of the Fathers to the last to be consider'd by themselves because many Persons who will read the rational part don't care for troubling themselves with the examination of these And indeed because I design'd to dwell much longer upon them than I find the length of this Letter already will permit The very Quoting of the Fathers is a confutation of himself for if there be no other ground of Perswasion but Evidence what can the Authority of the Fathers signify to encline Mens Assent either one way or the other and indeed of Scripture it self All Quotations Divine or Human are useless impertinent upon his Principles For what he wou'd perswade by them is evident in it self or it is not If it be evident we shall certainly believe it let who will say it but if the truth of it be not evident from the nature of the thing it self all the Pompous Citations in the World signify nothing He was sensible of this and that is the true reason why he gives the Fathers as foul language as he doth the modern Clergy not considering that the same objection holds against the Bible it self For if the Authority of God be not a ground of Perswasion then a Text out of the Bible will be of as little â—orce as a Quotation out of any fabulous Heathen Author to influenceo ur Assent to any Proposition He introduces them after the most scornful manner he could contrive and says that the mentioning of Schutcheons puts him in mind of the Judgment of the Primitive Church And in another place he hath this expression by way of ridicule The Fathers The admir'd Fathers their Opinions he calls Whymsies And their Works insuperable Labyrinths And calls the just Esteem we have for them A Blind Veneration for those who liv'd before us He never mentions them without the greatest contemt and says He is not to be put out of countenance by Venerable names and Pompous Citations that have no value but such as an ugly Rust and Colour give antient Coins But this similitude that he designs by way of derision doth very well express the worth and usefulness of the Fathers For as antient Coins are now of no greater intrinsick value than the bare weight of the Metal they are made of yet they are of excellent use to give us light into the times and customs of Antiquity and upon that score are of vasily greater value than any modern Coins So it is with the Fathers they were Men and wrote like such and thô we should grant that some of their works are not in themselves more excellent than what hath been written in after ages yet these Writings of theirs are much more to be valu'd because they liv'd nearer the times of Christ and his Apostles and therefore had greater advantages of coming to right apprehensions of all things relating to Christianity than it is possible for any after them to have Not but that some of them seem to have wrote by a more peculiar influence of the Spirit And therefore this Mans arrogant treatment of the Fathers puts me in mind of that passage of the ignorant Childrens reviling the Prophet and calling him Baldpate who saw nothing of him beyond those common infirmities that are incident to Human Nature and did not discern any thing of the Divine Spirit that was in him We do not blindly and implicitely acquiesce in any thing they say but we have a just Veneration for them and deserence to their Authority And if he could have produced any thing from them which had made against us we would have own'd he had gaind a great point But all the Citations he produces are only to prove that the things reveal'd under the Gospel were call'd Mysteries under the Law and That the Vail is taken away both which we allow Let him bring one Text out of the Bible or one Quotation out of the Fathers to prove that the Vail is taken away in the sence that we deny i. e. in respect of the true Nature and real Properties of those things which we call Mysteries For that it is taken away as to the Existence of those things and as to the Relation they have to us as to the intent and design of them we allow And this is a sufficient answer to all his Quotations if he brought a thousand more to the same purpose he hath don these However I shall consider them in particular And 1. He says Clemens Alexandrinus hath the same notion of Mysteries with him For he says the Christian Discipline was call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Illumination because it brought hidden things to light Very true But not because it brought them so to light as to discover the real Nature and Properties of every thing reveal'd and give us as clear and distinct notions of all divine things as they are in themselves as we have even of sensible Objects Which this Man ridiculously contends for And this he would have seen if he had read but Ten Lines farther where he has this Expression 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. By which he affirms the nature of God to be above all we can conceive or speak of him So that 't is plain the Father in direct opposition to this Scribler is of opinion that God is still Mysterious notwithstanding all the Revelations we have of him The whole drift of the former part of that 5th Book is to shew that the true nature of FAITH consists in giving our assent to the truth of things which we cannot know upon the Authority of God and to this he applies that Text of the Apostle 1. Cor. 2. 