Church of all sorts that it should be adviseable for her to put more Power in their hands than they have The next Cause he mentions of Deism Page 10. is the Clergy's Prevarication in this Revolution as to their Principles of Passive Obedience in which Case whatever Cause of Scandal may have been given has been very much aggravated by the Enemies of the Church of all sorts But methinks an equitable Considerer of things would rather argue thus That if some of them did in this leave some Principles they were fond of before 't was a Sense of the Good of their Country that changed their Minds because we see that they did stick to their Religion with a great deal of Zeal when it was very hazardous for them and we have just Reason to think that very many of them would have chearfully lost all they had in the Cause and have resisted even unto blood But after all there were not many of the Clergy that were so far for Passive Obedience that had the Case been put to them as ours really was at the Revolution of a King that was actually overturning the whole Constitution and either designed to inslave us by a Foreign Power or which was much the same thing so far hugged and encouraged a Monstrous Power in one of his Neighbours that in a very little time it had not been in his own Power to save either us or himself I believe had the Case been put thus there were not very many who would have said that it was unlawful for a People in such Circumstances to save themselves of which beside others I have this Reason That this was the Opinion of some Authors in great Reputation among our Clergy Grotius Barclay Dr. Falkner They did indeed preach up Passive Obedience in general Terms as the Scripture and the Laws of England deliver it and as for such Cases they were odious and not very fit to be mentioned but sufficiently excepted in the Nature of the Thing and such as common Sence would easily find out whenever any Case of that kind should happen As for those who went farther than this or carried the Matter with Heat and Violence I shall leave them to stand or fall according as they can approve the Sincerity of their Hearts to our Great Master who can make Allowance for Mistake and Prejudice and other Human Infirmities though Men won't But our Author is still angry and says that the Clergy are Enemies to the Government for a King de facto only and still Subjects to King James which if it be true I am sure there is no great matter of Priest-Crast in it for it is apparently against the Interest of their Church But by this as well as other things we may guess our Author knows very few of the Clergy especially those that have been preferred since this Revolution of which number are above two Thirds of the Bishops whom this Author calls Jacobites but some of his Friends use to call the Dead Weight for the Government in the House of Lords which contrary Reproaches are a good Sign that they carry themselves like Moderate and Honest Men and good Patriots of their Country He makes a great Stir in several places with Dr. S k as if he were the only Clergy-man almost he had heard of or that all the rest were guided by his Notions But I can assure him the Dean has more Reputation for his Books of Death and Judgment than he has for his Case of Allegiance It is a hard Matter to answer for so great a Body of Men as the Clergy of the Ch. of England especially in a Case where they are not all of one Mind and should I endeavour to clear them all from the Aspersions he there throws it 's possible I should have as little Truth of my side as he has Truth or Justice in aspersing them all or as those have who censure all Men of our Author's Stamp as Persons against Kingly Government and that design to make England a Commonwealth and yet that there are some such he himself will I am perswaded hardly deny As for what he charges upon them their making the King to be only so de facto if by it he mean that they look upon the King to be an Usurper and that tho' they may submit to him while he has them in his Power yet that this is to be only till they can have a good Opportunity of serving him who is their Rightful King This I believe is a gross Calumny and such as can be charged upon very few But there may be perhaps some others whom our Author will call de facto Men who tho' they should be mistaken in the Principles they go upon yet however may upon those Principles serve the Goverment as well as any that live under it Some it 's possible there are who do not approve of all that was done in the Revolution on and therefore would not themselves concur in it but yet when the thing is done and the Government settled by the Consent of the Majority may think themselves bound to submit to it and when they have given their Oath to stick to it as much as if the Original of it were never so uncontestable Others it 's likely there may be who do not think particular private Persons bound to examine the Titles of Princes that as in private Cases it is not their own Judgment but the Determination of the Judges that is to direct their Consciences to whom they are bound to pay their Rent or any other Due so in this great Due of Allegiance it is the highest Authority we have that of the Parliament must direct them to whom to pay it and whether that great Court be right or wrong in their Determinations they are not proper Judges And to mention no more there may be some others who may think that tho' every thing at the