with in many of their modern difciples. Sacrifice was practifed by them, as the effential part of religion, for the expiation of private or national guilt but when the Chriftian facrifice is neglected, and the Heathen facrifices are exploded, nothing remains but a religion without expiation; a thing which never exifted fince the expulfion of Adam from Paradife, till it was begotten of late time in Socinus, and his followers; when Chriftian lukewarmness engendered with the pride and ignorance of gentile philofophy. While we have been confidering the cafe of poets, orators, and artists, how they all stand affected to Heathenifm; I had almost forgotten the philofophers, I mean the natural philofophers, whose fcience for an hundred years paft, hath been claiming kindred with the Heathen divinity. About the year 1680, it was observed by an eminent scholar of that time, that the exact and fcrutinizing Spirit of the school-divinity was become neceffary, in order to detect the pretenfions of fome "who were ready by the study of nature to immerse God in matter, and with thofe impieties of Democritus and Epicurus, to confound him with nature." In the year 1685, Mr. Boyle, in a treatise intitled, "A free Inquiry into the vulgarly received notion of Nature," expreffed an apprehenfion that the fame doctrine was likely to gain ground amongst us; and he gave the alarm to the public in the following emphatic language, which merits well to be confidered. "Nor are Chriftians themselves fo much out of danger of being feduced by thef Heathenish notions about an intelligent world (the stoical anima mundi,) but that even in these times there is lately sprung up a ✅fect of men, as well profeffing Chriftianity as pretending to phi lofophy; who, (if I be not misinformed of their doctrine) do very much fymbolize with the ancient Heathens, and talk much indeed of God, but mean fuch a one as is not really distinct from the animated and intelligent universe; but is on that account very differing from the true God whom we Chriftians believe and worship. And though I find the leaders of this fect to be looked upon by fome more witty than knowing men, as the discoverers of unheard-of mysteries in phyfics and natural theology, yet their hypothefis does not at all appear to me to be new, &c." Then he proceeds to fhew, that this philofophical God, which is not effentially different from Nature, was the Deity of the Heathen philosophers, citing fuch paffages as that of Seneca, Nihil natura fine Deo eft, nec Deus fine natura, fed IDEM eft uterque. How near the expreffions of our Doctor Halley approach to an avowal of this Heathen opinion in his eulogium on the Newtonian philofophy, let any impartial perfon judge, when he has confidered the fenfe of them. And here let me observe by the way, that it is to no purpofe for any man to tell us that these things are popular, and must not be spoken against: they ought to be spoken against for that very reafon; because the whole world does not afford a greafer temptation to error than long eftablished popularity; on which confideration, all men who wish to chain down others to their own favourite errors, are for ever ringing this popularity in their ears. To go on therefore with Doctor Halley, whofe fentiments concerning God and Nature, are communicated in the fol lowing lines: En tibi norma poli, & dive libramina Molis, Computus en Jovis, et quas dum primordia rerum Dixerit Here the Moles, or mafs of matter which conftitutes the world, has the epithet diva afcribed to it, which makes it divine: and in another part of the fame poem the epithet is given to Nature, jamque abdita DI Clauftra patent NATURÆ Then the computus Jovis, or calculation of Jupiter, fuppofing it to allude to the motions of the heavenly bodies, must imply that the vifible world is Jupiter, as it ftands in the Heathen poetJupiter eft quodcunque vides: and this feems farther evident from the sentiment which is explanatory of it, viz. that the Creator (fuppofing Jupiter to be he) gave laws to himself; which is true if God and Nature are the fame thing; because in that cafe the laws given to Nature, will be laws impofed upon God. The Pfalmift, who diftinguishes rightly between the works and the work-mafter, fays, "he gave them a law which shall not be broken:" and Mr. Boyle, in his treatise above referred to, hath well remarked, that "God when he made the world, and established the laws of motion, gave them to Matter, and not to himself*;" as if he had been cenfuring that expreffion of Dr. Halley, which has been the fubject of our prefent animadverfion. Edit. 1685-67 p. 15%. If any other philofophers have been betrayed by the autho rity of great names, into the belief of this strange doctrine, it cannot be wondered at, if fuch are found but badly difpofed for the reception of the Chriftian mysteries: for what concord hath the Heathen Jupiter with the Chriftian Trinity? What arguments can be strong enough to perfuade thofe men of a divine co-equal perfonality in the Godhead, who have relapsed into the reveries of Stoicifm, and are the votaries of an anima mundi, an intelligent universe, a Deity immersed in 'matter? To fuch, the notion of a co-eternal Son of God, Creator of all things that exist, and who fhall be ftill the fame when nature shall wax old, and the heavens fhall vanish away, muft of neceffity be contemptible and incredible and this I apprehend to be one reason why we have fo many Arians among the profeffed admirers of natural philofophy, thus falfely understood. : Let it not be faid that I take any pleasure in cenfuring: a captious cenfor is an odious character. If the queftion should be put to me, "who made thee a ruler and a judge?" I am ready to answer for myself, that I fhall never wish to rule where fo few are inclined to obey; and that I fhall never judge where my duty will permit me to excufe. I fee my country hafting to ruin on many different principles; and I point out one of them, which is the most pernicious of all, if it is not in fact the mother of all the reft. I only say what must be faid by somebody, if we are ever to be reclaimed from the perilous confequences of Pagan corruption if not, liberavi animam meam. Should any person ask me how Chriftianity is to be banished out of Christendom, as the predictions of the Gospel give us reafon to expect it will be, I should make no fcruple to answer, that it will certainly be brought to pass by this growing affection to Heathenifm*. And therefore it is devoutly to be wished that fome cenfor would arife with the zeal and spirit of Martin Luther, to remonftrate effectually against this indulgence of Paganifm, which is more fatal to the interefts of Christianity than all the abuses purged away at the Reformation. This is now the grand abuse, against which the zeal of a Luther, and the wit of an Erafmus, ought to be directed: it is the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not, even in the fanctuary of Christianity, and is a worse offence than all the profa * Is not this conjecture of the Author, in the year 1776, now confirmed, by what hath lately happened in France? nations that ever happened to the Jewish temple. In the mean time, till the world fhall be bleffed with fuch a monitor, I have prefumed to claim fome freedom of thought, and liberty of fpeech, against the tyranny of prevailing fafhion: and you will pardon me if I confefs to you, upon this occafion, the mean opinion I have long entertained of fome modern refinements; infomuch that I could with many of them were exchanged for a little of that religious fimplicity, which placed the seven works of charity upon the fhoeing horn of the Abbot of Glafionbury. I am, dear Sir, Your's, most faithfully, and affectionately. N. B. An Abbot of Glastonbury was hanged at the place, for denying the fupremacy of Henry VIII, when his effects were confifcated; and perhaps this article might have been found amongst them. VOL. II. |