of us These are not all the absurdities in this sentence and yet it is the very Monster this Knight Errant sets up for himself to engage with It is the spurious off spring of his own brain and yet he fathers it upon us by introducing it with this expression It is made to signify c. But it was never made to signify this by any besides himself I shou'd read the Gospel a million of times over before this definition of a Mistery wou'd have come into my head Here he hath made his own words good That Contradiction and Mystery are two emphatical ways of saying nothing He lays down this absurd definition of a Mystery and then sets himself with a great deal of Solemnity to encounter it which is in truth no other than for a man to put himself into a ridiculous antick posture and then quarrel with his shadow for it It is hard to tell how to proceed with this man he has been running away from the Question ever since he began and now that he put us in hopes of coming to it again you see how grossly we are disappointed I wou'd with all my heart stick by the first definition of a Mystery which with a little addition I allow to be very good A Christian Mystery is a Divine Truth intelligible of it self but so cover'd and obscur'd from us now in this life that Reason can't penetrate the Vail to see what is under it till this Vail be remov'd in another life by the glorification of our Bodies Let him confute this definition if he can for I will never fall out with him about the other he shall have it all to himself 't is his own Creature let him be as severe upon it as he pleases But because he has so blindly mistook the matter I must tell him once more what it is he is to prove if he has any controversy with us in this point He is to prove these two things 1. That there is nothing reveal'd to us in the Gospel but what we have clear and distinct Idea's of i. e. either a full comprehensive knowledg of or as clear and distinct notions as we have of any ordinary Object in nature And 2. That we are not oblig'd by Scripture to believe that there is any thing intended in some points reveal'd beyond what we are now able thus to comprehend These are the things which lay upon him to prove if he wou'd have spoke to the purpose It is impossible that any man shou'd argue closely who mistakes the Question as he does however I shall consider what there is in the rest of his Book that looks like reasoning He does not proceed to proof yet but runs upon another Digression to tell us the signification of the word Mystery and particularly what it signify'd among the Gentiles But what is this to us it signifies quite another thing among the Christians But he says not for in the New Testament Mystery is always us'd in the first sence of the word or that of the Gentiles viz. For things naturally very intelligible but so covered by figurative Words or Rites that Reason cou'd not discover them without special Revelation This is the description which he gives both of the Gentile and Christian Mysteries in common But taking a Christian Mystery even in his own sence i. e. As it was involv'd in Jewish Types and Ceremonies yet they differ very much from those mysteries of the Gentiles For 1. The Christian Mysteries were not discoverable but by the special revelation of God whereas those of the Gentiles were discoverable by the revelation of a man 2. Besides 't is absolutely false that the things involv'd in the Jewish Types were in their own Nature very intelligible For they were all of such a Nature that men cou'd never have arriv'd to the least degree of knowledge concerning them by strength of Reason whereas there was nothing in the Heathen Mysteries but what was in it self very obvious to Reason 3. The matters contain'd in the Jewish Mysteries and the things intened by them were such as concern'd the Eternal salvation of Mens Souls whereas the things contain'd in those of the Heathen were to a quite contrary purpose in order to Idolatry and many other gross sins And it is not without very good reason I take notice of this difference here for thô it doth not hit this discription of his immediately because he may perhaps say those were thought to be the concernment of Souls too yet it is level'd at the main design of his Book which by this time no man can be ignorant of 4. The things contain'd in the Jewish Mysteries the Priests themselves were ignorant of whereas the Heathen Priests for the most part knew the bottom of theirs and conceal'd them industriously from the People And this is what he wou'd insinuate of all Christian Priests viz. That we fully comprehend the meaning of all these things our selves and palm them upon the People for Mysteries Which is the occasion of those virulent expressions of his in this Chapter That through ignorance or passion we maintain what was introduc'd by the craft or superstition of our fore fathers And calls it a Gainful Opinion as if the only design of Christian Mysteries were to bring in Money to the Priests he calls Christianity as it is now receiv'd an Implicite Constitution and says the Venerable Teachers play at this small game to amuse the People But he like a sharp inquisitive man it seems has found out our Mysteries and is resolv'd in his next Book to discover them all and lay us open to the World like Heathen Priests as he makes us And now I come to his second Chapter of the third Section where there is the first appearance of any thing like a reason there is but one argument in all that Chapter and indeed in all the Book and because he delivers it confus'dly I will reduce it to form and then we shall see clearly what force there is in it And if he thinks I don't do him justice let him manage it better for himself if he can The whole strength of his arguing is this If we have as clear and distinct Idea's of every thing reveal'd in the Gospel as we have of any thing in Nature then there are no Mysteries in it But we have as clear and distinct Idea's of every thing reveal'd in the Gospel as we have of any thing in Nature Therefore There are no Mysteries in the Gospel The Minor he proves thus If we have as clear and distinct Idea's of God and Eternity as we have of any thing in nature then we have as clear and distinct Idea's of every thing reveal'd in the Gospel as we have of any thing in Nature But we have as clear and distinct Idea's of God and Eternity as we have of any thing in Nature Ergò Now do but deny this Minor and he puts you off
