Four Prophets or Five Prophets?

[yopplwasupxxx 5946]

Four Prophets or Five Prophets?
By Pseudo-Clement

 

Are there four prophets or five prophets? Mainstream Canonist theology says four, and logic at first glance supports this conclusion- there are four scrolls, hence four prophets. God even told Horen that He would grant the world after him “three sons of Spirit” (Gsp 2:72). 

 

Yet what if I told you there could, in actuality, be five prophets, and that this mysterious figure can be found within the Canon itself? Do not worry, I am not speaking of any future eschatological or messianic personages (sorry Lendians). Rather, this prophet has already walked the earth and his scroll is perhaps the most popular of any of the traditional four.

 

I speak of course of the Primordial Man.

 

This essay shall argue the existence of a fifth prophet in the figure of the Primordial Man found in chapter 1 of the Scroll of Gospel, who fulfills all qualifications of Prophethood, namely (1) ascension to the Sixth Sky, (2) performance of miracles, (3) has received divine prophecy or revelation, (4) teaches in some capacity, (5) rules or occupies some position of societal responsibility, (6) is related to previous and/or future prophets, and (7) exhibits extraordinary piety and virtue in their life.

 

I will attempt to be as brief as possible, and I have cut considerable content from the original document in order to define my point as concisely as possible. I do not aim to preach heresy, rather to view the Canon as given before us and view the Truth which God gave us. I hope this thesis may develop discussion and debate within the faithful Canonist community. My only intention is to start productive conversations about the theology, philosophy, and doctrines of the Canonist Church.

 

---

 

Defining Prophethood

 

In order to judge our candidate for prophethood, we must determine what a prophet is. By comparing our four extant prophets, I have boiled down seven common traits found across the quaternary, which I believe constitutes the signs of legitimate prophethood. These are:

 

1. Has ascended to the Sixth Sky
2. Has received divine revelation (typically recorded in a scroll)
3. Is a miracle-worker
4. Is a teacher
5. Is a ruler or leader
6. Is direct male-line kinsman to previous or future prophets
7. Is extraordinarily pious and virtuous

 

---

 

Part 1: The Primordial Man

 

The references of the Primordial Man within the Canon are brief and sparse, but provide very crucial and important information in trying to understand this enigmatic figure. He was created alongside the Primordial Woman close to the time of Creation, made from clumps of earth and given “blood and breath, and the light of wisdom” (Gsp 1:28). Both of them were virtuous, and God ordered them as the ‘Firsts’, the Primus and Prima, and they bore no skills of language and had no true, proper names (Gsp 1:29). They were His “favoured creations” (Gsp 1:30), and under His care they prospered (Gsp 1:31), remaining “faithful to their Creator, and did as He bid” (Gsp 1:32). The Primordial Man took the co-created woman as his wife and had four sons (Gsp 1:33), named Malin (Gsp 1:34-35), Urguan (1:36-37), Krug (Gsp 1:38-39), and Horen (Gsp 1:40-41). Eventually, both the Primordial Man and Woman were called to join God in the Sixth Sky (Gsp 1:42), which the man did so willingly and in great reverence (Gsp 1:43). The Primordial Woman chose love of her children over God (Gsp 1:44), leading to God humbling her (Gsp 1:46) through “[uncovering] the imperfections of the Sons” (Gsp 1:45). She would finally join her husband in the Sixth Sky soon after (Gsp 1:47).

 

My first listed qualification for prophethood was ascension to the Sixth Sky, which the Primordial Man not only did, but was the first of any being to ever do so. All of the four prophets entered the Sixth Sky: Owyn (Gsp 5:22) and Godfrey (Gsp 7:66) and the rest according to tradition. The Catechism of the Canonist Church directly calls the Sixth Sky the realm of “the Exalted and their wives”.

 

One must note that Owyn’s entrance into the skies is specifically referred to as joining his “grandfather’s father” (Gsp 5:22), that is, the Primordial Man. By this, Sixth Sky is called directly by the Divine as the realm of the Primordial Man (the Scroll of Gospel, like the Scroll of Virtue, were delivered wholesale by God through his messenger aenguls, unlike the Scroll of Spirit and Auspice, which were transcribed by their respective prophets in explaining experiencing or teachings they had, more on this in Part 2). Therefore, by the Primordial Man’s inclusion in the Sixth Sky, he must hold a position like ‘Exalted’, if we are to atleast follow the tradition of St. Daniel VII and his magnum opus.

