6. Mohammed and Supernatural Appearances: "Like many of the Christian monks, Mohammed retired to the solitude of the desert, and, devoting himself to meditation, fasting, and prayer, became the victim of cerebral disorder. He was visited by supernatural appearances, mysterious voices accosting him as the Prophet of God; even the stones and trees joined in the whispering. He himself suspected the true nature of his malady, and to his wife Cadijah he expressed a dread that he was becoming insane. It is related that as they sat alone, a shadow entered the room. "Dost thou see aught?" said Cadijah, who, after the manner of Arabian matrons, wore her veil. "I do," said the prophet. Whereupon she uncovered her face and said: "Dost thou see it now?" "I do not." "Glad tidings to thee, O Mohammed!" exclaimed Cadijah; "it is an angel, for he has respected my unveiled face; an evil spirit would not." As his disease advanced, these spectral illusions became more frequent; from one of them he received the divine commission. "I," said his wife, "will be thy first believer"; and they knelt down in prayer together. Since that day nine thousand millions of human beings have acknowledged him to be a prophet of God." (Ibid, pp. 330-1.)
7. Mohammedan Creed: "There is no God but God, the living, the self subsisting; he hath sent down unto thee the book of the Koran with truth, confirming that which was revealed before it; for he had formerly sent down the law, and the gospel, a direction unto men; and he had also sent down the distinction between good and evil. Verily those who believe not the signs of God shall suffer a grievous punishment; for God is mighty, able to revenge. Surely nothing is hidden from God, of that which is on earth, or in heaven; it is He who formeth you in the wombs, as he pleaseth; there is no God but he, the mighty, the wise. * * * * * * * * * * It is God who hath created you, and hath provided food for you; hereafter will he cause you to die; and after that will he raise you again to life. Is there any of your false gods, who is able to do the least of these things? * * * * * * It is God who sendeth the winds, and raiseth the clouds, and spreadeth the same in the heaven, as he pleaseth; and afterwards disperseth the same; and thou mayest see the rain issuing from the midst thereof; and when he poureth the same down on such of his servants as he pleaseth, behold, they are filled with joy. * * * * * *
"It is God who created you in weakness, and after weakness hath given you strength; and after strength, he will again reduce you to weakness and grey hairs; he createth that which he pleaseth; and he is the wise, the powerful." (Al Koran, Chs. iii and xxx.)
8. Comment on the Creed of Mohammed: "The faith which under the name of Islam, he preached to his family and nation, is compounded of an eternal truth and necessary fiction. That there is only one God, and that Mahomet is the Apostle of God. It is the boast of the Jewish apologists, that, while the learned nations of antiquity were deluded by the fables of polytheism, their simple ancestors of Palestine preserved the knowledge and worship of the true God. The moral attributes of Jehovah may not easily be reconciled with the standard of human virtue; his metaphysical qualities are darkly expressed; but each page of the Pentateuch and the Prophets is an evidence of his power; the unity of his name is inscribed on the first table of the law; and his sanctuary was never defiled by any visible image of the invisible essence. After the ruin of the temple, the faith of the Hebrew exiles was purified, fixed and enlightened by the spiritual devotion of the synagogue; and the authority of Mahomet will not justify his perpetual reproach that the Jews of Mecca or Mediana adored Ezra as the son of God. But the children of Israel had ceased to be a people; and the religions of the world were guilty, at least in the eyes of the prophet, of giving sons, or daughters or companions to the Supreme God. * * * * * * * *
"The creed of Mahomet is free from suspicion or ambiguity; and the Koran is a glorious testimony to the unity of God. The prophet of Mecca rejected the worship of idols and men, of stars and planets, on the rational principle that whatever rises must set, that whatever is born must die, that whatever is corruptible must decay and perish. In the author of the universe his rational enthusiasm confessed and adored an infinite and Eternal Being, without form or place, without issue or similitude, present to our most secret thoughts, existing by the necessity of his own nature, and deriving from himself all moral and intellectual perfection. These sublime truths, thus announced in the language of the prophet, are firmly held by his disciples, and defined with metaphysical precision by the interpreters of the Koran." (Gibbon: "Decline and Fall," Vol. VI, pp. 222-3).
"A philosophic theist might subscribe the popular creed of the Mahometans; a creed too sublime perhaps for our present faculties. What object remains for the fancy, or even the understanding, when we have abstracted from the unknown substance all ideas of time and space, of motion and matter, of sensation and reflection? The first principle of reason and revelation was confirmed by the voice of Mahomet; his proselytes, from India to Morocco, are distinguished by the name of Unitarians; and the danger of idolatry has been prevented by the interdiction of images. The doctrine of eternal decrees and absolute predestination is strictly embraced by the Mahometans; and they struggle with the common difficulties how to reconcile the prescience of God with the freedom and responsibility of man; how to explain the permission of evil under the reign of infinite power and infinite goodness.
"The God of nature has written his existence on all of his works, and his law in the heart of man. To restore the knowledge of the one, and the practice of the other, has been the real or pretended aim of the prophets of every age; the liberality of Mahomet allowed to his predecessors the same credit which he claimed for himself; and the chain of inspiration was prolonged from the fall of Adam to the promulgation of the Koran. During that period some rays of prophetic light had been imparted to one hundred and twenty-four thousand of the elect, discriminated by their respective measure of virtue and grace; three hundred and thirteen apostles were sent with a special commission to recall their country from idolatry and vice; one hundred and four volumes have been dictated by the Holy Spirit; and six legislators of transcendent brightness have announced to mankind the six successive revelations of various rites, but of one immutable religion. The authority and station of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Christ, and Mahomet, rise in just gradation above each other; but whosoever hates or rejects any one of the prophets is numbered with the infidels. The writings of the patriarchs were extant only in the apocryphal copies of the Greeks and Syrians; the conduct of Adam had not entitled him to the gratitude or respect of his children; the seven precepts of Noah were observed by an inferior and imperfect class of the proselytes of the synagogue; and the memory of Abraham was obscurely revered by the Sabians in his native land of Chaldea; of the myriads of prophets, Moses and Christ alone lived and reigned; and the remnant of the inspired writings was comprised in the books of the Old and the New Testament. The miraculous story of Moses is consecrated and embellished in the Koran, and the captive Jews enjoy the secret revenge of imposing their own belief on the nations whose recent creeds they deride. For the author of Christianity, the Mahometans are taught by the prophet to entertain a high and mysterious reverence. "Verily, Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, is the apostle of God, and his word, which he conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit proceeding from him; honorable in this world, and in the world to come; and one of those who approached near to the presence of God."[2] (Gibbon: "Decline and Fall," Vol. I, VI, pp. 223-226.)
