_MADAM,_
Although your _Author_[1] is of the opinion of _Plato_, in making
_Three sorts of Atheists: One that believes no Gods; Another, which
indeed admits of Gods, yet such as are uncarefull of us, and despisers
of small matters, and therefore also ignorant of us: And lastly, a
third sort, which although they believe the Gods to be expert in the
least matters, yet do suppose that they are flexible and indulgent
toward the smallest cold Prayers or Petitions_: Yet I cannot approve
of this distinction, for I do understand but one sort of Atheists;
that is, those which believe no God at all; but those which believe
that there is a God, although they do not worship him truly, nor live
piously and religiously as they ought, cannot, in truth, be called
Atheists, or else there would be innumerous sorts of Atheists; to
wit, all those, that are either no Christians, or not of this or that
opinion in Christian Religion, besides all them that live wickedly,
impiously and irreligiously; for to know, and be convinced in his
reason, that there is a God, and to worship him truly, according to
his holy Precepts and Commands, are two several things: And as for the
first, that is, for the Rational knowledg of the Existence of God, I
cannot be perswaded to believe, there is any man which has sense and
reason, that doth not acknowledg a God; nay, I am sure, there is no
part of Nature which is void and destitute of this knowledg of the
existence of an Infinite, Eternal, Immortal, and Incomprehensible
Deity; for every Creature, being indued with sense and reason, and
with sensitive and rational knowledg, there can no knowledg be
more Universal then the knowledg of a God, as being the root of
all knowledg: And as all Creatures have a natural knowledg of the
Infinite God, so, it is probable, they Worship, Adore, and Praise his
Infinite Power and Bounty, each after its own manner, and according
to its nature; for I cannot believe, God should make so many kinds of
Creatures, and not be worshipped and adored but onely by Man: Nature is
God's Servant, and she knows God better then any Particular Creature;
but Nature is an Infinite Body, consisting of Infinite Parts, and if
she adores and worships God, her Infinite Parts, which are Natural
Creatures, must of necessity do the like, each according to the
knowledg it hath: but Man in this particular goes beyond others, as
having not onely a natural, but also a revealed knowledg of the most
Holy God; for he knows Gods Will, not onely by the light of Nature,
but also by revelation, and so more then other Creatures do, whose
knowledg of God is meerly Natural. But this Revealed Knowledg makes
most men so presumptuous, that they will not be content with it, but
search more and more into the hidden mysteries of the Incomprehensible
Deity, and pretend to know God as perfectly, almost, as themselves;
describing his Nature and Essence, his Attributes, his Counsels, his
Actions, according to the revelation of God, (as they pretend) when as
it is according to their own Fancies. So proud and presumptuous are
many: But they shew thereby rather their weaknesses and follies, then
any truth; and all their strict and narrow pryings into the secrets of
God, are rather unprofitable, vain and impious, then that they should
benefit either themselves, or their neighbour; for do all we can, God
will not be perfectly known by any Creature: The truth is, it is a
meer impossibility for a finite Creature, to have a perfect Idea of
an Infinite Being, as God is; be his Reason never so acute or sharp,
yet he cannot penetrate what is Impenetrable, nor comprehend what is
Incomprehensible: Wherefore, in my opinion, the best way is humbly to
adore what we cannot conceive, and believe as much as God has been
pleased to reveal, without any further search; lest we diving too deep,
be swallowed up in the bottomless depth of his Infiniteness: Which I
wish every one may observe, for the benefit of his own self, and of
others, to spend his time in more profitable Studies, then vainly to
seek for what cannot be found. And with this hearty wish I conclude,
resting,
Madam,
_Your faithful Friend_
_and Servant._
[1] _Ch._ Of the Image of the Mind.