frame of those things which are material 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. Cyrill says that our manner of conceiving Divine things is by Examples or Similitudes after the same gross manner we represent the heavenly Orbs upon a piece of Paper 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gregory Nazianzen discourses fully how nothing is more evident than that there is a God thô at the same time we are not able to conceive or express what he is and hath these remarkable words concerning our manner of conceiving the things of another world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By which he plainly supposes it as impossible for us whilst we are immers'd in these gross Bodies to frame any conceptions of Spiritual things without the help of worldly Objects as it is for us to overtake our shadow or to see in the dark It is ordinary with the Fathers speaking of God to say That when we conceive him as being a Substance as being Wise and Holy nay as having Life c. they are all but Figurative Representations of something in God which transcends all that we can imagin Dionysius or whoever was Author of those Books which go under his Name says 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And accordingly in his Mystical Theology speaking of the nature of our present knowledg of God and spiritual things says very aptly that this is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And therefore God in the writings of the Fathers is call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without Existence without Substance without a Mind without Life Not by way of Privation as Marius Victorinus in his 4th Book against Arius observes but by way of Excellence Because the notions affixt to these words express nothing of the true nature of the things when refer'd to God Very agreeable to what the Apostle says Acts 17 27. Where he expresseth the Knowledg we have of God by Feeling after him The Original word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is very expressive for it signifies the greping for a thing in the dark Clemens Alexandrinus speaking of the method we have of coming to know the nature of God says That the utmost we can arrive to is to know what he is not and not what he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And thus we see how little reason this man had to quote those Fathers who he tells us have the good luck to be both the New and the Old of the World But His Heresy is as old as Eunomius and now reviv'd by this UPSTART as he very aptly calls himself And I think we may well call this New Old Sect of his the Genesticks of our Age since they are a profound sort of people who set up for Knowing every thing and Believing nothing He hopes in time to plead Prescription and that His Book too shall in after ages be valued as the Fathers are in this But alas thô he wants no qualification of Error and Impiety for this Ambition of his yet he hath not Wit and Learning enough to be a Heretick upon Record Such Books as these seldom live any longer than till their Fallacies are laid open and then they perish and Rott with the Memory of their Authors Whereas the Fathers who are now in Heaven for defending that Truth which he hath labour'd to corrupt will have their just Authority among all Pious and Learned Men to the end of the World And now that I have done I must confess the Man was not worth my trouble but the Cause is richly so and it is our misfortune that we think no thing can gain upon the World but sound Reasoning and Argument Whereas there have been many instances of the most odd and ridiculous Enthusiasts having in a short time Proselytes enough to bring Church and Staâ—e into confusion He hath as little of true Reasoning or Argument as any of them but his Pretence is plausible and those are the Books which do mischief in the World And therefore I was not to consider the strength only of the Poyson but the constitution of the Age which seems strangely dispos'd for Infidelity and a Contemt of all Divine Revelation Besides I have contriv'd this Letter so as to be an answer not only to him but to all the Opposers of Revelation and Mysteries And I hope I may say I have done something towards the right stateing this whose Controversy which hath been hitherto so much mistaken on both Sides For whilst Men on one hand expect a rational account and clear and distinct Idea's of what is wholly Unaccountable by â—â— and of which we can have no Conceptions at all And on the other hand men go about with endless labour to explain what is Inexplicable there can be no end of these Controversies which multiply upon us every day But if we all agree to leave off speaking of what we know nothing of and freely own what we must confess whether we will or no That we can have no Ideas at all of the things of another World as they are in themselves and that our manner of conceiving them at present is by Intervention of the common Objects of this Life then the whole controversy will be reduced to a very short â—â—â—â—â— And all the Revelations and Mysteries of Christianity establisht upon those foundations which Christ hath laid Not in the Wisdom of Men but in the Power of God Trin Coll. Dub. May 1. 1697. ERRATA PAge 10. line 13. for Sences r. Senses And so wherever the word is distinguish'd from Reason p. 24. l. 1. r. ground p. 25. l. 3. r. evidence p. 30. l. 3. r. perswasion p. 63. l. 3. r. of p. 85. ult r. deference p 134. l. 20 r. taught Ibid 27. r. which is all that 's meant p. 143. l. 7. r cant p. 156. l. 8. r. Ratiocination p. 185. l. 11. r. after p. 186. l. 7. r. Magicians p. 187. l. 1. r. and p. 199. l. 2. r. abstruse p. 206. l. 1. r. Arians p 219. l. 18. r. fides p. 222. l. 23. r. Hymn P 87 Last Edition 1 Cor 15 51 52. 1 Joh 3 2. P. 8 9 10 P. 11. P. 13. P. 18. P. 16. * To make what is to be said upon this head more intelligible the Reader may take notice that by Evidence he means nothing more than the knowledge of a thing in the Mind So that these two Expressions are the same Evidence is the only ground of Perswasion and You can give your assent to nothing but what you know All the difference is that one is plain and the other affectedly obscure But I must use his own Cant otherwise thô I speak ever so much to the purpose he will not think himself answer'd * To prevent all ambiguity I do not take the word Substance here strictly as it is oppos'd to the modes and accidents of the thing but as it includes them P. 43. 128. * That which may make this Paragraph obscure is the mistaking Evidence in the Mind or Knowledge for those proofs which are only
Imprimatur Liber cui titulus A Letter in Answer to a Book Entitled Christianity not Mysterious c. May 6. 1697. Narcissus Dublin A LETTER IN Answer to a Book ENTITLED Christianity not Mysterious As also To all Those who Set up for REASON and EVIDENCE In Opposition to REVELATION MYSTERIES By PETER BROWNE B D. Sen Fellow of Trin. Coll. Dub DUBLIN Printed by Joseph Ray in Essex street for John North in Skinner row 1697. A LETTER In answer to a BOOK ENTITLED Christianity not Mysterious SIR WHEN I sent to borrow of you the Book Entitled Christianity not Mysterious I little thought of drawing on my self any trouble beyond the bare reading of it but since you have desir'd my thoughts of the matters contain'd in it I was unwilling to resuse Thô I must freely tell you what you seem to own in your Letter that I think my self better imploy'd And your saying that it is no neglect in a Shepherd to leave his feeding of the Lambs and go aside for a while to beat off any thing that comes to devour or infect them wo'd not have prevail'd with me if this had caus'd any intermission in that business which I hope will turn to better account when I come to receive my Wages But having a little time to spare I shall perform what you desire And I have done this the rather for that you tell me the Book hath made some noise and that the Author is countenanc'd and encourag'd by some Men of Sence I don't much wonder at it for every Man of Sence is not a Man of true Religion besides it is not every Man of Reason and Integrity hath leisure to consider it and if they have yet these sort of abstracted Discourses are out of the road of Men of Business What you observe is very true that the generality of Men who write such