I am seeking the soul-destroyer!  
whose ways rip and slash and burn.  
As a moth calls out to the flame, I pray:

  Rain down your wrath from heaven;  
  beseech Job a portion of his woes;  
  grant the sea drown my sorrow  
  and fire consume those who know.

O soul-destroyer!  
Make my hands to me  
works of an unknown God;  
my own eyes a mystery,  
my breath the bellows  
of another's despair;  
until my time here  
is so filled with awe  
that wonder prevents  
all knowledge of its passing.

O soul-destroyer!  
Teach me the ways of love  
until I cradle Satan in my arms  
and hear him weep  
all the days of his evil away...

The Sufi path (tariqat) in general seeks renunciation to achieve abundance: sort of like emptying a cup so it may be filled with water.

As a form of metaphysics, it is based on the negative. The main task of the seeker is to eliminate, that he may find. This is epitomized in the statement, “There is no God, but God.”

Bahá’u’lláh changed the basic metaphysics of mysticism, however. In this Revelation, the above statement has been changed to, “He is God.” This phrase cannot be found in the Qur’an, but occurs frequently in the Bahá’í Writings. Taherzadeh wrote:

Referring to the fore-mentioned phrase There is no God but Him', Baha'u'llah, in the Tablet of Salman, proclaims in majestic and powerful language that He has removed the letter of negation which had been placed before that of affirmation. This phrase, which the Prophet of Islam, through His all-encompassing wisdom, regarded to be the cornerstone of His Faith, is now, in the Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, symbolically replaced by the affirmative phraseHe is God’, signifying that the Revealer of the Cause of God holds within His hands the reins of authority, and, unlike the Dispensations of the past, no one has the power to wrest it from Him.5

All mysticism previous to Bahá’u’lláh was based solidly on the letter of negation. This emphasis led naturally toward celibacy, asceticism, vows of silence and poverty, withdrawal from the world, and self- mortification. In this Dispensation, however, mysticism is founded upon the letter of affirmation: the world is upheld in its mode of manifesting the Will of God, and does not exist to be shunned.

I don’t think one can overstate how fundamental and radical a shift this is. It could take centuries before its impact is fully realized. I even think it will change basic mystical thinking so much that the concept of asceticism will come to be seen as barbaric, kind of like people spiritually bleeding themselves to cure an illness.

What is a mysticism of affirmation? It should be noted that some of Bahá’u’lláh’s texts, revealed before His declaration, speak in the language of negation – such as the Seven Valleys, and many of the Hidden Words (cf. “Blind thine eyes that thou mayest behold My Beauty”). This does not mean that negation is invalid, simply that the emphasis changed after His declaration to one of affirmation.

Affirmation confirms the validity of existence. The world is not meant to be taken as a substitute for God, but it is a sign of God. If I were to write a letter to someone, my words would not be me, but they would convey my spirit and intentions. If the person receiving the letter is distracted by the medium, however, its purpose is not fulfilled. In the same way, this world expresses the intentions of its Creator. It is possible to “see Him in everything”, because His qualities are what illumine existence. If we become distracted by that medium, however, its purpose is also unfulfilled.

The letter of negation is a guard against seeing value in the world in and of itself. The letter of affirmation indicates its value as the expression of God’s Will. The practice of negation, such as impoverishing one’s self, was meant to ensure that one did not become distracted. But as important as this is, it should no longer be the emphasis. The emphasis is now on the purpose of life. For its purpose to be realized, it must be valued in a way that affirms the role of the world.

For example, the Sufis wished to absorb themselves in devotion, so they withdrew from the world. They practiced negation to find God. However, since men are intended to be lamps of His light, shining among the people, withdrawal nullifies the purpose of the seeker’s own reality. What use is a lamp hidden under a bush? The real devotion is dedication to God’s ultimate purpose, a part of which is that men become exponents of virtue, and of benefit to society.

A mysticism of affirmation, I believe, would uphold wealth for its purpose, while never forgetting that it must not become a distraction. The Bahá’í credo of “excellence in all things” shows how we should be at the forefront of all endeavors, and never sit in the back from fear of fame and fortune. The emphasis now is on life, and no longer on the danger of living.

