Natural Theology, Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
The general Doctrine improved. Atheiſm unreaſonable. The Degeneracy of Reaſon about Divine Objects. Few profeſt Atheiſts, The reaſon why ſome attempt to make themſelves Atheiſts. The ſeveral Cauſes out of which Atheiſm springs. Why amongst Chriſtians, that live under the Goſpel, there is found the greateſt Atheiſm.
THus we have demonſtrated the God-head, or the Being of God from the Works of Creation; I ſhould now proceed to Demonſtrate thence alſo ſeveral Attributes of his Being: but I ſhall firſt endeavour to reduce this Knowledge of God's Being, ariſing from the light and Law of Nature, to the ſervice of Chriſtianity. For my deſign is for Practice rather than Speculation.
Inf. 1. Firſt, We may hence take notice, that Atheiſm is not only Impious but Irrational. To deny a God, is to deny and contradict true Reaſon. The Pſalmiſt calls him a Fool that ſaith in his heart, there is no God, Pſal. 14. 1. And a Fool is one that is defective, or diſtempered in his Reaſon.foreign. Tri…megiſt. If Idolaters be charged with brutiſhneſs that worſhipped falſe gods, Jer. 10. 14, 18. how much more the Atheiſt that denies a God? And if the Apoſtle ſaith of them, that their fooliſh heart was darkened, when they debaſed him in their vain Rites and Modes of Worſhip,Rom. 1. 18. how much more are ſuch dark'ned with folly that deny his Being?
Though Hell be the Seat of perfect Wickedneſs, yet this Speculative Atheiſm is not to be found there. The Devils themſelves believe and tremble. And what a monſtrous thing then is it, that it ſhould be found upon Earth! And eſpecially in that part of the Earth, where Men have not only the Book of Nature, but the written Word of the God of Nature as a Comment upon the works of it; for men to think it an height of Wit, to be able to diſpute againſt a Deity, and a piece of Gallantry to live above the fear of it!
Men that are rational enough in other things, yet in this their Reaſons are ſtrangely blinded; which ſhews the ſtrange degeneracy of their Souls in things that concern another World, while they are ripe and pregnant enough in things that concern this World. For did Men exert their Reaſon in thoſe things, as they can and do in theſe, it would conclude nothing more ſtrongly than that God is. It is the proper Office of Reaſon to argue from the Effect to the Cauſe; why ſhould it not then argue, when it beholds the wonderful Works of this Creation, theſe muſt needs proceed from ſome Infinite Cauſe, and thereby be led up to the Being of God? As when a man ſeeth a Tree that is extended into Boughs and Branches, his thoughts are naturally led to ſome Root out of which it ſprings; and ſo when he ſeeeth a River, his thoughts will lead him to ſome Spring out of which it ariſeth; why then ſhould we not, when we ſee this viſible World, have our thoughts as it were naturally led up to a firſt Being? God hath ſufficiently by his Works of Creation evidenced to Mankind his Being, that they might ſeek after him; And therefore there will be no room left for any ſuch plea in the day of Judgment, for any people whatſoever in any part of the world. If we had known there had been a God, we would have ſought him, ſerved, and worſhipped him. Doth Man plead, I never ſaw his Being; Will we believe nothing but what our eyes ſee? We never ſaw thoſe Souls that dwell within us, ſhall we therefore not believe we have Souls? do not their operations ſufficiently evidence their Being in us? Nay, we do not ſee the Air in which we breath, and yet no Man denies but there is Air. And doth not the Text tell us of the inviſible things of God, and therefore not to be ſeen? Or, will Man plead he was not preſent when God made this World; how ſhall he then know that he made it? If we ſee an Houſe erected according to the Rules of Art; ſhall we not believe it is the work of ſome skilful Artificer, though we did not ſtand by and ſee him build it?
But of theſe profeſt Atheiſts we have not many inſtances; we read in Ancient Writers of ſuch as Protagoras, Diagoras, Theodorus, &c. who denyed, or diſputed all Deity; whom I find quoted and confuted by learned Bradwardine, as they were before condemned by the Athenians, Brad. lib. 1. Coral. 1. pars ſecund.and indeed ſuch were exploded by the Heathen. And thoſe that were ſo, yet were not conſtantly ſo, as to maintain this Opinion to the end. In mens ſerious and retired thoughts, eſpecially if they be under ſome ſmart affliction, the Belief and Sence of a Deity returns upon them.Nullus eorum in hac Opinione quod Dii non ſunt, ab adoleſcentiâ ad ſenectutem perſeveravit. Plato. 1. 10. de legibus. As a motion that is againſt Nature, will ſome time or other recur. And therefore the Philoſopher ſaid that no Man perſevered in this Opinion from Youth to Old Age. Nature cannot utterly forget her firſt and fundamental Leſſon, that God is; and that firſt Verity, that is ſo deeply rooted in Nature that it cannot be totally blotted out:Licet enim noſter animus multis inquinamentis abducatur à ſuo naturali propoſito, frequens tamen illud recurrit, ut exprimat innatos veritatis igniculos. Pamel. Adnot. in Tertul. C. 17. Apo. As that Renowned Carver did grave his own Image into the Buckler of Pallas with ſuch ſingular Art and Cunning, that it could not be removed without defacing the whole Work. For the Soul being from Divine Inſpiration, God hath put the Character of himſelf upon it which cannot be utterly defaced, while its Being continues. And therefore the Opinion that denies a Deity, is rather a Frolick, a Fancy, a Dream, than a grounded Opinion. And when the Soul of Man is itſelf, and converſeth with it ſelf, and beholdeth the Legible Characters of God's Being written upon this whole Creation, ſuch Opinion vaniſheth away.
