From Reformation to Reformation

After the Nature of God, His Attributes ought to be regarded, so called because they are attributed by us to God: which same things are...

γ. The Faculty of Power operative externally is added, which independently, and with all Passive Power excluded, is applicable to God....

β. The next Spiritual Faculty of the divine Essence is Will, or that Perfection of the Living God whereby in a most perfect manner He is...

3. α. The first Spiritual Faculty, with which God, as a Living Spiritual Substance, is furnished, is Intellect, which is expressly...

2. God is Living Substance, just as Life is attributed to God everywhere in the Sacred Scriptures, both by Himself, John 5:26, and by...

1. We saw above in § 13, that it is better to call God a Spirit than a Substance, when it is asked, What is God with respect to Essence...

What things occur at this point are without difficulty. The Papists here imitate the Jacobites, so called after one Jacob, a Syrian, an...

They are Practical Anthropomorphites, whoever think that the Essence of God is able to be represented by Images: or even represent God to...

DITTON,[1] in his Dissertatione de Materia non cogitante, chapter XIII, pages 592, 593, etc., observes against Spinoza, that these truths...

As far as Spinoza is concerned, the Most Eminent NIEUWENTYT observes, Gronden van Zherheid, part IV, chapter III, pages 250-255, that he...

Among the more recent Anthropomorphites, our AUTHOR names theoretically Vorstius, who in his notis on Disputation III de Deo, pages 199-203, thinks that in the future age, when we shall no longer be flesh and blood, but ἰσάγγελοι, angel-like,[1] and spiritual, we are going to see God; which opinion he sets over against that of others, who speak here of the vision of the mind only, not of the eyes, or of an internal, not external, and true contemplation. And he believes that t

The Anthropomorphites state the contrary, called Anthropomorphites after their error, because the attribute to the highest God μορφὴν ἀνθρώπου, the form of a man; of which sort were the Ancient Audian Monks, followers of Audius or Audæus; they lived in the fourth Century, originating in Mesopotamia.[1] AUGUSTINE, in his de Hæresibus, chapter L, relates concerning them: “Those that they called Audians (and Epiphanius maintains that they appeared to be schismatics, not heretics

The Rationale of Scripture is added, with an argument sought from the highest Perfection of God, which by no means admits corporeal Extension; but pronounces God to be without all matter. For, since all matter is extended, and every extended thing has parts, is composite, divisible, liable to change, which is not able to conceive motion unless impelled by another, nor to restrain motion, but is necessarily moved according to the manner of the external impulse; Body and matte

But when we say that God is Spirit with respect to Essence, we speak with the Scripture , which not only Hypostatically makes use of the term Spirit for God, to designate the third Person of the Trinity, but also thus designates God Essentially considered, John 4:24, πνεῦμα ὁ Θεός, God is a Spirit , supplying ἐστί/ is . For the verb ζητεῖ, He seeketh , is not to be supplied out of verse 23, as Socinus maintains, opera , tome 2, page 439 b , “The Greek Codex,” says he, “

In the Description of God just given the Nature or Essence of God occurs first to be considered: our AUTHOR advises that this is ascribed to God with good reason ; and there is to be no scrupulous abstention from these terms. He thus advises obviously against the Antitrinitarians , who contend, as MARESIUS [1] observes in his Systemate Theologico , common place II, § 4, page 47, that these words are used profanely and incorrectly of God. And indeed, 1. not only was this

It is also able to be noted, what we said concerning the impossibility of a perfect Definition of God, against those that go overboard in commending the Definition of God by which He is called the most perfect Being , which our AUTHOR says is actually a most imperfect Definition ; since, 1. only the more remote Genus is here given, and it is not clearly determined whether by this Being is understood Substance or Accident; and, if Substance, whether Spirit or Body? 2. When It

And that is what in the second place in this § our AUTHOR proves, that the divine Essence is not able to be fully comprehended by us . Which, α. is evident from Experience, with the consent of the ancient Philosophers firmly established; to which pertains that which CICERO narrates concerning the Philosopher Simonides , [1] book I de Natura Deorum , chapter XXII, “When the tyrant Hiero [2] asked, what or of what sort is God, requested one day for himself for the sake of

God is not able to be Perfectly defined, as one being measured according to the rules of Logic ; because, α. He is not composed of Parts; for what is defined, as existing in the category of substance, is composed of a substantial genus and a form or substantial difference, characterized by which difference an Entity is differentiated from, and specific with respect to, its genus: but God is simple, free from composition. β. Neither does He admit a Univocal categorical Genus

Concerning the Insanity of the ancient Atheism and the Impiety of the new Atheism, consult LEYDEKKER, [1] in his Veritate Euangelica triumphante , tome I, book II, chapters III, IV. The Insanity of Atheism is briefly and palpably demonstrated by GERARDUS VAN AALST [2] in his præfatione ante Explicationem Parabolæ de Satore , * 1-4. Concerning Atheism , see STAPFER laboriously discoursing in his Theologicæ polemicæ , tome 2, chapter VI, pages 586-741, in which, 1. he g

GROTIUS, in de Veritate Christianæ Religionis , book I, § 2, 7, evinces that there is a God . SPANHEIM the Younger in his tractate, which is called l’Athée convaincu en quatre Sermons sur Psalm 14:1, with remarkable ability gives proof of the Existence of God against the Atheists , making use of these arguments: α. From the history of the Church, handed down to posterity in Sacred Scripture. For, if there is no God, 1. There was never a divine Vision or Revelation, never P