(f?^^ (IK THE AT PRINCETON, N. J. a> t> ::v _^- "!• x o >f t3 n- SAMUEL AQNEW, OK PHILADELPHIA, PA. Q4^o r I . Crt.sv, _.Div;t. ;..'.. '.r...| D Book, r' I" ^ •^■'==^<^ ^-7;^^ .--v^n^jji O t .<^:s>^.c^^-=7|^ ^ «<^^?4^ src y C O L L E C T I disr TRACTS, Relating to The Right of Private Judgment, the Sufficiency of Scripture, and the Terms of Church-Communion; upon Chriltian Principles : Occafion'd by the late Trinitarian Controverfy. y And now reviled and publiihed all together ; With a PREFACE: By the Author, THOMAS MORGAN, M. D. h O 1^ U O l^z Printed fJprJoHN Osborn and Tho. Longman, at the ship in Pater-noJier-Ro^j;, M.DCC.XXVI. Lately piiblijhed, PHilofophical Principles of M e d i c i n f:, in Three Parts. Containing, I. A Demonftration of the gene- ral Laws of Gravity, with their Eftefts upon Animal Bodys. n. The more particular Laws which obtain in the Motion and Secretion of the vital Fluids, applied to the principal Difeales and Irregularitys of the Animal Machine. IIL The primary and chief Intentions of Medicine in the Cure of Difeafes, problematically proposed and mechanically re> iblved. By T H o. M o R G A N, JVI. D. The Works of Walter Moyle, E/^; none of which were ever before printed, {juiz-^ i. An Eflay on the Conftitution oixht Roman Government, in Two Parts. £. A Charge to the Grand Jury at Lefcardy April 1705. 3. Letters on leveral curious SubjeGs to Dr, Mufgrave df Exeter. 4. A Differtation on the Age of PhilopatriSf a Dialogue commonly attributed to Lucian, in feveral Let- ters, 5. A Letter to Mr. Moyle on the firft Churches built by the Chriftians, and Mr. Moyle's Anfwer. 6. Let- ters to Dr. X^ncred Rohinfon. 7. Letters between Mr. Moyle and Dr. Sherardy on Natural Hiftory. 8. Remarks upon fome Paffages in Dr. Prideaux's Connexion of the Hiftory cf the Old and New Teftament, in feveral Letters be- tween Mr. Moyle and Dr. Pride aux. 9. The Miracle of the Thundering Legion examined, in feveral Letters be- tw^een Mr. Moyle and Mr. K , ^c. In Two Volumes. JLpifioU Ho~Lliar?£ : Familiar Letters Comeftick and Foreign, divided into Four Books ; Partly, Hiftorical, Political, Philolbphical : Upon Emergent Occafions. By James Howell, Bfy; One of the Clerks of his late Majefty's moft Honourable Privy Council. The Ninth Edition, very much Correfted. All printed for J O s b o r v and T. L o n g m a n, in Pater-'/ioJler-Rmv. ERRATA. PAG. 48. lin. 6, frombot. r. where. P. 154. I. i^, r. iwonld be. P. 158. I. 5. from bot. r. to condemn, P. 165. 1. 17. r. tell us. I. 23. r. fort of. P. 166. 1. 4. from bot. r. according to. P. 168. 1. penult, r. Reafon. P» 169, 1. 8. from bot. r. he cries. P. 170. 1. 25. r. ^e can, 1.27. r. Tranfubfiantiation. P. 175. 1. 7. from bot. r. have been. P. ^6S. 1. 2. r. /irw^ things. P. 370. I. 2. r. nume- vical P. 383. 1. 6. dele the full Point. P. 394. i. 5. from bot. r. there are, P. 395. 1. 11. from bot. r. doubt not but. ^tf-A/ ^4**«i- ^•4^ ^,„n^t6>,,u^^. PREFACE F we conpder Mankind in their prefent State and Circnmjiances, as united in Society, tinder a necejfary natural Re- lation to, and IDepen- dance on, each other % it will appear, that all the Happtnefs they are capable of, is, in a manner. Social, and derived from mutual AJfiftance, and reciprocal good Offices. To this every Man, as a Mem- her of Society, mUjff be indebted for his comfortable Subfifience ; for the Enjoy- ment of his natural Rights and Proper- ties ; and for all the necejfary Means of his well-Being. Whether there be any Supreme Independent firfi Qaufe or not, A % tipn iv P R E F A C P:. Upon which all other Beings abfolutely defend:, this at leafl is certain^ that the moji abfolute Trinces, and defpotick Mo- narchs, depend wholly and intirely upon their Stibje6ls and Vajfals, even for that very 'Dominion, which they exercifa dver them ; and confequently, that there is no fiich Thing as Independency among Men. Men born with the fame Facul- ties, indued with the fame common jfif fe 51 ions and "Paffions, and having an e- qttal Claim to the fame natnrdl Rights and Properties, mtiji in Confequence be naturally Equal ; and all the Superiori- ty and dominion of one Man over an- other, muft be owing to mutual Compact and Agreement, unlefs it is founded in Policy or Force : which muft give every Man an equal Right to the fame Do- minion, who has but Cunning or Tower enough to befool and inflave the reft. From this natural Equality of Mankind^ and their necejfary mutual Dependance upon each other in Society, it muft fol- low, that Benevolence is the fole Princi- ple and Spring of human Felicity ; and that Men can be happy no farther, than this fecial, benevolent Te?nper and Dif pofition prevails among them. And Be- nevolence producijig mutual AJJlftance ^nd reciprocal Benefits, being the great , ' ■ ■ tiuiver- PREFACE. V ilmverfal Law of Social Nature, the Tranfgrejfors of this natural 'Princijjle or Law do, iplo Fad:o, forfeit all thei?' Right and Claim to Social Happinefs, and are accordingly to be confidered as common Traitors, and profefs' d Enemies to Mankind \ and this, antecedent to the Confideration of any fofitive Law, or to the JVill of a fupreme Injpe^or and Judge, from the very Nature and Rea^ fon of the Thing it felf This natti- ral Reafmablenefs and Fitnefs of Bene- volence, as the neceffary Means to all focial Happinefs, makes it the prime fundamental 'Principle of all natural Virtue , and the Meafnre of what /> Right or Wrong in Society, whether Men acknowledge a fupreme Being, or* believe in and worjhip any God or no. And this univerfal focial Law of Bene- , volence, is ftrengthened and inforced by certain natural Senfations, Appetites ot Paffions, deeply imprefs'd upon the Soul of Man, whereby Men are difpofed and determined to the feveral A^s of Kind- 7iefs and Beneficence, by a Trinciple of Senfe, antecedent to the 1)fe of Reafon. What I here mean is, the natural Se7ife or Guji of Tleafure attending the feve- ral Acts of Benevolence, Compaffon, and Good-Will \ and the natural Tain, Re- A 3 i^'^^ vi PREFACE. gret^ Confujion, and Shame, annexed to the contrary A6is of Envy, Malice, Sec. From whence it comes about, that Men cannot tranfgrefs the Laws of Benevo- lence and Social Virtue, without feeling an inward Remorfe and "Pain, and fuf fering as Criminals, while they contra- diB the only Principles from which they derive all their T^er final and Social Hap- pinefs. But yet it muji be own'd, that the fel- fifh Appetites and Taffions often pre- vail over the aforefaid Social Inclinati- ons and T>ifpoJitions ; and Men are puff d on by Ambition, Avarice, and fuch like, to feek a private miftaken Happinefs of their own, in dire5i oppofition to the Law of Benevolence and the common Good, Thefe vicious Selfijh Appetites and Taf- Jions induce Men to invade the Rights and Properties of others by Fraud or Violence, and to fet up for a private Interefl of their own, feparate from, and in oppofition to, the publick Stock or com?non Good. Againft fuch Inva* ders, delinquents and Traitors \ Man- kind in Society, have found the Contri- vance of Civil Government a neceffary Expedient ; whereby the Force of the whole Society is put into one or more Hands, under fuch Regulations^ by com- mon PREFACE. vii mon Confent, as are thought nioft con- ducible to the plblkk Teace and Safety, Thefe ay^e the two firfl and principal Means of fecuring the Teace and Hap- pinefs of Mankind in Society ; namely^ Natural Virtue, or Benevolence prac- ti fed from the Nature, Reafon, and Fit^ nefs of the Thing ; and Civil Govern- ment, whereby the Rights and Troper- ties of Individuals are fecured by the Force of Laws, againji ftichas would not otherwife govern and direct themfelves freely by the Reafon arid Fitnefs of Things. To this univerfal Social Law, or na- tural Virtue grounded on the Reafon and Fitnefs of Things in themfelves con- Jtdered, may be added artot her grand T^rin- ciple of vafi Confequence to Mankind^ and moji conducible to Social Happinefs ; provided it be rightly underflood, and fixed upon its true and proper Founda-^ tion. JVhat I here mean