Books as these and talk of them most are those of a mixt sort of learning Persons of a miscelaneous education who have some insight into most of the Sciences but are throughly vers't in none And the talking of Idea's and running endless divisions upon them is a cheap and easie way some Men now adays have taken up of appearing wise and learned to the world Whereas the bottom of it all is no more than this That Men of nice heads have agreed to speak of plain things in a peculiar dialect of their own which if they were strip't of those terms of Art and put into plain Language have nothing in them more than what is obvious to the common sence and reason of all Men. And the consequence of using them so frequently in matters of Religion is generally what is so visible in this Author that they darken the Subject so that the Question is lost in a multitude of Words and then Men wander far in pursuit of Truth when they left it behind them at their first setting out But before I come to the particulars I can't but take notice of that unreasonableness of People who never think a Writer sufficiently confuted unless we follow him in all his wandrings whereas in a subject of this nature it is enough to shew where he left the Road and that he is not yet return'd into it If a Man were to demolish a Fabrick there is no necessity of doing it stone by stone it is abundantly enough if he undermine and destroy those Pillars which are the main supporters of it for then it falls to the ground and is no other than a heap of Rubbish thô many of the materials were very good in themselves To any reasonable considering Person it were a sufficient Answer to this whole Book to shew in short how he mistakes the Question and proceeds in it all upon two false Suppositions One in Logick in the former part of his Book viz. That Evidence is the only ground of Perswasion The other in Divinity in the latter part of it That now under the Gospel the Vail is perfectly remov'd This wo'd satisfy them that he runs all the while upon a false scent and they wo'd not take it ill that we left him to wander by himself But because these are but few in comparison of those who take things in the gross and can't so well discern the connexion and dependance of one thing upon another And indeed because Answers are design'd for such as are not able to see into the fallacies and not for those who are therefore I shall trace him step by step and leave nothing in him unanswer'd that hath any appearance of reasoning I shall be so far from endeavouring to contradict him in every thing that I shall grant him all that possibly I can The worst of Hereticks speak many things that are true and the more we can with justice allow them the plainer we shall make their Errors appear and the more difficult it will be for them to proceed for this obligeth them either to speak to the pinch of the Question or be silent It can't be expected in the compass of a Letter that I should enter into any nice disquisitions about the nature of Faith in general or of the mysteries of the Gospel in particular or of the use of Reason in Religion For I am not now going to write a Book upon this subject if I were it should not be in answer to him I shall at present only shew the weakness and â—olly of this Man 's arguing and lay open the Cheats and Fallacies by which he is either deceiv'd himself or wo'd impose upon others That I may relieve the subject he treats of from that darkness and obscurity in which he has involv'd it either through ignorance or design And first there is great deceit in the very Title of the Book CHRISTIANITY NOT MYSTERIOUS For by these two words as it appears by what follows he wo'd raise a Notion in the heads of People that Christianity as it is now generally taught and receiv'd among us is a Religion made up of dark aenigmatical Allusions and absurd irrational and unintelligible Notions or else of the plainest things wrapt up in mysterious Rites and Ceremonies and in short that our most holy Faith is no other than one great Riddle Whereas Christianity is so far from being Mysterious that it is the plainest Institution in the World All the necessary Points of Faith and Practice are so clear and obvious to every capacity that it is a Religion calculated for all sorts of People And therefore it is said of the times of the Gospel That God wo'd put his Law into their inward parts and write it in their Hearts and they should all know him even from the least of them to the greatest That which this Sophister wo'd have infer'd from hence is That every thing God should reveal in the times of the Gospel Men should have as full and comprehensive a knowledge of as they have of any thing in nature But 't is evident this expression was
the eternal Generation of the Son the change of our Bodies the Joys of Heaven of the operations of the Spirit c. because if God had reveal'd them he wou'd have made you conceive the manner of all these perfectly and if he did not it was certainly want of sincerity or ability in him But let this Blasphemer know that it is neither want of Veracity nor Ability in God that is the reason why we don't conceive these things but the Weakness and Imperfection of our present state who have no capacities for them as yet And therefore as we now give our assent to the Reality and Existence of what we can't conceive upon that veracity of God which he hath thus endeavour'd to rob of all it's Authority and Influence upon our assent so God will one day manifest his Power in bringing all those things to pass which we can't now conceive and will so enlarge our Souls that we shall clearly apprehend them and all the Objects of another World He proceeds and says that God wou'd loose his end if what he said did not agree with our common notions i. e. Iâ— God shou'd speak Nonsence to you in his Revelations you wou'd be never the wiser for if he should reveal to you that a thing call'd BLICTRI had a being in nature and not inform you what this Blictri was you could not believe it Now this very Instance which he intends by way of Ridicule of all the Objects of our holy Faith doth happily shew the true difference between a rational Assent and a blind Credulity and is a sufficient confutation of his whole Book Let us therefore compare these two words BLICTRI and GLORY Of the first I know nothing more than that it is made up of seven Letters and therefore he that speaks it is a Barbarian to me And as I know nothing of it so I can believe nothing concerning it but the uncertain found it makes to my â—â—t and that seven Letters makes two Syllables in writing As to the other word Glory I grant I know as little of the real nature of the Glory of God and of the Saints in Heaven as I do what that Blictri means and yet God doth not speak Nonsence when he reveals to mâ— that there is such a thing in Heaven as Glory For 1st Thô I have no notion of the thing as it is in it self yet it is represented to me by the brightness of the Sun and Glory of a Kingdom the greatest Images I now am able to frame of it 2. I am made acquainted with the Relation this Glory hath to me viz. That it expects me in the Heavens that I shall enjoy it and be made partaker of it and that it will render me happy beyond all imagination But I am no more able to conceive that Happiness than that Glory of God which shall be the cause of it And 3. It is reveal'd by God with