and indifpenfably obliged to endeavour to understand thefe words of our Saviour, "This is my body, and "this is my blood," that he may know what he receives in the facrament? Does he cease to be a chriftian, who happens not to understand them juft as the creed-maker does? Or may not the old gentleman at Rome (who has somewhat the ancienter title to infallibility) make tranfubftantiation a fundamental article neceffary to be believed there, as well as the creed-maker here make his fense of any disputed text of fcripture a fundamental article neceffary to be believed?

Let us fuppofe Mr. Bold had faid, that instead of one point, the right knowledge of the creed-maker's one hundred points (when he has refolved on them) doth conftitute and make a perfon a chriftian; yet there are many other points Jefus Chrift hath taught and revealed, which every fincere chriftian is indifpenfably obliged to endeavour to understand, and to make a due ufe of; for this, I think, the creed-maker will not deny. From whence, in the creed-maker's words, I will thus argue:

Now if there be other points, and particular articles, " and those many, which a fincere chriftian is obliged, " and that neceffarily and indifpenfably, to understand,

and believe, and affent to; then this writer doth, in "effect, yield to that propofition which I maintained, "viz. That the belief of those one hundred articles " is not fufficient to make a man a chriftian:" for this is that which I maintain, that upon this ground the belief of the articles, which he has fet down in his lift, are not fufficient to make a man a christian; and that upon Mr. Bold's reafon, which the creed-maker infifts on against one article, viz. because there are many other points Jefus Chrift hath taught and revealed, which every fincere chriftian is as neceffarily and indifpenfably obliged to endeavour to understand, and make a due use of.

But this creed-maker is cautious, beyond any of his predeceffors: He will not be fo caught by his own argument; and therefore is very fhy to give you the precife articles that every fincere chriftian is neceffarily and indifpenfably obliged to understand and give his affent

to.

to. Something he is fure there is, that he is indifpenfably obliged to understand and affent to, to make him a christian; but what that is he cannot yet tell. So that whether he be a christian or no, he does not know; and what other people will think of him, from his treating of the ferious things of chriftianity, in fo trifling and fcandalous a way, must be left to them.

In the next paragraph, p. 242, the creed-maker tells us, Mr. Bold goes on to confute himself, in saying, “ A

true christian must affent unto this, that Chrift Jesus " is God." But this is just such another confutation of himself as the before-mentioned, i. e. as much as a 'falfhood, fubftituted by another man, can be a confutation of a man's felf, who has spoken truth all of a-piece. For the creed-maker, according to his fure way of baffling his opponents, fo as to leave them nothing to anfwer, hath here, as he did before, changed Mr. Bold's words, which in the 35th page, quoted by the creedmaker, ftand thus: "When a true chriftian under"ftands, that Chrift Jefus hath taught, that he is God, "he muft affent unto it:" which is true, and conformable to what he had faid before, that every fincere christian must endeavour to understand the points taught and revealed by Jefus Chrift; which being known to be revealed by him, he must affent unto.

The like piece of honesty the creed-maker fhows in the next paragraph, p. 243, where he charges Mr. Bold with faying, "That a true chriftian is as much

obliged to believe, that the Holy Spirit is God, as "to believe that Jefus is the Chrift," p. 40. In which place, Mr. Bold's words are: "When a true chriftian underftands, that Chrift Jefus hath given this account of the Holy Spirit, viz. that he is God; he " is as much obliged to believe it, as he is to believe, "that Jefus is the Chrift:" which is an inconteftable truth, but fuch an one as the creed-maker himself faw would do him no fervice; and therefore he mangles it, and leaves out half to ferve his turn. But he that fhould give a teftimony in the flight affairs of men, and their temporal concerns, before a court of judicature, as the creed-maker does here, and almoft every-where, in

the

the great affairs of religion, and the everlasting concern of fouls, before all mankind, would lose his ears for it. What, therefore, this worthy gentleman alleges out of Mr. Bold, as a contradiction to himself, being only the creed-maker's contradiction to truth, and clear matter of fact, needs no other answer.

rr

The reft of what he calls "Reflections on Mr. Bold's sermon" being nothing but either rude and misbecoming language of him; or pitiful childish application to him, to change his perfuafion at the creed-maker's entreaty, and give up the truth he hath owned, in courtesy to this doughty combatant; shows the ability of the man. Leave off begging the question, and fuperciliously prefuming, that you are in the right; and, inftead of that, fhow by argument: and I dare answer for Mr. Bold, you will have him, and I promise you, with him, one convert more. But arguing is not, it feems, this notable difputant's way. If boafting of himself, and contemning of others, falfe quotations, and feigned matters of fact, which the reader neither can know, nor is the queftion concerned in, if he did know, will not do; there is an end of him: he, has shown his excellency in fcurrilous declamation; and there you have the whole of this unanswerable writer. And for this, I appeal to his own writings in this controverfy, if any judicious reader can have the patience to look them

