pofed to want it; fince these repeated publications, when grown common, would in all probability be as little minded as the conftant preaching of it is at present. Such a continual series of miracles would

figned rather to preferve, affift, improve, than to obftruct and fuperfede it; is, I think, now pretty well agreed. See King's Origin of Evil, N. 71. p. 376, &c. 4th Edit.

Nor can he fhew that reason, thus affifted, will be infufficient for the purposes of true religion; or make out from the nature of these two, that they ought to have no communication with each other.

His firft allegation, that men by the exercise of their reason neither do, nor can be required to think all alike, will not come up to his point, as it is neither true nor neceffary. "Tis falfe in many matters both of fact and reason, on which all men, that think at all, think in one way; and he has yet to fhew why the effentials of the Chriftian inftitution may not be included among fuch; I mean as they lie in the Bible, and fo far as our affent is there explicitly required to them, in one and the fame precife determinate manner, on pain of forfeiting the privileges of that inftitution. Thefe effentials he will find to be very few and plain. But though he allows the whole of Christianity to be true and reasonable, yet he seems all along to beg the question, by fuppofing that it is of fuch a nature as is incapable of being made to appear fo to each perfon, fo far as he is concerned to know, either the fubftance of it, or its grounds. Hence all the formidable objections against reafon's judging of the gospel-truths; which yet hold equally in many other truths of confequence in common life, wherein the common people, notwithstanding, go on very well by the use of their natural faculties, be they ever fo weak, or how ftrongly fo ever befet with doubts and difficulties.

His other arguments against admitting reafon in religious matters, from fome particular inflitutions, and the general practice of the world, are no better founded. That children are introduced into the Chriftian church by Baptifm [which our author feems to argue for, and goes perhaps a little farther than he will be able to justify, when he afferts that to be the ordinance of God himself] and that they have early prepoffeffions in favour of Chriftianity, [whereof he fhews the great ufe and neceffity, and wherein we moft heartily join with him;] does this render their religion the lefs reasonable to them, when they are capable of reafoning about it? Or are they ftrictly under any other obligation, when they come to age, of taking it upon themfelves, than what arifes from their conviction of the reafonableness and wifdom of fo doing, on their then being fatisfied of its truth and divine authority; and what they otherwife would have been under, when thus much ever fhould come to their knowledge? Surely, their being made to understand the Chriftian religion first, by no means hinders their giving it a fair examination afterwards; fo foon and fo far as they become qualified for fuch examination. Nay, if

would in time be no miracles at all; they must lofe all their force, together with their surprise and novelty; nor could they leave any more lively, or more lafting impreffions on us, than fuch

as

they understand it thoroughly, they will find that it requires examination from all its profeffors in fome degree or other; as appears fufficiently from those few texts above. It does indeed infilt on a right belief, and a conformable practice, in all perfons to whom it has been fairly propofed: And where's the wonder! Does any lawgiver proclaim thofe exceptions to the general obligation of his laws, which accidentally arise from the fole incapacity of the subject; and which common fenfe is always ready to fuggeft, and willing to allow for, without the leaft diminution of their use and obligation? Or would it be any derogation from their excellence and authority; or any excufe for our not labouring to understand these laws, that all men did not reafon right about them?

to

Nor does our being to apply by prayer for the continuing ftedfaft in the faith, fhew the defign of God that reafon fhould not be at all employed on all thefe occafions; p. 11. any more than his working in us both to will and do, and our being taught to ask this of him, proves that we have no occafion to endeavour to work out our own falvation. We do not pretend that reafon is itself sufficient either to discover all that may be of benefit in religion, or engage us to obferve and act up to what it is really able to discover; and therefore there is room enough for our foliciting the grace of God, as well to ftrengthen and fupport this very faculty, as to bring others into due fubjection to it; to lead us into the truth; to make us love and feek it; guard against every deviation from it; — and enable us to refift the numberless temptations to vice, ignorance, and a criminal unbelief. Nor, laftly, would the difficulties and difcouragements which human reason is too frequently laid under by the practice of the world, were that in truth fo bad at present as this author reprefents, wholly deftroy its influence in the point before us; or prove any thing more than that its province is too much invaded by thofe, be they parents, tutors, or magiftrates, who either wilfully or unwarily impofe thefe, difficulties; and who alone are anfwerable for giving any handle for fuch a plea as he has grounded on them. If the two former conftantly betray its caufe, by narrowing the minds of youth, and fhutting up the avenues of knowledge; if they do not teach them carefully the art of reafoning, and lead them to a fair, free ufe of reafon on every subject within their sphere, and worthy of their enquiry; or if the last intrench upon its rights by interpofing their authority in the grand affair of divine worship, beyond barely keeping up the established form, and tolerating others; If this were indeed the cafe now, as I hope and trust it is not; this author, I conceive, fhould have fhewn thefe proceedings to be warrantable, ere he went on in earnest to draw fuch a confequence, as that the whole fubject is abfolutely

B 4

as may be kept up by those standing records, and visible memorials, which now evidence to us the truth of Christianity.