9. Islam: "Mahomet had been wont to retire yearly, during the month of Ramadhan, into solitude and silence; as indeed was the Arab custom, a praiseworthy custom, which such a man, above all, would find natural and useful. Communing with his own heart, in the silence of the mountains; himself silent; open to the 'small still voices'; it was a right natural custom! Mahomet was in his fortieth year, when having withdrawn to a cavern in Mount Hara, near Mecca, during his Ramadhan, to pass the month in prayer and meditation on those great questions, he one day told his wife Kadijah, who with his household was with him or near him this year, that by the unspeakable special favor of Heaven he had now found it all out; was in doubt and darkness no longer, but saw it all. That all these Idols and Formulas were nothing, miserable bits of wood; that there was one God in and over all; and we must leave all idols, and look to Him. That God is great; and that there is nothing else great! He is the Reality. Wooden idols are not real; He is real. He made us at first, sustains us yet; we and all things are but the shadow of Him; a transitory garment veiling the Eternal Splendor. 'Allah Akbar, God is Great;' and then also 'Islam,' that we must submit to God. That our whole strength lies in resigned submission to Him, whatsoever He do to us. For this world, and for the other! The thing He sends to us, were it death and worse than death, shall be good, shall be best; we resign ourselves to God." (Hero Worship, Lecture II).
1. "The syllable 'Al' in the word 'Alkoran' (sometimes also written 'Alcoran') is only the Arabic article signifying 'the'; and therefore ought to be omitted when the English article is prefixed."—Sale, Alkoran, p. 40.
2. Koran, Ch. iii.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
SPECIAL LESSON.
THE CALLING OF ISRAEL AS A WITNESS OF THE TRUE GOD—WAS ISRAEL TRUE TO HIS MISSION?
(AN ARGUMENTATIVE DISCOURSE.)
1. Judaism and Ancient Conceptions of God: It may be thought strange that I have not devoted one lesson at least to Judaism among the lessons on the "Ancient Conceptions of God." My reason for omitting consideration of it here, where it would so fittingly take rank among the ancient faiths, is that when the ancient and modern conceptions of God shall have been considered, we then take up "True Conceptions of Deity," and in doing so it is desirable that the whole range of revelation to sustain the true doctrine and argument—including the revelation which God gave of himself first to Abraham, and afterwards to his descendants, Israel—both for the existence and the nature of God, be available under one heading. To introduce the doctrine of Deity as made known to ancient Israel would be to deal now with "True Conceptions of God," and thus precipitate before its time the main question of our treatise. And so we give Judaism place at this point only by inviting the student's attention to it through this special lesson.
2. An Argumentative Discourse: I have suggested in the title of this lesson that it be considered as an argumentative discourse; and in the main this is inevitable; but it can be made to combine both expository and argumentative discourse. The first part of the title—"The Special Calling of Israel as a Witness of the True God," necessarily calls for exposition—the fact must be established that Israel received such a mission. The second part of the title makes necessary the argumentative form of treatment. An explanation of Expository discourse will be found in Lesson X, Note 1 of this Year Book. Argumentative discourse is treated in Seventy's Year Book No. II, pp. 68-72. For treatise on "thought gathering," see Year Book No. I, pp. 147-150; on "Constructing a plan," etc. See Year Book No. II, pp. 113-115, also pp. 149-151.
3. Sources of Information: Trace the subject through the Bible by means of a concordance, beginning with Deuteronomy XXVI, especially verses 16-19. Also Deuteronomy XXVIII and XXIX, and trace out the prophecies to their fulfillment. See on these chapters the Commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown. Also "The Gospel" p. 85, footnote (third Ed.). Josephus of course; and where it can be had Leslie's "Short and Easy Method with the Jews," sub-division XI. It is published in "Christian Evidences" (1853). Edersheim's Life and Times of Messiah, Vol. I, Chs. i-iv inclusive. Conybeare & Howson's Life of St. Paul, Ch. I. Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy, Vol. I, Ch. i. Mormon Doctrine of Deity, pp. 179-185. Also History of Christianity in the First Three Centuries (Mosheim) Vol. I, pp. 52-55.
4. Suggestions to the Speaker: In the last Special Lesson (Lesson XV), under the title of this note we said the last word on the "First Moments of Speech," we brought the speaker upon his feet facing his audience. It now remains to carry him through the speech beginning with the Introduction; and I shall follow the same master who has before instructed us, Mr. Pittenger; and here let me say that we may keep in mind the old formula of a well conducted speech: Introduction, Discussion and Conclusion.
The Introduction: "A good introduction is exceedingly valuable, and is to be sought for with great solicitude, if it does not spontaneously present itself. Some kind of an introduction is inevitable, for there will always be a first moment when silence is broken, and our thoughts introduced. The subsiding murmur of the audience tells the speaker that the time of his trial has come. If he is very sensitive, or if he has seldom, if ever, spoken before, his pulse beats fast, his face flushes, and an indescribable feeling of faintness and fear thrills every nerve. He may wish himself anywhere else, but there is now no help for him. He must arise, and for the time stand as the mark for all eyes and the subject of all thoughts.
"There is a vast difference between reciting and extemporizing in these opening moments, and the advantage seems to be altogether on the side of recitation. Every word is in its proper place and the speaker may be perfectly calm and self-collected. He is sure that his memory will not fail him in the opening, and encouraged by that assurance, will usually throw his whole power into his first sentences, causing his voice to ring clear and loud over the house.
"The extemporizer is in a far more difficult position. He is sure of nothing. The weight of the whole speech rests heavily upon his mind. He is glancing ahead, striving to forecast the coming sentences, as well as carrying forward those gliding over the tongue, and, distracted by this double labor, his first expressions may be feeble and ungraceful. Yet this modesty and timidity is no real loss; it goes far to conciliate an audience and secure their good-will. We can scarcely fail to distinguish memorized from extemporized discourses by the introduction alone.
"To avoid the pain and hesitancy of an unelaborated beginning, some speakers write and memorize the opening passage. This may accomplish the immediate object, but it is apt to be at the expense of all the remainder of the discourse. The mind cannot pass easily from reciting to spontaneous origination; and the voice, being too freely used at first, loses its power. The hearers, having listened to highly polished language, are less disposed to relish the plain words that follow, and the whole speech, which, like the Alpine condor, may have pitched from the loftiest summits, falls fast and far, until the lowest level is reached. A written introduction may be modest and unpretending, but unless it very closely imitates unstudied speech, painful contrasts and disappointments are inevitable. * * * * * * *
"It is only the substance and not the words of the introduction that should be prepared. A single sentence may be mentally forecast, but much beyond would be harmful; and even this sentence should be simple and easily understood. Anything that needs explanation is very much out of place. Neither should the introduction be so striking as to be the part of the discourse longest remembered. Rather than permit the attention to be distracted in that manner, it would be better to have no introduction."