this design that it shou'd be a prevailing motive of my Obedience and an incitement to the practice of Vertue and Holiness 4. I have not capacities at present to apprehend the real nature of it as perfectly as I can apprehend any thing in nature if it were discovered to me And thus we see how God in all his Revelations doth not speak Nonsence to us thô we have not clear and distinct Idea's of the things which are reveal'd Nay thô we have no more Idea of them as they are in themselves than we have of what Blictri is Besides the Text he brings to back this Sophism of his explains the matter farther and lays open the Fallacy Heb. 11 6. He that comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him By which we see all that is knowable of God by us now is his Existence and the Relation he hath to us viz That he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him For I hope he will own that we are bound to believe all we know of God thô he flatly denies that we are bound to believe any thing more in him than what we know as well at least as we do any thing else He goes on and asks without conceiving Faith after this manner i. e. without making it nothing else but knowledg How could Christ be term'd the light of the World and how could we be said to have the Spirit of Wisdom i. e unless he gives you as clear and distinct Idea's of every thing he reveals as you have of a Stock or a Stone I answer by giving us a clear and distinct Revelation of their Existence of which we should have been wholly ignorant but for him for thus he hath made us wise unto Salvation since he hath given us a clear knowledg of our Duty and back't his Precepts with the promise of future rewards which we have no notion of and the best thought we can frame of them is That they exceed all that we can think or speak But says he That remarkable instance of Abraham's Faith will be objected Yes 't is objected and the way he answers it is by saying as we do and leaving his own Opinion to shift for it self God promised Abraham to give him a numerous Progeny in Isaac after this before Isaac hath a Child God commands him to sacrifice his only Son He obeys upon this consideration that God was able to raise him up again by the same power that he at first rais'd him out of the deadness of Sarah's Womb. Now the question between him and me is not Whether this Faith was a firm Perswasion built upon substantial Reasons which we allow and contend for and therefore he says nothing to the purpose But the question is Whether Abraham gave his Assent to what he was not able to comprehend which he must own unless he proves that Abraham knew as perfectly the whole manner of God's raising a Body from the dead or from a Womb past Child bearing as he did the procreation of it in the ordinary way of Nature Had Abraham been able to demonstrate that God wou'd raise his Son to conceive exactly the manner how this was to be brought to pass then indeed it were no Faith but Knowledg but instead of this he had only the promise of God for it and knew no more how God wou'd raise him than he knew how he made the World After this he lays down several Observations to prove there can be no such thing as Faith i. e. an assent distinct from Knowledg 1. If Faith were not a Perswasion resulting from a comprehension of the thing believ'd there could be no degrees in it I answer this is false like all the rest for thô I know nothing more of a thing than it's Existence and the Relation it hath to me and therefore am fat from comprehending it Yet my assent to the truth of it shall vary in degrees either according to the Proofs
act of Faith as it is distinct from Knowledg is an Assent upon the Authority of another Person But according to him Authority is no ground of Perswasion and Faith is only the understanding what is believ'd Therefore there can be no such thing as any Assent distinct from Knowledg And now have I done this man any Wrong by charging him with endeavouring to destroy the Faith of the Gospel and to overthrow the whole Christian Religion In the face of a Christian Government and in Defiance of all Laws and Power Ecclesiastical and Civil He tells them plainly that Faith is nothing more than understanding what is beliv'd i. e. there is no such thing as Faith distinct from knowledg and consequently the Faith of Christians is nothing but Implicite Assent and blind Credulity And therefore here again I wou'd deliver him into the hands of the Magistrate not mov'd by any heat of passion but by such a Zeal as becomes every Christian to have for his Religion But here he pleads a Toleration but for what I hope there is no Toleration for Blasphemy and Prophaness and thô men are allow'd to believe what they please themselves yet sure they may be restrain'd from industriously spreading such Impious Notions as are destructive of all Religion and from openly reviling the Christian Faith as Imposture and Implicite blind Credulity Again 't is objected against him That his notions of Faith makes Revelation useless Yes it doth for thô we understand the Words of the Proposition reveal'd ever so well and comprehend the thing spoke of as fully as we do a Stock or a Stone yet we can never give our assent to the truth of the Relation because that after all is done we must take this upon the Word of another But much more doth it make all the Revelations of the Gospel useless because we have no clear and distinct Idea's of them and therefore must utterly reject them all upon this score likewise But in opposition to all that can be said this Positive Man asserts here what he hath been Asserting from the beginning of his Book but gives no reason for That Revelation is only of use to inform us whilst the Evidence of it's subject perswades us Then reply we if so you must believe all Relations true or false indifferently when you understand the meaning of the Words and know the nature of the thing spoken of Nay if two contrary Propositions equally intelligible be related he must believe them both And therefore now I hope he won't take it ill of the World if they believe me when I inform them that this Book which goes under his name was the joint Endeavours of a secret Club who set themselves with a great deal of Industry to destroy all Reveal'd Religion And that they have made use of this Man as a Tool only and have pusht him before them to try with what safety such Principles as these may be openly avow'd in opposition to all that is establish't among us that they might follow and openly maintain what they have been forging in secret Cabals Now this is a matter of Fact and whosoever reads this must believe it because they understand the meaning of the Words and know the nature of every thing that is spoke of in them for Faith is nothing else but understanding what is believ'd and if they understand what is spoke of they must bow before the Light and Majesty of this knowledg And therefore I hope he will never contradict me in this or any thing else I relate of him for if he says the contrary then either the World must believe us both when we relate two contrary Propositions or they must be sway'd one way or the other by his Authority or Mine and whether they believe him or me it will sufficiently confute him for it will shew that Authority may be a ground of Perswasion as well as a means of Information If they believe neither of us then it will