Power and Assistance of God who is both the Framer and Controller of Nature or which is the same thing in effect by the Mediation and Ministry of good Spirits who always act obediently to his Will So that whether mediately or immediately it is God who is to be looked upon as the Original and Author of all those wonderful Things which were done by Jesus and his Disciples Now then Since God did interpose his Power to work such strange and stupenduous things for the Propagation and Confirmation of that Doctrine which was taught by Jesus and his Disciples This I think is a sufficient Demonstration that their Doctrine was certainly true For Who can imagine that God should make use of his extraordinary Power only to cheat and deceive the World into the Belief of a Lye I conclude therefore That the Primitive Christians had sufficient Reason to believe that it was revealed by God from Heaven that whosoever would believe on Jesus and receive and live according to his Religion should be made very happy in thenext Life this very thing being the grand Point of Doctrine which Jesus and his Disciples taught and preached to the World And if we are sure that the Primitive Christians had Reason sufficient to believe this from hence it follows That we have sufficient Reason to believe it also XX. But Jesus himself being long since ascended into Heaven and his Disciples who first preached the Gospel departed out of the World here I think it is necessary to enquire to whom or to what I must apply my self that amidst the several Parties in the World who all call themselves True and Orthodox Christians each condemning all others but themselves I may be truly and surely informed what is the true and genuine Religion or Doctrine of Jesus which I ought to receive and live according to in order to my future Happiness For if I do not this I must either reject the Doctrine of Jesus and so lose my future Happiness or else take it altogether upon Trust and by chance and then 't is odds but I light upon the wrong and must needs run a very great hazard And though he who is in a Mistake and cannot tell how to help it will doubtless find an easie Pardon from God yet he who falls into Errour for want of moderate Care and Diligence to find out the Truth has I think no pretence either to Pardon or so much as to Pity XXI The Roman Catholicks do tell me that I must apply my self to the Church This Church they define to be that Society of Persons who prosess Faith in Jesus Christ and live in Subjection to and Communion with the Pope or Bishop of Rome This Church they say is infallible and not only does not but cannot err in any Doctrine of Religion Go then say they to this Church and receive the Doctrine which she teaches and there you have certainly and infallibly the true and pure Doctrine of Jesus Christ But I cannot give my Assent to follow this their Direction because I find such great Difficulties in my way as I think are insuparable at least I am sure such as I am not able to overcome For First Although it may be a certain Truth that there shall always be a Church that is to say a Company of People some where or other professing the true Christian Religion as long as the World shall last yet what solid Proof can be brought that this particular Society of Men who live in Communion with the Pope or Bishop of Rome are alone the true Church and shall always keep and maintain amongst them the true and uncorrupt Doctrine of Jesus Christ This Matter being a Question of Revelation and positive Institution is uncapable of being proved by any Argument drawn from Natural Reason And as for the Texts of Scripture which they alledge it is even ridiculous to think that any sober and unprejudiced Person should be convinced by them as will evidently appear to any one who impartially reads what the Romish and Protestant Divines have written on this Controversie For there are none of those Texts but are fairly and naturally capable of another Interpretation and must be very much strained and wrested to make them countenance the Romish Doctrine Besides that the Divines of the Church of Rome do generally teach That no Man can be sure of the Authority or Sense of any Text of Scripture especially if it appear to be any way doubtful except he receives the Proposal and Interpretation thereof from this their Church which they say is infallible So that a Man must of necessity believe the Infallibility of their Church before he can any way be sure of the Credit or even of the Sense of those Texts of Scripture which they bring to prove it And then What need is there of Scripture-Arguments to prove a thing which must be acknowledged before the Arguments can have any force or even be as much as certainly understood And if they tell me that the Fathers and ancient Christian Writers do testifie thus much of the Church of Rome I can only say that the Protestant Divines who seem to me to be Men of as much Learning and Integrity as the Romish do declare that it is far otherwise Nor have I Skill enough in Language and Antiquity to take upon me to judge of this Dispute Neither do I understand by what Authority the Writings of those Persons who are acknowledged to have been subject to Errours should be obtruded on me as a Rule of my Faith or as a sufficient Argument to determine my Assent in so weighty a Matter Secondly Supposing but not granting that in the Church of Rome the true and pure Doctrine of Jesus Christ was preserved yet still it is granted that particular and private Men who live in the visible Communion of that Church may teach false and corrupt Doctrine Here then I demand How shall I certainly distinguish the Doctrine of the Church from the Opinions of private Men And how shall I certainly know what is the true Meaning of the Church's Doctrine They of the Church of Rome are not agreed who it is that has Authority to declare and expound the Doctrine of their Church whether it be the Pope or a General Council or neither alone but both together Or if they were unanimous in this Point yet how shall I know whether such a particular Person who possesses the Chair be a true and lawful Pope or such a particular Assembly a true and lawful General Council Or Suppose they could satisfie me in this Demand yet there is no Council now sitting nor if there were could I go to them or to the Pope to receive Instruction nor can the Pope or a Council be at leisure to satisfie the Demands of every private Enquirer How then can I be sure that this or that particular Person does both rightly understand and faithfully propose the Doctrine of the Church to me Especially since
in Scripture as Joyned together in one Society or Body which is called the Church of which Christ Jesus is the chief or Head and under an obligation to live in communion and fellowship one with another under those Laws and Constitutions which Christ has given them but not that I can find in Scripture obliged to joyn with or submit to any one person as the Vicar of Christ and the visible Head of the Church upon Earth For if Christ had appointed any such person as his Deputy upon Earth he must either have declared a matter of such consequence with great plainness and evidence or else it would be very hard to find fault with any man for being mistaken in it Whereas the Arguments which those of the Church of Rome bring to prove either that such a Vicar there must be or that St. Peter the Apostle was the Man or that the Pope or Bishop of Rome and not the Bishop of Antioch is the Successour of St. Peter both in his Bishoprick and Authority are all so weak and precarious so forced and perplexed and so fully confuted by the Protestant Divines that nothing in my Opinion but Blindness of Understanding or worldly Interest can prevail with the Members of that Church still to insist upon them Now that Christ instituted but one Church in which all true Believers and good livers are for ever to be comprised is very plain And altho through the Mistakes and Perverseness of Man this Church is rent and divided into opposite and contending parts and parties yet this does not hinder but that according to its true and primitive Constitution it is or ought to be one as a Kingdom or Common-wealth by its Laws and Constitutions is but one