Your facred books, as well as ours, being written by men, neither of them can be expected to be entirely free from mistakes, or exempt from interpolations. Yours, as you must acknowledge, have, in a course of time, suffered in these respects. But it is fufficient for us both, that the great events, on which every thing that is of importance to our religion depends, are true. As to any thing that is not neceffarily connected with fuch events, and therefore is not fupported by their evidence, we should think ourfelves at liberty to receive or reject it, according to its feparate evidence. Myself, and many other chriftians, are no believers in the miraculous conception of Jefus, but are of opinion, that he was the legitimate fon of Jofeph, who was of the family of David; and fuch feems to have been the opinion of the great body of Jewish chriftians, who had more opportunity of informing themselves concerning the fact than the gentiles had. But we are not lefs firm believers in all the public transactions of the life of Jesus, in his miracles, his death, and

his

his refurrection; and confequently, in his divine miffion. With refpect to his fuppofed miraculous conception, and other ar→ ticles relating to chriftianity, but not effential to it, do you examine and judge for yourselves,

LETTER V.

Mifcellaneous Obfervations, and Conclufion. SOME of you may perhaps say, that you

cannot enter into any difcuffion con

cerning the evidence of christianity, till the different profeffors of it fhall agree among themselves, and tell you what it really is. But this demand would be manifeftly unreasonable; because it is very poffible that christianity may be true, though many perfons should hold wrong opinions concerning it. You Jews hold very different opinions concerning many things relating to your law. But does this circumstance prove that it has no foundation in truth?

There

There is not, indeed, any subject of hu man fpeculation, with refpect to which different men have not maintained different opinions. But would you think it wife in any person to refufe to ftudy the law, or medicine, or philofophy, till all the pro feffors of thefe fciences were agreed about the principles of them?

Befides, all chriftians are agreed with refpect to the great articles of their faith. They all maintain that Jefus had a divine miffion, evidenced by his miracles and refurrection ; that he was the perfon announced by your prophets under the character of the Meffiah; and that, though he is afcended to heaven, he will come again to raise the dead, and judge the world. Admit the truth of thefe articles only, and we fhall readily acknowledge you to be chriftians. As you acknowledge any man to be a believer in the religion of Mofes, who admits his divine miffion; nothing is requifite to denominate any perfon a christian, but his believing the divine miffion of Chrift.

If it ftagger you to think that chriftianity fhould have been fo corrupted, as it

muft

must have been if my ideas of it be juft; I beg leave to refer you to my Hiftory of the Corruptions of Christianity, in which you will find the origin and progrefs of them, I flatter myself, fatisfactorily accounted for, without implying any reflection on christianity itself. And if you wish to have a more particular account of the origin of the doctrine of the trinity, at which you are fo juftly fcandalized, I refer you to my Hiftory of early Opinions concerning Jefus Chrift, in which you will fee a full account of the rife and progress of that doctrine, with all the changes it has undergone, from its fource in the Platonic philofophy to the present day.

You may, however, say, that christians are fo much divided among themselves, that you do not know which denomination of them you can join. But the fame may be faid concerning your religion. For there are different fects among you, and you differ in the interpretation of your fcriptures as we do in that of ours.

Befides, there is no occafion for you Jews to connect yourselves with any class of chriftians.

tians. On the contrary, fince you are still to be distinguished as Jews, no less than as chriftians, it will be more convenient for you to form a separate church, and to keep your fabbath as you now do. There are fome chriftians who obferve the feventh day as well as yourselves, and we confider this circumstance as making no fchifm in the christian church. All the antient Jewish chriftians obferved the feventh day for `the purpose of public worship.

It has pleafed divine providence, for wife ends, no doubt, to permit both your religion and ours to be grossly corrupted. Many things have been added to your Law entirely foreign to it; and this has also been the cafe with chriftianity. To the fimple doctrine of the gospel have been added such opinions (borrowed from heathen philofophy) as are utterly difcordant with its genuine principles, especially that of the divinity of Chrift; though the New Teftament no more represents him as a God, than the Old Testament does Mofes. But, as I have faid, there are many chriftians who hold

that