is. Religion, i. e. the Belief Acknowledgment y. and Worjhip of the One only True G o d ; (?r /^ fincere Obedience to his Will, fo far as we can difcover it by any of the Ways and Methods in which he has made him- fe If known to us. But here it may ajford jufi Matter of Wonder, that when Men are fo well A 4 agreed Viii PREFACE. agreed concerning the Nature, Reafoni and moral Fitnefs of Actions, they fl?ould jet differ fo "isuidely about the Govern- ing Will or Law of God. Natural Virtue, we find, is the fame every where ; hut Religion has morq Thafes than the Moon, and changes its Appearances with the Climate. The True Religion in Scot- land, is Schifm in England ; and our True Religion in Great -Britain, is dam- nable Herefy all over France, Spain, and Italy. This has made fome draw a ve?y wrong Confeqttence, That there is no- thing at all in Religion ; that all En- quiries about it are vain ; a^id that we can know no more of it than of the Thilo- fophefs Stone : While others, of a con- ^trary Temper^ being lefs indolent, and refolving that no Religion Jhall be Ttuc hut their own, and that none jhall he in Favour with God but themfelves, com- flime7it the Almighty, by fending the reft of the devout World to the i>eviL and fight for tloeir own darling Sy ferns with carnal, deftru6tive Weapons indeed ; but not for tJoeir own In t ere ft, or to gratify their own unreafonable Taffions^ hut for the Glory of God, and the Sal- vation of Souls. ^ But notwithjtanding this Strength of Faith on tlje one hand, and of Infidelity on 1' RE FACE. k m the other, I think we have a pla'm\ and obvious "Frincifle, whereby to judge of Religion, and of the Grounds upon which Men claim the Favour of God, as his True JVorjhippers. And this Rnle^ or '^Principle of Judgment, is nothing elfe but the natural immutable Reafon of Things, appearing in the Moral Fitnefs of Ah ions, as they are confiituent of the Pub lick Good, a^id give an addition^ \ al JV eight or Momentum to the general \ Stock, or common Fund of Social Hap- \ J^inefs. All the Laws of G o d, or alt the "DoBrines and 'Duties of Religion^ muft have this Signature and Irnprejfloj^ vifibly ft amp' d upon them, to prove them to be true and genuine : And whatever bears not this Impreffion, efpecially if it bears a contr/iry Character, can be no Part of Religion, no Part of the Go- verning Will of God, nor any Means of recommending Men to the T>ivine Ac- ceptance and Favour. If this Princi- ple, or Rule of Judgment, be not admit- ted ; there can be no clear or certain Cri- terion, whereby to difiinguifto the Laws ofGoD from Human Inventions, or "Di- abolical Impoftures ; but Mankind will be left unavoidably expofed to the grof- feft Abfurdities and Delufions i7t Mat- ters of Religion, and be led into infinite and X PREFACE. and mdlefs Mazes and "Perplexities a- bout it, without any Clue or Thread to guide and dire^i them in it. 'Tis true indeed, there may be feve- ral extraordinary Methods of Go d's act- ing towards Men, which may be highly reafonable, and bear the v'lfible Marks and Signatures of Moral Fitnefs, Bene- volence, and Social Happinefs, when they are once di/covered and made known to USA, and which yet human Reafon, without a particular Revelation from God, could never have contrived or found out. And this is no more than faying, that God may find out fever al JVays and Methods of improving the Mo- ral Perfections, and promoting the Social Happinefs of Mankind, which they could never have found out for themfelves. But then any fuch extraordinary Me- thods of divine Conduct, and the "Do- Brines founded thereon, mufl, when they are once made known, bear the evident Marks and Signatures of Reafon, Wif- dom and Moral Fitnefs, and vifibly con- duce to the Moral Re ^ it tide, and Soci- al Happinefs of Men ; or otherwife, we Jhall be left in the fame Wilds of En- thufiafn, and fland unguarded and ex- pofed to every Impofture, as before, .. Terhaps it maybe faid, that Miracles, the PREFACE. xi the clear irrefutableTcfiimony of Mira^ cles, is a fujficient Evidence and Criterion of a Revelation from God; whether the Do6irines thus revealed, do all of them^ at leaf, bear the Characters of Reafon and Moral Fitnefs, or whether they vi- fibly conduce to the Social Virtue, ^eace and Hafpinefs of Mankind, or not. But I would fain know, what Miracles there are, which may not be wrought by the ^Power offome invijible evil Spirits, or malicious and wicked Agents, at leaf, as to Appearance, a^td fo as to impofe on the Spectators, beyond their Capacity of detecting the Cheat ; and which mufi then have, to all Intents and Purpofes^ the fame EffeCt upon them, as if the Miracles were true and real? If it be urged here. That asGov> himfelf cannot confirm any falfe T>o6trines by Mira- cles, fo it mufi be inconfiflent with his Wifdom, Truth, and Goodnefs, to fiijfer others to confirm any fuch 'T>o6trines by falfe and pretended Miracles, and there- by impofe upon Mankind in a Matter of fuch high Confeqnence, as their eternal Salvation : It is eafy to reply. That this is arguing againfl FaCt and Experience ; for that a very confiderable, and per- haps the far greater, ^art of Mankind always have been, and ftill are, thus im- pofed xii PREFACE. fofed on, by the pretended Miracles of wicked Triefts, and the lying Wonders of Satan, is evident in Fa^ : and there- fore to maintain, that this cannot be done, or ought not to be fujfered, is not to jprove the Truth of T>o6trines by Mi- racles, but to impeach Providence, and deny the Terfe^ions of God. But the Truth is, that the Teople in To- pijh Countries, or wherever Miracles are in Vogue, are not to blame for not detedling the Cheats of juggling Triejis and deigning Knaves, who impofe on their Senfes ; for this, perhaps, is what they cannot do ; the Tlot may be too clofe and deep, and the T^efign too nice and knavijh for them. But what they are really to blame for is, their receiving ^o5trines as True and 'Divine, upon the bare Atteflation of Miracles^ as a full and fifficient Troof without re- gard to the Nature and intrinfick Cha- racter of the Doctrines themfelves. By this means, they are often led into Schemes of Religion, . which, in their whole Frame and Contrivance , difcover the evident Marks and Signatures of Superjlition and Enthufiafm, or of Knavery and Im- pojture ; and which therefore could not be reafonably received, as coming from God, even tho' all the Miracles done frovi PREFACE. xUi f7om the Beginning of the World had been wrought to confirm them. Terhafs, there are none of the Mi- racles recorded in the Evangelical Hi- fiory, as done by Chrifl and his Apoflles^ but what, with refpeU to the bare 'Tow- er of A^ing, might have been done by the "Devil and Evil S fir its -^ at leaft^ the fame Things might have been donCj to all Appearance, which muft have had the fame Effects. And therefore, when this was obje^ed to our Saviour himfelf that his Miracles might be performed by the Tower of Satan ; he does not fay, in anfiZJer to it, that the Things done exceed- ed the Force of Evil Angels, and could only be effeBed by the immediate Tower ef God; but fuch were the vifible Ef- fects of that miraculous Tower, and the Nature and T>efign of the "DoEirines for the Good of Mankind, that they who made that ObjeBion, mufi fuppofe the Devil to be at odds with himjelf-^ and that he had formed a deep and cunning Defign, for the DeflruBion of his own Authority and Kingdom. And as this was our Saviour's own Reply to that very Obje£fion, fo it was doubtlefs the only clear and folid Anfwer that could have been given. This xiv PREFACE. ' This then, I think, miifl be clear and certain, that no TDoEirines can he rea-^ fonably received, as coming from God, or be capable of any Confirmation by Miracles, that are either abfurd, inconji- Jient and contradictory in themfelves, or hurtful and mifchievous in their natnral and neceffary Confequences ; a,nd that whatever Pretences or Ap- pearances of divine Authority may bt vouched for fitch T^oEtrines, either the original Revelation it felf muft have been a Forgery, or