Another important aspect of this shift is the focus on Bahá’u’lláh. Direct connection not being possible, we turn to His Intermediary. The Guardian stated:

We liken God to the Sun, which gives us all our life. So the Spirit of God reaches us through the Souls of the Manifestations. We must learn to commune with Their Souls, and this is what the Martyrs seemed to have done, and what brought them such ecstacy of joy that life became nothing. This is the true mysticism, and the secret, inner meaning of life which humanity has at present, drifted so far from.6

Some mystics, in their negation of all but God, believed in no worldly focus. Even though the Prophets were a focal point for meditation, the true Goal lay “beyond all things”. All was looked past, that the Ultimate might be seen. This can lead to a belief that even the authority of the Prophet is a barrier to the true mystic’s path, meaning it also was cast into the fire of negation. When nothing was left, attainment was felt to be near.

In many ways this is true, because a lover’s heart must be free of all things. However, finite beings requires a finite object; one cannot love what is perfectly inaccessible. This is something that makes negative mysticism so terribly difficult: the seeker is given an essentially impossible task. Affirmation – loving God through His manifestations (and Manifestation) – is vastly easier, even if it requires more maturity on the part of the seeker (since the danger of distraction is always present).

In sum, if Bahá’u’lláh is our Goal, and His Will equally beloved, and if the natural world and society are the form of that Will, then it follows that nothing can be evil or reprehensible – things simply fulfill their purpose or not. There is no need to cast away wealth, nor any intrinsic merit to poverty. It is simply a matter of each thing fulfilling its role in Divine Creation.

Negative: Abandon wealth, that you may discover true wealth in the Infinite. Affirmative: Achieve wealth, that you may realize its aim: the finite expression of His name, the All-Bountiful.

This is an opinion of mine which is perhaps not shared by many, but comes from my own view of what philosophy means, and why it’s important.

A system of thought which seeks to propound a set view of things is not “philosophy” (the inspecific noun). It is a product of philosophy, or “a philosophy” (the specific, yet indefinite noun). Since these two uses of the word sound very close, there is often confusion.

Philosophy is that love of wisdom which propels one to escape ignorance in pursuit of the Truth. It also includes the means by which we verify the products of that search. That is, are we headed down a blind alley? There are certain tools to help answer such questions, but they are not useful if enmired in ambition and emotion. It is an exceedingly difficult path to tread.

The fruits of philosophy are related to it in the same way a building is related to architecture. The individual architect is always striving for a perfect design, and each building he creates is a step along that path. But if he wraps himself up in the building itself, and declares to everyone that, “This is the ultimate goal of architecture”, we rightly should look at him with eyes askance, to hide our embarrassment.

Truth is inclusive enough that we cannot properly discuss it. This lesson came from Plato. So we examine our experiences, and question the validity of what we currently know, and how long we should employ it before moving on. There is always movement toward the more perfect, the more encompassing. To one extent, this unifies with the quest of the mystics, who seek absorption in the absolute. They say that our most divine attainment initially is a perfect understanding of our own ignorance. Once that is achieved, we become the perfect student, while the world around us is a perfect teacher, because in its reality, it truly “is”. Plato called this, “learning to see things-as-they-are.”

But how does one become a student, so as to learn from experience? Does this transformation occur randomly, with no prior consideration? Surely if truth were so commonplace as to contain us all, at every moment, no one would seek any answer to these questions.

It then stands to reason that our ignorance is deep enough that we are ignorant even of this fact. Hence philosophy, for it is a discipline that invites only those whose love of wisdom exceeds their love of self. In fact, it implies a devastating abandonment of that cursed companion, and an entry into regions both frightening and utterly unpredictable. It is our love that conquers our fear, and emboldens us to charge headlong onto the spear of that most implacable enemy: our illusion that we already possess the Truth.

Anyone who stops along the way, to turn around and descant upon the “realities” of things, does so, I believe, for one of two reasons: Either they are impatient of the goal and want it now; or else, during the course of their search, they witness the extreme travail of their fellow man, and seek to offer some tidbit of what they’ve found.

Unfortunately, these ideas are always only half-formed (compared with the Ultimate we desire). Maybe the author even conveys this, or seeks to temper the zealousness of his compatriots. But humanity at large desperately and impatiently desires this goal, consciously or not, and will grasp hold of its traces with severe determinacy, intent on calling it master. Yet these errors should not be confused with the begetter of such a tragedy.