5 where he adviseth us that our Faith should not be founded on the Wisdom of Men who as he explains it pretend to make us know every thing we believe But on the Veracity of God who saves us by pure Faith without that Evidence of the thing it self which some Men require The Father 's own words are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and therefore he elegantly calls Faith the Ears of the Soul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because by this we are dispos'd to listen to Discourses of those things which we cannot comprehend Not that he supposes we are ignorant of the meaning of any Proposition we believe and therefore he says 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is no Knowledg without Faith noâ— Faith without Knowledg And he here makes a manifest difference between that Assent which is the immediate effect of Knowledg and that which is properly Faith And then asketh this Question 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Who is so estranged from God so much an Infidell as not to believe him upon his word but require the same Evidence and clear Knowledg of the things reveal'd from God as he requires from men I answer This Man of unparallel'd Impudence who hath quoted this same 5th Book of his against himself and us to prove the quite contrary to what he thus positively asserts The next Father
frame of those things which are material 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. Cyrill says that our manner of conceiving Divine things is by Examples or Similitudes after the same gross manner we represent the heavenly Orbs upon a piece of Paper 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gregory Nazianzen discourses fully how nothing is more evident than that there is a God thô at the same time we are not able to conceive or express what he is and hath these remarkable words concerning our manner of conceiving the things of another world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By which he plainly supposes it as impossible for us whilst we are immers'd in these gross Bodies to frame any conceptions of Spiritual things without the help of worldly Objects as it is for us to overtake our shadow or to see in the dark It is ordinary with the Fathers speaking of God to say That when we conceive him as being a Substance as being Wise and Holy nay as having Life c. they are all but Figurative Representations of something in God which transcends all that we can imagin Dionysius or whoever was Author of those Books which go under his Name says 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And accordingly in his Mystical Theology speaking of the nature of our present knowledg of God and spiritual things says very aptly that this is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And therefore God in the writings of the Fathers is call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without Existence without Substance without a Mind without Life Not by way of Privation as Marius Victorinus in his 4th Book against Arius observes but by way of Excellence Because the notions affixt to these words express nothing of the true nature of the things when refer'd to God Very agreeable to what the Apostle says Acts 17 27. Where he expresseth the Knowledg we have of God by Feeling after him The Original word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is very expressive for it signifies the greping for a thing in the dark Clemens Alexandrinus speaking of the method we have of coming to know the nature of God says That the utmost we can arrive to is to know what he is not and not what he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And thus we see how little reason this man had to quote those Fathers who he tells us have the good luck to be both the New and the Old of the World But His Heresy is as old as Eunomius and now reviv'd by this UPSTART as he very aptly calls himself And I think we may well call this New Old Sect of his the Genesticks of our Age since they are a profound sort of people who set up for Knowing every thing and Believing nothing He hopes in time to plead Prescription and that His Book too shall in after ages be valued as the Fathers are in this But alas thô he wants no qualification of Error and Impiety for this Ambition of his yet he hath not Wit and Learning enough to be a Heretick upon Record Such Books as these seldom live any longer than till their Fallacies are laid open and then they perish and Rott with the Memory of their Authors Whereas the Fathers who are now in Heaven for defending that Truth which he hath labour'd to corrupt will have their just Authority among all Pious and Learned Men to the end of the World And now that I have done I must confess the Man was not worth my trouble but the Cause is richly so and it is our misfortune that we think no thing can gain upon the World but sound Reasoning and Argument Whereas there have been many instances of the most odd and ridiculous Enthusiasts having in a short time Proselytes enough to bring Church and Staâ—e into confusion He hath as little of true Reasoning or Argument as any of them but his