As to Apologies: "A speaker gains much if he can at the outset arrest the attention and win the sympathy of his hearers and then carry these over to his proper subject. But it may be assumed as certain, that no kind of an apology will accomplish this object—unless, indeed, the speaker is such a favorite that everything in regard to his health or position is an object of deep solicitude to his audience. A popular speaker who happens to be late and apologizes for it by explaining that he had just escaped from a terrible railroad accident would make a good introduction. A loved pastor, in his first sermon after serious illness, might properly begin by talking of his amendment and his joy at addressing his flock again. But these are rare exceptions. The speaker about to make any kind of an apology or personal reference as an introduction, may well heed Punch's advice to persons about to be married: 'Don't!'" * * * * * *
The Mortification of Inattention: "Some inattention may be expected and patiently borne with [by the speaker] at first. Part of the opening words may be lost by an additional reason for not making them of capital importance to the address. It is useless to try by loud tones and violent manner to dispel indifference. If the speaker's words have real weight, and if his manner indicates confidence, one by one the audience will listen, until that electric thrill of sympathy, impossible to describe, but which is as evident to the practiced speaker as an accord in music, tells him that every ear is open to his words, and that his thoughts are occupying every mind." * * * *
Subjects for Introductions: "There are two or three general subjects available for introduction which every speaker would do well to study carefully, and which will do much to furnish him with the means of properly approaching his theme. We will mention the most useful of these, premising that no one mode should be depended upon to the exclusion of others.
"A good mode of introduction consists in a compliment to an audience. When a truthful and manly compliment can be given it is a most agreeable step toward the good-will of those we address; but if used on all occasions indiscriminately, it is meaningless; if transparently false, it is repulsive and disgusting; but when true, there is no reason why it should not be employed." * * * * * * (For example of such introductions see Acts, Ch. xxiv and xxvi).
"Effective introductions can also be constructed from those topics of the day which may be supposed to fill all minds. A few words on such subjects, falling in with the general current of thought, may easily lead up to the speaker's special topic. The newspapers may thus furnish us, especially while some striking event is yet recent, with the means of arresting the attention of newspaper readers at our first words.
"Another good mode of introduction is that of locality. The people of any town may be presumed familiar with the objects or events of interest for which their own place is celebrated;" and a happy reference to one or more of these can scarcely fail to be of interest.
"Another mode of introduction which may be very useful under proper restrictions is that of citing some relevant remark made by an author whose name carries great weight, or so pointed in itself as to at once arrest attention. A great picture, some feature of a landscape, a great historical event, may be cited in the same way. This method of citation is capable of very wide application. If the sentiment or impression made by the citation is directly opposite to that which the speaker wishes to produce this will increase rather than diminish interest, as the enjoyment of contrast and controversy is very keen; but the speaker should feel confident of his ability to overcome the influence of the citation when thus hostile." * * * * * *
Calamity From a Bad Introduction: "A great calamity may come to a speaker from a bad introduction. Speakers who are great in everything else often fail at this point. Some make their introductions too complicated, and thus defeat their own end, as surely as the engineer who gives his railroad such steep grades that no train can pass over it. Others deliver a string of mere platitudes and weary their audience from the beginning.
"When from these or other causes an address is mis-begun, the consequences may be serious. The thought settles upon the speaker with icy weight that he is failing. This conviction paralyzes all his faculties. He talks on, but grows more and more embarrassed. Incoherent sentences are stammered out which require painful explanation to prevent them from degenerating into perfect nonsense. The outline of his plan dissolves into mist. The points he intended to make which seemed strong and important now look trivial. With little hope ahead he blunders on. The room grows dark before him, and in the excess of his misery he longs for the time when he can close without absolute disgrace. But alas! the end seems far off, and he searches in vain for some avenue of escape. There is none. His throat becomes dry and parched, and command of voice is lost. The audience grow restive, for they are tortured as well as the speaker, and if he were malicious and had time to think about it, he might find some alleviation in that. No one can help him. At length, in sheer desperation, he does what he ought to have done long before—simply stops and sits down—perhaps hurling some swelling morsel of common-place, as a parting volley, at the audience—bathed in sweat, and feeling that he is disgraced forever! If he is very weak or foolish, he resolves never to speak again without having every word written out before him; if wiser, he only resolves, not only to understand his speech, but how to begin it." ("Extempore Speech"—Pittenger—Ch. vii).
This treatise upon the Introduction to a speech has trespassed somewhat upon the space of this lesson, but one can see no suggestion here set down that could well be eliminated, so instructive is it. Especially could not the concluding topic "Calamity from a Bad Introduction," be sacrificed. But the wisdom underlying the elaborate discussion of this topic by Mr. Pittenger was forcefully and tersely expressed in one of the early revelations to the Ministry of the Church—1831—when the Lord in reference to preaching, said that the Elders should teach as directed by the Spirit; "and the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith, and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach!" (Doc. & Cov. Sec. 42; 12-14).
5. Strength: Still another word on strength of expression. We have already noted two means of promoting strength of expression—(1) by the rejection of superfluous words (Lesson X); and (2) a careful use of words of connection. And now Quackenbos:
"A third means of promoting the Strength of a sentence is to dispose of the important word or words in that place where they will make the greatest impression. What this place is, depends on the nature and length of the sentence. Sometimes, it is at the commencement, as in the following from Addison: 'The pleasures of the imagination, taken in their full extent, are not so gross as those of sense, nor so refined as those of the understanding.' In other cases, it will be found of advantage to suspend the sense for a time, and bring the important term at the close of the period. 'On whatever side,' says Pope, 'we contemplate Homer, what principally strikes us is his wonderful invention.' No rule can be given on this subject; a comparison of different arrangements is the only means of ascertaining, in any particular case, which is the best." (Rhetoric, Art. "Strength.")
The following suggestion is given by Lockwood:
"The mind naturally dwells upon the last part of a sentence. Care should, therefore, be taken to have the last word a forcible one. Avoid closing a sentence with an insignificant word or phrase, as, for example, an adverb or a preposition or such a phrase as to it, by it, etc."
"Example: 'That is a danger which young children are exposed to.' The sentence should read, That is a danger to which young children are exposed.
"Example: 'None but capital letters were used formerly.'
"The idea is more forcibly presented if we say, Formerly, none but capital letters were used."
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
PATRISTIC[1] DOCTRINES OF GOD.
ANALYSIS. | REFERENCES. |
I. The Patristic Period. | Library of the Christian Fathers Anterior to the Division of the East and West, Oxford Edition (42 Vols.). Early Christian Literature Primers, Edited by Geo. P. Fisher; Apostolic Fathers; Fathers of the Third Century; Post-Nicene Latin Fathers; Post-Nicene Greek Fathers. Mosheim's and Neander's Church Histories; also Smith's Student's Ecclesiastical History, Vol. I. History of Christian Doctrine (Shedd), 2 Vols. Intellectual Development of Europe" (Draper), Vol. I, chapter on Greek Age of Faith. Gibbon's "Decline and Fall," Vol. III, Ch. xxi. Mormon Doctrine of Deity (Roberts), Chs. ii and iii, and Notes of this Lesson. |
II. The Prevailing Philosophers. | |
III. The Christian Doctrine of Deity— The Trinity. | |
IV. Patristic Arguments for the Divine Existence and the Trinity. | |
V. The Apostles' Creed. |
SPECIAL TEXT: "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and opposition of science falsely so called." I Tim. vi,20.
