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so combined the intellectual with the organic faculties that man is enabled to ascend from the perception of material objects to that of individual truths , thence to the general conclusions of science and philosophy , and by a process of moral discipline yet more striking and beautiful , to that spirituality which overcomes the world . The attributes of Deity , viz . Unity , Infinity , Immateriality , Wisdom , Power , and * Goodness , are next established on irresistible evidence . The
objections to the infinite benevolence of God , founded on the existence of evil , are candidly and luminously treated . Accustomed as we are to hear these objections stigmatized as impious , or despised as foolish , it is a satisfaction to find that Dr . Crombie admits their force , while his faith in the Divine benignity remains unshaken . To us it appears that the origin of evil has never been accounted for , and most probable that it never will be explained , in the present state of being ; and while we gratefully acknowledge the
wisdom and love which are apparent in the process by which good is educed from evil , we cannot see why infinite power and goodness could not have effected the same purposes by different instruments . Not only under the pressure of suffering , but in hours of pure enjoyment , the •* obstinate questionings" which cannot be satisfied , and will not be silenced , recur , and must still recur ; and " Whence is evil ? " is the inquiry which we must echo
or be mute . It is , doubtless , well for us that such a necessity is imposed . It is good for human reason to be reminded that there is a boundary which she must not pass ; it is well that faith should be taught to look through darkness , that hope should be invigorated by doubt , and charity taught to look back with awe on her mysterious origin . It is impossible that the restless intellect should not strive to break the bars which confine it : that
the mind which loves truth should not painfully feel its inability to reconcile inconsistencies which cannot be overlooked ; but the intellectual is not the highest department of our constitution ; and while the understanding sinks batfled and exhausted , the powers of faith may be strengthened for a steady and a lofty flight . It is enough for the support of our trust to see that the majority of evils produce a preponderance of good , and to believe that the same tendency exists in all ; it is animating to dwell on the conviction that
evil is only a present aspect of things which will be changed as our sphere of vision becomes enlarged ; it is consoling to mark within ourselves the transmutation of sin into holiness , of sorrow into peace ; it is productive of perfect satisfaction to review the evidence for the perfect love and unbounded power of the Father of our spirits . But still the reason is unsatisfied . It is useless to say that beings must be finite , and therefore imperfect . Finite beings may be relatively perfect . It is useless to urge that the majority of
evils are incidental , that they produce a balance of good , and originate the most exalted virtues . Did not the Deity foresee the evils which are termed incidental ? Or , foreseeing , could he not exclude them ? Why was not the balance of good , why were not the virtues , produced by other means than the intervention of suffering ? We know not : and in our ignorance we must acquiesce , assured that when a further insight into the mysteries of
Providence shall become beneficial to us , it will be granted . Among the various salutary purposes to which evil is made subservient , Dr . Crombie advances one , which he is not aware has been presented by any preceding writer . He believes that it is through the medium of evil that man arrives at the knowledge of a Wise and Designing Cause . The ground on which his opinion rests , he thus states : * ' When we infer deaijjn froin the construction of any curious and coinpli-
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Crombie's Natural TJieology . 153
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1830, page 153, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2582/page/9/
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