26 From Matter to Man. 



insignificant planet as the Earth should arrogate to 

 themselves the right to furnish a design for the Deity 

 of the universe. A Deity, moreover, who is never 

 the same for two consecutive centuries, nor alike in 

 any two nations or tribes on the face of the earth. 

 In this country and century the highest intellects 

 have gradually etherealised their God, until now, as 

 an " Energy " He has neither substance nor form. 



But when the Deity is thus eviscerated, we fail to 

 see why this " Energy " should not equally be the 

 God of a comprehensible materialism as the God of 

 an incomprehensible spiritualism. 



It further never seems to strike theologians and 

 metaphysicians how absurd it is for them to be for 

 ever trying to prove the existence of a Deity by long- 

 winded and hair-splitting arguments ; for if He were 

 as omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent as He is 

 said to be, the terror of the universe, there would be 

 no necessity for such proof; He would be super- 

 abundantly obvious. Consequently, when such ex- 

 traordinary and strained arguments are required for 

 proof, it is the strongest possible argument against 

 the hypothesis. We are reminded of that ingenuous 

 Edinburgh professor whose students never doubted 

 of the existence of a God until he endeavoured to 

 prove it. 



Section 5. Orthodox and Heterodox First Causes 

 Identical: — 



Fundamentally, the hypothesis of a first cause 



