(_c_) A third view affirms that while there is a distinction
between the Ego and the non-Ego (the me and the not-me), it is
impossible to know anything about either in its essence. That
they exist and that they are different are facts within our
knowledge, but as to the absolute nature of mind and matter we
can discover and believe nothing. The ultimate or absolute is
beyond our reach, as is the infinite and unconditioned. We can
have no knowledge of First Causes, or of the Ultimate Cause, or
of the Absolute Cause. The infinite cannot even be apprehended,
and those who undertake to learn or to speculate regarding the
infinite engage in a task beyond their powers. Such knowledge is
not practical. The term "God" is merely an expression for a mode
of the unknowable, conveying no meaning to those who use it. The
view thus expressed originated in concessions unhappily made by
certain writers, as Sir William Hamilton and Dean Mansel, who,
thinking to defend revealed religion, taught that reason cannot
know the Infinite, and that therefore the Infinite must reveal
Himself. Herbert Spencer took advantage of this concession, and
carried it to a logical conclusion, when he argued that, if
reason could not know or apprehend the Infinite by reason,
neither could it by revelation.
(_d_) Another class hold the view which is termed cosmogonies
than that of Moses, whether contained in the sacred books of
religions that have long existed, or professing to be based on
modern scientific discovery, raise difficulties that are
insuperable. Whence came matter if not from the creative word of
God? To assign eternity to it is to invest it with an attribute
that is Divine, and Pantheists carry such an explanation to its
logical conclusion when they affirm that the universe is God.
The existence of a single atom is an unfathomable mystery. Man
cannot create or destroy even a particle of matter. How
overwhelming, then, if we reject the simple statement of the
Bible, is the mystery of the great universe, in whose extended
space suns, planets, stars, and systems unceasingly revolve, and
in which our own world is but a little speck. All things created
point to God as their origin and source. "The invisible things
of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power
and Godhead."[027]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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