The Open Court (Volume 21, No.609, C.1)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1898 Excerpt: ...the same relation to material realities as does a man's shadow to the man himself. In denning the superpersonal God, Dr. Carus tells us that it is the eternal laws, or necessary relations, or universal verities, or whatever else you may choose to call them, which constitute the entire cosmic order. When denning the cosmic order, we are told that it is the purely rational, not the material. And again, the order of the universe.... is God Himself. It will be observed that matter and energy are studiously and rigidly excluded from any participation in the Godhood which Dr. Carus has erected for our adoration. The order of the universe, then, must be conceived as a unity or God having existence apart (in the sense of being above, or superior) from all other existences, but controlling all. But here there arises a difficulty. If cosmic order be predicated as existing, the inference is inevasible that cosmic order is predicated of something which itself is not cosmic order, but which exhibits or discloses cosmic order as its attribute. It may not be said that cosmic order (God) is a state or condition of cosmic order (God), that would be making an attribute of a thing of the thing itself, and would be quite as meaningless and absurd as to speak of the clock of a clock. Cosmic order then, is a state, condition, or quality, that has for its foundation some reality that is other than itself. All immaterial or hyperphysical laws, verities, etc., being included in the term superpersonal God, we are, by the imperative requirements of reason, forced to the conclusion that the cosmic order (God), or the order of the universe (God), or eternal law (God), is but an appearance or reflexion of the grand ...