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laudable and worthy than they would have been if they had been eyew itnesses of his personal conduct and miraculous works . Now , from hence , and from a few similar passages in the New Testament , an objection hath been raised against both the apostles and their Master , for having taught
mankind that faith is so much the more virtuous , worthy , and laudable , by . how much there is less evidence or rational proof upon which it can be founded ; from which principle , say the objectors , it will follow , that that faith roust be the most laudable and acceptable to God which is founded on no evidence at all . But this consequence is plainly absurd , therefore the principle from which it flows must be false .
There may be something smart in this cavil , but there is no real foundation for it , unless it be in the injudicious and unscriptural language of some believers . We will readily grant that there is nothing virtuous or commendable in any faith that is not founded upon the appearance of rational proof and evidence . We will grant further , that there is nothing virtuous in any act of faith considered in itself ; namely , a bare assent of the mind to the truth of any fact or doctrine upon the appearance of satisfactory
evidence of it to the understanding , let the kind or degree of it be what it will . No man can claim any merit for seeing what is directly before his eyes ; and as little can any be evinced in the mere act of believing what is affirmed by persons whom we know to be honest and credible witnesses . No one thinks it an act of virtue to believe on the testimony of the writers who have given us the history of those times , that there was such a person as Julius Caesar ; how then can a man claim any praise for believing on the testimony of the evangelists that there was such a person as
Jesus Christ ? In like manner , the mere assent to any doctrine , such as the existence of God , upon the appearance to our understandings of those manifold evidences which so clearly prove it , has nothing virtuous or commendable in it . It is a matter of necessity , which we cannot avoid . The most wicked of men , who reason and consider the subject , cannot help believing this doctrine , though they may wish ever so much to disbelieve and disprove it . And it is observable that St . James makes use of this very instance to prove that there can be nothing laudable or acceptable to God in a mere act of faith or assent to any religious doctrine .
But after we have made these concessions , which the sacred writers themselves allow us to make , we may very reasonably expect the objectors to grant us in turn , that to love truth and to inquire after it diligently , to examine any fact or doctrine that is proposed to us fairly and candidly , to consider the evidences and rational proofs which are offered in support of it , and to be equally ready to lend a calm and impartial hearing to what is urged on either side of any disputed question , is truly praiseworthy . For
though the assent of a man ' s mind to a doctrine , upon the actual appearance of satisfactory and convincing evidence of its truth to his understanding , is what he cannot avoid ; yet the keeping his mind open to truth , the maintaining a fairness and impartiality of temper in his inquiries after it , diligence and perseverance suited to its importance and value in the conduct of these
inquiries ; a readiness to yield his assent to such evidence as is really requisite , suitable to , and sufficient in , each case ; even though the doctrine so established should lead to practical results inconsistent with confirmed habits , should call upon him to desert his former connexions , and adopt an entirely new system of conduct ; to follow all such doctrines to their consequences , and to act accordingly ; these things are certainly virtuous and
Untitled Article
456 On Religious Faith .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1828, page 456, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2562/page/24/
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