Society altho there may arise Factions and different Interests in it nor shall any Man be esteemed as a Member of the Church before God who is not ready and willing according to the best of his power and knowledge to maintain the Unity of it and that upon those very Terms and none other which Christ has appointed as near as possibly he can find and apprehend them Moreover that all the Laws and Constitutions on which Christ has founded the Church and by which he would have it regulated are exactly agreeable unto the Rules of sound Morality and the Will of God cannot be so much as doubted and therefore it is truly said that the Church is Holy altho every particular Member thereof has both his frailties and his sins which yet he must repent of and so become holy as the Church is holy or else he violates one of the main and fundamental Laws and so becomes as it were an Out-law of the Church and forfeits his part in all the Privileges that belong unto that Society And whereas before the coming of Christ the People of Israel did enjoy more of the Favour of God and had greater privileges and advantages on the score of their being God's chosen and peculiar People than any or all other Nations of the World The Gospel of Christ on the contrary now looks upon all as equally entitled unto God's Favour and the advantages thereon depending who take care duly to qualifie themselves for it So that whereas formerly the Church that is the chosen People of God might have been said to be particular as being in a manner limited to one Nation or People now on the contrary it is Catholick that is to say universal as being no way confined to one place or Nation all People being equally chosen by God in Christ who will receive and love according to the Gospel 41. In those several Revelations which God was pleased to make of himself after the Fall of Man unto Adam to Abraham and to the People of Israel there was still a plain intimation given them that in the time to come there should an extraordinary Person arise in the World who should yet more clearly make known the Will of God to Mankind But when Christ who was That Person did accordingly come and send his Apostles to preach the Gospel over all the Earth he neither suggested to them nor they unto the World that any other Revelation was ever after to be expected But always gave them to understand that God had in the Gospel compleated and finished all that declaration which he intended to make of Himself or his Will unto Mankind until the general Judgment and Dissolution of the World If therefore the Holy Scripture had given me no manner of assurance of the perpetuity of the Church my own Reason would have been enough to make me conclude that God in his Providence will so order the matter as that the Christian Religion being the only known and ordinary means of eternal Salvation shall never be wholly extinguished while the World lasts so as to stand in need of any new Revelation to revive and restore it But that there shall always be a certain Company of Men evidently conspicuous to the World teaching and professing the true Christian Religion without any Errour or Corruption in Doctrine or Worship is what I can no where find promised or foretold either by Christ or any of his Apostles On the contrary there are several passages in the New Testament which do plainly seem to foretell that in process of time most pernicious Doctrines and practices should prevail and take place even amongst the generality of those who should profess themselves to be Disciples of Christ And whosoever shall but lightly compare the state of Christianity for several Centuries before the Reformation with that Draught of it which is left us by Christ and his Apostles in the Holy Scriptures must if he be impartial I think be fully convinced of the truth of those Predictions 42. Whether or no God has or does at any time communicate or bestow any extraordinary Grace or Assistance upon those who are no visible Members of the Church but altogether strangers unto that Revelation which he has made of himself is a question which the virtuous lives and heroick actions of some brave Heathens make it hard positively to determine in the negative But that he will give so much Grace and strength to every one who shall become a Member of Christ's Church as that thereby they may if the fault be not their own sufficiently qualifie themselves for eternal Happiness by the performance of those things which he requires on their part to be done is what I think no man can doubt of who does but in general consider the Mercy and Love which God designed even unto all men but more especially unto the Church in sending our Saviour Christ Jesus into the world altho there were not any particular Promises of this nature in the Gospel And that this Grace and ability to do good is in Scripture ascribed unto the Ministry and Influence of the Holy Ghost upon the hearts and minds of true Believers is plain and generally owned by all Christians But that this
least that what I have here done may move some more able and Judicious Person to take the Work in hand and supply those Defects of which I have been guilty THE CONTINUATION OF A Gentleman's Religion Being the Second PART 1. THE Holy Scriptures being the only authentick Record that I am able to find of the Christian Religion I take it for granted that they do express Divine Matters really and truly as the things are in themselves And therefore I cannot but believe that all the Doctrin therein delivered is most-certainly true altho many times I am not able to understand the Design and. Meaning of some Expressions and Passages which do occur therein I think it indeed to be very proper that Men of any reasonable Learning and Prudence should modestly offer their Thoughts to the World in order to the explaining of such Places of the Scriptures as appear to be abstruse and difficult But he who speaks his own Words and not those of Scripture can therein only offer his own Apprehensions to which no Man can be obliged to subscribe any farther than as he is in his own Reason convinced of the Truth of them and their Consonancy with the Scriptures 2. I do not apprehend that an implicit Faith is due to the Church of Rome which challenges it Part 1. § 21. much less sure to any other Church which does not require it When therefore any Church much more when any private Men do offer me any Doctrin of Religion in their own Words I think I ought to consider First Whether what they say is intelligible For tho we may be obliged to believe such things as are above our Understanding to comprehend Part 1. § 33. yet it is impossible for any Man to give an explicit Assent to any Form of Words if he does not Know the meaning of them Secondly Whether it is agreeable to the self-evident Principles of Reason for If I apprehend it to be otherwise it is impossible for me to believe it Part 1. § 33. Nor must any Text of Scripture be interpreted above the Level of plain and self-evident Reason whatever the literal Sense may seem to be And Thirdly whether the Truth of it can be proved by any solid Argument either from Reason or Scripture for tho a Doctrin be both intelligible and possible yet still it may be false and therefore is not to be believed except it can be proved These Rules I have endeavoured strictly to observe in the Trial of those Doctrins which I am now about to propose and I desire my Reader carefully to make use of the same in the Examination of all that I shall offer unto him But here I must desire him to take notice that I do fuppose him to be well acquainted with the Holy Scriptures and also with the common Arguments upon which the several Parties of Christians do ground and maintain their Opinions And therefore for his Ease as well as my own I shall save my self the Labour of mentioning such Arguments and Places of Scripture as are usually brought to prove those Points which are generally acknowledged by all Christians and even in those Points which are controverted between different Parties I shall ordinarily think it enough to hint at some of those Texts and Arguments which are used on either side of which I can scarce suppose any Man to be ignorant that is but moderately acquainted with the Principles of Christianity and the several Parties that profess it 3. To believe what God makes known and to do what he commands is what all Men call Religion But things that are impossible 't is certain that God requires from no Man Part 1. § 14. When therefore Damnation is denounced in Scripture against those who receive not the Gospel it must needs be understood only of them in whose Power it was to have received it and not of such who are invincibly ignorant either for want of Capacity John 9. 