off from the Reverence that is due to the Divine Majesty and the lewd Talk and Example of bad company gradually wear off all impressions of Virtue Vice is infectious and communicates its venom and malignity to such as come near it and therefore we are to keep at a distance from it and to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them Fifthly To be arm'd against Atheism we must labour to be well grounded in the Principles of Religion and not to take up our Faith upon Trust without Examination A Tree you know that is not well rooted is liable to be shak'd with every wind and such as are not well-grounded in their Religion are easily toss'd to and fro and carried about with every wind of Doctrine He that for want of instruction is unable to give a Reason of the Faith that is in him will be as unable upon any assault to give any Reason why he should keep it and such as take up their faith only upon trust will be as ready to lay it down again when a strong temptation calls for it If you observe it 't is the uncatechiz'd and ill-instructed part of Mankind that fall into irreligion and are carried captive by infidelity such as these for want of being well season'd in time with pious and sound Principles have nothing to hold them so that as they grow up if their Temper be Sanguine and Jolly they fall into Lewdness and Debauchery if more sour and melancholy they fall into Phanaticism and Divisions and both tho' going different ways meet at last in the Center of Atheism Again Mens shifting of Principles for want of steadiness in Religion and varying from sound and receiv'd Doctrines is undoubtedly a great occasion of Atheism for when Men openly relinquish what they have publickly maintain'd it makes many call in Question the Truth of Religion it self and to think that all other parts of it have no better grounds than that which they have rejected as groundless and tho' it be unjust in any to take this offence yet 't is no less unsafe for any to give it Wherefore Sixthly To prevent this Evil we must beware of being seduc'd or drawn into Sects or Parties for this hath begotten that giddiness and instability that hath shak'd the Faith of many and unawares led them into Atheism Religion hath its Name from binding and its chief Design is to keep Men firm to their Duty to God and Man now the relaxing of this Bond lets Men loose in both and that brings on Divisions in point of Worship and Corruptions in point of Manners both which naturally lead to Irreligion and Atheism and therefore the Wisdom and Piety of a Nation is best seen in prescribing good Laws to prevent all looseness and extravagance in both and as 't is the Duty of Superiors to Countenance a well-establish'd Religion by encouraging the Observers and punishing the Transgressors of it so is it the unquestionable Duty of Subjects to keep close to the Rules of it without corrupting its Doctrine by Heresie or breaking its Unity by Schisms and Divisions Seventhly To put a stop to Atheism we must take care to frequent the solemn Worship of God and diligently observe the stated Seasons of publick and private Devotion the neglect of this hath been an unhappy occasion of the growth of this impiety for the many pressing Affairs of this World are apt to croud in upon our minds to engross too much of our time and thoughts and thereby to beget an utter forgetfulness of God and the greater Concerns of another life to prevent which God Almighty to keep up the Remembrance of himself for our own good hath appointed some solemn Seasons in which he hath requir'd us to rest from all our worldly Cares and Labours that we may the better attend his Worship and Service Now the observing of these Seasons will help to take off our Minds from an inordinate pursuit of this World and fix them on a better 't will recollect our scatter'd Thoughts and preserve a due Sense of Piety and Religion the publick Instructions of those Seasons serve to awaken and stir us up to our Duty and our Zeal is increased by the concurrence and example of each others Devotion by which means the Sense and Fear of God is still kept alive in our Minds Whereas by a careless neglect of Pulick Worship God is in a manner excluded out of all our Thoughts we become wholly immers'd in the Cares and Pleasures of this Life and so naturally sink into Atheism and Impiety So that to continue sound and serious in Religion we must carefully frequent the Publick Worship and be mindful likewise of the Seasons of private and secret Devotion for these will withdraw our Minds from sensible Objects which are too apt to enveigle us and lead to the Contemplation of Divine and Heavenly things by which alone the Sense of God and Religion can be preserv'd Eighthly To this we must add the Exercises of a Holy Life without which the sense of Religion will insensibly wear off and decay A Profession of Piety without Practice is like a Tree without Fruit which commonly dies away or