Every systern of religion can be founded only upon the nature of God and man; and upon the relations which subsist between them. But to judge of the reality of those relations, we must have some idea of the divine nature. Now, the world exclaims, the divine nature is incomprehensible to man; yet ceases not to assign attribtites to this incomprehensible God, and to assure us, that it is our indispensable duty to find out that God, whom it is impossible to comprehend.
The most important concern of man is what he can least comprehend. If God is incomprehensible to man, it would seem reasonable never to think of him; but religion maintains, man cannot with impunity cease a moment to think (or rather dream) of his God.
We are told, that divine qualities are not of a nature to be comprehended by finite minds. The natural consequence must be, that divine qualities are not made to occupy finite minds. But religion tells us, that the poor finite mind of man ought never to lose sight of an inconceivable being whose qualities he can never comprehend. Thus we see, religion is the art of turning the attention of mankind upon subjects they can never comprehend.
Religion unites man with God, or forms a communication between them; yet do you not say, God is infinite? If God be infinite, no finite being can have communication or relation with him. Where there can be no relation, there can be no union, communication, or duties. If there be no duties between man and his God, there is no religion for man. Thus; in saying God is infinite, you annihilate religion or man, who is a finite being. The idea of infinity, is to us an idea without model, without archetype, without object.
If God be an infinite being, there cannot be either in the present, or future world, any relative proportion between man and his God. Thus, the idea of God can never enter the human mind. In supposition of a life, in which man would be much more enlightened than in this, the idea of the infinity of God would ever remain the same distance from his infinite mind. Thus the idea of God will be no more clear in the future, than in the present life. Thus intelligences superior to man, can have no more complete ideas of God, than man, who has not the least conception of him in the present life.