GOD, to the Ends and Purposes, they declared themselves fent, but had they declared themselves fent to higher and more extraordinary Ends, to alter or abrogate the Law of Mofes, the Proof had fallen fhort of the Pretence, and greater in all Reafon had been required.. B. No doubt; The more Extraordinary the Meffage is, or the higher the Pretenfions of any Prophet are, the greater fhould be the Proof and Atteftation, that fhould accompany him. ral Ends A. We will therefore confider Four Eminent Cafes or Pretences of any Prophet or InThe Seve spired Man. First, If no Divine Revelation had been be- and Pur fore, but the Perfon prefenting himself were poses for the first Divine or Heavenly Meffenger to the which a World. Man may profess Secondly, In Cafe of a former Revelation, if himself the Pretences of the Infpired Perfon were to Divinely add any new Doctrines or Commands to a for- Inspired. mer Revelation. Thirdly, Suppofe the Purpofe of any Propliet or Infpired Perfon, or the End of his coming were to foretel the Ruin of any State of Kingdom. Fourthly, Suppofe, a Perfon fent by GOD, to clear the true Senfe of any former Revelation, through the Prejudices and Lufts of Men, much obfcur'd or mif-understood In all, and each of thefe Cafes, our Inquiry is, What would be a fufficient Proof to induce a Wife Man to believe and receive the Perfon pretending to be employ'd to any of these Purpofes, as a Divine Meffenger? B. True; that's the Point. Pray begin with the First Cafe; fuppofe no former Revelation, what would you conceive a fufficient Proof of it, to introduce it firft, and establish it among Men? N 4 4. If Part II.T In cafe of A. If you fuppofe no former Revelation they no former Perfon firft fent to make it, muft build, mufte what rect it upon the Natural Knowledge Men have! would be of GOD and Virtue. Revelation fufficient B. Think you then there is any fuch? Evidence Thing as Natural Knowledge of GOD and and Proof of a Man's Virtue? Divine A. Doth not the Light of Reafon discover to Mission or us many Things concerning GOD? First, Infpiration That there is fuch aBeing? Then his Perfections A Man of Knowledge, Wisdom, Power, Goodness, &c. which we term his Attributes? And this I call Natural Knowledge, in oppofition to Reveal'd; what the Natural Understandings of Men, by diligent and impartial Exercise and Application of them, may arrive to. B. The Firft is plain, That the generality of Divinely Men have profeffed a Belief of the Existence of a Inspired muft dif- GOD. But then, if you remember, how loofe, courfe a and inconftant, and various have their Notions greeably to been, as to the Nature and Perfections of this Being! And if Men that have known GOD only ral apprebenfions by the Light of Reafon, have had fuch different, that poffefs inconfiftent Apprehenfions of him, (as it is maniMenof the feft they have) what you call Natural KnowDeity. ledge of GOD, will be no folid Foundation to the natu erect Supernatural Knowledge or Revelation on. For, fay you, the Prophet, or Infpir'd Man, muft fpeak agreeably to Men's Natural Knowledge of GOD. Suppofe a Pretender to Infpiration fhould defcribe the Deity Luftful, Re vengeful, c. This, no doubt, would preju dice you against the Revelation, becaufe of the Difagreement between your Idea of GOD, derived from the Light of Reason, and the Reprefentation the other made of GOD in the Virtue of Revelation. But what if this Repre fentation of GOD proved fo difagreeable to your your Apprehenfions of a GOD, yet it agrees better to others Apprehenfions of a GOD;others perhaps apprehend GOD, we will fay, after this abfurd fashion; and to fuch, the Doctrines themfelves, or this Reprefentation of GOD, could prove no Objection against the Pretence of Infpiration, because here is no fuch Difagreement between their Natural Knowledge of GOD, and this offer'd by way of Revelation. A. To this I Anfwer a few Things. entertain ed of God. Of the Idea First, Although Men have afcribed different that ge repugnant Qualities and Actions to the Deity,nerally have thought and difcours'd of him differently Men have yet the general Idea, I think of GOD, hath been more fixed, more certain, more confiftent. This general Idea of a GOD, in my Opinion, is of a Being, firft, greatest, most perfect; and this