appear they are not under such a necessity of bowing before the Light and Majesty of that Evidence he contends â—or in all relations The last objection he raises against this Principle of his is that passage 1. Pet. 2 12. Where there is this expression Which things the Angels desire to look into The things spoken oâ— here are the methods of our Salvation by the Incarnation of the Son of God and Descent of the Holy Ghost and 't is said in the time present that the Angels Desire to look into them And I think it a natural inference from hence that these things yet are Mysteries even to them in a great degree which we need not much wonder at when they don't so much as know when the day of Judgment will be and therefore we may the less wonder they are Mysteries to us But we will suppose that this expression is mean't of the time past And then let me ask him these two Quesâ—ions concerning it 1. Whether the Angels did believe those things they are said to enquire into or no if they did believe them then we find 't is very possible to believe things that we can't comprehend for if the Angels understood them fully when they believ'd why shou'd they desire to search into them 2. Whether now these things are come to pass he will assert that we have as full and comprehensive a knowledg of them all as the Angels have If we have not then we may believe things we do not comprehend If we have then there is no difference between ours and the state of the Bâ—est in Heaven at least in respect of knowledge The last Objection he brings against his own Principles is That which is drawn from the consideration of Miracles And this likewise is so strong an objection against him that the very supposition of one true Miracle wrought in confirmation of any point of Doctrine quite overthrows his whole Book For 1. The thing it self is in a great degree Mysterious and therefore if he will allow these things related of our Saviour to be true Miracles he must allow there are Mysteries in Chrisâ—â—â—nity But he endeavours to evade this by the same Quibble he did the Docâ—râ—nes of the Gospel being Mysterious â—â—z by saying the miraculous action muâ—â— be something in it self Intelligible and Possible Who denies it but it is however Mysterious still And to lay open this Fallacy we must distinguish the two things that are to be consider'd in every Miracle And 1. The substance of the thing perform'd we grant must be very Intelligible and Possible for as he says Contradiction is only another word for Impossible or nothing 2. The manner of performing it which is totally obscur'd from us and lies out of the reach of all our Capacities As to instance in that Miracle of our Saviours Fâ—â—ding five thousand People with five Loaves We understand very well what it is for a great number of men to eat and be satisfied
while He that pretends so much Zeal and Concern for the Vulgar shou'd not let them remain so long in Ignorance to be thus miserably impos'd upon by the craft and cunning of their Priests What strange unheard of Design this Man has in that second Book which is now a forging is hard to tell For by it he is to inform the World of things they never heard or thought of He is to reveal to us more than ever Jesus Christ hath done and what never yet cou'd enter into the heart of Man to think or into his imagination to frame any true and proper notion of Iâ— The World had any opinion of his abilities to perform what he pretends with this hardy confidence we shou'd all of us expect this wonderfull Book with much impatience Certainly by all these promises of so much New Light to the World which hath liv'd in darkness so many hundred Years we can't guess he designs to be no more than Head of an ordinary Sect but to be as famous an Impostor as Mahomet He hath laid a fair foundation for it for he aâ—er's positively in one place that if he knew the way how a Miracle was wrought he wou'd work it himself And again he openly says That nothing related in the Gospel is Mysterious either as to the manner or Substance of the thing and therefore 't is not unlikely that we shall have this man shortly confirming his Doctrines with Miracles For my part I can't imagine how he will go about what he hath undertaken however thus much I dare venture to promise him that whenever any thing is built upon that Rotten Foundation which is here laid by the Grace of God I will pull it down When this Book of his comes out which after all will tell us no more concerning these Mysteries than what we have heard an hundred times over but by what he promises must take place of the Bible it self which gives us no such clear and distinct Idea's of the things of another World Then we shall give a better guess at the design of the Man In the mean time I shall only say a little more concerning the Pretended and the Real Drift of this Book And 1. The Pretended Drift of it is To free the Christian Religion from that Darkness and Obscurity in which it is involv'd by the Contrivance of it's Preachers only to gain a Reputation â—â— their Personâ— and Profession and â—â— make it such a Religion as God design'd it i. e. a Religion for all Men. But how doth he go about this by scraps of Metaphysical Abstractions which were tolerable where he found them but spoilt in the Application By talking of Adequate Inadequate and Intermediate Idea's by the Nominal and Real Essence of things by Irivolous distinctions between the Means of Information and grounds of Perswasion and by littlâ— Niceties concerning the degrees of Perspicâ—ity iâ— Divine and Human Revelations c. This is the method this grand Reformer takes to restore Christianity to it's Native Simplicity and make it a Religion for all People Whereas it is not One of ten Thousand that knows the meaning of any of these Words and Phrases by which he darkens what is in it self Plain and Obvious and renders every thing in Religion a Mystery to them And yet this is the very man that talks so much against the new converted Philosophers for confounding their Philasophy â—nd Diâ—inity together and by that means rendering every thing abstruce by Terms And who rails at our Clergy for darkning every thing in Religion and industriously concealing it from the People 2. As to the Real design of thiâ— man 't is plain it is no other than what he formerly declar'd and whaâ— he openly affects viz. to be the Head of a Sect. and set up for a Reformer For besides many General Expressions he hath several very particular ones to this purpose as where he says That the very Nature and use of the Sacraments are absolutely perverted and destroy'd and are not yet fully restor'd by the purest Reformations in Christen doâ— And that expression in the close of his Book Because several turn'd Libâ—rtiâ—es and Atheists when Priestâ—raft was laid â—o open at the Reformation were Luther Câ—lvin or Zwinglius to be blam'd for it which is spoke by way of Defence of that great Reformation he intends whatever the ill consequences of it are Now the Method he hath taken to effect this grand design of his is first to Amuse the generality of people with a little shew of Learning by hard Words and several impertinent Quotations to get a reputation among them His next Business was to insinuate into the minds of people a disesteem of the Religion they now Profess and make them believe that Christianity as it is now receiv'd is no better than