at the same time, deny but that liberty and choice, or a free power of acting, is a more eligible state than to be determined thus in all our actions, as a stone to move downward by an absolute and inevitable fate. In a word, which way soever they turn themselves, and whatever hypothesis they make concerning the original and frame of things, nothing is so certain and undeniable as that man, considered without the protection and conduct of a Superior Being, is in a far worse case than upon supposition of the being and government of God, and of men's being under his peculiar conduct, protection, and favor."-Religious Encyclo. There are facts connected with the doctrine of atheism, by a careful examination of which we can find its origin with as much ease and certainty, as we can satisfy ourselves that there is a God by observation of things which we see and know to exist. All history proves that man is, by nature, not only a rational but worshipful creature. No nation of people has ever yet been found who were, or are, so ignorant as not to have some notions of a Great Spirit who made them, who loves justice and mercy, and to whom they are accountable, in some way, for their conduct. Christians understand this universal recognition of a Supreme Being, and of obligation to worship him, as an evidence of the operation of the Holy Spirit on the minds of all men, even in the absence of the revelations contained in the Bible; teaching them such great and leading truths as it is indispensable they should know, to the end that they be justly held accountable for their conduct in this life. Is that opinion well founded? If it is, the Christian religion stands with it; and we may safely look to that Revelation, on which it is based, for evidence that there is a great first Cause, and all doubt of that sort is at once removed. But if that Christian faith is false, the question again presents itself, why this universal agreement of opinion among not only heathen, but savage nations? If not instructed by the Spirit of God, they have not and never have had any common teacher. Those who are found upon small islands, far out in mid-ocean, bound by interminable waters, as they suppose, have never before, at least for many generations, had intercourse with any human being but themselves. Such instances have often occurred. Yet all those people are found to have this all-prevailing opinion of a Great Spirit. They all worship a God of some sort, and in some way. And all do so under the same common impression of dependence upon and duty toward Him who created them, and to whom they are accountable. It is utterly unreasonable to deny that this universal agreement, on the part of all men, who have not had the light of Revelation on which Christians build their faith, is the effect of some common cause. If that be not the inspiration of God upon the intellect of man, some one more wise than I must answer for it if there be any other hypothesis on which it can be accounted for. If, then, it be true, that all heathen, pagan, and Christian nations, admit the existence of a Supreme Being, whence arises the doctrine of atheism? This inquiry is fully answered both by sacred and profane history. In the earlier ages of the world, atheism appears to have been unknown. All admitted there was a God, so far as we have any account. Prior to the flood, infidelity had made its appearance, and at that time prevailed to such extent as, together with the wickedness of that generation, to require the destruction of our whole race, save Noah and his family only, for the purpose of carrying out the great plan of redemption for which the world was made, and man brought into his present state of being. After that time we hear but little more of atheism until Greece began to make those wonderful strides in science and the polite arts for which she was, in her palmiest days, so justly distinguished, and which still does, and must during all time, continue to reflect such eminent honor upon her noble sons. From Greece, that atheistic philosophy, which proved to be the bane of human reason, was afterward transplanted in Rome, and from there it was brought to France, the most fruitful soil in which that fatal upas was ever planted. Atheism is, as may be easily shown, the culmination of pride, vanity, ignorance, and wickedness of the unrenewed heart of man. His vaulting pride forbids him to admit the truth of any proposition which he can not fully explain; his vanity will not allow him to confess that there is any great truth in nature which he can not comprehend; his ignorance is so consummate that he can not discover the God of nature in his own works; his wickedness then prompts him, as the only way of escape from his sad dilemma, to deny the very existence of that God whom his conscience warns him he should not only confess but love and worship. Plato, the most distinguished of all heathen philosophers, who lived some four hundred years before the Christian era, without the aid of other revelation than that of mental impressions which is common to all men, by the power of reasoning upon known facts, approximated nearer the truth, in substance, as to the existence of a God, and his dealings with men, than many of our own age have done, who presume to teach others with the effulgent light of