Chapter III

THAT THE EXISTENCE OF GOD IS EXTREMELY PROBABLE.

(_A._) MEANING OF THE TERM GOD.

The Personal Being who designed and created the universe.

(_B._) TWO OF GOD'S ATTRIBUTES.

Wisdom and Power. He is also Omnipresent.

(_C._) THE OBJECTION THAT GOD IS UNKNOWABLE.

This is partly true; but everything is unknowable in its
real nature, though in each case the partial knowledge
we can obtain is all we require.

(_D._) SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT.

The position in the argument at which we have now arrived is this. We showed in the last chapter that the Creator designed the universe; in other words, that when he created it, He foreknew its future history. And from this the next step, as to the existence of God, is quite plain; in fact, it is merely a question of words.

(_A._) MEANING OF THE TERM GOD.

Now any being who is able to design we will call a _personal being_. And GOD is the name given to the Personal Being who designed and created the universe.

But it ought to be noticed, before we pass on, that the term _personal being_ is also applied to _man_, and is said by many writers to involve the three ideas of _thought_, _desire_, and _will_. But these seem to be all included in design; for if I design anything, I must first of all _think_ of it, then _wish_ it, and then _accomplish_ it.

We will examine in the next chapter whether man is a personal being as we have used the term; but if we admit that he is, we have another and independent argument in favour of the Creator being so too. For the Creator has somehow or other produced man, with all his attributes; so He cannot be a mere impersonal Being or Force, since a cause must be able to account for its effect. And a free and intelligent man cannot be due to a Force, which is neither free nor intelligent. Therefore, if man is a personal being, it follows that man's _Maker_ must be so too.

It should also be noticed that man's mind and spirit, which make him a personal being, cannot be discovered by any physical means. And this meets the objection that we cannot discover God by any physical means. It would be much more surprising if we could. But though the telescope can find no God in the heavens, just as the microscope can find no mind in man, the existence of each may be quite certain for other reasons. In popular language, all we can see is the _house_, not the _tenant_, in either case.

(_B_). TWO OF GOD'S ATTRIBUTES.

We must next notice somewhat carefully two of God's attributes, _Wisdom_ and _Power_. Both of these are involved in the idea of a Personal Being able to design. For _design_, as used in this Essay, means originating or freely doing anything, as well as previously planning it. Therefore, if we use the word, as is often done, for planning alone, we must remember that a personal being is one who can both design and accomplish. The former implies a mind able to form some plan, and the latter a free force, or will, able to carry it out. So a personal being must of necessity have _wisdom_ to design and _power_ to accomplish. And considering the vastness of the universe and the variety of its organisms, it seems only reasonable to conclude that the Creator possesses these attributes to the greatest possible extent, so that He is both Omniscient and Omnipotent.

It is important, however, to notice the meaning given to these words. By _Omniscient_, then, we mean possessing all possible knowledge. Now the only knowledge which might be thought impossible is how a free being would act in the future, and we have already shown that such knowledge is not in the nature of things impossible; so there does not seem to be any necessary restriction here.

But with _Omnipotent_ the case is different. This means, as just said, possessing all possible power; that is to say, being able to do anything which is not impossible. Of course some Christians may be inclined to answer, that _with God all things are possible_; but as He who said so began one of His own prayers with the words _if it be possible_, this cannot be taken in its widest sense.[2] And provided the word _impossible_ is used in its strict meaning, we have no reason for thinking that God could do impossible things; such as make a triangle with the properties of a circle, or allow a man a free choice between two alternatives, and yet force him to choose one of them. These, then, are two of the great attributes of God, Wisdom and Power. There is a third, which will be considered in