Hodge
answers this question in a two-fold way:
If the question be, Whether a man can emancipate himself
from the conviction that there is a personal Being to whom he is responsible
for his character and conduct, and who will punish him for his sins; it must be
answered in the negative. For that would be to emancipate him from the moral
law, which is impossible. If, however, the question means, Whether a man may,
by speculation or otherwise, bring himself into such a state as to lose the
consciousness of the belief of God as written in his heart, and free himself,
for a time, from its power; it must be answered affirmatively. A man may, in this
sense, deny his individuality or identity; the real, objective existence of
soul or body, mind or matter; the distinction between right and wrong. But this
is unnatural and cannot last. It is like deflecting a spring by force. The
moment the force is removed, the spring returns to its normal position.1
1 Charles Hodge, Systematic
Theology (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1940), I, p. 242.
PREVIOUS
NEXT
No comments:
Post a Comment