Chapter 4

It may here be proper to take notice of a new Argument, urged in its full Strength, and with all the Advantage of Rhetorick and Eloquence, by the most ingenious Dr. _I--c W--s_, in a Book intituled, _The Ruin and Recovery of Mankind;_ &_c_. We are there told, that this _covenant_ seems to have been, evidently, calculated for the best; because _Adam_, in that State of Understanding and Innocence, was more likely to stand, and maintain his Innocence, than any of his Posterity, especially when he consider'd himself as acting for _all_ his Posterity; with which the Doctor supposes him to have been fully and strongly apprised; as indeed he ought, had the Case been as the Doctor believes. This Argument I take him to have mistaken both ways, _viz_. by extolling _Adam's_ Condition, on the one hand, beyond what in reality it ever was, and setting that of his Posterity much lower than it really is: and these Errors are productive of many others. _Adam_ is supposed to have been without any Pain, or Uneasiness, and that he would so have remained, during his Innocence: But after Christ has removed the Curse, and taken away the Sin of his own _Chosen_ Children, bodily Pains and outward Afflictions are sometimes their Lot, why might not Man, in his original State of Innocence, be subject, in some Degree, to Pain and Disease? if _Creation_ were inconsistent with such a mixt Dispensation of Good and Evil, why not _Redemption?_ If God, for the Exercise of Man's Fidelity, placed him where he was exposed to the Evil and Danger of Temptation; why not suffer his Patience to be exercised, at some Seasons, by Pain and Inquietude? To return to this _Covenant_, could it be proved to have been as the Doctor imagines, I see not what could be gained by it: because it would be trifling to a considerable Degree. And all the Arguments, used by _Milton_, in his third Book of _Paradise Lost_, to shew the Absurdity of that Doctrine, which considers _Adam_ as _acting_, or rather as _being acted, by Necessity_, in that Situation of Paradise, would be equally applicable to all the Elect, under the absolute Slavery of the _Fall_.

Where is the Use of _Reason_, or _Moral Agency_, in Man, if another be substituted to act in his Stead, and not he himself? Man, being made a _free_ and _moral_ Agent, has Power to act for himself, and can be accountable for no body's Crimes but his own. The _Consciousness_ of being a Sinner, belongs only to him, that _actually_ sinneth, or omitteth his Duty. Enthusiasm indeed, which, in its highest Stages, is a kind of spiritual Madness, may have on some Minds a quite different Effect; and the Poor Soul, that is subject to this gloomy and tyrannical Principle, may conceit strange things; it may at one Time imagine itself under the Guilt of _Adam's_ Sin, which it never committed; and fancy itself a Saint in Jesus Christ (and what not) at another: it is a mad Principle, fruitful of false Doctrines, Chimeras, and Monsters. It matters not whether (as in the Case of _Natural Madness_) the Reason be lost, or whether (as in that of _Enthusiasm_) it be over-power'd, and brought into subjection to False Principles. The Effect is the same; and between Powers that are suffered to lie dormant, and no Powers at all, there is here no material Distinction to be made. Again, this Notion of _Adam's_ being more likely to stand than his Posterity, is a mere Fallacy: it supposes a Difference of State, and Rectitude of Mind, between him and us; which, if true, will likewise suppose, that our State being more weak and defenceless than his, the Task or Duty, assigned us, must be proportionate to our different and inferior Abilities. If _Adam_ was put into this State, as _The Ruin and Recovery_ seems to suppose, from a Motive of Love in God, to his Creatures, in order to prevent the Misery of the Human Race; the same Love cannot fail to commiserate the Case, and to provide an effectual Remedy for all such as are included in the Covenant. _Adam's_ Motive to Obedience must (we are told) have been greatly strengthened by this Consideration, That on _Him_ depended the Happiness, not of _himself_ only, but of _all his Posterity_. But, I believe, Experience will tell us, that if the Consideration of a Man's own Future State, placed in the strongest Light (as this Book supposes before _Adam_) be not sufficient to move to Obedience, a Regard to others will seldom have any considerable Influence: Such a Covenant enter'd into, or rather arbitrarily imposed on _Adam_ by his Maker, could not fail to awaken, in so holy and knowing a Creature, some very uneasy and disquieting Suspicions. This Covenant, and _Partial Election_ thence following after the _Fall_, will, if rightly considered, appear very iniquitous and oppressive: because it makes no proper Difference between the _Righteous_ and the _Wicked_. If _Adam_ had been considered as a private Person only; and _all his Posterity_ left to stand or fall, by their own Merits or Demerits; some of those, whom this Doctrine adjudges to everlasting Condemnation, would doubtless have been so _wise_ and _happy_, as to have pleased God in their Generation; while others, on the contrary, would have sinned, and transgressed his Laws. The State of the latter is, you see, the same as it would have been, upon the vulgar Notion of _Adam's Sin;_ or rather the Guilt of it being, in virtue of this Covenant, imputed to them: The other and better Part, in virtue of this Doctrine, are miserable, and must therefore have abundant and bitter Cause of Complaint against the Doctrine itself. I therefore think it was impossible, such a Covenant should ever be proposed to _Adam;_ a Covenant which, if ratified, tended only to make those wretched and miserable, who without it, had they been left to shift for themselves, would have used their Liberty and Rational Powers aright, and have pleased and obtained God's Favour thereby. To talk of its being of general Service, can never be of sufficient Authority to silence this Argument. No _private Injuries_ can be excused to _innocent Sufferers_ (and much less that of _eternal Torment_) on the Score of general Good; what is it to them, whether _they only_, or _all Mankind_ suffer. If _Adam_ had stood, these very Men, (who would, had they been left to their Liberty, have proved obedient) would have been in no wise bettered; as he failed, Misery came on those, who would otherwise have been happy. As to those who would, in the Course of their Liberty, have sinned; this Covenant, had _Adam_ stood, would ('tis true) have saved them from the Sentence of _Condemnation_. Take it again the other way: _Adam's Fall_ could make no Alteration in the State of those who, without it, would have been Sinners; such as would have proved virtuous and happy, are hereby made miserable. These are, or must have been the Consequences of such a Covenant strictly observed; and the Wisdom and Equity of all Covenants must be judged of, by comparing the good and evil Consequences, necessarily resulting from them. All the Good such a Covenant could possibly pretend to, had it been kept, was, the saving from Wrath such as, without it, would, as free Beings, have sinned; and if, for their Sakes, and to prevent the Evil that might otherwise befall them, such a Covenant was worthy of God to make with Man, a Day of Grace and Salvation, extended for their Recovery, after they might have transgressed, would have been equally worthy of God; and we need not recur to such Fictions and Chimeras. One would think it incumbent on all Legislators, to consider well the Consequences of every Law they enact; for the preferring a Law, whose Consequences can at best be of no Service, and will probably in the main Event of Things be more evil and pernicious than otherwise, would be preferring Evil to Good; in as great Proportion as the Evil might exceed the Good: and how such a Constitution could be better for Mankind, I do not understand. I am sorry any body, especially the Author of _The Ruin and Recovery_, should imbibe and defend such erroneous Opinions, and this too, in Opposition to other and nobler Sentiments of his own, elsewhere delivered.

