A Few Words About the Devil, and Other Biographical Sketches and EssaysBradlaugh, Charles
Religion
A Few Words About the Devil, and Other Biographical Sketches and Essays
Bradlaugh, Charles
Free thought
"As the material universe is finite in duration, or began to be, it must
have had a cause; for whatever begins to be must have a cause. And this
cause must be [Mr. Gillespie does not explain why], in one respect or
other, the simple sole being of infinity of expansion and duration, who
is all-knowing [the all-knowing or intelligence rests on the argument
which has just been shown to be equally applicable to matter], inasmuch
as what being, or cause independent of that being, could there be? And,
therefore, that being made matter begin to be." Taking Mr. Gillespie's
own argument, that which made matter begin to be must be of matter, for
what is not matter can not make matter begin to be, then Mr. Gillespie's
infinite being (God) must be matter. But there is yet another
exception to the preposition, which is that the infinite being (God) is
all-powerful. Having, as above, argued that the being made matter, he
proceeds, "and this being shown, it must be granted that the being is,
necessarily, all-powerful." Nothing of the kind need be granted. If it
were true that it was demonstrated that the infinite being (God) made
matter, it would not prove him able to make anything else; it might show
the being cause enough for that effect, but does not demonstrate him
cause for all effects. So that if no better argument can be found to
prove God all-powerful, his omnipotence remains unproved.
Mr. Gillespie's last proposition is that the being (God) whose existence
he has so satisfactorily (?) made out is necessarily completely happy.
In dealing with this proposition, Mr. Gillespie talks of unhappiness as
existing in various kinds and degrees. But, to adopt his own style of
argument, unhappiness either began to be, or it never began to be. That
it never began to be is evident in this, that whatever began to be must
have had a cause, for whatever begins to be must have a cause. And
the cause of unhappiness must be of unhappiness, for what is not of
unhappiness can not make unhappiness begin to be. But unhappiness being
before unhappiness began to be is a contradiction; therefore unhappiness
is of infinity of duration. But proposition 5, part 2, says there is but
one being of infinity of duration. The one being of infinity of duration
is therefore necessarily unhappy. Mr. Gillespie's arguments recoil on
himself, and are destructive of his own affirmations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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