The human spirit/soul/mind/being (whatever) is capable of perceiving realities not evident. This is true even on a basic level, for look at how many people concern themselves over greenish paper with printed numerals! We exist in a world of symbols and portent. This is a decidedly human trait. It also reflects our potential to go further and deeper into this well of experience, therewith to broaden our definition of what “true” means.

I would say in this context that any “philosophy” is utterly rubbish in the absolute sense. I assume even the author of such a thing would agree, given ten more years to pursue their art (that is, if their intentions toward Sophia be pure). Otherwise, it’s just snake oil, a false panacea, with which they strive to convince others of their self-superiority. I judge harshly, because what fools we are to consider that the end is found! and the territory finally mapped! There are only six thousand years to our collective, conscious history, and we would plant our stake on the plane of the absolute?

Philosophy is, in a sense, “the self-effacing discipline”, in that every discovery made should immediately be followed by a keen lookout for what comes next. Plato termed the philosopher as “one who already has one foot in the grave”, since he contemplates the mysteries of the soul (that part of us related to Truth) while yet possessing a body.

It is true that philosophy also includes techniques of discernment, and methods of analysis, which are quite rigorous and exact. They demand self-criticism, and a constant review of motive and method. But alas the method, being something easily graspable, is often mistaken for the whole. There can be no spoken philosophy, just as a love of anything is jejune, if that beloved be not present.

Ultimately, we each discover Sophia/Good/God/Truth on our own – definitely guided by the thoughts of others, certainly aided by discussion and debate – but unless one feels that reality touching upon his most inward essence, all that he has gained is a craftily worded hope.

Hold up the wine cup  
to the light, my friend.  
See how it sparkles.  
The light, like glinting diamonds,  
reflects in the glass.  
The ruby draught that waits to pour;  
the blazing sapphire of your thirst:  
all are treasures, found in one cup.

Now sprinkle the Camphor,  
perfect, unblemished crystals.  
Stir until they dissolve.  
Let the wine digest them  
and blend it all into One.

Now take hold this cup  
that holds the wine  
that holds the bright, coruscant lights,  
that holds the hope of your thirst's desire --  
and drink deep.

Rainfall outside my window:  
Water sweeps the sky.

A flash in the silence.

Painted on my mind's eye:  
Images of distant peaks.

A sudden, dark rumble.

After some thought on the scheme of the Four Valleys, the following is an interpretation based on some time spent musing.

The Four Valleys seems to describe a few of the paths by which each soul may approach God. Since this approach is the fundamental concern of reality, it makes sense that multiple avenues are possible. This is adumbrated in the following Hidden Word:

O Son of Man! Write all that We have revealed unto thee with the ink of light upon the tablet of thy spirit. Should this not be in thy power, then make thine ink of the essence of thy heart. If this thou canst not do, then write with that crimson ink that hath been shed in My path. Sweeter indeed is this to Me than all else, that its light may endure for ever.12

Here Bahá’u’lláh indicates that His Revelation should be written upon the tablet of the spirit; but if this is not possible to the believer, he may write it upon his heart; and if not this, then he may shed the blood of his material substance. All forms are given as acceptable, it being left to the seeker to choose which path lies within his power.

The Four Valleys seems to present a similar idea, laying out four avenues of faith, all of which lead to the purposed goal.

The Valley of the Intended One

The First Valley is for those who seek the Intended One (maqsúd). Here God is conceived of as a destination (maqsad), to be reached through the fulfillment of religious duty. Although this scheme places union with God at some indefinite point future – and thus embraces the concept of a long and arduous journey, never to be fully completed in this life – yet through consistent effort, the seeker will surely reach his goal.

Although at the beginning, this plane is the realm of conflict, yet it endeth in attainment to the throne of splendor.13

Further, since the journey is one of gradual attainment, it upholds the concept of a “self” – since only the self can “acquire” virtues:

On this plane, the self is not rejected but beloved; it is well-pleasing and not to be shunned.

The course of this Way is given in the following verse:

“O Abraham of this day, O Friend Abraham of the Spirit! Kill these four birds of prey,” that after death the riddle of life may be unraveled.

Which is: conquer the evil qualities in your self, until you come to reflect the Divine; then, after death, you will receive the merit of your deeds.