elfe the Senfe in which they are thus underftood, cannot be the true Senfe : For where any 'Do^rines are re- ceived as coming from God, 7tot cha- racterized by the Re a fin of Things, and the moral Fitnefis of Actions ; 'tis plain, there can be no po fifth le Guard again ft Enthitftafim and Impofture, nor aity Cri- terion, by which we may diftinguifh be- tween Truth and Faljhood, or Right and Wrong, in Matters ofi Religion, y 1 think it cannot be doubted but that a Revelation from God, concerning the "Duty and Obedience which he requires of Men, in order to their eternal Sal- vat ion, muft be very plain and clear,, free from allT)ouhtfulnefis or Ambiguity of Exprefifion, and fiuited to the Vnder- ftaudings and Capacities of the Bulk of Man^ PREFACE. XV Mankind ; Jlnce to fiifpofe the contrary^ would be to render the Revelation ufe-] lefs, and to impeach the Veracity, Wif\ dom, and Goodnefs of God in it. Thif is fo very evident, that the Thing is univerfally granted in IVords, and al^ moft as univeyfally denied in FaEi ; while Men are continually, and endlefly dif- pitting upon the Chrijfian Trinciples^ even about Fundamentals, or concerning what is or is not neceffary to a Man's be- ing aChriJlian, and entitled to the great Gofpel Tromife of a RefurreSlion to eternal Life. Here then, are great Blejfmgs and Privileges to be enjofd on certain Conditions, but what thefe Conditions are, is the great ^Debate ; and by Mens T)ifptttes about it, one would imagine, that God, iii the Re- velation of his Will, had left this Mat- ter in the utmoji T>arknefs , Confufion and Uncertainty. But all this 'T>ark' nefs a7td Contention muft, doubtlefs, be owing at the bottom, to Metis depart- ing from the plain Rules andTrinciples of Scripture and common Senfe, for the fake of their own particular Syjiems and 'Party Schemes. The Things infified on by Chriji and the Apoflles as neceffary to Salvation, are fo plain and obvious, that Men could not eajily be mifiaken a- bout xvi PREFACE. hout them, if they did not, in Fa6t, give up the Scripture as their Rule^ and tacitly introdtice fome other 'T^rinct^ pky or Rule ofJudg?rient, asfnperior to it. If a Man has a mind to be a good Chri- jtian, and to hww what he mtift believe and do to obtain Eternal Life, the New Teflament will inform him plain enough ; hut if he has a mind to be a Fool and a Madman, let him take fome one parti- ailar Tarty Syftem, fuch as he likes be (I ; and having firfi wrefted a7id tortured the Scriptures into that Senfe, let him then damn all the reft of the World, that will not be as fooliflo and as mad as htm- But he who profeffes and acknow- ledges Chriji as his Lord and Savi- our, and fubmits to him as appoint- ed to be his Mediator, Advocate, and ytidge, by a Commijfion from God the Father ; / fay, he who thus believes and acts, mufi, as I fhould imagine, be a_ True Chrifiian, how much foever he may differ from other True Chrifiians about cert/iin Matters of a fpeculative, ■ doubtful, and di f put able Nature. This was always, and every where, in fifed on by the Apoflles and firfi "Treacher s of the Qofpel, as the one great and peculiar A7Hicle of the Chrifiian Faith, To believe that PREFACE. xvil that Jtftis was the Chrift, the true Mef- Jiah ; or the anointed authorized Mini- Jier of Go d, who had received a Com- miffion from the Father, to promulge, ex- plain^ and further inforce the ^Divine Laws ; to intercede and mediate between G o D and Man ; and finally^ to judge the JVorld, and diftribtite the Rewards und Tunij}o?nents of the Lafi 'Day, This Faith in Chrift, or this Belief concern- ing him, confirmed by his Refnrre^ion from the "Dead, by the T>efcent of the Holy Ghoft, and by the confequent ex- traordinary PVitnefs of the Spirit, be- ing, according to the Scripttires, all that ever was preach'' d or in fifed on by th^ Apoftles to make Men Chrifiians : 'tis to he hoped, that the fame may be fujficient fiill ; and that no Man will be Jhut out of the Kingdom of Heaven, for not be- lieving more concerning Chriji, than God has revealed, or required us to believe. The Belief ofOneSupreme Independent Firft Caufe, or of One God and Father of All, was ever the prime Fundamen- tal Principle of Natural Religion : To which the Chrijiian Revelation adds, the DoEirine or Trinciple of One Triefl a7id Trophet, One Mediator and Advocate, One Lord and Judge of All, even Jefks Qorift, as exercifing this univerfal Ju- a rip xviii PREFACE. rlfdicilon, by a CommiJJlon from Go d the Father, who is his God and our God. The Tagan Gentiles, before the Coming of Chriji, had not only corrupted Natural Religion, by introducing many Gods ; bv.t they had likewife many ,JXiti3^\' Lords, or Mediators between the Gods :^J^£j^and them. In Oppofition to which, Chri- ftianity reftores the Natural 'Principle of One God, and fttperadds the Prin- ciple of One Only Mediator between God and Man, even the Man Chrift Jeliis, whom God hath appointed to judge the World, and whereof he hath given all Men afiirance, in raifing him from the ^ead. This I think is the One and On- ly Fundamental Article of the Chrijiian Faith, and That alone which diftinguifoes Chrifianity from all other Religions. Whoever fine ere ly believes This, anda^is in confequence of fuch a Faith, mufi be a True Chrijfian ; but he who disbelieves it, mufi deny or renounce Chrift, as a Receiver or Impoftor, in claiming fuch a JurifdiBion by a Commijfion from God, which he had not. Men need not therefore be much at a lofs about Fundame7itals, if they would hut lay afide their particular Syfiems and Party-Schemes, and be determined in this Matter by the Authority of Chriji and PREFACE. xix and the Apoftles. Something or other is certainly effential^ peculiar, and fun- damental to Chriftianity ; for to pretend that there are very great and valuable Rights and T^rivileges aimex'd to a par- ticular CharaBer or ^lalif cation among Men, which CharaEier cannot he bound' ed or limited, fo as to determine Mens Right to the Benefits claimed, is per- feBly trifling : As if certain Legal Rights and Immunities jhould be annexed to the Chara^er of Englilli-men 5 while no Body could tell what is, or is not^ in the Senfe of the Law^ a True Eng]ii]i- man : Aluji not fuch a Law be wifely contrived for fecuring the Rights and Claims of Englilli-meii ? And what is the Chrijtian Law better, if it has not clearly fixed the Bounds between Chri- Jiians and other Men ; or between thofe who are truly and really Chriftians, and ftich as are truly and really no Chri- Jiians ? It mufl, doubt lefs, he Matter of "Diverfion to the reft of the JVorld^ to fee the Chriftians perpetually difputing among themfelves , about the effential Marks a7tdCntQtn of Chriftianity : And the only Con fe queue e they can draw from it is this. That either Chriftianity is an Individuum Vagum, any thing, or no- thing, juft as Men pleafe \ and that ^ % Chrh XX PREFACE. Chriftians have no fujficient Means of InJirti6tion , concerning their own Re- ligion : or, at leaji, that they neglect the Means of better Information, which are in their ^Power, while they are cofitimi- ally fcuffling and brangling about fome^ thing elfe. The T?