Heathenism which he doth by comparing them in several instances and tells us plainly He hath said enough to shew how the Divine Institutions of Christianity through the Craft and Ambition of Priests and Philosophers did degenerate into meer Paganism He calls our Principles narrow bigoted Tenets And in short says they are a Mystery of Iniquity He calls the present Theology the Gibberish of our Divinity Schools and the Language of the Beast He wou'd have no Ceremonies no Times Places or Particular Actions for the Worship of God c. And notwithstanding all these virulent Expressions and many more through his whole Book against the Religion profest and establish't among us He says That such is the deplorable condition of our Age that a man dares not openly and directly own what he thinks of Divine Matters if it but vâ—ry slightly differ from what is receiv'd by any Party or that is establish't by Law And therefore He that hath openly said so much already what is it he wou'd not say were it not for the Laws Undoubtedly he hath a great deal more to say whenever this new SECT of his becomes so numerous that they shall outbrave the Laws and labour for a Publick Reformation of all the Mysterious Doctrines of the Gospel Had this Man made any of the Mysteries of our Religion more clear and intelligible than they were before He had don worthily and might have hop'd for a Reward from God and Esteem from Men And the Ministers of the Gospel wou'd have been so far from resenting it that they wou'd have thank'd him for it and not fail'd to have acquainted their People with it But by this Scurrilous Libel upon all these Doctrines which are the ground and foundation of Christianity and by Railing at all the Teachers and Professors of it for sixteen hundred Years as if they had all been Fools and Knaves and Bigots at the best till He appear'd in the World He is justly become odious and detestable by all Men who have any concern lest for the Christian Religion 'T is true he hath set his Forehead like a Flint and is
prepar'd with Obstinacy and Resolution against all that can be said or done against him For God knows he no more values this ridiculous Nick-name of an Heretick than Paul did before him But sure there is a great deal of difference between St. Paul's being call'd a Heretick for Preaching the Resurrection of the Dead and saying the manner of it is Mysterious And this Man 's Contradicting him and saying the Manner of it is not Mysterious and by his Principels undermining the foundation of all Reveal'd and Natural Religion Another way of effecting what he designs is by loading the Clergie in general with Reproaches and charging them with most detestible Frauds to serve the vilest ends He declares himself in his Preface An open inplacable Enemy to all Clergy-men who make a meer Trade of Religion and build an unjust Authority upon the Consciences of the Laity i. e. to all Clergy-men who are not of his opinion he is a profest Adversary and He hopes every good and Wise Man will be the same Nay the whole Race and Order he calls an Usurpation on Mankind and a Diabolical and Antichristian Tyranny and says that by the assistance of Mysteries we first erected our selves into a distinct Order and one seperate Body us if there were no such Order instituted and appointed by our Blessed Saviour And to make us sure that this is his Opinion He says plainly He sees no reason why all men indifferently shou'd not as lawfully teach as they are bound to practice their Religion And again why Women might not enjoy the Priviledg of instructing others in the Religious Duties they are bound to practice themselves He wants still to be inform'd That they may teach their Children and Servants in private all the World allows So that his meaning is that they may Preach in publick as well as men thô this be contrary to the express words of Scripture He insinuates every where that our Profession is but a Craft and calls it a Trade and our Religious Mysteries a Contrivance only to bring us Gain and Credit as if we had no sence at all of Religion and that a little Vain glory and profit were all our aim He levels the whole Book mainly at the Clergy and doth all he can to render us odious in the sight of the People And to do it more effectually he all along makes the Clergy and Laity two opposite Parties and endeavours to raise in them jealousies and suspicions of our gulling and abusing them in order to prejudice and incense them against us And that his Sophistry might pass upon them the better he paints us out under the notion of Heathen Priests he draws their Picture and then leaves the Laity to mistake it for ours endeavouring everywhere to make all People of his Faith who thinks that Priests of all Religions are the same What this Man advances here is but a Branch of that bitter Root of Socinianism which hath opened a Door for introducing and reviving many of those Heresies which have formerly infested the Church and troubled the Faith of Christians These Men differ among themselves and there is as great variety of them as there were of the Arrians formerly yet they all agree in Destroying Reveal'd Religion and the establisht Doctrine of that Church of which they yet profess themselves Members Thus these Vermin engendred in the Body of it at the same time they strike at one another do all equally contribute to devour the whole from whence they first deriv'd their life and being I hope I need not here enter into a Defence of our Order or make any long Apology for the Ministers of the Gospel This one Book of his is a sufficient Proof of the Necessity and Usefulness of the Clergy for had it not been for us such ridiculous Sophisms as these might have pass'd with the People for sound Reasoning If it were not for them whose business it is to confute the Arguments of these pretenders to Reason to lay open their Fallacies and detect their Villanous Designs there wou'd not in a little time be so much as a Face of Religion omong us And if the Experiment were not too dangerous and the consequences of it never to be retriev'd there cou'd not be a greater demonstration of the Necessity and Usefulness of the Clergy than the universal desisting of their endeavours only for a very short space For then all Religion would degenerate into Barbarity and Heathenism If we are guilty of all these Villanies with which this Man brands us there is no punishment either in this World or the next too bad for us But if we are not and that this Man doth not make out what he so positively asserts then what will he deserve We appeal to any Power that is able to take account of the matter And if the strength of all Laws Ecclefiastical and Civil should once be so relax't that every one may openly vent what they please against the Christian Religion and it's Teachers without restraint which God forbid then we must leave it to him to defend his own Cause The World is at this time so dispos'd for the reception of all Discourses that seem to set up Reason and Evidence in opposition to the Reveal'd and Mysteririous Doctrines of Christianity that nothing less than the Interposition of Authority can stop this current of Infidelity and Prophaness which threatens to overwhelm these Nations How far Men in Power according to their several stations are oblidg'd to intermedle in point of Conscience I shall not now enquire But sure I am in point of Policy