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(3)
created the world out of nothing, and (b) those who believe that God created the world out of himself.
With regard to first class, viz., those who believe that God, matter, and souls are eternal and that God makes the world out of the matter and the souls, it is obvious that, given matter and souls with their attributes and conditions, they are quite sufficient by their mutual interaction, to make a world, and there is no need of any interference by a Deity.
Further, perfection and all-happiness must be attributed to Diety, and being thus perfect and happy he could not wish to create a world; foi a desire to create a world would indicate a want in the Deity, and a want is not consistent with the idea of perfection. Thus by attributing creation to Drity the qualities of perfection and happiness are destroyed.
Further, it is admitted that ordinary living beings suffer pain and misery, and that salvation from these pains and miseries can be obtained by obeying the precepts of God as given to the world. But creating souls and bringing them into the pains and miseries of the world and then afterwards giving them precepts, by acting upon which. they can release themselves from these pains and miseries, is not an act of wisdom; for an omniscient and almighty being who should put a thing into an unsatisfactory condition and then give it rules for its betterment could not be called wise and benevolent.
Again, an omniscient being has no need of testing anybody or anything to see what it will do, and if it be said that God put souls into this world to see which of them would obtain salvation and which would not, then the omniscient quality of the Deity is destroyed.