^uth is, that every of- fofite contending Tarty in the Chrijiian World have claimed, and endeavotifd to fecure, the Favour of God, and the Privileges of the Go/pel, to themfelves alone, exclufive of all others ; to effeEi which, every fuch oppofite Party have fet up, and maintain d, their own dtjiin - gtiijhing Fundamentals, And thus the Number of Fundamentals , ufdn the whole, have been equal to all the dif- ferent Inclinations, Humours, and In- terefts, by which either E^ithtt/iafs or Impoftcrs have been influenced, in cre- ating "Divifions, Animofities, and Fac- tions, among Chriftians, But the grand ^teftion debated, upon the firft Settlement of Chriftianity, was this ; Whether Jefus Chrift was a True Prophet, or a P)eceiver and Impoftor ? Whether he /pake and aEied by a Com- miflion from God, or by a Confederacy \ with the "Devil? And this was to de- termine the ^eftion, whether Men were to praBife Religion^ and obey the Laws of PREFACE. xxi of God, as explain' d and eji fore' d by Chri ft ^ or by Moles, and the Pagan Trlefts and Thilofofbers ? This was the Controverjy then, between Chrift and his Followers^ and the Jews as Followers of Moles, o/^ the one hand, and theTagan Gentiles as Followers of their ownTriefts andThi- lo fop hers, on the other. In confeqiience of this, they who were convinced that Jefus was the Chrift, or a True Tro- phet fent from God, and a^ing by a T>ivine Commiffion ; and who, upon this Conviction, confented and refolved to praEiife Religion, or to obey the Laws of God, as explained and enforced by this their only Lord and Mafter % Thefe, I Jay, were received into the Church, and reckoned among the Number of the Faith- ful. If any Thing but fiich a Faith as this, join'd with Repentance from dead Works, or Obedience to the Laws of God delivered by Chrift , was ever infifted on by the Apo files, in order to make Men Chrifiians, and intitle them to all the Benefits and privileges of the Gofpel, it ought to be made appear after another manner than has hitherto been done ; while every Tarty, under the infallible Strength of their own Ter-, fuafions, are for fubftituting their own mcharitable dividing Sy ferns ^ in the a 3 place jcxii PPvEFACE. place of Scripture ; and thereby making as many Fundamentals of Chrifltanity, u:s there are human Creeds and Engines ofT^iviJion in the Chriftian World. f There is one Miftake concerning Chrift^ at leaf as it appears to me at frefent^ "which the Chrifian Writers in general^ amidf all their Controverfies and dijfe- rent Opinions in other Matters^ have rtm I into, .and unanimonfly agreed in ; which ' is this : That the Angel of the Lord, the Angel of G o dV Tre fence, or the Angel of the Covenant , fo frequently mentioned in the OldTeframent, and to whom the moft feculiar Names and in- commnnicable Attributes of God feem to be afcribed, was no other than Chrift himfelf in his fre-exifiing divine Na- ture. But notwithfianding this has been taken for granted, or confider'd as a com- mon Trincifle by both Sides, in the late Controverfy ; yet I think there is great Reafon to fufpeEi the Truth of it, if not tlear and full T roof to the contrary. The Author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews, who was moft probably St. Paul , evinces the peculiar Excellency and 'Fre-eminence of Chriftianity , above and beyond any former T> iff en fat ion , from ibis 'Principle ; That the Chriftian InfiitutioH is ejlablifto'd, conduced, and PREFACE. xxiii direEicd, under a Superior Admintftra- tion, Embajfy or T)elegation ; ajid that the Terfon chiefly concern d in it, is of a vaflly higher Chara^er, and greater "Dignity, than had ever been employed before in any of GodV 'Dealings and Tranfa&^ions with Mankind. And there- fore, we find that the Apoflle, at the Beginning of this Epifile, having floew'd the great Superiority and Dignity of Chrifl, both as to his Terfn and Cha- 7^a£ier, above the Angels, C07icludes, that the Chriftian Lift itut ion miift confequent- ly be more excellent, and of higher Obli- gation, than the Law ; which had been delivered and fpoken only by the ordi- nate d Miniftry, Literpofition, and Media- tion ofAfigels: See Heb. ii. i, i, 3- com- jpared withG^l. iii. 19. and Adi^yii. SS-^j The Go/pel therefore, is the Law of Gou to Man, as delivered by his Son Jefus Chrift '^ whereas the Law cfMofcs, and all the former Tranfa£tions of Go t> with Men, had been delivered and managed by the Subordinate or htferior Miniftry^ Literpofition, and Mediation of Angels. The Apoftle's Argument for the great Excellency and Dignity of Chriftianity, which runs thro' this whole Epiftle to the Hebrews, taken in this Light, is v^ryftrong, clear, and cone lufive : fVhere- a 4 as% *xxiv PREFACE. as, the Argitment "oi'otild have no Force or Cojifequence at all, if it Jhould be ftip^ojed, that the very fame Terfon, Chriji hijufelf had afpeafd and aEfed ^imifterially before , as Go d's An- gel, "^Delegate or Refrefentative among Men, at the giving of the Law, and in (^11 the former Ages of the World, from the very Beginning of Things: Since 'tis f lain, tijpon this Sufpofition, it could not be true, that the Chrijiian Confli- t'tition is more excellent than any other or former ^iffenfation,. as being tinder (I S lifer tor Adminifiration , Ambajfage or T)e legation from G ov to Men. It "lyill be to no pirpcfe here to fay, that the great Excellency and Tre-eminence of Chriftianity, may be inferredfromthe great Honotir which God has done to Mankind under the Goffel, by fending his Son in the Flefhy which he had not done before : For the Afofle's Argjtment does not, in the lea ft, depend upon any different Way of fending, or different Affearance of the fame Verfon ; but plainly, upon the Superior Character and ^tgnzty_ of the' Terfon himfelf And when Chrifi is particularly and empha^ Yically dijtingmjhed from all thofe An- gels, by whof& Jnterpofition, Miniftry, md Mediation^ G o Vihadappeafd. fpoken to. PREFACE. XXV to, and tranfaEfed with Alen, in all the former Ages of the World \ 'tis evident^ I think, that Chriji himfelf cannot be fn^pofed to have been One of thofe An- gels. Such a Way of Arguing would have been perfeBly trifling, and a mere . ^aralogifm. But wheit the Apoftle af- firms, Heb. ii. 5*. That God had not fut the World to come, or this Go/pel- ^ifpenfation, whereof he fpeaks, under Subje^ion to the Angels ; he plainly fup- fofes, as he had before proved, that God had fubje^ed the former State and Con- Jiitution of Things, to the vifible Jtirif- diBion, lnte?poJltion, and Mediation of Angels, But when Chrifl, in Confequence of his TDeath and Sufferings, had been declared the only 'Prince and Saviour,, the only Mediator, Lord and Judge, as a^ing alone in this Capacity ; he then fpoiled, di farmed, or divefted thofe '^Prin- cipalities and Powers, that is, the An- gels, of all that Jurifdi6fion, Interpofi- tion, and Mediation, which they exer- cifed before ; putting an end to their Au- thority , making them equally Subjects and Fellow-Servants with Mankind, and leaving them no Manner of 'Domi- nion or Lordffoip over Men. And here I cannot but obferve it, by the bye, as a "Very unlikely Thing, that Chrifl fl?ould intruft xxvi PREFACE. mtrujl that Spiritual Tower and Ju- rifdiBion "With a certain Order of Men above the rejr, which he Lad taken from the Holy Angels ; or, that he.fljoiiLd de- prive thofe Superior, Glorious Intelli- gences, of all fpiritual J ur if diet ion o- ver Mankind, in order to place it in the Hands of wicked and ungodly Triejis. during that Confiitution and T)ifpen-- fation of Things, which was managed^ conducted, and carried on, under the au- thorized Adminifiration, Jurif diction^ und Ordination of Angels ; any Angela who by a Commiffion from God fu- /rained the Ojfce of vifibly and fenfibly reprefcnting, manifefting , and circum- jtantiating the peculiar Tower and T re- fence of G o D, and of being the Mouth, and Voice of G od, or the vi/ible orga- nized Medium of Communication between God and Men : I fay, any fuch Angel had the Names, Title and Attributes of God afcribed to him ; not literally, jiri6ily, and properly, as if the ylngel had been really and fubjiantially God him/elf or effentially endued with all the divine incommunicable Terfe^ions ; for this is fuch a monftrous Abfurdity^ that one would wonder how it fhould ever enter into Men"^ Heads : But this M'^ay of Speakhig was only figurative, and by d Metonymy^ PREFACE. xxvii Metonymy, m 'which the Sign is pat for the Thing fignified^ or the fcnfible Re- prefentation or Manifeftation , for the "Perfon or Thing refrejented and mani- fejfed. Which is a Thrafeology, or Way of Speaking, than which nothing is more common in the facred Languages. The Pagans, who worfhipped their Gox>s by the fenfible Reprefentation of material Images , t7i which their deities were Juppofed to inhabit and re fide, and where they were thought to be in a peculiar Manner prefent , to receive the 'peti^ tions of their Worjhippers ; upon this Suppofition, they gave the Names and proper Characters of their Gods to thofe Images t hem fe Ives : but net flriCi- ly and properly, as if they worjhipped the bare inanimate carved Matter, or thought that to be the real God; but by a common Figure of Speech, in which the vifible Sign or fenjible Reprefenta- tion was put for the Thing fignified and reprefented, as before. Thus, when the People of Ifrael, in the Abfence of Mofes, required and demanded of K2.ion to make them Gods to go before them, and cried out upon Sight of the Calf Thefe are thy Gods, O Ilrael, which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt ; 'tis evident, that this was a fgurative Way of Speakings well xxviii PREFACE. ''juell enough underjlood at that Time. For the Meaning was, that in this Calf God and his holy Angels, who had hitherto delivered them, would now cojitinue to refide^ after a fenfible Manner^ by a pe- culiar and fpecial Manifcflation of the Ijivine Trefence and 'Power ; and that upon JVorjhipping before the Calf, G o d and the Angels would, in a particular Manner^ be pleas' d with them, and con- tinue to be propitious toward ther/i. And thus, by a ufual and very common Way of Speaking, they put the fuppcfed fenfible reprefentative Sign for the Thing fig- nified and reprefented. But God, in> this Cafe, having not allowed or autho- rized any fiich fenfible Sign or Repre- fentation of his peculiar Power and Pre-' fence, they were herein guilty of down- right Idolatry, After the fame Manner of Speaking, the Sacramental Bread and Wine are (galled the Body aad Biood of Chrift ; and- our Saviour often and ftrongly repeats it ^ This is my Body, this my Blood ; My Fleili is Meat indeed, and my Blood is Drink indeed ; He that cateth not my f Icfli, and drinketh not my Blood, hath no Life abiding m. him ; he iliall not lee Life, &c. Which Figurative Way of Speaking tfpon this Subjetf, the Pro- - ^ ' teftants PREFACE. xxix teftaiits can nnderjiajid nnd account for *u:cll enough ; tbo' the Papifts make as much No'tfe about it, and with as tm- reafonable a Confidence, as fome Others have done about this very Way of Speak- ing in the Cafe before us, Jo often ufed in the Old Tejiament. Innumerable In- fiances might be given, both frcm the Sacred Writings and common ^fe, of this Metonymical Tranfpofiitiojt , or Commu- tation of Names and Properties, upon the Ground andReafon before-mentioned 7, hut they^ who cannot be fatisfied with what has been here faid, I am willing to leave in the free and full T'ofefiion of any other Opinion which they like better : But yet, methinks, when this Way of conceiving and apprehending Things is fo obvious and eajy, and fb agreeable to the Thrafeology of Scrip- ture in other Cafes ; it looks a little firange, that Men fhould venture ttpon fo many Abfurdities and Contradictions from a contrary Sufpofition, Thefe are, tn Jhort, the main Trin- ciples and Notions of Things, upon which I ventured abroad the following Tradts ; of which a Jhort and fummary Account vtay pojfibly be here expected. It was, Jinuji profefs, with great Re Instancy and Regret, I prevailed with my felf to en- XXX PREFACE. gage in Controverjy againfl Protcftants in general, ancf efpecially Proteftant Dif- ienters, about the Right ^/Private Judg- ment, the Sufficiency of Scripture, and the Neceffity of keeping flri^ly to the Serif ture-Language and Rule, concern- ing Things fundamental and necejfary in Religion. I never had fo much as aSu- fpicion, that any of thofe I have been con^ cern'd with in thefe Papers , had the leaf T)efign to lay a fide the Scripture as a Rule of Faith, and to fct up fome other Rule in Oppofition to it : But yet [/ thought, that the introducing of dark \and doubtful Speculations , by remote 'Uncertain Inferences and T>edudions of 'Mens own making, and infifting on them as neceffdry Terms of Chrijiian Charity, \¥eace, and Communion, where no fitch declaration of Neceffity could be found in Scripture, mufl amount to the fame Thing in effieEt, and have the fa7ne hurt- ful Confequences , with laying afide the Scripture , and fettijtg up another Rule \ and therefore, I could by no means rec- kon my felf fairly jufiified or excufed in fitting fiill as a filent unconcerned SpeBator, where I conceived fuch Mea- fures to be taking, as mufi naturally be attended with very bad EffeBs, and introduce^ if purfued, a general Confu- Jion PREFACE. xxxi fio7i and T>ijirefs among the Protellant DifTenters, if not a total T>i(folntion of their Churches, and T)eftrticfio7i of their common Interejt Which laji, I fear^ muji have been the Confequcnce of the Sub- fcribing Method, had it fajfed thorough the Countries, and been brought into the feveral Congregations. This AppreJ^en^ /ion, "-jvh ether 1 "was right in it or not., was doubt lefs ftifficient to fet me a-work ; and ''jvill, I ho^e, in good Meafure, ex- cufe what has been done : even tho' it fioould be found, that I have fometimes, upon certain Occafions, exprefs'd rny felf with a little too much Sting and Seve- rity. I muft declare, that 7 can fee no Reafon to retraEi any Thing I have adf vanced in the following Sheets, with re- gard to the Nature of the Argument, or the Merits of the Caufe : But with re^ ffeEi to the Stile and Manner of Ex^ preffion, where I have treated any Gen- tlemen of diftinguijhed Worth and Me^ rit, againft whom I have been engaged^ with too little Ceremony and Reffeif, 1 frofefs my Repentance ^ and ask their Tardon, CON- CONTENTS. THE Nature and Confecjuejices of Lnthuftafm cor?Jiderd ) In fome Remarks on The Doftrine of the BlefTed Trinity Stated and Defended. In a Letter to Mr. Tong, ' JVfr. Roblnfon, Mr. Smith, ^w^ Mr. Reynolds. page i. A Poftfcripty occajioned hy Mr. Bradbury 'j Difcourfe^ entitled^ The Neceility of Contending for Reveal 'd Religion. The Nature and Confequences of Enthufiafm defended ; again fi the Refleciions of the Rev. Mr. Samuel Fanconrt, in his Effay concerning Certainty and Infallibility. In a Se- cond Letter to Mr. Tong, Mr. Robinfon, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Reynolds. p. 6i. A Defence of the Two foregoing Letters to Mr. Tong, Mr. Robinfon, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Reynolds ; againfi Mr* Fanconrt'i Lnthiifiafm Retorted. p. 103. The Abfurdity of Oppojlng Faith to Reafon : Or, A Defence of Chri(iia7iify againft the Poiuer of FnthuJiafrH : In A^fiirr to Mr. Bradbnry'i Sermon on the Fifth of November, eyi^ titledy The Nature of Faith. Addrefs'd to the Five Mi- mflers concerned with him in carryi?ig on the Letiure rit Pinners-Hall. p- ifi The Grounds and Principles of Chviflian Ccmmunicn confiderd^ in a Letter to the Rev. ;\rr. JohnCumming, M. A. occafion d by his DiiTertation concernnig the Authority of Scripture- Confequences. p. 1 8 1 A Letter to Sir Richard Blackmore, occajioned by his Booky entitledy Modern ^r/^;7j T^nmask'd. P-^5 5 A Refutation of the Falfe Principles affumed and apply' d by the Reverend Mi: JoC^-phVykCy in his Book^ entitledy An Im- partial View of the Principal DifHciriltic.s that affeft the Trinitariany or clog the Arian Scheme, c^c-. To which is addedy Some Jbort Remarks on Sir Pwichard Blackmore 'j Jufl Prejuuices againft the Arian Hypothefi.s. fVith a Pojl- fcripty co?:cerning the real Agreement between the Atha- nalians and Socinians in the Trinitarian Controverfy. In a Letter to a Friend. P* 5-9 A Letter to the P^cv. Dr. Waterland, occafoyi'd by his late fVrz - ting;s in Defence of f^^ Athanafian Hypothejis. • P- 3 59 "Enthujiafm inDiJlrefs : or^ An Exanmiation of the Refleftroiis upon Reafon* In a Letter to Philelcutherus BritaniiiCus. p. 389 A Poflfcript to Enthufiafm in Dijlrefs. Occafioned by a Pamph-' let, entitledy Comprehenfion more properly than Enthu- fiafm in Diftrefs : Said to be written by one Mr. Peter Nisbet, in Defence of Philcleutherus Britannicus. p. 441 A Second Pofifcript to Enthufiafm in Diflrefs. Occafioned by Mr. Nisbett'i Second Letter^ entitled^ Comprehenfion Confufion. Addrefid to Mr. Nisbett, p. 469 THE Nature and Confequence§ ENTHUSIASM