Revolution was not exactly agreeable to common Forms yet since it was agreeable to the great Law of Necessity we should thank God for the great Benefits it brought us and stick to it against all the World Upon these Hypotheses and several other it 's like some People may have come into the Government and tho' they should not be in every thing in the right yet it will be a hard matter to shew any Reason why they may not be good Subjects and very faithful to the Government and 't is neither just nor charitable nor for the Interest of the Government to censure all these as Subjects to King James But our Author still threatens the Clergy with an Oath of Abjuration Page 16. But whether he and his Friends will be able to persuade the Parliament to appoint such a one Time must tell us it is a Matter has been proposed more than once but has never yet been judged for the Good of the King and Kingdom It was the Wisdom of our Parliament at the Beginning of
as this and nothing but the mighty Power of God concurring with them could ever have brought it to effect The less internal Credibility there is in the Nature of the Things themselves the more external Evidence is necessary to gain 'em Belief especially if for the Belief of these Men must go against their former Prejudices and hazard the Loss of all they have I have now considered the chief Causes of Deism assigned by our Author there are some other matters still behind but it was not my Intent to take notice of every thing that might be found fault with in his Pamphlet but only to make some Reflexions upon those Calumnies or Mistakes in it that were like to do the greatest Mischief As for those things that remain they are either only Repetitions of what has been spoke to already or else Matters of small consequence or such things as the World will easily see through and therefore I do not judge it proper to trouble either him or my self about them I hope I need not beg pardon either of God or the World for the manner of handling these Matters and I am sure I need not beg pardon of the Person who wrote the Pamphlet I reflect upon A Man that has a hearty Concern for Religion cannot but sometimes shew that Concern where he sees Religion in Danger and upon that account speak his Mind plainly But I am so great an Enemy to all Wrath and Bitterness in Writing that I do not think it justifiable even in replying to one of the spitefullest Pamphlets I ever saw for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God The Cause of God and Religion does not need the Passions of Men to defend it And whoever brings them into the Controverfie whatever Good he may do it one way will certainly do it Prejudice another Having now dismissed our Author I think it proper before I conclude to prevent any Prejudice which such a Representation of things as he has given may do to the Christian Religion to say something to that In doing this I shall not insist upon those many Arguments commonly brought to prove the Truth of it such as the exact fulfilling of the Prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the Birth and Life and Death of our Blessed Saviour the many Miracles that were done in Confirmation of this Religion for several Ages together especially the Resurrection of our Saviour himself from the Dead the Purity of its Precepts the Nobleness and Excellency of its Promises the Divine and Heavenly Nature of it which whoever well considers will find it to be a Doctrine worthy the Care of a good God These things have been largely insisted upon by others and do indeed effectually prove what they are brought for But I shall at present pass them over and desire leave only to insist upon this one thing which I chose to do because it contains in it a full Answer to the whole Method of arguing which our Author puts in the mouths of his Deists and that is this That the Persons who were the first Preachers and Promoters of our Religion and who have delivered us an Account of the Miracles done in Confirmation of it were Persons who could not propose to themselves any Interest of their own in what they did they could have no Expectations but of that Reward which their Religion promises them in the other World as for the things of This we see plainly they did not pretend to them Their Master had told them that Persecution was like to be the Portion of his Disciples which accordingly they did very sufficiently meet with being persecuted from one Place to another till at last they laid down their Lives in Confirmation of that Truth they had preached But we see however that while they had their Lives they went very zealously and cheerfully on being joyful if they could but do their Master's Business and contribute toward the saving of Souls whatever became of themselves Of this S. Paul gives us a pathetical Account in his Farewel-Speech to the Church of Ephesus as you may see at large in the 20th Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles You know says he from the first day that I came into Asia how I have been with you at all times serving the Lord with all lowliness and many tears and temptations which happened to me from the lying in wait of the Jews And now behold being led by the spirit I go up to Jerusalem not knowing what shall befall me there only that the Holy Ghost hath told me that in every City bonds and imprisonments abide me But I regard not these things neither count I my life dear so I may but finish