1. The Patristic Period: The patristic period is usually recognized as extending from the close of the Apostolic period and ending with the death of the last of the Apostles, supposed to have occurred about 95 or 96 A. D.—to A. D. 750. The Patristic period of the Church is followed by what is called the Mediaeval period. "The line between these two Christian ages," says George A. Jackson in his Introduction to "The Apostolic Fathers," "cannot be sharply drawn; but, speaking in a general way, the epoch of the Fathers was, in the Western Church, the first six centuries. In the Eastern Church, the patristic age may be extended to embrace John of Damascus (A. D. 750). The writers may be arranged, not unnaturally, in four groups. 1. (A. D. 95—180). The Apostolic Fathers and the Apologists, or writers contemporary with the formation of the New Testament canon. These all wrote in Greek. 2. (A. D. 180—325). The Fathers of the third century; or writers from Irenaeus to the Nicene Council; partly Greek, partly Latin. 3. (A. D. 325—590). The Post-Nicene Latin Fathers. 4. (A. D. 325-750). The Post-Nicene Greek Fathers." (Apostolic Fathers, Jackson, p. 11).
Our notice of the conceptions of the Fathers respecting God, can only be very brief, and consequently it will be imperfect. Only such passages from them will be quoted as are most largely representative; and from such Fathers as most influenced the thought of their times.
2. Philosophy Which Most Affected Christian Doctrine: The secular philosophies which exerted most influence upon Christian doctrine, were Platonism and Aristotelianism. It is said of them that "they have exerted more influence upon the intellectual methods of men, taking in the whole time since their appearance, than all other systems combined" (History Christian Doctrine—Shedd—Vol. I, p. 52); and further, that they contain more of truth than all other systems that do not draw from them, or are opposed to them" (Ibid, p. 53). It is conceded that neither of these philosophers is free from error; but it is claimed by Christian writers that the "Greek theism as represented in these two systems, notwithstanding its defects, affirmed the existence of God, and of one supreme God, and taught a spiritual theory of man and human life." (Ibid, p. 55-56). It is also held that upon this point of the Divine Existence, or "Being," however much the two philosophers differ in their methods of thought and explanation, there is really no great difference between them (Ibid, pp. 56-58; and foot notes where a number of authorities are quoted to the same effect with Shedd). It should be remembered, that for myself, I limit the practical concurrence of the two simply to the existence of the Supreme Being; and in this conclusion I find the support of Maurice, who, in describing the efforts of Pico (15th century) to reconcile the Metaphysics of Plato and Aristotle, says:
"Those who professed themselves Platonists pure and simple, insisted that Unity [Oneness] had been distinguished from Being by Plato, and had been exalted above Being; that on the contrary Being, according to Aristotle, is identical with Unity. This was the point on which the philosophers were supposed to disagree. . . . . . Dealing only with the ontological, or as we call them, the metaphysical treatise, of the great master [Aristotle], he [Pico] has little difficulty in showing that he was no disparager of Unity, any more than Plato was a disparager of Being . . . . . . . . . . He is able to maintain with great plausibility and force, that Aristotle, no less than Plato, regarded Being and Unity as meeting in God, and as vital objects for human search because they meet in him." (Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy—Maurice—Vol. II, pp. 80-81).
3. The Christian Doctrine of God: In order to understand the Patristic conceptions of God, I find it necessary to state, even if ever so briefly, the doctrine of God as taught by the Messiah and the Apostles; and for this purpose I use a statement of that doctrine from Year Book II; Lesson XXXVI.
"The existence of God both Jesus and the Apostles accepted as a fact. In all the teachings of the former He nowhere seeks to prove God's existence. He assumes that, and proceeds from that basis with His doctrine. He declares the fact that God was His Father, and frequently calls Himself the Son of God.[2] After His resurrection and departure into heaven, the Apostles taught that He, the Son of God, was with God the Father in the beginning; that He, as well as the Father, was God; that under the direction of the Father He was the Creator of the world; that without Him was not anything made that was made.[3] That in Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily;[4] and that He was the express image of the Father's person.[5] Jesus Himself taught that He and the Father were one;[6] that whosoever had seen Him had seen the Father also;[7] that it was part of His mission to reveal God, the Father, through His own personality; for as was the Son, so too was the Father.[8] Hence Jesus was God manifested in flesh—a revelation of God to the world.[9] That is, a revelation not only of the being of God, but of the kind of being God is.
"Jesus also taught (and in doing so showed in what the 'oneness' of Himself and His Father consisted) that the disciples might be one with Him, and also one with each other, as He and the Father were one.[10] Not one in person—not all merged into one individual, and all distinctions of personality lost; but one in mind, in knowledge, in love, in will—one by reason of the indwelling in all of the one spirit, even as the mind and will of God the Father was also in Jesus Christ.[11]
"The Holy Ghost, too, was upheld by the Christian religion to be God.[12] Jesus ascribed to Him a distinct personality; as proceeding from the Father; as sent forth in the name of the Son, as weeling love; experiencing grief; as forbidding; as abiding; as teaching; as bearing witness; as appointing to work; and as interceding for men. All of which clearly establishes for Him a personality." (Mormon Doctrine of Deity—Roberts—Ch. iv.).
4. The Trinity of the Christian Doctrine: "The distinct personality of these three individual Gods (united however into one Godhead or Divine Council), was made apparent at the baptism of Jesus; for as He, God the Son, came up out of the water from His baptism at the hands of John, a manifestation of the presence of the Holy Ghost was given in the sign of the dove which rested upon Jesus, while out of the glory of heaven the voice of God the Father was heard saying, 'This,' referring to Jesus, 'is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' The distinctness of the personality of each member of the Godhead is also shown by the commandment to baptize those who believe in the Gospel equally in the name of each person of the Holy Trinity. That is, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. (Matt. xxviii, 19-20.) And again, also in the Apostolic benediction, viz., 'The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.' (II Cor. xiii, 14.)
"These three Personages constitute the Christian Godhead, the Holy Trinity. In early Christian theology they were regarded as the Supreme Governing and Creating Power in heaven and in earth. Of which Trinity the Father was worshipped in the name of the Son, while the Holy Ghost bore record of both the Father and the Son. And though the Holy Trinity was made up of three distinct persons, yet did they constitute but one Godhead, or Supreme Governing Power.
