The Moral Philosopher Author:Thomas Morgan Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Darknefs of Enthufiafm, and the Uncertainty of every private Imagination are highly laudable. Their refting Religion and all its Doctrines and Obligations upon t... more »he moral Truth, Reafon, and Fitnefs of Things, is placing it upon the only true Foundation, and where alone it can be fecure and defenfible. But it muft be own'd, however, and every one fees, that moft of thefe Gentlemen, notwith- ftanding their Impartiality, have given but very little Satisfaction to fuch Ju- daizing Chriftians as would ftill retain at leaft fome Things merely pofitive, ritual and ceremonial, as neceffary Parts of Religion, or neceffary infti- tuted Means of conveying Grace, without any moral Reafon, Fitnefs, or Con- gruity in the Things themfelves. And indeed an Attempt to connect, any Actions in themfelves indifferent, with the moral Truth, Reafon and Fitnefs of Things, as ftanding perpetual Obligations, is in effect giving up the whole Caufe, and leaving Religion without A 3 any any certain Mark or Criterion at all. And therefore the Chriftian Judaizers have always thought themfelves abufed and trifled with by all the Conceflions which fuch Friends of Liberty and rational Religion feem to make in their Favour. They take it as mere Grimaces, and a Contrivance only to fave Appearances. Thefe Gentlemen fay they pretend to fupport the pofitive, ritual and ceremonial Part of Religion, while they believe nothing of the Matter. They afFedt Solemnity chiefly when they are leaft ferious; and while they feem to allow the NeceiTity, or at leaft Ufefulnefs of pofitive Infti- tutions, they are in effe6t explaining them away, and leaving every Man to his Liberty whether he will obferve them or not, or to Judgment of Dif- cretion how far he is to fubmit to fuch Obligations; which is, fay they, plainly fetting a...« less