my course with joy and the Ministry that I have received of the Lord Jesus to preach the Gospel of the grace of God These and many other things he there speaks to them with that Air of Seriousness and Concern and true Greatness of Soul which became an Apostle of Christ and plainly shewed that he was in good earnest The truth is it seems to be impossible that there should be so much Zeal and Earnestness to promote that which they were not fully convinced in their Conscience to be true and much more impossible that they should with so much Joy suffer for that which if it were false they must know to be an Imposture and an Impudent Lye But it may be some may object that the bare Suffering for any Cause is not a sufficient Evidence of the Truth of it because we see that there is scarce any Religion but what has had those who have Suffered for it And therefore if that were a good Argument of the Truth of any Religion it would prove Contradictions to be true it being a very common thing in the World to see some Men suffer for Affirming and others for Denying the same thing As to this it may be answered That there seems in several Respects to be a great Difference betwixt the Sufferings of the first Christians for their Religion and the Sufferings of any other Party but this I would not insist upon All that I would prove from their Sufferings is That they were honest Men and did really believe That for which they Suffered to be Truth and this I think cannot well be denied if we grant 'em to have had Flesh and Blood as we now have And this may perhaps be said for those that suffer on other Accounts That they are honest Men too And therefore the best way to see the difference is to consider the different Natures of the Things for which they suffer As for Matters of Opinion or the Sense of doubtful Expression in a Book or the like these are Cases in which an honest Man may be mistaken and therefore if he suffer in such a Case tho' it may prove him an honest Man yet it does not prove him to be in the right because in Cases of this kind the honestest Man
REFLEXIONS Upon a PAMPHLET INTITULED An Account of the Growth of DEISM in ENGLAND REFLEXIONS Upon a PAMPHLET INTITULED An Account of the Growth of DEISM in ENGLAND Together with some CONSIDERATIONS About the Christian Religion Qui bonâ fide colit Deos amat Sacerdotes Stat. Epist Dedic in V. Lib. Sylv. LONDON Printed for John Newton at the Three Pigeons over-against the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet 1696. REFLEXIONS Upon a PAMPHLET INTITULED An Account of the Growth of DEISM in ENGLAND IT has now for a great while been the Complaint of Good Men that Atheism and Infidelity grow mightily among us which is indeed a very melancholly Consideration but I am afraid is but too true did not the Profane and Blasphemous Discourse which one is often forced to hear sufficiently shew this The Air and Humour of the Age is so very different from that Seriousness Plainness and Simplicity which a through Belief and Consideration of the Christian Religion would inspire Men with that one who takes notice of the Difference cannot easily imagine that this Religion is so generally believed as 't is professed Add to this the great Corruption of Manners the great Difficulty there is to breed up Young People soberly and vertuously or to find those of Riper Years who are Men of Honesty Integrity and Publick Spirit to be employed in the Service of their Country Now when a Nation is so much corrupted as ours is at present it can hardly proceed but from one of these two Causes either first from a Corruption in their Religion by making that consist in outward Observations or giving Men hopes to please God and get to Heaven by some other Method besides real Holiness and a Care of their Lives by which means the Conscience is left loose in that respect or else secondly from a Disbelief of the Religion it self for tho' some Men make a shift to do it it is an uneasie thing to go against Conscience and therefore a general Corruption of Manners can hardly be without one of these two Causes which leave Men at Liberty to indulge themselves without Disturbance from it As for the first of these the Corruption of our Religion by making that consist in outward Observations or giving Men Hopes of getting to Heaven by any other Method but real Holiness of Life it is what cannot be charged upon the Present Age or Church wherein whatever Zeal may have been shewed upon other Accounts for things in themselves indifferent yet it has always been plainly taught that nothing but inward Piety can recommend us to God or make our Peace with him and that there is no way of getting to Heaven without the real Reformation of our Lives And these things have been shewed so distinctly plainly and clearly both in Opposition to the Superstitious Observations of Popery and to some Popular Errors about Religion among our selves that perhaps no Age can shew the like as may appear to any that has been but a little conversant in the Sermons and Books that have been published by the Divines of the Church of England And I believe one great Reason why so many Loose People have made Infidelity their Resuge is because it has been so clearly shewed them that there is no Hopes for such Persons from our Religion which they would not so easily have left had we had but any Trick to save them and let them enjoy their Sins together And therefore we see that most of