But yet we find many have this ſence of a Deity very weak, and the Notion of it very dark in their Souls, and many ſtaggerings in their minds about it. And not only amongſt Heathens, but even amongſt themſelves, where the Goſpel is profeſt and preached. Yea, we find in many that live under the Goſpel leſs ſence of a Deity upon their hearts, than amongſt the moſt barbarous Nations of the World.
But of all others theſe are the moſt monſtrous, who ſtudy to make themſelves Atheiſts, who ſet their wits on work to frame Arguments againſt a Deity. And they do it to deliver themſelves from Service; and from Fear. 1. From Service, that they might be free from the Yoke of ſerving God; for if they own a Deity, their Reaſon tells them, they ought to give him Worſhip and Service, and this they account a Yoke and Burthen. As thoſe ſaid in Malachi 1. ver. 13. Behold, what a wearineſs is it, and ye have ſnuffed at it. They think they cannot be perfect free men till they have freed themſelves from all Belief and Sence of a Deity.Aug. de verâ Relig. C. 36. To. 1. As Auſtin to this purpoſe, Quidam propterea putant nihil colendum eſſe, ne ſerviant. Some think no Deity is to be worſhipped that they might not ſerve. And Lucretius boaſts of Epicurus that he was the firſt that delivered the World from the burden of Religion▪
Humana ante oculos foedè cum vita jaceret,
In terris oppreſſa gravi ſub Religione;
Primum Graius homo mortales tollere contra
Eſt oculos auſus, &c.
But are not theſe Men much miſtaken? when they have caſt off the Service of God,Deo parere libertas eſt. Sen. de vita beata. which is the true Liberty of Man; are they not given up to the Service of baſe Luſts, which is true Bondage? And made Drudges to the God of this World, who will not be the ſervants of the true God? Though the Orator define Liberty to be this, Libertas eſt facultas vivendi ut velis, Cicero.Liberty is a power of living as a Man will: Yet to be obedient to a corrupt Will, is Bondage not Liberty.
True Liberty is not as one well ſpeaks; Sibi ſervire, ſed ſibi imperare; Not to ſerve a Mans ſelf,…otherby. Atheomaſ…ix. p. 118. but to rule over himſelf; So that in this they miſs their end. 2. They deſign to deliver themſelves from fear. But they are not able to accompliſh this end neither. For though in their Cups, and Careſſes they can diſcharge their fear,Non quenquam vidi qui magis ea, quae timenda non eſſe dixit, magis timeret; mortem dico, & Deos. yet let them fall under ſome ſharp affliction, or draw near the King of Terrours, and their fears of God and Judgment will be ready to return upon … As Tully obſerved of Epicurus, though he diſputed againſt the Being of God, and that Death ought not to be feared, yet ſaith he, I never obſerved any Man to fear more thoſe very things which he ſaid ought not to be feared, namely, Death and the Godds.
Now the Cauſes that Men are led into Atheiſm by, are ſuch as theſe.
1. Is, the Courſe and Efficacy of ſecond Cauſes. They obſerve how all things come to paſs by ſome viſible Cauſes, which are either Natural, or Voluntary. In Natural Cauſes, if the Cauſe be ſufficient the Effect follows, if not, the Effect miſcarries. So that it is not a God, ſay they, that governs the Events of Nature, but the Natural Cauſe doth all. So, in Voluntary Cauſes that depend upon the will of Man; If it be a good thing that is deſigned and endeavoured, yet it falls ſhort if the Cauſe be not ſufficient; if it be a bad thing, it comes to paſs if there be ſufficient means prepared for it. But let me anſwer as I go along. 1. Is it an Argument againſt the Being of God, becauſe there are ſecond Cauſes? Becauſe inferiour Miniſters are made uſe of in the Affairs of Government, doth this prove thar there is no Supreme Governour? May there not be ſecond Cauſes, and yet the concurrence of a firſt Cauſe alſo, that doth ſteer and influence them in their Operations? 2. And it is not alwayes that theſe ſecond Cauſes how ſufficient ſoever they may ſeem, that they produce their end. Sometimes Nature miſcarries in her Productions, and none can give a reaſon for it.
