Free Thoughts on God, the Universe, Man, Freemasons, Rosicrucians, and the Philosopher's Stone

He takes the Holy Scripture Original: "Heilige Schrift" into his hands and studies it diligently. The holy authors assure him that this book was written through the inspiration of God’s Spirit Original: "Eingebung des Gottesgeistes" and that it can only be explained and understood through that same Spirit. "Well," he thinks, "it is possible that God can communicate messages of high things to us through this means. There is no contradiction in the idea, and it does not conflict with the attributes of God In 18th-century philosophy, these are the essential qualities of the divine, such as wisdom, goodness, and power.."

Now everything depends on putting this to the test and finding those fortunate people who possess this divine service Original: "Gottesdienst" — here referring not just to a church service, but to a specialized way of serving and experiencing God. through which everything can be explained and experienced. He goes to a congregation that claims to exclusively possess this form of worship within their church. He expects to encounter members there who, like the prophets and apostles, possess hidden spiritual powers Original: "Geisteskräfte" and can perform supernatural acts; but he finds none.

Next, he goes to another church, which proves to him that the first church does not possess this Spirit. Well! He has already convinced himself of that, but he now inquires whether they possess this Spirit? They recognize what he is aiming at and seek to extricate themselves from the trap through sophistry Original: "Sophisterey" — the use of clever but false arguments. and—