Richard Baxter's Catholic theology plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriors who,…Richard Baxter's Catholick theologie plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriours who,…

§. 2. God hath a double work in Illuminating and Converting souls: One by activity of exterior appulsive causes: The other within us on the ¹faculties of the soul, without those causes. I cannot better illustrate it, than by the causing of sight, hearing, &c. The Light without us, is not only a terminating object (as some dream,) but an Active thing, or Action, which operateth by appulse upon the eye: And the Sun and Air are the causes of it. The eye is not only a passive Receiver (as some dream,) but an Organ where the visive spirits, and soul are Active: And God worketh internally on this visive faculty by his influx, to sustain it in its activity. And by a congress of these two fires or Active causes, the sensitive soul doth see. Now we all know that God giveth the external light only per media, by the Sun, &c. But how he sustaineth and actuateth the Visive faculty is more difficult. His own influx or Causation is undoubted: And that the same Sun ut causa universalis cherisheth and moveth the visive spirits: But whether God move the sensitive faculty or soul it self, by any superior spirit, or mediate cause in its motion or action towards and on the exterior light, is past our knowledge: (Though the order observed in other cases, maketh it not improbable.)