The Cause and Cure of Ignorance, Section 69
SECT. 69.
2 SEcondly,The most grounded Atheisme h…th a m…xture o… bele…fe. nor at any time doe they altogether thinke there is no God, &c. For as the best faith is but like the twilight, mixed with some degree of darknesse and infidelity: so the most grounded Atheisme, is mixed with some degree, either of beleife or doubting. What saith David, The foole hath said in his heart there is no God: in his heart he hath said it, but in his heart hee never beleeved it: No foole ever thought it peremptorily; he would fain have it so: he cannot beleive it so: it is an opiniō which he suggests to his heart, not which his heart suggests to him: and this makes him fearful to dye, & to dye fearfully.
Tully speaking of Metrodorus, an Atheist in his time, saith, Nec quemquam vidi, qui magis ea timeret, quae timenda esse negaret. They that make a flout of Hell, Affirmant mihi & tibi, non sibi; noctu, non interdiu; their mouthes tell us so,Atheists would give all they have to be sure there were no hell. their hearts doe not tell their mouths so. No hell I dare say, if there were a generall collection made throughout the whole world, that there might bee no judgement day, these men would be none of the backwardest. Yea, if they had as many Provinces, as Ahasuerus had, they would give an hundred and six and twenty of them to bee sure of it. The consciences even of wicked men can never bee so charmed, or over-ruled, either by arguments, or the temptations of Sathan, that they can let goe the sense of a God-head. We are all borne Idolaters, and chuse rather to adore the Sunne, the Moone, yea the meanest of all creatures, rather than not acknowledge a Deity. You may sooner get a Conscience to beleeve all the fables in the Popish legend, or Turkish Alcaro…, than that this universall frame is without a minde.
—Prima est haec ultio, quod, se
Iudice, nemo nocens absolvitur—
So that to say truely,They doe and yet do not beleive a God, &c. they doe not, and yet they do beleive there is a God, and a Hell: for when they admit conscience into their councell, they doe beleeve: but because they would rather not beleeve it, they stifle Conscience, stop their owne eares, and flatter their hearts with the contrary opinion: Like as it fared with the Philistims of Ashdod, 1 Sam. 6. who when they had stood out that sore judgement seven months, and brought upon their god Dagon, and the whole Countrey, a very great destruction, and perceived, that all which were guilty of keeping and prophaning the Arke, suffered in the judgement, and onelyonly they; at last could bring forth this conclusion, Peradventure it is God's hand that smote us; yet, it may bee, it is but a chance that hath hapened unto us, Ver. 9.
Wherein it is evident, they did half beleeve, and no more; Their consciences told their hearts there was a powerfull God, to revenge the prophaning of his Arke; but their hearts were very loth to give assent thereunto: and so fares it with these, when they wrong and persecute his Children, Or they may be likened to those untoward Israelites, Exod. 16. Who did in part beleeve God, when hee told them, If they reserved of the Manna untill morning, it should stinke; and that if they went to gather it on the Sabbath, they should finde none, who would have thought it foule scorne, if one should have told them, they beleeved no such thing: for all they had seene so many Miracles, yet tis apparent, they did but halfe beleeve him: for what else made them try whether hee spake true or no, after they were flatly forbidden? ver. 20. or,
Lastly, they are like the unbeleeving Iewes, Their convicted consciences shal but witnesse against their unbeleefe.who considering the Oracles that CHRIST spake, and the Miracles which he wrought, were forced to testifie both these of him (for all they hated him) never man spake as this man doth; and We never saw it on this fashion: yet this have yee seen, and beleeve not, saith our SAVIOUR Iohn 6. 36. They saw, they heard, they wondered, they were convinced, yet they beleeved not: therfore their own eyes in seeing; their own eares, in hearing; their own hearts, in wondring; their own convicted reasons shall but witnesse against their unbeleefe, Ioh. 16.9.
And indeed,Men may doubt, but the devils beleeve a judgement to come. if they did not in some part beleeve a Judgement to come, they should be worse than the very Devills themselves: there is no Hell, Quis Daemonum hoc asseret? What Devill will so affirme? They know it, and feele it, Why (say the Legion to Christ) art thou come to torment us before the time, Matth. 8.29. And shall not men tremble to deny, what the Devils confesse? sayes Chrysostome.
Wherefore beleeve it peremptorily, … ye fooles & mad men; yea believe it, & avoid it, & by beleeving to purpose, ye shall avoyd it: otherwise, if ye will give more credit to your deceitful hearts,Fire and b…imstone shall confute all Athe…sts. than to what the Word speaks as Eve beleeved the word of the Serpent, Adam the word of Eve, both before the Word of God, God will leave you to be confuted by fire & brimston; if you wil not beleive what is written, you shall feele what is written.