Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	effect_n	nature_n	power_n	3,155	5	5.1866	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51679	The mystery of atheism, or, The devices made use of to countenance and propagate it together with the evil and danger of them, set forth in several letters to a friend : wherein is made appear, that 'tis not want of evidence, but sincerity that makes men atheists / by the author of the Mystery of phanaticism.	A. B.	1699 (1699)	Wing M3183; ESTC R32115	53,436	138

of such a thing But is nothing to be believ'd but what we have some information of from our Senses How then shall we believe we have a Soul of which none of our Senses can give us any information for if it be at all it must be a Spiritual and immaterial Substance which cannot incur into or be discern'd by any of them Beside are there not many noble Effects and Operations that proceed from an invisible Cause Do we not find that we can reason judge and inferr one thing from another tho' we see not the Principle from whence they come Have we not an Understanding Will and Affections to know chuse and affect things tho' the Spring of them occur not to any of our Senses Do we not find a World made and preserv'd tho' we see not that invisible hand that first did the one and still continues the other Indeed had we no higher Principle of knowledge in us than our Senses it would be hard to form a Notion of God or any Spiritual and immaterial Substance because these things cannot be the Object of Sensation but having a superior Principle that is a Mind within us that can raise us above all gross and Corporeal Objects 't is easie to conceive that a Spiritual Substance may be discern'd by the Mind tho' it cannot be the Object of our Senses Are there not many Truths in all Arts and Sciences that fall not under the Cognizance of any of our Senses Yea are not the Essences of all things invisible and discoverable only by the Powers and Sagacity of the Mind which from the outward Effects can judge of the inward Nature of the Causes The Understanding can penetrate much farther into the inside of things than our Senses or Fancy can enable us to do we find the Mind can and frequently does correct the Errors of Sense and Imagination of which many instances might be given if it were needful to enlarge But this is sufficient to make it evident that there is a higher Principle of Knowledge within us than that of our outward Senses and that many things are knowable and intelligible by the one that are not convey'd by the other So that 't is false Reasoning to infer that the Mind cannot have a Notion or Idea of a Spiritual and immaterial Substance because it cannot be the Object of Sensation Again the Atheist tells us that the Notion of a God supposes him to be Infinite and Incomprehensible and therefore it must be altogether unconceiveable by Human Understanding which cannot grasp Infinity or comprehend what is Incomprehensible But may not the Mind apprehend something of a Deity tho' it cannot comprehend the whole of him Is it wise arguing because we have not all knowledge therefore we have none at all If we know as much of him as the greatness of the Object and the slenderness of our Faculties will admit that is if we know him to be a Being absolutely and eminently perfect without the least degree of defect or imperfection is not this sufficient to create a Notion and Belief of him There is scarce any inferior Being that we can fully comprehend and because we understand not all Mysteries in Nature shall we conclude from thence that we are quite ignorant and can have no Notion or Idea of any thing This will lead to downright Scepticism and make us believe we know nothing Beside we may know as much of him as 't is fit for us now to know we are not at present able to receive the full knowledge and splendor of the Deity a great part whereof is reserv'd for the Happiness of a future State when we shall see God as he is and tho' we here know but in part shall then know even as we are known and therefore 't is monstrously unreasonable to quarrel with the Notion and Idea of a God or think it altogether unconceivable because we cannot comprehend his infinite Perfections in this present imperfect state wherein we know but little of any thing else But how does the Atheist account for all these noble Effects and Operations of the Mind without the Notion of a Spirit Why by resolving all into Matter and Motion For he tells us that some of the finer and more subtle parts of Matter call'd Atoms being in continual motion luckily fall into those configurations by which all this is perform'd without the help or direction of a Deity And that some happen to be wiser and more knowing than others proceeds from some of those more refined parts of Matter falling accidentally into more happy forms and contextures in them than they do in others and so instead of believing in God they believe only in Matter and Motion A great piece of Subtilty indeed to sublimate Matter into Spirit and to ascribe the Noblest Acts and Operations in the World to the most unactive and sluggish of all things in it But whence should Matter have this Motion which neither is nor hath in it any self-moving Principle Why of this no account can be given without some Spiritual Being that must give it all its activity Can dull Matter of it self infer one thing from another and perform those reflex Acts which we find in rational Beings Can it range the Universe in Thought and Contemplation Or dive into profound Speculations No these things require another and higher Principle than stupid and senseless Matter and owe their rise to some more refin'd spiritual and intelligent Being In short The Notion of a Spirit is so necessary to the solving of these and a thousand other difficulties that none but such as are wholly immers'd in Matter can doubt or disbelieve it I am SIR Yours A. B. LETTER X. SIR ANother Device of the Atheist is his taking occasion from the unequal distribution of Earthly Things to question both the Being and Providence of a God They see Good Men afflicted and the Wicked in great prosperity which they think could not be if the World were govern'd by so Wise Just and Excellent a Being as is pretended This is a Quarrel of an ancient date or an old stumbling Block that hath trip'd up the Heels of many We read of it in David's days who was himself in great danger of stumbling at it for himself tells us that his Feet were almost gone and his Steps had well nigh slipt when he saw the Wicked in great prosperity that they were not in trouble like other folk not plagued like other Men but were lusty and strong their Eyes standing out with Fatness having as much as heart could wish whilst better men than they look'd meager and thin being pinch'd with want and chastened every morning This made him begin to doubt whether there were any wise and Supreme Being that order'd these things I beheld saith he the Vngodly flourishing like a green Bay-tree and the Righteous Man at the same time drooping and hanging the head like a whither'd leaf verily I have cleans'd my heart in vain