Pretence is plausible and those are the Books which do mischief in the World And therefore I was not to consider the strength only of the Poyson but the constitution of the Age which seems strangely dispos'd for Infidelity and a Contemt of all Divine Revelation Besides I have contriv'd this Letter so as to be an answer not only to him but to all the Opposers of Revelation and Mysteries And I hope I may say I have done something towards the right stateing this whose Controversy which hath been hitherto so much mistaken on both Sides For whilst Men on one hand expect a rational account and clear and distinct Idea's of what is wholly Unaccountable by â—â— and of which we can have no Conceptions at all And on the other hand men go about with endless labour to explain what is Inexplicable there can be no end of these Controversies which multiply upon us every day But if we all agree to leave off speaking of what we know nothing of and freely own what we must confess whether we will or no That we can have no Ideas at all of the things of another World as they are in themselves and that our manner of conceiving them at present is by Intervention of the common Objects of this Life then the whole controversy will be reduced to a very short â—â—â—â—â— And all the Revelations and Mysteries of Christianity establisht upon those foundations which Christ hath laid Not in the Wisdom of Men but in the Power of God Trin Coll. Dub. May 1. 1697. ERRATA PAge 10. line 13. for Sences r. Senses And so wherever the word is distinguish'd from Reason p. 24. l. 1. r. ground p. 25. l. 3. r. evidence p. 30. l. 3. r. perswasion p. 63. l. 3. r. of p. 85. ult r. deference p 134. l. 20 r. taught Ibid 27. r. which is all that 's meant p. 143. l. 7. r cant p. 156. l. 8. r. Ratiocination p. 185. l. 11. r. after p. 186. l. 7. r. Magicians p. 187. l. 1. r. and p. 199. l. 2. r. abstruse p. 206. l. 1. r. Arians p 219. l. 18. r. fides p. 222. l. 23. r. Hymn P 87 Last Edition 1 Cor 15 51 52. 1 Joh 3 2. P. 8 9 10 P. 11. P. 13. P. 18. P. 16. * To make what is to be said upon this head more intelligible the Reader may take notice that by Evidence he means nothing more than the knowledge of a thing in the Mind So that these two Expressions are the same Evidence is the only ground of Perswasion and You can give your assent to nothing but what you know All the difference is that one is plain and the other affectedly obscure But I must use his own Cant otherwise thô I speak ever so much to the purpose he will not think himself answer'd * To prevent all ambiguity I do not take the word Substance here strictly as it is oppos'd to the modes and accidents of the thing but as it includes them P. 43. 128. * That which may make this Paragraph obscure is the mistaking Evidence in the Mind or Knowledge for those proofs which are only
much oâ— what they have no Idea of it must always end in darkness and confusion That part of a Christian Mystery which is intelligible and plain was ever so and that part which is mysterious notwithstanding all their vain endeavours will ever be so till we coâ—â— to another World Therefore our way to deal with these men is to fix the right sence and meaning of those Propositions wherein the Mysteries of the Gospel are reveal'd to us and then to insist upon the Proofs we have for the truth of the Revelation and shew that they are such as ought to convince any reasonable unprejudic'd man insomuch that if they do not give their assent to them they shall be without excuse when they come to be try'd for their Infidelity Thus we shou'd turn the course of our Thoughts into a right Chanel and confound all these Enemies of our excellent Religion For by freely owning as becomes us that we have no notion at all of these mysterious things as they are in themselves we cut off a multitude of frivolous and impertinent Objections And shew these men that our Christian Faith however is no lazy credulity or blind implicite assent since it is built upon a better foundation than is possible for any man to lay without the concurrence of the Almighty Power of God insomuch that we are ready to join issue with them upon the Principles of Reason in every point of our Christian Faith as far as the things reveal'd fall within the compass of it And therefore were I to give a reason of my belief of the TRINITY laying aside all affectation of hard words and abstruse Metaphysical Notions I wou'd do it thus I am fully perswaded of the necessity of Revelation in general in order to all the purposes of Vertue and Piety in this life and I am convinc'd that those Revelations of the things of another World which are made in the Gospel have better proofs of their Divinity than any other whatsoever They have such testimonies of their coming from God from Prophecies and Miracles and the agreeableness of the Doctrines therein contain'd to our common Notions that if I use my Reason with the same impartiality in these that I do in other things I must give my assent to them In those writings I find this Proposition There are Three that bear Record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these Three are one From whence and from many other passages in the Scriptures I find that there is a Distinction made in the Godhead