 

---

 

Part 2: The Wordless Scroll

 

If the Primordial Man is an Exalted, where is his scroll? Every prophet has a scroll, whether revealed directly (Virtue, Gospel) or indirectly (Spirit, Auspice). I argue that the Primordial Man did leave a scroll- that is, a nameless scroll called “Tradition” or “Praxis or Method of Faith”. To explain this will require some explanation, so please bear with me.

 

The first argument against this line of thinking is that Tradition simply was given by the prophets, more specifically Horen. However, this is impossible, for a few reasons.

 

First, the tradition of building temples (Gsp 2:13) and having tabernacles (Gsp 2:19) pre-exists Horen’s receiving the blessing of revelation by being anointed in the Waters of Gamesh (Gsp 2:34-39). This means that there was primordial praxis in worship, which had to come from somewhere before Horen’s call to prophethood. I argue that this must have developed from the Primordial Man in his role as teacher (see Part 4). The teachings of these practices come from God Himself; remember, before the uncovering of the Sons by the Primordial Woman’s folly, and the Primordial Man had complete and unadulterated access to the Grace and Love of God (see Part 7). I should also state that the creation of the priesthood through Evaristus and Clement (Gsp 5:3-5) does not necessitate that a praxis or method of faith did not preexist this moment; the practice of prayer and worship predate the existence of the formal priesthood.

 

Second, the concept of being “faithful” is mentioned as being practiced not only by Horen (Gsp 1:41), but also previously by the Primordial Man (Gsp 1:31). Therefore, if we classify faith as acting in Love of God (pious, virtuous, etc.) and henceforth a method or action, this action must originate from a source. And as Horen again had not been called to prophethood, he must have learned from an extant source- that is, his father the Primordial Man. As I mentioned before, the method of faith is shown to exist before the birth of any of the Sons. This method of faith is the Fundamental Tradition.

 

But why then was this revelation or practice not written not like the other scrolls? The Primordial Man had no language or name- his revelation came through acting through His plan (Gsp 1:30). Prophets mark their prophecy by being anointed with the Waters of Gamesh (Gsp 2:35; 4:22; 6:22; 7:46); one should note that not only the Primordial Man had access to bathe and anoint himself in the Waters of Gamesh, he drank “the sweet water” directly (Gsp 1:31). By this symbolism, we can infer that the Primordial Man had the ability not only to reveal the Plan of God, but he acted in it. The Waters of Gamesh practically coursed through his very veins.

 

The methods and practices he developed to be faithful to God- that is, the practice of prayer, worship, devotion, piety, what have you- became his scroll: the Wordless Scroll of Tradition. A concept similar to this is the Qali concept of Sunnah; or how the practices and praxis of worship of their prophets stand of equal status to their revealed scripture.

 

A crucial part of this symbolism is how the Wordless Scroll/Tradition qualifies as both direct revelation and indirect revelation. By doing as He bid (Gsp 1:32), the praxis of faith of the Primordial Man is directly revealed to be the way which is most pleasing to Him. Likewise, because the Primordial Man is a creation and not God, the practices which he develops are inherently exoteric and therefore indirectly revealed. The Wordless Scroll is a fulfillment of both the esoteric and the exoteric, the Absolute and the Infinite, the direct and the indirect. God is both One yet All.

 

---

 

Part 3: Words from the Wordless

 

Another important marker of prophethood is miracles- a sign of a saint, for example, is the performance of miracles (Catechism of the Canonist Church). All the prophets performed miracles: Horen and his miracle of the Pure Aura (Gsp 1:42-43), Owyn and the miracle of Lux Invicta (Gsp 5:19-20), Godfrey and the Ascension (Gsp 7:66), and Sigismund and the Holy Revelations (see the Scroll of Auspice). What then were the miracles of the Primordial Man? Can we discern any? I argue that through the Canon, we know of two extremely powerful miracles performed by him.

