651.凡理智皆认可，主不可能向任何人行恶，因此祂不可能将恶归给人；因为祂是爱本身和怜悯本身，因而是善本身，这些是其神性本质的属性。因此将恶，或与恶相关的事物归给主，就是将与其神性本质相背的东西归给祂，所以是一个矛盾。这就象是说将主与魔鬼，或天堂与地狱连接起来一样令人憎恶，然而这些事物之间存在无法逾越的鸿沟，“以致人要从这边过到你们那边是不能的；要从那边过到我们这边也是不能的（路加福音16:26）。”甚至天堂天人也不能向人行恶，因为主的善之本质在他里面；另一方面，地狱灵只会向他人行恶，因为魔鬼的邪恶性质在他里面。人在尘世为自己作成的本质或性质，死后不可能被改变。请你考虑一下，如果主愤怒地看待恶人，温和地看待善人（恶人数量不计其数，善人也一样），如果祂凭其恩典拯救一部分，而出于报复诅咒另一部分人，以如此不同的眼光—一种轻柔一种严厉，一种温和一种苛刻—看待这二者，那么主将是何种存在？这会将主神置于何地？凡在教会通过布道受教者，谁不知道所有本为善的良善皆来自主，另一方面，所有本为恶的邪恶皆来自魔鬼？所以，若人真在意愿中接受善与恶—善来自主，恶来自魔鬼—这二者，那么用主在启示录里的话说：
你既如温水，也不冷也不热，所以我必从我口中把你吐出去。（3:15，16）
651. 凡理智皆认可, 主不可能向任何人行恶, 因此祂不可能将恶归给人; 因为祂是爱本身和怜悯本身, 因而是善本身, 这些是其神性本质的属性。 因此将恶, 或与恶相关的事物归给主, 就是将与其神性本质相背的东西归给祂, 所以是一个矛盾。 这就象是说将主与魔鬼, 或天堂与地狱连接起来一样令人憎恶, 然而这些事物之间存在无法逾越的鸿沟, “以致人要从这边过到你们那边是不能的; 要从那边过到我们这边也是不能的 (路加福音16:26)。 ”甚至天堂天人也不能向人行恶, 因为主的善之本质在他里面; 另一方面, 地狱灵只会向他人行恶, 因为魔鬼的邪恶性质在他里面。 人在尘世为自己作成的本质或性质, 死后不可能被改变。 请你考虑一下, 如果主愤怒地看待恶人, 温和地看待善人 (恶人数量不计其数, 善人也一样), 如果祂凭其恩典拯救一部分, 而出于报复诅咒另一部分人, 以如此不同的眼光—一种轻柔一种严厉, 一种温和一种苛刻—看待这二者, 那么主将是何种存在? 这会将主神置于何地? 凡在教会通过布道受教者, 谁不知道所有本为善的良善皆来自主, 另一方面, 所有本为恶的邪恶皆来自魔鬼? 所以, 若人真在意愿中接受善与恶—善来自主, 恶来自魔鬼—这二者, 那么用主在启示录里的话说:
你既如温水, 也不冷也不热, 所以我必从我口中把你吐出去。 (启示录3:15-16)
651. Reason, too, affirms that the Lord is not capable of doing anything evil to anyone. This means that he cannot ascribe evil to people, either. He is love itself, mercy itself, goodness itself. These are the attributes of his divine essence. Therefore for evil or anything like it to be an attribute of the Lord would go against his divine essence and would be inconsistent with himself. It would be as atrocious as combining the Lord and the Devil or heaven and hell, when nevertheless "There is a great gulf fixed between them, so that those who want to rise up from here to there cannot, and neither can those who want to cross from there to here" (Luke 16:26). Even the angels of heaven are unable to do anything evil to anyone, because of the essence of goodness they have from the Lord. On the other hand, spirits from hell cannot do anything but evil to others, because of the nature of evil they have from the Devil. (The essence or nature that each individual adopts in the world cannot be changed after death.)
[2] Ponder, if you would, what the Lord would be like if he regarded the evil with anger but the good with mercy. (There have been countless evil people and countless good people.) What if he saved the good because of his grace, but condemned the evil as an act of vengeance against them? What if he had one expression, a soft and lenient look, when he regarded the good, but another expression, a hard and ruthless look, when he regarded the evil? What sort of individual would the Lord God be?
Everyone who has heard sermons in church knows that everything intrinsically good comes from God and everything intrinsically evil comes from the Devil. If any one of us, then, were to accept both good and evil into ourselves willingly - good from the Lord and evil from the Devil - we would surely be neither cold nor hot but lukewarm, and would be spewed out, according to the Lord's words in Revelation 3:15-16.
651. Reason itself offers an additional guarantee that the Lord cannot do evil to anyone, and consequently cannot impute evil to him either; for He is love itself, mercy itself, and so good itself, and these are attributes of His Divine essence. To attribute evil, or anything to do with evil, to the Lord would be to attribute to Him something contrary to His Divine essence, and so a contradiction. This would be as unspeakable as linking the Lord and the devil, or heaven and hell. Yet between these 'there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who wish to pass from here to there cannot, neither can any pass from there to here' (Luke 16:26). Even an angel of heaven is incapable of doing evil to anyone, because the essence of good is put into him by the Lord; and in the opposite case a spirit in hell cannot do anything but evil to another, because of the evil nature put into him by the devil. The essence or nature, which anyone has made his own in the world, cannot be changed after death.
