611 SHORT AND EASY METHOD WITH SIR, DEISTS. I. IN answer to yours of the third instant, I much condole with you on the unhappy circumstance of your being placed in company, where, as you say, you continually hear the sacred scriptures, and the histories therein contained, particularly of Moses and Christ, and all revealed religion, turned into ridicule by men, who set up for sense and reason. They say that there is no better ground for believing in Christ, than in Mahomet; that all these pretences to revelation are cheats, and ever have been among Pagans, Jews, Mahometans, and Christians; that they are alike impositions of cunning and designing men upon the credulity, at first, of simple and unthinking persons, till, their numbers increasing, their delusions grew popular, and came at last to be established by laws; and then the force of education and cus tom gives a bias to the judgments of after ages, till such deceits come really to be believed, being received upon trust from the ages foregoing, without examining into the original and ground of them; which these our modern men of sense, as they desire to be esteemed, say that they only do; that they only have their judgments freed from the slavish authority of precedents and laws in matters of truth, which, they say, ought only to be decided by reason; though by a prudent compliance with popularity and laws, they preserve themselves from outrage and legal penalties; for none of their complexion are addicted to sufferings or martyrdom. Now, sir, that, which you desire from me, is some short topic of reason, if such can be found, without running to authorities, and the intricate mazes of learning, which breed long disputes, and which these men of reason deny by wholesale, though they can give no reason for it, but only suppose that authors have been trumped upon us, interpolated, and corrupted, so that no stress can be laid upon them, though it cannot be shown, wherein they are so corrupted; which, in reason, it ought to lie upon them to prove, who alledged it; otherwise it is not only a precarious, but a guilty plea; and the more so, as they refrain not to quote books on their side, for whose authority there are no better, or not so good grounds. However, you say, it makes your disputes endless, and they go away with noise and clamor, and boast, that there is nothing, at least nothing certain, to be said on the Christian side. Therefore you are desirous of finding some one topic of reason, which will demonstrate the truth of the Christian religion, and at the same time distinguish it from the impostures of Mahomet, and of the old Pagan world; that our Deists may be brought to this test, and be obliged either to renounce their reason and the common reason of mankind, or to submit to the clear proof, from reason, of the Christian religion; which must be such proof, as no imposture can pretend, otherwise it cannot prove the Christian religion not to be an imposture. Whether such a proof, one single proof, to avoid confusion, may not be found, you desire to know from me. You say that you cannot imagine but there must be such a proof, because every truth is in itself clear and one; and therefore that one reason for it, if it be the true reason, must be sufficient; and, if sufficient, it is better than many; for multiplicity confounds, especially weak judgments. Sir, you have imposed a hard task upon me ; I wish I could perform it. For, though every truth is one; yet our sight is so feeble, that we cannot always come to it directly, but by many inferences. But I think that in the case before us there is such a proof, as you require, and I will set it down as concisely and plainly, as I can. II. Firstly then, I suppose that the truth of the doctrine of CHRIST will be sufficiently evinced, if the matters of fact, which are recorded of him in the gospels, be true; for his miracles, if true, do vouch the truth of what he delivered. The same is to be said as to Moses. If he brought the children of Israel through the red sea in that miraculous manner, which is related in Exodus, and did such other wonderful things, as are there told of him; it must necessarily follow, that he was sent from GOD; these being the strongest proofs, we can desire, and which every Deist will confess he would acquiesce in, if he saw them with his eyes. Therefore the stress of this cause will depend upon the proof of these matters of fact. The method, I shall take, is firstly to lay down such rules, as to the truth of matters of fact in general, that, where they all meet, such matters of fact cannot be false. Then secondly, to show that all these rules do meet the matters of fact of MOSES, and of CHRIST; and that they do not meet in the matters of fact of Mahomet, and of the heathen deities, nor can possibly meet in any imposture whatsoever. 2. The rules are these, 1st. That the matter of fact be such, that men's outward senses, their eyes and ears may be judges of it. 2. That it be done publicly in the face of the world. 3. That not only public monuments be kept up in memory of it, but some outward actions be performed. 4. That such monuments, and such actions or observances be instituted, and do commence from the time, that the matter of fact was done. 3. The two first rules make it impossible for any such matter of fact to be imposed upon men at the time, when such fact was said to be done, because every man's eyes and senses would contradict it. For example; suppose any man should pretend that yesterday he divided the Thames, in presence of all the people of London, and carried the whole city, men, women and children, over to Southwark, on dry land, the waters standing like walls on both sides; I say, it is morally impossible, that he could persuade the people of London, that this was |