Posted on 01/27/2003 10:05:20 AM PST by ksen
Institutes of the Christian Religion
Book I: The Knowledge of God the Creator
Chapter 3. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD HAS BEEN NATURALLY IMPLANTED IN THE HUMAN MIND.
Section 1: The character of this natural endowment
That there exists in the human minds and indeed by natural instinct, some sense of Deity, we hold to be beyond dispute, since God himself, to prevent any man from pretending ignorance, has endued all men with some idea of his Godhead, the memory of which he constantly renews and occasionally enlarges, that all to a man being aware that there is a God, and that he is their Maker, may be condemned by their own conscience when they neither worship him nor consecrate their lives to his service. Certainly, if there is any quarter where it may be supposed that God is unknown, the most likely for such an instance to exist is among the dullest tribes farthest removed from civilisation. But, as a heathen tells us, there is no nation so barbarous, no race so brutish, as not to be imbued with the conviction that there is a God. Even those who, in other respects, seem to differ least from the lower animals, constantly retain some sense of religion; so thoroughly has this common conviction possessed the mind, so firmly is it stamped on the breasts of all men. Since, then, there never has been, from the very first, any quarter of the globe, any city, any household even, without religion, this amounts to a tacit confession, that a sense of Deity is inscribed on every heart.
Nay, even idolatry is ample evidence of this fact. For we know how reluctant man is to lower himself, in order to set other creatures above him. Therefore, when he chooses to worship wood and stone rather than be thought to have no God, it is evident how very strong this impression of a Deity must be; since it is more difficult to obliterate it from the mind of man, than to break down the feelings of his nature, - these certainly being broken down, when, in opposition to his natural haughtiness, he spontaneously humbles himself before the meanest object as an act of reverence to God.
Section 2: Religion is no arbitrary invention
It is most absurd, therefore, to maintain, as some do, that religion was devised by the cunning and craft of a few individuals, as a means of keeping the body of the people in due subjection, while there was nothing which those very individuals, while teaching others to worship God, less believed than the existence of a God. I readily acknowledge, that designing men have introduced a vast number of fictions into religion, with the view of inspiring the populace with reverence or striking them with terror, and thereby rendering them more obsequious; but they never could have succeeded in this, had the minds of men not been previously imbued will that uniform belief in God, from which, as from its seed, the religious propensity springs. And it is altogether incredible that those who, in the matter of religion, cunningly imposed on their ruder neighbours, were altogether devoid of a knowledge of God. For though in old times there were some, and in the present day not a few are found, who deny the being of a God, yet, whether they will or not, they occasionally feel the truth which they are desirous not to know. We do not read of any man who broke out into more unbridled and audacious contempt of the Deity than C. Caligula, and yet none showed greater dread when any indication of divine wrath was manifested. Thus, however unwilling, he shook with terror before the God whom he professedly studied to condemn. You may every day see the same thing happening to his modern imitators. The most audacious despiser of God is most easily disturbed, trembling at the sound of a falling leaf. How so, unless in vindication of the divine majesty, which smites their consciences the more strongly the more they endeavour to flee from it. They all, indeed, look out for hiding-places where they may conceal themselves from the presence of the Lord, and again efface it from their mind; but after all their efforts they remain caught within the net. Though the conviction may occasionally seem to vanish for a moment, it immediately returns, and rushes in with new impetuosity, so that any interval of relief from the gnawing of conscience is not unlike the slumber of the intoxicated or the insane, who have no quiet rest in sleep, but are continually haunted with dire horrific dreams. Even the wicked themselves, therefore, are an example of the fact that some idea of God always exists in every human mind.
Section 3: Actual goodness is impossible
All men of sound judgement will therefore hold, that a sense of Deity is indelibly engraven on the human heart. And that this belief is naturally engendered in all, and thoroughly fixed as it were in our very bones, is strikingly attested by the contumacy of the wicked, who, though they struggle furiously, are unable to extricate themselves from the fear of God. Though Diagoras, and others of like stamps make themselves merry with whatever has been believed in all ages concerning religion, and Dionysus scoffs at the judgement of heaven, it is but a Sardonian grin; for the worm of conscience, keener than burning steel, is gnawing them within. I do not say with Cicero, that errors wear out by age, and that religion increases and grows better day by day. For the world (as will be shortly seen) labours as much as it can to shake off all knowledge of God, and corrupts his worship in innumerable ways. I only say, that, when the stupid hardness of heart, which the wicked eagerly court as a means of despising God, becomes enfeebled, the sense of Deity, which of all things they wished most to be extinguished, is still in vigour, and now and then breaks forth. Whence we infer, that this is not a doctrine which is first learned at school, but one as to which every man is, from the womb, his own master; one which nature herself allows no individual to forget, though many, with all their might, strive to do so.
Moreover, if all are born and live for the express purpose of learning to know God, and if the knowledge of God, in so far as it fails to produce this effect, is fleeting and vain, it is clear that all those who do not direct the whole thoughts and actions of their lives to this end fail to fulfil the law of their being. This did not escape the observation even of philosophers. For it is the very thing which Plato meant (in Phoed. et Theact.) when he taught, as he often does, that the chief good of the soul consists in resemblance to God; i.e., when, by means of knowing him, she is wholly transformed into him. Thus Gryllus, also, in Plutarch, (lib. guod bruta anim. ratione utantur,) reasons most skilfully, when he affirms that, if once religion is banished from the lives of men, they not only in no respect excel, but are, in many respects, much more wretched than the brutes, since, being exposed to so many forms of evil, they continually drag on a troubled and restless existence: that the only thing, therefore, which makes them superior is the worship of God, through which alone they aspire to immortality.
