COLOS. II. 8.

Beware left any man fpoil you through Philofophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

AD St. Paul lived in our Age, it would have required little less than the Courage and Bravery of the Spirit of Martyrdom to have faid this: And nothing but the Authority of fo great an Apoftle (which though fome men do not much value, yet they dare not openly defpife) can skreen thofe, who ven

ture to say it after him.

What fome men call Philosophy and Reason (and there is nothing fo foolish and abfurd which fome men will not call fo), is the only thing which thofe men adore, who would either have no God, or a God and a Religion of their own making. And what Attempts fome have made to undermine all Řeligion, and others to corrupt and tranfform the whole Frame of the Chriftian Religion, upon a pretence of its contradicting Natural Reafon and Philofophy, is too well known to need a Proof. That thus it was in his days, and that thus it was likely to be in future Ages, St. Paul was very fenfible, when he gave this Caution to his Coloffians; and I'm fure it is as proper a Caution for us, as ever it was for any Age fince the writing of this

B

Epiftle;

Epiftle; for this vain Pretence to Reafon and Philosophy never more prevailed, and never did more mischief to the world.

It is an endless and fruitless Task to go about to confute all the abfurd Hypothefes and wild inconfiftent Reasonings wherewith men abufe themselves and others: The Experience of fo many Ages wherein Philofophy was in all its Glory, and the feveral Sects difputed and wrangled eternally, without ending any one Controverfy, gives no great Encouragement to hope for much this way; at least it can never be expected that ordinary Chriftians fhould be better instructed and confirmed in the Faith by Philofophical Difputes.

The Chriftian Religion has from the very beginning been corrupted by a mixture of Philofophy: Thus it was in the Apoitles days, and thus it has been more or lefs in all Ages of the Church to this day; and the direction the Apoftle gives for the fecurity of the Chriftian Faith, is, Not to difpute fuch matters, but to diftinguish between Philofophical Difputes, and Matters of Revelation; and to reject all the Pretences of Philofophy, when it does or feems to contradict the Faith of Chrift, or would make any corrupt Additions to it.

2

Beware left any man spoil you through Philofophy and vain deceit; ounazwy, is to make a Prey, or to carry away as a Prey; that is, to feduce them from the Chriftian Faith, or from the Purity and Simplicity of it: Through Philofophy and vain deceit, that is, through the vain deceit of Phi lofophy, which cheats men with a flattering but empty appearance; may unfettle weak Minds, but cannot lay a fure and folid foundation of Faith; may cheat men out of their Faith, but when that is done, can give them nothing certain in the room of it: For it is but after the traditions

of

of men, and after the rudiments of this world: Some of these Doctrines may poffibly plead Prescription, as having been fo long received that no man knows their Original; or if they have the Authority of fome Great Name, yet it is but a Human Authority, and they are but the traditions of men; and of men who at best had no better information than from the vifible appearances of Nature, and their own imperfect Obfervations, and corrupt or defective Reasonings, after the rudiments of this world: And is this an Authority to oppofe against the Faith of Chrift, which both wants that Divine Confirmation which he gave to his Doctrines, and contradicts them? For they are not after Chrift, neither taught by Chrift, nor confonant to what he taught.

These Words might afford great Variety of Difcourfe; but I fhall confine my felf to what is most Useful, and reduce that into as narrow a compass as I can, by fhewing,

I. What great need there is of this Caution, To beware left any man spoil us through Philofophy and vain deceit.

II. What great reafon we have to reject all thefe vain Pretences to Philofophy, when they are oppofed to the Authority of a Divine Revelation.

I. As for the first of these, Whoever confiders what an Enemy these vain Pretences to Philofophy have always been to Religion, will fee need enough for this Caution.

True Reason, and the true Knowledge of Nature, which is true Philofophy, would certainly direct us to the Acknowledgment and Worship of that Supreme Being who made the World: And yet we know, that there never was an Atheist without fome Pretence to Philosophy, and generally fuch loud noify Pretences too, as make igno

rant people think them very notable Philofophers, and that tempts fome vain empty perfons to affect Atheism, that they may be thought Philofophers.

That this is vain deceit, all men must own, who believe there is a God: And if it be poffible to pretend Philofophy for Atheism it felf, it is no great wonder if it be made to patronize Infidelity and Herefy: But this plainly fhews of what dangerous Confequence it is to admit Philofophical Difputes into Religion, which if at any time they may do any fervice to Religion, much oftner greatly corrupt it, and shake the very Foundations of it; of which more

anon.

At prefent I fhall only fhew you how the Matter of Fact ftands; That most of the Difputes in Religion are nothing else but the Difputes of Philofophy, and therefore according to the Apoftolical Command, to be wholly flung our of Religion, and not fuffered to affect our Faith one way or other. To be a Philofopher and a Christian, to Difpute and to Believe, are two very different things; and yet it is very evident, that most of the Arguments against Revelation in general, and moft of the Disputes about the particular Doctrines of Chriftianity, are no better than this vain deceit of Philofophy; that were the matters of Faith, and the Disputes of Philofophy truly diftinguifhed, this alone would be fufficient to fettle the Faith of Chriftians, and reftore Peace and Unity, at least in the great Fundamentals of Religion, to the Chriftian World.

1. As to begin with Revelation in general. The Books of Mofes are the most Ancient, and that confidered, the beft attefted Hiftory in the World; the whole Nation of the Jews, whofe Hiftory he writes, pay the greatest veneration to him; and if we believe the Matters of Fact which he relates, he was certainly an Infpired Man, who

could

could neither deceive, nor be deceived. And it is impoffible to have greater Evidence for the Truth and Authenticalness of any Writings, at fuch a diftance of time, than we have for the Writings of the New Testament; and indeed the Infidels of our Age have very little to fay purely against the Credibility of the Hiftory; and then one would think, that all their other Objections should come too late, unless they will justify Pharaoh in disbelieving Mofes, and the Scribes and Pharifees in disbelieving our Saviour, after all the Miracles they did: For if they will disbelieve Mofes and Chrift, though they have nothing material to object against the Truth of thefe Hiftories; nothing, which they would allow to be good Objections against any other Hiftory; they must by the fame reafon have disbelieved them,, though they had feen them do all thofe great Works which are reported of them in fuch Credible Hiftories. But whatever the Authority of thefe Books are, they think they may fecurely reject them, if they contain any thing which contradicts their Reafon and Philofophy, and they find a great many fuch things to quarrel with: They think Mofes's Hiftory of the Creation very unphilofophical; That the Story of Eve and the Serpent is an incredible Fiction; That the Univerfal Deluge is abfolutely impoffible, and irreconcileable with the Principles of Philofophy; and it does not become Philofophers to have recourfe to Miracles: That what we call Miracles are not the effects of a Divine Power, but may be refolved into Natural Caufes; That Infpiration and Prophefy is nothing but Natural Enthufiafim, and all the Pretences to Revelation a Cheat and Imposture; That Nature teaches us all that we need to know; That there is no other certain knowledge but this; That we are not bound to believe any thing which our own Reason cannot grafp and comprehend, and therefore Revelation is perfectly useless;. and God himself cannot