A

HORT AND EASY METHOD

WITH

DEISTS.

answer to yours of the third instant, I ondole with you on the unhappy circe of your being placed in company, as you say, you continually hear the criptures, and the histories therein conparticularly of Moses and Christ, and all religion, turned into ridicule by men, up for sense and reason. They say that no better ground for believing in Christ, Mahomet; that all these pretences to on are cheats, and ever have been Pagans, Jews, Mahometans, and Christhat they are alike impositions of cunnd designing men upon the credulity, at simple and unthinking persons, till, their rs increasing, their delusions grew popand came at last to be established by and then the force of education and cusm gives a bias to the judgments of after ages, Il such deceits come really to be believed, beg received upon trust from the ages foregog, without examining into the original and round of them; which these our modern men sense, as they desire to be esteemed, say at they only do; that they only have their dgments freed from the slavish authority of recedents and laws in matters of truth, which, hey say, ought only to be decided by reason; nough by a prudent compliance with populary and laws, they preserve themselves from utrage and legal penalties; for none of their omplexion are addicted to sufferings or marrdom.

Now, sir, that, which you desire from me, some short topic of reason, if such can be bund, without running to authorities, and the tricate mazes of learning, which breed long Esputes, and which these men of reason deny y wholesale, though they can give no reason or it, but only suppose that authors have been umped upon us, interpolated, and corrupted, ■ that no stress can be laid upon them, though cannot be shown, wherein they are so corupted; which, in reason, it ought to lie upon nem to prove, who alledged it; otherwise it not only a precarious, but a guilty plea; and

the more on their better, a say, it n go awa there is said on desirou which tian rel it from old Pag brough

renoun

mankin

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