I Have reached the conclusion that God is not a conscious being. . . but an Infinite Law, . . . a Law of spiritual and perfect Life which is manifested in a spiritual universe of perfect being and character."
This declaration was recently made by one whose honesty and sincerity is unquestioned, and to most Christian people it can but seem very remarkable.
The term "Law," as defined by the lexicographers, contains no suggestion of ultimate being. It is "a rule of action prescribed by due authority;" "a proposition which expresses the regular order of certain phenomena, the mode of action of a force." All law is a declaration. It always proclaims the will and working of a law-maker. It is not principal but subsidiary, not cause or initiation but a mode of manifestation. It has identity but not individuality, and therefore cannot be conscious. It is possible to call the ultimate source of being "Infinite Law," and attach to this name those attributes which are ascribed to God. This, however, is the mere substitution of one word symbol for another. The distinctive characteristics of law and law-maker remain the same and cannot be interchanged in rational thought. We may juggle with the names but the identifying qualities are not transferable.
