Berkeley, George
"Three Dialogues Between Hylas And Philonous"
. In answer to that, I observe, first, that the
imputation of guilt is the same, whether a person commits an
action with or without an instrument. In case therefore you
suppose God to act by the mediation of an instrument or occasion,
called , you as truly make Him the author of sin as I,
who think Him the immediate agent in all those operations
vulgarly ascribed to Nature. I farther observe that sin or moral
turpitude {237} doth not consist in the outward physical action
or motion, but in the internal deviation of the will from the
laws of reason and religion. This is plain, in that the killing
an enemy in a battle, or putting a criminal legally to death, is
not thought sinful; though the outward act be the very same with
that in the case of murder. Since, therefore, sin doth not
consist in the physical action, the making God an immediate cause
of all such actions is not making Him the Author of sin. Lastly,
I have nowhere said that God is the only agent who produces all
the motions in bodies.
Pages:
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145