Joseph Butler

“ Nor does the want of religion, in the generality of the common people, appear owing to a speculative disbelief, or denial of it, but chiefly to thoughtlessness, and the common temptations of life. Your chief business, therefore, is to endeavour to beget a practical sense of it upon their hearts, as what they acknowledge their belief of, and profess they ought to conform themselves to. And that is to be done by keeping up, as well as we are able, the form and face of religion with decency and reverence, and in such a degree as to bring the thoughts of religion often to their minds ”

“ In the present turn of the age, one may observe a wonderful frugality in everything which has respect to religion, and extravagance in everything else. But amidst the appearances of opulence and improvement in all common things, which are now seen in most places, it would be hard to find a reason why these monuments of ancient piety should not be preserved in their original beauty and magnificence. ”

“ Now religion is by far too serious a matter to be the hackney subject upon these occasions. And by preventing its being made so, you will better secure the reverence which is due to it, than by entering into its defence. Every one observes, that men's having examples of vice often before their eyes, familiarizes it to the mind, and has a tendency to take off that just abhorrence of it which the innocent at first felt, even though it should not alter their judgment of vice, or make them really believe it to be less evil or dangerous. ”

“ But external acts of piety and devotion, and the frequent returns of them, are moreover necessary to keep up a sense of religion, which the affairs of the world will otherwise wear out of men's hearts. And the frequent returns, whether of public devotions, or of anything else, to introduce religion into men's serious thoughts, will have an influence upon them in proportion as they are susceptible of religion, and not given over to a reprobate mind. ”

“ How near this time is, God only knows; but this kind of Scripture signs of it is too apparent. For as different ages have been distinguished by different sorts of particular errors and vices, the deplorable distinction of ours is, an avowed scorn of religion in some, and a growing disregard to it in the generality.
As to the professed enemies of religion, I know not how often they may come in your way; but often enough, I fear, in the way of some at least among you, to require consideration, what is the proper behaviour towards them. ”

“ This shows how infinitely unreasonable sceptical men are, with regard to religion: and that they really lay aside their reason upon this subject, as much as the most extravagant enthusiasts. But, further, cavilling and objecting upon any subject is much easier than clearing up difficulties: and this last part will always be put upon the defenders of religion. Now, a man may be fully convinced of the truth of a matter, and upon the strongest reasons, and yet not be able to answer all the difficulties which may be raised upon it. ”

“ In like manner, the hearing religion often disputed about in light familiar conversation, has a tendency to lessen that sacred regard to it, which a good man would endeavour always to keep up, both in himself and others. But this is not all: people are too apt, inconsiderately, to take for granted, that things are really questionable, because they hear them often disputed. This, indeed, is so far from being a consequence, that we know demonstrated truths have been disputed, and even matters of fact, the objects of our senses. ”

“ These observations are a proper full answer to many objections, and very material with regard to all.
But your standing business, and which requires constant attention, is with the body of the people; to revive in them the spirit of religion, which is so much declining. And it may seem, that whatever reason there be for caution as to entering into any argumentative defence of religion in common conversation, yet that it is necessary to do this from the pulpit, in order to guard the people against being corrupted, however, in some places. ”

“ General exhortations to piety, abstracted from the particular circumstances of it, are of great use to such as are already got into a religious course of life, but such as are not, though they be touched with them, yet when they go away from church, they scarce know where to begin, or how to set about what they are exhorted to. And it is with respect to religion, as in the common affairs of life, in which many things of great consequence intended, are yet never done at all, because they may be done at any time, and in any manner ”

“ Admonish them to take heed that they mean what they say in their prayers, that their thoughts and intentions go along with their words, that they really in their hearts exert and exercise before God the affections they express with their mouth. Teach them, not that external religion is nothing, for this is not true in any sense; it being scarce possible, but that it will lay some sort of restraint upon a man's morals ”

“ The author of the Inquiry, mentioned above, informs, in his Postscript, that "the certain consequence of referring mankind to a law of nature, or virtue, written upon their hearts, is their having recourse to their own sense of things on all occasions; which being, in a great majority, no better than family-superstition, party-prejudice, or self-interested artifice, (perhaps a compound of all,) will be too apt to overrule the plain precepts of the gospel." ”

“ In Roman Catholic countries, a man can hardly travel a mile without passing a crucifix erected on the road side : he may either stop to worship the image represented on the cross, or he may simply be reminded by it of his own relation to Christ crucified: thus by one and the same outward sign, "religion may be recalled to his thoughts," or superstition may take possession of his mind. ”

“ Indeed, whatever efforts are made against our religion, so Christian can possibly despair of it. For He, who has all power in heaven and earth, has promised that he will be with us to the end of the world. Nor can the present decline of it be any stumbling-block to such as are considerate; since he himself has so strongly expressed what is as remarkably predicted in other passages of Scripture, the great defection from his religion which should be in the latter days, by that prophetic question, When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith upon the earth? ”

“ What reasonable man ever denied that the pomp of outward worship has been sometimes mistaken for inward piety? that positive institutions, when rested in as ends, instead of being applied as means, are hurtful to the interests of true religion? Not Bishop Butler, certainly, who blames the observances of the Papists on this account, some of them as being "in themselves wrong and superstitious;" ”