else is cut down and cast into the Fire to make a fair shew of Religion without a suitable Conversation is but to deny God with the greater Solemnity and however such may seem to flatter him with their Lips they Read a Lecture of Atheism in their Lives and cause the Name of God to be blasphem'd And therefore that we may not deny God we must deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts and live righteously soberly and godly in this present World These fruits of righteousness will redound not only to the glory of God but to the Credit of Religion which is best kept alive both in our selves and in others by this means the light of such good works will so shine before men as to make them glorifie God in the day of visitation Examples are wont to have a greater force than Precepts and most Men like Sheep are apt to go rather quaiter than qua eundum And therefore great heed is to be taken to our ways that we do not by bad Examples draw any from the Truth or mis-lead them into the paths of Errour and Wickedness And as this should be observ'd by all Men so more especially by such as have any higher Station in Church or State for these are like a City on a Hill which lies open to the view of all their actions are more visible and exemplary and leave either a good or bad influence behind them which should make them the more wary and circumspect that they give no offence or be unto any an occasion of falling By this means we shall banish Atheism and keep Religion in the World and thereby at once adorn our Profession here and secure the Reward annext to it hereafter Lastly To cure this Evil let us often ponder upon the
other Creatures as we now find it Now what proof is offer'd for this bold Affirmation Why none at all 't is a precarious Assertion taken up from the single Opinion of Aristotle without any offer of Proof or colour of Reason and only shews that some Men have a mind to have it so and would fain persuade themselves and others to it if they can And yet this Opinion as deliver'd by Aristotle serves not the Atheist's turn neither For tho' he affirmed the World to have no Beginning yet he said not 't was of its self but that it proceeded from God by the way of a Natural and necessary Effect as light does from the Sun Where there is a plain Confession of a God from whom the World and all things in it sprang by a Natural and Eternal Emanation So that he did not with the Modern Atheists set up the Notion of the Eternity of the World to exclude a First Cause but thought it to be consistent with it But is there any Proof that the World had a Beginning and that there is a First Cause and Maker of it Yes as great as the Nature of the thing is capable of which being a matter of Fact of an ancient Date can only be prov'd by Testimony and the fair appearances of Reason And if both these concur in the matter before us 't is as much as the thing will bear and consequently as much as any wise man will require 1st And First that the World was made and had a Beginning we have the Testimony of all Mankind from the first making of it there being an Universal Tradition hereof deliver'd down thro' every Age since its Beginning The Egyptians and Phoenicians of old the Grecians Assyrians Persians and Romans of latter Date all had and handed down this Tradition Yea the Indians and all other the most rude and barbarous Nations that had little or no Commerce with other Nations concurr'd in this Belief all of them worshiping a God whom they own'd to be the Maker and Governour of the World And tho' some difference hath been found about the Computation of Time and the Age of the World yet all agree in this that it was made Yea we find Aristotle himself who was the first Asserter of the Eternity of the World in his Book De Mundo Chap. 6th freely confessing that 't was a general Tradition among all Men that all things are of God and were made by him 2dly Again Secondly we find this Universal Tradition confirmed by the written Histories of all Times and Places ever since If we allow Moses the Credit of the first and ancientest Historian which cannot be in Reason denied him we have a full and consistent Relation of the Beginning of the World and all things in it which hath been receiv'd and recorded from him in all succeeding Ages and is most agreeable with the Account which all other Ancient Writers whether Poets or Philosophers give of this matter being in all probability derived from him Insomuch that we find Aristotle himself in his Book De Coelo lib. 1. cap. 10 once more acknowledging that all the Philosophers that were before him did hold that the World was made 3dly Moreover Thirdly we can trace up the Original of all Arts and Sciences in the several Times and Places when and where they were first Invented Which if the World were Eternal would have been found out long before and been known far beyond all Memory Unless we can suppose that all Men in the Ages before we