As the seeker moves forward in this plane, he constantly takes the measure of himself, to determine whether he is yet pleasing to God:

One must, then, read the book of his own self, rather than some treatise on rhetoric. Wherefore He hath said, “Read thy Book: There needeth none but thyself to make out an account against thee this day.”

The warning given in the First Valley is that the seeker not become too attached to these names and titles. When the Beloved is found, cast aside all that has been acquired, and accept him utterly.

The death of self is needed here, not rhetoric: Be nothing, then, and walk upon the waves.

And lastly, one cannot relax in this path, since the seeker’s forward motion comes from his constant devotion:

“And be ye not like those who forget God, and whom He hath therefore caused to forget their own selves. These are the wicked doers.”

The Valley of the Praise-worthy One

In the second valley, the duty of self-perfection is not the primary motivator, but rather the seeker’s fascination with the ways of God. To penetrate the wisdom of this path requires profound faith, since God’s doings are shrouded in impenetrable mystery. And because the mind cannot embrace Him, this Valley offers hours of confusion for every moment of clarity:

On this plane, the traveler meeteth with many a trial and reverse. Now is he lifted up to heaven, now is he cast into the depths.

However, as faith in the way of God develops, the seeker comes to appreciate the beauty of how well-ordered is creation. The sign of this station is that of the companions in the cave, whose faith was tested when God sequestered them there. Although they were in the cave, and could not see what transpired outside, they saw the sun rise on the right, and pass on the left. In a similar way, though the seeker does not understand how his prayers are answered, from the time he prays, until its answer, he has Faith that all events are toward his benefit. As Bahá’u’lláh writes elsewhere:

Whatsoever occurreth in the world of being is light for His loved ones and fire for the people of sedition and strife. Even if all the losses of the world were to be sustained by one of the friends of God, he would still profit thereby, whereas true loss would be borne by such as are wayward, ignorant and contemptuous.14

Therefore the task of this Valley is to purify the heart, and plumb for an ever-deeper understanding of things, that divine inspiration may take the place of ignorance:

Wherefore, a man should make ready his heart that it be worthy of the descent of heavenly grace, and that the bounteous Cup-Bearer may give him to drink of the wine of bestowal from the merciful vessel.

If the First Valley is focused on attaining qualities, this Valley is focused on attaining true vision. Attainment of either will conduce to right behavior. And although the course of the Second Valley is at first a source of frustration and confusion, afterward it leads to a faith well-grounded in knowledge (ma`rifat).

The Valley of the Attracting One

The Third Valley is the course of most mystics, since it is the plane of rapture and ecstatic devotion. Here the seeker aims to fall in love with God, until all aspects of his self are burnt away. He neither wishes for a respectable self, nor cares to understand. For him, thirst is what leads to true recognition of the waters of life.

These lovers of God throw everything into confusion, and often become a cause of upset to their fellow believers in the beginning:

These are a people who deem the lowest place to be one with the throne of glory, and to them beauty’s bower differeth not from the field of a battle fought in the cause of the Beloved.

However, they burn with desire to meet their Lord, and brook no delay. They need neither prompting, nor assurance, since their own condition propels them ceaselessly to seek the Beloved. They cannot rest without Him; they tolerate no substitute.

Effort in this Valley takes the form of burning devotion and mystic intoxication. His lovers seek Him anywhere, in every face, in every mind. Though at times they seem to lack discrimination, the true seeker on this path knows exactly Whom he seeks. He may enter places high and low, but he accepts naught unless he inhale therein the scent of his Beloved’s musk.

The Valley of the Beloved One

In the Fourth Valley, the seeker himself has no more significance. Here, God alone is the way, and the purpose. The seeker lives in God, or he dies in separation, for there is only He.

Verily, the wayfarer who journeyeth unto God, unto the Crimson Pillar in the snow-white path, will never reach unto his heavenly goal unless he abandoneth all that men possess…

Because there is no self here – existence being only through God – this Valley does not conceive of God as on the other side of a long journey. The seeker is always united with God, since he cannot possess separate existence. To him, “All things are of God, and every melody from Him.” Separation would be as inconceivable as vision without light.