And ſo in Voluntary Cauſes, The Race is not always to the ſwift, nor the Battel to the ſtrong, nor Riches to Men of underſtanding, as Solomon obſerves. Though for the moſt part, the ſecond Cauſe doth accompliſh the Effect according to to the Law and Ordinance God hath ſetled in the World; yet ſometimes it miſcarries and fails, that Men might not place their confidence there. 3. Where the Effect miſcarries through the Deficiency of ſecond Cauſes, thoſe Deficiences are ordered and regulated by God, as well as the Efficacy of Cauſes. When God intends an Effect, he will Order and Influence the ſecond Cauſe, ſo as to produce it, where he intends otherwiſe, he will ſo ſuſpend or divert it, that the Effect ſhall not ſucceed. And under this Head I may take notice that the long ceſſation of Miracles may be ſome occaſion of Atheiſm. For Miracles are wrought above or againſt the courſe of ſecond Cauſes; and when Men ſee them, they are then even forced to ſay as Pharaoh's Magicians, Hic Digitus Dei, Here is the Finger of God. But when men for a long time together have obſerved that Nature keeps its courſe, and things come to paſs by the uſe of means, they grow into an Opinion that all things are by Nature, and that there is no Providence, and ſo no God.
Object. But why doth not God then in every Age work Miracles to convince the World of his Being?
Anſw. Becauſe the ordinary courſe of Nature is ſufficient to it, if men did not ſhut up their eyes, and refuſe to ſee. And God thinks it not meet to put Nature out of its ordinary courſe that he ſetled at the beginning, unleſs on ſome extraordinary occaſions, and for ſome extraordinary end. But is it not as wonderful in it ſelf to ſee the Sun move in a conſtant Line, from one end of the year to the other, as to ſee it ſtand ſtill? And to ſee a watery Sap riſing out of the Earth to be turned into Wine, as to ſee Water in a Veſſel turn'd into Wine; as it was in the Miracle of Chriſt wrought at Cana, John 2. 3. Or to ſee Bread brought of the Earth, as to have it rained down from Heaven, as it was upon Iſrael in the Wilderneſs?
2. Another cauſe is, Guilt in the Conſcience. Though it is not an immediate, yet it is a remote cauſe of Atheiſm. For Guilt working in the Conſcience, is an immediate proof of a Deity and Judgment to come; but it proves a remote cauſe of Atheiſm. For it makes men wiſh there was no God, and ſo are thereby the more diſpoſed to believe there is none. For the old Proverb is, Quod valdè volumus, facilè credimus. What a Man earneſtly deſires might not be, he is inclinable to believe it not to be. And hereupon are ready to extinguiſh thoſe innate Notions of a Deity that are within themſelves, or ſuch as may be gathered from without, and to comply with any ſuggeſtions to that end, that may be adminiſtred either by Satan, their own corrupt Hearts, or prophane Men. Guilt begets Fear, Fear begets Torment; this Torment doth diſquiet Mens Peace, and much allayes the pleaſure of Sin; That they may therefore provide a Remedy for themſelves, they are willing enough to believe there is no God. As Moraliſts tells us of an Ignorance that is Ignorantia pravae Diſpoſitionis, of a wicked Diſpoſition: Such is that, when men ſeek to darken that foreign, that which they may be Nature know of God; that they may ſin with the greater freedom and peace. But this is juſt as if a Man, to prevent a Danger, ſhould hood-wink himſelf that he might not ſee it. It's true, if there was no Remedy provided Man of God againſt this Guilt, and fear ariſing out of it, this might ſeem to be a rational courſe; but ſeeing there is a Remedy provided, it is Man's Wiſdom to ſeek after it, whereby to have his fear and his Danger alſo removed together.
3. A third Cauſe is, The ſtrange adminiſtration of things in the World. Men cannot ſee Juſtice, Goodneſs, or Wiſdom manifeſted therein. But it often falls out to the Wicked, according to the Work of the Righteous; and to the Righteous, according to the Work of the Wicked, as Solomon ſpeaks. Hence Men conclude there is no Government of the World; and if ſo, then no God.
Marmoreo Licinus tumulo jacet, & Cato parvo,
Pompeius nullo; Quis putet eſſe Deos?
As thoſe ſaid that were of Pompey's
Faction in Rome.
Baſe Licinus hath a pompous Tomb of gaudy Marble Stone;
Wiſe Cato but a little One, the mighty Pompey none.
Yet all this while we dream of Godds, and dream we do I wis:
For Godds are none, or if there be, how can they ſuffer this?
Men cannot ſee a righteous and equal diſtribution of Rewards and Puniſhments. Whereupon are ready to ſay with the Atheiſt, whom Tully mentions,Cic. de naturâ Deorum, p. 196. Vitam regit Fortuna, non Sapientia; It is Fortune, not Wiſdom, governs the Life of Man.