have any Account passed an Eternity in a deep Sleep and were all so dull as either to do nothing Memorable or to be unable or unwilling to Record it And therefore Lucretius wisely aske the Question If the World had no Beginning how comes it to pass that the most Ancient Poets mention nothing higher than the Theban War and the Destruction of Troy And indeed if the World had no beginning it is strange that no account should be given of any thing in that Eternity of Duration before the World is said to begin And that all things that are known should be found out and Recorded since that time 4. Besides Fourthly We see the sundry parts of which the World consists to be subject to decay and Corruption and had they been so from all Eternity they must in all probability have utterly perish'd and come to nothing long since The Frame of the World is compos'd of such frail Corruptible Materials that in an infinite space would necessarily dissolve and fall asunder without a Superiour Power to uphold and keep the parts together This we may see excellently urg'd by Lucretius Lib. 5. where he tells us That the World must necessarily be acknowledg'd to have had a beginning otherwise those things which are in their own Nature corruptible could never from all Eternity have held out against all the forcible and violent Assaults and Accidents which in an infinite duration must have happen'd to them And therefore wefind that Aristotle having affirm'd the World to have had no beginning was thereby driven in his own defence to affirm it can have no end for whatsoever hath an end must have a beginning And if the Frame of the World be Subject to Dissolution it could not possibly have been from Eternity In short we plainly see that all things are some way or other produc'd every man is of another and every other thing hath some Cause of his Being which must necessarily lead up to a first Cause which is of its self and made and preserves all other And if the World had no beginning we may safely conclude it must long since have had an end So that this First Hypothesis of the Eternity of the World taken up without any proof upon the single Authority of Aristotle against the Universal Belief and Tradition of Mankind is both unreasonable and unaccountable 2. Let us proceed then Secondly to that of Epicurus and see whether that be any better And here to exclude a Deity or first Cause we find him affirming that the World was made by Chance and all things in it came together of themselves by some lucky Hits and Accidents An account whereof is briefly this viz. They tell us that the Matter of which the World was fram'd was from Eternity and likewise an Infinite empty space for the innumerable small Particles call'd Atomes to move and play in And that these being in continual motion did after infinite Tryals and Rencounters without the help or direction of a Supreme Being by lucky Hits and Chances settle at last in that goodly Frame and Order of things which we now see and find the World to be in A goodly account indeed Which serves only to shew that some men are willing to believe any thing rather than a God For who ever heard of a House that was made without Hands Or a Book compos'd by an accidental jumbling and meeting together of Letters and Syllables of
their own accord And yet This is far more easie to be imagin'd than for so Stately and Beautiful a Structure as this of the World to be rais'd without an Artificer Or the great Volume of the Universe to be compil'd without an Author But what Foundation hath this vain and incredible Hypothesis Why none but the bold confidence of Epecurus and his Followers grounded upon a desire of letting loose the Reins to his Appetite and enjoying sensual Pleasures without controul Indeed there can be no possible evidence of the World 's being thus made by chance For these Atomes of which he speaks are altogether invisible and for ought we know move only in the empty space of an Fpicurean Brain Yea there is all imaginable Evidence to the contrary For there are those apparent Marks of Infinite Power and Wisdom in the Frame of the World that render it altogether impossible to be the effect of Chance for since none could ever speak of a Structure where all the parts of it came together of themselves and we never read of any thing Great and Noble that was ever effected or came to pass that way how senseless is it to conceive that this glorious and regular Fabrick of the World which affords as many Wonders as Parts should be the work of any other than a Divine Hand So that the Folly of this Device of giving an account of the Being and continuance of the World without a Deity is very apparent for it contradicts the Reason and Sense of Mankind in all Ages and opposes a Truth that hath swim'd down the Current of time without interruption Neither is the Evil and Danger less visible than the Folly of it For this is the highest Affront and Indignity that can be