piritual phenomena and who possess only a superficial idea of universal
life and being are but embodiments of pure ignorance. They believe only
that which they have heard from their fathers and ancestors. Of themselves
they have no hearing, no sight, no reason, no intellect; they rely solely
upon tradition. Such persons imagine that the dominion of God is an
accidental dominion, or Kingdom.

For instance, they believe that this world of existence was created six or
seven thousand years ago, as if God did not reign before that time and had
no creation before that period. They think that Divinity is accidental,
for to them Divinity is dependent upon existing things, whereas, in
reality, as long as there has been a God, there has been a creation. As
long as there has been light, there have been recipients of that light,
for light cannot become manifest unless those things which perceive and
appreciate it exist. The world of Divinity presupposes creation,
presupposes recipients of bounty, presupposes the existence of worlds. No
Divinity can be conceived as separate from creation, for otherwise it
would be like imagining an empire without a people. A king must needs have
a kingdom, must needs have an army and subjects. Is it possible to be a
king and have no country, no army, no subjects? This is an absurdity. If
we say that there was a time when there was no country, no army and no
subjects, how then could there have been a king and ruler? For these
things are essential to a king.

Consequently, just as the reality of Divinity never had a beginning--that
is, God has ever been a Creator, God has ever been a Provider, God has
ever been a Quickener, God has ever been a Bestower--so there never has
been a time when the attributes of God have not had expression. The sun is
the sun because of its rays, because of its heat. Were we to conceive of a
time when there was a sun without heat and light, it would imply that
there had been no sun at all and that it became the sun afterward. So,
likewise, if we say there was a time when God had no creation or created
beings, a time when there were no recipients of His bounties and that His
names and attributes had not been manifested, this would be equivalent to
a complete denial of Divinity, for it would mean that Divinity is
accidental. To explain it still more clearly, if we think that fifty
thousand years ago or one hundred thousand years ago there was no
creation, that there were then