"The foregoing doctrine of God, taught to the Christians in Apostolic times, awakened their pious reverence without exciting their curiosity. They dealt with no metaphysical abstractions, but were contented to accept the teachings of the Apostles in humble faith, and believed that Jesus Christ was the complete manifestation of Deity, and the express image of God His Father; and hence a revelation to them of God; while the Holy Ghost they accepted as God's witness and messenger to them." (Ibid, Ch. iv.).
5. Patristic Arguments for the Divine Existence: The main argument of the Christian Fathers for the Divine Existence, as already stated (Lesson 3, note 11), rested upon the innate consciousness of the human mind. "But," says Shedd, in his History of Christian Doctrine (Vol. I, p. 230):
"But whenever a formal demonstration was attempted in the Patristic period, the a posteriori[13] was the method employed. The physico-theological argument, derived from the harmony visible in the works of creation, was used by Irenaeus to prove the doctrine of the unity and simplicity of the Divine Nature, in opposition to Polytheism and Gnosticism—the former of which held to a multitude of Gods, and the latter to a multitude of aeons. The teleological argument, derived from the universal presence of a design in creation, was likewise employed in the Patristic theology." (Shedd's History of Christian Doctrine, Vol. I, p. 267).
6. The Trinity of the Apostolic Fathers: "The Apostolic Fathers lived before the rise of the two principal Anti-Trinitarian theories described in a previous section, and hence attempted no speculative construction of the doctrine of the trinity. They merely repeat the Biblical phraseology, without endeavoring to collect and combine the data of revelation into a systematic form. They invariably speak of Christ as divine; and make no distinction in their modes of thought and expression, between the deity of the Son and that of the Father. These immediate pupils of the Apostles enter into no speculative investigation of the doctrine of the Logos, and content themselves with the simplest and most common expressions respecting the trinity. In these expressions, however, the germs of the future so-called scientific statement may be discovered; and it is the remark of Meier, one of the fairest of those who have written the history of Trinitarianism, that the beings of an immanent trinity can be seen in the writings of the practical and totally unspeculative Apostolic Fathers."[14] (Shedd, Vol. I, 261-265.)
7. The Patristic View of the Divinity of the Christ: "The following extracts from their writings are sufficient to indicate the freedom with which the Apostolic Fathers apply the term 'God' to the second Person, who is most commonly conceived of as the God-man, and called Jesus Christ by them.
"'Brethren' says Clement of Rome (Ep. II, Ch. 1), 'we ought to conceive of Jesus Christ as of God, as of the judge of the living and the dead.' Ignatius addresses, in his greeting, the church at Ephesus, as 'united and elected by a true passion, according to the will of the Father, and of Jesus Christ our God.' Writing to the church at Rome, he describes them, in his greeting, as 'illuminated by the will of Him who willeth all things that are according to the love of Jesus Christ our God'; and desires for them 'abundant and uncontaminated salvation in Jesus Christ our God.' He also urges them (Ch. 3), to mind invisible rather than earthly things, for 'the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. For even our God, Jesus Christ being in the Father, (i. e., having ascended again to the Father) is more glorified' (in the invisible world than when upon earth). He enjoins it upon the Trallian[15] Church (Ch. 7), to 'continue inseparable from God, even Jesus Christ'; and says to the Smyrnaean Church, 'glorify Jesus Christ, even God, who has given you such wisdom." (Shedd, Vol. I, pp. 265-6).
8. Patristic Allusion to the Trinity: "The following allusions to the trinity occur in the Apostolic Fathers: Clement of Rome, in his first epistles to the Corinthians (Ch. 46), asks, 'Have we not one God, and one Christ? Is there not one Spirit of Grace, who is poured out upon us, and one calling in Christ?' Polycarp, according to the Letter of the Smyrna Church (Ch. 14), closed his prayer at the stake with the glowing ascription:
"For this, and for all things, I praise Thee, I bless Thee, I glorify Thee, together with the eternal and heavenly Jesus, Thy beloved Son; with whom to Thee, and the Holy Ghost, be glory, both now, and to all succeeding ages. Amen." Ignatius, in his epistle to the Magnesians (Ch. 13), places the Son first in the enumeration of the three persons in the trinity; 'Study, that whatsoever ye do, ye may prosper both in body and spirit, in faith and charity, in the Son, and in the Father, and in the Holy Spirit,' * * * following in this particular St. Paul in 2 Cor. 12:12. Barnabas (Epist. Ch. 5) finds the trinity in the Old Testament. 'For this cause, the Lord endured to suffer for our souls, although He was Lord of the whole earth, to whom He (the Father) said before the making of the world: 'Let us make man after Our own image and likeness." (Shedd, Vol. I, p. 267).
9. Origin of Christian Creeds: It is quite possible that the origin of creeds expressing the doctrine of Deity, grew out of certain declarations made by the Apostles, and the felt need of fixing upon some definite conception of God as a ground of Christian faith and membership in the Church. Perhaps the now famous confession of St. Peter was the first step in this direction. "Whom do ye say that I am?" inquired Jesus of the Apostles. "And Simon Peter answered and said: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Whereupon the Master declared that the Father had revealed this truth to the Apostle, and that upon it He (the Christ) would build His Church. (Matt. xvi, 13-21).
As an instance of the felt need of a confession warranting entrance to the Church, take the case of the officer of the court of Queen Candace. After being instructed of Philip, he inquired—"What doth hinder me to be baptized?" "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." And the officer answered—"I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." The chariot was halted straight way, and the baptism was performed. (Acts. viii).
10. "The Apostles' Creed:" It is doubtful if the creed bearing the Apostolic title was formulated by the Apostles. Dr Mosheim doubts of the Apostles formulating it, in the following language. "There is indeed extant, a brief summary of Christian doctrines which is called the 'Apostles Creed'; and which from the fourth century onward, was attributed to Christ's Ambassadors themselves. But at this day, all who have any knowledge of antiquity, confess unanimously that this opinion is a mistake and has no foundation." (Institutes Cent. I, Part 2, ch. 3). To this, also, substantially agrees Dr. Neander (Gen'l. History of the Christian Religion and Church, Vol. I, pp. 306-307).
But while the simple formula may be of doubtful origin, it unquestionably belongs to the Patristic period, and doubtless to the period of the Apostolic Fathers, and would not be altogether unworthy of the Apostles themselves. The Creed follows:
"I believe in God, the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Ghost, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, buried, arose from the dead on the third day, ascended to the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father; whence he will come, to judge the living and the dead; and in the Holy Spirit; the holy church; the remission of sins; and the resurrection of the body."
