God the Known and God the Unknown

by Samuel Butler

I will show that man has been so far made in the likeness of this Person of God, that He possesses all its essential characteristics, and that it is this God who has called man and all other living forms, whether animals or plants, into existence... And I will show this with so little ambiguity that it shall be perceived not as a phantom or hallucination... -from "Chapter II: Common Ground" Samuel Butler was a vocal apologist for theistic concepts, but this classic essay has been largely unavailable in standalone form since it first appeared as a series of articles in The Examiner from May to July 1879. Here, he decries pantheism; dismisses orthodox theism, which to him denies the physical existence of God to focus only on the spiritual; and goes on to explain his understanding of the "likeness," or physicality, of God, and how it leads to the "certainty" of life after death. This is a vital work for appreciating Butler's other criticisms of scientific rationalism, including his 1879 book Evolution, Old and New. British author SAMUEL BUTLER (1835-1902) is best known for his satire Erehwon.

Genres: Philosophy

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1917

About the author

For the author of Hudibras, see Samuel Butler.

Samuel Butler was an iconoclastic Victorian author who published a variety of works, including the Utopian satire Erewhon and the posthumous novel The Way of All Flesh, his two best-known works, but also extending to examinations of Christian orthodoxy, substantive studies of evolutionary thought, studies of Italian art, and works of literary history and criticism. Butler also made prose translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey which remain in use to this day.

See also: Samuel H. Butcher, Anglo-Irish classicist, who also undertook prose translations of Homer's works (in collaboration with Andrew Lang.

Reviews

[Tiss']

dropped

[Metin Yılmaz]

Vakit kaybı ne yazık ki... Farklı görüşleri okumayı severim ama bu kadar tek yönlü kitaplar oldukça sıkıcı. Yazarın emin olduğunu söylediği konular bizlere göre net olmayabilir. Bunları açıkladığını sanması ve bu açıklamalar yeterlidir diyerek kestirip atması ise çok tuhaf. Anlam yüklemek çok zor. Zaten karmakarışık olan bir konuda herşey zaten netmiş gibi hareket eden bakış açısı bana çok doğru gelmesi açıkcası.