If he is infinitely good, what reason should we have to fear him? If he is infinitely wise, why should we have doubts concerning our future? If he knows all, why warn him of our needs and fatigue him with our prayers? If he is everywhere, why erect temples to him? If he is just, why fear that he will punish the creatures that he has filled with weaknesses? If grace does everything for them, what reason would he have for recompensing them? If he is all-powerful, how offend him, how resist him? If he is reasonable, how can he be angry at the blind, to whom he has given the liberty of being unreasonable? If he is immovable, by what right do we pretend to make him change his decrees? If he is inconceivable, why occupy ourselves with him? If he has spoken, why is the universe not convinced? If the knowledge of a God is the most necessary, why is it not the most evident and the clearest?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A series of rhetorical questions challenging the logic of believing in an all-perfect God.
- In plain terms
- If God is perfect, why do we fear him, pray to him, or build temples?
- What can you take from it?
- Perfect divine qualities may contradict traditional religious practices.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you reconcile God's power with human practice?
- Is doubt necessary for faith?
Another view
It assumes a specific definition of perfection that believers might dispute.
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