But, thus it is to be enslaved to the mere Letter of the _Bible_, under a Notion of doing it _just Honour_, when, on the contrary, 'tis the ready way to _dishonour_ and _lessen_ its Authority.

The Pains which Infants suffer, and the many Miseries to which they are exposed, are, by this Gentleman, consider'd as so many Arguments of the Guilt of _Original Sin_. He thinks that, without such a Supposition, the _Justice_ of God cannot be vindicated. [I wish he would stick true to that Argument.] We must, he thinks, suppose one of these two Things: either, _That God punishes them without all Cause or Reason_, or, _That they are under the Curse and Condemnation of_ Adam'_s Sin:_ and the latter is, in his Opinion, the best Sentiment. But I am of a contrary Opinion, and think that in either Case, the _Injustice_ is the same. He _allows_ it in the _one Case;_ and I hope it is _proved_ in the other: and really the Picture which this Gentleman has drawn of our young Innocents, is very dreadful and terrifying. If all the _Evils_ that befall them in this Life, and _Eternal Damnation_ afterwards, be no more than a _just_ Punishment for their _Sins_, our _Saviour_ must surely have been _greatly out_, in the Encomiums he bestows on their _Innocence_, as I observed before; or, the Kingdom of Heaven, instead of being design'd for _upright holy Souls_, may be a Receptacle for the worst of human Race.