our Debauched People take this way contrary to what may be observed in some other Countries where People of as ill Morals as they yet speak with Reverence and Respect about their Religion Of which Difference I can think of no other Reason but this That the one has no Hopes from his Religion and therefore treats it accordingly the other has still some Reserve in his Eye that may stand him in stead after a Wicked Life Absolution and Extreme Unction or at most some Money for Masses when he is dead And upon this Account his ill Morals often increase his Zeal for his Religion and set him upon endeavouring by that to make God what amends he can for those Sins he is resolved to enjoy The Effect I believe is apt to be quite contrary with Serious and Considering Persons who among us cannot but have a Reverence for that Religion which they see so worthy of God which does not consist in little Tricks or outward Observations but in solid and substantial Goodness such as is for the Good of the World for the Advancement of our own Nature and tends to make us pious and holy and as like God as may be Considering Persons will be very apt to have a Reverence for such a Religion as this And on the other side such Persons if they live in Countries where this is degenerated into outward useless Observations where Men may get their Sins pardoned and make their Peace with God by such things as even a Wise Man would have no regard to no wonder if they cannot esteem it and if they have opportunity to know nothing of Christianity but as it is thus practised it is no wonder at all if they do fall into Deism as our Travellers tell us that this is a very common thing among such Persons in Italy and some other Countries There has lately appeared a Pamphlet which pretends to give an Account of the Growth of Deism in England that is indeed the Title of it but I believe not the Author's Design who seems to have had no other Aim but to say as many ugly things as he could against the present Established Church and Clergy Whether the Author be a Christian or no I shall not pretend to determine I would willingly suppose he is since he seems to say so but I believe he himself will not deny that he has more Zeal against the Church of England than he has for the Christian Religion and if he be a Christian I would leave it upon his Conscience how he will be able to answer it to Jesus Christ that he should with such aggravating Circumstances and so much Virulence expose that to the View of the World which he himself says commonly makes Men Deists and yet be at so very little pains to give any Antidote against it It looks as if he were uneasie that such good Arguments against Christianity should lie hid only amongst his Clubs of Atheists and Deists and that he was willing to try how many Proselites they were like to gain by being exposed to publick View Our Author's Design being only to expose Christianity or else expose the Clergy which I rather believe we cannot expect a full Account of the Growth of Deism from him I shall therefore first in short take notice of what I judge to have been the Causes of the Increase of it and then consider those assigned by his Author 1. The great and chief Cause of Deism at present was the general Corruption of Manners
brought in in the late Reign and incouraged during that time both in Clergy and People and in order perhaps to prepare the way for Popery carried on so far then that it is now a very hard Matter to reform it 2. Another thing that much promoted it were the Divisions and Factions both in Church and State the grols Enthusiasm of the late Times and the many ill things done under the pretence of Conscience And then on the other side the open Profaneness of some in Opposition to them Add to this that both Sides too much made it their Business to expose one another and so made each other appear indeed much worse than they were by which means great occasion was given to ill men first to look on all Sides as Knaves and then to laugh at all Pretences to Religion 3. Another thing that accidentally came in to help it forward might be this That at the same time such Offence was given and there was such great Corruption of Manners Mr. Hobbs's Philosophy and that of some others came much in Vogue which brought in some loose Principles and encouraged Men in a Sceptical Humour and made them suspect every thing and when once Men of ill Lives are unhinged in their Principles they will hardly be at the pains to think deep enough to set themselves right again especially when their Religion is so contradictory to their Lusts 4. Another thing that may have promoted it is the Detection of the gross Forgeries of the Church of Rome as to Miracles and other things which tho' found out in the Last Age yet then only increased Mens Zeal against Popery but now when Men were become more indifferent in Religion it had a very different Effect and inclined many People to suspect the Evidence of Christianity it self tho' very absurdly the Cases being so very different 5. Another great Cause of it may be this That Religion has been openly exposed commonly in our Plays They have not indeed brought our Saviour upon the Stage and exposed him in Person but it has been almost as bad they have made it their Business to laugh at the true Life of Religion at all Sense of Conscience or talking seriously about Spiritual Matters They have encouraged Looseness and Debauchery and made it their