offer'd to our Maker to rob him of the Honour of his Works and to deny him the Glory that should accrue from them There is certainly a Tribute of Honour and acknowledgment due to the Soveraign Lord and Maker of the Universe which is to be paid by all his Creatures but especially by Man who is made the visible Lord and Vice-Roy of this lower World Now to call in question his making or right of governing the World is to deny him this Homage and consequently to prove Rebellious to our Supreme Lord and Master which must needs be a matter of extreme and inconceivable danger Again 2dly 'T is a high piece of Ingratitude to disown our Maker and chiefest Benefactour from whom we receive Life and Breath and all things and to whom we owe therefore our loudest Praises and Thanksgivings And when all other Creatures in their way shew forth the Glory of God what Unworthiness is it in Man who was chiefly design'd for that end to with-hold it from him This is not only negligently to observe the Works of the Lord but utterly to disclaim and forget the Operations of his Hand Which must needs sink him who was made somewhat higher than the Angels into a Condition lower and worse than the Beast that perisheth 3dly Yea Thirdly This is not only a high piece of injustice and ingratitude to our Maker but a great injury to Mankind who are hereby depriv'd of that Assistance and Affiance they might have in a Supreme Being and consequently of that comfort and benefit they might receive from him We dayly see what impotent and feeble Creatures even the best of Men are liable to a thousand miseries and misfortunes which they can neither prevent nor remove Now the only comfort or relief we can have against These is in the Apprehensions of a God who is of infinite Power and Goodness and consequently both able and willing to help us There we may safely repose our Trust and Confidence with well-grounded hopes of a supply of all our wants and a happy issue out of all our afflictions Now by calling in Question the Truth of such a Being who is the Author and disposer of such Events Men bereave themselves of all these comfortable expectations and make themselves miserable by their own Infidelity So that this Device of the Atheist is as imprudent as 't is unreasonable for it deprives him of all that comfort which he might have in this Life and excludes him from all that happiness to which he was design'd in the next These are obvious Truths on which I shall not need to enlarge and shall therefore leave them to your farther Meditation I am SIR Your true Friend A. B LETTER III. SIR IN your last I find you readily own the works of Creation and Providence to be palpable Demonstrations of a Deity and wonder at the Atheists blindness or boldness in so easily overlooking or gainsaying them I proceed in this to another Device to the same purpose and that is the silencing the Voice of Conscience and stifling the frequent Notices and Alarms it gives of a Supreme Being Among the other witnesses that God hath left us of himself that of Conscience is none of the least which for the clear and uncontrolable Evidence of its Testimony hath been reckon'd more than a thousand witnesses That we might not be left without sufficient Light in a matter of so great moment God Almighty hath not only Engraven his own Image and Superscription upon the Works of his Hand that by the frequent viewing thereof we might be still minded of him but hath likewise set up a constant Monitor in every Man's Breast that by hearkening to it we might never forget him This is that which is stil'd the Light of Nature and by some the Light within them which if rightly understood must be meant of this Directive Light of their own Mind or Conscience Soloâ—â—â— stiles it the Candle of the Lord to light us in the way that we should go The Prophet Isaias calls it a voice behind or within us saying this is the way walk in it when we are turning either to the right hand or to the left St. Paul told the Gentiles that tho' they had no written Law yet they were a Law to themselves their Conscience bearing witness and their thoughts accusing or excusing one another Rom. 2. And withal adds that as God hath not left himself without witness having given sufficient notice of his Being so he had left them without excuse if they did not Worship and Glorifie him as they ought But how does Conscience give this notice and conviction of a Deity Why sundry ways as First By its secret motions and suggestions which oft-times awakens our Mind and powerfully stirs us up to our duty to him If we observe it we shall find and feel something within us moving and loudly calling upon us to that which is good and secretly whispering and dissuading us against that which is evil Now these are the private Notices of Conscience which God hath set up as a Remembrancer and witness of him within our Breasts Again 2dly We feel an inward delight and complacence in well-doing and are fill'd with joy and peace