Meditate on what the poet hath written: “Wonder not, if my Best-Beloved be closer to me than mine own self; wonder at this, that I, despite such nearness, should still be so far from Him.”… Considering what God hath revealed, that “We are closer to man than his life-vein,” the poet hath, in allusion to this verse, stated that, though the revelation of my Best-Beloved hath so permeated my being that He is closer to me than my life-vein, yet, notwithstanding my certitude of its reality and my recognition of my station, I am still so far removed from Him. By this he meaneth that his heart, which is the seat of the All-Merciful and the throne wherein abideth the splendor of His revelation, is forgetful of its Creator, hath strayed from His path, hath shut out itself from His glory, and is stained with the defilement of earthly desires.15

In this Valley, whatever He decrees is beloved, and is in fact seen as the essence of life: “He doth what He willeth, ordaineth what He pleaseth.” His will is perfection unalloyed, and likewise His creation:

Herein the high heavens are in no conflict with the lowly earth, nor do they seek to excel it, for this is the land of mercy, not the realm of distinction.

Even the lover desires something for himself, in the Beloved. Yet in this Valley, all desire is forsaken. Not even motivation is required, since no life is possible but through Him. Thus, the seeker’s only possession is his poverty before Him, and his only capacity, to acknowledge true powerlessness before the Divine decree:

Astonishment here is highly prized, and utter poverty essential. Wherefore hath it been said, “Poverty is My pride.” And again: “God hath a people beneath the dome of glory, whom He hideth in the clothing of radiant poverty.” These are they who see with His eyes, hear with His ears, as it is written in the well-known tradition.

These followers of the Beloved see in His decree their final goal:

See, our hearts come open like shells, when He raineth grace like pearls,
And our lives are ready targets,
when agony’s arrows He hurls.

Whoso hath inhaled the sweet fragrance of the All-Merciful, and recognized the Source of this utterance, will welcome with his own eyes the shafts of the enemy, that he may establish the truth of the laws of God amongst men.

Summary

These ways of treading the path of Faith are multiple, according to the differing temperaments of mankind. Another reference to this theme occurs in the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf:

At one time We spoke in the language of the lawgiver; at another in that of the truth-seeker and the mystic, and yet Our supreme purpose and highest wish hath always been to disclose the glory and sublimity of this station.16

In this verse the language used in each of the first three Valleys is mentioned. In another place, Bahá’u’lláh mentions that He uses up to nine different modes of discourse while presenting the Message.

Whichever language attracts the soul to God is the right one for him. A primary requisite for teaching is determining what form of the truth a person wishes to hear. Bahá’u’lláh quotes:

“Not everything that a man knoweth can be disclosed, nor can everything that he can disclose be regarded as timely, nor can every timely utterance be considered as suited to the capacity of those who hear it.”

The real task is piquing the soul’s interest, and using the terms it understands best. This is exactly how Bahá’u’lláh spoke to humanity, which can be seen in the way that Four Valleys itself relies so heavily on Sufi terminology and concepts. It only matters that we find God. Everything else is a means to that end.

If “self” is our conscious will – which determines our experience of reality – I count two aspects to exercising this will: how well we pay attention, and what we pay attention to. If self has a condition of fulfillment, it lies in the perfection of these two things, just as the fulfillment of anything is measured by how well we use it, and what we use it for.

Take driving, for example. At its best, it takes us from one place to another in speed and comfort. To do this, the driver must learn how to use the car, and spend time and effort practicing its use. In the early stages, because of unfamiliarity, he spends at least as much attention on the car itself, as he does to the road. This division of focus hurts his ability to drive, but is a necessary part of learning. So although the goal of driving relates to the world outside the car, much of his initial attention is fixed inside, on becoming familiar with the car’s workings. It is a curious paradox, but from it comes the end result of effortless driving.

The self18 must go through similar stages. If its function is awareness, it is an awareness of. Of what, and how to use it, is the point of education. Initially we might pay as much or more attention to the process of awareness per se as we do to what we’re becoming aware of, but when the self functions smoothly, focus moves away from the process to its intent (not in the sense of a specific goal, but rather like art, whose intent is the full experience of creation, and not just the resulting artwork).