 

Both miracles are intertwined in one action: the birth of the Four Sons, specifically in how they have names. Remember, the Primordial Man and Woman knew no language or had no names, yet the grant of names to the Four Sons clearly falls before the Primordial Woman’s folly. There is therefore a paradox: if the Primordial Man or Woman had no language, how could they give their children verbal names?

 

The first miracle is therefore the ability of the Primordial Man to utter and grant these names to his children: despite the lack of proper linguistic tongue, he was able to conceive and create ordered syllabus with purpose and meaning. In the Wordless, the Primordial Man through the Grace of God made Word.

 

The second miracle is more nuanced. Why did the Primordial Man give the Four Sons names in the first place? I argue this is because of a miracle of divine prophecy- the Primordial Man knew through the Grace of God of the Primordial Woman’s folly and therefore the bestowment of the curse of identity upon the Four Sons and their later tribes. By giving name, he gave the transition of his children from complete lack of identity to having worldly identity smoother, but also taught through the Wordless Scroll (see Part 2) that such exoterism can still prove faithful to God. God giving revelation of future events is not a new concept in Canonism (see the Scroll of Auspice for example).

 

---

 

Part 4: The First Teacher

 

All prophets have been teachers in some capacity; Horen retaught the teachings of God to the people after being led astray by Saul (Gsp 1:39, 47), Owyn taught through epistles gathered in the Scroll of Spirit, Godfrey “pronounced the word of God into the hearts of men” (Gsp 6:34), and Sigismund shall cast aside the teachings of the idolaters in favor for that of Canonism (Gsp 7:52). Did the Primordial Man too act as a teacher?

 

As previously stated, the Wordless Scroll is Tradition or the practices of the Primordial Man in worshiping and acting faithful to God. These were passed down to Horen, which formed the basis of future worship as we do today. This “passing down” could only have happened if the Primordial Man taught Horen (and therefore the other three sons as well) the method of faith. In this way, the Primordial Man acted as a teacher.

 

A symbol of the Primordial Man as a teacher can be seen in the birth of Clement and Evaristus. According to popular legend, they are twins which “tousled in the womb”, though coming from one essence. This is a parallel to the creation of the Primordial Man and Woman- likewise, they two came from one earth and granted the same gifts of breath, blood, and wisdom. The brothers acted as teachers to the masses still scarred by the destruction of first Saul and then Harren, much like how the Primordial Man and Woman taught to the Four Sons how to live faithfully and in pure intention to God.

 

---

 

Part 5: The First Patriarch

 

Each prophet has been a ruler in some capacity; Horen was the first King of Mankind (Gsp 1:50), Owyn claimed the kingship in order to contest his wicked uncle Harren (Gsp 4:40-42), Godfrey united the realms of humanity into an empire (Gsp 7:16), and Sigismund reunited his predecessor’s realm (Gsp 7:50-52). Did the Primordial Man rule or hold kingship in some capacity?

 

The Primordial Man, in his role as the patriarch of the First Family, exhibits the roles of kingship which every ruler follows implicitly. Being the first of God’s creation that held the light of wisdom and the privilege to be His favoured beings, even above the Aengudamons. He acted as steward of the lands and also as patriarch to his family; symbolically, the Four Sons submitted to this patriarch, which is the only time when Elf (Malin), Dwarf (Urguan), Ork (Krug), and Human (Horen) lived in one united polity- a potent spiritual image.

 

Another note is the quote “So the Lord was pleased to lay His favor upon the sons of His first man and woman, and he called the pair forth to reside in the Sixth Sky and give the World over to the dominion of the Sons” (Gsp 1:42). By the phrase “give the World over to the dominion of the Sons”, it is inferred that the dominion of the World was in some capacity held by the Primordial Man and Woman and that it was theirs to “give”.

 

---

 

Part 6: The Father of All

 

All the prophets are related to each other by direct blood relation. Owyn, Godfrey, and Sigismund are all descendants of Horen. The Primordial Man falls into this tradition: he is the father of Horen, and therefore the parent of all prophets. Not only that, the Primordial Man is the sire of all the descendant races, and therefore bears the dignity of ‘Father of All’.