under these three names of Father Son and Holy-Ghost which the Church hath exprest altogether by the word Trinity and singly by the word Person And I think these terms proper enough to express all that we know of this Mystery Now I find no account of the Manner and Nature of this Distinction in the holy Scriptures any otherwise than that the Son was begotten and that the Holy Ghost comes from the Father and the Son I conclude there is something more than a meer Nominal Distinction because we are said to be Baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy-Ghost Which must needs import something more than if that Commission had run thus Go Baptize all Nations in the name of Jehovah and of Elohim and of Adonai And if there were not something more intended than barely that they shou'd do it in the name of God this were a needless tautology Again I conclude that they are not three distinct different Spirits for then there must be three Gods contrary to Reason and Scripture From all which I infer there is in the Godhead something more than a meer nominal Distinction and something less than that of three different Spirits And because I find each Person seperatly as well as jointly mention'd as God and Divine Worship allow'd and paid to them Therefore as that excellent Creed expresseth it I worship the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance Now at the same time I make this profession of my Faith I allow I have not the least knowledg how strict this Union is nor how great the Distinction It is as much beyond my Reason as the Glory of God is beyond my Sight and any man who strives to conceive it himself or takes pains to explain it to others is guilty of such a folly that I can't think of any action in nature extravagant enough to match it If we saw a Man stretching up his hand with a great deal of Vehemence to pull down a Star we shou'd certainly conclude him distracted because 't is utterly impossible for him to reach it or grasp it if he cou'd 'T is the very case of those men who go about to account for the manner of that Unity and Distinction for which they have neither Words nor Idea's And therefore I say it again in opposition to this Insolent Man that I thus adore what I cannot comprehend This is one of those Mysteries reveal'd in the Gospel and it is never the less a Mystery for any thing he hath yet said or ever will say for the Union is inexplicable and will be so to the end of the World However my assent to this is not precarious and implicite or any easie blind Credulity but is â—ounded upon clear and distinct Idea's For there are three things to be done by every reasonable thinking man concerning any Proposition wherein a Mystery is reveal'd 1. To be sure that he understand well the meaning of the Words 2. That he discern no Contradiction in them 3. That he hath sufficient evidence of the Revelations coming from God 1. As to the first of these in respect of the Mystery I am now upon I understand very well the meaning of the Words wherein it is reveal'd and they themselves who oppose this Doctrine understand them as well as I for if they did not know what was meant by the Words they wou'd never set themselves to argue against it for there is no other way of conâ—uting Nonsence but saying it is such So that thus far if it prove to be true these Propositions wherein the Trinity is reveal'd will hold good against them at the day of Judgment and render them without Excuse 2. As to the second thing I see no Contradiction in it and if there were I would utterly reject it For to say that Three are One is so far from being a contradiction that there is nothing more common in ordinary discourse than for any one to say that Three or any other greater number of things are but one and if every man who spoke such seeming contradictions were catch't up immediately and forc'd to explain himself upon all such occasions it wou'd make conversation very troublesome As if one shou'd say that there are three distinct things in a Man a Body the Animal Spirits and an Immaterial Substance and yet
these three are but one and he shou'd be forc'd to explain himself and say that his meaning is not that three men are one man or that one man is three men They who cry there is a Contradiction in this Mystery seem to me neither to know what a Contradiction is nor what is the Christian Faith concerning the Trinity For we don't believe that the Divinity is One Three in the same sence then indeed it wou'd be a contradiction But we affirm the quite contrary viz. that the Godhead is One Three in different respects So that all this noise of Contradiction vanishes and the whole force of the Objection amounts to no more than this viz. That we are not able to conceive in what respect he is one and in what respect he is three and therefore because we have no clear and distinct Idea of this we must utterly reject it I grant we are not able to account for this and it is this that makes it a Mystery and if I cou'd clearly solve the manner of this Union and Distinction it wou'd â—â—aâ—e to be such Thus much of it is purely the Object of my Faith and the Authority of God is the only ground of my assent to this part of it But then 3. I have sufficient proof of this Revelation's