The Brute Creation undergo Pain and Affliction; is _Adam's_ Sin, therefore, imputed to them? If not, and they sometimes suffer by Pain and Abuse, why may not Infants do the same? The Miseries of the human Race, reckon'd up and aggravated thro' so many elaborate Pages, cannot all of them be supposed to belong to the _Original Constitution_ of Things, but might be partly owing to the Effect of Time and Accident, as well as to the Folly and Wickedness of particular Persons and Nations. This Objection, drawn from the Sufferings of Brute Animals, the Doctor endeavours to answer: I wonder _Adam_ is not considered (for the sake of putting an End to the Difficulty) as their Federal Head. He thinks, however, that Brutes must be some way or other included in the _Curse;_ and may be punished, as Man's Property: But has Man, because they are his Property, a Right to grieve and afflict them? They were bestowed as a Blessing, for reasonable Service and Delight, not for cruel Treatment and Abuse. The Doctor's Rule of Faith will tell him, _A merciful Man will be merciful to his Beast_. If their being Man's Property will not justify him in abusing or cruelly handling them; it can be no Reason or Argument, why another should do it, even the Almighty himself. Consider Beasts, then, as God's own Property; will that render it a whit more equitable? No: This the Doctor himself, in the Case of Infants, allows would be cruel, and contrary to the Divine Justice and Goodness: and the Argument is the same as to Brutes. But the Doctor, sensible of the Weakness of this Argument, has recourse to another, which I believe will always be admired as a standing Mark of _extraordinary Invention_, to get rid of difficult and perplexing Questions. Brutes may, it seems, contrary to common Experience, have Sensations _less Quick_ and _Painful_ than ours. I wonder he allows them any Sensation at all; nay, 'tis doubtful if he does allow it. Noise, or Crying out, in them, is, it seems, no Mark of Pain, because some Brutes, under the same Circumstance, remain quiet and still. But will the Doctor say, they have therefore no painful Sensations? Are there no Marks of Pain besides those of crying aloud? Did the Doctor never know a Man sometimes bear a pretty deal of Pain without crying out at all; and give many external Tokens of Pain, at another Time? Did he never perceive a _gaul'd Horse_ wince, upon the most gentle Approach of the Hand; and discover Signs of the greatest Fear, and most _exquisite Pains?_ Do not some Brutes take as much Pains to avoid the Discipline of the Whip, as tho' their Sensations were the same as ours? I am ashamed to waste Time upon such a Subject; tho' I hope to be pardoned for following so great a Man in his own Method of arguing. He perhaps may continue of the same Mind, and there may be no Hopes of Convincement, till Brutes are taught to speak. By this new Way of Reasoning, the Ground we tread upon, and every Thing around us, hitherto thought Inanimate, may be full of Cogitation. If affording the common Marks of Sensation, be no Proof, that Brutes have it in a common Degree, Wanting the common Marks of Intelligence, can be no Proof that a Stock or a Stone has it not. If I mistake not, Bishop _Berkley_ has furnished the World with something equally instructive and philosophical, in relation to the Existence of Matter; which, he endeavours to prove _not_ to be a _real_, but an _ideal_ and _imaginary Being_. I shall leave others to guess, in what Condition those must be, who think and reason after this extraordinary Manner. But the Doctor has yet another Argument in reserve, to vindicate God's Justice--_Tho' Brutes suffer, yet they may_ it seems _have upon the whole more Pleasure than Pain_. But do not some Brutes partake very deeply of the former, in this Life; will the Doctor therefore suppose a Future State for them, by way of Compensation? But this Argument ruins the whole Affair, and may be turned against the Doctor himself, in the Case of Infants, who may be made ample Amends in a future State, for the Evils sustained here, which Evils may have other Causes besides _Original Sin;_ for here again, as in the Case of a Propensity to Evil, Pain in Infants, if inflicted because of _Adam's Sin_, must in _all_ be _uniform_ and _alike_. But the Fact being quite otherwise, some of this Pain and Evil must be resolved into _other Causes;_ and if _some_, why not _all?_ I grant indeed, that _Adam_ himself might have so far corrupted his Nature, as to render him more liable to Pain, than in a State of true Innocence he might have been, and that therefore he might be instrumental to propagate the Seeds of several Diseases, to his Posterity: But had he never done this, his Successors might have done it; and _every Age_ has, perhaps, by Intemperance and Lasciviousness, been adding to the common Stock of human Diseases and Calamities: Propensities to Vice might also be propagated in the same Way, and that, and nothing besides, can (I think) account so well for their great and infinite Variety. The Doctor, with the rest of his Brethren, are perpetually urging those common-place Arguments, drawn from the Practice of Men; which in the general I have answer'd already: and, had I proper Leisure, it would be no difficult Matter to give a clear and distinct Answer to every one of them: And these very Gentlemen would, on other Occasions, had they no favourite Point to carry, reject such Reasoning with all the Contempt, and Indignation, it deserves. It is with some Reluctance, I find myself obliged to disapprove the Sentiments of such wise and worthy Grey Hairs, to whom the World hath been long and deeply indebted for his many excellent Services, both from the Pen and the Pulpit. I have read over Mr. _J--s_'s Book, in Answer to Taylor's _Free and Candid Examination;_ and tho' I have no personal Knowledge of that ingenious Gentleman, yet I hope he will permit me to say, 'Tis pity, great pity, that fine Talents (pardon the Expression) should be prostituted in the Defence of such an unholy and incongruous System of Religion. Superior Degrees of Learning and Knowledge are, in themselves, most excellent Things, and eminently serviceable, when rightly applied to the Honour and Defence of Truth: But, like a two edged Sword, they cut both ways, and are also too frequently employed in the Propagation of Error.