prophecy, the gospel, and revelation all beaming upon them. The great Jehovah has revealed to the world all the facts which are necessary to a clear and satisfactory understanding of our relations and duties to Him, and of the consequences attendant on our observing or disregarding His law. To that extent we may search and reason at will. But as the surging billows of the vasty deep are restrained within bounds prescribed, so a limit is set to the extent of human knowledge of nature and nature's God, beyond which we may not pass. And every effort to transcend that divine border ever has and must continue to prove abortive, if not disastrous. He has not authorized, and will not permit, rebellious, sinful man, in our present circumstances, to invade the hallowed precincts of His personal abode, or to know anything more of Himself. His essence-origin (if that term were applicable to Him), the nature and extent of His other works, as of the creation of worlds and rational or irrational beings there to dwell, must remain, as yet, a sealed book. For this the best and most palpable reasons exist, and of which it is intended to say more in the further progress of this work. We may reason at will about anything, everything, below that, whether physical or metaphysical. We may go with the botanist, the mineralogist, the geographer, and the naturalist, and see and learn and know all about the vegetable kingdom, the hidden treasures of the earth, her formation and organization, and of her Mountains, vales, and little hills, Our imagination can soar aloft to the sun, moon, and stars; we may, with the aid of science, view the blue canopy of heaven all night, and night after night, if we wish; we may trace the erratic pathway of the wandering comet, search. out Orion, Cepheus and his queen; note the evolutions of planets with wonder and delight; and we may gaze upon the beauties and magnificence of Jupiter with his four satellites and gaudy dress. Or, we may go with the theologian and read and reason upon all the great and mysterious truths related in God's holy book; we may admire, yea, adore, the divine author for his power, wisdom, and mercy. All this, and more, we may essay to do, not only with impunity, but with pleasure and profit to ourselves, and with the Divine approval and blessing. But when we presume to enter His celestial courts, and to read hidden things which are recorded there for Him and His alone, we succeed so far only as to receive that humiliation and punishment which our vanity and audacity most justly deserve. Many persons, no doubt of great learning, but whose crania would indicate veneration much less than self-esteem, have vainly attempted to penetrate the secret things of God, and not from admiration of His greatness, or love for His goodness, but simply to gratify an idle and vain curiosity. Such have labored with a determination to know the Deity, or deny His being! and their irreverence has been requited by withholding that divine light which is so freely granted the devout seeker after such knowledge of heaven's laws as is necessary to an enlightened discharge of duty to her King; and whose puny efforts have resulted in confirmed unbelief and consequent eternal damnation. It is foreign to the purpose of this writing to argue, at any great length, the question of the authenticity of the Bible; and forbearing to do so, I can not consent, however, to pass in silence a subject of such vital importance, and especially one on the verity of which hinges the truth of every proposition herein favored. The writer begs leave, therefore, to copy here the following extracts from the Religious Encyclopedia, which the indefatigable labors of the editor of that valuable work (and which should have a place in every library) has collected and given at one view. This he does the more cheerfully because the arguments therein found are far more conclusive than any he could flatter himself as being able to produce of his own, within a space anything like so short: "The sacred penmen, the prophets and apostles, were holy, excellent men, and would not-artless, illiterate men, and, therefore, could not-lay the horrible scheme of deluding mankind. The hope of gain did not influence them, for they were self-denying men, that left all to follow a Master who had not where to lay His head, and whose grand initiating maxim was: 'Except a man forsake all that he hath, he can not be my disciple.' They were so disinterested that they secured nothing on earth but hunger and nakedness, stocks and prisons, racks and tortures, which, indeed, was all they could or did expect in consequence of Christ's express declarations. Neither was a desire of honor the motive of their actions, for their Lord Himself was treated with the utmost contempt, and had more than once assured them that they should certainly share the same fate; besides, they were humble men, not above working as mechanics for a coarse maintenance; and so little desirous of human regard that they exposed to the world the meanness of their birth and occupations, their great ignorance and scandalous falls. Add to this, that they were so many, and lived at such a distance of time and place from each other, that had they been impostors it would have been impracticable for them to contrive and carry on a forgery |