CONSIDER'D; I N Some fliort Remarjcs on The DoHrine of the Blejjed Trinity Stated and De- fended. I N A LETTER T O Mr.Tong^ Mv.RohinfoHy Mr o Smithy and Mr, Reynolds. THE Nature and Confequences ENTHUSIASM C ON SIDE P/D,- I N A LETTER to Mr. Tong, Mr, ROBINSON:, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Reynolds. GENtLEMENy H E N I fa W The DoEirine of the Blejfed Trinity Stated and Defended,undi^T your Names, advcrtifed in our publick Nfws Papers ; the Impor- portance of the Subjed, and an earneft D -(ire of having my Judgment fully fettled in this Point, made me very impatient %o fee the Book. I thought the leaft that B 2 could 4- The Nature and Confequences could reafonably be expected from fuch a Combi- nation ot able Pens, was, to fee theQucftion clear- ly ftatedi and fairly argued, the mofl material Objections obviated, and the Whole fct in a di- ftind and proper Light. But having now con- (idered and examined what you have offered upon this Head, with all the Application and Exadnefs I am capable of, I mull own, that I find my felf fomewhat difappointed ; and that 1 cannot at all fatisfy my Underftanding, con- cerning the Truth of fbme General Principles you have laid down, or the Conclufions you have drawn from them. I {hall therefore take the Liberty to offer you fome of thofe Reafons, which, till you can inform me better, muft in- cline me to think, that you have laid the great Strcfs of Chriflianity, the Peace of Mens Con- fcienccs, and the Salvation of Souls, upon a mere precarious Foundation, which is not at all fufficient to fupport fuch a Weight ; that you cannot your felves upon your own Princi- ples, hat^e any rational Cohfidehce towards God ; and that thofe ferious and plain Chri- ftians, to whom you appeal, and for whofe Sake only you have written this Book, muft either lay alide their Reafon and Underfland- ings in the great Articles of their Faith, and content themfelves to believe implicitly as the Church believes, or elfe be left under endlefs and inextricable Doubts and Perplexities about their Spiritual State, and the Salvation of their Souls 'j fince you have piim'd them down un- der the Penalty of eternal Damnation, or at leaft as they exped any Covenant-Mercy from God, to the Belief of a Point, which, upon a fair Enquirj^, they muft in all Probability find to be ^/Enthusiasm confder^d. 5 be extremely doubtful at leaft, if not utterly repugnant, not only to the Nature and Reafoii of Things, but to the plain repeated Declara- tions oi God in the Chriilian Revelation. That I may not omit any Thing that is ma- terial iw fo remarkable a Performance, I fhali begin with your Title-Page ; and here, by 77^ DoBrine oj the Blejjed Trmity Stated and Dejended^ I prefume you mean, only your own Judgment, or Opinion, Stated and Defended, concerning the Senfe of Scripture, as it relates to the Do;5triue of the Trinity. I have, as I imagine, fufficient Reafon to take this for granted, fince 'tis certain, that as Proteftants, or even as fal- lible Creatures, you can mean nothing elfe by it. But whether you mean fo or no, I think it will be the more neceffary here to diflin- guifh between your Opinion, or Senfe of Scrip- ture, and Scripture it felfr becaufe other wife, as you have managed the Matter, I fear, that not a few of your too eafy and believing Readers, might be in great Danger of miflaking the One for the Other, and of fubftituting, with- out more ado, your Judgment or Senfe of Scrip- ture, in the Place and Stead of Scripture it felf. Indeed, were Men infallible in their Judg- ments, and known to be fo, there would be no need of diflinguifhing between their Senfe of Scripture, and Scripture it felf, becaufe their Senfe in that Cafe, muft necelTarily be the true Senfe ; but where they are not thus in- fallible, it is very unfair, and very prefuming, to write as if they were. I would be as tender as poflible, of charging you with any Thing that you are not plainly guilty of ; and the fetting up for Infallibility in Matters of Faith, B 3 mufii 6 The Nature and Confequences mufl appear with fo ill a Grace in Protcftants, ^wd eipeciaily in Froteilant Dillentcrs, that I hope you will be able and ready to clear your fcives from any fuch Imputation ; only, I could ^^i(h you had not made fuch a Vindica- tion necelTary, or that you had not in any Cafe laid your felves open to the ill Confequences of a luppofed Infallibility. I (hall not infill upon your pofitive and dog- matical Way of Writing, as if you were as cer- tain of what you were contending for, as you are that the Sun is up at Noon-Day ; nor fhall I urge againfl you, your not once fuppofing or al- lowing that you may poffibly be miftaken in this Cafei and therefore, that it would not be fafe for ferious plain Chriftians abfolutely to de- pend upon you; but that they ought, with the iitmofl Impartiality, and with equal Fairnefs and Indifferency, to confider and weigh the Evidence on both Sides, feeking Truth only, for its ov n Sake, without regarding whether the Weight of Humane Authority, or any of the Interefls or Advantages of this World, be for or againft it. Certainly fuch an Acknow- ledgment, and fuch Advice, at leaft once for all, had been but open and ingenuous iw Thofe, who did not pretend to be infallible. But what I would now take Notice of, and make fome Remarks upon, is, that you feem to me diredly to cl:um Infallibility in Matters of Faith, only you have fofned it a little by giving it another Name: Your Words are thefe, /?. 5. " We are far from pretending to an in- *' fallible Judgment about Gofpel Truth or " Error ; but W'e take it to be an agreed Point 5* with Proteftants, that there may be Certain- (?/* Enthusiasm mifdcy^d. 7 ** ty, where there is not Infallibih'ty ; and " None can deny this, unlcfs they will venture *^ to aflert, that we Can in no Cafe know we *' are in the Right, but by being aiTurcd that '^ it is impoiTible for us, in any Cafe, to be m " the Wrong/' This 1 think muil: be allowed to pafs for a very peculiar and remarkable Piece of Reafoning , tor, I. Here is Infallibility claim*d and ^i^- claim'd, aflerted and deny'd : You are far from pretending to an infallible judgment a- bout Gofpel Truth and Error; and yet you pretend to Knowledge or Certainty iv. thofe Matters, which is the higheft Degree oi Evi- dence that Humane Underllandings are capa- ble of; and therefore, if you are not infallible fo far as your Knowledge or Certainty goes, it is impclTible you fhould ever be infallible at all. 2. Here is a General Principle laid down, a Point which all Proteftants are fuppofed to be agreed in, that there may be Certainty, where there is not Infallibility,- but this be- ing, to my Under {landing, a plain Contra- didion, I fhall never believe that all Prote- ftants are agreed in it, till I have better Au- thority for it. The whole World is agreed that there may be Certainty, flrid infallible Certainty, in Matters of Science j but theymuft be very weak Proteftants, it there areany fuch, who talk of Certainty in Matters of Faith : You cannot be certain of any Thing at all, if you are not infallibly certain of it; and if you pretend to infallible Certainty in Matters of Faith, or Opinion, I hope you will not dif- claim Infallibility in thofe Matters. But if it is only a fallible or uncertain Certainty that * ' B ^ you 8 The Nature and ConfequenceS you claim in this Cafe, you may take it with all my Heart, and I wifh you much Good of it ; be as fallibly infallible, and as uncertainly certain, as you pleafe : This is a Privilege, which, though it may not perhaps expofe you to much Envy, yet 1 cannot engage for it, that it will not expofe you to fome Ridicule. 