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A49908
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A treatise of the causes of incredulity wherein are examin'd the general motives and occasions which dispose unbelievers to reject the Christian religion : with two letters, containing a direct proof of the truth of Christianity / translated from the French of Monsieur Le Clerc.; De l'incredulité. English
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Le Clerc, Jean, 1657-1736.
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1697
(1697)
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Wing L827; ESTC R19200
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151,596
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339
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several Revelations and every where supposes that they were very frequent as all those who have read the Book of Genesis know very well But it appears that Men made not a very good Use of them The Egyptians one of the most antient and happy Nations in the World were already in his time infected with a shameful Idolatry * See Exod 8.16 32.4 which made them worship Beasts The Cananeans were also Idolaters as he says †Lev. 20. 2. Numb 25.3 c. in many Places and liv'd a very wicked Life There is no likelihood that the other neighbouring Nations made a better Use of those antient Revelations or the Light of Reason which God has given to all Men. So that there was not one Nation that could boast to have improv'd the Talents it receiv'd from Heaven as it ought to do and if God had given them up to their Darkness and Wickedness none of them could have justly complain'd of him Notwithstanding to pass by the Nations whose History is not well known to us God being mov'd with Compassion towards Men would not permit that Idolatry and corrupt Manners should as it were overflow the whole World He continu'd to reveal himself more particularly to the Family of Abraham and his Posterity and to make those Revelations more useful and hinder them from being corrupted by the Mixture of the false Opinions of other Nations he order'd the Israelites to frame a Commonwealth by it self and forbad them to converse much with their Neighbours To frame that Commonwealth and enable it to maintain it self till he should think fit to call the other Nations to the same Knowledg the Hebrews had he gave them some Laws the Observation whereof he requir'd under most severe Penalties There are several things to be observ'd in those Laws which may help us to see the Wisdom contain'd in them but it will suffice to say that some of them are grounded upon the very Constitution of Nature and humane Society so that all Nations are bound to observe them at least in some measure and that they cannot be violated without hurting the Society They are call'd Moral Laws The other do so concern the Commonwealth of the Hebrews in particular that other Men are not the worse for not observing them and they are call'd Political Laws Lastly the other concern the Ceremonies which God would have to be observ'd in his Worship They are stil'd Ceremonial Laws The first sort of Laws as those which command to acknowledg a God and to worship him to honour our Parents and to do to our Neighbour as we would be done by that sort of Laws I say was approv'd by the wisest Heathen Legislators and Philosophers and Jesus Christ has since confirm'd them The necessity of those Laws can't be doubted of seeing they can't be neglected without feeling the dismal Effects of that Neglect and seeing the Nature of humane Society necessarily requires the Observation of those Laws it can't be doubted but that they are worthy of him to whom humane Nature owes its Origin Tho this is manifest it would be an easy thing to shew that several Nations had many Laws contrary to them because the Interests and Passions of some private Men prevail'd above the publick Good Lest therefore the Light that was contrary to those ill Customs should be wholly extinguish'd among Men it was necessary that there should be at least one Nation upon Earth in which good and sound Laws should be so clearly and undeniably establish'd that no body could doubt of them This we find among the Jews God himself deliver'd part of those Laws with his own Mouth and acquainted them with the rest by a Prophet whom he authoriz'd with Miracles Those Laws are as I said equally necessary at all times and in all places in order to the Peace and Happiness of humane Society but because it was necessary that the Commonwealth of the Jews should not be mix'd with other Nations lest those Laws should be destroy'd God gave them some other Laws accommodated to the Genius of that People and to their State in the Land of Canaan which they were to possess Such are the Political and Ceremonial Laws the chief Excellency of which consists in having nothing that is contrary to the Moral Laws and in being suted to the People who receiv'd them One may easily perceive that the Political and Ceremonial Laws of Moses contain nothing that 's contrary to the Moral ones but to convince ones self that God could give no Laws more sutable to the State and Genius of the Jews one ought to have a competent Knowledg of the Manners of the Nations among which they had liv'd and with which they were then surrounded Those who have appli'd themselves to that Study have found out that a great part of those Laws were like those of the neighbouring Nations and that they were also ‖ See my Commentary upon the Pentateuch contrary to them in several things so that it may be said that God accommodating himself to the Genius of the Israelites took care so to distinguish the Form of their Commonwealth and Worship from that of their Neighbours that it was impossible they should mix themselves with them as long as they should observe those Laws I will not come to the Particulars of those Facts because I have treated of them at large in the Latin Book which I just now quoted in the Margin As God had settl'd those Laws chiefly by his Authority or that of a Prophet authoriz'd with Miracles so he still requir'd the Observation of them not only by the ordinary Magistrates who might themselves neglect them in time but also by several Prophets whom he sent to the Jews from time to time to censure them for their Vices and excite them to obey him by some Rewards and Punishments which they preach'd in his Name All the Laws that have relation to a certain State of a Nation which makes them useful and necessary do evidently suppose that they are only good as long as that State lasts and such were the Political and Ceremonial Laws of the Jews Notwithstanding the Law-giver who would give no body an occasion of breaking his Laws on pretence that they were no longer necessary and so of overthrowing the Commonwealth of the Jews before the time speaks every-where of them as of eternal Laws He kept to himself the Power of abrogating them when the time should come lest the Jews should do it unseasonably and atter a manner contrary to his Intention In the mean time the Prophets whom he sent to keep the Jews to their Duty or to bring them to it were order'd to say many things which by degrees dispos'd that People to what was to happen some time or other that is to see themselves mix'd with all the other Nations and to observe only such Laws as are of an eternal Use and grounded on the Constitution of humane Nature For example Jeremiah
