blast him as a demon. Here the invisible power of the Deity will hold the mind; and nature herself will plead for religion. Here infidelity drops off its tinseled mask, and shrinks and trembles, abashed and ashamed, at the unfolding grandeur and power of christian truth. Is not that religion then which always makes its true followers good, virtuous and happy; which imparts hope and joy and bliss to every period of life and death; which has so improved our social and moral ccadition; which alone can promote these objects; is it not necessary to men? All must answer yes. That God then who has given us eyes, ears, tastes, smells, speech, teeth, hands, feet, mind, air, earth, light, timber, water, harvests, and every thing else necessary for us, has also given this great essential moral blessing. Yes it is so. God has given it us; but like many other blessings of his providence, we have power to improve or neglect it, and our happiness or misery will be accordingly.

VI. The origin of christianity. True unless Jesus was an impostor. As we do not expect to attempt a detailed view of the evidences of the divine revelation of the Bible, we shall now pass over to notice some of the points in evidence of the New Testament or christianity. It will be sufficient for our purpose to inquire, whether Christ did exist, and did perform the miracles ascribed to him; and was crucified; and did rise again from the dead.

1. We all know that a system of religion, called christianity, does now exist; and that it is contained in certain books called the New Testament. That these books, teach the precepts, doctrines,, miracles, death, and resurrection of one JESUS, to whom the system is attributed as its author. That according to this book, this Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the reign of Herod the King. That this is the christian era from which we reckon the years.

Now as these are facts, it is manifest, that this religion must have been founded and commenced at the time protended, or at some later period,

But could it have commenced since that period ?Could any impostor or number of impostors have fabricated those books, and made the people believe, that they had existed ever since their pretended origin; that there had been multitudes of Christians when there had been none; that there were monuments and evidences of the former existence of christianity, when it had not existed before? No. Besides, these books say hard things of the Jews; they speak of their crimes, and accuse them of murdering the innocent Jesus. Now if these books had been fabricated since the time we suppose them to have been written, these Jews would have said at once, that this was a new thing; that they had never heard of it before, and that their nation had never before been accused of such crimes. But no such thing is pretended by any of the Jewish writers. Although they reject the resurrection of Christ, they never denied that he existed at the time pretended; and that the apostles existed and wrote the books as pretended by christians. Besides, if any such fabrication as the christian religion had sprung up new, since the time it is said to have originated, the infidel writers of the age when it sprung up, would certainly have exposed the imposition. But so far from this the early writers against christianity all admit that Jesus did exist at that time, and that the books ascribed to the apostles were written by them at the time alluded to.

Pontius Pilate, who governed in Judea, and gave up Jesus to be crucified, sent an account of the miracles, death and resurrection of Jesus, to the Roman emperor; as it was customary for the governours of provinces to send to the emperors accounts, of remarkable events, which were kept in the archieves of the government. So Eusebius says "our Saviour's resurrection being much talked of throughout Palestine, Pilate informed the emperor of it, as likewise of his miracles, of which he heard." These records, made by the governour, or Roman senate, and left

in the archives of the empire for the benefit of historians, were called "Acts." And Justin Martyr, A. D. 140, alluding to the events of Christ, says, "and that these things were so done you may know from the Acts made in the time of Pontius Pilate." This was in an address to the Roman emperor and senate; and if no such acts were there left by Pilate, of course he might have been detected. Afterwards in the same address, he speaks of Christ's healing the sick, raising the dead, &c. and adds,-" And that these things were done by him, you may know from the Acts made in the time of Pontius Pilate." Turtullian, A. D, 200, speaks of the death, resurrection, and appearance of Christ afterwards to his disciples, and adds, "of all these things relating to Christ, Pilate himself sent an account to Tiberius, then emperor."

Josephus plainly speaks of Christ and the introduction of his religion. Suetonius, a Roman historian of A. D. 116, speaks of Christ. Also Tacitus, speaking of the christians in A. D. 64, says, "the author of that sect is Christ, who in the reign of Tiberius was punished with death, as a criminal, by the procurator Pontius Pilate."

Of

Pliny, in A. D. 107 also speaks of Christ, as well as Ælius Lampridius. And Tacitus and others declare that Nero fired the city of Rome only about 30 years after the time of Christ's death, and laid the act to the christians. course christians must have existed at that time. Now we ask, who could have imposed upon christians since that time with the New Testament; and made them believe that they had always had the New Testament; and had always revered it as the writings of Christ's immediate disciples, if it were not so? But we might show that writers have quoted from the New Testament in every age since the christian era, which shows that they did come into being at the time fixed for them.

Celsus was a strong and bitter enemy to christianity, who wrote about 150 years after Christ. Yet he admits that

Christ lived at the time pretended. He admits that Jesus did all the things mentioned of him in the Evangelists; but he thinks he must have done them by the magick art.Now we can judge whether the stupendous works ascribed to our Saviour, could be done by the artifices of Egyptian legerdemain, as well as the historian. The infidel historian gives us the facts; and we are left to draw the inferences for ourselves.

Porphery, of the third century, another learned opponent of the christian religion, makes the same concessions with the same conclusions, and

Julian, a learned Roman emperor of the fourth century, wrote a work with the sole view to put down christianity. He was one of the most deadly enemies of this religion that ever lived. But he admits that Christ lived at the time

referred to. That the Testament was written at the time, and by the men to which it is ascribed. He too admits that Christ did walk on the surface of the sea; that he did cast out evil spirits; and did do in reality the things imputed to him in the Evangelists; but like others, he thought these works could not prove the truth of his religion. Of this matter, however, all men in all ages have the privilege of judging.

Mahomet himself acknowledges the existence of Christ and the apostles and their miracles. And finally it may be affirmed, that as no historical facts have ever been so important as those which lay at the foundation of the christian religion; and none have been assailed with so much ingenuity and human effort; so none have come down to posterity with so much certainty and indisputable, overwhelming evidence. The things recorded of Cyrus, Alexander, or Julius Cæsar are not half as well authenticated as the things recorded of Christ. Both Jews and Infidels, having been combined in every age to either get rid of the facts, or to destroy their evidence, have only co-operated in handing down to posterity, those indisputable truths on

which christians rely for support, with clear, pure and convincing energy.

2. JESUS CHRIST must have been a wilful impostor · and deceiver, or his miracles were real and his religion true.

We have seen that all the early philosophers that wrote against his religion admit that he did foretell his death and resurrection, and did appear to work miracles to evince his divine authority. Were we to go into an examination of his miracles, we should find them of such a kind that he could not possibly have appeared to perform them, unless he actually did perform them. There is no resemblance between the miracles of Christ, and the exorcisms of the Egyptian magi, whose conjurations have been absurdly compared with the open, palpable, and splendid works of the Saviour.

But it is impossible that so good a person, as Jesus is admitted to have been, could have imposed on the world a system of falsehood. It is universally admitted that he sought no worldly riches or honours, and that he died in vindication of his principles. Is this the character of an impostor?

All the distinguished infidel writers have borne the strongest testimony to the pure and exalted character of Jesus; and have thus confuted the supposition of his imposture, while they have plainly insinuated that nothing but the extraordinary and stupendous nature of his religion prevents their accepting it. We will only give the inimitable description of the infidel Rousseau, that our readers may see what a kind of an impostor the most enlightened infidels suppose Christ to have been.

"I will confess that the majesty of the scriptures strikes ine with admiration, as the purity of the gospel has its influence on my heart. Peruse the works of our Philosophers, with all their pomp of diction; how mean, how contemptible are they, compared with the scriptures! Is it possible that a book, at once so simple and sublime, should be merely the work of man? Is it possible that the sacred