Balance: An Essential Element in The Christian Philosopher

Mather’s essay is very detailed and complex and understanding the philosophical and religious implications that he is outlining is somewhat difficult. In order to create understanding among his audience of philosophical readers a recurring theme found throughout his multiple essays is creating a balance in the structure of his essays, in the implications of his philosophical ideas, and in the philosophical information in relation to various religious principles. In creating a balance that can be seen explicitly in the structure of the text and implied through the comprehension of his philosophical and religious ideas, he effectively conveys the overall message of his essays: Although there have been many discoveries about the world around us and these discoveries have been accredited as the ideas of various philosophers, the ultimate credit should be given to God who is the Creator of all these things. God has created what we observe explicitly in nature and what we observe is a reflection of God’s glory.
The idea of balance is apparent in Mather’s first essay on light where he is comparing the effects that bodies and light have on each other. In an attempt to explain how light is emitted and heat felt he states that: “Light is a body…Resistance must proceed from a contact of two bodies…that Bodies of Light act mutually on one another. Bodies upon Light emitting it…Light upon Bodies by heating them” (19, 85-87). Within a few lines Mather again explains how the rays of light emitted from a body and refracted by some attraction produce light which “do mutually act upon one another” (20, 93-96). The word equal is later used to describe the effects of gravity on various objects in space and time in essay twenty-one on gravity. The effect of using words such as mutual and equal convey Mather’s whole notion of an existing balance in nature. When Mather speaks of light he parallels the effects of light and heat to create a balance on what we see and what we feel. When he confronts the religious notion of a Spiritual World where God is praised he parallels this world to a wicked world that is blinded from God’s glory. When he speaks of gravity he acknowledges the ability of a force so strong to hold everything in the planet fixed around one center.
This balance is an important technique in portraying his idea of a philosophical religion where science and religion meet. Mather’s begins each essay with the philosophical reasoning behind a topic or theme supported by observations of various philosophers. For example, in beginning essay ten on comets he starts out by defining a comet as “blazing stars…that move periodically about the Sun” (50, 41-43). He gives evidence of this knowledge by quoting several philosophers, but towards the end of the essay his tone shifts to a more religious and spiritual tone where he addresses the religious implication of comets as a “wicked World made a fiery Oven in the Time of the Anger of God!” (53, 65-66). Although he cites a lot of written knowledge and facts in explaining the processes that go on around us he always makes sure to parallel these objects that influence these processes to religion. Creating a balance not only within the text, but within the structure of the essays is important in effectively conveying Mather’s whole idea of philosophy and religion in balance with one another. Mather wants to persuade and even better help people understand that you can understand the physical processes of this planet, while still giving gratification to the Lord who is the Creator of this planet. Without balance he would not have been able to effectively portray how philosophy and religion could intertwine in explaining life.