Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

common tranquillity. Neither does vice confift in following nature, by preferring happiness to mifery; but in a felfish monopolizing happiness to ourselves; and in profecuting our own pleasures and defires, when they are inconfiftent with or deftructive of the happiness of others, or of the common felicity.

I am fenfible that there are two cafes with regard to moral fitnefs and unfitness, which at first fight may feem to have no relation to, or be founded upon the principles I have here laid down, viz. the making a grateful acknowledgment of a favour received, and the fhewing resentment for an injury done, when a proper occafion offers. But I perfuade myfelf, that every man, who carefully examines the cafe, will fee, that the foremention'd principles are the ground and reafon of each of thefe. For if the communicating of happiness was not right and fit in itself, there could be no foundation for gratitude. That is, if there was not fomething really valuable in the action, then there could not be any thing worthy of our acknowledgment. So that the fitness of the latter has an apparent dependence upon the fitnefs of the former. And on the other fide, if the communicating of unhappiness was not, in the nature of the thing, really unfit, then there could be no reafon or ground for our refentment; and confequently, the latter of thefe neceffarily fuppofes the former, and is founded upon it. And, tho God is the author of nature, and of thofe relations which things ftand in one to another; yet when things are thus constituted, and thus related, good and evil will neceffarily and unavoidably arife from the nature, and from the relations of the things themselves, and not from the arbitrary will and pleasure of their Maker. Thus pain will be evil and afflictive, even tho God should determine and declare the contrary. His determination cannot poffibly convince us, that pain is pleasant, because we experimentally feel and know the contrary. And thus the communicating of happiness will, in the nature of the thing, be really valuable in itself, and highly preferable to the communicating of mifery, whether God determines any thing concerning it, or not. Having thus remov'd what gave occafion for the first complaint, by ftating the notion of the terms beforemention'd, I now proceed to the

Second, namely, that I have been pleading the cause of infidelity, by which I fuppofe is meant, infidelity with regard to the chriftian revelation. But furely this complaint is as unkind, as it is groundless. And all that, I think, is needful for me to fay, in the prefent cafe, is to requeft of the complainers, to confider what a compliment they hereby pay the chriftian religion, by thus reprefenting it as an arbitrary inflitution; given by God, not out of kindness to mankind, but as an inftance of his abfolute fovereignty and dominion over them: which must be the cafe, if what I have faid, in my previous question, is injurious to the chriftian religion. And, thus much, I think, I may venture farther to fay, that whether the prefent complaint against me is juft, or not, yet just, or not, yet the giving fuch a reprefentation of the christian religion, as aforefaid, is moft certainly paving the way to infidelity. Tho I perfuade myself, that there is not any thing, which can ftrictly and properly be called the chriftian religion, but which may be shewn to be the effect of wisdom and goodness, and not of capricious humour and arbitrary pleasure. The chriftian revelation gives us the most beautiful

re

representation of God, with regard to his moral character: it fets him forth as the fountain of wisdom and goodness; as the Father of mercies, and the God of all confolations; yea, as love itself. And this leads me to enquire, what it is, that must conftitute fuch a character, and wherein each of thefe confifts. Does not wisdom and goodnefs confift in a right application of knowledge and power? Surely, God is not wife, because he is knowing; neither is he good, because he is powerful; but he is both wife and good in the right exercise of these, that is, as he applies his knowledge and power rightly in ferving the best of purposes, namely, kindness and benevolence. He is both wife and good, in calling a multitude of creatures into being capable of happiness; and in a plentiful provifion of all things, neceffary to make them fo. He is merciful and loving, in that he fhews the most tender regard to the happiness and well-being of his creatures. And, is this the cafe? then furely it must be moft monftrous to fuppofe, that what I have said, in my previous question is injurious to the chriftian religion; seeing all that I have faid is no more than the afferting and maintaining God's moral character, as aforefaid. And therefore, I defire it may be confidered, whether fuch a reprefentation of me be not injurious to the chriftian religion; because it confiders the chriftian revelation, as a contradiction to itself, by representing it as an inftitution, which is inconfiftent with the character it gives of that Being, whom it claims for its Author. It is true, the religious Schemes of christians are too often mixed and compounded of fuch contradictions, as aforefaid. For in them men are led to make a general acknowledgment of the wifdom and goodness of God, when the particulars of thofe fchemes plainly reprefent him to be otherwife. But, I prefume, this cannot be justly charged upon christianity itself; and therefore I would defire thofe men, when they interpret the chriftian revelation, to take the nature and the fitness of things into the case, or else they will be in danger of offering violence to the moral character of our heavenly Father.