And as Ovid ſpeaks, as ſome think, moved by the indignity of Tully's untimely death;
Dum rapiunt mala fata bonos, ignoſcite feſſo;
Sollicitor nullos eſſe putare Deos.
What are the Godds that bear the ſway,
When bad Fates take good Men away?
And another of the Heathen Poets ſpeaks of ſuch in his Time, who thought there was no Divine Providence, but all things came to paſs by Fortuitous Cauſes.
Sunt qui in Fortunae jam caſibus omnio ponunt,Juvenal.
Et Mundum nullo credunt rectore moveri,
Naturâ volvente vices & lucis, & anni:
Atque adeò intrepidi quaecunque altaria jurant.
Some now there be that deem the World,
by ſlippery chance doth ſlide;
That Dayes and Years do run their round
without or Rule, or Guide,
Save Nature, and Dame Fortunes Wheeel:
and hence ſans ſhame or fear,
Of God or Man, by Altars all
they deſperately do ſwear.
Men deny Providence, and ſo thence ſtep into Atheiſm.
But becauſe Men cannot wade into the depths of God's Providence, ſhall they therefore conclude there is no Providence, and no God? Was it not better for Man, when he ſees he cannot, with the ſhort line of his Reaſon, reach the bottom of God's Works, cry out with the Apoſtle, Rom. 11. 33. foreign, O the Depth! But, let Men with David enter God's Sanctuary, and take a view of things in the Light of Faith, and the Scriptures, and then they ſhall ſee the Reaſon of thoſe things that at preſent they are offended and ſtumble at.
There they may ſee Reaſons why the Wicked for a while go unpuniſhed, and why the Righteous meet with afflictions in the World; there they may ſee the Compaſs that Providence hath taken about, before it finiſht its Work; there they may ſee how Providence hath brought one contrary out of another, and made the Saints afflictions to uſher in their mercies; and the proſperity of the Wicked to be the fore-runner of their greater fall. There they may alſo learn the wiſe End that God hath in the chaſtiſements of his People, and ſuffering the wicked to proſper, and to triumph a while over the Church, and the Cauſe of Truth and Holineſs in the World.
4. Again, Atheiſm ariſeth in the hearts of men from the diverſity of Opinions that have been, and ſtill are, in the World about Religion. As Polutheiſm of old was an occaſion of Atheiſm; For when men ſet up many ridiculous Godds to be worſhipped, no wonder though they cauſed many to deride them, and to caſt off all ſenſe of Religion. So many now obſerving diverſity of Opinions about Religion, are hereby led to think there is no Religion; and if no Religion, then there is no God; at leaſt, there is little ſenſe of a Deity upon his Heart that hath no Religion. As it fared in Philoſophy, the many differences of Opinions therein, made ſome at laſt turn Scepticks, and doubt of every thing. And ſo in Divinity, according to that known and true Apothegm, Theologia Sceptica tandem exit in Atheiſmo; Sceptical Divinity ends in Atheiſm. And men by ſeeing the various Judgments that are about Religion, begin to queſtion every thing, and fix in nothing, till at laſt they ſettle in Atheiſm. But ought not men rather argue, ſeeing that all do embrace ſome Religion or other, therefore certainly there is a true Religion, though many miſtake it? And Religion is embraced by all with reſpect to a Deity. Will men ſay there is no ſuch thing as Pleaſure, becauſe one Man affects one kind of Pleaſure, and another another kind; and there is no ſuch thing as Government, becauſe ſome people affect one kind, and others another kind; and no ſuch Being as the Soul, becauſe Philoſophers differed about its Definition? It rather proves the contrary. The variety of Sentiments about Religion ſhould make men to ſearch out the true, rather than to caſt off all; and when they have found it, to hold it faſt, and obſerve it with all honourable reſpect to that God that is the Object of it, and ſay with the Church in Mich. 4. 5. All Nations will walk in the Name of their God, and we will walk in the Name of the Lord our God for ever, and for ever.
5. It ariſeth in ſome from pride of heart, as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks, Pſal. 10. 4. The wicked through the pride of his countenance will not ſeek after God, God is not in all his thoughts; or, as the Margent reads it, All his thoughts are, there is no God.
A proud Man doth ſecretly affect a Deity, would be a God to himſelf, and therefore deſires not to own a Deity, becauſe he hath no heart to ſtoop to him.
It was Pharaoh's Pride, as well as his Ignorance, that made him to diſown the true God, the God of Iſrael, and ſay, Who is the Lord, that I ſhould obey his Voice? Exod. 5. 2. And that pride of Senacherib, that made him think himſelf ſuperior to all the Godds of the Nations that he had conquered, and to the God of Iſrael alſo, would eaſily lead him to caſt off the ſenſe and acknowledgment of any Deity at all. As you read the Story of him, Iſa. 36. 19, 20. And thoſe that we read of Pſal. 12. 3, 4. Whoſe tongue ſpeaketh proud things, ſaying, with our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own, who is Lord over us? diſcovered herein the prevalency of Pride and Atheiſm in their hearts.
