Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A61158
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The history of the Royal-Society of London for the improving of natural knowledge by Tho. Sprat.
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Sprat, Thomas, 1635-1713.; Cowley, Abraham, 1618-1667. To the Royal Society.
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1667
(1667)
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Wing S5032; ESTC R16577
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253,666
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459
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has better thoughts of himself and his own Knowledge But I need not take so great a compass in this vindication when it may be fairly maintain'd that the true and unfain'd Mortification is not at all inconsistent with mens consulting of their happiness in this world or being emploi'd about earthly affairs The honest pursuit of the conveniences decences and ornaments of a mortal condition by just and regular ways is by no means contradictory to the most real and severe duties of a Christian. It is true indeed the irregular prosecution of such things is an offence to Religion But so it is also to right Reason and Nature itself It is a wrong conception of the state of Grace if men believe that when they enter upon it they must presently cast away all the thoughts and desires of humanity If this were so to sanctifie our Natures were not to renew but to destroy them When we are commanded to put off the old man we are not injoin'd to renounce our Faculties of Reason When we are bidden not to think our own thoughts it is not intended that we should forbear all Natural Actions and Inclinations Such Scriptures as these are to be understood in a moderate sense By such expressions the irregularity of the Lust and not the Natural Desire is condemn'd The Piety and Innocence of our Lives and not the utter change of our Estate is recommended Seing the Law of Reason intends the happiness and security of mankind in this life and the Christian Religion pursues the same ends both in this and a future life they are so far from being opposite one to another that Religion may properly be styl'd the best and the noblest part the perfection and the crown of the Law of Nature I will therefore first demand Whether it be not lawful for the strictest Christian to provide for the necessities of this life This Request is modest enough For if they deny it they will reduce mankind into a condition which is literally wors than that of the Beasts that perish seing to them it is natural to seek out for all the ways of their own preservation I will go on to ask them Whether it be a breach of the Law of Christianity to labor for the advantages of Living which are injoy'd by others If this be refus'd me we shall not deprive it of that honor which now justly belongs to it that there is little civility at present amongst men without the Pale of the Christian Church But in few words let them tell me Whether it be indispensably necessary for us to be always thinking of hevenly things If so how far short were the very Apostles of this character of Sanctity which these men would prescribe us What Traffic what Commerce what Government what secular Employment could be allow'd Where should we at last make an end of refining What would become of all the men of Trade themselves of whom this Age has shewn so many pretenders to the purest Religion Let it only therefore be granted that we are Men and not Angels Let it be confess'd that there may be an excess as well as defect in mens opinions of holiness And then I will make no scruple to say that the Philosopher defiles not his mind when he labors in the works of Nature that the Diversion they give him will stand with the greatest constancy and the delight of pursuing them with the truth and reality of Religion But to say no more How can it be imagin'd to be a sinful and carnal thing to consider the objects of our Senses when God the most spiritual Being did make them all Since they first were conceiv'd in his unspotted mind why may they not innocently enter into ours For if there be any pollution which necessarily flows from thinking of them it might as well be concluded to stick on the Author as on the Souls of them that only observe them And now having insisted so long on the parts of the Christian Religion in general it will be less needful that I should be large in vindicating this Design from the imputation of being praejudicial to the Church of England For This has the same Interest with That and differs in nothing from its Primitive Pattern but only in the addition of some circumstances which make it fit for this Age and this Place And therefore they will both be strengthen'd by the same benefits and weaken'd by the same mischiefs What I have then to add concerning our Church shall be compriz'd in these particulars That it can never be praejudic'd by the light of Reason nor by the improvements of Knowledge nor by the advancement of the Works of mens hands For the proof of the First it will be sufficient to consider its True Design what Opinions it principally incounters and by what Arguments it ought to defend itself The true and certain interest of our Church is to derive its Doctrine from the plain and unquestion'd parts of the Word of God and to keep itself in a due submission to the Civil Magistrate The Extremes which it opposes are implicit Faith and Enthusiasm And it is a great mistake if men think it cannot be maintain'd against these but by the mutual Arguments of its Enemies that it cannot withstand the Separatists but by the Authority of the Church of Rome nor dissent from the Church of Rome but on the Tenents of the Separatists The grounds on which it proceeds are different from Both And they are no other but the Rights of the Civil Power the imitation of the First uncorrupt Churches and the Scripture expounded by Reason From whence may be concluded that we cannot make War against Reason without undermining our own strength seing it is the constant weapon we ought to employ From this I will farther urge That the Church of England will not only be safe amidst the consequences of a Rational Age but amidst all the improvements of Knowledge and the subversion of old Opinions about Nature and introduction of new ways of Reasoning thereon This will be evident when we behold the agreement that is between the present Design of the Royal Society and that of our Church in its beginning They both may lay equal claim to the word Reformation the one having compass'd it in Religion the other purposing it in Philosophy They both have taken a like cours to bring this about each of them passing by the corrupt Copies and referring themselves to the perfect Originals for their instruction the one to the Scripture the other to the large Volume of the Creatures They are both unjustly accus'd by their enemies of the same crimes of having forsaken the Ancient Traditions and ventur'd on Novelties They both suppose alike that their Ancestors might err and yet retain a sufficient reverence for them They both follow the great Praecept of the Apostle of Trying all things Such is the Harmony between their Interests and Tempers It cannot therefore be suspected