 

---

 

Part 7: Grace Unhampered

 

The prophets lived and/or performed deeds of great virtue and piety: Horen led the descendants to renounce the machinations of Iblees (Gsp 1:47-66), Owyn repented in severe acts of obedience of God in order to purify his soul through the miracle of Lux Invicta (Gsp 5:19-22), Godfrey humbled himself before God despite his vast lands and power (Gsp 7:64), and Sigismund brought forth mercy in royal judgement (Gsp 7:54). Did the Primordial Man act in virtue and piety?

 

As previously mentioned, he did act “faithful to their Creator, and did as He bid” (Gsp 1:32). In all references within the scrolls, the Primordial Man is shown to be the pinnacle of faith, virtue, and piety. Even the Primordial Man did not bear the Primordial Woman’s folly, for he had fear in God and joined him despite his love for the Four Sons. Not only did the Primordial Man act in God, he is perhaps the closest model in complete surrender and faith to God. He is the transcendent symbol of faith for all descendants. 
 

[JoanOfArc 4604]

Cardinal Gawain, a hidden Lendian, immediately felt enraged by the mention about the condemnation of their messianic figure. He fumed in his inner thoughts and wished all evil upon this man. For about twenty minutes, the Cardinal began to look up the priestly records of this 'Clement' to get back at him, that is, until he realized that it was an alias. When that realization dawned on him, he so absolutely fumed that his voice gave away and he could barely speak for an entire week.

[thesmellypocket 1859]

"Most noble Clement,

 

I appreciate your good intentions and note much truth here previously unappreciated. Your knowledge of the Holy Scriptures indeed does you great credit. I feel that, if, in accordance with your good wishes, the Primordial Man were more openly venerated, loved and known, then all Descendants might embrace one another as the co-heirs of a single man; of an original Covenant. And then might all of us be blissfully gathered under the motherly mantle of the Church, to love and praise God forever and ever. 

 

It is therefore with deepest respect that I wish to put forth a criticism: not to refute your argument, because I see its end is good and want to see it win, but to improve and refine it.

 

You argue that the worship of God, striving to be faithful to Him, and worshipping Him in manners like the Tabernacle reveal an unwritten Revelation, something handed on (tradere, to hand on), but this is not necessarily the case. First of all, as you yourself noted, God has planted a wealth of virtue into the hearts of every rational creature, viz., will and intellect: the ability to know and love Almighty God. (Vir. 2:5, etc.) And note, mark you, that when the Primordial Man was created, he was without sin. There was, therefore, nothing inhibiting his ability to know God intellectually, and to love Him wilfully. 

 

This capacity to know and love God is not necessarily the product of Revelation. As I demonstrated by scriptural and rational proofs in the first Article of Summa Theologica, God's existence is knowable with certain by the natural light of human reason. God has placed within the heart of every man reason and will by which he may strive to live by the moral law.

 

For indeed, all creatures are expected to live by the Virtue: "These moral laws reflect the will of God, which must be obeyed by all sapient creatures." (Catechism of the Canonist Church.) And one of these virtues is Faith. Now Faith must necessarily precede Divine Revelation, or else how could those without Revelation be expected to live it; how could that virtue be binding unto them? It must be, therefore, that Faith has a natural and a supernatural expression. The natural expression is the striving to know and love God and worshipping Him by some means. The supernatural expression is the assent of the intellect to divinely revealed truths. 

 

Could it not be, then, that this is an expression of natural law, and not Divine Revelation? For how can any of us be so far from Him? As one philosopher said, in Him we live, and move, and have our being. 

 

I leave this little point open for your consideration.

 

I remain your humble servant,

 

Brother Williams, FSSCT."

Edited June 9, 2021 by thesmellypocket

[GhostSHTR 1205]

Vladrick Bishop Pocitanata Maika would read the thesis " This Clement has a interesting theory" he'd muse to himself before returning to the construction of the Capital of the Vasoyevi

[yopplwasupxxx 5946]

On 6/9/2021 at 5:27 AM, thesmellypocket said:

-snip-

"Dear Friend,

 

Blessings upon you and your house, with earnest Love of Man. I received your letter recently and I found your points regarding my essay intriguing and enlightening. You bring forth issues within the logic of my paper that definitely require direct address, and so in response to your criticism I wish to address your points diligently and attempt to give counterpoints of my own.

