Take Up the Cross

A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
— Psalm 92:6

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
— Psalm 10:4

To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech. Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
— Psalm 52:1-6

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
— Romans 1:28

That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
— Ephesians 2:12

God’s Arrow Against Atheism and Irreligion, by Henry Smith. The following contains Chapter One of his work, “God’s Arrow Against Atheists.” Published in 1593.

1 Theism and Irreligion were always abhorrent, even among the Heathens themselves; to the extent that Protagoras, for doubting whether there were any God or not, was banished by the Athenians from their Country. Diagoras was such a notorious Infidel that he believed there was no God; him and all such like Atheists were abhorred and detested even by the Heathens, resembling more like wild beasts than reasonable men. For Cicero, the Heathen Philosopher, condemned them all, and further stated that there was never any Nation so savage, or people so barbarous, but they always confessed there was a God; led by the light of Nature and natural instinct. This is confirmed by the common practice of all Heathens, who would lift up their eyes and hands to heaven in any sudden distress that befell them. Moreover, through the experience of all ages, it has been proven that Atheists themselves, those who, in their health and prosperity, would strive against the existence of a God for the sake of more liberty in sinning, when they came to die or fell into great misery, showed themselves to be the most fearful of this God, as Seneca himself declared. To such an extent that Zeno, the Philosopher, used to say that it seemed to him a more substantial proof of this matter to hear an Atheist at his death, preaching about God (when he asked God and all the world for forgiveness), than to hear all the Philosophers in the world debating the point. For at the moment of death and misery, it is likely that such speak in earnest and sober spirit, who previously, in their wantonness, opposed God. It is remembered of Gaius Caligula, that wicked and incestuous Emperor, that he was a notable scoffer and disdainer of God, making no account of any other being God except himself. Yet this abominable and wicked Atheist, God did not leave unpunished (for, by His just judgment, Caligula was killed by some of his own officers). While he lived, this Emperor was accustomed (as the Historiographers report of him) at the terrifying thunder and lightning, not only to cover his head but also to hide himself under his bed for fear. Where do you suppose this fear came from? It came from his own conscience telling him (however, he might not affirm it in words) that there was a God in heaven, able to humble and overthrow his pride and that of all the Emperors in the world if He so desired. Whose thunderbolts were so terrible that, by his own example, he showed he was to be feared by all the world. Some even say that God is called Deus, from the Greek word Theos, which means fear because the fear of Him is ingrained in the very nature and conscience of all reasonable creatures, even in the conscience of the greatest contemners and vilest Atheists in the world. Regardless of what they say or do, they will never be able to erase this impression: that there is a God, whose fear is engraved in the hearts of all men. So, where does shame come from in men after committing an offense? Or why should men (by natural distinction) differentiate between virtue and vice, good and evil if there were no God, who, because He loves the former and hates the latter, has written that distinction in every man’s heart? Therefore, it can be concluded that every man’s knowledge, conscience, and feelings serve as a thousand witnesses to convince him (whoever he may be) that there is a God to be feared, who abhors iniquity and wicked ways, and who should be sought as refuge and relief in times of trouble and deep distress (as the actions of even the Heathens themselves plainly demonstrate).

2 Moreover, as God is to be sensibly felt in every man’s conscience, He is also to be seen visibly (if I may put it that way) in the creation of the world and all things contained therein. For, as all the eminent Philosophers have agreed (except for Aristotle, for a time, who held a fancy that the world had no beginning but was from all eternity; but eventually, in his old age, he confessed and held the opposite in his book “De Mundo,” which he wrote to King Alexander, a book highly esteemed by Justin Martyr, who called it the epitome of all Aristotle’s true Philosophy). Given that the world had a beginning, it must necessarily follow that it had an efficient cause or maker. So, I ask, who made it? If you claim that it made itself, it is absurd, for how could it make itself before it existed, when it had no being at all? If you say that something within the world made the world, meaning that some part of the world made the whole, that is even more absurd; for it is as absurd as saying that a finger (and this before it was a finger or part of the body) made the whole body. Therefore, it must be confessed, through the force of this argument (which is clearly demonstrative), that something greater and more excellent than the entire world combined, something that existed before heaven and earth were created, was and must have been the maker and creator of this world. This can be nothing else but God, the Creator of all things, who existed before all His creatures and is referred to in the sacred writings as Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, for He alone was without a beginning Himself and shall be without an end. For He is eternal, being the Primus Motor, and the Almighty Creator of all things. So true is what Paul the Apostle testifies when he says that the invisible things of God (His eternal power and divine essence) are perfectly seen in the creation of the world, understood through His works. If, therefore, men would only raise their eyes to the heavens, and from there look down upon the earth, and behold the exceptional beauty and structure of this world, they cannot be so foolish or obtuse as to deny that there was and is a God who was the creator of them all. They would be moved, in some way, to glorify such an incomparable and excellent Creator. The Poets and others have even declared God to be Pater hominum, the Father of men, to emphasize that men have their origin and creation from Him. So, if we were to divert our gaze from the contemplation of the vast world and focus solely on Man (who, due to his beauty and excellence, is called in Greek “Microcosmos,” the little world), we would still be compelled to acknowledge God as our Author, the Father and Creator. Thus, it is true that Paul the Apostle takes from the Poet Aratus when he says, “We are the offspring of God.” And it is equally true that he further says in that place, “In Him we live, move, and have our being.” Therefore, we owe all dutiful obedience and submission to Him, a duty that nature commands us to fulfill in consideration of our Creation. For a son honors his father by natural obligation, and all men are naturally inclined to be grateful to their founders, to whom they are especially bound, and whom they should not forget, except if they are extremely ungrateful and dissolute.