3 . And which is flranger ftill, if poffible, \t is faid, that None can deny (thisContradidion} , that there maybe Certainty where there is not In- fallibility, unlefs they will aflert (another Contra^ didion) that Men cannot be certain or infallible in fome Cafes, without being fo in all ; or that no Man can be infallible in any Cafe, wichout being abfolutely and in all Cafes beyond the PofTibili- ty of Error. By what Force of Magick you have drawn this Confequence, you have not informed us ; and perhaps 'tis a Myflery which you can- not, and therefore in Prudence will not explain ; or poiFibly it might not confift with your de- figned Brevity, and fo you have rcferved it for your next. But be this as it will, I think it is evident that Infallibility muft go as far as Cer- tainty ; and that no Man can be certain of any Thing at all, of which he is not infallibly certain. If you intend to difclaim Infallibi- lity only in this Senfe, Infallibility in every Thing, or an ImpolTibility of erring in any Cafe at all, the Pope and Church of Rome never pretended to fuch an Infallibility ; nay, the Apoiiles themfelves were not infallible in. this Senfe ; they were not infallible in every th^ng^j or above a PofTibility of Error in all ^afes what- ever : We find St. Paul fometimes giving his; Advice only, without pretending to an abfo- late Certainty, or infallible Judgment, in tha Cafe J ^/Enthusiasm conJIJcrd. 9 Cafe : At other Times, we find the Apoftles differing in their Judgments, and debating fe- veral Matters among themfelves ; which could not confift with abfolute Certainty, or Infalli- bility, in thofe Cafes. And indeed, in many In- ftances the Apoftles themfelves were plainly left to act upon the common Principles of Hu- mane Prudence, and the Appearances of Pro- bability only, without that abfolute Certainty, or Infallibility, which they had in other Cafes. They were doubtlefs infallible in whatever they delivered, as the Mind and Will of God con- cerning Mens Duty, and the Way and Means of Salvation : And this is all the Infallibility which the Romamjis pretend to, an Infallibili- ty in declaring what is, or is not, a Matter o£ Faith, or neceflary to Salvation. And I cannot fee that you are inclined to yield an Inch to his Holinefs in this Point ; but that in whatever you think fit to declare as a neceflary Article of Faith, or neceflary to Salvation, you are as infallible as the Pope himfelf ; you have dif- claim'd no Infallibility, but an univerfal unli- mitted Infallibility in every Thing, or an ab- folute Freedom from Error, or any Liablenefs to Error in all Cafes whatever ; an Infallibility, which was never pretended to, which never was nor can poflibly be communicated to Men, but is peculiar to God alone. Thus you have, in great Humility and Con- defcenfion,- given up the Claim of a divine At- tribute, and vouchfafed to diveft your felves of the Infallibility of God ; but you (land hard l>y the Infallibility of the Pope ; a ftrid, abfo- lute, or indubitable Certainty in Matters of l^aith, is your great and main Princir;le. This ' ' ' " Cer- I o The Nature md Confequences Certainty In Matters of Faith, Opinion, orPer- fvvafion, this immoveableConfidence, or invinci- ble Adherence to a Thing beyond its juft Degree of rational objedive Evidence, which is the great Foundation and lafl Refuge of all B'gotry and Enthufiafm, you hold as faft as your integrity, and will not let it go. Now, tho' I cannot conceive how God himfclf fhould make a Man more infallible in his Judgment in any Cafe, than by imparting to him the certain Know- ledge of the Thing j it being, I think, im- polTible that the Humane Underflanding fhould be more infallible than Knowledge or Certain- ty can render it j yet I will not contend much with you about a Name : and therefore, if you do not like the Sound of Infallibilit}^, I Ihall fubftitute your own Words inflead of it, •z;/z,. Knowledge or Certainty in Matters of Faith : And as I think that thefe are the fame Thing, fo I am fure that all the natural ne- ceflary Confequences of either, muft be exadly the fame ; and tho' in a loofe and popular Way ok fpeaking, Men may confound Know- ledge with Belief or Perfwafion, Certainty with Probability, yet in firici: Reafoning or Argu- ment, we ought always to diftinguifh them^ both in their Nature and Confequences, or otherwife we muft unavoidably confound the Nature and Reafon of Things, j Every Proportion, or whatever can be ob- ^jedively propofed to the Underftandings of Men, as the Matter of their Affent or Dillenr, muft be Self-evident, Demonftrative, or Pro- l bable only. Where the Relation of Agreement or Difagreement between any two Ideas is per- ceived by an immediate Juxta-Poiition of the Idea§ of E:t^THV SI ASM confdcr'^d. ii Ideas themfelves, as thatTwiceTwois Four, or that the Whole is equal to all its Parts taken together, and the like, the Propofition is Self- evident, or Intuitive. When the Relation of Agreement or Difagreement between any two remote Ideas, is difcovered by a Train of in- termediate Ideas, each Antecedent having an immediate felf-evident Connexion with its next fubfequent Idea, fo as that the firft and Lift Step in the whole Chain of Reafoning (hall be joyn*d together by a Train of intuitive or felf- evident Perceptions -, in this Cafe the Propo- rtion will be Demonflrative, as being founded upon flrid Mathematical Evidence : that is, the Propofition in efther of thefe Cafes wmU be neceffarily true, and the contrary abfolutely im- pofTible in the Nature and Reafon of Things. This intuitive and demonflrative Evidence is the fole Foundation of Knowledge or Certain- ty ; and whatever comes fhort of this, can a- mount only to Probability, and can lay a ra- tional Foundation for no more than Opinion, Belief or Perfwafion ; in which, how high fo- ever the Degrees of Probability may arife, we cannot conclude the Thing to be necefiarily true, but the contrary will be ftill poffible. There will be always this effential Difference between Certainty and Probability, Knowledge and Belief, or Opinion, that where there is the one, the Thing muft be necefiarily true ; whereas the other flill leaves the Matter hi fome degree doubtl'ul, and muft always fuppofe the PofTibility of the contrary. The confound- ing of thefe Things, fo different in themfelves, the pretending to Knowledge or Certainty in Matters which are incapable of fuch Evidence, '■' ■ and I i The Nature and Confequences and miftaking^ the Strength of Perfwafion for the Certainty and Evidence of the Thing, is the proper Nature of Enthufiafm : For all that Strength of Pe|:l wafion, which gqes beyond the rational objective Evidence of Things to the Underftanding, is ufually attributed to fome divine ImpuHe, or to the internal Witnefs and Teilimony of the Spirit to the Heart and Confcience. When once a Man is w^'ll fettled in fuch a Perfwalion ; when once he comes to think that* he rauH not fee, but feel the Truth ; or that he rnuft not fee with his Underftanding, but with jpmething elfe ; he is got above the Force of Argument, or rational Oonvidion : You will in vain endeavour to fhew him the Infuffici- ency of his Principles, or the Weaknefs and In- confequence of his Reafonings ; for he has God himfelf fpeaking inwardly to his Soul, flriking him with irrefiflible Convidion, pre- venting his Faculties, and forcing his Aflent by a fuper- rational, overwhelming Light. If you tell him, you are not able to perceive the iieceffary Truth, or fo much as the Probability of what he pretends to know, and be fo cer- tain of ; that is, he will fay, becaijfe you have not the Spirit of God, or becaufe you lean too much to your own Underflanding, and judge of Things by your carnal corrupted Reafon ; but, that he has the Spirit witneffing with his Spirit, that he is adually in the right ; his Un- derflanding and Reafon are enlightned, re- fined and fpiritualized, and therefore he can fee plainly the Truth and Neceility of what may appear abfolutely falfe, impoffible, and contradictory to carnal Reafon. If you urge him, ^Enthusiasm confiddd. 