Selected quad for the lemma: world_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
world_n	hate_v	know_v	persecute_v	2,062	5	9.5855	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39251	The folly of atheism demonstrated to the capacity of the most unlearned reader by Clement Elis ...	Ellis, Clement, 1630-1700.	1692 (1692)	Wing E555; ESTC R17534	80,333	176

Books For all that can be thought necessary to qualify them for writing these Books is First Sufficient knowledg of the things whereof they wrote and Secondly Honesty to write no other things than what they certainly knew 1. We cannot in any reason suspect them to have wanted sufficient knowledg because they had all opportunities of well informing themselves They write either of the Life and Deeds of JESUS CHRIST whereof they were Eye-witnesses or of his Doctrine and Preaching which they were Ear-witnesses of Or else of the Deeds and Sufferings of themselves and their Fellows whereof they were either Actors and Sufferers or Spectators That which they had seen and heard declared they unto us and that in writing as St. Iohn saith 1. Ioh. I. 1 2 3. They have delivered these things to us which from the beginning were eye-witnesses and Ministers of the word And it seem'd good unto them having had perfect understanding of all things from the beginning to write unto others that they also might know the certainty of these things as we gather from St. Luke chap. I. v. 2 3 4. Now that there was such a Person as JESUS CHRIST that he was born in the Reign of Augustus Caesar and was Crucified in the Regn of Tiberius Caesar being sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate and that he had such Disciples and Followers not only the Testimony of Christians but that of Iews and Heathens bitter Enemies to Christianity assures us And what should hinder these men to have sufficient knowledg of what they write 2. We have no less reason to believe they were honest men who had no design to deceive the World For First It is to be seen in their Writings by all who read them that they professed and taught Sincerity Truth Simplicity plain and upright Dealing condemning all Hypocrisie Lying and Guile as odious to GOD and damnable in men denouncing the heavy wrath and indignation of GOD against the Practicers of these Vices And as they taught so they lived and for this they durst appeal to all who knew them Ye are witnesses saith St. Paul and God also how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved our selves among you 1 Thess. II. 10. We have renounced saith he again the hidden things of dishonestry not walking in craftiness not handling the word of God deceitfully but by manifestation of the truth commending our selves to every man's conscience in the sight of God 2 Cor. IV. 2. Secondly For the truth of the chief matters of fact which they relate they were bold to appeal to the knowledg of great multitudes then living who might easily have disproved them had they told any falshood They told them of the wonderful Birth and Life of JESUS mentioning the very time of his Birth the place the manner his manifestation to the Shepherds to the Wise-men of the East his Persecution by Herod with all the remarkable Circumstances thereto belonging His Doctrine and Preaching his Miracles some whereof thousands at once tasted of his Death without Ierusalem notorious to all his Resurrection witnessed by his appearing to hundreds his visible Ascension into Heaven his sending the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost to the astonishment of many who heard the Apostles by him enabled to speak to every one in his own Language and many more things of this kind concerning some of which St. Paul was not afraid to tell Festus the Governour in the presence of King Agrippa The king knoweth of these things before whom also I speak freely for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him for this thing was not done in a corner Acts XXVI 26. How easie now had it been for the Iews to have proved these men Lyars had they been so And would they not have done it if they could Thirdly They were men but of a very mean Education most of them and of no le●●ning and cannot reasonably be thought able to contrive and invent what they write of their own heads and when they had done to defend it so bravely as they did for real truth It must needs be supposed they were instructed well in their business and had a Teacher wiser and more powerful too than themselves or indeed as it will appear than all the World besides And this was well known to be JESUS CHRIST the Eternal Wisdom of GOD and his Holy Spirit of Truth which He according to his Promise sent upon them Acts II. to guide them into all truth Joh. XVI 13. 'T was He alone who could as he had promised give them a mouth and wisdom which all their adversaries were not able to gainsay or resist Luke XXI 15. Indeed it appears whatever their Education had been they were when they preached to the World and wrote men of good sense and understanding who could teach a Religion which now for above Sixteen hundred years hath prevail'd over the most learned part of Mankind who could dispute with the Learned Grecians Acts IX 29. And though the Scribes and Pharisees the most Learned Iews Though they of the Synagogue of the Libertines and Cyrenians and Alexandrians of Cicilia and Asia disputed with them Acts VI. 9. Tho the Philosophers of the Gentiles the Stoicks and Epicureans encounter'd them Acts XVII 18. yet were none of these able to resist the Wisdom and the Spirit whereby they spake Acts VI. 10. Fourthly Supposing them men of Wit enough for such a Contrivance yet can they not at the same time be thought such Fools too as to contrive such things without any rational motive or inducement to it surely they must have some great things to propound unto themselves as the end for which they did this They well foresaw that what they did would expose them to all the Evils of this World And therefore when they first undertook it they voluntarily left all they had in this World to follow CHRIST They were taught by him to deny themselves and to take up the cross Matth. XVI 24. And told that they must be sent as Sheep in the midst of Wolves be deliver'd up to Councils and scourg'd in the Synagogues and hated of all men for his name's sake Matth. X. 16 17 22. That in this world they should have tribulation John XVI 33. and be persecuted Joh. XV. 20. Put out of the Synagogues and killed Joh. XVI 2. All this they knew and expected They went forth to preach a Doctrine which by the Wise-men of the World would be accounted foolishness 1 Cor. I. 23. And look'd on themselves as men set forth of God as it were appointed to death and made a spectacle to the world 1 Cor. IV. 9. They hungred and thirsted were naked and had no certain dwelling-place Being reviled they blessed being persecuted they suffer'd it being defamed they intreated they were made the filth of the world and the off-scouring of all things 1 Cor. IV. 11. 2 Cor. IV. 8. They constantly and stoutly indured all that befell them rejoycing