As Pride did firſt lead the Humane Nature to affect a Being like God, ſo it is that alſo that leads men to diſacknowledg him, and ſet up themſelves in his room. It was this Pride in the Prince of Tyrus, that made him ſay, I am a God, and do ſit in the Seat of God, Ezek. 28. 2. It was Pride in Herod that made him take Divine Honour to himſelf upon the acclamations of the people to his Oration; It is the Voice of a God, not of a Man, Acts 12. 22. And what was it but Pride in Alexander, Caligula, Claudius, Domitian, and others, who would be accounted Godds, when here upon Earth. And he that deifies himſelf, will ſoon deny the true God.
6. Atheiſm ſprings from inconſideration. Mens minds are ſo alienated from God, and Divine Things, and ſo immerſt in the Affairs of the World, that they can find no time to ſit down and conſider, what even Reaſon it ſelf might ſuggeſt to them concerning the neceſſary exiſtence of a Deity. Though Reaſon cannot lead men to the knowledg of Chriſt's Mediatorſhip, and the Myſteries of the Goſpel, the notice whereof we have from Divine Revelation; yet if ſtirred up, and improved, it might lead men to the knowledg of a Creator, and a firſt Being. The Creation of the World carries in it a rational evidence of a Deity to the Reaſonable Creature. As God calls upon Idolaters that worſhip the Work of mens hands; An Image that they bore upon their Shoulders, and ſet him in his place; to ſhew themſelves men, Iſa. 46. 6, 7, 8. Had they but conſidered and conſulted with their reaſon as men, they would never have worſhipt a dumb Idol. And ſo God tells them, Iſa. 44. 19. None conſidereth in his Heart, neither is there knowledg and underſtanding to ſay, I have burnt part of it in the fire; yea, I have baked Bread upon the Coals thereof, &c. and ſhall I make the reſidue thereof an abomination? ſhall I fall down to the ſtock of a Tree? So it is in the preſent caſe; Did men conſider the Creation of the World, and the Characters of a Deity that are written upon it; and did they uſe their rational faculty, and argue as men, and as they can do in other things, they would not run into Atheiſm.
7. It ariſeth alſo from that little regard that men ſee is had to God in the World. When men obſerve how little the generality of Man-kind do take notice of him, ſo as to fear him, to honour him, to ingage him with them in their Affairs, they are tempted to think thereby there is no ſuch Being. And though men with their tongues ſay they believe his Being, yet mens actions ſpeak otherwiſe; and actions carry more evidence to the World than words, and ſo Atheiſm is propagated by Example. And the innate notions of a Deity in the hearts of men are much corrupted and ſtifled, by the general contempt of God in the World. When Children obſerve that their Parents take little notice of God, and Subjects obſerve the ſame in their Prince, and Tenants in their Landlords, and the Unlearned obſerve the ſame in many that are Learned: Yea, when People ſhall obſerve their Miniſters debaucht, and regardleſs of God, how ſtrangely is Atheiſm propagated hereby! But if men well conſidered how all Man-kind fell from God in the firſt Adam, and how the minds of all men are now by Nature darkned and alienated from him; and the dominion that ſin hath got in the hearts of men, they need not hence haeſitate in their minds about the Being of God, becauſe the generality of men have ſo little reſpect unto him. For till the Grace of God renews Man's Nature, he will, by a courſe of ſin, grow up into that hardneſs and ſecurity, as to live, as it were, without God in the World, eſpecially if men live at eaſe, and enjoy outward proſperity. For the Senſe of a Deity is much excited in men by trouble and affliction: As in Jonah's Ship, when the Mariners were in a Storm,Jonah 2. 14, 16. every one then was calling upon his God, offered Sacrifice, and made Vows. And the like account we have in the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 107. where men are in a ſtormy Sea, reel to and fro like a drunken Man, and are at their wits end, then they cry to the Lord in their diſtreſſes. But in proſperity men think they have no need of God, and ſo caſt off all reſpect to him. And David himſelf, who in his proſperity ſaid, My Mountain ſtandeth ſtrong, I ſhall never he moved; when God hid his Face, and he troubled, then ſaith he, I cryed unto the Lord, and to the Lord I made ſupplication, Pſal. 30. 6, 7, 8.
8. Again, it ariſes from the Hypocriſy and Apoſtacy of ſome that have made high pretenſions to the wayes of God, and Communion with him. When it ſhall appear to the World that theſe have made uſe of the Name of God only to ſerve a Carnal Deſign, and their Profeſſion hath been nothing elſe but Policy to advance ſome ſelfiſh Intereſt. Many are ready hence to conclude, that all that is talked about a Deity and Religion in the World, is but Pretene or Fancy, and that Grace it ſelf is but Nomen inane, as one ſaid of Vertue, a vain Name. For it is preſumed, if any have found out God, and the good of Religion, it is ſuch as theſe; and if they had found them, and enjoyed them, they would never have forſaken them.
