atheism being a crime, which, for its madness as well as guilt, ought to shut a man out of all sober and civil society, should be very warily charged on any one, by deductions and consequences, which he himself does not own, or, at least, do not manifestly and unavoidably flow from what he asserts. This caution, charity, I think, obliges us to and our author would possibly think himself hardly dealt with, if, for neglecting some of those rules he himself gives, p. 31 and 34, against atheism, he should be pronounced a promoter of it: as rational a charge, I imagine, as some of those he makes; and as fitly put together, as " the Treatise of the Reasonableness "of Christianity, &c." brought in among the causes of atheism. However I shall not much complain of him, since he joins me, p. 104, with no worse company, than two eminently pious and learned* prelates of our church, whom he makes favourers of the same conceit, as he calls it. But what has that conceit to do with atheism? Very much. That conceit is of kin to socinianism, and socinianism to atheism. Let us hear Mr. Edwards himself. He says, p. 113, I am "all over "socinianized:" and therefore, my book fit to be placed among the causes of atheism. For in the 64th, and following pages, he endeavours to show, That "a "socinian is an atheist ;" or, lest that should seem harsh, "one that favours the cause of atheism," p. 75. For so he has been pleased to mollify, now it is published as a treatise, what was much more harsh, and much more confident in it, when it was preached as a sermon. In this abatement, he seems a little to comply with his own advice, against his fourth cause of atheism; which we have in these words, p. 34, " Wherefore, that we may "effectually prevent this folly in ourselves, let us banish "presumption, confidence, and self-conceit; let us extirpate all pride and arrogance; let us not list ourselves " in the number of capricious opinionators."

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I shall leave the socinians themselves to answer his charge against them, and shall examine his proof of my being a socinian. It stands thus, p. 112, "When he"

*

Bp. Taylor, and the Author of " The Naked Truth."

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(the author of the Reasonableness of Christianity, &c.) "proceeds to mention the advantages and benefits of "Christ's coming into the world, and appearing in the flesh, he hath not one syllable of his satisfying for us ; or, by his death, purchasing life or salvation, or any thing that sounds like it. This, and several other things, show, that he is all over socinianized." Which in effect is, that because I have not set down all that this author perhaps would have done, therefore I am a socinian. But what if I should say, I set down as much as my argument required, and yet am no socinian? Would he, from my silence and omission, give me the lie, and say I am one? Surmises that may be overturned by a single denial, are poor arguments, and such as some men would be ashamed of: at least, if they are to be permitted to men of this gentleman's skill and zeal, who knows how to make a good use of conjectures, suspicions, and uncharitable censures in the cause of God; yet even there too (if the cause of God can need such arts) they require a good memory to keep them from recoiling upon the author. He might have taken notice of these words in my book, (page 9 of this vol.) "From this estate of death, JESUS CHRIST RESTORES "all mankind to life." And a little lower, "The life "which Jesus Christ restores to all men." And p. 109, "He that hath incurred death for his own transgression, "cannot LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR ANOTHER, as our "Saviour professes he did." This, methinks, SOUNDS SOMETHING LIKE" Christ's purchasing life for us by his "death." But this reverend gentleman has an answer ready; it was not in the place he would have had it in, it was not where I mention the advantages and benefits of Christ's coming. And therefore, I not having there one syllable of Christ's purchasing life and salvation for us by his death, or any thing that sounds like it: this and several other things that might be offered, show that I am "all over socinianized." A very clear and ingenuous proof, and let him enjoy it.

But what will become of me, that I have not mentioned satisfaction!

