60

THE MOHAMMEDAN CONTROVERSY

with them we have many claimants to inspiration, instead of one—we have pure morals, and an entire absence of worldly motives.

In taking up the chapter on the Holy Ghost as third Person of the Trinity, he leaves almost unnoticed the strongest passages from the New Testament, and dwells upon others which Pfander himself acknowledges are no more than allusions. He mistakes the gift and influences of the Holy Ghost, for the Divine spirit itself; and asserts that our doctrine would lead to the supposition that Christ was in the womb of Elizabeth and Mary at the same time; for "John was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb." He holds that the epithet here means the gift of repentance or spirit of faith, which was imparted by the apostles to those who believed. The Athanasian creed, as translated into Arabic by Sabat, is now criticised, and by applying the attributes and nature of one Person in the blessed Trinity to another, as he affirms he is warranted to do upon the supposition of real Unity, he reduces the doctrine ad absurdum, and holds it up in a variety of lights, as involving contradictions and impossibilities. He omits, throughout his reply, the orthodox doctrine of the two natures of Christ which, had he approached the subject in a proper spirit, would have extricated him from many of his dilemmas.

The examples and analogies from nature are rejected because, while the unity is that of figure or substance, the plurality consists in parts or qualities. He does not fail to take Pfander to task for the examples of the circle, etc.; but his language is perhaps less strong and improper than that of others noticed before. One's sense of the disadvantage of these illustrations is, if possible, strengthened by the Maulavi's remarks. The disadvantage of metaphysical reasoning on this vitally important subject is strikingly shown in several passages, where it is assumed by our opponent that we consider the Son and the Holy Ghost to be manifestations of the Divine essence; the former being the attribute of wisdom or intelligence, the latter, of power and love. Such views, however carefully the language may be chosen, are undoubtedly prone to denude the blessed