Now this Apoſtacy is either General, from all Religion; when Men run into down-right Profaneneſs and Debauchery: Or particular, when men forſake their particular Profeſſions and Principles, that they have ſhewed Zeal in, and do it for Carnal Ends; many are apt to be ſhaken hereupon, not only with reſpect to the Truth of the particular perſwaſions of ſuch Men, but as to the Truth of all Religion, and all Deity. For what ſenſe any Man hath of a Deity, will be manifeſted in that particular Way of Religion that he is ingaged in. And he that forſakes that particular Way, whether in it ſelf it be true or falſe, for ſome corrupt end, as he will himſelf be in danger of running into Atheiſm, ſo it will have a bad influence to draw others to it alſo.
Again, this Apoſtaſie is either through a Man's own Corrupt Inclinations, or elſe occaſioned by ſome External Coaction. As when a Man, to avoid Fines, Penalties, or other Perſecutions ſhall practiſe contrary to the Dictates of his Conſcience. And a Three fold evil ariſeth hence; one is, To them that thus practiſe againſt Conſcience. Another to them that urge them to it. And a third to them that ſhall be ſcandalized; and hereupon prejudiced againſt Religion it ſelf, and ſo are upon the very Threſhold of Atheiſm.
But may it not be replyed, Shall all be judged by ſome? If ſome have been falſe in their Profeſſion, have not others been faithful? Are there not Inſtances of thouſands that have forſaken all, and laid down their Lives upon the Cauſe and Conſcience of their Religion, and confidence of this Principle, that God is? Which ſhould more confirm our belief thereof, than the Hypocriſie or Apoſtaſie of others ſhake it and weaken it. I know this Apoſtaſie is a great ſcandal to the World, and in all Ages it hath been a Stumbling-Block, and never greater than at this day. And wo to the World becauſe of ſuch Offences. And they muſt needs come, as Chriſt ſpeaks, Mat. 18. 7. And as Hereſies muſt come to make manifeſt mens Integrity and Soundneſs in the Faith, 1 Cor. 11. 19. ſo theſe Apoſtaſies come to try mens ſtability in the grand Foundations of Religion.
9. Many are ſo drown'd in the Life of Senſe, that they cannot believe the Exiſtence of Inviſible Things. They can believe the Exiſtence of the Works of Nature, becauſe they are viſible to Senſe; but the Inviſible Things of God, out of which theſe Works ſpring, they cannot believe. A Senſualiſt, his Language is, Tell not me of a God whom I never ſaw, of Heaven, and Inviſible Powers, and the Pleaſures I never felt; give me Houſes and Lands, Corn and Wine, and theſe good Things that mine Eye can ſee, my Mouth can taſte, and my Hands can feel. Theſe Inviſible Things the Syriack Verſion renders foreign, Recondita Dei, The Hidden Things of God; and being hidden out of mens ſight, they regard them not, they believe them not. But what, O Man, wilt thou believe nothing but what thine Eyes can ſee? Are there not Spiritual Beings in the Creation, as wel as Corporeal? Shal we with the Sadduces deny Angels and Spirits? And are not Spiritual Beings out of the reach of corporeal Sight or Senſe. And are not theſe Spiritual Beings the moſt perfect and excellent; and therefore God being the moſt excellent Being, he muſt needs be the pureſt Spirit, and ſo muſt be thereby inviſible to Senſe: Do we not read of Moſes, Heb. 11. He endured, as ſeeing him that is inviſible: And of Paul, 2 Cor. 4. Whilſt we look not at things that are ſeen, but at things that are not ſeen. And of thoſe Believers, 1 Pet. 1. Whom having not ſeen, you love. And had men Faith, it would be to them an evidence of Things not ſeen, it would lead them up to that which is Inviſible; but being immerſt in the Life of Senſe, they cannot reach ſo high, and ſo God is to them as if he was not.
10. Philoſophy and State-Policy have been great Cauſes of Atheiſm. I put them together, that I might not multiply Particulars.
1. Philoſophy. Though in it ſelf it is a good Hand-maid to Divinity; yet the Miſtreſs hath been wronged by her Maid. The courting of Nature hath kept many from eſpouſing true Divinity. So long as they can find a natural cauſe of things, they will not, at leaſt heartily, own a Deity. And therefore it is obſerved, that Atheiſm firſt began where Philoſophy was in its higheſt improvement, namely, among the Grecians. But I touched upon this before. As it is ſaid of Pliny, he being inquiſitive to find out the Reaſon of the Smoaking of Mount Veſuvius, went ſo near to it, that he was choaked in the Smoak. So many by their curious enquiries into Natural Cauſes, have choaked the Innate Notices of a Deity within their Hearts. He that wrote a Diſcourſe called Philoſophia Theologiae Ancillans, Baron.Philoſophy miniſtring to Divinity, ſet Philoſophy in its right place; and to make the Encreaſe of the one, the Decreaſe of the other, is the higheſt abuſe of it.
