The Sun.
London, England, 1819-11-20 00:00:00

eJit THE SUN.

THE RELIGION, LAWS. AND POLICY OF THE-COUN-
TRY t;ONSIDEItED,
to a Series of Letters,
_most respectfully inscribed to tits Pro-
prietor of Tut: SUN.

LETTER lII.—RELIGION.—(Continued.)

EDlTon—Fer reasons which it might be
deemed irtcicirant to state here,,.l shall now pro-
ceed to discuss this sobjeet somewhat more sys-

tentntic,dly.

The Religion of ibis Country, as by law estab-
lished, it is well known, is the Protestint ; the
troth of ‘vhieli our ances'ors sealed with their
blood, and which, I trust, their posterity, will
ever strenuously maintain. The first tenet which
this Religion inculcates, is a belief in the existence
pud attributes of God; a belief, equally essential
to p,blic morals, good order, and individual teli-

airy : since it mils: be evident to every one who

posiesses the common inteEect of a man, tiro if

a,,y one gill dare to deny that God, who is our
Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and who will
finally be his Jodge, he %Ain pay little, if any, de-
ference to Civil Authority, or Human Laws,
hoW ever excellent in their nature, or beneficial
in their etrecti. Heoce, then, my fellow•subjects,
the importance of Religion appears as a matter of
political expediency, and the absolute necessity
of constituting such Religion a part of the Law of
the Land. Otherwise, every profane caviller, or
blasphemous reviler, would obtrude on the Public
theories and opinions, fatal to Morality and Re-
ligion, and subversive of all Regal and Legisla-
tive authority. Thus, as far as human depravity
and human artifice could effect it, the Law of God
would be set aside, and the Law of the Land be-
come a dead letter : while families would be Om
set at valiance, Religious Societies divided, and
the nation
.at large be one tumultuous scene of
irreligion, anarchy, and bloodshed.
Nor is, my friends, this belief in the existence
and attributes of GOD of less importance to us
individu Illy ; for if, as some have presumed to
assert, and many others, front their conduct, seem
to suppose there he no Gon, where our secu-
rity in this life,
.and our felicity in that which is
to come ? What arm can shield us from the mer-

cilets storms of life, front the innumerable dis-
eases incident to humanity, or what voice speak
consolation in the awful moment of dissolution ?
When the dint twilight of time must terminate,
either in the dismal horrors of eternal night, or
the bright effulgence of eternal day ! Wherefore,
my friends anti fellow-subjects, seeing that this
belief is of such infinite importance to us all,
both here and hereafter, 1 shall now proceed to
consider evidence by which this article of
our Holy Faith is supported.—(l Peter, iii. 15.)—
In order that you may be able to give a reason of
the hope that is in you, and be on your guard
against the sleight of men and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive.—(Ephes. iv.
14.)—When, in girder to meet the futile objec-
tions of the sceptical cavillers who disbelieve
whatever their finite capacities are insufficient to
comprehend, and at the same time to shorten
discussion in the argumentative parts, I shall oc-
casionally place at the bead of each division
such Axioms, &c. as the nature of the subject may
seem to require, as these from mathematical ac-
curacy, and pointed breyitv, generally carry
stronger conviction to the mind than lengthened
arguments or tedious discussion ; besides, being
equally conclusive.

Axiom 1.
What did not exist could neither produce itself nor any

other being.

Corollary.
Therefore the world could not produce itself.
Scholium.

This will refute the hypothesis that the world was the re-
sult of chance: for as chance is a mere name, equally desti-
tute of existence, essence, and attributes, it could not act ;
and since every effect must have an active cause, it is clear
that chance could not produce ts, single pare-, lunch less a
whole, so replete with order, harmony, and design, as the
system of the world.

A.riom 2.

Mere matter is perfectly inactive.
Corollary.

Consequently could not organize itself.

'Scholium.

This will refute the hypothesis that the world was formed
by the fortuitous concurrence of atoms. Besides, this is
making the thing created the Creator ; as well might it be as-
serted that a piece of mechanism- is the mechanic, and ab-
surdity which the most untutored rustic would reject with
contempt.
. _

Ariont
Whatever is snbject to decay, or had a beginning, cannot
be eternal.

.4.riam 4.
All matter is subject to decay.
Corollary.

The world being, material, is ;n;bject, to decay, and has
been proved to bare a beginning; therefore could not have
existed from all eternity.
Scholium.
This will refute the hypothesis as to the eternity of the
world. •

42:iont 5.
Only an infinite cause can produce an infinite effect.
The creation of the world is the effect of infi-
nite Vower, wisdom, and design therefore none
but an infinite God could produce it.
There is one argument in refutation of the eter-
y of the world, which admits of such useful and

striking iflustratiou, that I trust my fellow•conn-
trymen will pardon the digression, should they
deem it such, while I attempt to elucidate it ;
may we all, my friends and . fellow-subjects, at-
tend to the important lesson it is calculated to
convey The argument to which I -refer is the
tendency of all material bodies to dissolution and
decay. In order to substantiate this point, let us
take a transient review of the progressive ravages
of Time, and we shall find that all his revolu-
tions have been matked with vestiges of desola-
tion. The once celebrated cities of Babylon, of
Athens, and of Rome, have long since fallen into
decay, and their tedious catalogue of Kings and
heroes retired to the grave, and their brilliant
achievements written on the sands of obli►ion.

