Classic Christian work

The wisdom of

Name: The wisdom of
Author: Tillotson, John

This seminal collection explores the rational foundations of faith, positioning religious practice as the highest expression of human reason. Eschewing dense dogma, the text offers a lucid and practical guide to moral living, emphasizing that true virtue aligns with our natural self-interest and intellectual clarity. As a hallmark of Latitudinarian thought, these reflections shaped the evolution of modern English prose and influenced generations of thinkers. It remains a compelling read for those seeking to understand the historical intersection of ethics, logic, and spirituality in a beautifully accessible style.

Chapters: 1
Word count: 18,818
Type: Book

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01 The Wisdom of Being Religious 18,431 words

Front matter (2 sections)

Title Page

The Wisdom of being Religious. A SERMON Preached at Saint Paul's.

By JOHN TILLOTSON, Preacher to the Honourable Society of Lincolns-Inn.

BATEMAN Maior Martis quinto decimo die Martii 1663. Annoque Caroli secundi Angliae, &c. sexto decimo.

IT is Ordered, That Mr. Tillotson be desired to Print his Sermon lately Preached at Saint Paul's Church before the Lord Maior and Aldermen of this City.

WELD.

Perlegi hanc Concionem, in Ecclesiâ Sancti Pauli habitam, cui Titulus (The Wisdom of being Religious) in quâ nihil reperio Doctrinae, Disciplinaeve Ecclesiae Anglicanae, aut bonis moribus contrarium: Plurima tamen, quae ad praecipuum religionis fundamentum tutandum; Et ad Prodigiosam Atheorum hujus seculi vanitatem redarguendam egregie sunt accommodata. Quapropter dignissimam Censeo quae in Utilitatem publicam

Typis mandetur.

Joh. Hall, Rev. in Christo Pat. Humfredo Episc. Lond. â sac. Domest. Maij. 13. 1664.

LONDON, Printed for SA. GELLIBRAND. 1664.

Dedicatory Epistle

To the Right Honourable Sir ANTHONY BATEMAN, Lord Mayor of the City of London, and the Honourable Court of Aldermen there.

Right Honourable,

IN obedience to your Order I here present you with a Sermon which you formerly heard. I know not how acceptable discourses of this nature may be, I am sure they are very seasonable in this degenerate age, in which Atheism and profaneness are grown so impudent, and notwithstanding the restraints of shame and laws, do appear with so bold a face in the world. When men arrive to that degree of confidence, as to tell the world that the notion of a spirit implies a contradiction, that fear and fancy are the parents of a deity, and ignorance and melancholy the true causes of devotion, and that religion is nothing else but the fear of an invisible power feigned by the mind, or imagined from tales publicly allowed; when it shall be counted brave to defy God, and every dabbler in natural philosophy, or mathematics, or politics, shall set up for an Atheist; sure then it is high time to resist this growing evil. For this purpose I have enlarged that part of the discourse, which is more immediately levelled against Atheism, beyond what the limits of time would allow me in the preaching of it; and in hope that it may do some service to that end, it is now humbly offered to you by

Your Honours most humble servant John Tillotson.

The wisdom of

Table of contents

Title Page

Dedicatory Epistle

To the Right Honourable Sir ANTHONY BATEMAN, Lord Mayor of the City of London, and the Honourable Court of Aldermen there.

Take it with you.