2. State Policy. The Politician ſeeth he ſhall never accompliſh his Deſigns, if he be over-awed by Conſcience, and Senſe of a Deity. He muſt not be a ſlave to his Promiſes, or ſtand in fear either of making or breaking an Oath. He muſt not be confined within the narrow Rules of Religion or Righteouſneſs. He may ſee it his intereſt ſometimes to ſeem Religious; but to be ſo indeed, is not for his turn; which is according to the advice of Machiavel to the young Prince. And hence ariſeth Atheiſm.
11. It ariſeth from a forgetfulneſs of God. As the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks of ſuch, Pſal. 51. 22. Conſider this ye that forget God. Men do not exerciſe their Minds in thoughts of God, and ſo forget him. And a Perſon, or Thing that are not in our Thoughts, are forgotten; and being forgotten, are as if they were not. Though men have additional knowledge to the Natural Notions of a Deity; yet if this Knowledge be not ſtirred up and exerciſed, it will not prevent the growth of Atheiſm in ther Hearts. When men ſet not God in the view of their Minds, look not on him either in Mercies or Afflictions, and carry on their Affairs from day to day, without reſpect to him, this is forgetting him, whereby they are indeed foreign, without God in the World. As we know Fire, if it be not ſtirred or blown up, will be ready to go out. So will the Notices of the Being of God in the Soul, if they be not daily excited in us; and there is nothing Man is more apt to forget than God. Whiles he remembers every thing elſe that concerns him, he is moſt prone to a forgetfulneſs of him whom he ſhould moſt of all remember. Let Man but follow the natural bent of his own Heart, and he will ſeldom have God in his Thoughts, and have little or no reſpect to him in the Actions of his Life. And ſo God is forgotten, and is as if he was not. And the great Adverſary of God in the World, the Devil, will be ſure to aſſiſt with his Temptations, that mens thoughts may be diverted and alienated from the true God, that he himſelf might reign as God in the World. He is ſaid to be the Ruler of the darkneſs of this World; and therefore ſeeks to propagate darkneſs, not only by hindring the Light of the Goſpel from ſhining into mens hearts, but by extinguiſhing the very Light of Natural Conſcience, and ſo to propagate his own Rule and Government.
Laſtly; Atheiſm ariſeth from detaining the Truth of God in Unrighteouſneſs, the ſin that is charged upon the Heathen. Men ſin againſt the Innate Notion of a Deity in their Hearts, till at laſt the force of it is quite loſt; by giving way to fleſhly Luſts, againſt the Dictates of their Natural Light they ſmother it. And it is at beſt but as a Spark covered in an heap of Aſhes, that doth neither give Light or Heat. When men to gratifie their Luſts will debauch their Conſcience, they will hereby by degrees ſear it. For, Nemo repentè fit Turpiſſimus. And men grow up to a profligacy in ſin, as they by ſinning againſt their Conſcience do by degrees benum and ſtupifie it. As it is ſaid of the Gentiles, Rom. 1. 18. they firſt detained the Truth that was naturally in their Hearts, and then God gave them up to vile affections, &c. verſ. 24. And not following the Light of Nature, were given up to ſins againſt Nature, verſ. 27. And Epheſ. 4. 18. the Apoſtle ſpeaks of the Gentiles, they walked firſt in vanity of Mind, and then came to be paſt feeling; there the Senſe of a Deity is gone, and then they gave up themſelves to all uncleanneſs with greedineſs, verſ. 19.
Thus I have ſhewn ſome of thoſe Cauſes out of which Atheiſm grows, and is cheriſht in the hearts of men.
And was it only found in the dark parts of the World, where the Goſpel ſhines not, it was the leſs to be wondred at, but it is found even amongſt our ſelves, and is become a ſpreading Leproſie in the Heads, but eſpecially the Hearts of multitudes at this day. And I verily believe there is to be found leſs ſence of a Deity upon many Chriſtians ſo call'd, that live in the mid'ſt of Goſpel-Light, than in any part of the World. For if we look to the Heathens, they all acknowledge ſome Deity or other, ſo they have a Religious reſpect to it, and have ſome awful impreſſions upon their Hearts towards it, will laviſh Gold out of the Bag, and be at coſt for Oblations, Temples, and Sacrifices; and have Indignation againſt any that caſt contempt upon it. As you know the cry that was made at Epheſus, when they thought Paul did derogate from the Honour of their Goddeſs, Great is Diana of the Epheſians, Act. 19. 28. And were fearful of having their Godds charmed from them, and would put Chains upon them to hold them faſt; But alas, how many amongſt us have not ſo much reſpect as this to the true God; but in ſtead of vindicating his Honour, do blaſpheme his Name; find no awe upon their hearts towards him, can part with nothing of their Eſtates to ſerve his Name, Worſhip, and People; are under no Conſcience of praying to him, praiſing of him, or depending upon him, are careleſs about keeping his favour, or preſence with them. As God complained of old that Iſrael dealt more injuriouſly with him, than any Nations had dealt with their Godds, Jer. 2. 10, 11.