11. Comment on the Apostles' Creed: As already observed, the statement of the Christian faith as formulated in the Apostles' Creed, so far as its doctrine of the Godhead is concerned, might well be accredited to the Apostles, so unexceptional is it in the plain statement of truth respecting the doctrine of God, as that doctrine may be gathered from the scriptures. But the matter in the Patristic period did not stop here, and perhaps it could not stop with the statement of this first formula of a creed. Not only had the existence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to be affirmed, but the nature of that existence had to be declared, and the relationship of the persons of the Trinity also had to be stated. Moreover, the relationship of this Christian doctrine to the Greek and Oriental philosophies had to be explained. If in harmony with these preceding philosophies which dealt with God—for knowledge of God, or the "Supreme Being," is always the object of philosophy—then it must be stated in what the harmony consists; if in antagonism to them, the points of antagonism must be stated and justified, and the superiority of the Christian doctrine vindicated. It may be all very well for safe and formal men to state a truth within the lines of common-place facts, and say "We will be content with this and beyond it we will not go;" but a creed or book once formulated and published to the world, remains no longer the possession of those who published it. It belongs to the world, and the world will have its way with it. If there are defects in it, from any cause whatsoever, the world will find them out, let the defects be what they may—under-statement of the truth, over-statement of the truth, misstatement of the truth, or exact statement of the truth—all will come out, and Time, the arbitrator for truth, will pronounce his judgment, resulting in condemnation or justification.
So it proved to be with this first formulated Christian Creed. It was all very well to say, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son," and so following. But the adult question came, and it was inevitable that it should come—"What is the nature of this 'Father Almighty,' and of this 'Son,' and what their relationship?" (For greater detail of consideration of this line of questioning, see Year Book II, Lesson 37, note 2). Seeking an answer to these questions, brought the Christian Fathers of our period in contact with both Oriental and Greek philosophy; and soon the tendency to harmonize the facts of Christian doctrine with Pagan philosophies set in, resulting eventually in the paganization of the Christian doctrine. (For further discussion on this head see Year Book II, Lesson 37).
1. "Patristic: Of or pertaining to the fathers of the Christian Church: a patristic theology; patristic writings." (Cent. Dictionary.)
2. John x; Matt. xxvii; Mark xiv: 61, 62.
3. For all of which see John i: 1-4, 14; Heb. i: 1-3.
4. Col. i: 15-19, and ii: 9.
5. John xiv: 9, II Cor. iv: 4: and Heb. i: 3. Col. i: 17.
6. John x: 30, xvii: 11-22.
7. John, xiv: 9.
8. John xiv: 10, 11, 19, 20; also John xvii.
9. Tim. iii: 16.
10. John xvii.
11. Eph. iii: 14-19.
12. Acts v: 1-14. To lie to the Holy Ghost is to lie to God, because the Holy Ghost is God.
13. From a consequent to its antecedent, from effects to causes.
14. Clement of Rome; Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch; Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna; Barnabas (not Paul's companion), see Mosheim Inst., Vol. I, p. 77; Hermas, and Papias, Bishop of Hieropolis.
15. In ancient geography, Tralles was a city of Asia Minor, situated near the Menander, 228 miles east—southeast of Ephesus.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
PATRISTIC DOCTRINES OF GOD—(Continued).
ANALYSIS. | REFERENCES. |
VI. The Nicene Creed. | All the authorities cited in Lesson xxv. Also "Plato's Republic" and "Timaeus." Outlines of Lectures on the History of Philosophy (Elmendorf's) Art. on Plato and St. Augustine, Chs. iv, v, vi, vii. Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy (Maurice). Art. Plato. St. Athanaus and St Augustine, Vol. I. For Orthodox Explanation of Nicene and Athanasian Principles, see Hodge's "Commentary on the Confession of Faith" (Presbyterian), Ch. ii. Also "The Nicene Creed, a Manual for Candidates for Holy Orders" (J. J. Lias, M. A.), Chs. i-iv. A History of Christian Councils, From Original Documents, by C. J. Hegele, D. D. Translated from the German by Wm. R. Clark. |
VII. Creed of St. Athanasius. | |
VIII. The Arian Controversy. | |
IX. Origin of Metaphysical Difficulties. | |
X. Methods of Arriving at the Conception of "Pure Being." | |
XI. Patristic Doctrine of God of Pagan Origin. |
SPECIAL TEXT: "There shall be false teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them." II Peter ii, 1.
1. The Nicene Creed: The next official formulation of alleged Christian doctrine after the "Apostles Creed," was the creed drafted at the council of Nicea, in Bithynia, 325 A. D., as follows:
"We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, creator of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, only-begotten of the Father, that is, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of the same substance with the Father, by whom all things were made in heaven and in earth, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, was incarnate, was made man, suffered, rose again the third day, ascended into the heavens, and He will come to judge the living and the dead; and in the Holy Ghost. Those who say there was a time when He was not, and He was not before He was begotten, and He was made of nothing (he was created), or who say that He is of another hypostatis, or of another substance (than the Father), or that the Son of God is created, that He is mutable, or subject to change, the Catholic church anathematizes."[1]
2. Creed of St. Athanasius: Nearly all Ecclesiastical writers doubt of Athanasius being the author of the creed accredited to him; but all agree, nevertheless, that it is an orthodox explanation of the Nicene Creed. "This creed was evidently composed long after the death of the great theologian whose name it bears, and after the controversies closed and the definitions established by the councils of Ephesus (A. D. 431), and Chalcedon (A. D. 451). It is a grand (?) and unique (!) monument of the unchangeable faith of the whole Church as to the great mysteries of Godliness, the Trinity of the Persons in the one God, and the duality of natures in the one Christ." (Commentary on the confession of Faith—Presbyterian—by Rev. A. A. Hodges, D. D., 1870. Designed for Theological Students, ch. i, pp. 6, 7.) The creed follows:
"We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is all one; the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet there are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreate, but one uncreate and one incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty; and yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty. So the Father is God, the Son, is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God."
"So, likewise, the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords; but one Lord. For likewise as we are compelled by the Christian verity: to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord. So are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion to say: There be three Gods, or three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father; not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.
"And in this Trinity none is afore, or after, other; none is greater, or less than another; but the whole three Persons are co-eternal together, and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He, therefore, that will be saved, must thus think of the Trinity.
"Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation; that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess: that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the Substance of his Mother, born in the world; perfect God, and perfect man; of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting; equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching his Manhood. Who, although he be God and Man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the Manhood into God; one altogether, not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ; who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty; from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At Whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give account for their own works." (Common Prayer, Church of England.) (For comment upon this creed, see Year Book II, Lesson xxxvii.)
