An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of AssentNewman, John Henry
Religion
An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent
Newman, John Henry
Faith; Theism
And secondly, I mean by belief, not precisely faith, because faith,
in its theological sense, includes a belief, not only in the thing
believed, but also in the ground of believing; that is, not only
belief in certain doctrines, but belief in them expressly because God
has revealed them; but here I am engaged only with what is called the
material object of faith, not with the formal,—with the thing believed.
The Almighty witnesses to Himself in Revelation; we believe that He
is One and that He is Three, because He says so. We believe also what
He tells us about His Attributes, His providences and dispensations,
His determinations and acts, what He has done and what He will do. And
if all this is too much for us, whether to bring before our minds at
one time from its variety, or even to apprehend at all or enunciate
from our narrowness of intellect or want of learning, then at least
we believe _in globo_ all that He has revealed to us about Himself,
and that, because He has revealed it. However, this “because He says
it” does not enter into the scope of the present inquiry, but only
the truths themselves, and these particular truths, “He is One,” “He
is Three;” and of these two, both of which are in Revelation, I shall
consider “He is One,” not as a revealed truth, but as, what it is also,
a natural truth, the foundation of all religion. And with it I begin.
§ 1. Belief in One God.
There is one GOD, such and such in Nature and Attributes.
I say “such and such,” for, unless I explain what I mean by “one God,”
I use words which may mean any thing or nothing. I may mean a mere
_anima mundi_; or an initial principle which once was in action and now
is not; or collective humanity. I speak then of the God of the Theist
and of the Christian: a God who is numerically One, who is Personal;
the Author, Sustainer, and Finisher of all things, the life of Law and
Order, the Moral Governor; One who is Supreme and Sole; like Himself,
unlike all things besides Himself, which all are but His creatures;
distinct from, independent of them all; One who is self-existing,
absolutely infinite, who has ever been and ever will be, to whom
nothing is past or future; who is all perfection, and the fulness and
archetype of every possible excellence, the Truth Itself, Wisdom, Love,
Justice, Holiness; One who is All-powerful, All-knowing, Omnipresent,
Incomprehensible. These are some of the distinctive prerogatives which
I ascribe unconditionally and unreservedly to the great Being whom I
call God.
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