thing in any man to make himself confident of a thing whereof first he can have no degree of assurance and secondly whereof the generality of men think themselves very sure There can hardly be a clearer evidence of one's being a Fool than this That he takes himself to be wiser than all the World besides and that too in holding an Opinion wherein he cannot pretend to any evidence at all to ground it upon Let us therefore here consider these things 1. There has not been at any time in any place any People discover'd upon the face of the whole Earth that hath not own'd a GOD. The most barbarous wild and even brutish People without any kind of Learning or common Civility in their Manners hardly distinguishable from the Beasts of the Field by any thing else but this have been found to have some sort of Religious Worship among them Though many of them have had no knowledge of the true and living GOD for want of instruction yet would they rather fall down and worship any thing either in Heaven or upon Earth yea the very Devils themselvs than nothing at all So deeply is this truth that there is a GOD ingraven as it were in the very Nature of Mankind that nothing could ever yet eraze or wear it quite out Even that gross Idolatry which reigns over so great a part of the World is enough to shame the Atheist for thereby is it manifest that the World hath never counted any thing more absurd and foolish than to think that there is no GOD. Men not knowing who is the true GOD were yet so fully convinced that there must be some GOD that they would worship any thing that they thought could do them either good or hurt rather than nothing at all And as this was the belief of all in general so look by how much any Nation was more civilized and cultivated by good Literature o much the more care there was taken about Religion as among the Egyptians Greeks and Romans And such Persons as had the best opportunities and greatest abilities for the search and discovery of Truth were abundantly satisfied themselves and took pains to satisfy others in the reasonableness of this belief And lastly they above others who with good reason were esteem d the best of men I mean such as endeavour'd to do the World most good who lived virtuously and justly and did what they could to make men the better and the happier for them were always the most zealous and earnest Promoters and Maintainers of this belief When therefore 't is apparent that Mankind generally and more especiall● the Learnedst the Wisest and the Best of men have always believed this doth not the Atheist shew himself a Fool in contradicting all men having no better Reason for his Opinion than only his own Imagination If any shall object That it is upon Record that there have been some Atheists in the World and therefore 't is not true that we have the Universal Consent of Mankind The Answer to this Objection is very easie 1. Many of them who were call'd Atheists were not so indeed but the most Religious Persons of their time It was not because they denied that there is a GOD but because they denied those Idols which the Heathens worshipped to be Gods indeed that those blinded Idolaters called them Atheists And upon this account it was that the Primitive Christians of old were by those Idolaters charg'd with Atheism 2. Suppose some few have denied that there is a GOD yet were they so few and inconsiderable in comparison of the rest who own'd a GOD that they ought not to be once named in opposition to a general Consent If I say The generality of Mankind have Eyes and Sight is it reasonable to say it is not true because an odd man here or there is born blind If I say Men are Rational Creatures will any think it a sufficient confutation of this that he can shew me now and then a natural Fool With as little reason when I say Men generally own a GOD can any one object it is not true because he can name one or two odd men in so many Millions that have been so blind and foolish as not to see and know what all others see and know 3. These few that have denied a GOD had not been taken so much notice of had they not been very few indeed and for their rarity it is that they were then wonder'd at and since are recorded in History But as they were noted for the singularity of their Opinion so were they hated for their wickedness branded as infamous and as Enemies of Mankind The World was weary of them and as soon as any one began to be suspected to be of this Opinion his Citizens banish'd him out of their Society as one unfit to live among Mankind Which is an Argument that it is so natural to men to own a GOD that he who do h not so has ever been look'd on as a M●nster or s mething that deserves not to be reckon'd among men 4. These very few how confident soever could never produce any considerable reasons for their opinion and to talk confidently without reason is but to rave like one in a high Feaver and not worthy to be heeded Now the Athiest hath so little to say for himself that he has not been able to make many believe That ever he believed himself in this point insomuch that it is at this day a great Question disputed among Learned Men whether there can be such a thing as an Atheist in Iudgment It can hardly be said in propriety of speech that a man believes what he can shew no reason for believing And therefore whilst the Atheist can give no reason for what he saith saying There is no GOD we may say He doth not believe there is a GOD but it seems we cannot say He believes there is none And the main Reason of his Unbelief for it is no more when well search'd into will be found no other but that very same upon which there are too many Unbelievers now The love of Wickedness makes the thoughts of a GOD very uneasie to men and they are very unwilling to entertain a Belief that will not suffer them to fulfil their Lusts with Peace of Mind 5. Lastly Remember That as we have read and heard of some Atheists so also have we read or heard this also of them That for all the shifts they could make they could not so fully satisfie themselves as to quiet their own Consciences Bluster indeed they would and make a noise in the day-time as if they fear'd nothing Business and Company diverted them from talking much with themselves or entring upon serious thoughts But when night came and silence was made when they were alone and at leisure and had nothing to do but to think whenever their thoughts were fixt on this subject their fears also came along with them and they