manifest breach of Civility and good Manners to scoff at and deride them The Laws of Conversation require to treat all Men with due respect there is none can hear with patience his Father or his Friend expos'd to Scorn and Derision and what an unparallel'd affront must it be to Mankind to make God and Religion the dearest things to them in the world the subject of Contempt and Raillery Again 2dly The mighty influence which the belief of a God hath upon the publick welfare may convince any considering Man of the great Evil of deriding it he that despises Religion cuts the Sinews of Government and dissolves the firmest Bond of Human Society for when Men have laugh'd away the Fear of God and the Sense of Religion all Obligations of Conscience are gone with it and nothing remains to keep them to their duty but the fear of Men which is a loose Principle that will vary or cease as opportunity interest or humour lead it Moreover 3dly To jest at and expose Religion is the grossest abuse of Wit that can be made of it for it turns one of the chiefest Ornaments of Virtue into an Encouragement of Vice and makes that which was given to recreate the Mind and sweeten Conversation to become the Bane and Pest of both Wit as a great Man hath observ'd is a keen Weapon as apt for bad as good purposes and therefore a wise Man should have the keeping of it to prevent the mischief and danger of its ill management There is a good use of Wit in many Cases as to adorn Virtue and recommend it to the best Advantage to expose Vice and render it as it deserves Ridiculous to season Conversation and to ease and relieve the Mind under the burden of its Cares and whilst it keeps within these Bounds 't is a useful and commendable Quality but when it transgresses these Rules and breaks in upon God and Religion it loseth its name and degenerates into Insolence and Impiety Yea such as would be thought Wits by jesting upon sacred and serious things do but betray the greatest folly 't was the fool that said in his Heart there was no God and Solomon tells us that none but Fools make a mock of Sin or think of mocking God who neither can nor will be mocked In a word all prophane Wit is the heighth of folly and tho' it have never so much Salt cannot be savoury but nauseous and offensive to all wise Men. Lastly The unspeakable hazard the Atheist runs in deriding Religion is enough to shew the danger and folly of this impious practice For if the Atheist shall find at last that there is a God as undoubtedly he will what will he say for those rude scoffs and affronts he hath put upon him What account can he give for all this impudent Buffoonry What horrour and confusion of Face must needs seize them when the Maker and Judge of the World shall avenge this insolence upon them and vindicate his Honour in their Eternal Destruction This is a matter well worth their serious and timely consideration that they may repent and return no more to this Folly Otherwise if they will continue to laugh on and scoff at Religion God Almighty will shortly take his turn too and will laugh at their Calamity and mock when their Fear cometh In short then this drolling upon Sacred Things is so far from giving any just encouragement to Atheism that 't is an high Aggravation of the Impiety and all such Mirth will end at last in the deepest Sadness I am SIR Yours A. B. LETTER XIV SIR I Proceed now to the last tho' none of the least Artifices to support and countenance Atheism For when the Atheist is beaten out of all the former subterfuges he hath recourse to another Device suggested to him by his sensual Lusts and Appetite And that is To charge Religion with a foolish Bargain and that such as embrace it act upon slender and insufficient Motives To prove which they tell us That to part with present Certainties for uncertain Futurities can be no Act of Wisdom for in doubtful Cases the greatest Evidence should sway Now we are sure say they of what is present but can never be so of what is future and therefore he charges it with folly to deny themselves the present Pleasures Profits and Honours of this World for a few vain Hopes of better things in another which perhaps may never come to pass and of which none could ever yet give them any certain Evidence This tho' own'd indeed by few is yet the Sense and Language of most mens Lives and Actions which shew them to be fond to excesse of these Earthly enjoyments but to have little or no regard to the weightier Concerns of Heaven and Eternity and with Martha to be cumber'd about many things with the neglect of the one thing necessary The Epicures Song is let us eat and drink for to morrow we die the present time is ours and all that we can call so for the time to come we know not whose it may be and therefore 't is wisdom to enjoy what we are sure of and not to defer or suspend our happiness upon any such future uncertainties But be not deceiv'd saith the