truth is notwithstanding the great stir they have made about Religion if we had only follow'd their light we had still worshipp'd the Creator and Redeemer of the World under the same title by which their Praedecessors did formerly at Athens as the Vnknown God This I have urg'd so far because I am confident that the reducing of Christianity to one particular Sect of Philosophy and confining it to that is one of the most destructive Engines that ever was manag'd against it Of this the Church of Rome for her share has already found the ill effects And the danger is apparent For by this means the benefit of Religion will become very narrow seing where Reason takes place it will only convince them who are of the same opinions in Philosophy with those that convert them And also that which is worse if ever by any fate of Times or change of Governments or succession of new Arts that Sect shall chance to be quite broken the Doctrine of Christ relying upon it were inevitably ruin'd unless God were pleas'd to support it a supernatural way or to restore it again by new Miracles Religion ought not to be the subject of Disputations It should not stand in need of any devices of reason It should in this be like the Temporal Laws of all Countries towards the obeying of which there is no need of syllogisms or distinctions nothing else is necessary but a bare promulgation a common apprehension and sense enough to understand the Grammatical meaning of ordinary words Nor ought Philosophers to regret this divorce seing they have almost destroy'd themselves by keeping Christianity so long under their guard By fetching Religion out of the Church and carrying it Captive into the Schools they have made it suffer banishment from its proper place and they have withal thereby very much corrupted the substance of their own Knowledge They have done as the Philistims by seising on the Ark who by the same action depriv'd the People of God of their Religion and also brought a Plague amongst themselves Thus far I trust it will be confess'd that Experiments are unblameable But yet there is much more behind of which many pious men are wont to express their jealousy For though they shall be brought to allow that all these Doctrines which I have nam'd may seem to remain safe amidst the studies of Natural things yet they still whisper that they may chance by degrees to make the sincerity of devotion appear ridiculous and to bring the strictness of holy life out of fashion and that so they will silently and by piece-meals demolish Religion which they dare not openly encounter I will therefore next endeavor the removal of these scruples though I sufficiently understand that it is a very difficult Work to confute such popular and plausible errors which have the pretence of the caus of God to confirm them The chief substance of Real and Sober Piety is contain'd in the devout observation of all those ways whereby God has bin pleas'd to manifest his Will and in a right separation of our minds from the lusts and desires of the World The most remarkable means whereby he has made known his pleasure are those which have been fix'd and reveal'd in his Word or else the extraordinary signs of his Authority and Command Concerning our acknowledgment of his reveal'd Will in the Scripture I have already spoken And our obedience to the later consists chiefly of two kinds an humble submission to Divine Prophecies and a careful observance of all remarkable Providences In both which Experimental Philosophy may well be justify'd It may perhaps correct some excesses which are incident to them But it declares no enmity against the things themselves The sum of the whole Doctrine of Prophecies is this that the Great Creator of the World has the Praerogative of foreseeing appointing and praedicting all future Events that he has often in former Ages made use of this power by the Visions and raptures of holy men inspir'd from above that his infinit Wisdom has still the like ability to do the same that whenever such praedictions are accompanied with undeniable Testimonies of their being sent from Heven they ought to be praefer'd before all human Laws The true Foundation of Divine Prodigies is much of the same Nature with the other It relyes on these suppositions that all the Creatures are subject to Gods Word by which they were made that he can alter their Courses exalt or destroy their Natures and move them to different ends from their own according to his pleasure that this he has often done heretofore that still his Arm it not weaken'd nor the same omnipotence diminish'd that still he may change the wonted Law of the Creation and dispose of the Beings and motions of all things without controul and that when this is done it is with a peculiar design of punishing or rewarding or forewarning mankind To the belief and assertion of these Doctrines we are oblig'd by the very end of Religion itself But yet their counterfeit colors have seduc'd many virtuous minds into manifold mischiefs The mistakes about Prophecies may arise either from our abusing of the old or a vain setting up of new We err in the first when we translate ancient Prophecies from those times and Countries which they did properly regard to others which they do not concern And we offend in the second when we admit of New Prophetical Spirits in this Age without the uncontroulable tokens of Hevenly Authority We are guilty of false interpretations of Providences and Wonders when we either make those to be Miracles that are none or when we put a false sense on those that are real when we make general events to have a privat aspect or particular accidents to have some universal signification Though both these may seem at first to have the strictest appearance of Religion yet they are the greatest usurpations on the secrets of the Almighty and unpardonable praesumptions on his high Praerogatives of Punishment and reward And now if a moderating of these extravagances must be esteem'd prophaness I profess I cannot absolve the Experimental Philosopher It must be granted that he will be very scrupulous in believing all manner of Commentaries on Prophetical Visions in giving liberty to new praedictions and in assigning the causes and marking out the paths of God's Iudgments amongst his Creatures He cannot suddenly conclude all extraordinary events to be the immediat Finger of God because he familiarly beholds the inward workings of things and thence perceives that many effects which use to affright the Ignorant are brought forth by the common Instruments of Nature He cannot be suddenly inclin'd to pass censure on mens eternal condition from any Temporal Iudgments that may befall them because his long convers with all matters times and places has taught him the truth of what the Scripture says that all things happen alike to all He cannot blindly consent to all imaginations