 

Let me begin by first listing the premises made in your letter.

 

First, you correctly state that knowing or discerning the existence of God does not require any form of direct or indirect revelation from the Divine; rather, the Divine can be conceived vis-a-vis reason (i.e “the Light of Wisdom”, Gsp 1:28). To quote Blessed Pius, “The existence of God … [is] knowable with certainty by the natural light of human reason…” I do not contest this point and I concede that the act of knowing God is not a direct revelation in of itself.

 

Second, you state that loving or worshipping God does not ascertain a divine revelation either. I agree that all descendants bear the innate capacity to love God- that is, every man and woman born is somehow and some way innately and instrisictly constructed and wired to both want and desire an intimate relationship with God. Within every soul is a void, a hole which can only be filled by Him. This can be proven, as you point out, by the fact that Faith is recorded within the Scroll of Virtue, which is law for all descendants according to traditional church teachings (though I will get back to this point later in the letter).

 

Third, you state that knowing to be virtuous can also be reached by Intellection. To quote, “God has placed within the heart of every man reason and will by which he may strive to live by the moral law.” Because we innately want to love God, and loving God includes living virtuous lives and following the moral law he put down, we therefore crave to be honorable and noble in heart.

 

However, even with all this true, I argue there still is a revelation in the form of a primordial Tradition. Mainly, I argue that reason alone cannot lead someone to total unity with God. Let me explain.

 

First, let us look at the aengudaemons, specifically daemons. Daemons are creatures born from God’s breath (Gsp 1:6). They rule “all that is not” (Gsp 1:7) yet we know this place is not the Void, as such a place is forbidden to the aengudaemons (Gsp 1:8). As they are tasked with the ruling, we can most likely infer they have a capacity for reason. They are also given some form of free will and ability to be worldly,  as can be seen in the fact that he is both proud (Gsp 1:14) and can desire to overthrow his Heavenly Maker (Gsp 1:16). Daemons can choose whether to believe in God or not, whether to doubt Him or not. Later, he conspires and nearly successfully seduces the Four Sons to renounce God for the world. Through all this, I believe we can deduce there is some capacity of reason. We can also presume that despite Iblees’ fall, there most likely still is daemons who actively believe and follow God’s Will.

 

However, daemons are not God’s favored creatures; the descendants are (more specifically, the Primordial Man and Woman, Gsp 1:30). Why?

 

I believe there must be something more than reason; this can be supported in our Canonist cosmology and church doctrines. A Norlander, for example, can live a virtuous life with his pure, God-given Intellection. But, since he lives in a place traditionally hostile to Canonism, he will most likely never research and seek the validity of the Scrolls. He is instilled from birth till death of the truth of their religion, and indeed he would use some of the same reasoning in Summa Theologica to support his belief in the All-Father and greater pantheon. We know, however, that God is merciful and he is still able to walk the skies, but only the First Sky (Catechism of the Canonist Church). He can never achieve a status beyond this, even if he is the most virtuous, honorable, and principled man. He has the capacity of Faith, as listed in the Scroll of Virtue, but this faith is seemingly misguided and leaves him only in the Skies’ periphery. Something more is needed to be closer to Him. But what is this thing which allows us to get closer, to be like the Saints and other blessed men and women?

 

To walk ever deeper into the halls of the Seven Skies, there must be some method, practice, or other action, deed, or what have you that separates the Descendants from all other creatures, and furthermore all Canonists from non-believers. If it is merely believing in God, then there is no reason why the Daemons (or even beastfolk, ie Kha’men, Frogmen, Mousemen, etc.) could not be as favored as the Descendants. If it using reason to ascertain that there is an Absolute or Divinity, as well as living a virtuous life, then there is no reason why heathens cannot enter the Skies as close as prophets (do they not believe in a form of God, even if it is a Burning Bush?). What is it then which separates Believer from non-Believer, which separates the Primordial Man from all others? Is it a praxis of worship (i.e. Canonist Church Tradition and rites)? A form of prayer (i.e. meditation, devotionals)? A set of primordial laws? Maybe it is just the fact we have this ‘Light of Wisdom’? But what is this ‘Light of Wisdom’ if not the capability and yearning to find God? I do not know, this would require more study. But I do know that there is something which made the Primordial Man stand apart from the rest of creation, and reason alone cannot be the mere cause of such lofty status.

