Thomas Reid on Religion by James J.S. Foster

Author:James J.S. Foster
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Reid, theology, religion, Scottish Enlightenment, common sense philosophy, natural theology, philosophy of religion, morality, ethics
ISBN: 9781845409586
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited 2017
Published: 2017-10-31T00:00:00+00:00

Lecture 85th

That the system, called the Beltistan, was invented for the purpose of enabling us to comprehend more easily the moral attributes of deity, the origin of evil, and the end for which it was permitted to prevail, is not to be doubted. But we must always judge that these authors, who pretend to unravel all the mysteries of divine providence, and like Ariadne’s thread [133] pretend to lead us through all the turning and winding of this great labyrinth, however much they deserve praise for their zeal, deserve little for their prudence or modesty. To comprehend the plan of the universe and all the laws by which it is governed exceeds the utmost extent of human genius. Presumptuous man that thou art! Wouldst thou vainly wish to be privy counsellor to the Almighty, thou who art unable to comprehend half of the wisdom displayed in the meanest works of God? Consider the puny worm that crawls beneath thy feet and licks the dust of the Earth, doest thou know the end for which it was made? The useful purposes it serves to thee and to other animals? Canst thou unfold its structure? No man can. Here the art of the skilful anatomist is baffled; the physiologist and the philosopher are put to shame. Shall we then vainly attempt to comprehend the whole, / 5.172 who know not how one particle of matter adheres to another and how one body communicates motion another? As soon may a mite comprehend the structure of an orrery or unfold a system of legislature, as we the structure and plan of the universe. We see indeed in everything around us, in the curious structure of all of our bodies and minds, means excellently adapted to certain ends. We see a profusion of wisdom and power displayed, but all that falls under our view is only an inconsiderable part of the whole. A man who should read a few pages of the Iliad of Homer would have good reason to conclude that he was a very great poet, but from such a small specimen no man that was not a fool would pretend to describe the plan of the whole or the manner in which it was conducted.

¶ In the like manner, from the little we know of the works of God, we have good reason to ascribe to him goodness, wisdom, and power, but there is neither wisdom nor modesty in ourselves when from the little we see we think to describe the plan of the whole. In this respect, the Beltistan theory and all others formed to explain the ends of phenomena we see in the universe may be compared to the various theories the / 5.173 Earth which we have had by different authors. Many attempts have been made to explain the present appearance of things, of mountains, valleys, minerals, the different strata and layers of earths, those extraneous bodies, animal and vegetable, found at great depths in the Earth, and so on.

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