be given As First The Assertion on which the Objection is grounded is a great mistake for the greatest and wisest part of Mankind have ever paid their Adorations to one Supreme Being As for the Jewish Nation the whole body of them serv'd one only God known by the name Jehovah as is evident from Prophane as well as Sacred History and for the other Nations that deriv'd their Pedigree and Tradition from them they had always one above the rest whom they worshipp'd with the highest acts of Adoration Indeed some of the grosser Heathens multiplied their Gods according to the multitude and variety of Blessings they suppos'd to receive from them but these were derided by the Philosophers and more knowing Men and the practice of the Multitude without the opinion and approbation of the Wise signifies no more as one hath told us in this case than many Cyphers without a Figure Again Secondly The Polytheism of the Heathens is a good argument against Atheism and their Idolatries are a plain proof of a Deity for the rudest and most ignorant of all people have had those impressions of him upon their Mind that they would rather have many Gods than be without any and worship false Gods rather than none at all Tho' they mistook the true God yet they all agreed in this to worship some God or other and this mistake of theirs was not for want of sufficient Evidence but from the neglect or abuse of their natural Reason which led them from the true to false Gods for when they knew God saith the Apostle they worshipped him not as God and therefore their foolish hearts were darkened Moreover Lastly the many false Gods of the Heathen are a plain proof that there is one true one for all Counterfeits suppose a Reality there would be no false Coin if there were none true all Images are intended to represent something that is real neither would any Idols be set up if there were not a true God to be worshipped In short then the Notion of a Deity must be founded in Nature because 't is universal and could not be acquired by Education it being found in those that never had any Beside nothing is lasting but what is natural for the best things acquir'd by Instruction have in many persons been lost and forgotten and consequently the Notion of a God would have fail'd in time and the Worship of him ceas'd in many places if it had no firmer Principle Seeing then that both these have continued through all Times and Ages and are still found in all Persons and Places yea since the Atheist himself can scarce wear off the Impression or rid his Mind of the awe and sense of a Deity 't is a poor shift to resolve the Belief and Worship of him into the Principles and Prejudices of Education I am SIR Yours A. B. LETTER VI. SIR I Shew'd in my last That the Impressions of Education could not create but must suppose a Deity and that the knowledge and belief we have of him is owing not so much to the outward Instructions we learn from others as the inward Inclinations implanted in our own Mind which are not taught but born with us But if the Atheist cannot solve this great Phaenomenon or account for so general a Credulity this way he hath another Device for that purpose and that is to ascribe the belief and worship of a God to Fear or a superstitious dread of some invisible Powers And this he thinks cannot fail to do it For the mind of Man he tells us and of some especially is mightily subject to the impressions of Fear which are wont to sink deep and continue long with them and these again are apt to imprint the same dread on the Minds of others which being discover'd and communicated fill melancholy heads with infinite Fears and Jealousies which at length increase into a general awe and dread of such a Being so that Men are frighted into this belief by the frequent talk of a God as Children are into the fear of Spirits by the Tales of Faries and Hobgoblins and for this they quote that noted saying of the Poet Primus in Orbe Deos fecit Timor Fear first made Gods Men being scar'd with some Jealousies arising in their Minds about it and terrified with the thoughts of what might happen Now here by this Assertion the Atheist grants that the Minds of Men are generally seiz'd and possess'd with the Fears and Apprehensions of a God which is too well known and felt to be call'd in question So that the main enquiry here is whether Fear can create this Being or whether such a Being may not rather create these Fears for since all other Passions presuppose their Object it is not to be conceiv'd how fear alone should make it if there be a God that presides over all things and inspects our ways there is great reason to fear him but if there be none 't is not to be imagin'd how fear should make such a Being or create such an universal Belief in Mankind that there is one But how come so many to fear where no fear is what makes Men indow'd with Reason thus to be scar'd with their own shadow or if some such timerous creatures may be found that are apt to be frighted with the terrors of their own fancy How come all Mankind to be seiz'd with these panick fears what should create such an universal trembling or rivet this frightful Idea so deep into Mens Minds that no Art or Endeavours can root it out Why of this no account can be given without a Deity which might well enough imprint this dread upon them from a sense of his infinite Power and Greatness Indeed 't is easie to conceive how Infinite Power and Justice may cause a dread but 't is not to be imagin'd how dread should be the cause of such infinite perfections Again it may be asked whether this Fear were before or after a Deity if it be affirm'd to be before as it must be if Fear be the Cause of him the Cause being ever before the Effect it will follow that something may be before that which is Eternal for since the Notion of a God implies a Being that existed from all Eternity if Fear preceeded and made this Being it must have been before Eternity and likewise give a Being to that which never had or could have any beginning both which are manifest contradictions If this Fear be said to be after a Deity then it could not be the Cause of him forasmuch as no Effect can be before but must still come after the Cause Whence then should this fear proceed by which Men are aw'd into this Belief Why it must proceed either from the suggestions and report of others or from the inward suggestions of our own Mind If it came from the Relation and suggestions of others it may be ask'd who suggested it to them And this enquiry will not cease till it