41. or of the means of Knowledge Joh. 15. 22. But for a Man who has both the Capacity and Means of Knowledge through Negligence to continue in Ignorance of God's Will my Reason tells me is a very great Sin besides all those Places of Scripture which do require us diligently to seek after Knowledge 4. That there is a God is sufficiently to be proved from our own Reason and Observation But fully to comprehend his Nature or declare in all Points what he is is by all allowed to be impossible to us 5. That God never had a Beginning I think I have sufficiently concluded Part 1. § 6. And if the holy Scripture had not told me that he is from Everlasting to Everlasting yet my own Reason would have inferred that he is subject to no Decay nor ever shall have an Ending 6. The Nature of every Material Being seems necessarily to imply a Possibility of having its Parts disjoyned and separated one from another and consequently of being dissolved and destroyed And theresore I conclude that the eternal God does not consist of Matter and that Being which is intelligent and does not consist of any material Parts I call a Spirit And this is what I mean when I say that God is a Spirit As for those Expressions the Eyes of the Lord the Arm of the Lord and such like which do occur sometimes in Scripture and seem to imply Bodily Parts it is manifestly obvious that they must be purely metaphorical 7. Our Experience does sufficiently testifie that whatsoever is visible to us is ever material Since therefore God does not consist of Matter I conclude that he is invisible to Mortal Eyes as the Scripture positively declares him to be And all those Texts which seem to say that he has been seen by Man I think must of necessity be interpreted some other way viz. either 1. Of an Angel appearing in a glorious and majestatick manner Or 2. Of the eternal Son of God assuming a Bodily Appearance as after he took our Nature upon him Or 3. Of some visible and extraordinary Signs and Tokens that the invisible God was there present in an extraordinary Manner Or 4. Of those mystical and Hieroglyphical Representations which God has sometimes been pleased to make of himself not to the Senses but to the Imagination and Understanding of his Prophets in their extatick Dreams and Visions 8. Amongst all those things which I can conceive possible to be done i. e. to imply no Contradiction I can find nothing which to me appears more difficult than what God has already done in the Structure of the Universe And therefore I conclude that God can do whatsoever in its self is possible to be done which is what I mean when I say that he is Almighty Nor is there any one sure who will venture to say that God can do such things as imply a Contradiction either in themselves or to his own Nature and Attributes 9. That God who made all things should be ignorant of any thing appears to
A GENTLEMAN's RELIGION In THREE PARTS The 1st contains the Principles of Natural Religion The 2d and 3d. The Doctrins of Christianity both as to Faith and Practice With an Appendix wherein it is proved That nothing contrary to our Reason can possibly be the Object of our Belief But that it is no just Exception against some of the Doctrins of Christianity that they are above our Reason London Printed for A. J. Churchill in Pater noster Row and R Sare at Grays-Inn gate in Holborn 1698. A GENTLEMAN's RELIGION WITH THE Grounds and Reasons of It. IN WHICH The Truth of Christianity in general is vindicated Its Simplicity asserted And some Introductory Rules for the discovering of its particular Doctrines and Precepts are proposed By a Private Gentleman LONDON Printed for A. and J. Churchil at the Black Swan in Pater-noster-Row 1698. A GENTLEMAN'S RELIGION WITH THE Grounds and Reasons Of It. PART I. I. SInce almost all Men however different in other Opinions and Interests have ever agreed in this That there is a God to whose Power all Things are subject That the true Service and Worship of God which is called Religion shall be rewarded with Future Happiness and That the Neglect and Contempt of Religion shall be punished with Future Misery Every Man surely has reason to believe thus much at least That what is so generally and firmly believed may be possibly nay and is probably a Truth And wheresoever there is a possibility and much more where there is a probability of a great Good on the one hand and a great Evil on the other there certainly every Man is contented to enquire into the reality of the thing that he may not miss of the one if it be attainable nor fall into the other if it be avoidable I conclude therefore That it is a very great folly for any Man to give over searching after the True Religion untill he has found it Except he were able to demonstrate either that there is no God or else that there is no Worship or Service due to him II. In all Matters of great and serious Consequence no Man that is wise will act by chance and at random without being able to give some Reason for what he does For he that does any thing and knows not why is more likely to do himself Hurt than Good because there are more Ways to the former than to the latter Since therefore Religion is a thing of the greatest Moment and Importance that can be I conclude that no Man ought to chuse his Religion blindly and by chance but that every Man ought to have some Reason for what he professes Whatever Religion therefore a Man is bred up in from his Youth it certainly is very fit for him when he comes to Years of Discretion to enquire into the Grounds and Reasons of it For otherwise it is not possible for him to know whether he be in the Right or the Wrong in the way to Heaven or Hell III. If there be a God and if he requires any service or worship i. e. any Religion from us it is undoubtedly for this End that it may be a Trial of our Faithfulness and Obedience to him Now whosoever has a mind to prove his Servant whether he will be faithful and obedient he will not give him such dark and intricate Commands as shall puzzle him to find out the meaning of them For how can a Servant approve himself faithful and obedient if he be uncertain what it is that his Master requires from him But he will surely give him such Commands and Directions as are easie enough to be understood however difficult they may be to be enterprized or accomplished I conclude therefore That all the Duties of Religion which God requires of any Man must needs be easie enongh for him to understand however hard they may be to be practised For otherwise Religion would be a Trial rather of a Man's Wit and Cunning than of his Faithfulness and Obedience And therefore also I cannot but conclude That most if not all the Controversies about Religion which at this Day distract the World do not proceed from any Difficulty in or about the Determination of all things necessary in Religion it self but partly from the Pride of some Learned Men who have loved to strat new and difficult Questions and to impose their private Sentiments upon the World that they might be admired for their Wit and Subtilty partly from the Covetousness and Ambition of some whether Learned or Unlearned who have found that their Worldly Interest will be better served by some Doctrins no matter how false and precarious than by others and partly from the Prejudice of most Men who are apt with great Zeal and Eagerness to contend for all those things which from their Childhood they have been taught to have a Reverence for And I farther conclude That whosoever has a sincere desire to embrace True Religion must lay aside Pride Ambition Covetousness and Prejudice which would mis-guide him and follow his sober and unprejudicate Reason which will ever lead him in the right Way IV. There are different sorts or rather degrees