Bill M
January 15th 08, 11:25 AM
Forgery!
"Bill M" > wrote in message
.. .
> reject; so that you may then believe
> without... the things which I teach you, since you will find no other
> ground
> for rejecting them, except that you cannot know of yourselves if they are
> true or not.
>
> "God has willed to redeem men and to open salvation to those who seek it.
> But men render themselves so unworthy of it that it is right that God
> should
> refuse to some, because of their obduracy, what He grants others from a
> compassion which is not due to them. If He had willed to overcome the
> obstinacy of the most hardened, He could have done so by revealing Himself
> so manifestly to them that they could not have doubted of the truth of His
> essence; as it will appear at the last day, with such thunders and such a
> convulsion of nature that the dead will rise again, and the blindest will
> see Him.
>
> "It is not in this manner that He has willed to appear in His advent of
> mercy, because, as so many make themselves unworthy of His mercy, He has
> willed to leave them in the loss of the good which they do not want. It
> was
> not, then, right that He should appear in a manner manifestly divine, and
> completely capable of convincing all men; but it was also not right that
> He
> should come in so hidden a manner that He could not be known by those who
> should sincerely seek Him. He has willed to make himself quite
> recognisable
> by those; and thus, willing to appear openly to those who seek Him with
> all
> their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from Him with all their
> heart, He so regulates the knowledge of Himself that He has given signs of
> Himself, visible to those who seek Him, and not to those who seek Him not.
> There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough
> obscurity
> for those who have a contrary disposition.
>
>
"Bill M" > wrote in message
.. .
> reject; so that you may then believe
> without... the things which I teach you, since you will find no other
> ground
> for rejecting them, except that you cannot know of yourselves if they are
> true or not.
>
> "God has willed to redeem men and to open salvation to those who seek it.
> But men render themselves so unworthy of it that it is right that God
> should
> refuse to some, because of their obduracy, what He grants others from a
> compassion which is not due to them. If He had willed to overcome the
> obstinacy of the most hardened, He could have done so by revealing Himself
> so manifestly to them that they could not have doubted of the truth of His
> essence; as it will appear at the last day, with such thunders and such a
> convulsion of nature that the dead will rise again, and the blindest will
> see Him.
>
> "It is not in this manner that He has willed to appear in His advent of
> mercy, because, as so many make themselves unworthy of His mercy, He has
> willed to leave them in the loss of the good which they do not want. It
> was
> not, then, right that He should appear in a manner manifestly divine, and
> completely capable of convincing all men; but it was also not right that
> He
> should come in so hidden a manner that He could not be known by those who
> should sincerely seek Him. He has willed to make himself quite
> recognisable
> by those; and thus, willing to appear openly to those who seek Him with
> all
> their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from Him with all their
> heart, He so regulates the knowledge of Himself that He has given signs of
> Himself, visible to those who seek Him, and not to those who seek Him not.
> There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough
> obscurity
> for those who have a contrary disposition.
>
>