I believe, hath generally poffefs'd Men, that have had any, or the leaft Apprehenfions of a GOD. For fuppofe, in the darkest times of Heathenifm, the moft illiterate Man had been asked, what he thought of the Being he call'd and worfhipp'd as GOD? Whether he conceived him more Impotent, more Foolish, more Ignorant than a Man? I can hardly perfuade my felf, but that he would have answered in the Negative, that he thought not thus of his GOD, but as of a Being above him, furpaffing Man or any thing else he knew, in thefe Perfections of Knowledge, Power, Wisdom, and the like. For it feems to me a marvelous ftrange Thing, that Men fhould efteem or call that a GOD that they thought beneath themselves; and a ftranger Thing yet, that meer Stupidity, Weakness, Ignorance, fhould be the Object of their Admiration, Worship, or Superftition. It cannot therefore be fuppofed, but when the Heathens Worshipped a piece of Wood, Wood, Brafs, a Crocodile, or the like; they could not conceive it barely a piece of Wood or Brafs, but fome ftrange, unknown, terrible thing under it, that raised their Dread and Superftition. When the Worshippers of Baal fo loudly and vehemently invoke him, O Baal, bear us: Can it be fuppofed they thought all this while Baal could not hear them? And yet thus they must think, provided they thought Baal nothing but a meer piece of Stone, Wood, or Brafs. For they could not but apprehend those Things incapable of any hearing or feeing. Again, when Nebuchadnezzar was ftruck with great Admiration of Bel and concluded him a GOD from his prodigious Eating; can it be fuppofed he thought Bel Nothing but a bare Image; a meer piece of Brafs or Stone? His eating diftinguifh'd him from common Stone, and while he believed this of him, made him conclude it fomething Monftrous Unaccountable, a GOD. Again, when thefe Heathens thought their Images, they call'd GODS, capable of doing them Hurt or Good, of inflicting Pains and Difeafes on them, or removing them from them, could they all this while fuppofe them nothing but bare Figures or Images? It cannot be; but before a Man can efteem a bare Image, a piece of Stone, or Wood a GOD, he muft raife it in his Fancy above meer Stone or Wood. B. I know not but the Prophets in the Old Teftament had fuch an Apprehenfion; for they very frequently fuggeft and argue against the Idolaters of their Times, that thefe Images were nothing but Silver and Gold, Wood or Stone, the Work of Men's Hands; which feems to imply, as if the Heathens thought them otherwise, The Addrefs of St. Paul (a) likewise to the AActs 17. 24. (4) thenians ལ themans is very clear to this Purpofe. GOD, fays he, that made the World, and all things therein, Seeing that he is Lord of Heaven and Earth, dwelleth not in Temples made with Hands, neither is worshipped with Men's Hands, &c. whereby it appears, the Apoftle conceived thefe Idolaters to imagine, as if these Images were actuated by GOD, and confequently were fomething more than bare Images. To the fame Purpofe he fpeaks again to the Roc mans. A. If this holds true, it is plain, these Idolaters general Conception of a GOD, was of fomething more perfect than thofe mean Things they Worshipped; and perhaps contained the higheft Perfection they knew. B. I fhould agree to this, were there not Two very ftrong Objections against it. First, I cannot apprehend how Men became fo infatuated, as to attribute fuch grofs Imperfections to the Deity. Secondly, How Men could apprehend a Plurality of GODS. You cannot deny the Matters of Fact, that thus Men have Apprehended; neither do I fee how you can come off,and reconcile this to your Affertion, that Men's general Idea of a GOD hath been of a Being moft Perfect. A. That Men have afcribed Imperfections to How Men the Deity, I think, hath been owing to their deviated from the not attending to what is Perfection in particu-true Idea lar Inftances and Cafes. Folly all Men know, and of GOD, readily declare an Imperfection; fo of Ignorance admitted a and Luft. And accordingly, it is feldom we Plurality find in any Writings of the Heathens, that fe- GODS, riously believed thefe Deities, Propofitions round- other Im ly and exprefly afferting (a) Jupiter, or the Su-perfections (α) Ει Θεοί με δρῶσι Φαῦλον εκ εἰσὶ Θεοί. Bellerophon pream to him. |