But  the  mask  is  almost  transparent,  for  the
book  is  undeniably  directed  against  Christi-
anity. He  regards  certain  things  as '  mutable,'
as  being  merely  '  means  to  ends,'  other  things
as  '  so  indifferent  as  not  to  be  consider'd  either
as  means  or  ends.'  The  observance  of  these
indifferent  things  is  superstitious.  Other
and  more  important  things,  '  by  their  internal
excellency,  show  themselves  to  be  the  will
of  an  infinitely  wise  and  good  God.'  '  The
Religion  of  Nature'  consists  in  observing  these
last  things,  and  '  the  Light  of  Nature '  is  our
sufficient  guide.  The  book  is  well  written,
and  garnished  with  quotations  from  English
divines,  the  classics,  and  the  Bible.  The
Fathers    of    the    Church    are    ridiculed    for


(173)


Deists]


Dictionary  of  English  Church  History


[Deists


allegorising  the  Old  Testament.  And  though
Tindal  refers  to  this  practice  as  a  proof  that
by  allegorising  they  'sufficiently  acknowledg'd
the  sovereignty  of  reason,'  he  allows  in  '  the
Religion  of  Nature '  '  no  Mysteries,  or  unin-
telligible Propositions,  no  Allegories.'  The
essence  of  his  doctrine,  as  of  the  other  Deists,
is  that  God  has  given  a  moral  law  to  man,
and  this  law  is  simply  the  conditions  of  our
actual  existence,  plain  to  every  one  alike,
whether  his  capacity  is  high  or  mean.  To
this  law  God  has  added  nothing,  and  it  is
absurd  to  suppose  either  that  He  has  added
anything  or  declared  it  in  a  manner  which
admits  of  any  obscurity.  The  statement  of
Tindal's  contemporary,  Proast,  that  Tindal
privately  admitted  that  he  had  abandoned
Christianity,  is  therefore  not  unjustified.