Apostle Evil Communications corrupt good Manners yea such vain communication corrupt mens Minds debauch their Reason and makes them act like Fools when they would be thought to talk most wisely For First The present Enjoyments of this World how confidently soever we may call them our own are infinitely vain and uncertain and when we think to enjoy most of them frequently leave and lurch our expectations Riches take to themselves wings and fly away when we think to hold them fastest The Pleasures and Delights of the World are all fleeting and momentany yea they are imbitter'd with a Sting and mingled with Sorrow Honour is a puff of wind that is quickly gone and he that admires these things sets his heart upon that which is not So that the Atheist is mistaken in his Supposition for these present things are not so certain as he takes them Neither are they so much the Happiness as the Trouble and Misery of human life the wicked Man knows many times that he plays the Fool in gratifying his Lusts and owns that he ought to do otherwise he feels a regret and trouble upon his mind and does not so much enjoy as disquiet himself in indulging of them However The Atheist here tells us that the pleasures of this life affect his Senses he feels himself in some measure pleas'd and delighted with them and why should he abridge himself of such sensible Delights for Future Things of which he hath no tast and can have no assurance As for the pleasures of Sense they are in the most innocent use of them vastly exceeded by the pleasures of Virtue and Religion for these have a sweeter Relish on the Mind and leave far more lasting impressions of joy
93 Letter 13. Of Scoffing at Religion p. 99 Letter 14. His charging Religion with a Foolish Bargain p. 106 Letter 15. The Close containing some Directions for the Cure of Atheism p. 113 LETTER I. SIR I Received yours wherein I find you passionately bewailing the growth of Atheism and very desirous to know something of the Causes and Cure of it I am sufficiently sensible of the Justice of the Complaint and because this Evil hath so malign an influence not only on the private but publick Welfare cannot but commend the Charity of your Request and therefore shall endeavour something towards your Satisfaction 1st And here the First and Grand Device of the Atheist that occurs to our view is The casting off the awe and dread of a Deity the more securely to enjoy and indulge his Lusts This is indeed the great depth of this Mystery of Iniquity which must therefore be a little searcht into and unravell'd that we may the better see the malignity of it 'T is most certain that the Loosness and Debauchery of mens lives is the prime fundamental Cause of all Atheism for Sin and Wickedness make a Party against Religion whose Chief design it is to check and controul them and where Religion is not strong enough to subdue mens Lusts there mens Lusts will be strong enough to subdue their Religion these are contrary one to the other and as the one gets ground the other loses it When Vice and Wickedness have taken possession of the heart and prevail'd over the Affections they soon draw the Mind over to their Party and engage it against all Religion Corrupt Practices naturally lead to Corrupt Principles and the debauchery of Manners of course brings on the debauchery of the Mind That there are strong Propensities and Inclinations in mens Natures to wickedness and vice is a thing too sensibly felt to need any proof and that these may and frequently do wear off and obliterate the Natural Impressions of Good and Evil the Course of mens lives too sadly verifies and what a natural tendency this hath to Atheism half an eye may discover For whilst men retain any love to Virtue and keep the mastery over their Lusts and vile Affections so long they retain their Religion and keep up a due sense and veneration of the Divine Majesty but when they strike off from the love and practice of Virtue and let loose the reins to their vitious Inclinations they naturally run into Irreligion and Atheism for Virtue and Goodness being the only Curb to restrain this Extravagance when that is gone they have nothing left to stop them in the Career and so are hurried on headlong into the gulph of Atheism If you observe it Good men are never dispos'd to Atheism 't is the grief and abhorrence but never the Choice of such Persons 'T is only the profligate and prophane who have sinn'd away the sense of a Deity that fly to it for shelter and to give their lusts the freer scope make their last resort to it Yea these too must in a great measure un-man themselves before they can so far degenerate and in a manner turn Beasts before they can turn Atheists But what influence hath the looseness and debauchery of mens lives upon the producing of Atheism Why Great every way As First Mens wicked lives make it their Interest that there should be no God and this gives a Biass to the mind that strongly