What about Descartes having a clear and distinct idea of God?’ ‘Hume had an answer to that too. Let’s say we imagine God as an infinitely “intelligent, wise, and good being.” We have thus a “complex idea” that consists of something infinitely intelligent, something infinitely wise, and something infinitely good. If we had never known intelligence, wisdom, and goodness, we would never have such an idea of God. Our idea of God might also be that he is a “severe but just Father” – that is to say, a concept made up of “severity,” “justice,” and “father.” Many critics of religion since Hume have
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