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uniqueness. Lovers of animals tell us that each individual differs from its
fellow nearly as much as a human individual from his fellowis, in fact,
nearly as unique. They will tell you that each is unique. In other words each
presents, to a high degree, unity (as defined by us) and internal
differentiation. And all this culminates in man, whose being is the most of
all inconceivably differentiated, and yet presents the most perfect and
significant unity.
We sum up therefore: In the world of life and consciousness things
increase directly in real unity as they increase in internal differences.
A man is more of a unity than a turnip. He is also, by this law, more highly
differentiated.
If we here, in any sense, discern a principle, then I reverently claim that
it throws light on our subject. For carry on the same line of thought to that
Being in whom Life and Consciousness are made perfect, who is absolutely
unique, and entirely indivisible, who alone in fact completely satisfies all
our postulates for perfect unity and who is THE ONE, that is, God. Is
it not now credible, nay, do we not expect to have it revealed to us
that here also internal differentiation has also increased to a degree as
inconceivable as His Unity is superior to any earthly one? We say that that
differentiation will be inconceivable, it will be only just dimly imaginable,
but it will be most tremendously real! And this is just the character of the
differentiation shadowed forth to us by the revelation of the |
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CREATOR, INCARNATE, ATONER |
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Trinity! It is transcendent, it is real, it is in a line with legitimate
earthly analogies. It is uniquely great; for what can be greater than the
differentiation between persons' consciousness? We conclude, then, that the
highest and richest Unity of all, the Divine, exists in the indivisible but real
internal differentiation of three Consciousnesses, One God, Blessed for
ever and ever, Amen!
(1) The Muhammadan will at once say to this, that it is irrelevant and
irreverent to compare the Creator to the created in any way whatsoever, the very
distinguishing feature of Divinity being distinction, not similarity; total
distinction from any and every earthly analogy whatsoever. But we have already
gone over that ground sufficiently in a criticism of Muslim Deism,1
where we showed how barren and useless is this purely negative doctrine of
Mukhalafa (difference) which verily reduces Allah to a negation and disables
us from saying anything about Him whatsoever. Moreover, Muslims are better than
their philosophy, for they do not content themselves with saying that 'Allah is
not this and that', but all say, 'Allah is Living, Knowing, Willing,' etc.,
thereby asserting similarity, not mere naked difference. And it is idle to say
that between Allah's knowing and ours there is no similarity, that it entirely
transcends ours and is incomparable with it, for if there is really no
similarity, how unphilosophical it is to
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