Ninthly, Mans own necessity is the reason why God doth give us supernatural Revelation, and call us to know by the way of Believing. For, First, Most men are naturally dull. Secondly, Few have leisure by Learning to improve their intellects. Thirdly, And fewer have leisure & disposition to exercise them by long searches & argumentation upon every thing that they should know. Fourthly, And therefore where Revelation was not, few were wise or virtuous; And the Philosophers themselves were all to pieces among themselves, and their disagreements and doubtfulness tended to the gulf of utter Scepticism. Now as nothing is more necessary than Religion (as you well profess) so Religion consisteth very little in the sensible apprehension of of present existences, but in the knowledge of things absent or insensible things past, and especially things to come, the Happiness to be attained, and the misery to be escaped. Now if all the Poor ⟨p. 145⟩unlearned Men and Women in the World must have known all these things only by natural discourse, how little Religion would have been in the World, when the Philosophers knew so little themselves. And though your learning and understanding made the immortality of the Soul so clear to you and the rewards and punishments of another life, as that you number it with the common notices; yet were not the old Philosophers themselves, so commonly agreed on it as they should have been; much less all the common People. And if you say that now almost all the world believeth it, I answer it is Gods great mercy that it is so. But consider whether it be not more by the way of believing, than of natural instinct or knowledge. For all the Christians, and all the Mahometans (who believe the words of Moses and Christ also) take it by the way of believing. And so do most of the Heathens: The Japonians have their Amida and Zaca: The Chinenses, ⟨p. 146⟩the Indians, the Siamenses the Peguans, &c. have all their Prophets: And the very Savages of all the West-Indies (or America) have their Idols, Oracles or Wizards, whom they far more depend on than their natural discourse about things Invisible, Past or Future.
Ninthly, Mans own necessity is the reason why God doth give us supernatural Revelation, and call us to know by the way of Believing. For, First, Most men are naturally dull. Secondly, Few have leisure by Learning to improve their intellects. Thirdly, And fewer have leisure & disposition to exercise them by long searches & argumentation upon every thing that they should know. Fourthly, And therefore where Revelation was not, few were wise or virtuous; And the Philosophers themselves were all to pieces among themselves, and their disagreements and doubtfulness tended to the gulfe of utter Scepticisme. Now as nothing is more necessary than Religion (as you well profess) so Religion consisteth very little in the sensible apprehension of of present existences, but in the knowledge of things absent or insensible things past, and especially things to come, the Happiness to be attained, and the misery to be escaped. Now if all the Poor ⟨p. 145⟩unlearned Men and Women in the World must have known all these things only by natural discourse, how little Religion would have been in the World, when the Philosophers knew so little themselves. And though your learning and understanding made the immortality of the Soul so clear to you and the rewards and punishments of another life, as that you number it with the common notices; yet were not the old Philosophers themselves, so commonly agreed on it as they should have been; much less all the common People. And if you say that now almost all the world believeth it, I answer it is Gods great mercy that it is so. But consider whether it be not more by the way of believing, than of naturall instinct or knowledge. For all the Christians, and all the Mahometans (who believe the words of Moses and Christ also) take it by the way of believing. And so do most of the Heathens: The Japonians have their Amida and Zaca: The Chinenses, ⟨p. 146⟩the Indians, the Siamenses the Peguans, &c. have all their Prophets: And the very Savages of all the West-Indies (or America) have their Idols, Oracles or Wizards, whom they far more depend on than their natural discourse about things Invisible, Past or Future.