Not to mention that both of the foregoing schemes would in some measure put it out of the power even of God himself to bring about a reformation in religion, when it was once corrupted (as it might eafily be in both of them) fince thereby the strongest and fittest of all means to procure attention, awe, and reverence, which we now call fupernatural interpofition, would foon become familiar, cheap, and ineffectual to that end; as was hinted above.

Befides,

abfolutely out of reason's jurisdictiom. A confequence, which can tend only to revive Celfus's calumny against the Chriftian caufe, Mn iceταζε, άλλα πιςευσον ; and recommend the no less abfurd, modern maxim, that ignorance is the mother of devotion: it renders all that fcripture, which was given by infpiration, a dead, ufelefs letter; and reprefents that other candle of the Lord as a falfe light and dangerous; and fuch as, by this writer's motto, is infinuated to be a curfe upon us, rather than a bleffing. This notion indeed he has kept to all along, whether feriously or otherwife he knows beft; and concludes fuitably enough to it with this piece of advice to his young academic, that he content himself with being as rational a Christian as his fifter, or mother. p. 114.

As to the inconfiftencies which this fhrewd writer labours to fix upon that excellent inftitution the Boylean lecture, and thofe worthy perfons who have with fo much fuccefs accomplished its defign, I need only appeal to Dr. Ibbot, who, I think, ftands abfolutely clear of his exceptions; and has as fully anfwered the end of its great and good founder, as he has obviated this author's whole performance. Of which I fhall only obferve farther, that it seems to be in a great measure borrowed from Bayle's explanation concerning the Manichees, at the end of his Dictionary.

The same scheme which has been advanced by the writers above mentioned, is, after all the cleareft anfwers given, again repeated in a letter to Mr. Whifton, 1750, and, as it should feem, by the fame author; but in fo wild and incoherent a way, that I muft own I can make nothing of it; and therefore till he fhall be fo ingenuous as to declare whether he proceeds upon the foot of Atheism, Deifm, or Manicheifm, it would but be loft labour to attempt any further confutation.

Befides, what unity or uniformity of public worship; what decency and order could be preferved in fuch a state of things? If men did ever affemble themfelves together, (the reasonableness and the neceffity whereof will be apparent, so long as they are capable of having either their memories refreshed, or their affections raised by fenfible objects; - fo long as they have either memory or fenfes; i. e. fo long as they continue to be men) in such assemblies every one of them would have a pfalm, a doctrine, a tongue, a revelation, an interpretation; and what could this produce but tumult, ftrife, and univerfal confufion? This, furely is not fo reasonable a service, nor so fit for edification, as the prefent; not quite so proper a method to convey and preserve a system of Divine truths in the world, as a regular, fettled inftruction and hiftoric faith, grounded on a standing, written* revelation, which holds thefe forth, together with their proofs, to every one; and offers them to the view and examination of all ages.

When fome of these things are a little attended to, we may perhaps be convinced that either the fame, or as great objections would lie against any other affignable method of communicating a religion to mankind.

If then neither all men could be made equally wife and perfect,-nor religion be at once equally communicated to them all; if the prefent laws of our nature are the best that could be; - and as

fuch,

The advantage of this, above Oral Tradition, may be feen in TilLotfon, Vol. 2. Fol. Serm.73. p. 549. or Le Clerc Harm. 3 Diff. p.615.

fuch, ought to remain inviolate; and we be left to the common methods of informing ourselves, in all natural as well as fupernatural truths: - it will follow, in the last place, that Christianity could not have been propagated otherwise than in fact it is, namely, in a gradual, progreffive, partial manner.

Let it be proclaimed at first never so far and wide, yet the reception and continuance of it must in a great measure, we fee, depend on mens own difpofitions, both natural and moral. Some previous, as well as concomitant qualifications are requifite to the due exercise, and influence of it, as well in private men, as public states and communities: fo that, among a people funk in ignorance or barbarity; where there is no kind of good order or government established, no regular forms of education instituted and observed; where there is an univerfal want of discipline, and a diffoluteness of manners; there Christianity cannot fubfift.

Miracles were indeed neceffary to gain attention, and give authority to it at first; but the perpetuity of them in any kind would (as we have feen) weaken that very attention, and destroy their own authority. When therefore a religion has once been fufficiently promulged by divine authority, it must thenceforth be committed to human means; left to the conduct of that nation or fociety in which it is planted, and by their care be handed down to pofterity: it must be preferved and propagated in a natural way, and

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