of Assurance which Men have concerning Things Some things are evident of themselves without any Proof some things we are assured of by the Testimony of our senses some things we receive as Truths because we find them to follow from other Truths already received and some things we believe only upon the Testimony of others Moreover some things we are persuaded of without any Doubt or Diffidence whereas other things do seem at best to be but likely or probable and that too in a different degree according as their Evidence is stronger or weaker Now every sober Man where he has certain Evidence of a thing there he acts with Assurance where the Matter is but probable there he proceeds with Caution But where a Man is under a Necessity of doing one way or other and where the Matter appears doubtful on both sides there it becomes him to weigh the Reasons on both parts with due Consideration and according as he finds the greater Probability to be on the one hand rather than the other so to square his Actions accordingly Since therefore every Man must necessarily either live religiously or not live religiously I conclude that if upon a serious Consideration of the matter there appear to be more probable Reasons and Arguments for Religion than against it every wise and sober Man must embrace Religion This I say not but that I think there are even demonstrative Arguments for Religion and not so much as one probable one against it But because that which to me seems demonstrative to another may appear but probable I thought it fit to note That every Man in point of common Prudence is obliged to follow Religion if it does but appear more likely and probable to him than Irreligion V. Whether it is possible for any Agent to produce a new
that way which he thinks to be the truest from hence it will follow That two Men who are contrary one to another in the Point of Religion may yet both be in the right Way to Heaven and a Turk or a Heathen may be saved as well as a Christian if they are but strongly persuaded that they are in the right I answer First That if the Objection means that I leave every Man to his own Reason and Understanding without any other help to find out the Trut of Religion it is a mistake For I have asserted That every Man according to the Measure of his Learning ought to make use of all the Means and Helps he can to understand the Scriptures and the Will of God See § 14. and § 25. But if the Meaning be That I leave every Man to chuse that Religion which after a serious Enquiry appears to him to be the best which is all that I contend for In this I say no more than what all Men must and do say as well as I. For either a Man must never enquire into the Truth of his Religion at all and then he chuses his Religion by mere chance and since there are many false Religions and but one true 't is great odds but he lights upon a wrong one Or if he does enquire either he must chuse that which he thinks not to be the best and then he acts against his Conscience or that which he thinks is the best Which is what I assert and what every Man of Sense professes himself to do Secondly As there are many Differences in the Notions and Sentiments of Men concerning those things which are in some measure abstruse and obscure so on the other side there are many things so apparent and evident that Men who are sincere and unbyassed if they have but common Sense can never differ about them Amongst which I think I may reckon all those things which God requires of necessity to any Man's Salvaton § 3. And whereas the World has for these many Years found that compelling Men to this or that Religion contrary to their own Sentiments has been so far from begetting Unity of any sort that on the contrary it has even distracted Mankind not only with Variety of Opinions each Party taking a delight to thwart other but also with War and Confusion If every Man were left to himself to follow what Religion he pleases as he shall answer to God for his Sincerity it is very probable that most Men having no Worldly Interest to serve by this or that Religion would in time be brought to agree in all the great and necessary Truths of Religion which are plain and evident to every sober and inquisitive Person And as for things not absolutely necessary and of an inferiour sort as I have said § 26. if Men would be but peaceable their Mistakes and consequently their Differences about them could do no great harm But if Men will still differ even about the essential and necessary Parts of Religion I know no Remedy for it upon Earth but must refer the Matter wholly to the Judgment of God in Heaven Thirdly I do not maintain That he who is in an Errour that is a Turk or an Heathen whatsoever the strength and sincerity of his Persuasion may be is in as sure a Way to Heaven and Salvation as he who is an Orthodox-Man and a Christian How God will deal with those that are mistaken and cannot help it I do not determine All that I would insinuate § 14. is That he will not punish any Man for any Errour or Mistake which he falls into through a pure Desect of his Understanding and not through any Fault or Neglect of his Will But how far he will reward such a Person for his good Meaning is more than I can tell XXXV Fourthly It may be objected That this Doctrine does in effect undermine and enervate the Force and Power of all Civil Government by opening a Way for all Malefactors to escape Punishment how great soever their Crimes may be If such a Person should plead thus for himself That he was fully persuaded in his Mind and Conscience that it was the Will of God that he should commit such a Thest or Murther of which he is accused and that therefore according to this Doctrine it was his Duty in the sight of God to act according to this Persuasion The Magistrate who knows not the Hearts of Men can never be able certainly to discover but that this is a real Truth that he was so persuaded And if every Man in all the Duties of Religion is bound to act according to his own Sense and Persuasion of Things with what Conscience can a Magistrate punish such a Person for that Fact which for ought he knows it was his Duty to commit I will not say but that it may so fall out that a Man may think it to be his Duty to commit the most horrid Villanies since Jesus Christ himself assures his Disciples That the Time would come that whoso killed them would think he did God Service Joh. 16. 2. And how far God Almighty will be merciful unto such Persons who commit such Facts out of pure Ignorance and not out of Malice I had rather St. Paul should determine than I. See 1 Tim. 1. 13. But to the Objection I think it sufficient to answer That the Civil Magistrate as well as other Men is bound to act according to the clearest Conviction and strongest Persuasion of his own Mind If therefore upon the Examination of all Circumstances he be well satisfied and really believes that such a Plea from a Malefactor is no real Truth but only a mese Trick and Pretence in hopes to escape Punishment he ought to take no notice of it but to pronounce his Sentence according to the Law But that which comes up close to the Objection and which I think is the fullest and truest Answer is this viz. That the Civil Magistrate has nothing to do to enquire or regard how the Matter stands between God and the Conscience of the Transgressor of the Law of the Land so as to be thereby any way influenced in the Passing his Judgment It is enough to him if he be well and throughly convinced that the Laws by which he acts are no way contrary to the known Law of God There are many Cases wherein a Man offends highly against the Law of God in which the Civil Magistrate has no Power to inflict any Punishment on the Offender because the Fault which he may have committed does not it may be any way tend to the damage or disturbance of the Civil Society Which and which only is committed to the Care of the Magistrate Such for Example are many Acts of Covetousness or of Prodigality and other Sins against which it is not possible to provide by any Humane Laws And on the other side There are some Cases wherein a Man may stand absolved before the
