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| If God Had Anyhow Checked Man's Liberty, Marcion Would Have Been Ready with Another and Opposite Cavil. Man's Fall Foreseen by God. Provision Made for It Remedially and Consistently with His Truth and Goodness. PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP
Chapter VII.—If God
Had Anyhow Checked Man’s Liberty, Marcion Would Have Been Ready
with Another and Opposite Cavil. Man’s Fall Foreseen by God.
Provision Made for It Remedially and Consistently with His Truth and
Goodness.
By such a conclusion all is reserved2801 unimpaired to God; both His natural
goodness, and the purposes of His governance and foreknowledge, and the
abundance of His power. You ought, however, to deduct from God’s
attributes both His supreme earnestness of purpose2802 and most excellent truth in His whole
creation, if you would cease to inquire whether anything could have
happened against the will of God. For, while holding this earnestness
and truth of the good God, which are indeed2803
2803 Sed, for scilicet, not
unfrequent with our author. |
capable of proof from the rational creation, you will not wonder at the
fact that God did not interfere to prevent the occurrence of what He
wished not to happen, in order that He might keep from harm what He
wished. For, since He had once for all allowed (and, as we have shown,
worthily allowed) to man freedom of will and mastery of himself, surely
He from His very authority in creation permitted these gifts to
be enjoyed: to be enjoyed, too, so far as lay in Himself, according to
His own character as God, that is, for good (for who would permit
anything hostile to himself?); and, so far as lay in man, according to
the impulses of his liberty (for who does not, when giving anything to
any one to enjoy, accompany the gift with a permission to enjoy it with
all his heart and will?). The necessary consequence,2804
2804 That is, from the
Marcionite position referred to in the second sentence of this chapter,
in opposition to that of Tertullian which follows. | therefore, was, that God must separate from
the liberty which He had once for all bestowed upon man (in other
words, keep within Himself), both His foreknowledge and power, through
which He might have prevented man’s falling into danger when
attempting wrongly to enjoy his liberty. Now, if He had interposed, He
would have rescinded the liberty of man’s will, which He had
permitted with set purpose, and in goodness. But, suppose God had
interposed; suppose Him to have abrogated man’s liberty, by
warning him from the tree, and keeping off the subtle serpent from his
interview with the woman; would not Marcion then exclaim, What a
frivolous, unstable, and faithless Lord, cancelling the gifts He had
bestowed! Why did He allow any liberty of will, if He afterwards
withdrew it? Why withdraw it after allowing it? Let Him choose where to
brand Himself with error, either in His original constitution of man,
or in His subsequent abrogation thereof! If He had checked (man’s
freedom), would He not then seem to have been rather deceived, through
want of foresight into the future? But in giving it full scope, who
would not say that He did so in ignorance of the issue of things? God,
however, did foreknow that man would make a bad use of his created
constitution; and yet what can be so worthy of God as His earnestness
of purpose, and the truth of His created works, be they what they
may? Man must see, if he failed to make the most of2805
2805 Si non bene
dispunxisset. | the good gift he had received, how that he
was himself guilty in respect of the law which he did not choose to
keep, and not that the Lawgiver was committing a fraud against His own
law, by not permitting its injunctions to be fulfilled. Whenever you
are inclined to indulge in such censure2806
(and it is the most becoming for you) against the Creator, recall
gently to your mind in His behalf2807
2807 Tibi insusurra pro
Creatore. | His
earnestness, and endurance, and truth, in having given
completeness2808 to His creatures
both as rational and good.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|