draws it into Atheism All siin and wickedness being repugnant to the Purity and Perfection of a Supreme Being and contrary to the express Declarations of his Will must necessarily incur his displeasure And tho' Infinite Goodness may warn Sinners of the danger yet Infinite Justice cannot suffer the wilful Violations of his Authority and Laws to go unpunish'd Now resolute and obstinate Sinners being conscious how they have affronted such a Being and thereby rendred themselves obnoxious to his just Indignation and Vengeance have all the reason in the world to dread him and if they can to fly from him from whom they can have no other than fearful Expectations of Wrath and the Revelation of Righteous Judgment And having thus made him their Enemy 't is plainly become their Interest that there should be no such Being Now Interest you know hath a mighty Influence on mens Inclinations and as they easily believe what makes for them so they are hardly perswaded to that which makes against them Hence we see that Good men easily believe a God from whom they have well-grounded hopes of Happiness and a future Reward whereas wicked men are very hardly brought to it because they have reason only to fear him and can look for nothing but eternal misery and destruction from him And if at any time they have any Faith in him 't is but like that of the Devils to believe and tremble Again 2dly Mens wicked lives having made it their Interest that there should be no God their next step is to make it their wish that there were none This is another piece of this Mystery of Iniquity and a farther advance to Atheism For the belief of an Incens'd Deity must needs sit very uneasie upon the mind it cannot but fret and gall and fill it with continual horrour and perplexity The Sense of this serves to imbitter the Pleasures of Sin to put a check upon mens Vices and will not suffer them to enjoy their Lusts in quiet which being resolv'd to do they grow impatient under this Check And this makes them desirous to rid themselves of the awe and sense of such an uneasie Being The good man finds that ease and satisfaction in the sense of a Deity that he wou'd not for any thing be without it for it fills him with joy and content now and gives him Peace and Happiness at the last Insomuch that were he to wisn himself the Chiefest Good it would be in the comfort and complacence he feels in the belief of a Deity Whereas the loose and wicked person is haunted with perpetual Fears and Terrors and the disquietude he feels from the apprehensions of a God drives him to wish there were no such Being to observe and punish him and then a small matter will perswade him to it for Facilè credimus quod volumus we easily believe what we long and desire should be true 3dly And this leads to the third and last step to Atheism which is from wishing there were no God to endeavouring to perswade themselves that there is none there being an easie and natural transition from the one to the other for the Will and Affections have a great sway on the Understanding and when Interest hath engag'd the former they soon draw the latter to their side so that what men make their Wish quickly becomes their Choice and from a desire to discard the Deity easily come to deny and disbelieve him But by what Means do they endeavour and effect this Why 1. First They muster up all their
Reason and Wit to argue against the Being of a God and seek to dispute him out of the world To this end they labour as well as they can to weaken the force of all those Arguments that are brought for the proof of a Deity and make the best shift they can either to answer or evade them Again they magnifie the strength of those Arguments that are brought against such a Being And tho' to prove a Negative in this as in many other cases be both irrational and impossible yet to shew their good-will to their Maker the slend'rest Cavils or Probabilities of this nature shall have a mighty force with them and the slightest Sophistry be advanc'd into Demonstration But if this will not do they endeavour 2. To banish all thoughts of God out of their mind and to cast off the remembrance of him Because they cannot sin quietly for him they resolve not to think of him and therefore put those thoughts far from them that give them this disturbance This was the Atheists course in David's time who tells us That God was not in all their thoughts yea that his thoughts were always grievous to them and therefore they removed them far out of their sight that they might have no fear of him before their Eyes And the thoughts of a God that observes and records our Actions and will one day reckon for them are still irksom and grievous to impenitent sinners which makes them use their Art to get rid of them Indeed could they but reconcile the belief of a Deity with the enjoyment of their lusts the thoughts of him would be easie enough to them and this temptation to Atheism in a great measure