Possibly, this reverend gentleman would have had

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charity enough for a known writer of the brotherhood, to have found it by an "inuendo," in those words above quoted, of laying down his life for another. But every thing is to be strained here the other way. For the author of " the Reasonableness of Christianity, &c." is of necessity to be represented as a socinian; or else his book may be read, and the truths in it, which Mr. Edwards likes not, be received, and people put upon examining. Thus one, as full of happy conjectures and suspicions as this gentleman, might be apt to argue. But what if the author designed his treatise, as the title shows, chiefly for those who were not yet thoroughly, or firmly, christians, proposing to work on those, who either wholly disbelieved, or doubted of the truth of the christian religion? Would any one blame his prudence, if he mentioned only those advantages, which all christians are agreed in? Might he not remember and observe that command of the apostle, Rom. xiv. 1, “ Him "that is weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubt"ful disputations;" without being a socinian? Did he amiss, that he offered to the belief of those who stood off, that, and only that, which our Saviour and his apostles preached, for the reducing the unconverted world: and would any one think he in earnest went about to persuade men to be christians, who should use that as an argument to recommend the gospel, which he has observed men to lay hold on, as an objection against it? To urge such points of controversy, as necessary articles of faith, when we see our Saviour and the apostles, in their preaching, urged them not as necessary to be believed to make men christians, is (by our own authority) to add prejudices to prejudices, and to block up our own way to those men, whom we would have access to, and prevail upon. But some men had rather you should write booty, and cross your own design of removing men's prejudices to christianity, than leave out one tittle of what they put into their systems. To such, I say, convince but men of the mission of Jesus Christ, make them but see the truth, simplicity, and reasonableness, of what he himself taught, and required to be believed by his followers; and you need not doubt, but

being once fully persuaded of his doctrine, and the ad- / vantages which all christians agree are received by him, such converts will not lay by the scriptures, but by a constant reading and study of them get all the light they can from this divine revelation, and nourish themselves up in the words of faith, and of good doctrine, as St. Paul speaks to Timothy. But some men will not bear it, that any one should speak of religion, but according to the model that they themselves have made of it. Nay, though he proposes it upon the very terms, and in the very words which our Saviour and his apostles preached it in, yet he shall not escape censures and the severest insinuations. To deviate in the least, or to omit any thing contained in their articles, is heresy, under the most invidious names in fashion, and 'tis well if he escapes being a downright atheist. Whether this be the way for teachers to make themselves hearkened to, as men in earnest in religion, and really concerned for the salvation of men's souls, I leave them to consider. What success it has had, towards persuading men of the truth of christianity, their own complaints of the preva lency of atheism, on the one hand, and the number of deists on the other, sufficiently show.

Another thing laid to my charge, p. 105 and 107, is my "forgetting, or rather wilful omitting, some plain "and obvious passages," and some "famous testimo"nies in the evangelists; namely, Matt. xxviii. 19, "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of "the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." And John i. 1, "In the beginning was the Word, and "the word was with God, and the word was God." And verse 14, " And the word was made flesh." Mine, it seems, in this book, are all sins of omission. And yet, when it came out, the buz, the flutter, and noise which was made, and the reports which were raised, would have persuaded the world, that it subverted all morality, and was designed against the christian religion. I must confess, discourses of this kind, which I met with, spread up and down, at first amazed me; knowing the sincerity of those thoughts, which persuaded me to publish it (not without some hope of doing some

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service to decaying piety, and mistaken and slandered christianity.) I satisfied myself against those heats, with this assurance, that, if there was any thing in my book against what any one called religion, it was not against the religion contained in the gospel. And for that, I appeal to all mankind.

But to return to Mr. Edwards, in particular, I must take leave to tell him, that if" omitting plain and ob"vious passages, the famous testimonies in the evange "lists," be a fault in me, I wonder why he, among so many of this kind that I am guilty of, mentions so few. For I must acknowledge I have omitted more, nay, many more, that are "plain and obvious passages, and " famous testimonies in the evangelists," than those he takes notice of. But if I have left out none of those passages or testimonies," which contain what our Saviour and his apostles preached, and required assent to, to make men believers, I shall think my omissions (let them be what they will) no faults in the present case. Whatever doctrines Mr. Edwards would have to be believed, if they are such as our Saviour and his apostles required to be believed, to make a man a christian, he will be sure to find them in those preachings and "famous testimonies," of our Saviour and his apostles, that I have quoted. And if they are not there, he may rest satisfied, that they were not proposed by our Saviour and his apostles, as necessary to be believed, to make men Christ's disciples.

If the omission of other texts in the evangelists (which are all true also, and no one of them to be disbelieved) be a fault, it might have been expected that Mr. Edwards should have accused me for leaving out Matth. i. 18-23, and Matth. xxvii. 24, 35, 50, 60, for these are "plain and obvious passages and famous testimonies in "the evangelists;" and such, whereon these articles of the apostles creed, viz. " born of the virgin Mary, suf"fered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and

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buried," are founded. These, being articles of the apostles creed, are looked upon as "fundamental doc"trines:" and one would wonder, why Mr. Edwards so quietly passes by their omission; did it not appear,