Bufiness to make 'em as easie to the World as possible In short the whole Genius and Spirit of our Modern Plays is as contrary to that of the Christian Religion as Darkness is to Light and then it 's no wonder if People that are much conversant in these do in some time lose all Sense of the other 6. I shall name at present but this one more which though not much taken notice of may have had a considerable Influence this way upon Young Gentlemen especially and that is this That by the false Laws of Honour now in Vogue they see they cannot live and act like Gentlemen and at the same time keep to the plain Rules of their Religion Christ commands us to forgive Injuries not to render Evil for Evil but if a Gentelman at present won't cut his Neighbours Throat for a small Affront he must be contented to suffer himself what is very hard to be born to be exposed and counted a Coward and be perhaps kicked out of Company by which means the Christian Religion is really in a State of Persecution Now this is a great Snare to Young Gentlemen and must make very many of them resolve rather to leave their Religion in that Point than undergo what is so hard to be born and tho' the case do never happen to them yet the very Resolution must debauch the Conscience take away much if not all the Authority Religion has over it which must needs make that very uneasie and so incline him for his own Quiet to throw it quite off or come to despise it as not being fit to be the Rule of the Life and Actions of a Gentleman Had our Authors Design been to give us a full Account of the Growth of Deism in England he could hardly have missed either of these or some other Causes besides those he mentions which I shall now take the Liberty a little to reflect upon He lays then the whole Guilt of the Growth of Deism upon the Clergy A very severe Charge and which if true must justly make them the Hatred both of God and Man Certainly Clergy-men of all Persons ought to take care of themselves that they may not if possible so much as by any Infirmity prejudice Men against that Holy Religion which they are Commissioned by God to keep up and propagate in the World And they will have very much to answer for to their great Master if they do like Eli's Sons make themselves Vile and make people abhor the offerings of the Lord. But then for the same Reason that it is so great a Sin in them to make themselves vile it is so in others to endeavour to render them so for if they are made vile and contemptible the Mischief and Prejudice to Religion is the same whether they are made so by their own Fault or other Peoples The very same Obligation that lies upon Ministers to take Care of themselves the same lies upon other People not to defame them or misrepresent their Actions or aggravate their Infirmities because upon their Reputation the Good of Religion does indeed very much depend If they lose their Reputation by their own Fault they must be accountable for all the ill Effects of it but if other People will do it either by inventing or aggravating Matters the Guilt must light there where the Fault is I would therefore once more apply my self to our Author that he would seriously ask his own Conscience whether tho' he represents the only Cause of Deism to be the ill Opinion Men have of Clergy-men yet he does not in this Pamphlet make it his Endeavour to render them as vile as he can and whose Work he can suppose he has been doing in it For either the Foundation of his Book must be simple and impertinent that the ill Opinion the World has of Clergy-men is the Cause of the Growth of Deism or else he himself must grant that the exposing them with so much Virulence must certainly serve the same end 2. I would ask him Whether he has observed those Rules in this Pamphlet which every honest Man should observe when he speaks ill of any and much more in a Case of such Importance as this is Every Man that would meddle with Matters of this Nature should take care 1. That he speak nothing but what is exact Truth 2. That he relate Matters in a plain and natural way without putting false Colours upon them without putting in or leaving out Circumstances that may quite alter the Matter that he don't aggravate little things or use tragical or ridiculous Expressions to disguise but in short that he represent things as they really are 3. When a
upon Methinks this is but a poor pitiful thing and a melancholy prospect to any that regards the Dignity of his Nature and yet is the very best that such a Man can propose and a Favour that after all he cannot be certain of This is indeed it must be confessed much better than to be eternally miserable and that is the Reason that so many wicked Men fly to it as their Refuge and indeed they were in the right of it if either the one or the other were unavoidable But since by the Mercy of God this may be avoided only by leaving our Sins it must be great Stupidity for a Man to look upon it to be his Interest to die like the Beasts that perish so he may but indulge himself a little while here rather than have the Principles of Christianity true according to which it is in his Power by the Grace of God to be happy for ever and in prospect of that to make his Life very comfortable in this World 3. I would desire them to consider seriously whether they have thought upon the Matter as they ought to do whether they have throughly and with Attention weighed the Principles of Religion and the