I have ſometimes conſidered with my ſelf whence this ſhould be; and have thought of theſe things about it.
1. It may proceed from the juſt Judgment of God. When Men have the higher Light of the Goſpel, and refuſe to walk in it; God doth juſtly leave them to fall below the Light of Nature. According to that ſaying of our Saviour, To him that hath not, ſhall be taken away even that he hath. Where Goſpel-Light doth not enlighten Men, it blinds them; and where it doth not melt and ſoften, it hardens Men: and where it brings not Men nearer to God, it ſets them farther off from him.
2. I have thought again, where the Goſpel comes, Men take greater offence at Religion; either at the ſtrict Precepts of it, which croſs the Carnal bent of Mens Hearts; or the Diſtinction it neceſſarily makes amongſt Men, taking ſome out of others, and ſeparating them both in Principles and Practice, which makes Men take great offence, and think diſdainfully of Religion that hath ſuch Effects attending it; and thereupon to caſt it off, to turn Scoffers, and then Atheiſts.
3. When the Goſpel comes, it doth detect and condemn Superſtition, which in many is the whole of their Religion. And when that is taken away, their Religion, and reſpect to a Deity doth fall with it. Superſtition is Religion corrupted, blind Zeal, fleſhly Wiſdom, and the Arrogance of Reaſon; and the evil of it lies rather in the Exceſs than in the Defect; and though it be a corrupt Branch, yet it radically Springs from the Natural Sence of a Deity in the Conſcience. As when Paul came to Athens, and obſerved the many gods they worſhipt, and the many Rites attending that Worſhip, tells them, Acts 17. 22. Ye men of Athens I perceive you are in all things too Superſtitious. foreign. I ſee you too great fearers of Daemons, which they looked upon as inferiour Deities; Now when ſuch Superſtitious fear is removed by the knowledge of the Goſpel, and no other true fear of God planted in the room of it, the Senſe of a Deity will decay and decline in ſuch a Soul. As Micah ſaid to the Danites, Judg. 18. 24. Ye have taken away my Godds which I made, and the Prieſt, &c. and what have I more? Some put all their Religion in a Form, or a Ceremony, and when that is taken away, what have they more? where falſe Worſhip is removed from a People, and they do not embrace the true Worſhip in its room, they will come to no Worſhip, and ſo to no God.
Superſtitious Worſhip preſents Objects to the Eye of Man's deviſing to affect the Heart; as it was in the Worſhip of the Heathens of Old; and ſo is now ſeen in the Pictures and Images of the Romiſh Church; whereby ſome kind of Reverence and Adoration is maintained in the Hearts of the People, that are yet meer ſtrangers to the Worſhip of God in Spirit. And let theſe be removed which upheld their Worſhip and Devotion, and they will run apace into Atheiſm, when all a Man's Religion is upheld by theſe Crutches, if you remove them, it falls to the ground.
4. The great Truths of the Goſpel, and the Principles of Chriſtianity lie ſo high above Man's Reaſon that they are fooliſhneſs to him; as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, 1 Cor. 2. 14. But the Natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are fooliſhneſs to him. Now theſe things of the Spirit are the great Truths and Doctrines of the Goſpel. As that God and Man ſhould be but one Perſon; that Life ſhould come into the World by Death, and Redemption by the Croſs. That we ſhould be juſtified in anothers Righteouſneſs, by Faith, and not by our own good Works. That a Man muſt be born again: That the Body ſown in the Duſt, ſhall be raiſed again; and many ſuch. Now when Men hear that theſe are the Principles of that Religion that is accounted (as indeed it is) the only true Religion in the World, becauſe they ſeem ſo incredible to their Reaſon, therefore they do at leaſt inwardly in their Hearts reject them, and account them fooliſhneſs. And when Religion is rejected, men will eaſily run into Atheiſm. And hence it is, that ſometimes Men of the ſtrongeſt Reaſon are the greateſt Oppoſites to Religion; where the Heart is Carnal, it will influence Reaſon, and engage it againſt it, both in the Practice, and Principles of it: And the ſtronger Reaſon is, in this Caſe, the ſtronger will the Oppoſition be. And the Apoſtle therefore tells us, Not many wiſe men after the fleſh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, 1 Cor. 1. 26. Their fleſhly Wiſdom rejects the Principles of the Goſpel as ridiculous to their Reaſon, and their Might and Nobility the wayes of it, becauſe of their ſeeming meanneſs.