Not only the Creation of the world, and all things therein contained, proclaims that there is a God who is to be honoured for His infinitely extended authority and almighty power (for He made all things out of nothing; He spoke the word, and they were created), but His daily blessings and benefits sent down upon the earth also demonstrate the existence of a God who is provident and cares for humanity. Therefore, He is to be praised, thanked, and glorified forever. For it is true, as Saint Paul says, that God did not leave Himself without a witness when He bestowed benefits from heaven, giving us rain and favourable weather, and filling our hearts with food and gladness. Through these blessings and others, men may, and still may, daily be induced not only to believe in the existence of God from whom they receive all these, but also to acknowledge and attribute all praise and thanksgiving to Him as their primary and special benefactor. Just as the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master, feeder, and sustainer, it is only reasonable that human beings should know God, not only as their first creator but also as their daily provider, preserver, keeper, and upholder. As they contemplate these things and experience them, they cannot help but be reminded of God, the sender and author of them all, and be moved by a grateful heart towards Him. That is why He is called Deus, derived from the Latin word “dando,” which means giving. In English, we call God, as if “good,” because He is perfectly and solely good in and of Himself, the giver of all goodness and every good gift and blessing to others. From Him, as from the fountain, all benefits come, flow, and are derived to them.

I could also demonstrate how God is known to the world through His judgments upon wicked and unrighteous people, upon whom He sometimes visibly inflicts His severity and justice (if people would only consider them). For in this way, God has revealed Himself, as the Apostle Paul teaches. These promises, I trust, are sufficient (if there were nothing more to be said), for by them we can easily see and prove that there is a God who created the world and everything within it. He preserves and upholds it with His mighty power, supports the earth and all its creatures with His providence and helping hand, even beyond the heavens and the earth, the work of His hands. As I mentioned before, every person’s conscience teaches them that there is a God to be feared. No matter how many people may have spent their lives in wicked ways and a most damnable course, secretly wishing in their hearts that there were no God, because they view God only in terms of His vengeance, their own conscience will at times provoke them and force the issue (that there is a God). It will make them tremble, fear, and shake in dread, for the fear of Him is so deeply ingrained in the nature of all human beings that it is impossible to shake it off. Moreover, a sense of devotion to worship Him as the Creator and preserver of humanity and all other things is implanted and inseparably fixed in the hearts of all people. Though not all people of all nations know how to worship Him correctly, and in the way that He requires, this is evident from the examples of all nations and peoples in the world, all of whom have some form of religion, though they do not all find the true religion. They are all devoted to the worship of God, albeit worshipping Him or something else in His place. Thus, it is clear that the notion sometimes voiced by Atheists, that religion is merely a matter of policy or a political invention, is most vain and foolish. For it is evident that a religious inclination to worship God is naturally sealed in the hearts of all people, and this has always been the case. Even the conscience of the greatest scorners and despisers of God, which sometimes trembles before His judgment seat, abundantly testifies to the presence of a religious devotion and fear towards God. This is innate and fixed in the hearts and consciences of all people, no matter how rude, savage, or barbarous they may be. What law of man, I ask, compelled Emperor Caligula, when he heard the terrifying thunder in the air and saw the flashing flames of lightning around him, to run under his bed and hide himself for fear of this terrible and great God? Or what prompts the most hardened Atheist in the world to do the same in a similar situation and during a tempest? Or what caused the heathens in any dangerous or sudden distress to lift up their eyes or hands to heaven and be greatly afraid? No one can claim that it is a human law, for no human law enforces such behavior. Instead, it is a natural instinct—the fear of God, whom they have offended and whose vengeance they dread. They also believe that help may come from Him, and this instinct is seated in the hearts of all people from their very birth, causing them to fear and seek refuge in God. Let it remain firm and beyond doubt, therefore, that the fear of the great God and a religious disposition to worship the same God are not imposed by human laws but are naturally sown in the hearts of all people, though not all discover or observe the right religion. Let us now seek and explore which is the true religion, acceptable to God and to be observed by men without wavering or doubt. All nations and peoples have some form of religion, as I mentioned earlier, but not all have the true and right religion.

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