Arguments for them to see whether they are true or no. It 's plain that these things have been the Belief of many wise considering Men for several Ages who have ventured all they have in the World upon it and lost all for it and therefore the Matter should be at least well examined before they venture to declare against it for before that be done they can't tell but after all it may prove true and if it do they are undone for ever But then the Business must not be weighed slightly or put off with a Jest or judged only by Objections which Wit may raise against any thing and of which perhaps by reason of the Sublimity of the Matter we are not proper Judges but the whole Evidence must be taken together and after all we must not expect strict Demonstration in a Case which supposing it true will not admit of it but be content with such Reasons and Proofs as an honest impartial Man would be in a matter of this kind But above all it is necessary that we purge our Minds from all earthly and sensual Passions we must endeavour after a great Sincerity and Purity of Soul for Religion the Christian Religion especially is a thing of a spiritual and sublime Nature directly contrary to all those mean Passions and Inclinations that debase the Soul and therefore till that be purified a Man is no proper Judge in this matter he cannot relish or see the Excellency of this Religion Common Sense must indeed judge of the external Arguments that prove the Truth of it and from them a very wicked Man may conclude that this is the True Religion but still a Man can hardly discern at least not taste and inwardly feel the Excellency of it without purity of Soul which must take away much of the Force of those Arguments brought for the Truth of it To conclude this Matter A guilty defiled Soul must needs be of a Party against the Christian Religion and therefore is not fit to be a Judge Consider therefore seriously with your selves whether all this I have now spoke of have been done and whether it be not the greatest Madness in the World to venture your Souls upon it if it have not Having now finished what I designed I would humbly take leave before I conclude in a few Words to address my self to the Reverend Clergy of this Kingdom who are the Persons principally struck at in that Pamphlet upon which I have been reflecting That since their Enemies take all Occasions not only to make them vile but from thence also to reflect upon Our Holy Religion they would make it their great Care to cut off all such Occasions from those who seek it It has been a great Misfortune to the Present Establish'd Church that it has had so many Enemies of all sorts who have been ready to pry into the Lives and Actions of the Clergy to expose all their Failings and misrepresent Things that might well bear a good Construction not after all but that in so great a Body of Men we must expect there will be some neither so good nor so wise and discreet as the true Friends of Religion would be glad to see them but I hope that if there have been any who have not hitherto been so careful as they ought to be they will now especially lay to heart the great Obligations their Holy Profession brings upon them because not only their own Honour and that of the Church but even of our common Christianity is concerned in it A grave and serious a diligent and industrious a peaceable and unanimous Clergy are the likeliest means to recover the Reputation of Religion and to make it sensibly lovely in the Eyes of the World whereas on the other side every loose or careless ambitious or contentious Clergyman does indeed only expose and betray that Cause which he is bound to promote But especially as there is nothing more essential to our Religion than Meekness and Love and Gentleness so there is nothing more shocking than to see the contrary Character appear in the Sermons or Writings of Church-men tho' it be in the Defence of Truth It is very bad for Persons of that Holy Profession to be guilty of Vices in the private Conduct of their Lives but to Preach or to Write bitterly against each other is to proclaim to the World a Spirit directly contrary to that of their Religion and to call as many as they can to take notice of it In short Religion is a thing cannot be long kept up as Secular Factions may be by Interest or Grandeur or any thing of that kind no it must have real internal Esteem in the Hearts of Men otherwise the Effect is very like to be that they will leave that for some other or else look upon all Religion to be only Trick and Design It is true indeed that no Actions of Men can alter the Natures of Things or make that Religion to be true or false now which was determinately one of them many hundred Years ago But it is not every body that either can or will consider things aright that requires some Pains and Time and Freedom from Prejudice but a Good Life especially in Clergy-men is a sensible and a visible thing every body knows that the great End of Religion is to make Men Pious and Holy and therefore they will very naturally incline there where they see most of that To conclude all in a Word The best way that either Ministers or People can serve their Religion is by adorning it with a holy Conversation and it concerns all as they will at the Great day answer for the Scandal brought upon it that they do not by their ill Lives and as much as possible not by any Indiscretion cause the Enemies of the Lord to Blaspheme FINIS