and directed me where and how to seek for the particular Doctrines of it it follows now that I should put this Speculation into Practice that I would search the Scriptures with all the diligence I can and set my Mind with all its Faculties on work to find out as much as I am able of the Will of God that I may the better conform my self unto it This with God's help I design speedily to do And the Result of my Thoughts shall be published to the World if what I here write prove acceptable But in the mean time I think it not improper here to add some general Considerations which may serve as Rules and Guides to me or to any other Person who shall set himself upon such an Enquiry to direct our Judgments aright to the true Doctrine of Christianity and to keep us from all Mistakes about it XL. First Then I take it for granted That the Christian Religion is calculated for Men of Reason and Understanding that is That it is fit to satisfie and convince every sober Man who seriously considers the Arguments on which it relies and is not led astray by Passion by Prejudice or Worldly Interest That this is so appears very evidently from hence Because both Jesus and his Appostles do appeal to the common Reason and Understandings of Men to judge of what they taught Yea and why even of your selves judge ye not what is right says Jesus Luk. 12. 57. Prove all things hold fast that which is good says St. Paul 1 Thes 5. 21. Be ready always to give an Answer to every one that asketh you a Reason of the Hope that is in you says St. Peter 1 Pet. 3. 15. Believe not every Spirit but try the Spirits whether they are of God says St. John 1 Joh. 4. 1. Hence then I conclude That there can be nothing in Christian Religion which contradicts the clear and evident Principles of Natural Reason For otherwise a Rational Man could not be a Christian See § 33. XLI Secondly It appears plain to me that Christian Religion was calculated not only nor chiefly for Men of great and deep Learning But also for those of ordinary plain and mean Capacities That is to say That there is nothing necessary in Christianity but what may be as well understood by every ordinary illiterate Man as by the greatest Schollars If this were not so it would not be possible for an unlearned Man to be as good a Christian as one that is learned Whereas the contrary is most apparently declared in the New Testament I thank thee O Father because thou hast hid these things from the Wise and Prudent and hast revealed them unto Babes says Jesus Matth. 11. 25. To which the Words of St. Paul do exactly agree 1 Cor. 1. 19. to Vers 7. of the Second Chapter And the same St. Paul gives us a Caution That Philosophy should not corrupt our Christianity Col. 2. 8. And warns Timothy against Science falsely so called 2 Tim. 6. 20. But there is nothing so much as intimated throughout the whole Bible that Philosophy or any other Humane Learning will qualifie a Man ever the better to become a Christian I confess indeed That as things stand at this time in the World it is highly convenient that the Teachers and Preachers of Christianity should be competently skilled in Humane Learning that they may be the better able to defend their Religion and the Purity of it against those who use so much Art and Skill either to corrupt or oppose it But where a Man sets up not for a Teacher but only for a true Believer it is evident from what has been said that he has no need of Scholarship but only of a plain and sober Understanding to make him capable of all necessary Instruction for a good Christian Or else Why should the Gospel be preached so particularly to the Poor Matth. 11. 5. who are commonly illiterate And how should the Poor in this World become so rich of Faith as St. James tells us Jam. 2. 5. From whence I think I may conclude That all such Doctrines the Vnderstanding and Proof whereof depend either on the subtile Spcculations of Humane Philosophy or the Niceties and Criticisms of Grammatical Learning or the curious Knowledge of History and Antiquity are not to be esteemed as necessary Parts of Christianity XLII Thirdly It is no less evident to me that the main Design of Jesus and of his Disciples whom he sent to preach the Gospel was to make Men not wiser as to Matters of Speculation but better and more vertuous as to their Lives and Actions Knowledge puffeth up but Charity edisieth saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 8. 1. Thus also Chap. 13. of the same Epistle he gives us to understand that the Gift of Tongues and of Prophecy the Understanding of all Mysteries and all Knowledge and Faith are of no value before God without Charity And that by Charity he means a Life led in the Practice of Vertue and Piety susficiently appears by the Sequel of that Chapter The same St. Paul tells us Tit. 2. 13. That the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all Men For what End To make them more wise more learned or more losty in their Speculations No such thing But teaching us That denying Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live soberly righteously and Godly in this present World And to omit a multitude of Texts which might be alledged in so plain a Matter I shall only add what we are told Rom. 2. 6 c. That God will render unto every Man according to his Deeds c. Which is a plain Demonstration that it is our Deeds that is our Practices our Live and Conversations that we are chiefly obliged to take care of I grant indeed that God may if he pleases command things that are purely Ceremonial and such as have no manner of Influence upon Vertue and Morality As undoubtedly he did unto the Children of Israel And if he does command any such things 't is certain that we owe Obedience to them by virtue of that Authority which God has over us He may also reveal such Truths as are merely speculative and have nothing practical in them And whosoever is convinced of any such Revelation is undoubtedly bound to give his Assent to the things so revealed although they are beyond the Reach of his Understanding as I have said § 33. But from what I have here said I think I may conclude That since Vertue and Morality are undoubtedly the chief Design of Christianity they ought to be chiefly regarded and attended to by all Christians Nor ought any thing which is purely Ceremonial or Speculative to be reckoned as a necessary Part of Christian Religion except it appears very evidently that God has revealed or commanded it Very evidently I say For when a thing is conceived in dark and doubtful Expressions it is very liable to be mistaken and he that is
to be a person wonderful a Counsellour the mighty God the Prince of Peace of the increase of whose Government there should be no end and unto whom the gathering of the Nations should be Now altho there may some Difficulties be started as to the Interpretation of some of those and such like Prophecies which do occurr in the Old Testament which is no great wonder considering how the Jews who are enemies to Christianity have endeavoured to obscure and perplex them yet if we do consider that there is evidently a fair consonant and reasonable Application of all these Predictions to be made unto Jesus of Nazareth and that there is not nor ever was any other person to whom they could be applied besides himself and since it is not possible for any one but God to foretell a thing with so many circumstances so long before it comes to pass I think I may very well from hence conclude not only against the Jews who acknowledge but also against all others who may perhaps at first deny the Authority of the Old Testament that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ or Messiah whom God had promised to send into the World And if to this we add the greatness of his Miracles and the transcendent Goodness of his Doctrine of which see Part 1. § 19 I think the Argument will have the force of a Demonstration 37. In the Holy Scriptures I find such things spoken of Christ as do plainly shew him to have been a true and real Man in all things like unto us sin only excepted Other Expressions also I find frequently applyed to him which cannot possibly agree to any Man or created Being whatsoever but only unto God as I have already said § 22. And altho there is a plain Distinction made between his Divine and Humane Nature yet is he always spoken of but as one person