“ There may be too much of form in religion, as well as too little; the one leads to enthusiasm, the other degenerates into superstition; one is puritanism, the other popery; whereas, the rational worship of God is equally removed from either extreme. Did the Inquirer never hear of the possibility of having too much of a good thing? Or does he suppose, with the late historian of Great Britain, that all religion is divided into two species, the superstitious and the fanatical ”

“ It supposes, not only that we have a real sense of religion upon our own minds, but also that to promote the practice of it in others is habitually uppermost in our thought and intention, as the business of our lives. And this, my brethren, is the business of our lives, in every sense and upon every account. It is the general business of all Christians as they have opportunity; it is our particular business. It is so, as we have devoted ourselves to it by the most solemn engagements; as, according to our Lord's appointment, we "live of the Gospel," I Cor, ix. ”

“ In the meanwhile, it will still be true, that bodily worship is by no means to be discarded, as unuseful in exciting spiritual devotion; on the contrary, that they mutually assist and strengthen each other; and that a mere mental intercourse with God, and a religious service purely intellectual, is altogether unsuitable to such a creature as man, during his present state on earth. ↑ In Roman Catholic countries, people cannot pass a day without having religion recalled to their thoughts—by some ceremony, or public religious form, occurring in their way. ”

“ Metaphysicians may say what they will of our feelings of this sort, being all illusive, liable to be perverted by education and habit, and judged of by men's own sense of things: they, whose understandings are yet unspoiled by philosophy and vain deceit, will be little disposed to listen to such assertions. Nor are there wanting arguments which prove, and, as should seem, to the satisfaction of every reasonable inquirer, that the great and leading principles of moral duties have in all ages been the same ”

“ Indeed, custom, as well as the manifest propriety of the thing, and examples of good men in Scripture, justify us in insisting, that none omit their prayers, morning or evening, who have not thrown off all regards to piety. But secret prayer comprehends, not only devotions before men begin and after they have ended the business of the day, but such also as may be performed while they are employed in it, or even in company. ”

“ The design of the Bishop, in this part of his Charge, is to consider religion, not under the notion of its being true, but as it affects the senses and imaginations of the multitude. For so the paragraph begins: "That which men have accounted religion, in the several countries of the world, (whether religion be true or false is beside his present argument,) generally speaking, has had a great and conspicuous part in all public appearances." This position he illustrates by three examples, the Heathen, the Mahometan, and the Roman Catholic religions. ”

“ But if these appendages of the divine service are to be regarded, doubtless the divine service itself is more to be regarded; and the conscientious attendance upon it ought often to be inculcated upon the people, as a plain precept of the gospel, as the means of grace, and what has peculiar promises annexed to it. ”

“ And truly, if besides our more set devotions, morning and evening, all of us would fix upon certain times of the day, so that the return of the hour should remind us to say short prayers, or exercise our thoughts in a way equivalent to this: perhaps there are few persons in so high and habitual a state of piety, as not to find the benefit of it. ”

“ The Quakers, though they have not the form, are careful to keep up the face of religion; as appears not only from the custom of assembling themselves for the purposes of public worship on the Lord's day, but from their silent meetings on other days of the week. And that they are equally sensible of the importance of maintaining the influence of religion on their minds, is manifest from the practice of what they call inward prayer, in conformity to the direction of Scripture, to pray continually ”

“ Endeavour to raise in their hearts such a sense of God as shall be an habitual, ready principle of reverence, love, gratitude, hope, trust, resignation, and obedience. Exhort them to make use of every circumstance which brings the subject of religion at all before them ”

“ If true religion cannot be preserved among them without forms, the consequence must be, that the Romish religion, having—more frequent occurrences of forms, is better than other religions, which have fewer of these—occurrences. ”

“ If others deal uncharitably with us, we must deal impartially with ourselves, as in a matter of conscience in determining what good is in our power to do; and not let indolence keep us from setting about what really is in our power ”

“ Now, this reverential fear will lead us to insist strongly upon the infinite greatness of God's scheme of government, both in extent and duration, together with the wise connection of its parts, and the impossibility of accounting fully for the several parts, without seeing the whole plan of Providence to which they relate; which is beyond the utmost stretch of our understanding. ”

“ In the celebration of the Eucharist, the elements of bread and wine are regarded by a Papist as the very body and blood of Christ; to a Protestant, they appear only as symbols and memorials of that body and blood; what in one is an act of rational devotion, becomes in the other an instance of the grossest superstition, if not idolatry. ”

“ The form of religion may indeed be, where there is little of the thing itself; but the thing itself cannot be preserved amongst mankind without the form. [4] And this form frequently occurring in some instance or other of it, will be a frequent admonition [5] to bad men to repent,
and to good men to grow better ”

“ People cannot be admonished or instructed in private, unless they will permit it. And little will you be able to do in forming the minds of children to a sense of religion, if their parents will not assist you in it ”

“ That great and good man, however, is not to be charged with the pernicious consequences which others have drawn from his opinions; consequences which have been carried to such a length, as to destroy all moral difference of human actions ”

“ Public instruction is also absolutely necessary, and can in no sort be dispensed with. But, as it is common to all who are present, many persons strangely neglect to appropriate what they hear to themselves, to their own heart and life. ”