The Truth of Christianity: Being an Examination of the More Important Arguments For and Against Believing in That ReligionTurton, W. H. (William Harry)
Religion
The Truth of Christianity: Being an Examination of the More Important Arguments For and Against Believing in That Religion
Turton, W. H. (William Harry)
Apologetics
The case, it should be noticed, is not like that of a tree, which
may be popularly said to be the same now as it was ten years ago,
though every particle of it has changed in the interval. For as far
as we know, the tree has nothing which connects its present state
with its former state, it has no memory of what happened to it then.
We _have_, that is just the difference. We can remember now what
happened to us ten years ago, though our bodies now do not contain a
single atom or molecule which they did then. We must, therefore,
have something else besides atoms and molecules, in other words,
something _immaterial_; and if so, there is an end of materialism in
its only logical form.
This theory then cannot possibly be accepted, and we must abide by
our inherent conviction that we have a mind as well as a body. This
is an ultimate fact in human nature; and we are as certain of it as
we are of anything, though like some other ultimate facts it has to
be assumed, because it can be neither proved nor doubted.
(_B._) MAN'S MORAL ATTRIBUTES.
We pass on now to man's moral attributes, which we will consider in
detail.
(1.) _Man possesses a will._
In the first place man possesses what, in common language, is called
a _will_. Strictly speaking, of course, the will is not anything
independent of the man, which he _possesses_, as he might possess a
dog; it is the man himself _who wills_, or who possesses the power
of willing. But the common language is so generally understood, that
it will be used here. Now the chief reason for believing that man
has a will is his own inherent conviction. He feels certain that he
does possess a will which is distinct from his body and his mind,
though closely associated with both, and apparently to some extent
controlling both. For example, I may resolve to raise my hand, and
then do it; or I may resolve to think out a problem, and then do it.
In each case the will is felt to be something distinct from the
subsequent bodily or mental action.
(2.) _Man's acts are partly determined by his will._
In the next place, a man's acts (and also his thoughts) are partly
determined by his will. By this is meant that a man's will is able
to move his limbs, so that, for instance, he can raise his hand when
he wishes, and this gives him the power of determining his acts. It
is not meant that a man's will can move his limbs directly; his
limbs are moved by his muscles, which are directed by his nerves,
and these by certain motions in the brain. All that the will can do
is to give a particular direction to these motions, which, combined
with various other forces, brings about the observed result.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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