Let us next s,urvey the dreary abode of fallen
magnificet►cy and departed grande►tr, whose lord-
ly possessors, dignified with all the glitteting
appendages of rank and fortune, have ceased to
exist, and their lung line of ennobled ancestry ef-
faced from the records of time. Since nothing
now remains, save the fit eting memorials of the
trembling turret, or the mouldering battlement—
no more the rigid mandate of its imperious was-
ter infuses terror in the domestic breast, or the
exhilirating sounds of hospitality entertain the
ft iendly visitant. The fragrant parterre iind the
vettlant lawn, now the nursery of nettles and
thorns, no longer exhale their sweets or diTiny
their beauties: while the rn<+ngling► ivy, the en►-
blem of decay, whispers in the midnight breeze,
to strike the lonely stranger with dismay, or in-
spire the contemplative wanderer with revereu
tial awe !

Yet are, my friends, the •preceding proofs in-
sufficient to carry conviction to the mind ; let us
no.v visit that house appointed for all hying—
the silent Golgotha of the dead, I•lere we behold
the rich and the poor; the learned and the igno-
rant ; the young and the old ; the galley-slave awl
the conqueror of the world, indiscritivivately re-
cline on the icy pillow of death ! While the beau-
tiful and expressive lines of the Poet will serve
as a general epitaph to the whole :

The boat of Heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Await alike th' inevitable hour—
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

Having thus briefly answered, and, I hope, fairly
refuted the absurd theories of our atheistical op-
ponents, I now proceed to'remind my Fellow.•
subjects, for, I trust, that i need not attempt to
convince them of that evidence in support of this
doctrine which is so obvious to every reflecting
mind, and which so strikingly appears in the stu-
pendous fabric of the Heavens, the diversified pro-
ductions of the earth, and the wonderful structure
of man. Were we, my Friends, to view the daz-
zling luminaries of Heaven in their orbits, and
consider their magnitudes, motions, distances, in-
fluences, anti appearances— were we to examine the
animal, vegetable, insect, reptile, feathered, and
finny tribes, together with their organizations, in-
siiucts, economy, parts, properties, and uses—were
we to examine the structure and composition of
rocks, mountains, and strata, and the volcanic pro-
ducts;ThFnerai dykes and metalic veins, together
with their long catalogue of generic and specific
bodies—with what an ample field of evidence
would they furnish us.
Lastly, were we to take a view of ourselves, and
examine the physical functions of the body, and
the metaphysical powers and operations of the
mind, what a complicated syStem of deSign and
intelligence is that wonderful microcosm, man !
Here we shall perceive every part and propol then
fitted and adjusted with infinite wisdom and ex-
quisite design : so as to give facility to motion
and energy to action : at the saute time, to pro-
tect the delicate organs of life and the God-like
powers of the mind from assault, annoyance, or
decay, so as not only to perpetuate our existence
during our pilgrimage here, but also to qualify us
for all the duties, avocations, and ratiooul enjoy-
ments of life. But when, my friends, we con-
cider that immortal, that ennobling part of man
the mind, its faculties and endowments, its ener-
gies and operations, its investigations and inven-
tious, surely here we trace the hand of omnipo-
tence, yea, the image of our God. Since, by the
superior faculties of the soul we can accompany
the Mariner in his voyage, the Soldier in his
wars, the Philosopher in his research, and Angels
in their Heavenly employ, while Nature unfolds
her hidden stores, Science her brightest gettr,s,
and Religion her immortal treasures. Whetice
then must we suppose this noble, this traos-
cendant principle, first emanated ? certainly
from that immortal source of every perfec-
tion who claims our highest adoration as our
Creator and our God. Finally, my ft iends and
fellow-subjects, do we not hear the voice of
God in the thunder and in the wind ? Do we
not read his wisdom and his mercy, his power
and his providence, in the genial showers which
give fertility to the soil, verdure to the herbage,
beauty to the flowers, fecundity to the crops, and
maturity to the fruits Are we not convinced
that lie hears every word, knouts every thought,
and sees every action of our lives Cart we then
he insensible, much less incredulous, of his exist-
ence ? or of his omniscience, omnipresence, and
omnipotence ? Impossible ! since as soon could
we believe that we do not exist, that we crewed
ourselves, or that we could hold the ocean in the
hollo%v of our hand ! For we know, we feel, any
friends, that there is a just, a holy, and a merciful
Goo, who first created, still upholds. and who,
will ultimately destroy the stupendous fabric of
the World. When He shall say to the Sou, be
extinguished ; to the Earth, sink into nothing ;
and to Time, thou shalt be no longer !
Having thus described the subject, as far as
relates to the necessity of a First Cause, I shall
in my next consider the concurrent testimony of all
Nations and all Ages in support of. this doctrine,
as deducible from the indelible impression on the
mind of 1113 h of the reality of such a cause, from.
the religious observances of most Nations, and as
supported by the authority of the 'wisest arid
greatest men. in the meats rime, I beg to sub-
scribe myself, Sir,
Your obedient humble Servant.
A BRITON.
November 17, 1819.