he was pleared to allot to our natural condton? And, beeause we cannot stretch our vron as far as hs glorous throne, to have brought hm here below to our corrupton and our mseres? Montagne. Ersayr, 11, 12, Apaloa for Kaymond Sebond 4 t has always recmed to me that for a Chrstan ths sort of talk s full of ndscreton and rrereren-: "God cannot de, God cannot go back on hs word, God cannot do ths or thar." do not thnk t s good to confne the dvne powcr thus under the laws of our speech. And the probablty thar appeam to us n there should he enpressed more reverently and relgously. Montagne, Essop., 11, 12, Apolo~y for Raymond Scbond 55 When we say that thr nfnty of the centures both past and to come n to God but an nstant, that hs goodness, ~sdom, powcl, arc thr samc thng as hs essence-ur tongucs say t, but our ncellsencc does not apprehend t. Montagne, Ersayr, 11. 12, Apolom for Raynlond Sebond 56 He Who a before the ages and on nto the agcs thus adorned thc great thngs of Hs wsdom: nothng encemre, nothng defectve, no room for any ccnsurr. How lovcly arc hs works! All thngs, n twos, one aganst one, nonc lackng ts oppostr.
1320 Chapter 20. Relgon! He has strcngthencd the goods-adornment and proprety-of cach and every one and establshed (hem n thc best reasons, and who wll be satated seeng thcr glory? Kepler, Hamones of the World, V, 9 57 Do,nber(y. Well, God's a good man. Shakcspearc, Much Ado About Nothng, 111, v, 39 58 Natuml thcolog... s thac knowledge or rudment of knowledge cortcernng God, whclr rury be obraned by the contemplaton of hs creatures; whch knowledge may be truly termed dvne n respect of the objcct, and natural u respect of the lght. The bounds of ths knouledge are, that t sutfceth to convnce athesm, hut not to rtlorm relgon: and rhrrrfore there was never mracle wrought by God to convert an athest, because the lght of nature mght have led hm to confa a God: but nlracles havc been wrought to conrrrt dolaten and the supersttous, because no lght of nature extendeth to declare the wll and tme worshp of God. For all works do show forth the power and skll of the workmaa. and not hs mage. so t s of the works of God, whch do show the omnpotency and wsdom of the maker, but not hs mage. Bacon, Aduancmml of Leamnf, Bk. 11, V1, 1 59 r s ar lezr as certan that God, who s a Beng so perfect, s, or msts, as any demonstraton of geometry can poably be. Dc~artrs. Dzrcourr on Method, V 1 60 That dea... by whch understartd a Supreme God, eternal. nfnre, [mmutable], omnscent; omnpotent, and Creator of all thngs whch are outsde of mself, has certanly more objectve rcalty n tsclf than those deas by whch nte rubrtanccs arc rcprescnrcd. Descartes, Medaonr on Frrl Phloropq, 111 61 From h~ fact that rannut conceve a mountan wthout a valcy, t does not follow that there r any mountan or any valley n exstence, but only thar the mountan and thc valley, whether they exst or do nor exst, cannot n any way bc separated one from rhe other. Whle from the fact that cannot conccve God wthour exstence, t fol~ lows that exstcncc s nseparable ron, Lm, and hence that Hc really exsts; not that my thought ran brng ths to pars, or mpose any nccersty on thngs, but, on the cantraty, becanse the nccests whch cs n the thng tself,.c, the necesry of thc exstence of God determnes me to thnk n chs way. For t s not wthn my power lo tllrlk of God whoul exstcnce (rlral s of l s~p~emely perfect Beng dcrod of a supreme perlccton) though t s u my power to magne a horse ethcr wth u,ngs or ~thout wngs. Descartes, Mcllazonr on Fn1 P/tl"ropl~, V 6'2 We have n the noton of God absolute mmcnrty, smplcty, and a unty that ~rnbracer all other attrbutes; and of ths dea we fnd no example n US. Dercartes, Ob/rrfmr and Reple,, 1 63 When God s sad to be unhfnkabh, that apples to the thought that grasps hm adequately, and does not hold goad of that nadequate thought whch we possess and whch suffces to lct us krtu\\, that he exsts. Drscartes, Objecf~anr and Reples, 1 64 Some one murr cxrt n whom are formally or emnently all thc pedectons of whch wc have any dea. But we possess the dea of a power so grcat that by Hm and Hm alone, n whom thls power s found, must heaven and earth be creared, and a power such that lkewse whatcvcr else s apprehended by me as possble must be created by Hm too. Hencc concurrently wth God's exstence we have proved all ths kcwsc about hm. Descartes, Arguments Demonslralnf Lht Exsmce of God and the Drtrrclan Eelmem Soul and B4, Prop. 3_ Corol. 65 When you say how strange t s that orher men do not thnk about God n the same way as 1 do, when He has mpressed the dea of Hmself on thcm exactly as on me, t s precsely as f you were to marvel char snce all arc acquanted wth thc dca of a rranglc, rhey do not all perceve an equal number of truths about t, and some probnbly reason about ths very fgure ncorrectly Descartes, O@chons ond R~pu, V 66 Perpetual fear, always accompanyng manknd n the gnorance of causes, as r were n the dark. musl needs hare lor objccr socnerhng. And thcrefore when there s nothng to bc seen, there s nothng ro accuse ether of ther good or evl fortune bur samc power or agent nvsble: n whch sense perhaps t was that some of the old poets sad that the gods were at lnt creared by hnman fear: whch, spoken of the gods (thar s to say, of the many gods of the Gentles), s vcry true. But the acknowledgng of one God erernal, nfnte, and omnpotent may!nore easly be derved from the desre men hnvc to luov the canses of natural bodrs, aud thcr several vrtues and operatons, than rom the fcar of what was to befall them n tme to comc. For he that, from any effect hc reeth come to pass, should mason to thc next and lnmc~ date cause thereof, and from lllence to thc came of that cansc, and plunge hcnzel profonndly n the pu~sur 01 causrr, shall at l a c come to ths, that there nnst w (as even the heathcrl phlusu~ phen confesxd) onc Frst Mover; thar s, a frst and an eternal cause of all thngs; whch s that