{"author":null,"backreferences":[{"context_html":"<p class=\"c006\">But if you will have us to meet the most ridiculous among\r\nthe charges of Celsus, listen to him when he says: “Now God,\r\nbeing unknown amongst men, and deeming himself on that\r\naccount to have less than his due,<a id=\"r494\"></a><a class=\"c008 pginternal\" href=\"#f494\"><sup>[494]</sup></a> would desire to make himself\r\nknown, and to make trial both of those who believe upon\r\nhim and of those who do not, like those of mankind who have\r\nrecently come into the possession of riches, and who make a\r\ndisplay of their wealth; and thus they testify to an excessive\r\nbut very mortal ambition on the part of God.”<a id=\"r495\"></a><a class=\"c008 pginternal\" href=\"#f495\"><sup>[495]</sup></a> We answer,\r\nthen, that God, not being known by wicked men, would desire\r\nto make Himself known, not because He thinks that He meets\r\nwith less than His due, but because the knowledge of Him\r\nwill free the possessor from unhappiness. Nay, not even with\r\nthe desire to try those who do or who do not believe upon Him,\r\ndoes He, by His unspeakable and divine power, Himself take\r\nup His abode in certain individuals, or send His Christ; but He\r\ndoes this in order to liberate from all their wretchedness those\r\nwho do believe upon Him, and who accept His divinity, and\r\nthat those who do <i>not</i> believe may no longer have this as a\r\nground of excuse, viz. that their unbelief is the consequence\r\nof their not having heard the word of instruction. What argument,\r\nthen, proves that it follows from our views that God,\r\naccording to our representations, is “like those of mankind who\r\nhave recently come into the possession of riches, and who make\r\na display of their wealth?” For God makes no display towards\r\nus, from a desire that we should understand and consider His\r\npre-eminence; but desiring that the blessedness which results\r\nfrom His being known by us should be implanted in our souls,\r\n<span class=\"pageno\" id=\"Page_168\">168</span>He brings it to pass through Christ, and His ever-indwelling\r\nword, that we come to an intimate fellowship<a id=\"r496\"></a><a class=\"c008 pginternal\" href=\"#f496\"><sup>[496]</sup></a> with Him. No\r\nmortal ambition, then, does the Christian doctrine testify as\r\nexisting on the part of God.</p>","headings":["The writings of Origen, Vol. 2 of 2","BOOK IV.","Chapter VI."],"marker_anchor":null,"paragraph_id":"pg70693-paragraph-225"}],"canonical_references":[],"date_end":null,"date_start":null,"deduplication_fingerprint":"5db47153ef554b22c66941c344f7f6ccad3d844f45125354394963b80f35240d","edition_title":"The writings of Origen, Vol. 2 (of 2)","edition_translators":["Frederick Crombie","W. H. Cairns"],"edition_year":1872,"explicit_reference_candidates":[],"headings":[],"id":"pg70693-f495","license_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html","public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"original-editor-translator-note","review_required":["work and recension attribution","original-work chronology","Bible reference numbering and citation kind","English edition rights and attribution"],"review_status":"needs_review","rights_evidence":"Project Gutenberg metadata: Public domain in the USA. Existing 1872 English edition; listed translators died 1889 and 1872. Electronic transcription subject to Project Gutenberg reuse terms.","source_anchor":"f495","source_ebook":70693,"source_html":"<div class=\"footnote\" id=\"f495\">\n<p class=\"c007\"><span class=\"label\"><a class=\"pginternal\" href=\"#r495\">495</a>. </span><span lang=\"grc\">καθάπερ οἱ νεόπλουτοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπιδεικτιῶντες, πολλήν τινα καὶ\r\nπάνυ θνητὴν φιλοτιμίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καταμαρτυροῦσι.</span></p>\n</div>","source_sha256":"76ed9a9fd752c1d5095189e38fe3dcbbea0fd23d6be719db17360e4da14552fa","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/70693/pg70693-images.html#f495","text_sha256":"a6b266809fcec0dc527ef68c1824394e263a336034505c20f60d5bb80e8353cd","verified":false,"work_id":null}