 

Please send me your thoughts and forgive the hasty nature of this letter, as this week has been quite busy for myself, yet I still wished to address your letter as the thoughts laid fresh in everyone’s minds.

 

God be with you,

Pseudo-Clement"

[thesmellypocket 1859]

On 6/12/2021 at 1:13 AM, yopplwasupxxx said:

"Dear Friend,

 

Blessings upon you and your house, with earnest Love of Man. I received your letter recently and I found your points regarding my essay intriguing and enlightening. You bring forth issues within the logic of my paper that definitely require direct address, and so in response to your criticism I wish to address your points diligently and attempt to give counterpoints of my own.

 

Let me begin by first listing the premises made in your letter.

 

First, you correctly state that knowing or discerning the existence of God does not require any form of direct or indirect revelation from the Divine; rather, the Divine can be conceived vis-a-vis reason (i.e “the Light of Wisdom”, Gsp 1:28). To quote Blessed Pius, “The existence of God … [is] knowable with certainty by the natural light of human reason…” I do not contest this point and I concede that the act of knowing God is not a direct revelation in of itself.

 

Second, you state that loving or worshipping God does not ascertain a divine revelation either. I agree that all descendants bear the innate capacity to love God- that is, every man and woman born is somehow and some way innately and instrisictly constructed and wired to both want and desire an intimate relationship with God. Within every soul is a void, a hole which can only be filled by Him. This can be proven, as you point out, by the fact that Faith is recorded within the Scroll of Virtue, which is law for all descendants according to traditional church teachings (though I will get back to this point later in the letter).

 

Third, you state that knowing to be virtuous can also be reached by Intellection. To quote, “God has placed within the heart of every man reason and will by which he may strive to live by the moral law.” Because we innately want to love God, and loving God includes living virtuous lives and following the moral law he put down, we therefore crave to be honorable and noble in heart.

 

However, even with all this true, I argue there still is a revelation in the form of a primordial Tradition. Mainly, I argue that reason alone cannot lead someone to total unity with God. Let me explain.

 

First, let us look at the aengudaemons, specifically daemons. Daemons are creatures born from God’s breath (Gsp 1:6). They rule “all that is not” (Gsp 1:7) yet we know this place is not the Void, as such a place is forbidden to the aengudaemons (Gsp 1:8). As they are tasked with the ruling, we can most likely infer they have a capacity for reason. They are also given some form of free will and ability to be worldly,  as can be seen in the fact that he is both proud (Gsp 1:14) and can desire to overthrow his Heavenly Maker (Gsp 1:16). Daemons can choose whether to believe in God or not, whether to doubt Him or not. Later, he conspires and nearly successfully seduces the Four Sons to renounce God for the world. Through all this, I believe we can deduce there is some capacity of reason. We can also presume that despite Iblees’ fall, there most likely still is daemons who actively believe and follow God’s Will.

 

However, daemons are not God’s favored creatures; the descendants are (more specifically, the Primordial Man and Woman, Gsp 1:30). Why?

 

I believe there must be something more than reason; this can be supported in our Canonist cosmology and church doctrines. A Norlander, for example, can live a virtuous life with his pure, God-given Intellection. But, since he lives in a place traditionally hostile to Canonism, he will most likely never research and seek the validity of the Scrolls. He is instilled from birth till death of the truth of their religion, and indeed he would use some of the same reasoning in Summa Theologica to support his belief in the All-Father and greater pantheon. We know, however, that God is merciful and he is still able to walk the skies, but only the First Sky (Catechism of the Canonist Church). He can never achieve a status beyond this, even if he is the most virtuous, honorable, and principled man. He has the capacity of Faith, as listed in the Scroll of Virtue, but this faith is seemingly misguided and leaves him only in the Skies’ periphery. Something more is needed to be closer to Him. But what is this thing which allows us to get closer, to be like the Saints and other blessed men and women?

