It is known by clear reason that the Creator, who originated all beings and their perfections, is more entitled to every perfection, and to the perfection by which He is distinct from all other existing beings. This approach, and others like it, has been followed by those who affirm the divine attributes.

Thus it may be said:

If we present to sound reason a being that neither acts nor moves, that cannot ascend or descend, come or arrive, draw near, grasp, or fold up, and cannot bring anything into existence through an act subsisting in it; and a being capable of these acts, yet which does not bring things into existence through an act of its own, then the latter being is more perfect. The former resembles an inanimate object or a living being that is disabled and mutilated. A living being is more perfect than an inanimate object, and a living being capable of acting is more perfect than one incapable of doing so. Likewise, something that neither hears nor sees nor speaks resembles an inanimate object or someone who is blind, deaf, and mute. A living being is more perfect than an inanimate object, and a living being that hears, sees, and speaks is more perfect than one that is deaf, blind, and mute.

That being so, if someone who denies His action seeks to deny it to avoid ascribing imperfection to Him in eternity past, and says, “If He performed acts Himself, then the later act would have been