The Works of Joseph Butler Author:Joseph Butler General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1896 Original Publisher: Clarendon Press Subjects: Apologetics Analogy (Religion) Natural theology Eschatology Sermons, English Religion / Christianity / Anglican Religion / Sermons / Christian Religion / Christian Theology / General Religion / Christian T... more »heology / Apologetics Religion / Christian Theology / Eschatology Religion / Eschatology Religion / Theology Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: THE ANALOGY OF RELIGION TO THE CONSTITUTION AND COURSE OF NATURE PART II OF REVEALED RELIGION CHAPTER I. OF THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY. ) 1. A Revelation was (a) required, (b) serviceable. SOME persons, upon pretence of the sufficiency of the light of nature, avowedly reject all revelation, as, in its very notion, incredible, and what must be fictitious. And indeed it is certain, no revelation would have been given, had the light of nature been sufficient in such a sense, as to render one not wanting and useless. But no man, in seriousness and simplicity of mind, can possibly think it so, who considers the state of religion in the heathen world before revelation, and its present state in those places which have borrowed no light from it:particularly the doubtfulness of some of the greatest men, concerning things of the utmost importance, as well as the natural inattention and ignorance of mankind in general. It is impossible to say, who would have been able to have reasoned out that whole system, which we call natural religion, in its genuine simplicity, clear of superstition: but there is certainly no ground to affirm that the generality could'. If they could, there is no sort of probability that they would. Admitting there ...« less