 

To walk ever deeper into the halls of the Seven Skies, there must be some method, practice, or other action, deed, or what have you that separates the Descendants from all other creatures, and furthermore all Canonists from non-believers. If it is merely believing in God, then there is no reason why the Daemons (or even beastfolk, ie Kha’men, Frogmen, Mousemen, etc.) could not be as favored as the Descendants. If it using reason to ascertain that there is an Absolute or Divinity, as well as living a virtuous life, then there is no reason why heathens cannot enter the Skies as close as prophets (do they not believe in a form of God, even if it is a Burning Bush?). What is it then which separates Believer from non-Believer, which separates the Primordial Man from all others? Is it a praxis of worship (i.e. Canonist Church Tradition and rites)? A form of prayer (i.e. meditation, devotionals)? A set of primordial laws? Maybe it is just the fact we have this ‘Light of Wisdom’? But what is this ‘Light of Wisdom’ if not the capability and yearning to find God? I do not know, this would require more study. But I do know that there is something which made the Primordial Man stand apart from the rest of creation, and reason alone cannot be the mere cause of such lofty status.

 

Please send me your thoughts and forgive the hasty nature of this letter, as this week has been quite busy for myself, yet I still wished to address your letter as the thoughts laid fresh in everyone’s minds.

 

God be with you,

Pseudo-Clement"

"Dear Pseudo-Clement,

 

I do not wish to labour the point much further, and I also must write hastily. 

 

The Norlander does not possess Faith insofar as he follows a false religion. In the sense that we understand the term "God", Norlanders are basically atheists, because they reject what we call God, viz. Absolute Being, instead basically believing in a very powerful creature, which even an atheist can believe in. The arguments in the Summa do not prove such a "god." They are not worshipping God in any sense, but the Enemy, eager to deceive sinful man, substituted the one true "Father of All Things" for this false creature, and seducing them by this category error. You will see clearly proven in the next Summa articles the properties of God.

 

Hence sin and error cloud man's judgement, and leave him open to such deceit. For whilst the one true God can be known (Not in His ineffable glory, but the fact of His existence and excellence), yet does man possess perfect reason? Does not pride cloud his judgement? The faculty of reason in the intellect and love in the will is supressed. Revelation is necessary to repair the damage of sin, because it allows men to know as revealed truths even those things which reason proves, but which pride clouds.

 

Now this Primordial Man was created without sin. And hence, there would have been nothing to cloud his judgement, in respect of those natural truths which can be known by reason. Nothing would also have inhibited his LOVE of God, even without Divine Revelation. Now, whilst the religious expressions of idolaters are not exercises of Faith but self-deceit, nevertheless they do reveal a religious instinct that is natural to man. Man could even be called an inherently religious being, so universal are these expressions. There is also the truth that the Man was very proximate to God, not being removed by a natural world which appears to be self-sufficient, and having no human parents. He could not, then, have fallen into the errors of materialism, atheism, pantheism, polytheism, or other false philosophies. 

 

I do not see, therefore, how the Man would not have naturally expressed this religion. Without the sin of pride, he would be totally humble and conscious of his own nothingness before God. He would known God as the source of all his gifts and as being deserving of all worship. He would have known God as the fount of virtue, which must needs be adored if man is to gain perfection in any virtue; and the only Source of life, without which a man must perish everlastingly. This universal religious expression would finds its true and natural end in the Primordial Man, who knows God intellectually, loves Him wilfully, and expresses that love worshipfully.

 

Basically, there are several premises:

 

I.Man has been given the capacity of will and intellect.

II.These capacities enable him to love and to know God.

III.Man has a natural religious expression which happens independently of revelation.

IV.This religious expression is twisted and directed towards idols, or the "creature-god" of the Norlanders, on account of sins, especially pride and carnality.

V.The Primordial Man was not thus inhibited, and moreover knew God intimately as his Creator.

VI.Hence he would have used his capacities properly to know and love God. 

VII.Hence this religious instinct in man would express itself toward its proper end.

VIII.Therefore, it was possible for the PM to worship God in some way by expressions independent of Revelation. 

 

However the cloudings of sin created the need for Revelation to teach even those truths accessible to Man. Furthermore, there are also inaccessible truths beyond rational understanding which would need to be revealed from above; beyond, but not contrary to human reason. 

 

I remain your humble servant,

 

Br. Thomas."