it is become no less than necessary For the writers of this Strein have given broad Hints that they are as little Friends to our Government as our Religion This Man can say That Magistrates are made for the People and every one knows what Doctrines of Rebellion men are wont to insinuate by this saying And again he says That God alone and such as are inspir'd by him can prescribe Injunctions relating to the World to come whilst Human Powers regulate the Affairs of this By which 't is plain his meaning is that they have nothing to do to meddle any way in the Affairs of Religion Now what would this man have said if he durst have spoke as plainly of Government as he hath done of Religion Whosoever observes these men's way of writing as to this one point will be convinc'd they deserve to be look'd too Their Numbers grow Formidable They begin to speak out their Infidelity and Prophaness as plain as some of them do Treason they are secretly forming themselves into Clubs Caballs and have their Emissaries into all parts which are supported by Contributions And I make little doubt but that their design is at length to shew us That all Dominion as well as Religion is founded in Reason POSTSCRIPT I Have designedly left the consideration of those Passages he cites out
of the Fathers to the last to be consider'd by themselves because many Persons who will read the rational part don't care for troubling themselves with the examination of these And indeed because I design'd to dwell much longer upon them than I find the length of this Letter already will permit The very Quoting of the Fathers is a confutation of himself for if there be no other ground of Perswasion but Evidence what can the Authority of the Fathers signify to encline Mens Assent either one way or the other and indeed of Scripture it self All Quotations Divine or Human are useless impertinent upon his Principles For what he wou'd perswade by them is evident in it self or it is not If it be evident we shall certainly believe it let who will say it but if the truth of it be not evident from the nature of the thing it self all the Pompous Citations in the World signify nothing He was sensible of this and that is the true reason why he gives the Fathers as foul language as he doth the modern Clergy not considering that the same objection holds against the Bible it self For if the Authority of God be not a ground of Perswasion then a Text out of the Bible will be of as little â—orce as a Quotation out of any fabulous Heathen Author to influenceo ur Assent to any Proposition He introduces them after the most scornful manner he could contrive and says that the mentioning of Schutcheons puts him in mind of the Judgment of the Primitive Church And in another place he hath this expression by way of ridicule The Fathers The admir'd Fathers their Opinions he calls Whymsies And their Works insuperable Labyrinths And calls the just Esteem we have for them A Blind Veneration for those who liv'd before us He never mentions them without the greatest contemt and says He is not to be put out of countenance by Venerable names and Pompous Citations that have no value but such as an ugly Rust and Colour give antient Coins But this similitude that he designs by way of derision doth very well express the worth and usefulness of the Fathers For as antient Coins are now of no greater intrinsick value than the bare weight of the Metal they are made of yet they are of excellent use to give us light into the times and customs of Antiquity and upon that score are of vasily greater value than any modern Coins So it is with the Fathers they were Men and wrote like such and thô we should grant that some of their works are not in themselves more excellent than what hath been written in after ages yet these Writings of theirs are much more to be valu'd because they liv'd nearer the times of Christ and his Apostles and therefore had greater advantages of coming to right apprehensions of all things relating to Christianity than it is possible for any after them to have Not but that some of them seem to have wrote by a more peculiar influence of the Spirit And therefore this Mans arrogant treatment of the Fathers puts me in mind of that passage of the ignorant Childrens reviling the Prophet and calling him Baldpate who saw nothing of him beyond those common infirmities that are incident to Human Nature and did not discern any thing of the Divine Spirit that was in him We do not blindly and implicitely acquiesce in any thing they say but we have a just Veneration for them and deserence to their Authority And if he could have produced any thing from them which had made against us we would have own'd he had gaind a great point But all the Citations he produces are only to prove that the things reveal'd under the Gospel were call'd Mysteries under the Law and That the Vail is taken away both which we allow Let him bring one Text out of the Bible or one Quotation out of the Fathers to prove that the Vail is taken away in the sence that we deny i. e. in respect of the true Nature and real Properties of those things which we call Mysteries For that it is taken away as to the Existence of those things and as to the Relation they have to us as to the intent and design of them we allow And this is a sufficient answer to all his Quotations if he brought a thousand more to the same purpose he hath don these However I shall consider them in particular And 1. He says Clemens Alexandrinus hath the same notion of Mysteries with him For he says the Christian Discipline was call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Illumination because it brought hidden things to light Very true But not because it brought them so to light as to discover the real Nature and Properties of every thing reveal'd and give us as clear and distinct notions of all divine things as they are in themselves as we have even of sensible Objects Which this Man ridiculously contends for And this he would have seen if he had read but Ten Lines farther where he has this Expression 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. By which he affirms the nature of God to be above all we can conceive or speak of him So that 't is plain the Father in direct opposition to this Scribler is of opinion that God is still Mysterious notwithstanding all the Revelations we have of him The whole drift of the former part of that 5th Book is to shew that the true nature of FAITH consists in giving our assent to the truth of things which we cannot know upon the Authority of God and to this he applies that Text of the Apostle 1. Cor. 2. 5 where he adviseth us that our Faith should not be founded on the Wisdom of Men who as he explains it pretend to make us know every thing we believe But on the Veracity of God who saves us by pure Faith without that Evidence of the thing it self which some Men require The Father 's own words are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and therefore he elegantly calls Faith the Ears of the Soul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because by this we are dispos'd to listen to Discourses of those things which we cannot comprehend Not that he supposes we are ignorant of the meaning of any Proposition we believe and therefore he says 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is no Knowledg without Faith noâ— Faith without Knowledg And he here makes a manifest difference between that Assent which is the immediate effect of Knowledg and that which is properly Faith And then asketh this Question 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Who is so estranged from God so much an Infidell as not to believe him upon his word but require the same Evidence and clear Knowledg of the things reveal'd from God as he requires from men I answer This Man of unparallel'd Impudence who hath quoted this same 5th Book of his against himself and us to prove the quite contrary to what he thus positively asserts The next Father
