feriously and earnestly of the bad Confequences of fuch a Conduct, in a Matter that he looks upon to be of the highest importance. This a Man may confiftently do, without claiming the Privilege of abfolute Infallibility.

With regard to this Writer himself, any Man that thinks he difcerns in his way of treatingthis Subject many Things very unfair and difingenuous, and unbecoming an impartial Enquirer after Truth; many Things that argue a great Want of Candour, and a mighty Willingness to mifrepresent and fubvert Chriftianity at any rate, tho' with it he should fubvert all Religion; any Man that thinks thus, (and whofoever carefully confiders the Tendency of this Pamphlet, and the grofs Mifrepresentations with which it abounds, will be naturally led to think fo,) might very confiftently, without pretending to Infallibility, admonish this Gentleman of the Unjuftifiableness of fuch a Temper and Conduct, and earnestly recommend to him a more equal and attentive Examination of the Nature of the Chriftian Re-ligion and its Evidence; efpecially confidering the Declarations made in the Gofpel, concerning! the Guilt and Danger of thofe who, when it is made known to them, difbelieve and reject it.

- Our Author himself often mentions those Declarations, but it is manifeft, that it is only with a defign to expofe them, and Christianity on the account of them. And in order to this, he puts the Cafe of Perfons continuing Unbelievers with the best Difpofitions in the World, after the fulleft

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And most impartial Confideration, and whofe Unbelief is not owing to any-Fault on their parts, but is abfolutely unavoidable and invincible. But this is not the Cafe the Gospel puts, On the contrary, it is still fuppofed, that the Un believers there condemned are fuch as love Darknefs rather than Light, because their Deeds are evil; that their Unbelief is owing to faulty Caufes, to vicious Prejudices and wrong Affections and Difpofitions of Mind, to their hardning their Hearts, and fhutting their Eyes against Evidence. This is there fuppofed to be the general Cafe of Unbelievers; and their Guilt and Condemnation is reprefented as highly aggravated. If there be any particular Exceptions, they must be left to the Mercy and Equity of the fupreme Lawgiver, but fuch Exceptions could not be properly taken notice of in the GospelLaw. It would not be wife or fit, fuppofingwell-attested Revelation to have been really given from Heaven of great importance to Mankind, to put the Cafe of any Perfon's being excufable in not believing or receiving it, when fairly laid before him. This would foon be abused; the believing and receiving it would be looked upon as a Matter of Indifferency, and fo the Defign for which that Revelation was given, would be in a great measure defeated.

The remaining Part of his Pamphlet has little in it that deferves Confideration. He declaims against the Methods made ufe of by Magistrates, and in the Universities, for promoting

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the Chriftian Faith, and difcouraging free Enquiry. p. 95-102. And if any wrong or mistaken Methods have been made use of for promoting the Interests of Religion, which no doubt has often been the Cafe, I don't see that Christianity can be made accountable for them, or by what Logick it can be concluded from thence that it is not a rational Religion. But I think it cannot reasonably be denied, that fuppofing the Principles of the Chriftian Religion to be beneficial to Society, tending to promote the Practice of Piety, Fidelity, Virtue and good Morals, and that Infidelity tends to set Men loose from Restraints, and to encourage Licentioufnefs, Immorality and Vice, a Magistrate that is perfuaded of this may very justly encourage the one by all prudent Methods confiftent with Liberty and the publick Rights, and discountenance the other. Nor can the Univerfities, that have the Care of educating Youth committed to them, be blamed for endeavouring to train them up by Reafon and Argument, in thofe Principles, which are most for the Good of their Country and of Mankind, and for promoting Religion and Virtue. The fame may be faid with regard to Parents, that have any Concern for the Good of their Children. Nor can any thing be more abfurd than what this Gentleman infinuates, p. 102. as if Parents could not breed up Children in the Principles of Religion, without arrogating to themselves Infallibility. For if they had only a Probability

of the Truth and Excellency of the Principles of Religion, it would be their Duty to endeavour to inftil thofe Principles betimes into the tender Minds of their Children, and would be a very wrong thing to leave them at large in a World, where they are liable to be led into Principles and Practices of the most pernicious Tendency, without endeavouring to guard them by good Instructions against those Principles and Practices.

It is not neceffary to take particular Notice of the Quotations he produces with fo much Pomp from Bishop Beveridge; fince whatever Efteem we may have for the Learning or Piety of any particular Writer, if he has fallen into any improper Sentiments or Expreffions, it would not be fair to turn them to the Disadvantage of Christianity, which is in no wife accountable for them. The Book from which our Author quotes thefe Paffages was written when the Bifhop was very young, and it is not much to be wondered at if there are several things in it not well digested, and written in an unguarded and hyperbolical manner. But fince in that Book he gives an Account at length both of what he believed and of his Reafons for believing, it appears that he was far from looking upon the Influence of the Spirit to be, what this Gentleman reprefents it, a blind irrational Impulfe, or to be at all inconfiftent with believing upon Reason and Evidence.

Lett. II.

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Our Author concludes his Pamphlet with recapitulating and applauding his own Performance, which I hope however will not have the Effect that feems to be intended by it. That Man must certainly be already very strongly prejudiced in favour of Infidelity, who can be brought to think worfe of the Chriftian Religion, for the Representations he is pleased to make of it. He undertakes indeed to fhew that Christianity is not founded on Argument, but any one that reflects on the unfair Arts made ufe of by this Gentleman, and others that have appeared on that Side, and how little of folid Reafoning they have been able to oppose to the Defences that have been made for Chriftianity, will be apt to think, that it may with much greater Juftice be faid, that Infidelity is not founded on Reafon or Argument; and that if it spreads among us, which this Writer feems to glory in, though I doubt not he mightily exaggerates it beyond the Truth and Reality of the Cafe, it must be owing to fome other Caufe than fair and impartial Enquiry. Some have been prejudiced against Christianity on account of the Ill-conduct of many of its Ministers and Profeffors, or of the Abfurdities that have been taught, and the Corruptions that have obtained among thofe that call themselves Chriftians. But if this were all, a calm and impartial Confideration of the Chriftian Religion in its genuine Purity and Simplicity as laid down in the holy Writings, would be an effectual Prefervative against

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