This well-functioning self experiences life in a much different way than its earlier stages. As with driving, the beginning is fun and exciting, but also anxious and overwhelming: the skilled driver enjoys a peace and depth of satisfaction absent in the student. This is because his consciousness is fully directed outside the car, while he unconsciously operates it. In the same way, when our awareness becomes fully conscious of its Intended One (baqá) and ceases to be conscious of itself (faná), it will really eat up the road…

As I ponder about God and existence, it becomes harder and harder to separate the two. In fact, I have a harder time dividing them than I do seeing them as one. And while I don’t think the world is identical with God (pantheism), I also don’t think He exists solely as the Unseen Beyond. I find a possible answer to this quandary in the following verse from the Qur’án:

“He is the First and the Last, the Seen and the Hidden.”(57:3)

Existence, as it appears in any given moment, is the Last, because it culminates all time before it. However, since each moment is of the same essential character as every other (i.e., every moment is existence), they are also all the First. They differ with respect to their identity, but not in their role or intrinsic quality.

As for the Seen and the Hidden, people offer an easy example. No one can directly perceive another’s soul, because it is Hidden. Science has made no progress in finding the seat of consciousness, or observing the soul directly. But this does not mean that no relationship is possible: through name, face, language, and other means, we can connect to each other through what may be Seen.

In this sense, existence is God as the Seen, just as much as what people know of me is me. But since others can never know me as I know myself, whatever we learn from existence cannot help us to comprehend God’s reality as the Hidden. And although the world is never the same, being always the Last, I may always apprehend its meaning through its unchanging aspect as the First.21

That said, existence is, in effect, God as I can know Him. Since my consciousness is of this world, it’s as though my whole life I have been sitting in a room of infinite dimensions, observing a Person mostly unknown to me – and every moment being an opportunity to get to know Him better.

Since His exterior form (the world) is manifold and diverse, it’s very easy to make assumptions. My knowledge is my greatest veil in this case, because it leads me to assume that I understand. Existence can appear to me like an oddly-dressed Stranger, so filled with disturbing qualities that He is more often unwelcome than not. There might be momentary interest in some elements, but even more repulsion in the others. In all, life is taken a bit for granted, much of which I have the instinct to change if I could.

But there He sits, all along, patient and undemanding. Every once in a while He does something to grab my attention, but most of the time He leaves me to myself. Although He occupies the whole of my field of vision, my mind wanders. I look directly at Him, but I stop seeing Him. I go to other places in my mind, nicer-looking and of my own invention.

But since He is always there, I always have the opportunity to pay closer attention. To ask more questions. To wonder Who He is, and what He might have to say. Children are fascinated by life, until they think they know what it’s all about. Who is this bizarre stranger, Life, Who so rarely makes sense, but is ever full of wonder and new things?

At some point, I might discover this Person to be my true love, and give over my heart. But to do this requires seeing beyond what my eyes tell me, because really, He doesn’t seem all that glorious. His Essence may be – and this most believe – but His cloak of existence? Too often the words we hear from Him, spoken in the form of daily events, sound like a confused and meaningless gibberish.

Those who take the time may gain an inkling of Who this Stranger really is. We have the whole of our lives to find out. And all it takes is sincere effort; nothing holds us back but our own indifference, the belief that true value lies elsewhere. At every moment, every day of my life, He waits in front of me, ever in plain view. I can’t remember ever having seen anyone else, in fact.

When I pass from this life, perhaps the veil will be lifted, and I will come to fully recognize Who it is I’d been with. This theme is often explored in novels and movies, where a powerful king assumes the guise of a poor man, to visit His subjects and find out what’s in their hearts. And there is always the true-hearted maiden who falls in love with that seemingly poor man, for his inner qualities, only to find out later that her betrothed is the king of all the land.

What if existence is the face of our Ideal King, shrouded in radiant poverty, in order to test who among us is willing to judge by His inward qualities, and not be distracted by outward appearance? And when death lifts the veil, the Stranger will remove this strange cloak, and reveal Himself to be the very perfection we had always sought from life: the substance of most daring dreams.

And as the maiden who gets to marry the king because she accepted him for himself, perhaps true heaven is in suddenly realizing that our love is more beautiful than we could have ever imagined, and we find that we are now bonded to Him by a trust that others will find very, very long in coming, after the fact.

… were the glory of this station to be revealed unto men to an extent smaller than a needle’s eye, thou wouldst witness them gathering before the threshold of divine mercy and hastening from all sides to the court of nearness in the realms of divine glory. We have concealed it, however, as mentioned before, that those who believe may be distinguished from them that deny, and that those who turn unto God may be discerned from them that turn aside.22