Here then I know not better how to express my Sentiments than by saying that in the one and single Person of Christ there is a Conjunction of both the Divine and Humane Nature and consequently that Christ is really and truly both God and Man And if the same Objection be made against this Doctrine as is against that of the Trinity viz. that it is very obscure and difficult to be apprehended I shall also return the same Answer as I have already done to that in the latter end of § 23. to which I refer my Reader 38. He who acknowledges Christ to be God to be sure will allow of his eternal Existence as to his Divine Nature And as to what concerns his Humane Nature that he was Conceived by the Power of the Holy Ghost Born of the Virgin Mary and that after some years spent in preaching and doing good he was thro the Malice of the Jews and at their vehement desire condemned by Pilate the Roman Governour to be crucified which was accordingly done and a Spear thrust into his Side That being dead he was buried and lay in the Sepulcher unto the third day upon which he rose from the dead and aster several times conversing with his Disciples for the space of Forty days that he was visibly taken up from them and received into Heaven unto infinite and eternal Glory where he is our perpetual Mediatour and Intercessour at the Throne of God All this I say is so evidently and without Controversy testified by his Disciples whose Veracity I have asserted Part 1. § 19 and recorded in the Scriptures of the New Testament whose Authority I have proved Part 1. § 23. c that no reasonable Man I think can now deny or so much as doubt of any part of it And altho there are one or two passages of Scripture from whence it is inferred that Christ before his Resurrection did descend into Hell yet will I not venture nor do I think it necessary to determine whether by the word Hell is meant the state of the dead only or the place of the damned or if the latter signification be to be chosen for what end and purpose it was that he descended thither Only I conclude certainly that it was not to suffer any thing there because I do not find the least intimation throughout the Scripture of any suffering of Christ which he did or was to endure beyond the shedding of his Blood and yielding up his life upon the Cross 39. What God might have done had he so pleased without any other consideration but only by virture of his own absolute Authority if he has rather chosen to do it for the sake of Jesus Christ and in consideration of that Obedience which he performed and those Sufferings which he underwent who shall dare to find fault with him or pretend to be wiser than he Now that it is for the sake of Christ and of his Obedience and Sufferings that God vouchsafes to us the Pardon of our Sins and makes us the offer of everlasting Happiness is so plainly declared in many places of the Holy Scriptures that nothing can be more And since I find God's sending of Christ to be set forth as an instance of his Love not to some few particular persons only but even to the whole World and since Christ is said to have died for all and to have been a Propitiation for the sins of the World without any exception I cannot but conclude that all men who ever were or are or shall be might have been or may be the better for Christ and his Sufferings if through their own default they have not or shall not forfeit that Benefit which was designed them And as it is not disputed but that the ancient Patriarchs who by Faith foresaw the coming of Christ had a share in that Redemption which he wrought altho they died before he came into the World so to me it seems to stand with a great deal of reason that even those persons who never heard any thing of Christ may yet for his sake find Mercy from God because God who perfectly knows the most secret Inclinations of all Hearts may clearly foresee that if the knowledge of Christ had been proposed and offered unto them they would have owned him and submitted unto his Gospel which our Saviour tells us was the very case of Tyre and Sidon and for which reason he declares that they should receive a milder Doom than Chorazin and Bethsaida in the day of Judgment Mat. 11. 21 22. And how far this may extend to all such as labour under very strong Prejudices altho not strictly invincible I think that God is the only proper Judge 40. But however God may think fit to deal with those who are either ignorant of or strongly prejudiced against the Christian Religion yet the manner of his proceeding with true Believers is plainly enough declared All those who receive and own the Christian Faith are not to be looked upon as so many separate persons each of them believing such and such Doctrines but are always represented
seem but a slight and inconsiderable thing yet since our Saviour Christ has expressly appointed and commanded it and since his Apostles were always most careful to perform it insomuch that even they who had received the extraordinary Gift of the Holy Ghost from Heaven were yet required to be Baptized in order to become visible Members of the Church This Ceremony I think ought not to be left off or discontinued Altho whether it be performed by dipping the Body under the Water or by sprinkling the Water upon it to me seems to be altogether indifferent and to be regulated only by Prudence or the Custom of particular places For neither does the word Baptize signifie any more than to Wash which may be done either way nor does it appear that the Apostles dipped all those whom they baptized Moreover since sprinkling as well as dipping may sufficiently denote the washing and cleansing of the Soul from sin and since Baptism is not expressly in the Holy Scripture determined to either of these ways to the exclusion of the other I conclude that God has left the matter so far indifferent to us and to be ordered according to Prudence as the Circumstances of things and persons shall at any time direct And as long as the Substance and Design of his Command is carefully retained I see no necessity of being so very solicitous about a Circumstance of it except it could evidently be made appear that he had appointed and determined it 53. Since then Baptism is as the Entrance or Door of Admittance into the Church of Christ it will follow that all they and they only who are duly qualified to be Members of his Church are fit to have Baptism administred to them If any person has been brought up out of the Chucrh until he comes to years of understanding and knowledge he is then and only then qualified to be a Member of the Church when having repented of all his former sins he believes and owns that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and consequently receives and professes that Faith and Doctrine which he has taught and authorized and obliges himself to live according to all those Laws and Rules which he has prescribed to us this being the very Condition which our Saviour indespensably requires from his Church and every Member of it according as they are capable of performing it But if a Child be born of Christian Parents or is so in the hands of Christian Guardians as that it is in their power to bring him up in the true Religion and they do promise and engage so to educate him such a Child as this even before he comes to any knowledge of things is yet qualified to be a Member of the Church of Christ upon the presumption that he will perform what God requires from him when he comes to be capable of it and so to continue if by Apostacy or wickedness he does not in process of time separate himself again from it For this beyond dispute was the case of In sants before the coming of Christ who at eight days old if Males were to be Circumcised and thereby admitted into the Church of God and within his Covenant if they were either the Sons or Servants born in the House of believing persons and who as well as their Parents are expressly said to enter into Covenant with God which is but another expression for becoming of his Church And no one surely will offer to say that the Case of Infants is made worse than it was by our Saviours coming into the World especially since he has expressly commanded that little Children should come unto him and not be forbidden