cease Could they serve the true God as the Heathens did the false ones with riot and uncleaness none would be greater Votaries than they But since the sense of him strikes such a damp upon their Pleasures and puts such a curb and restraint upon their Vices they cannot away with the thoughts of him and therefore labour to rid their minds of the belief that they may be rid of the fear of such a Being But is this a wise or safe course No extremely foolish and dangerous for tho ' it be weakness to fear where no fear is yet not to fear where there is a just cause and a proper Object for it is the height of Folly And to shut our Eyes against a certain Danger for fear of being frightned by it is no better than madness Indeed could we put out the Sun by winking or avoid the danger of Divine Vengeance by shaking off the dread of it there might be some shew of Reason for our Unbelief but since the truth of things depends not upon our belief or disbelief of them and the very Notion of a Deity implies a necessity of Existence it must be monstrously senseless and unreasonable to cast off the awe and dread of him Again To regulate our Faith by interest and affection is to walk by a false and crooked Rule For these being frequently corrupted clap a wrong Biass upon the Mind which too often turns it from the Truth and turns it unto Fables And consequently to steer our course by these measures is to follow a false Guide which must lead us out of our way Indeed would men rightly understand and follow their true Interest it would then lead them aright into the paths of Religion there being no comfort or security at all to be had without it But when they weakly mistake their Interest and vainly wish there were no Superior Being to obstruct it they do but court misery and fondly chuse their own destruction In short the vast risque that these men run plainly shews it to be extremely unsafe and dangerous For if the Atheist find at last that there is a God whom he hath all his life-time deny'd and despis'd what unspeakable Horror must seize his guilty Soul which must groan for ever under the wrath of such an Almighty Being and be eternally miserable without ease or remedy The Good-man runs no risque at all for the sense of such a Being hath made him more healthful and easie to himself more useful and serviceable to others and more honoured and respected of all men for both And if there be no God at last he can find no inconvenience in this belief but if there be one he hath infinitely the better on 't being sure to be Eternally Happy in his favour and presence So that if this were but a doubtful Case common prudence teaches men to chuse the safest side to which therefore 't will be our Wisdom to incline I am SIR Your hearty Friend A. B. October 16. 1698. LETTER II. SIR I Find you sensible in your last of the great evil and danger of that Artifice which hath drawn so many into Atheism viz. The casting off the awe and sense of a Deity that they may go on the more securely in their Sins I proceed in this to another Device made use of to the same purpose and that is some Mens endeavouring to solve the Phaenomena of the Universe and to give an account of the Existence of the World without a Supream Being 'T is well known that one of the Principal Arguments and Demonstrations of a Deity is taken from the Works both of Creation and Providence The Invisible things of God from the Creation of the World being clearly seen even his Eternal Power and Godhead And 't is evident as the same Apostle told the Men of Lystra That God hath not left himself without witness in that he doth good and giveth rain from Heaven and fruitful seasons filling our hearts with food and gladness Indeed the admirable frame and order of the World together with the wonderful Provision made for all the Creatures in it plainly bespeak an Almighty Agent to be both the Contriver and Preserver of it Yea there are those visible marks of an Infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness stampt upon every Creature that manifestly shew the Finger of a God and direct our Minds to the Knowledge and Contemplation of him Now to evade this clear and palpable Proof of his Being the Atheist racks his Brain to find out a way of accounting for these things without a first Cause or Orderer of them And of these there are two sorts viz. The first Of those that assert the Eternity of the World The other Of such as make it the Product of Chance and Fortune The Former are the followers of Aristotle and the Latter of Epicurus Both which shew their great unwillingness to believe a Deity and how desirous they are to live without God in the World But let us Examine the Account they give us of these Matters To which end let us begin with the first sort 1st Who to set aside a First Cause affirm the World to have had no beginning but to have been from Eternity as it now is there having been an Eternal Succession of Men and all