And, in consequence of this, must we not think there
are no such things as physical or corporeal causes; but that a
Spirit is the immediate cause of all the phenomena in nature? Can
there be anything more extravagant than this?
. Yes, it is infinitely more extravagant to say -- a
thing which is inert operates on the mind, and which is
unperceiving is the cause of our perceptions, [without any regard
either to consistency, or the old known axiom, to another that which it hath not itself>].[9] Besides, that
which to you, I know not for what reason, seems so extravagant is
no more than the Holy Scriptures assert in a hundred places. In
them God is represented as the sole and immediate Author of all
those effects which some heathens and philosophers are wont to
ascribe to Nature, Matter, Fate, or the like unthinking
principle. This is so much the constant language of Scripture
that it were needless to confirm it by citations.
. You are not aware, Philonous, that in making God the
immediate Author of all the motions in nature, you make Him the
Author of murder, sacrilege, adultery, and the like heinous sins.
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