could easily shew but it was especially necessary to the Jews at that time The Persecutions of their Neighbours or their own Dissensions had reduc'd them to a miserable Condition and the temporal Promises of the Law were no more fulfill'd Which made even good Men murmur and the learn'd Men of that time were not at all able to hinder it as it appears from the Authors of the Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclesiasticus who are strangely perplex'd with this Question * See Wisdom ch 4 5 c. Why wicked Men are often very happy in this Life and those that keep the Law very miserable That Question could not be otherways answer'd than by saying that God being not willing that the Common-wealth of Israel should last longer ceas'd to grant to the Observers of his Laws the Rewards he had promis'd them and that calling them now to a more sublime Vertue he would grant them in another Life an infinitely more excellent Reward than the temporal Happiness they wish'd for 'T is true that the Pharisees asserted the Resurrection of the Dead and an eternal Life but it seems they grounded their Belief more upon Tradition than the express Words of Scripture Nay they spake of another Life as the Heathens did if we believe * Ant. Jud. lib. 18. c. 2. Josephus To build so important a Doctrine upon a solid Foundation nothing less could be requir'd than the Authority of the Messiah who very clearly teaches it every-where and was himself a sensible Example of what God will do for good Men which made one of his Apostles say †2 Tim. 1.10 that he has brought Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel It appears from what has been said how necessary it was that Christ should be born among the Jews at that very time and how necessary and useful his Doctrine was to them But perhaps it will be ask'd why there was no Reason then to fear the Jews would corrupt themselves among the Pagans as they did formerly The Reason of it is because the Belief of the Unity of a God Maker of Heaven and Earth and his Spirituality were so rooted in the Minds of the Jews that nothing could perswade them to the contrary hereafter The Jews were better qualifi'd and more like to convert the Heathens than the Heathens to draw the Jews to their Opinions tho they had the uppermost The most celebrated Philosophers among the Grecians believ'd the Unity of a supreme God and the Religion of the Mob which was built upon Fables was not at all approv'd by Men of Sense as may be easily prov'd So that the Jews ran not so great a danger in that respect as they did before Besides it was none of the Romans Maxims to make Proselytes as the Jews did so that they endeavour'd not at least commonly to make them embrace their Opinions either by cunning Arts or by Force They tolerated them every-where provided they would obey the Laws which were not repugnant to their Religion Besides God who was making every thing ready to call the Gentiles to his Knowledg was shortly to form a great People in the midst of Paganism with whom the Jews might live without any danger of corrupting themselves But it will be ask'd Why God staid so long before he manifested himself to the Heathens Perhaps what I said just now is one Reason of it viz. lest the Jews being oblig'd to live amongst them should altogether corrupt themselves if Heathenism should prevail every-where But besides it may be said that the Romans and Grecians were never better qualifi'd to receive the Gospel The Study of Philosophy had in some measure deliver'd them from the Ignorance and Superstition they lay under during many Ages and the Grandeur of the Romans who were not very well perswaded of the Truth of their Ancestors Religion did not allow them to mind whatever might be said against their Gods The Jews and Christians have not more rail'd at them than the Epicureans as it appears by the Example of Lucian Tho the Discourses of the Epicureans arose from a Principle of Atheism altogether contrary to the Disposition of the Jews and Christians yet they contributed much to facilitate the Belief of the Christian Religion because the Epicureans knew very well how to destroy the Pagan Religion but had no better Principles to establish in its stead whereas the Jews and Christians had a very rational System to supply the room of the Heathenish Errors Thus God who can draw Light out of Darkness made use of the Effect the Epicurean Philosophy had wrought to introduce his Knowledg more easily among the Heathens The most civiliz'd and frequented Parts of Europe and Asia being at that time under one and the same Empire and under some Laws that were just enough the Peace which was then more general than it had been before and the Safety wherewith Men might travel thro' the Roman Empire did very much contribute to the Propagation of the Christian Doctrine so that it may be said that if God design'd to have Compassion on the Heathens it was then the time or never to call them to his Knowledg During those Circumstances which I desire the Reader to recal to his Mind God was pleas'd that a Law-giver should be born among the Jews of another Nature than he whom they expected and infinitely more useful to them Instead of a temporal King who might have increas'd their Power and Renown but would not have lessen'd their Ignorance nor their Vices God sent them a King worthy of him who taught them how they ought to live here to be eternally happy after this Life and shew'd them that instead of being Members of a little Commonwealth and Enemies to the rest of Mankind they ought to look upon the whole World as their native Countrey and all Men as their Fellow-Citizens a Thought worthy of those who already profess'd to believe that all Men are equally the Work of God As for those Pagans who were not content with their own Religion they made use in vain of the Light of their Philosophers to find out something better when Christianity happily offer'd it self to them to free them from their Doubts There was a general Corruption among them proceeding from some having no Religion and others ridiculous ones 'T is true that the Philosophers oppos'd that Corruption in some measure but some of them exhorted Men to Vertue only as much as it was necessary for them in this Life as the Epicurcans which took off all the Force of their Discourses others as the Platonicks and Stoicks mention'd indeed the Rewards which may be expected after Death but only in a doubtful manner and without any Proof so that their Exhortations were in effect very weak Tho their Morals were fine indeed yet there were several things in them to be found fault with and their Theology was full of Chimeras which now I will not insist upon Then the Christian