Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1859-05-06
From the North American Review.
THE DIVINE NATURE.---CHRIsTIAN
THEfsN AND PANTHEISM.

of the universe, competent to the mira
culous or supernatural attestations Of his
win claimed by Christianity, depends on
no precarious argument. Whether we
argue a B,iori, from the insight Of rea-
son, or aPosteriori, from effect TO cause,
the demonstration is alike certain. No
other view than that which recognizes
such God satisfies the demands Of en-
lightened reason. Man the finite looks
for the infinite, but does not find II, until
he finds il in God able to create as well
as to govern material nature. More
over, il God does not create matter,
then God belongs to matter as much as
matter TO God. They are either one
selt-existent substance or they are, as
some ancient philosophers maintained,
two sell-existent substances, equally en-
throned side by side in the eternity. We
are not, then, to worship God alone, as
the enthroned Creator OF all things but
to regard him as rivalled, displaced, oc-
cupying only half throne. Spirit and
matter are coequal But when we con-
template God as both creating and con-
trolling material nature with reference to
a wise and benevolent end, the highest
demand of reason is satisfied. Such a
God we may all see we need, to have the
care of us, and to be the object of our
enlightened and affectionate homage
If we argue a posteriori, from effect
to cause, the proof is no less sure. We
do not, indeed, comprehend the power
that creates either a particle of matter or
a finite spirit; it passeth all understand
ing No more do we comprehend the
power which causes a new species to be-
gin to exist, or which works miracle of
any kind but we know that new species
hare been caused to exist, and we have
unquestionable proof that miracles have
been wrought.
But in admitting the evidence of a
God, who is the Creator and Disposer Of
material nature, we do not need to sup
pose that in a whole past eternity he has
existed alone,-a suppositiou at which
some minds revolt. As he eternally had
the power to create and destroy at his
pleasure, it is not for us to say that he
has not eternaily used it. Tn the begin
ming God created the heavens and the
earth ! but this may refer to the begin
ming Of the present economy. Whether
other economies have come and gone, al
the almighty fiat, in past eternal ages,
we are not informed. All that Christian
theism claims on this point is, that God
is an infinite personal Spirit, the Creator
Of all, and the righteous Ruler of all in
the interests of his spiritual family
Here the finite spirit finds its Infinite
Father; here the dependent soul finds
its God. Man is a person, and can ra-
ti0nally love and worship only person
al being. This Is the reason why fetic-
ism and all kinds Of idolatry are so de-
basing. None but being both personal
and infinite could be the Father and
Maker Of man none but such being
can man truly love and worship as God.
The stream cannot rise above the foun-
tain, the less cannot give existence to the
greater. II man has the high and dis
tinguishing ran k Of personality, his
Maker and Father cannot have less. II
is certain, from the constitution of the
soul, that man was made TO love and
worship but as the affections have be-
ings, and moi things, for their object, be
cannot in justice 70 himself love and
worship any other than a personal and
infinite God, such as Christianity reveals.
Paniheism teaches that the universe
is a system OF Development, made through
and in accordance with eternal principles
Of intelligence. But development i'm
plies the existence already, IN embryo
Of that which is to be developed. Thus
a boy al a certain age develops his molars,
which existed in embryo ia the jaw
when it was formed. All creatures with
which We are acquainted first exist 10
embryo add the embryo IS the product,
not Of development, but Of creating or
producing power. The embryo mus,
frs. exist, or II eannot be developed. and
il cannot exist without q cause. As one
species is nof developed into another, the
frsl parents Of any species must have
been caused to exist by power before
and above them. And what e.sn panthe-
ism mean BY an eternal principle of IN
telIigenee' working IN nature A prin-
ciple Is reason Of rule BY which b.
iag works. Il dOes not itseif work
Neither is principle Intelligent; for in-
teiligence Is tie property 81 3 mind