3. Pro Et Con of the Arian Controversy: The orthodox doctrine of deity for the Patristic period, is found in the last two creeds quoted, still it is well enough to give each side of the controversy, out of which the creeds were born, opportunity to state its own case. Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, states the orthodox side. He first represents Arius, leader of the opposition, as:
"Denying the divinity of our Saviour, pronounced him on a level with all other creatures. He says that they held, there was a time when the Son of God was not; and he who once had no existence, afterwards did exist; and from that time was, what every man naturally is; for (say they) [the Arians] 'God made all things of nothing, including the Son of God, in this creation of all things, both rational and irrational; and of course, pronouncing Him to be of a changeable nature, and capable of virtue and of sin.'" Then, affirmatively, Alexander gives his own views as follows:
"We believe, as the Apostolic Church does, in the only unbegotten Father, who derived his existence from no one, and is immutable and unalterable, always the same and uniform, unsusceptible of increase of diminution; the giver of the law, and the prophets, and the gospels; Lord of the patriarchs and apostles, and of all saints; and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, not begotten from nothing, but from the living Father; and not after the manner of material bodies, by separations and effluxes of parts, as Sabellius and Valentinian supposed, but in an inexplicable and indescribable manner, agreeably to the declaration before quoted: 'Who shall declare his generation?' For His existence is inscrutable to all mortal beings, just as the Father is inscrutable; because created intelligences are incapable of understanding this divine generation from the Father—'No one knoweth what the Father is, but the Son; and no one knoweth what the Son is, but the Father.'
"He is unchangeable, as much as the Father; lacks nothing; is the perfect Son, and the absolute likeness of the Father, save only that He is not unbegotten. * * * Therefore, to the unbegotten Father, His proper dignity must be preserved. And to the Son, also, suitable honor must be given, by ascribing to Him an eternal generation from the Father."
Arius, making complaint that he is persecuted by Alexander—states first the position of his adversary thus: Arius and his friends are persecuted—"Because we do not agree with him, publicly asserting that God always was, and the Son always was; that He was always the Father, always the Son; that the Son was of God himself." Then stating his own position affirmatively, he says:
"We have taught, and still teach, that the Son is not unbegotten, nor a portion of the unbegotten, in any manner; nor was He formed out of any subjacent matter, but that in will and purpose, he existed before all times and before all worlds, perfect God, the only begotten, unchangeable; and that before He was begotten, or created, or purposed, or established, He was not; for He was never unbegotten. We are persecuted, because we say, the Son had a beginning, but God was without beginning. We are also persecuted, because we say, that He is from nothing; and this we say, inasmuch as He is not a portion of God, nor formed from any subjacent matter. Therefore we are persecuted. The rest you know." (Mosheim, Vol. I, p. 288—Notes).
The Differences Summed Up: Summing up the differences between the two parties, Murdock, the able translator and annotator of Mosheim, says: "According to these statements, both the Arians and the orthodox considered the Son of God the Saviour of the World, as a derived existence, and as generated by the Father. But they differed on two points. (1.) The orthodox believed His generation was from eternity, so that he was coeval with the Father. But the Arians believed there was a time when the Son was not. (2.) The orthodox believed the Son to be derived of and from the Father; so that He was of the same essence with the Father. But the Arians believed that He was formed out of nothing, by the creative power of God. Both, however, agreed in calling Him God, and in ascribing to Him divine perfections. As to His offices, or His being the Saviour of sinful men, it does not appear that they differed materially in their views." (Ibid).
4. Origin of These Metaphysical Difficulties: Undoubtedly it was contact with Oriental and Greek philosophical vagaries, and seeking to harmonize the facts of revelation, with these vagaries, that led to the intellectual difficulties of patristic Christianity. The temptation to seek such harmony, was strong. Already a similar work had been done for the Jews at Alexandria, under the leadership of Philo. He found, in the lofty speculations of Plato, the wisdom of Moses and of Solomon; and in the second century of the Christian Era, Numenius could ask "What is Plato but Moses talking Attic?" "The arms of Macedonians," remarks Gibbon," diffused over Asia and Egypt the language and learning of Greece"; and with that language and learning, and as part of the latter, went the philosophy of Plato, until among the learned and influential it was largely the ground plan of their thinking. The Christians, in the first three centuries of their existence, had been despised sectaries, with no standing among those who made any pretensions to learning; so that when there came opportunity to show identity between the holy trinity of the Christian faith, and the supposed trinity of Plato's philosophy; and identity of the "word" of John's Gospel with the "Logos" of Plato's divine "being," it was seized upon with avidity, not alone, it is to be feared, because of the semblance of truth that was seen in the two things, but also because of the advantages that struggling Christianity would secure by linking the theology of the church with the philosophy of the Academy. "The lofty speculations," says Gibbon, "which neither convinced the understanding nor agitated the passions of the Platonists themselves, were carelessly overlooked by the idle, the busy, and even the studious part of mankind. But after the 'Logos' had been revealed as the sacred object of the faith, the hope, and the religious worship of the Christians, the mysterious system was embraced by a numerous and increasing multitude in every province of the Roman world. Those persons who, from their age, or sex, or occupations, were the least qualified to judge, who were the least exercised in the habits of abstract reasoning, aspired to contemplate the economy of the divine nature; and it is the boast of Tertullian, that a Christian mechanic could easily answer such questions as had perplexed the wisest of the Grecian sages. Where the subject lies so far beyond our reach, the difference between the highest and the lowest of human understandings may indeed be calculated as infinitely small, yet the degree of weakness may perhaps be measured by the degree of obstinacy and dogmatic confidence." What more is necessary to know upon this topic, can be learned from the note entitled "Patristic Doctrine of God of Pagan Rather than of Christian Origin," and Lesson xxxvii, in Year Book II.
5. The Manner of Apprehending "That Which Is"—God: The manner of apprehending God—"that which is"—by the Christian Fathers, is very similar to the method of the pagan philosophers in apprehending "being"—or the "absolute." Take two examples of this process; the first from Plato's "Republic," a conversation between teacher and pupil; the second from the confessions of Augustine; where the father describes how he came to his apprehension of God:
It is necessary first to remind the student that in Plato's philosophy the "supreme being" is "being absolutely bare of quality." Of Him it can only be said that he is not what he is. In Timaeus, Plato says: "We say, indeed, that 'he was,' 'he is,' 'he will be,' but the truth is that 'he is;' alone truly expresses him." (Jowett's Translation, Vol. 2, p. 530.) And now as to the method of arriving at the apprehension of the "infinite being," or the "absolute," through the medium of finite or relative things; and which, in the case here quoted from Plato, is from "relative beauty" to "absolute beauty"; the same process, however, may be followed from "finite being" to "infinite being."
"This is the distinction which I draw between the sight-loving, art-loving, practical class, and those of whom I am speaking, and who are alone worthy of the name of philosophers.
"How do you distinguish them? he said.
"The lovers of sounds and sights, I replied, are, as I conceive, fond of fine tones and colors and forms, and all the artificial products that are made out of them, but their mind is incapable of seeing or loving absolute beauty.
"That is true, he replied.
"Few are they who are able to attain the sight of absolute beauty.
"Very true.
"And he who, having a sense of beautiful things, has no sense of absolute beauty, or who, if another lead him to a knowledge of that beauty, is unable to follow—of such an one, I ask, Is he awake or in a dream only? * * * *
"I should certainly say that such an one was dreaming.