he Qâ—otes against us is Justin Martyr Who says Moses with his hands stretcht out at the Battle with the Amalakstes was a Type of Christ Crucified And He useth these words Tipe Simbol Mystery c. to signify things once hid but now reveal'd So do we all to this day use these words to express those things which were once hid and now reveal'd and yet there are Mysteries in the Christian Religion for all that And if he will look into his Tract of a True Confession of Faith He will never again cite this Father against us at least in this Controversy but call him all to nought as he hath done us When he had been speaking of the Union of the Divine and Human Nature in the Person of Christ and propos'd many intricate and insuperable difficulties concerning this Article of our Faith Perhaps says he these unconceivable difficulties may perplex your mind and stagger your Faith As for me when I am in any perplexity about these CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES I cry out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That those things of our Religion are above our faculties of Knowledg above REASON above the capacities of created Nature And it follows That there is no other Solution to be given of these things but that of a READY FAITH He argues moreover the impossibility of coming to the true knowledg of these Divine Objects from the disproportion there is between them and our present capacities And ask's this Question 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 With what Confidence can ye go about to give an exact Solution of Divine things I leave this man who is concern'd to give him an answer The next Quotation is out of Tertullian who hath this expression in his Apology Cum vel ex Formâ omnibus Mysteriis silentij fiides habeatur c. He is in that place defending the Christians from those crimes of Incest Adultery and murdering of Children which the Heathen charged them as being guilty of in there meetings That they were groundless Rumours and nothing more He argues thus These things must be first discovered either by our selves or others not by others because they have no way to know them but by such as are privy to them not by our selves for none who are guilty of such horrid Crimes would discover things which must expose them to the immediate punishment of the Laws tho the vengeance of God were deser'd And the force of the comparison with the Heathen Mysteries lies in this If the Samothracian and Elusinian Mysteries are kept so secret which are not of such dangerous consequence to discover How much more must you think such Herrid and dangerous Mysteries as you suppose ours to be will be kept secret And his Inâ—erence is very natural viz That these things must needs be meer Rumour since if they were true they would not be discover'd or if they were discover'd must expect no mercy from the Heathen who would be sure not to spare them And therfore he says Dicimur sceleratissimi dicimur tamen semper nec vos quod tam diù Dicimur eruere cuâ—atis Ergò aut cruite si creditis aut nolite credere qui non eruisâ—is This is the whole scope of the place and how this man will wrest his Inference out of it Ergò There are no Mysteries in Christianity I can't imagine The last He cites is Origen Who says That the Doctrines of our Religion do all agree with our COMMON NOTIONS i. e. as far as we are able to know of them But this doth not prove That there is nothing more intended by them than what we Know as well as we do the ordinary Objects of our Senses Again He says The Land of Promise was a Type of Heaven This Mans Inference is Ergò Now this is known the state and condition of the blest in Heaven can be no Mystery to us That whole sixth Book of his against Celsus is to shew the direct contrary to what this man infists upon in his last Chap. viz. To prove against that Heretick That the Mysteries of the Christian Religion were not originally deriv'd from the Idolatrous and Superstitious Customs of the Heathen Let him answer that Book before he sets about answering Mine These are all his Pompous Citations from the Fathers to prove what no one denies That the Vail is removed and that therefore nothing in Christianity no not the Nature of God is Mysterious Now after all I find this is no new Heresy but an old one of Eunomius reviv'd who affirmed The Real true Nature of God to be intelligible by us which was long agoe conâ—ured in all the branches of it by St. Basil. It is to no purpose to heap up Quotations here to prove that the opinion of the Fathers was That we know nothing of the true Nature of God there is not any thing which occurs more frequently in them and that they are more express in Greg Nazianzen calls God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in the same Hym to God he hath this verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How can the mind frame any Notion of thee who art incomprehensible Having thus shewn to how little purpose his Citations out of the Fathers are and how the Nature of God is truely Mysterious Because what I have spoke concerning our manner of forming Idea's of God and the things of another World may look a little odd at first sight as if I turned all Religion into Allegory and by that means destroy the Reality and Substance of it I shall shew that this is no new Doctrine of mine but the opinion of the Fathers way of intercourse with Men but by taking on him our Senses and Affections by which he accommodates the insupportable Majesty of his Nature to our â—rail and imperfect state Deus non potuit humanos congressus inire nisi humanos sensus affectus suscepisset per quos vim Majestatis suae intolerabilem utique humanae mediocritati humilitate temperaret Gregory Nyssen discoursing at large how the sacred Style was accommodated to our Capacity by expressing the nature of God and divine things under the notion of such things as are familiar to us adds these words For how says he could that Immensity be contain'd in a little were it not that those things are brought down to our shallow Capacities 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dionysius speaking of this Symbolical and Figurative way of conceiving and expressing the things of another World call's those things by which they are represented to us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signa figmenta which is better render'd by the english word Substitutes And he adds that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are the Substitutes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Those things which have Form and Figure are the Representatives of those Divine Things which have none Again Dionysius says it is impossible for us to contemplate the nature of immaterial Objects any other way than by help of those notions we