RELIGION. 



thinga, and agreeable to riglit reafon, derive the promulga- 

 tion of it from divine revelation. Hence it may be con- 

 cluded, that natural religion, or the Law of Nature (which 

 fee), is not fo called, becaufe it was originally difcovcred 

 by natural reafon, but becaufe, when once made known, it 

 is what the reafon of mankind, duly cxercifed, approves, as 

 founded in truth and nature. 



Natural religion, in the fenfe now explained, is very con- 

 fiitent with the fuppofition of an extraordiii;try divine reve- 

 lation, for the purpofe of difcovering and promulgating it 

 at firft, and alfo of re-e(tabli(hing and confirming it, when, 

 through the corruption of mankind, the important prin- 

 ciples and duties of it were funk into fuch darknefs, and fo 

 confounded with pernicious errors, that an extraordinary 

 afiiftance was necelfary to recover men to the right know- 

 ledge and praftiee of it. 



Natural religion is underilood by others in a fenfe which 

 is abfolutely exclufive of all extraordinary revelation, and 

 in direft oppofition to it. By natural religion, they mean 



turally and ncceffarily known to all men, but that wliidi 

 reafon, duly exercifed and improved, is able, by its owu 

 -natural force, to difcover, without the aflittance of any ex- 

 traordinary revelation. In order to form a juft conception 

 of this theory, we might inveftigate the extent of the 

 powers and abilities of human reafon in judging concermng 

 matters of religion, independently of all revelation : but 

 without entering on a fpeculation of this kind, the difqut. 

 fition of which would be more curious in the procefs than 

 fatisfadtory in the refult, we fliould recur to the fureil and 

 l)laincfl mode of judging, whicli is the examination of the 

 conclulions that may be deduced from faft and experience. 

 Let us tijen inquire, what hath human reafon aftually done 

 ni this way, by its own force, without any extraordinary 

 afTiftance ? Tlie fatisfaftory anfwer to this inquiry cannot 

 be obtained from any fyllems formed by perfons who have 

 lived in ages and countries which have enjoyed the light of 

 divme revelation ; fince in this cafe it may reafonably be 

 fuppofed, that tliey have borrowed light from revelation. 



that religion which men difcover by the fole exercife of their though they are not wiping to acknowledge it, or may not 



natural faculties and powers, without any other or higher themfelves.be fenfible of it. Syftems, therefore, that have 



afiiftance. Thefe perfons difcard all pretences to extraordi- been drawn up by our modern admirers of natural religion 



nary revelation, as the effefts of enthufiafm or impofture. in Chriftian countries, cannot be alleged in proof of the 



It is in this fenfe, that thofe who call themfelves Deists (fee 

 that article) underftand natural religion, which they highly 

 extol as the only true religion, the only difcovery of truth 

 and duty upon which we may fafely depend ; and which 



force of unalTifted reafon in matters of religion ; and the 

 fame may be faid of thofe Pagan philofophers who have lived 

 after Chriftianity had made fome progrefs in the world. 

 Nor can we fairly infer the fufficiency of the light of natu- 



comprehends the whole of what is necelfary to be known ral reafon, without the aid of revelation, from the fyftems 

 and done, in order to our obtaining the favour of God, and of the ancient philofophers, lawgivers, and moralifts, who 

 attaining to true happinefs. But thofe who take natural lived before the Chriftian revelation was pubhfhed^ unlefs 



religion in this fenfe entertain different opinions of the fub- 

 jeft, and exprefs their fentiments vai-ioufly. The ableft ad- 

 vocates for natural religion, as oppofed to revelation, main- 

 tain, that it is clear and obvious to the whole human race, 

 and that all men have a natural knowledge of it. They 

 argue, that fince religion is equally the concern of all man- 

 kind, the wifdom and goodnefs of God require, that it 

 fhould be aftually known to all. To this purpofe is the 

 reafoning of lord Herbert, who alleges, that God hath 

 impriirted on the minds of all men innate ideas of the main 

 principles of religion and morality. Tindal alfo, and the 

 author of " Chriftianity as old as the Creation," argue in a 



it can be fhewn, that they themfelves derived the religious 

 and moral principles which they taught, folely and entirely 

 from the refearches and difquifitions of their own reafon, 

 and difclaimed their having had any afiiftance, with regard 

 to thofe truths and principles, from tradition or divine in- 

 ftruftion. And it is no hard matter to (hew, by teftimonies 

 from the moft celebrated ancients, that this was not the cafe, 

 nor was it what they afl"umed to themfelves. It is well 

 known, that the moft admired philofophers of Greece did 

 not pretend to fet up merely on their own ftocks, but tra- 

 velled into Egypt, and different parts of the Eaft, for the 

 purpofe of improving their knowledge by converfation with 



fimilar manner : tlie former afierts, that this clear univerfal tlie fages of thofe countries ; who themfelves profelfed to 

 light that ihines into the minds of all men cannot be made have derived their knowledge, not merely from the difquifi- 

 cleartoany man by an external extraordinary revelation: with tions of their own reafon, but from a higher fource, from 



the latter it is a kind of fundamental principle, that tlie law, 

 or religion, of nature was a perfeft fcheme of rehgion and 

 morality, fairly drawn on the mind and heart of every man, 

 in fuch a manner, that it is not pofTible for any man to mif- 

 take it : and he even affirms, that the moft illiterate of the 

 human race have naturally and neceflanly a clear and intimate 

 perception of the whole of religion and of their duty. 

 Hence it will be eafily owned, that there is no need of an 

 extraordinary revelation to teach men what they all natu- 

 rally and neceflarily know. This fcheme, however plaufible 

 it may at firft appear, and though it feems to exhibit a 

 beautiful reprefentation of the dignity of our fpecies, and of 

 the univerfal goodnefs of God to the human race, appears 

 to be altogether vifionar^^, when brouglit to the tfft of fatl 



very ancient traditions, to which, for the moft part, they 

 alTigned a divine original. After all it muft be allowed, 

 that the moft celebrated and fagacious of the ancient philofo- 

 phers made pathetical complaints of human darknefs and ig- 

 norance, and of the great difficulties they experienced m 

 fearching after truth. Many of them were fenfible of the 

 great need there was of divine inftruAion and affiftance, for 

 enlightening and direfting mankind in matters of religion 

 and their duty : fo that no argument can be juftly drawn 

 from the wife men and philofophers among the ancients, to 

 fhew that the knowledge of what is tifually called natural 

 religion, in its juft extent, is wholly and originally owing to 

 the force of human reafon, exclufive of all divine revelation. 

 And perhaps, fays the excellent writer whofe obfervations 



and experience: whilft it fuppofes, that religion, in its true we are now citnig, it would not be eafy to mention any na 



nature and juft extent, is naturally known to all men, fo tions, among whom any true knowledge of religion has 



that they cannot miftake it, it contradiifls the teftimony of been preferved, concerning which we can be affured, that 



the authentic hiftory of mankind in all ages, which evinces they never had any benefit from the light of divine revela- 



that they have miftaken religion in its important princi- tion ; and that the principles of religious truth and duty. 



plee and obligations. 



Senfible of the inconveniences of this fcheme, others, by 

 natural religion, underftand not merely that which is na- 



which were to be found among them, were originally the 

 mere produft of natural reafon, vrithout any higher affift- 

 ance. Several things may be obferved among them, which 

 4 N 2 feeiij 