"But take the case of the other, who recognizes the existence of absolute beauty, and is able to distinguish the idea from the objects which participate in the idea, neither putting the objects in the place of the idea nor the idea in the place of the objects—is he a dreamer? or is he awake?
"He is the reverse of a dreamer, he replied.
"And may we not say that the mind of the one has knowledge, and that the mind of the other has opinion only?
"Certainly."
And how Augustine, the Christian father, spoken of as "the brightest, clearest, most comprehensive" of Christian philosophers. ("Lectures on the History of Christian Philosophy"—Elmendorf—p. 92):
"And I inquired what iniquity was, and found it to be no substance, but the perversion of the will, turned aside from Thee, O God, the Supreme, towards these lower things, and casting out its bowels, and puffed up outwardly.
"And I wondered that I now loved Thee, and no phantasm for thee. And yet did I not press on to enjoy my God; but was borne up to Thee by Thy beauty, and soon borne down from Thee by mine own weight, sinking with sorrow into these inferior things. This weight was carnal custom. Yet dwelt there with me a remembrance of Thee; nor did I any way doubt, that there was One to Whom I might cleave, but that I was not yet such as to cleave to Thee; for that 'the body which is corrupted, presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things.' And most certain I was, that 'Thy invisible works from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even Thy eternal power and God-head.' For examining whence it was that I admired the beauty of bodies celestial or terrestrial; and what aided me in judging soundly on things mutable, and pronouncing, 'This ought to be thus, this not'; examining, I say, whence it was that I so judged, seeing I did so judge, I had found the unchangeable and true Eternity of Truth above my changeable mind. And thus, by degrees, I passed from bodies to the soul, which through the bodily senses perceives; and thence to its inward faculty, to which the bodily senses represent things external, whitherto reaches the faculties of beasts; and thence again to the reasoning faculty, to which what is received from the senses of the body, is referred to be judged. Which, finding itself also to be in me a thing variable, raised itself up to its own understanding, and drew away my thoughts from the power of habit, withdrawing itself from those troops of contradictory phantasms; that so it might find what that light was, whereby it was bedewed, when, without all doubting, it cried out:
"'That the unchangeable was to be preferred to the changeable'; whence also it knew That Unchangeable, which, unless it had in some way known, it had had no sure ground to prefer it to the changeable. And thus with the flash of one trembling glance it arrived at That Which Is. And then I saw 'Thy invisible things understood by the things which are made.'"
6. Patristic Doctrine of God of Pagan Rather Than of Christian Origin—Data Not in the Old Testament: The data for the doctrine that God is "pure being," "being absolutely bare of all quality," are not found in the Old Testament, for that teaches the plainest anthropomorphic ideas respecting God. It ascribes to Him a human form, and many qualities and attributes possessed by man, which, in the minds of orthodox Christian philosophers, limit Him who must be, to their thinking, without any limitation whatsoever, either as to essence, or form, or passion, or quality; and ascribes relativity to Him who, according to their conceptions, must not be relative but absolute. The passage usually depended upon as giving the data for this "being absolutely bare of quality," and that is held to identify the ground plan of the philosophy of Moses and Plato—"I am that I am"—the God who appeared to Moses in the burning bush; and Who replied when the Hebrew prophet asked what he should say when the Egyptians and Israel should ask who had sent him—"Say, I Am sent me;" that is the Self-Existing One sent me. This passage, I say, does not furnish the data for the Orthodox Christian conception of God, that He is "being, absolutely free from all quality"; not material (the "without body" of the creeds), without parts, and without passions; for to be self-existent does not demand the absence of quality; indeed, to be without quality, run to its last analysis, would mean non-existence.
Data Not in the New Testament: The data for the doctrine of God's absolute "simplicity," or, "being absolutely without quality," do not come from the New Testament; for the writers of that volume of scripture accept the doctrine of the Old Testament respecting God, and even emphasize its anthropomorphic ideas, by representing that the man Christ Jesus was in the "express image" of God, the Father's person; was, in fact, God manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3: 16); "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1: 5); God, the Word, who was made flesh, and dwelt among men, and they beheld His glory (St. John 1:1-14). Hence the Orthodox Christian doctrine of God's "simplicity" cannot claim the warrant of New Testament authority.
Data Found in Pagan Doctrines: It is easy, however, to trace this doctrine to Pagan sources. Plato, in his Timaeus (Jowett's translation, p. 530), incidentally referring to God, in connection with the creation of the universe, says: "We say indeed that 'he was,' 'he is,' 'he will be,' but the truth is that 'he is' alone truly expresses him, and that 'was' and 'will be' are only to be spoken of generation in time."
Here, then, is the Orthodox Christian doctrine of "pure being," "most simple," "not compound."
Again: "We must acknowledge that there is one kind of being which is always the same, uncreated and indestructible, never receiving anything into itself from without, nor itself giving out to any other, but invisible and imperceptible by any sense, and of which the sight is granted to intelligence only." (Ibid. p. 454). Here the Orthodox Christian may find his God, 'who cannot change with regard to his existence, nor with regard to his mode of existence.' Also his God who can only be seen with the 'soul's intellectual perception, elevated by a supernatural influx from God.' Dr. Mosheim, in his account of Plato's idea of God, says: "He considered the Deity, to whom he gave the supreme governance of the universe, as a being of the highest wisdom and power, and totally unconnected with any material substance." (Mosheim's "Historical Commentaries on the State of Christianity, During the First Three Hundred Years," Vol. 1. p. 37).
To the same effect, also, Justin Martyr (second Christian century) generalizes and accepts as doctrine what may be gathered from the sixth book of Plato's "Republic," with reference to God. To the Jew, Trypho, Justin remarks: "The Deity, Father, is not to be viewed by the organs of sight, like other creatures, but He is to be comprehended by the mind alone, as Plato declares, and I believe him. * * * * Plato tells us that the eye of the mind is of such a nature, and was given us to such an end, as to enable us to see with it by itself, when pure, that Being who is the source of whatever is an object of the mind itself, who has neither color, nor shape, nor size, nor anything which the eye can see, but who is above all essence, who is ineffable, and undefinable, who is alone beautiful and good, and who is at once implanted into those souls who are naturally well born, through their relationship to and desire of seeing him."
Athanasius (third Christian century) quotes the same definition (Contra Gentes, ch. 2), almost verbatim. Turning again to the Timaeus of Plato, this question is asked: "What is that which always is and has no becoming; and what is that which is always becoming and has never any being? That which is apprehended by reflection and reason [God] always is; and is the same; that on the other hand which is conceived by opinion, with the help of sensation without reason [the material universe], is in a process of becoming and perishing but never really is. * * * * Was the world [universe], always in existence and without beginning? or created and having a beginning? Created, I reply." In this, the orthodox Christians may find their God of pure "being," that never is "becoming," but always is; also the creation of the universe out of nothing.