The Primacy of Existence in Metaphysics -From Reason Reigns:
Since existence comes before consciousness, since reality exists independent of any perceiver's consciousness: an existent, like God, can exist though no human is aware of such existence.
e.g. A cancer cure may exist even if no human as yet has knowledge of it.
“God is all-good and all-loving. He is not a sadist. Neither is He malevolent nor whimsical. He is just, firm, and steadfast. His creations share the same attributes: nature is governed by laws that are unchanging.
Every creation of God has an identity that was, is, will always be, and had to be. Whether a man’s understanding of nature is real or not, true or false, right or wrong, depends on its correspondence to a thing’s identity.
God is so benevolent that the laws of nature are absolute. They are not subject to change by time, whims, nor even by prayers. They are not open to anyone’s choice. They remain constant to the good as well as to evil.
God is so just that the laws of nature are knowable by every man. They are not revelations arbitrarily disclosed to a favored few. God is so loving that He has gifted man with the faculties to understand nature.
Every man who chooses to use God’s endowments reaps benefits. Those who do not, constantly fear the unknown; they follow, copy, or repeat mindlessly. In the face of alternatives, they are never certain whom to imitate or what to borrow. They might choose to rule those who do use their minds, by force, or by the thinkers’ overly generous goodwill or unearned guilt.
It is necessary to build defensive structures against those who might use force.”
The Facebook Note
Related articles:
Can reason and faith coexist, PARALLEL to each other, in the same man?
Part 1 - Excerpt from Reason Reigns
Part 2: Objectivist-Thomist
St. Thomas Aquinas and the Founders are the proof that reason and faith can coexist, parallel to each other, in the same man. Like them, their moral descendants revere reason, freedom, and happiness....
10 comments:
I greatly appreciate this comment on my FB Note -
Anthony M. Lanzetta wrote: "Never yet has a God been defined in terms which were not palpably self-contradictory and absurd; never yet has a God been described so that a concept of Him was made possible to human thought. Penda of Mercia"
The comment was on a thread that contained a link to the FB Note.
God gifted each person w/ reason, free will, & sexual capacity that he/she may be independent, happy, & able to experience ecstasy. Recognizing man's nature, the Founders instituted individual rights & declared: pursue happiness!
Self-sacrifice is masochism & sanctioning it is sadism. Sacrifice-profiteers, e.g. Obama & theocracy warriors, have the mark of evil.
http://ilynross.blogspot.com/2011/03/god-is-so-benevolent-that-laws-of.html
Every act or inaction of man has inevitable consequences; God lets man go through those consequences. He respects the laws of nature, including free will.
He has given us everything needed for happiness: the mind, body, this planet, and the universe.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2111174/Intelligent-people-less-likely-to-believe-in-God.html
Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, & Jose Rizal were polymaths & polyglots. They believed in God - they were deists.
Aristotle, whose ideas & achievements continue to carry the world, & Thomas Aquinas, who ended the Middle Ages & ushered in the Renaissance, were deists.
John Locke, George Washington, Thomas Paine, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, & Charles Darwin were deists.
http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_deist.html
Ilyn you are amazing. I am enjoying your work so very much. Thank you!
Thank you, Chris :)
I don't know why children can be the victims of heinous crimes like rape and murder, why they can be ravaged with diseases, like cancer and autism, or why they can be used by evil people, like those who use kids as suicide bombers.
Even without my dream, my husband would have had the operation. What my dream provided was Divine Comfort before, during, and after the operation, and the certainty that God exists.
Metaphysical reality never changes. The Earth revolves around the sun. Man has volition. Male humans do not get pregnant.
Knowledge progresses, but the laws of nature do not change.
Does God respect free will? Yes.
Does God respect humans, thus, does not render them zombies? Yes.
From Reason Reigns:
“God is all-good and all-loving. He is not a sadist. Neither is He malevolent nor whimsical. He is just, firm, and steadfast. His creations share the same attributes: nature is governed by laws that are unchanging.
Every creation of God has an identity that was, is, will always be, and had to be. Whether a man’s understanding of nature is real or not, true or false, right or wrong, depends on its correspondence to a thing’s identity.
God is so benevolent that the laws of nature are absolute. They are not subject to change by time, whims, nor even by prayers. They are not open to anyone’s choice. They remain constant to the good as well as to evil.
God is so just that the laws of nature are knowable by every man. They are not revelations arbitrarily disclosed to a favored few. God is so loving that He has gifted man with the faculties to understand nature."
http://ilynross.blogspot.com/2011/03/god-is-so-benevolent-that-laws-of.html
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=630111410351317&set=a.545545795474546.140572.544180145611111&type=1&theater
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