CONFERFNCB I. 899 wars, murders, diseases, and the universal dominion and neces- sity of death, they might be easily confirmed in this false opinion, and refuse the belief of one supreme God. Loo. Really, Pithander, you amaze me ; I never met with any man before, who would not allow the unity of. God might be found by the reason of men. PITH. Mistake me not, Sir, I do not deny that li may nut be found : but I say, it is not very obvious and easy to the rude and uncultivated reason of every heathen : so that I question whe- ther one in ten in the common race of mankind, or one in an' hundred in the countrieswho lie under the prejudices of poly- theism, would find it out merely of themselves, without any helps or hints from tradition, or their wiser neighbours, and would firmly believe the truth of it. It is only revelation that has so fully confirmedand preserved or restored this fundamental point of all true religion, and set it in a clear and easy light. Bear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and there is no. other God but he ; Mark xii. 29, 32. But proceed, Sir, to the next point, viz. the goodness of God, and shew me whether that lies within the compass and reach of reason, so as to be easily proved by an untaught American. Loa. By what you have said, my friend, you think, per- haps, that the goodness of God is an attribute of the divine na- ture scarce to be found out at all by the poor wild Indians : But do not the variety and sufficiency of provisions that God bath made for the food, and life, and pleasure of every creature in the world, plainly shew his universal goodness, and must not everyman, who opens his eyes upon the creation, be ready to confess it ? . PITH. But apoor, Indian would be as ready to say, that the vast variety of pains and necessities, of diseases and miseries, and deaths, to which all mankind are made liable in common with the rest of creatures to incline him to believe, that though God hasgoodness in him, yet he is not perfectly good ; otherwise be would prevent these innumerable evils : And if we christians ourselves, with all the advantages of the bible, find some diffi- culty in maintaining the perfect goodness of God, when he suf. fers so much both of sinful and penal evil to enter into this world, and abound, while he could easily have prevented it ; 1 fear the ignorant savage, with all his reasoning powers, would be much more ready to think, that God was not so good a being as he should be: or, as Í said before, that there was some almighty evil,power, some mischievous Godwhich opposed him, so that he coda not do all the good he would. But pray, Sir, go onto the next head, and shew me that the justice of God is an attribute so easy to be found. Loa. I own that the wild heathens have argued, thus
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