Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	believe_v	year_n	young_a	40	3	5.7901	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66485	Reflexions upon a pamphlet intituled, An account of the growth of deism in England together with some considerations about the Christian religion.	Willis, Richard, 1664-1734.	1696 (1696)	Wing W2816; ESTC R38311	32,108	81

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