which was not. For one of the three places he fets down, was not spoken of priests. But his making my mentioning the faults of the priests of old, in our Saviour's time, to be an "expofing the office of the "minifters of the gospel now, and a vilifying those "who are employed in it;" I must defire him to examine, by his own rules of love and candour; and to tell me, "Whether I have not reason, here again, to mind "him of his FIENDS, and to advife him to beware of "them?" And to fhow him why I think I have, I crave leave to ask him these questions:
1. Whether I do not all along plainly, and in exprefs words, fpeak of the priests of the world, preceding, and in our Saviour's time? Nor can my argument bear any other sense.
2. Whether all I have faid of them be not true?
3. Whether the reprefenting truly the carriage of the jewish, and more efpecially of the heathen priests, in our Saviour's time, as my argument required, can expofe the office of the minifters of the gospel now? Or ought to have fuch an interpretation put upon it?
4. Whether what he fays of the "air and language I "ufe, reaching farther," carry any thing elfe in it, but a declaration, that he thinks fome men's carriage now, hath fome affinity with what I have truly faid, of the priests of the world, before chriftianity; and that therefore the faults of thofe fhould have been let alone, or touched more gently, for fear fome should think these now concerned in it?
5. Whether, in truth, this be not to accufe them, with a design to draw the envy of it on me? Whether out of good-will to them, or to me, or both, let him look. This I am fure, I have spoke of none but the priefts before chriftianity, both jewish and heathen! And for thofe of the jews, what our Saviour has pronounced of them, juftifies my reflections from being bitter; and that the idolatrous heathen priests were better than they, I believe our author will not fay; and if he were preaching against them, as oppofing the minifters of the gospel, I fuppofe he will give as ill a character of them. But if any one extends my words
farther, than to those they were spoke of, I ask whether that agrees with his rules of love and candour?
I fhall impatiently expect from this author of the occafional paper, an answer to these questions; and hope to find them fuch as becomes that temper, and love of truth, which he profeffes. I long to meet with a man, who, laying afide party, and intereft, and prejudice, ap- pears in controverfy fo as to make good the character of a champion of truth for truth's fake; a character not fo hard to be known whom it belongs to, as to be deserved. Whoever is truly fuch an one, his oppofition to me will be an obligation. For he that proposes to himself the convincing me of an errour, only for truth's fake, can- not, I know, mix any rancour, or fpite, or ill-will, with it. He will keep himself at a distance from those FIENDS, and be as ready to hear, as offer reafon. And two fo difpofed can hardly miss truth between them, in a fair inquiry after it; at leaft, they will not loofe good- breeding, and efpecially charity, a virtue much more neceffary than the attaining of the knowledge of obfcure truths, that are not eafy to be found; and probably, therefore, not neceffary to be known.
The unbiaffed defign of the writer, purely to defend and propagate truth, feems to me to be that alone which legitimates controverfies. I am fure it plainly distin- guishes fuch from all others, in their fuccefs and ufeful- nefs. If a man, as a fincere friend to the perfon, and to the truth, labours to bring another out of errour, there can be nothing more beautiful, nor more bene- ficial. If party, paffion, or vanity direct his pen, and have a hand in the controverfy; there can be nothing more unbecoming, more prejudicial, nor more odious. What thoughts I fhall have of a man that fhall, as a chriftian, go about to inform me what is neceffary to be believed to make a man a chriftian, I have declared, in the preface to my "Reasonablenefs of Chriftianity, "&c." nor do I find myfelf yet altered. He that, in print, finds fault with my imperfect discovery of that, wherein the faith, which makes a man a chriftian, con- fifts, and will not tell me what more is required, will do well to fatisfy the world what they ought to think of
Acts of the Apostles, book fo called, the author did not charge his readers against stirring beyond it, 248 how wifely as well as faith- fully written by St. Luke, 328, 329 Actual affent to fundamental arti- cles, how neceffary, 223, 224 Adam, wrong notions concerning his fall, 4, 5, &c. what he fell from, ibid. Allegations between contending parties, to be esteemed falfe un- til proved, 192 Apoftles, the wisdom of the Lord in choofing fuch mean perfons, 83 their minds illuminated by the Holy Spirit, 92, &c.
Article of faith, how the author pleaded for one only, 174, 196 Articles of chriftianity, and fuch as are neceffary to make a man a chriftian, different, 352
of religion, have been several hundreds of years explaining, and not yet understood, 177 Atheism, want of ferioufnefs in difcourfing of divine things may occafion it, 304
how falfely "The Rea- fonableness of chriftianity" is charged with promoting it, 305 Author of "The Reasonableness of Chriftianity" falfely charged with making one article neceffa- ry in formal words,
194 falfely accufed of denying fome articles of christianity, 197
falfely charged with new modelling the apostles creed, 201 the feveral articles made
neceffary by him,
202, &c. falfely charged with faying "all things in christianity muft "be level to every understand- "ing," 205, 214, &c.
- requires proof of his mak- ing all but one article useless to make a man a christian, 205, &c. denies his contending for but one, that men may under- stand their religion, 205, 214
not guilty of folly in re- quiring from his opponent a complete lift of fundamentals, 215-222 his opponent compared to a judge unwilling to hear both fides,
- not justly called a focinian for omitting what is not ex- preffed in the apoftles creed, 281 his faith unjustly repre- fented as little different from that of a turk, 282,283
his account of faith very different from that of devils,
unjustly charged with pa-
tronizing ignorance,
his adverfary's arguing from one to none would equally ferve a pagan,
focinian, fometimes a papift, &c.
how be fulfilled the moral 122
what we may think to be the ftate of those who never heard of him, 132
the neceffity of his coming to make God known, 135-To teach men their duty, 138-To inftruct in the right forms of di- vine worship, 147, &c.-To giye fuficient encouragement to a good life, 148-And to affure men of divine affiftance, 151
his deity not understood by the Jews by the phrafe" Son of God" 370 the word Chrift often used as a proper name, 374 Chriftians, what is necessary to be believed to make men fo, 226, &c. whether all things of this fort were revealed in our Saviour's time,
345, &c. what was fufficient to make men fuch in Chrift's time, is fo ftill,
358 are obliged to believe all that they find our Saviour taught, 404
all things neceffary to be believed
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