While I am thus rendering _human Learning_, its just Tribute of Praise, _Truth_ requires, that I should be free to detect those little Arts, so often practised to deceive the Unwary, and misguide Mankind. As I am fully persuaded, the Generality of those Writers; who stick by this _Covenant_, and endeavour to vindicate the Honour, Justice, and Goodness of God therein, do it _only_ for Decency sake, _and to put_ (as I observed) _a more plausible Outside on their Doctrines;_ I think it incumbent on me to _detect_ this _equivocal_ Way of Writing, and shew, that while the Doctor is endeavouring to persuade you he _does not_ believe these Doctrines in their most _harsh_ and _severe_ Sense, there is Reason to suspect he does notwithstanding, _secretly_ and _strongly_, believe them in that _very Sense:_ nay, he seems to resolve _them_ very artfully into the _Sovereignty_ and _Majesty of God_. Any Man, who reads the Book, may perceive, how greatly the Doctor is _put to it_ for _Arguments_, to answer _Objections;_ and he himself knows it to be impossible to make any tolerable or reasonable Defence, of such unreasonable and unaccountable Doctrines: and therefore, lest his _own People_ should, from some Expressions, which, at first sight, might look as though he was arguing merely upon a Principle of _moral Fitness_, suspect his Sincerity, he has (Second Edition, _Page_ 274) given strong Intimations of his Faith, as follows:

"The Doctrine of _Reprobation_, in the most _severe_ and _absolute_ Sense of it, stands in such a direct Contradiction to all our Notions of Kindness and Love to others, in which the _blessed God_ is set forth as our Example, that our Reason cannot tell how to receive it; yet if it were never so true, and never so plainly revealed in Scripture, it would only be a Doctrine which would require our humble Assent, and silent Submission to it; with awful Reverence of the Majesty and Sovereignty of the great God, &_c_."

This proves, I think clearly, on what Authority the Doctor himself believes these _Doctrines;_ and whoever knows, how _common_ it is for Men of _this_ Faith, to make a specious Shew of reasoning with others on a Principle of moral Fitness, and among themselves, without Scruple, resolving all into mere _Sovereignty_, will not think I have been too forward or severe in my Observation. I _humbly_ presume, what I have offer'd against this Notion of _God's Sovereignty_, is a plain Confutation of the Doctor; and I here, with all due Submission, invite _him_, or any of his _Brethren_, to defend _the Doctrines;_ and _this Quotation_, against me. If they _do really_ resolve these Doctrines into _God's Sovereignty_, let them speak it out plainly; if they _do not_ believe them in this Sense, let them speak that out plainly too; that we may clearly understand, in what _determinate Sense_, they do believe them.

The Doctor has taken a great deal of Pains to make the World believe, that Christ died for all Men, when it does not appear, that he himself believes any such thing. Hear him, _Page_ 89, "And methinks, when I take my justest Survey of this lower World, with all the Inhabitants of it, I can look upon it no otherwise, than as a huge and magnificent Structure in Ruins, and turned into a Prison, and a Lazar-house, or Hospital; wherein lie Millions of Criminals, and Rebels against their Creator, under Condemnation to Misery and Death, who are at the same time sick of a mortal Distemper, and disorder'd in their Minds, even to Distraction: Hence proceed those infinite Follies, which are continually practised here; and the righteous Anger of an offended God is visible in ten thousand Instances: yet there are Proclamations of Divine Grace, Health, and Life, sounding amongst them; either with a louder Voice, or in gentler Whispers, though very few of them take any Notice thereof. But of this great Prison, this Infirmary, there is here and there one who is called powerfully, by Divine Grace, and attends to the Office of Reconciliation, and complies with the Proposals of Peace; his Sins are pardoned, he is healed of his worst Distemper; and tho', his Body is appointed to go down to the Dust, for a Season, yet his Soul is taken upwards to a Region of Blessedness; while the Bulk of these miserable and guilty Inhabitants, perish in their own wilful Madness and by the just Executions of Divine Anger."

As I have hitherto troubled the Reader with little Quotation, and it being now so necessary to let us into the _true Spirit_ of the Doctor's Belief, notwithstanding any seeming Appearance to the contrary, I hope to be pardoned. You perceive here, that all are called, but the _greatest Part_, in such a weak and imperfect Manner, that is out of _their Power_ to embrace the Call, and so they perish as _unavoidably_ and _unjustly_, as though no such Call were extended. The Distinction, which is here made between moral and natural Necessity, the Doctor thinks sufficient to silence all Objections, _Page_ 285. I have endeavour'd to shew the contrary, and I hope with better Success. Again, what the Doctor observes, _Page_ 245, is worthy of Notice,--"Though there must be a _very good Sense_, in which _Christ_ may be said to die for all Men, because the Scripture uses this Language; yet it does not follow, that the Doctrine of Universal Redemption is found there: I cannot find that Scripture once asserts that _Christ_ redeemed all Men, or _died_ to redeem them all."