for that of such is the Kingdom that is the Church of God I conclude therefore that not only adult persons who make a due profession of their Faith and Repentance but also such Infants as are in a way of being brought up in the Christian Religion are without any Obstacle to be admitted to Baptism 54. There are some passages in the New Testament which seem plainly to suggest to us that it was a constant Custom with the Apostles of Christ to lay their Hands upon all such as had been Baptized which laying on of Hands was undoubtedly accompanied with Prayer to God in order to their receiving the Gifts and Graces of the Holy Spirit of God But that this was a thing positively prescribed and commanded I do not find clearly proved And therefore altho I dare not hastily condemn those particular Churches where this same Custom is disused or intermitted yet since the Grace and Assistance of the Holy Ghost in order to the leading of a good life and obtaining eternal Happiness is for ever continued unto the Church as I have said Part 2. § 42. and therefore ought ever to be sought for altho the working of Miracles and speaking of all Languages without learning them be ceased from amongst us I cannot but conclude that the laying on of Hands upon persons that have been baptized together with Prayer to God for their growth and continuance in Grace which is commonly called Confirmation is a prudent and godly Custom and ever fit to be continued in the Church 55. As every particular Man whatsoever is obliged in his own private person to honour and worship God so the Church being a Society incorporated for the better serving of God is under an Obligation to do the same in her associated capacity that is to say to assemble together for his worship And because the whole Number of Christians which are dispersed over the Face of the Earth are not capable of meeting together in one place the Universal Church therefore lies under a necessity of subdividing it self into particular Churches and those again into particular Congregations according as they find to be most convenient for the pursuing that same end for which they are so incorporated Moreover since all these particular Churches and Congregations are still or ought to be but Parts and Members of that One Catholick Church which our Saviour Christ has appointed and founded it follows that none of them ought to constitute or act any thing amongst themselves which may give a just occasiou for the breaking of that Union and Concord which he designed and has commanded always to be maintained amongst them But on the contrary Matters ought every where so to be ordered as that if a Member of any one particular Church should travel into any other part of the World he may meet with nothing in any Christian Congregation where he comes which justly should be a hinderance to him from assembling or communicating with it 56. The particular acts to be performed in these Christian Assemblies are all such as tend to the Edification of the People in Virtue and Godliness which is the design of their Incorporation and consequently to the promoting of each mans eternal Salvation which is the end that every Christian is supposed to pursue All which are
and spend overmuch of his Time and Labour in getting a Living for himself and his Family 71. I have now gone through what I at first designed and have not that I know of omitted any one thing which I could judge to be a material or necessary part of Religion Altho I have on purpose endeavoured to avoid the use of some Words which do frequently occur in all or most Systems of Divinity that I have met with And the reason why I have so done is not that I find fault with the Words themselves but because I would have my Reader take notice that Religion does not consist in Terms of Art or forms of expression but in the belief and practice of such things as God has made known and requires from us And it is too common among Men to wrangle about Words before they have clearly fixed and agreed upon the meaning of them I have not for example made use of this Term Justification But yet I have endeavoured to shew upon what conditions a sinner obtains the Pardon of his sins and Mercy at the hand of God which is the same thing Nor have I said any thing of the nature or number of Sacraments But I have spoken what I thought might be necessary concerning Baptism the Holy Communion and those other things which the Church of Rome calls by that name And if once I am satisfied touching any thing how far God requires it from us and whether or no it be necessary to Salvation I cannot see why I should trouble my self much in enquiring whether such a thing may properly be called a Sacrament or not which to me seems no more but a dispute about the meaning of a Word True indeed it is that in the Doctrine of the Trinity which I have delivered Part 2. § 22. I have expressly made use of the Terms person substance c. because I could find none others so fit and proper to express my Thoughts Nor durst I venture in so sublime a matter to apply new Words to those things of which I can have but very imperfect and obscure Conceptions And having thus said all that I intend upon this occasion I freely submit the Whole to the Judgment and Censure of every Reader leaving him to that liberty which I my self always desire to enjoy and being ready to retract any thing that I have said whensoever I am convinced that I have been therein mistaken Books Printed for Richard Sare THe Fables of Esop with Morals and Reflections Folio Erasmus Colloquies in English 8o. Quevedo's Visions 8o. These 3 by Sir Roger L'Estrange The Genuine Epistles of St. Barnabas St. Ignatius St. Clement St. Polycarp the Shepherd of Hermas c. Translated and published in English 8o. A Practical Discourse concerning Swearing 8o. The Authority of Christian Princes over Ecclesiastical Synods in Answer to a Letter to a Convocation Man 8o. Sermons on several Occasions 4o. These by Dr. Wake Epictetus's Morals with Simplicius's Coment 8o. A Sermon Preached upon the Death of the Queen Both by Mr. George Stanhope The Doctrine of a God and Providence vindicated and asserted 8o. Discourses on several Divine Subjects 8o. These two by Thomas Gregory Lecturer of Fulham Dr. Gregory's Divine Antidote in Answer to an Heretical Pamphlet Entituled an End to the Socinian Controversy 8o. Essays upon several Moral Subjcts in two parts by Jeremy Collier M. A. 8o. Compleat Sets consisting of 8 Volumes of Letters writ by a Turkish Spy who lived 45 Years at Paris undiscovered giving an account of the Principal Affairs of Europe 12º Humane Prudence or the Art by which a man may raise himself and Fortune to Grandure 12o. Moral Maxims and Reflections written in French by the Duke of Rochfoucault now Englished 12o. Of the Art both of writing and judging of History with Reflections upon Ancient as well as Modern Historians By Father Le Moyne 12o. An Essay upon Reason by Sir George Mackenzie 12o. Death made comfortable or the way to dye well By John Kettlewel 12o. The Parson's Counsellor or the Law of Tyths By Sir Simon Degg 8o. The Unlawfulness of Bonds of Resignation 8o. Price 6 d. An Answer to all the Excuses and Pretences which Men ordinarily make for their not coming to the Holy Sacrament 8o. Price 3 d. by a Divine of the Church of England Remarks on a Book Entituled Prince Arthur an Heroick Poem by Mr. Denis 8o. FINIS AN APPENDIX TO A GENTLEMEN's RELIGION In which it is Proved That nothing contrary to our Reason can possibly be the Object of our Belief But that it is no just Exception against some of the Doctrines of Christianity that they are above our Reason LONDON Printed for R. Sare at Grays-Inn-Gate in Holbourn 1698. AN APPENDIX TO A Gentleman's Religion 1. HOW those Persons who take unto themselves the distinguishing Name of Vnitarians do dissent from the main Body of Christians of whatsoever Church or Perswasion touching the Doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation of our Saviour Christ is so well known that I need not here offer to open or explain in the Terms of the Controversie which is managed between them Now when in this Dispute the Vnitarians are prest with some passages of Scripture which seem very evidently to make against them besides other ways which they have to avoid the force of them they commonly have recourse to the nature of the thing controverted and press their Adversaries back again with this demand How such a thing can possibly be And when to this it is reply'd That there is evidently no Contradiction to sound Reason in the Doctrines themselves and that the Truth of them ought ot be believed upon the Authority of God who hath revealed them But that the manner of them is utterly above and altogether incomprehensible to our finite and narrow Understandings and therefore not to be enquired after In return to this there are some who maintain that if these Doctrines were not contrary to Reason yet this alone is a sufficient cause to reject them that they are confessedly above it For of that which is above our Reason say they we can form no true Conception or Idea and it is absurd or rather impossible for a Man to believe that which he cannot clearly and plainly so much as conceive or apprehend 2. For the right stating and clearing of this whole Controversie I have given such hints in the Gentleman's Religion Part 1. Sect. 33. Part 2. 