The Sun.
London, England, 1821-09-29 00:00:00

RELIGION.-LETTER 1.

MR. En/TOR—If we consider the nature of man, his situa-
tion upon the earth, the wants, the dangers to which he is daily,.
nay hourly,
.exposed, !Ave cannot
..be surprized that, in the con-
sciousness of his own weakness, lie shoiald almost instinctively
have sought the protection and good will of some being more
powerful than himself. At the Sallie- time that a sense of his
weakness, and of his incapacity led him thus to seek a friend, it
had previously convinced him that such a friend did exist, whose
good graces it was his interest to obtain. He soon remarked,
that he had no controul whatever over the course of events ; that
he could never turn them to his own particular purposes ; but
that they were regulated by the power of some being superior
to him Self. Strongly impressed with this idea, he bowed down
before this, ruler of the elerrients, acknowledged his superiority,
implored his protection, and thus laid the foundation of reli-
gious . worship. So natural *is this idea, that no nation,
even the most illiterate and the most barbarous, has yet
been found, that did not possess some notion of a
Supreme Being, and some regular form of worship. This dis-
position towards religious principles, thus implanted in every
human breast, and so generally disseminated, might originate
in'the opposite sentiments of love or fear ; whence some nations
have been found to worship at once the two opposite principles
r-of good and of evil. The full enjoyment of health and of pro-
sperity naturally inclined man to pour forth the accents of his
love and gratitude to the Being by whom these blessings were
bestowed ; whilst disease, accidents, and misery, induced him,
either to depreciate the wrath of his offended God ; or, in other
countries, to appease the anger, or conciliate the good will of the
author of evil. These ideas, and the- conclusions to which they
lead, may not be much in themselves, but they may serve
when that man, even if left to himself, would find in his own
breast the seeds of religion. •
The Christian, however, traces the origin of. Religion to a
higher sours:, to Gon himself. Though infinitely superior to
his creatures, and, in his own nature, wholly independent of
them, he has still condescended to establish an intercourse be-
tween man and his Maker, between the heavens and the earth.
Not satisfied with revealing to his chosen creature his origin, his
end, and some of his own perfections, lie has moreover traced,
out for him the line of conduct he must adopt to secure his eter-
nal welfare, and has deigned to accept the homage of his crea-
tures. To the Jews lie gave not only his law, but also the pomp
and ceremonies of ykirship. To the Christian lie has given the
hope of eternal bleSsings ; and the rules, by the observance of
which lie may contribute to the welfare of his fellow-creatures,
and secure to himself the everlasting enjoyment of his Goo.
If we reflect upon the extraordinary violence of the passions
that sway the human breast, we must be aware that nothing
but a strong harrier can possibly keep them in due subjection.
They were no doubt given to for the wisest and most be-
neficialputposcs, and when duly kept in proper bounds, they
tend to his advantage, andto that of his fellow creatures. The
greatest curb that can be put upon them is-no doubt that of re-
ligion. - The conviction 'that a day WILL conic when Divine
justice will punish, the guilty and-reward the innocent, is one of
the most powerful inducements men can have to keep in the path
of virtue. The subniission they are taught-to Peel to the laws
of God, prepares them to submit to those of men ; whilst the
moral precepts of the Gospel must render them good fathers,
faithful husbands, and loyal subjects. Considered, therefore,
in this point of view, Religion may he justly regarded as the
very basis of social order, and the strongest bulWark of so-
ciety. Hence we ever find that the iiien who form the pro-
ject of subverting the civil institutions, begin their work
.of destruction by an attack upon religious principles. When
men, indeed, have been once brought to hold in contempt the
laws of God, how can they pay. any deference to those of man .?
If men are taught that death is an eternal sleep..; that their ex-
istence must terminate in the tend); what' curb can restrain
their passions what charm can induce them to prefer the
rugged paths of virtue to the alluring and flowery ways of vice ?
,If men believe that a moment of criminal enjoyment may be
punished by endless misery, they will pause no doubt ere they
purchase it at so high a rate : but if, they are taught that the
present is the only period of their existence, that their action's
a .e
.punished here, and here only, when they are detected,
why shoUld they forego a :certain gratification, through the
mere dread of human disapprobation, and with the certainty of
future imp Unity ? The evil-disposed Of the present day, those
men who, under the mask of philosophy, endeavour to conceal
their anti-social 'intentions, know well the force of this
reasoning, and therefore endeavour. to sap the .founda-
tions of the Throne, by remoying; the prop
.of
Hence do we now see all the anti-religious workS which were
once so profusely disseminated in France, and which there
produced such fatal effects, now actively, -dispersed . among
the peOple of this country. In - this state of things, it believes
every lover of his country, every, friend'-of social order; every true
and sincere Christian, to contribute his mite towards the sup-
port of religion- and cif• loyalty. I shall therefore beg leave to
send you a series of Essays, in which I will endeavour to:point
out the fallacy of the doctrines' contained •in the pernicious
works to which I have alluded: trusting that the goodnefls of
the intention may induce your readers to excuse the imperfec-
tions which they will find in the execution.
Ewliurst.• • A.

ST. THOMAS'S and GUY'S HOSPITALS.
QIR,ASTLEY COOPER WILL BEGIN
his COURSE ^of LECTURES (itt SURGERY, on
MONDAY, at Eight o:Clock-in the Everiing. •