If men would but confult the nature and reason of things, in their enquiries concerning the properties and conduct of the Almighty, it would prevent them from raifing all thofe falfe and unworthy images of God, which are too frequently pictur'd in their minds. Men are apt to form their conceptions of God and of his actions, from what they see grand and magisterial in the princes and potentates of the earth; only with this difference, in men they confider it, as limited and finite, but when they carry their thoughts to God, they confider it in him, as boundless and infinite. That pomp, that arbitrariness, that refentment, that infatiable revenge, that contempt, &c. which fome earthly monarchs put on, and which command the fears, the humble addreffes, the fulfome flatteries, and the flavish fubmiffion of those that are under them: this is that glass, which men look thro, when they take a view of their Creator. And this has led them, not to change the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beafts, and creeping things; but into that, which is much worse, namely, into the likeness and fimilitude of an evil spirit. That is, men have reprefented God, as under the influence of evil and vicious affections, fuch as cruelty, infatiable revenge, &c. which is the

true

true picture of an evil fpirit. St. Paul told the Corinthians, 1 Epift. Chap. x. 20. That the things which the Gentiles facrificed, they facrificed to devils, and not to God. That is, the Gentiles, by their facrifices, addressed themselves to beings (real or fictitious) which they apprehended to be under the power of evil affections, and fo they facrificed to devils. And well had it been, if this could have been charged only on the Gentiles. But, alas! fome chriftians have drawn such a picture of the Deity, as makes him refemble the chiefeft of devils. They have reprefented God, as calling a multitude of creatures into being, on purpose to make them miferable. And, that he might have a colour of doing justice in the cafe, they confider him as placing thofe creatures in such a state, as that they muft neceffarily tranfgrefs, and then punishing them eternally for that tranfgreffion: than which, I think, nothing can be more cruel and barbarous, it being far worse, than what is commonly charged upon the devil himself. The devil is ufually reprefented, as tempting men to that which expofes them to divine difpleafure. And fo he endeavours to make them miferable, but leaves it at their choice; whether they will follow his temptations, or not: whereas God is confidered as ordaining to mifery, antecedent to men's choice. And tho these, and the like religious principles reflect great dishonour upon God, with regard to his moral character, yet the men of these principles pretend to have the highest zeal for his honour and glory. And accordingly, if they can find a perfon, who they think has taken up false notions of the Deity, with regard to his natural character, namely, his natural properties, his perfonality, and the like, then they open their mouths like a trumpet to proclaim fuch a one's great wickedness, as they are pleased to call it; and charge him with blafphemy, and with doing the greatest dishonour to his Maker: not confidering that the dishonour done to God, when confidered in his natural capacity, bears no comparison with that much greater dishonour done to him, when confidered in his moral. Suppofe a man to be of a healthy vigorous conftitution, and that he is really a wife honeft virtuous man; and fuppofe any one fhould fay of him, that he is weak and infirm in his body; and another should say, that he is a fool or a knave; in both cafes the man's character is injur'd; in the former in his natural, in the latter in his moral capacity. And here, I prefume, it will be allow'd by all, that the injury done in the former cafe bears no comparison to the injury done to the man's character in the latter. And yet this is the very cafe, with refpect to God. The injury done him, with regard to his natural character, is as it were nothing when compared with that much greater, which is done him in his moral. I fhall not here aggravate the cafe, but leave it to every man's ferious confideration. And,

Now, I think, I begin to exceed the bounds of a letter, and to cast a blemish upon my former performance. For will not every one be ready to fay of my previous question, furely, its defects were great, if it needed fo large a fupply? But fuppofe I have been faulty in making the fupplement larger than the performance, yet I hope it is what will eafily be excufed; when it is confidered, that this is what I am neceffarily led into, in order to vindicate the moral character of our heavenly Father. A point, in which not only the honour of

God,

God, but the interest and happiness of mankind, are nearly concern'd. For, if God is in reality fuch a wife and good Being, who directs his actions by the moral fitness of things (as I think I have proved him to be) then it will follow, that as nothing but perfonal virtuousness and perfonal viciousness can, in the nature of the thing, render us the fuitable and proper objects of divine approbation or dislike; fo it must be a matter of the utmost concern to us all, to put on fuch a temper of mind and fuch a behaviour, as will render us worthy of divine regard.

If any thing farther fhould appear neceffary to be faid upon this fubject, I muft leave it, to conftitute a fecond fupplement to my previous question. And in the mean time I beg leave to fubfcribe myself,

SIR,

Your most obliged

Friend and Servant.

TREA

ТНЕ

CASE of ABRAHAM,

WITH

Regard to his offering up Isaac in facrifice, re-examined. In a Letter to a Clergyman.

Reverend SIR,

W

HEN I had the happiness of being in your company fome few days past, you were pleased to query, whether what I have formerly faid, in a difcourfe concerning property, with respect to Abraham's offering up Ifaac in facrifice, did not clash with what I have lately faid upon that point, in the fupplement to my previous question? This query has given me occafion to re-examine the fubject, the refult of which I beg leave to lay before you in the following obfervations. And,

First, I here take for granted (as being already elsewhere proved) the following propofition, namely, that God is abfolutely wife and good; that is to say, God always (without the leaft variation) conducts his actions by the rules of wifdom and goodness; or, in other words, he always does that which upon the whole is beft, or moft fubfervient to the common good. And therefore if I have at any time paft advanced, or endeavoured to maintain any propofitions which are inconfiftent with the above propofition, all fuch propofitions I now retract as erroneous. I thought it proper to make this remark, in order to prevent all objections of this kind. For, fuppofing that at different times I should advance two propofitions inconfiftent with each other, all I think, that would follow from hence is, that my judgment of the fame point has been different at different times: which furely is a common cafe with those men whofe opinions are the result of a free enquiry, and are not taken upon truft. I fay, this is all that will follow, fuppofing the cafe as above; for, as to the propofitions themselves, their truth or falsehood does not depend upon my advancing them, but upon the strength or weakness of the evidence which attends them. Again, I obferve,

Secondly,

« AnteriorContinuar »