[2] Pray consider this point. What sort of Lord would He be, if He looked in anger on the wicked, but leniently on the good (the wicked number hundreds of millions, and so do the good); and if the Lord were to save one party by His grace and damn the other in revenge, looking on the two groups with such a different gaze, gently and mildly in one case and sternly and unyieldingly in the other? What would this make the Lord God? Everyone who has been taught by sermons in church knows that all good which is essentially good is from God, and on the other hand that all evil which is essentially evil is from the devil. So if a person were to receive both good and evil, good from the Lord, and evil from the devil, in both cases in the will, would he not become neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm, to be spat out, as the Lord's words have it in Revelation (Revelation 3:15-16)?
651. All reason agrees that the Lord cannot do evil to any man, consequently that He cannot impute evil to man; for He is Love itself and Mercy itself, thus Good itself; and these belong to His Divine Essence; therefore to attribute evil or anything belonging to evil to the Lord, would be inconsistent with His Divine Essence, and thus, a contradiction; and would be as abominable as joining together the Lord and the devil, or heaven and hell, when nevertheless,
Between them there is a great gulf fixed, so that they who would pass hence may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to this side (Luke 16:26).
Even an angel of heaven can do no evil to anyone, because the essence of good from the Lord is in him; and on the other hand, an infernal spirit can do nothing but evil to another, because the nature of evil from the devil is in him. The essence or nature which anyone makes his own in the world cannot be changed after death. Consider, I pray you, what sort of a being the Lord would be, if He were to look upon the wicked from anger, and upon the good from mercy (the evil numbering myriads of myriads and the good likewise), and were to save the good from grace, and damn the evil from a feeling of revenge, and were to look upon the two with so different an eye - gentle or stern, mild or severe. In that case, what would the Lord God be? Who that has been taught by preaching in churches does not know that all good that is in itself good is from God, and on the other hand, that all evil that is in itself evil is from the devil? If any man, therefore, were to receive both good and evil, - good from the Lord and evil from the devil - both of them in the will, would he not become neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm, and therefore be spewed out, according to the Lord's words in theApocalypse (3:15, 16)?
651. Reason itself assents to this, that the Lord cannot do evil to any man, and consequently cannot impute it to him; for He is Love itself and Mercy itself, thus Good itself, these being of His Divine Essence. Therefore to attribute evil, or any thing of evil, to the Lord would be contrary to His Divine Essence, and thus contradictory. It would be a heinous thing, like associating the Lord and the devil, or heaven and hell, when yet:
Between them "there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence" Luke 16:26.
Not even an angel of heaven can do evil to any one, because the essence of good from the Lord is in him; and on the other hand, a spirit of hell cannot but do evil to another, because the nature of evil from the devil is in him. The essence or nature which any one has appropriated to himself in the world cannot be changed after death.
Consider, I pray, what the nature of the Lord would be, if He were to regard the evil with anger, and the good with mercy, the evil and the good both in their myriads of myriads; and if He were to save the good by grace and condemn the evil from vengeance, looking on both with an eye so different, at once gentle and stern, mild and severe. What, then, would the Lord be? Every one knows from the instruction he has received in church preaching that all good, which is in itself good, is from God; and on the other hand, that all evil, which is in itself evil, is from the devil. If, therefore, any man should receive both good and evil, good from the Lord and evil from the devil, receiving both in the will, he would become neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm; and he would, therefore, be spewed out, according to the words of the Lord in the Revelation, chapter Revelation 3:15, 18.
651. Ipsa ratio adstipulatur, quod Dominus non possit alicui homini malum facere, proinde nec ei imputare, est enim Ipse Amor, Ipsa Misericordia, ita Ipsum Bonum, et haec sunt Divinae Essentiae Ipsius, quare malum, aut aliquid mali tribuere Domino, forent contraria Divinae Ipsius Essentiae, et sic contradictoria, et hoc foret ita nefandum, sicut 1 est conjungere Dominum et diabolum, ac Coelum et Infernum, cum tamen inter haec hiatus ingens firmatus est, ut qui volunt transcendere abhinc ad illud, non possint, neque abinde huc transire, Luca 16:26. Ne quidem Angelus Coeli potest alicui malum facere, quia essentia boni a Domino illi inest; et vice versa, spiritus inferni non potest nisi quam malum alteri facere, quia natura mali a diabolo illi inest, essentia seu natura, quam aliquis in Mundo sibi appropriavit, post mortem non potest mutari.
[2] Cogita quaeso, qualis Dominus foret, si malos ex ira, et bonos ex clementia aspiceret, sunt mali myriades myriadum, ac boni myriades myriadum numero, et hos ex gratia salvaret, et illos ex vindicta damnaret, ac hos et illos tam dissimili oculo, leni et duro, ac miti et immiti, intueretur; quid tunc Dominus Deus. Quis non a praedicationibus in Templis instructus scit, quod omne bonum quod in se bonum est, sit a Deo, et vicissim quod omne malum quod in se malum est, sit a diabolo; si itaque aliquis homo reciperet et bonum et malum, bonum a Domino, et malum a diabolo, utrumque voluntate, nonne ille fieret nec frigidus nec calidus, sed tepidus qui exspueretur, secundum Domini verba in Apocalypsi 3:15-16.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: licut.