adulterations, and the unjustifiable conduct of some of its profeffors, his virulent and profane invective against the chriftian religion would have been Spared. It is likely, that, with Mr. Paine, he keeps no bible. It is, however, an undoubted truth, that he is either extremely ignorant of the scriptures, or wilfully endeavors to misrepresent them, or he would not, for instance, have confidently afferted, that Saint Paul would not permit baptifm to be administered to the Corinthians ! "Although christian divines, fays he, confider baptism neceffary to falvation, we find Paul would not fuffer the Corinthians to be baptized."* But where did this prohibition, attributed to Saint Paul, originate, but in the imagination of this deistical writer? Saint Paul was baptized ;† he in the most unequivocal manner approves of the inftitution of baptifm, and he himself mentions, that He baptized fome of the Corinthians.|| The primitive chriftians, poffeffing the real Spirit of CHARITY, fo forcibly inculcated on them by the divine author of christianity, frequentlybut always freely-difpofed of their property to relieve the wants of the indigent and diftreffed iv. * Christianity unveiled, page 114 + Acts ix. 18. Rom. vi. 34. Ephef. 5. Col. ii. 12. Acts xix. 3, 5. I. Cor. xii. 13. Gal. iii. 27. I. Cor. i. 14, 16. members of the church. But two perfonis and two only that we are informed of, of the multitude of believers-who profeffed to make this voluntary oblation, through the fuggeftions of fatan, acted with deceit; they did not, agreeable to their profeffion, offer the whole amount of the fale of their land. For fuch diffimulation, one of them, Ananias,was thus reproved by Saint Peter. "Why hath fatan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghoft, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained was it not thine own? And after it was fold, was it not in thine own power? Why haft thou conceived this thing in thy heart? Thou haft not lied unto men, but unto God?"+ For fuch facrilege, avarice, hypocrify and falfehood, and to deter others from timilar impiety, thefe offenders, by divine juftice, were fmitten with death. But,on this relation of fcripture, what fays Mr. Boulanger? How flagrant is his misreprefentation of the facts? It is known, fays he, that in this infant fect, the affociates held their goods in common. (Such of them only as inclined fo to do.) This duty appears to have been rigorously exacted; for by the command of St. Peter (by an ionmediate act of God) two new chriftians were --fmitten to death for having withheld part of their own property."‡ More examples might be adduced of fuch difingenuity of Mr. Boulanger; but an instance only fhall be produced of his folly and wickedness, in attempting to palm on the world, an expreffion of his own, incompatible with justice, as a text of the bible. It is remarked by him, that "Saint Austin says, that of right divine, all things belong to the just." (Saint Austin, however, never made this affertion, in the fenfe understood by this writer.) "A maxim which is founded on a paffage in the Pfalms, which fays, the juft fhall eat the fruit of the labor of the unrighteous." ↑ Why did not Mr. Boulanger refer to the Pfalm,that contains this extraordinary expreffion? For a very evident reafon; because the Pfalms contain no fuch text. The Pfalmift, indeed, declares, "That blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou fhalt eat the labor of thine hands; happy fhalt thou be, and it fhall be well with thee."* And no paffage, from the writings of Saint Austin can be produced, that contradicts this righteous promife, or that founds a maxim of injustice from any text of fcripture. It is prefumed, that common prudence, will dictate to the third champion of infidelity, from France, who fhall obtrude himfelf upon us, if he wishes to have the least attention fhewn him, and not to be treated with fovereign contempt, the propriety at least,of exhibiting the charms of novelty, and not to be a meagre spectre, a mere fha + P. 267. * Pfal. cxxviii. 1, 2. dow, or a very ECHOE of thofe who preceded him; as ftale deiftical objections against chriftianity, already begin to be extremely difguftful to fuch of the citizens of thefe United States, as honor the publications of deifts with a perufal! And it is imagined, he need not be informed, that yet they keep the bible, and are acquainted with it; that, on them, deistical mifrepresentations of fcripture cannot be impofed; that by them, deiftical affertions cannot be received as divine revelation; and that fuch is their knowledge of christianity; that fo highly do, they esteem it; that fuch are their habits of reafoning, their capability of dif tinguishing truth from error; their love of virtue and deteftation of vice, that dogmatism and fophiftry they will not revere as truth; and that the RELIGION of wisdom and virtue which they have received from GOD, they will not exchange for a fyftem of INFIDELITY, of vice and folly from FRANCE; though by human artifice, but to the infult of common fenfe, it is called REASON and PHILOSOPHY !* * It hath been juftly remarked by an eminent writer, that men fhew a zeal for what they term reafon and philofophy, as their beft guides in religion, that they may more freely indulge their finful lufts and paffions. Jackfon on human reafon, p. 39 CONTENTS of the DEIST UNMASKED. INTRODUCT Libertine conduct and conceit of deifts, Note, ib. Deifm hath never reformed the morals of one of its converts, N. The effects of deifm in France, N. Weakness, depravity and impertinence of Mr. Blind and prepofterous zeal of deifts, N. Varlo's phyfical skill, N. Mr. Paine infults the understanding of Ame- Deifts generally ignorant of christianity, N. and confufion of a deift, N.. The prefent an age of changes and novelties, A quotation in their favor from Mr. Coxe, N. ib. Good morals neceffary to good government, 22. 23. |