22 23 37. as I thought to be most fit for Men of ordinary Capacity and most suitable to that brevity which I all along defigned But in this Appendix I shall address my self unto those who are of a more refined Understanding and accustomed to a more exact way of thinking and try if I can give them any satisfaction in a Matter which seems to be not a little perplexed perhaps by the overmuch Curiosity of some of both the contending Parties 3. That our Knowledge of things is
the Scripture To this I might answer That there are several Passages in the Scripture it self which do give us to understand that the whole Law and Will of God as far as it is needful for Man to know them are contained in those holy Writings as the Protestant Divines do sufficiently make appear in the Management of this Controversie against the Papists But waving this I think it is enough to say That it is not indeed impossible in it self but that Jesus might have made known other Particulars of Doctrine and of the Will of God besides what is consigned to us by the Scripture And if any Man can effectually prove that any such Doctrine or Precept was delivered by him I think that whosoever is convinced of the Proof ought to believe that Doctrine and obey that Precept which appear to be so delivered But he that does his hearty and sincere Endeavour to find out the Doctrine and Will of God delivered to Man by Jesus and is not able with all his Diligence to discover any more of it than what is recorded in the Scripture if he faithfully keeps and observes as much of it as he is able there to discover it is plain that God requires no more from him § 14. and therefore certainly will not punish him for want of any thing farther XXXIII Secondly It may be objected That in Reading these Books there do appear to be some Passages which are in themselves absurd and contrary to the plain Dictates of every Man's Reason and Understanding and some which are irreconcileable with one another Now that the Doctrine of Jesus is certainly true must be allowed because it is confirmed by God That both parts of a Contradiction cannot be true is acknowledged by all Men And no Man I think can own that for a Truth which is contrary to the plain Dictates of his Reason and Understanding which to every Man is and must be the Standard of all Truth whatsoever For there can be no Reason why any Man receives and owns any thing for a Truth but only because he apprehends it to be conformable unto the plain and self-evident Notions which are already planted in his Mind Here then it may be demanded how it canbe possible that these Scriptures should contain the true and uncorrupted Doctrine and Religion of Jesus To this I answer First That I cannot find any appearance of a Contradiction throughout the Holy Scriptures in any Point of Doctrine or Rule of Manners but what is so easie and obvious to be reconciled that no Man I think of Candour and Ingenuity but would be ashamed to object it Secondly And as for those few seeming Discordances which do occurr in the Circumstances of some Historical Narrations though I perhaps am not able to reconcile them yet it may be that the things themselves may not be absolutely irreconcilable But suppose they were yet it is no derogation to the Truth of the History as to the main substance of it or of the Doctrine contained in the holy Scriptures that some of the Sacred Writers have been mistaken in the Relation of some small and inconsiderable Circumstances There are several Historians and Chroniclers which give an Account of the Life and Reign of many of our Kings of England and although they differ in many Circumstances of things yet this was never made an Argument to doubt of the Truth of the main History wherein they all agree And why may not the Scripture-Historians be as favourably censured as all other Historians in the World are Thirdly There are many things which are above my Reason and Understanding which I cannot comprehend in my Mind nor frame a clear and distinct Notion of which yet I cannot say are contrary to my Reason Because though they are above my reach yet I do not find that they do contradict any of those plain and self-evident Principles which are implanted in my Understanding For Example I am not able distinctly to apprehend how the smallest Particle of Matter which can be assigned is yet in it self capable of being for ever divided so that no part of Matter though ever so small can ever be so much as convinced to be absolutely invisible And yet this is so far from being contrary to my Reason that my Reason it self does fully satisfie me that the thing is so though I am not able to comprehend the manner of it The same thing also may be said concerning the necessity of some thing being without any Beginning of which see § 5 6. Now if I meet with any thing in Scripture which is thus above my Reason but not contrary to it I cannot refuse my Assent unto it I mean always upon a Supposition that the Words do appear evidently to carry such a Sense For I cannot conclude such a thing to be impossible Because I do not find it contrary to my Reason though above it And if it be a thing in my Apprehension possible I must believe it to be true when I find that God has declared it so to be Other things again there are which are directly contrary unto those self-evident Notions and Principles which my Reason finds to be connatural with it self For Example That a Part is equal to the Whole and such like Absurdities Now if any such Propositions as these which are contrary to my Reason should occurr to me in Scripture I cannot possibly believe them to be true in a Literal Sense for that were to renounce the clear Dictates of my Reason and Understanding upon which the Certainty of all things which I believe or know is ultimately built and without which I could have no Certainty of the Being of God or the Truth of any Religion and therefore I must needs understand them to be meant figuratively And that Figure which best agrees to such Words according to the most common Custom of Speech and is most conformable to common Sense and Reason I think is always to be preferred I never read any Book to my knowledge but in it I found many Expressions which taken literally and strictly were absurd and ridiculous but taken figuratively as 't is evident they were intended did contain very good Sense and Meaning Since then the Holy Scriptures were written in such Words and Expressions as were commonly used among Men in Speaking and Writing why should we think that strange in them which is so usual in all other Books XXXIV Thirdly It may be objected That this Doctrine which I have taught leaves every Man entirely to his own Reason and Understanding to find out the true Religion and the Way to Heaven Now since there is so great a difference between the Notions and Sentiments of different Men it must needs follow that all Men being left wholly to themselves there must necessarily be great Variety and even Contrariety of Opinions among them concerning Religion And if God requires no more from every Man but to do his best Endeavour and to chuse