coming from God I have for This all the proof that I have for the Truth of the Scriptures and the Divine Mission of the Persons who wrote them so that I must either reject all reveal'd Religion or allow This to be an Article of my Faith But perhaps this man will Object that thô he shou'd grant it to be an Article of Faith yet it is so no farther than we can comprehend it But I have already made it out at the begining that both what we do and what we cannot know are both in gross call'd the same Mystery and that my assent to what I do not apprehend is founded upon the Authority of God but my assent to what I do apprehend is founded upon Evidence The first assent is properly Faith the last is Knowledge And so likewise if I were to give an account of my belief of the DIVINITY OF THE SON it shou'd be thus I am convinc'd by the Completion of Prophecies the Miracles he wrought and the agreablness of his Doctrine to the natural sentiments of our Minds that whatever Jesus Christ was He came from God I find him in many places assuming to himself the Name and Titles and Worship of God In discoursing with the Jews he useth this form of Speech Before Abraham was I AM on purpose to signify to them that he was that very Divine Being which was reveal'd to Moses under that Name And sometime after he tells them that as he was the Son of God so He and the Father were one That the Jews understood him in this sence I am sure because they took up Stones at each of these sayings to stone him as a Blasphemer because he made himself equal with God If these expressions were not to be understood in the sence they took them he wou'd certainly have undeceived them and have made it known that he was not God in the sence they understood him but that he was only a God by Deputation according to the wild notion of the Socinians But he â—poke the Truth and the Jews understood him right That he was eternal God equal with the Father the very same God who was signify'd by that sacred name I AM. And he hath never undeceiv'd either them or us to this day but instead thereof hath us'd many expressions to countenance and encourage this notion of him and therefore if I act like a reasonable man I am under a necessity either of giving my assent to this or of utterly rejecting him as an Impostor Now had he been and Impostor God who shew'd himself always very jealous of his Honour wou'd never have confirm'd this Doctrine of his with such repeated Testimonies If we suppose him to be only a Messenger come from God and a meer Man who spoke only by his Spirit and Commission he wou'd never have us'd such expressions as must naturally be misunderstood and lead thousands into the gross sin of Idolatry which of all others is the most detestable to God Moses was never suffer'd to enter into the Land of Canaan for a much less suspicious expression and in the heat of passion too Must we bring water out of the Rock which was a vainglorious insinuation that they wrought that Miracle by their own immediate power and proper efficacy This comes much short of these expressions of our Saviour's destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it again I have power to lay down my liâ—e and I have power to take it up And before Abraham was I am And indeed that passage concerning Moses seems to have been upon Record by the special providence of God for this very purpose that it might be a good argument of conviction to the Jews of the Divinity of the Son since this inference was very natural and obvious from it viz. If God was so incens'd with Moses for making use of one expression which seem'd to encroach upon his Prerogative then how far wou'd he have been from giving testimony of much more frequent and greater Miracles to a Person who by many plainer expressions assum'd to himself the full power and perfection of the Godhead if he were not really what he gave himself out to be For this reason I say because I can't reject him as an Impostor therefore I believe this Proposition and confess the blessed Jesus the Son of God to be Eternal God equal with the Father Now thus far I proceed in this Mystery upon the strictest rules of Reason and Evidence and my Faith of this Proposition is founded upon clear and distinct Idea's for I know clearly who I mean by Jesus Christ i. e. that Person who was born of the Virgin Mary and Crucified under Pontius Pilate I have a clear and distinct Idea of what it is for one thing to be equal to another and I apprehend very well what is signify'd by the name of God here i. e. that Divine Being whose necessary Existence I infer from that clear knowledg I have of his Creatures And of whose Nature thô I have not the least notion as it is in it self yet I form the best Idea of him I can by enlarging all the Perfections that are discernable in the Creatures And I have a clear and distinct Idea of what it is for one Person to be the Son of another Thus I understand the meaning of the words nor is there any thing in them contradictory to my reason And lastly I have clear and distinct Idea's of those miraculous proofs to the senses of men and of those completions of Prophecies and the excellency of that Doctrine they confirm the agreableness of it to the common notions of Men and it 's natural