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Translated by Cardinal Newman. Cf. An introduction to Athanasius' treatise Against the Heathen
St Athanasius the Great Resources Online and in Print
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49 Pages
Page 47
46. Doctrine of Scripture on the subject of Part 3.
Has then the divine teaching, which abolished the godlessness of the heathen or the idols, passed over in silence, and left the race of mankind to go entirely unprovided with the knowledge of God? Not so: rather it anticipates their understanding when it says [179] : "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one God;" and again, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy strength;" and again, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve, and shalt cleave to Him." 2. But that the providence and ordering power of the Word also, over all and toward all, is attested by all inspired Scripture, this passage suffices to confirm our argument, where men who speak of God say [180] : "Thou hast laid the foundation of the earth and it abideth. The day continueth according to Thine ordinance." And again [181] : "Sing to our God upon the harp, that covereth the heaven with clouds, that prepareth rain for the earth, that bringeth forth grass upon the mountains, and green herb for the service of man, and giveth food to the cattle." 3. But by whom does He give it, save by Him through Whom all things were made? For the providence over all things belongs naturally to Him by Whom they were made; and who is this save the Word of God, concerning Whom in another psalm [182] he says: "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the Breath of His mouth." For He tells us that all things were made in Him and through Him. 4. Wherefore He also persuades us and says [183] , "He spake and they were made, He commanded and they were created;" as the illustrious Moses also at the beginning of his account of Creation confirms what we say by his narrative [184] , saying: and God said, "let us make man in our image and after our likeness:" for also when He was carrying out the creation of the heaven and earth and all things, the Father said to Him [185] , "Let the heaven be made," and "let the waters be gathered together and let the dry land appear," and "let the earth bring forth herb" and "every green thing:" so that one must convict Jews also of not genuinely attending to the Scriptures. 5. For one might ask them to whom was God speaking, to use the imperative mood? If He were commanding and addressing the things He was creating, the utterance would be redundant, for they were not yet in being, but were about to be made; but no one speaks to what does not exist, nor addresses to what is not yet made a command to be made.
[179] Deut. vi. 4, 5, 13.
[180] Ps. cxix. 90.
[181] Ps. cxlvii. 7-9.
[182] Ps. xxxiii. 6.
[183] Ps. cxlviii. 5.
[184] Gen. i. 20.
[185] Gen. i. 6-11.
Reference address : https://elpenor.org/athanasius/contra-gentes.asp?pg=47