Yup. Prophets prophesy, and Saul did (I Sam. 10:10; 19:24). So yes, Saul was a Prophet.
But then again, so were Balaam and Caiaphas. This does not mean that they were Saved... just that God directed their tongues for His purposes.
John the Baptist, OTOH, was "filled" with the Holy Spirit "even from his mother's womb". This seems to me to be qualitatively different language than God's direction over the tongues of Saul or Balaam or Caiaphas.
I'd add the cases of the "such is the Kingdom" infants as another example of im-mediate, infant regeneration also, while I am thinking about it.
As always, IMHO. best, op
First of all, Good to hear from you again! Second of all, i was not really emphasising epistomology, i was more concerned with the_doc's comment about how Edwards has been misunderstood. It does have an effect on what we are, since Hodge (among others) is still used in many Reformed Seminaries.
Perhaps as a percursor we can start a thread on the epistemology of the movie, "The Matrix". We give everybody a week to see or review the movie and discuss the notion of 'immediate knowledge' as it is laid out in the movie.
You mean it actually had a plot????
I'd add the cases of the "such is the Kingdom" infants as another example of im-mediate, infant regeneration also, while I am thinking about it.
Well, i certainly don't argue about whether or not John was filled from his Mother's womb, that is undeniebly scriptural (Luke 1:15). What i am actually trying to discern in the matter is whether or not the knowlege of John the Baptist in the womb was immediate. IMHO, we are arguing from silence on the issue, while it is admitted that the media for John the Baptist would be more restrictive than it would be for others, it does not follow that a media did not exist. We do know that unborn infants do have some contact with the external world...i recall the picture that Drudge posted of a surgeon working on a pre-born infant...the child reached outside the incision on the mother and grasped the surgeon's finger...enough to chill the blood of anyone who is part of the "child-murder-in-the-guise-of-woman's-health-care" industry, assuming they still have a heart to pump the chilled blood. None-the-less, we still must prove that the knowlege is immediate imputation
Well, your objection is strictly speaking correct and, I think, virtually unarguable.
I don't think that it is proveable that, among other factors, the external influence of the mother is not a "media" used by God in the Regeneration of infants (and such very well may be). I don't think one can prove that it is, either; but the objection is valid and returns Im-mediate Imputation to the realm of Theory, possible but unproven.
John the Baptist and the "such is the Kingdom" infants are cases of Infant Regeneration which I would think of as examples of "immediate imputation", but the "im-mediacy" of the imputation is not explicitly proven by the Bible.
Even so, your point of regenerated infants is quite valid. God can and does ordain the means (if and where they in fact exist) of regeneration. It seems to me that Samuel would be another example of such, although i would have to familiarise myself with the appropriate sections to form an opinion.
Have you ever wondered why it is that we cannot bloody well think of these matters when we need to, such as on the "do babies go to heaven thread?
Many that post here on FR need that to be understood..they think the contention "drives away the lost" ..but this is not for the unbeliever it is for those that want to rightly divide the word of God..it is for the saved..the unsaved do not hear or understand it..that is a different ministry
There is only one record of a man being filled with the Holy Spirit in the OT that is found in Exodus 31 (an artisan )
Exd 31:3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
Other than that ONE man the Spirit of God was ON them not IN them in the OT
Would not his leaping indicate an immediate knowlege? He recognized the savior's presence and reacted to it.In a way he gave a testimony to his mother with that leap
The scripture says that Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, but that is not to say that John did not hear it. As you well know, six month pre-born infants can hear, feel, etc.
While one can question how he knew that Mary was carrying Jesus at the time, there is still the issue of the "media" of Mary's salutation. We are still in the precarious position of trying to make doctrine from silence, unless someone else has insights that we have missed.
Hey! that is exactly how I would describe the development of the Calvinistic system!
Oh, no this cannot be!
Calvin will just ignore what he wrote when he gets to Book 3, Chapter 21 (Election)
Ha, Ha, darkened the 'understanding' of a 'spiritual corpse'.
What happened to the 'corpse' analogy?
Maybe that went the way of OP's explaination that Satan blinded those who were already blind (2Cor.4:4)
Now, back to the question, no, it is not God who darkens their understanding, it is they who reject what God has revealed (Rom.1:21)
Then, God turns them over to their own delusions (2Thess.2:11)
And this from someone who used to pride themselves in being 'honest'!
Very sad to see how far you have fallen from that lofty position.
But evil campanions will corrupt good communications'(1Cor.15:33)
You would think so!
But this is Calvinism we are talking about here and truth becomes whatever they say it is, like Pink saying that the rich young ruler had to be saved because Christ love him!
And that's a good thing.
Corin just because you have a sense of something does not mean you have it or an ability to do it..God has planted in every man the knowlege that there is a God..but with out His grace they will never desire it..
If I pretend that you have a Scottish accent while reading your words, then it makes it all the more of a good read!
Thanks!
Jean
Gi'us here th bloody haggis, an a wee dram o'th usquibah...heav awa lads, i'm nae ded yet!
Nah, not really. Sometimes we all have a tendency to be like Cypher. ;?O
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