Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God

3. Whatsoever disputes there have been in the World, this of the existence of God was never the subject of contention. All other things have been questioned. What Jarrings were there among Philosophers about natural things, into how many parties were they split, with what animosities did they maintain their several judgments? but we hear of no solemn Controversies about the Existence of a Supreme Being: this never met with any considerable contradiction: no Nation, that hath put other things to question, would ever suffer this to be disparaged, so much as by a public doubt.^* We find among the Heathen contentions about the Nature of God and the number of gods; some asserted an innumerable multitude of gods, some affirmed him to be subject to birth and death, some affirmed the entire World was God; others fancied him to be a circle of a bright Fire; others that he was a Spirit diffused through the whole World: Yet they unanimously concurred in this, as the judgment of Universal Reason, that there was such a sovereign Being: And those that were sceptical in every thing else, and asserted that the greatest certainty was that there was nothing certain, profest a certainty in this. The question was not whether there was a First Cause, but why it was.^* 'Tis much the same thing, as the disputes about the Nature and matter of the Heavens, the Sun and Planets, tho there be great diversity of Judgments, yet all agree that there are Heavens, Sun, Planets; so all the Contentions among men about the Nature of God, weaken not, but rather confirm, that there is a God, since there was never a public formal debate about his Existence. Those that have been ready to pull out one another's ⟨p. 8⟩eyes for their dissent from their judgments, sharply censured one another's sentiments, envied the births of one another's wits, always shook hands with an unanimous consent in this; never censured one another for being of this persuasion, never called it into question; as what was never controverted among men professing Christianity, but acknowledged by all, though contending about other things, has reason to be judged a certain Truth belonging to the Christian Religion; so what was never subjected to any Controversy, but acknowledged by the whole World, hath reason to be embraced as a Truth without any doubt.