In the beginning of his "Reflections on Mr. Bold's "fermon," he confidently tells the world, "that he "had found that the manager of the Reasonableness of

Christianity had prevailed on Mr. Bold to preach a "fermon upon his Reflections, &c." And adds, " And "we cannot but think, that that man muft speak the "truth, and defend it very impartially and fubftantially, who is thus brought on to undertake the "caufe." And at the latter end he addreffes himself to Mr. Bold, as one that is drawn off, to be an under journeyman-worker in focinianifm. In his gracious allowance," Mr. Bold is, feemingly, a man of fome "relish of religion and piety," p. 244. He is forced alfo to own him to be a man of sobriety and temper,

P. 245.

p. 245. A very good rife, to give him out to the world, in the very next words, as a man of a profligate confcience for fo he must be, who can be drawn off to preach, or write for focinianifm, when he thinks it a moft dangerous errour; who can "diffemble with himself, " and choke his' inward perfuafions," (as the creedmaker infinuates that Mr. Bold does, in the fame addrefs to him, p. 248.) and write contrary to his light. Had the creed-maker had reafon to think in earnest, that Mr. Bold was going off to focinianifm, he might have reasoned with him fairly, as with a man running into a dangerous errour; or if he had certainly known, that he was by any bye-ends prevailed on to undertake a caufe contrary to his confcience, he might have some reason to tell the world, as he does, p. 239, "That we "cannot think he fhould fpeak truth, who is thus

Сс

brought to undertake the caufe." If he does not certainly know, that "Mr. Bold was THUS brought to undertake the caufe," he could not have fhown a more villainous and unchriftian mind, than in publishing such a character of a minifter of the gospel, and a worthy man, upon no other grounds, but because it might be fubfervient to his ends. He is engaged in a controverfy, that by argument he cannot maintain; nor knew any other way, from the beginning, to attack the book he pretends to write against, but by crying out focinianism; a name he knows in great difgrace with all other fects of chriftians, and therefore fufficient to deter all those who approve and condemn books by hearsay,. without examining their truth themfelves, from perufing a treatise, to which he could affix that imputation. Mr. Bold's name, (who is publickly known to be no focinian) he forefees, will wipe off that falfe imputation, with a great many of those who are led by names more than things. This feems exceedingly to trouble him, and he labours, might and main, to get. Mr. Bold to quit a book as focinian, which Mr. Bold knows is not focinian, because he has read and confidered it.

But though our creed-maker be mightily concerned, that Mr. B-d' fhould not appear in the defence of it; yet this concern cannot raife him one jot above that honesty,

honefty, skill, and good breeding, which appears towards others. He manages this matter with Mr. B---d, as he has done the reft of the controverfy; juft in the fame ftrain of invention, civility, wit, and good fenfe. He tells him, befides what I have above fet down, "That he is drawn off to debafe himself, and the poft, "i. e. the ministry he is in, p. 245. That he hath said СС very ill things, to the leffening and impairing, yea, "to the defaming of that knowledge and belief of our "Saviour, and of the articles of chriftianity, which are "neceffarily required of us, p. 245. That the devout " and pious," (whereby he means himself: for one, and none, is his own beloved wit and argument) "observing that Mr. Bold is come to the neceffity of but one "article of faith, they expect that he may in time hold "that NONE is neceffary, p. 248. That if he writes "again in the fame ftrain, he will write rather like a "Turkish spy, than a chriftian preacher; and that he " is a backflider, and failing to Racovia with a fide "wind:" than which, what can there be more fourrilous, or more malicious? And yet at the fame time that he outrages him thus, beyond not only what christian charity, but common civility, would allow in an ingenuous adverfary, he makes fome awkward attempts to foothe him with fome ill-timed commendations; and would have his undervaluing Mr. Bold's animadverfions pass for a compliment to him; because he, for that reafon, pretends not to believe fo crude and shallow a thing (as he is pleased to call it) to be his. A notable contrivance to gain the greater liberty of railing at him under another name, when Mr. B—d's, it feems, is too well known to ferve him fo well to that purpose. Besides, it is of good ufe to fill up three or four pages of his Reflections; a great convenience to a writer, who knows all the ways of baffling his opponents, but argument; and who always makes a great deal of ftir about matters foreign to his fubject; which, whether they are granted or denied, make nothing at all to the truth of the question on either fide. For what is it to the fhallowness or depth of the animadverfions, who writ them? Or to the truth or falfhood of Mr.

B---d's