Section 5 : The Third Theory of Godhood

　　Now that the argument of this book has been carried to this point, it arrives at a conclusion, and that is the Third Theory of Godhood.

　　本書論證至此，已可下一結論，即「第三神論」是也。

　　The Third Theory of Godhood is the third era of divine power. It is also the phenomena of divine power as observed by present-day sciences. In ancient times knowledge was not yet advanced, and science had not yet developed. Faced with unfathomable phenomena of nature, which they could not account for, humans called them expressions of divine power. Thus, the first era of divine power was a period when divine rule was supreme. All such phenomena as the stars, moon and planets; mountains, rivers and land; plants and minerals were thought to be creations and expressions of divine beings. Thenceforth human knowledge gradually progressed, philosophy developed, and people had an understanding of the Second Theory of Godhood. This holds that God is man’s savior and possesses supreme authority. Human merit and sin will earn its just recompense through God’s pleasure or displeasure. If one incurs anger up in Heaven, one disaster will follow another; if one gains approval of Heaven, terrible sins can be pardoned. The first and second theories of godhood share a key point–the claim that divine power is omnipotent. The former claims that God is autocratic and brooks no dispute; in the latter God is humanity’s savior. God in the former is like a tyrant and in the latter like a benign father. All in all both belong to the doctrine of “theocentrism”. As for the Third Theory of Godhood (the idea in this book), it is a belief that divine power ultimately is no more than a mediation between matter and Nature. Deities are heavenly emissaries who carry out the Lord’s will. They are not only unable to create Nature, they themselves fall under the governance of natural laws. It is simply that they possess methods for avoiding some laws. However, in the Third Theory of Godhood, the Lord is the supreme regulator who brings natural laws into harmony. The scope of this extends beyond cosmic harmonons and human souls; the control by raydon force can also extend to occurrences of natural phenomena such as wind, rain, and lightning. In the natural world, are not disasters such as volcanoes, floods, meteors and earthquakes due to a response to man’s violation of natural laws? This is why all human acts which go against the balance of nature will naturally call forth natural disasters and human calamities that are all-too-predictable.

　　第三神論者，謂神權之第三時代也，亦現在科學所見之神權的現象也。古代民智未開，科學尚未發達，人類對於各種變化莫測之自然現象，凡無以名之者，皆謂神力之所使。故神權之第一時代，即為神權至高無上之時代，舉凡日月星辰、山河大地、動植礦物之現象，無不認為神靈之創造與表現。此後民智漸開，哲學發達，乃有第二神論之認識。所謂第二神論者，即神為人類之救贖，其威權至高無上，凡人之功罪皆可由神之喜怒而獲得善惡之報償，上干天怒，則災難迭至；上得天心，則大罪可赦。凡第一神論及第二神論，其主要之點咸謂神權萬能，前者認為神為獨裁而不容置辯，後者則神為人類之救世主；前者之神如暴君，後者之神如慈父，要之皆為一種「唯神論」。至第三神論（即本書所見者），則信神權之極限不過可為自然與物質間之一種媒介，神乃是執行上帝旨意之天使，不獨不能創造自然，即神之本身，亦並受自然律之支配，惟具有方法足以避免之而已。但是，在第三神論中，上帝卻是調和自然律之最高執行者，其所及之範圍不只是宇宙間和子以及人類之靈魂，即鐳力之操縱亦能影響風雨雷電等自然現象之發生。在自然界中，火山、洪水、彗星、地震等災難之迭起，亦何嘗不是人類破壞自然律所引起之反應，所以人類一切違反自然界平衡的行為，自然會感召可以預料的天災人禍。

　　From this it is understandable that what we call divinity (in the third sense) is an attainment of human spiritual practice, which is an effort to follow, in this world, those natural laws which the Lord presides over. Those who attempt to follow Nature’s laws, to make their actions conform to Nature, are the ones who truly understand the meaning of spiritual practice. That is, to strive within oneself, seeking a path of transcendence that will get one away from being controlled by natural laws. At this point we can make the following statements:

　　由此可以知道，所謂神（第三神）是人類修證而成，是在世追循上帝所管轄之自然律者，這種追循自然律而順應自然行為於世的人懂得修行的真意，亦即是向自己奮鬥以求超脫後避免自然律支配之道。是又為論斷如下：

　　1. First there is Nature, then comes matter, and last come deities. Thus the doctrine is called the “Third Theory of Godhood.”

　　一、先有自然，後有物質，最後方有神，故名「第三神論」。

　　2. Nature is the creation of Nature itself; the Lord is the supreme enforcer of harmony among Nature’s laws.

　　二、大自然為大自然本身所創造，而上帝為調和自然律之最高執行者。

　　3. Matter coalesces out of Nature.

　　三、物質為自然所凝成。

　　4. Deities are a permutation of matter’s evolution.

　　四、神為物質進化之變相。

　　5. The power of deities is not to create or control, but to mediate.

　　五、神權非創造，亦非支配，而為媒介。

　　Thus deities of the First Theory of Godhood are creators; the God of the Second Theory is a savior; deities of the Third Theory are spiritual intermediaries (between matter and Nature). Only the Third Theory of Godhood presents a true idea of divinity. The others are fantasies.

　　是故第一神論為創造之神，第二神論為救贖之神，第三神論為媒介之神（媒自然介物質），唯有第三神論之性質始為神之真象，其他皆幻想也。