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thefe fort of Men before I give a direct Answer. CHA P. They doubt the Principles of the Atheist, and no XVIII. lefs doubt the Principles of the four forts of Deifts as enumerated by Dr. Clark. In short, the Principles of all Religion, Jewish, Mahometan, Pagan, Chriftian, are equal Matter of Doubt to a thorough Sceptick. His Religion is to doubt of all Religion to the End of his Days; and fo long as he continues to do fo, is in as bad, or rather worse State than the Atheist, who rejects them all. This laft acts with fome Confiftence, fins by Maxim and Principle, having no Restraint but the Laws of his Country, and the outward Appearance of falfe variable Honour, without any Difturbance from any religious Principle; and takes care to fkreen himfelf under the fofter Name of Deift, as long as the other Appellation is fhocking and odious in Sound.

BUT the Sceptick neither fays in his heart there is no God, nor fays, there certainly is one he neither denies, nor affirms; and fo has all the Inconveniencies of denying, without any of the Benefits of affirming and ufing. He practices upon no religious principle, Natural, nor Reveal'd: his Principle is ftill to poftpone his intentions of being fatisfied as to the Truth, some time hereafter; a worfe fallacy than deferring Repentance to a Death-bed; for then they have the principle to feek, and be fatisfied whether it is a Duty or not. All the time they fhould be obeying a plain Law for the good of themfelves and the World, they spend in forming Syllogifms about Law, and Obedience;

+ Evidences of Nat. and Reveal'd Rel. p. 19, &c.

and

CHAP. and fo live without Law. If they do any laudXVIII able action, it must be by Chance, or from

fome foreign motive, never out of Defign; there being no fix'd Principle to defign upon, and where that is not, there can be no Virtue; for whatfoever is not of Faith, is Sin. And as they live void of Confiftency, and all Care of themselves, either as to the Principles, or Confequences of their actions, how can the Care of others do them any good, farther than endeavouring to convince them of a folly and abfurdity, that exceeds all that is to be found among moral Agents, I mean Mankind; for they may, perhaps, doubt whether they are moral Agents, or not?

There are two extremes more or less culpable in the Conduct of the Understanding, with regard to Truth. (1). The conduct of most Mens Understanding towards Truth is fo negligent and lofe of Attention, that they take up with the finallest appearances, without distinguishing; they admit into their minds popular difcourfes and pofitions; and to fave the trouble of examination, and be like their Neighbours, take the Truth of them for granted, and almost for facred; they treasure up in their minds a confufed heap of either obfcure, often falfe, mifunderstood, at least, unexamin'd particulars; upon these they reafon and draw conclufions fimilar to the premises; little confidering what they fay or what they mean; they receive bad reafoning daily, and pay it away again and because they think it a diminution to their Understanding to be ignorant of any thing, notwithstanding fo many things are really hid from our knowledge; or to doubt of any thing, tho' fo many others

are

are wrapt up in uncertainty and ambiguity; CHA P. hence it is you converfe with fo many mistaken XVIII. minds, and almost as many pofitive people, who form a rash judgment of what they know confufedly and obfcurely, decide peremptorily what they don't understand, nor have examin'd into.

2. THE Sceptick in order to avoid this too great credulity which he laughs at, runs into the contrary extreme, the worst extravagance of Understanding, a more ridiculous weakness than the former, and, at the fame time, a moft pernicious impudence in denying the Ufe of any Truth in Society, however conftant, useful and indubitable the Truth is; and rather than be at the pains, or bear the requifite attention for feparating mistakes and drofs of error, he foolishly throws the Gold and Truth away together, and fo impoverishes and ftrips his Understanding of that which was made to adorn, and enrich it, preserve and guide it.

THO' they are fo fcrupulous as to carry the doubting Humour to every thing without them, yet it is Madness to doubt their own Existence, or the Truth of what they feel within themfelves; if any thing has a Title to the feeling Senfe of Reality it must be that: but if the Truth of that is allow'd, the Truth of what is without unavoidably follows, becaufe what is without concerns, and is relative to what is within.

THE Disputes among Chriftians are to him no manner of Juftification. For they are nevertheless agreed in practifing upon Fundamentals: but he allows no Certainty even as to them; affects the difputing Humour perpetually, and comes to no Refolution; and therefore being divided be

tween

CHAP.tween two contrary Interests, is distracted, and XVIII. torn in Pieces by his own Doubts, and toffed in

Mind perpetually like a Wave of the Sea, unftable in all his Ways; not having the Satisfaction of following the Lord, in cafe he is God, nor yet of following Baal, in cafe he is the God. And this Vertigo of Opinions, and Vanity of difputing every Thing, takes the Heart quite off from making any Application, or forming any Purpofe of Practice; and thus the whole Life paffes, and evaporates in Speculation, for Speculation fake, without any Thought of the true Ufe of it; with the greatest Diffatisfaction in Life, and, at the fame Time, the leaft Reputation, as being void of all Senfe and good Conduct, robbing himself of the true Ufe of his own Understanding, and of all Benefit of Truth and Knowledge; which is nothing else than, dare operam ut cum ratione infaniat, "to exert his Fa"culties in order to prove himself the most "egregious Fool in the World." There is neither Seed-time, nor Harvest in his Calendar; if it was not for the Faith of his Neighbours he would be ftarved. He runs down all Wine as univerfally fophifticated (tho' he loves it well as it helps to Jefts and Scorn of Religion) be-. cause, in this Country, a great deal is fo. Thus the Scorner feeketh the Wisdom of finding out Cheats, but never findeth it, because he declines or rather fcorns the common diftinguishing Methods of finding; with him all Things are Cheats and what is the fagacious Confequence of all this, but to live the fimile of Co-temporaries, and be remember'd as a painful Tormenter, and ArchDeceiver of himself? So wretched a Seat is the Seat of Scorners! He needs no Hell to revenge the firft; and the latter befpeaks a Madhouse, or

XVIII.

a Fool's Cap. For is not that man defervedly the CHAP. Jeft of all the World, who makes a Jeft of all Truth?

It is impoffible for him to answer to himself, the Hazard he runs ; for, if the Truths of Christianity are but poffible, he acts not wifely; if probable, very imprudently; if certain, his Conduct is most miferable, enthufiaftick, and mad. And as to the Capacity of raifing a Difpute, there is no Honour nor Reputation in it, unless it is the Credit of excelling others in Vain-glory, Perverfenefs of Spirit, and a bad Heart join'd to a good Memory, and voluble Fancy, bent upon the worft Purpose, of unfettling every Thing valuable in human Society; every Thing more or lefs being capable of Difpute, mathematical Demonftration excepted.

Í PROCEED to confider the Objections of thefe Scepticks. The Author of Characteristicks lays his down in thefe Words, "Whoever is not "conscious of Revelation, nor has certain

66

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Knowledge of any Miracle or Sign, can be no

more than Sceptick in the Cafe: And the best "Christian in the World, who being deftitute of "the Means of Certainty, depends only on History "and Tradition for his Belief in thefe Particu"lars, is at beft but a Sceptick Christian." *

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THE Author of Christianity as old, &c. has thefe Words; "That God reveal'd his Will, any way befides the Light of Nature, can 66 only come under the Head of Probability."+ "And as there can be no Demonftration of the

*Vol. III. p. 72.

+ p. 162.

"Re

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