date

1821 March 2. Jug Util & True
1821 March 2.

Jug Util & True

B

7

Plan of the Work

Part II. Natural Verity considered

7

II. In Part the second, the question of Verity, —apparent Verity—is brought upon the carpet: apparent verity, that is to say of the future existence of the same man after death in a state susceptible of reward and punishment for conduct maintained in the course of his life: apparent

verity, to wit in the eyes of all those, with relation to whose interest it can possess any degree of usefulness: apparent in contradistinction to real. By means of this distinction, the advocates of Revealed Religion are left at liberty, under all that deficiency in the article of apparent Verity, to ascribe to the retributory state in question real verity: receiving to themselves the satisfaction of seeing a sufficient proof of such verity in that Revelation which as yet remains unquestioned.

On the part of Natural Religion the absence of apparent verity is deduced /shewn to result/ from the absence of all evidence, Revelation apart in favour of two indispensable conditions: 1. on the part of those human beings, whose existence in the present state is made known by experience, the capacity of existing without prejudice to their identity: in a state of which the least imaginable difference from their own would be sufficient to render each future man more different from his present self than in his present state any man is from any other. 2. in this other part the existence of a supernatural being, indeed at one with the power and the will to place them in such retributory state, in the description of which a self-contradictory supposition is, as above, involved.

After this demonstration the advocate of Revealed Religion is still left at liberty to retain his persuasion of the existence of these same indispensable conditions: the evidence by which this existence is regarded by him as sufficiently proved, remaining as yet unimpeached.
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  • Title: [1821 March 2 Jug. Util. & True]
    Description: 1821 March 2

    Jug. Util. & True

    8

    Plan of the Work

    Part II. Natural Verity considered

    8

    For this they have two resources, not indeed compatible with each other, but at the same time either of them sufficient. The one is the distinctness of the mind or soul from the body, coupled with all existence, without prejudice to its identity, in a future state without any body conjoined to it, or at any rate without the same body: in a word its natural immortality. The other is, that of a fresh creation performed in the instance of each individual, by that superhuman Being: according to this later hypothesis after the death of each such human individual, a correspondent individual is created, and, by the continuance of the line of sensations and recollections which had place in the instance of the annihilated individual, the identity requisite to retribution is constituted between the old man and the new one. By this hypothesis the non existence of original and natural immortality in other words the existence of natural mortality is admitted: notwithstanding which admission the hypothesis has actually found adopters among several distinguished supporters of the Religion of Jesus. D r Priestly, for one. The following paragraph is crossed through in black ink.

    In so far as a course of logical demonstration which has for its object nothing but human comfort through acceptance given to useful truth may for illustration be compared to a plan of warfare the plan of which is of this sort. It has for its object the [...?] as to place the adversary in that state of impregnable obituary which it [...?] to that place where he feels himself compleatly surrounded and attacked at the same time in one of his posts. The following paragraph is crossed through in red ink.

    While the question of the usefulness of Natural Religion in the pointing up towards examination, religionists are left in possession of their supposed under examination, they are left in possession of their Revealed Religion with it supposed verity, and its supposed apposite Creator: when the question of his existence has been subjected to examination, this resource as established by Natural Religion with its circumstantial evidence fails them, but their Revelation, with the direct evidence by which the proof of its existence is given, remains unimpeached.
  • Title: [1821 Oct. 14 Jug. Util. Introductory]
    Description: 1821 Oct. 14

    Jug. Util.

    Introductory Sketch

    Part I

    On the usefulness of Natural Relifgion actual Verity not considered

    Part II

    Revelation apart want of useful efficiency on the part of Natural Religion for want of apparent Verity

    Part III

    Deficiency of usefulness on the part of alledged Revealed Religion in general for want of an apparent Verity

    Part IV

    On the worldly usefulness of the religion of Jesus, verity considered (a)

    (a) If verity is wanting then supposing /were/ it useful while it is believed to be true, that usefulness must vanish in proportion as its want of verity is brought to light

    Part V

    On the worldly usefulness of the Religion of Jesus, Verity apart

    Part VI On the worldly usefulness of the Religion of Jesus under Political […?]

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    Jesus displayed: or The True History of Jesus as deduced from a critical examination of the documents.
  • Title: [1821 Feb. 27 Jug Util & True]
    Description: 1821 Feb. 27

    Jug Util & True

    5

    Plan of the Work

    Part.I. /Natural—/ Verity apart.

    5

    Plan of a Work to be intituled

    The Usefulness of Religion in the present life examined

    Of the arrangement pursued a principal object is to elude the bar opposed by adverse possessions to the reception of the useful truths.

    In this view the work is divided into eight parts: the eight is as yet only in contemplation; and is not very likely to be undertaken by the author of the others.

    1. In Part the first. Natural Religion is considered, independently of supposed Revealed: and its Utility is considered without reference to its verity; or, as it may be said, its verity is, for the purpose of the argument tacitly admitted and assumed, in so far as verity can be attributed to it consistently with uselessness and mischievousness. The topic[?] from whence its inefficiency to useful purposes is inforced is the utter absence of any directive rule, in connection with those expectations of reward and punishment of which any sanctionative force that can be attributed to it must be composed. The topics[?] from whence its efficiency to pernicious purpose are inferred are the magnitude which must be attributed the expected punishments to make up for that deficiency in the article of propinquity, and that deficiency in the article of certainty or rather probability, which are the necessary result of the utter absence of all direct experience: of all evidence, presented to any man who thinks of them, by explanation: by any experience of his own, or by the reported experience of any other man of whose trustworthiness he is capable of obtaining satisfactory assurance by interrogation or otherwise.

    Of alledged Revealed Religion no mention is as yet made. To its votaries is thus spared the shock of feeling the object of their attachment struck at in the first instance by arguments by which if prevalent, their belief in it must be destroyed without recourse: the hope is even left to them that thereby their supposed Revealed Religion, so far from being shaken, will be /stand/ confirmed: confirmed by the proof given of the utter inefficiency of Natural Religion, as well for the want of evidence of the existence of a future state of rewards and punishments as for the want of all directive rule: deficience for both of which it has been the business of Revealed Religion to provide a supply.

    The attack thus made on Natural Religion, is no other than that which in this way has been made by several of the Advocates of Revealed Religion, it being in their eyes subservient at least if not indispensably necessary to their cause.