13 him farther, that you hope you have been (in- cere in your Inquiries -, thatTruth^ the Honour of God, and the Salvation of Souls^ are Things infinitely dear to you i and that, as far as you know any thing of your own Hearts, you are ready to facrifice all that you have in the World to them j that you are fenfible of the Weaknefs of your UnderltandingSj and how liable you are to Error, and therefore with your diiigentj laborious and paintul Studies, you have always join'd the moft earneif Prayers to God, that he would guide and dired you by his Spirit, lead you into all neceifary Truth, and not leave you under any dangerous Error ; and confequently, that you cannot but hope that, if you fliould after ah be miflaken, God will mercifully pity your Weaknefs, accept of your fincere Endea- vours to know and do his Will, and not con- demn you eternally for an invincible Error : The Enthufiaft would reply to you, if not in plain Words, at leaft by Innuendo's, that all this is mere Pretext and Sham ; that you pre- tend a Love of Truth, the Glory of God, and the like, only to carry on fome vile, wicked Defign or other j that he for his Part is cer- tainly in the right, he knows and is fure of it, as having the Truth witncfled to his Confcience by the infallible Teftimony of the Spirit , and therefore, if you were indeed (ineere, as you pretend, if you had really the Spirit of God, and were not Reprobates,- you mud needs fee, and think, and kt\, as he does. And now 1 fuppofe the Man has pinned you down, and you can fland no longer againfl him i for there is no Force of Reafcning can prevail againft jche Weight and Strengtii of Enchufiafm. I wifh> 1 4. The Nature ^^2c/Confequehces wifh, Gentlemen^ you had not treated this Subjed in fuch a Manner, as to give the World Occalionto furped, that you come at the Know-» ledge and Certainty you pretend to, only in the Enthufiaflick Way. This viiionary Scheme cannot but be attend- ed vith two very ill Confequences, which I never knew it fail of producing in Faft i Im- plicit Faith, and Uncharitable Zeal. As to the firft of thefe, it is certain that all that Strength of Perfw^afion which goes beyond the appre- hended Evidence of Things, muft be implicit Faith, and can have no rational Foundation at all ; for when a Man is well fettled in his En- thufiafm, and fufficiently heated with a myfte- rious Fire, he may work himfelf up to a ftrong Perfwafion, not only without, and beyond, but even contrary to, all rational Evidence v hat- ever ', of which we have a fufficient Proof in the far greater Part of the Chriftian World, who upon this very Account have been wtoughc into the Belief of the grofl'efl Abfurdity, and moft complicated Contradidion, that could ever have been thought of, or impofed upon the Underftandings of Men : And tho* the pre- tended Keceflity of believing what appears to be not only wholly unintelligible, but contra- didory alfo, is the fole Principle upon which the Belief o( Traf7ful?ftantiatm itfelf is founded, yet this is ftill a Principle amongft Proteflants; in confequence whereof, if they are not adual- ly, they are liable at leall to be as much im- pofed on as Papifts. It will be fufficient to expofe this Eft'ed of Enthufiafm, barely to reprefent it in its own Light J and this will be done only by ftating the ©/ Enthusiasm conftderd. i $ the Notion, or giving the Definition of Faith. Faith, then, or Beliet, as every one knows, is' an Ailent of the Underftanding to the Truth of a Propofition, upon the Tcflimony of a Perfon, or Perfons, >\'hofe Credit and Veracity niay reafonably be depended on. . Before we can believe therefore, or yield a rational Affent to the Truth of any Propofition, upon the Te- flimony of Another, our Undcrflanding mufl be fatisfy'd m two tilings ; finl, that it is in- deed teftify'd by that other, whofe Authority is vouched for it, and that it is not a meer Im po- rtion, or Forgery ; fecondly, we mufl; under- fland the Senfe or Meaning of the Propofition, or be able to affix in our Minds fome fettled determined Ideas to the feveral Terms of it, before one can believe it upon Teflimony, or employ any Ad of the Mind at all about it, unlefs it is barely fufpending one's Judgment concerning it : For the Aflent of the Under- fianding, whether it proceeds upon certain or probable Reafons, divine or humane Teftimony, or any thing elfe, being only the joining or fe- parating of Ideas in Affirmative or Negative Propofitions, as the Things themfelves are fup- pofed to agree or difagree i ^tis certain, that we cannot thus join o^ feparate Ideas in Propofiti- ons of which we have no Ideas at all ; that is, we cannot believe or disbelieve what we have no Notion or Conception of. And indeed. Faith or Belief, in the Enthufiailick Account' of it, mufl: be defin'd to be, an Aflent of the Underflanding to what one cmnot underftand, and the joining or feparating of Ideas in mere verbal Propofitions, where we have wo Ideas AX all. . This 1 6 r/:?^ Nature WConfequences This being evidently fo, it may be worth ^hile to examine the Pleas of Enthufiafm, for the Belief of myflerious or unintelh'gibJe Pro- pofitions. It is commonly urged therefore, by the Patrons of an implicit incomprehenfible Faith, ift. That the Scripture itfelf reprefents the great Dodrines of the Chriftian Revela- tion, under the Notion of Myfteries. 2d, That tho* vve cannot believe any Thing contrary to Reafon, yet we may and ought to believe many Things which are above Reafon, or be- yond our Comprehenlion. 3d, That there are, in Fad, infinite Things in Nature, which we cannot underftahd, and which we are obliged to believe. A clear Anfwer to thefe Objedi- ens, will, I prefume, fet this Matter in a full Light; and either reconcile the contending Parties, or leave one Side to contend only for Contention fake. To the iftj therefore, that the Scripture it felf reprefents the great Dodrines of the Chri- ftian Religion under the Notion of Myfteries, and confequently that we muft believe My- fteries, or not believe the Scriptures ; I fay, that a Myftery, in the Scripture Notion of it, fignifies fomething that depends fo entirely on a Divine Teftimony, that it could never have been known or difcovered by humane Reafon, if God himfelf had not difcovered or made it known by a particular Revelation in an extra- ordinary Way ; and in this Senfe, the whole Gofpel-Revelation is call'd a Myftery, the My- ftery of Godlmefs, becaufe it contains Things which were abfolutely beyond the Search or Inveftigation of unaffifted Natural Reafon, and could never have been underftood without Reve- ^ENtHUSiASM consider d. If Revelation ; but then, I fay, that when once a Thing is revealed, or made known, it ceafes to be a Myftery; for it cannot continue to be a Myftery, a Secret, or an unknown Thing, after it is revealed or made known. Thus St. Paul fays, Behold, Ijhew you a Myftery ; lue /hall not all fleept but we fhall be changed , in a Momenty in the 'Twinkling of an Eye, at the lafl 'Trump', for the Trumpet (hall founds and the Dead jhall be raifed incorruptible , and we fl:)all be changed^ *i Cor. XV. 5 I, 52. What the Apoftle here dif"- covers, was a Secret, a hidden or unknown Thing before, and muft have continued fo without a Revelation, and therefore he calls it a Myftery , but if it was to have remained a Myftery after he had revealed iiy he could UQt have faid as he does. Behold I floew^ or make it known to you: And indeed it rnuic be a ftrange fort of a Revelation, which leaves the^ Thing as much a Myftery as before; at this Rate, e- very Thing might be revealed, and nothing made known. Perhaps it will be urged by Thofe, who are for the Belief of Myfteries; that what the Apoftle here reveals, is revealed but in Part i that the Thing ftill remains ia Part myfterious, for we know not how or af- ter what Manner this Change will be raade^ or what fort of incorruptible Bodies 1 hef<^ will be. To which the Anfwer is eafy. That we are to believe a Thing only fo far as it is revealed ; "and as to the ftill myfterious or un- revealed Part, as we know nothing of it, {o we can believe nothing about it : That the Bo- dies of Thofe, uho ftiail be found alive at the Laft Day, will be fuddenly changed, and that this Change wiU render them incorruptible, is e what 1 8 The Nature and Confequences what is revealed to our Underftandings ; and this we believe, as what Revelation has made plain and intelligible enough ; but after what Manner this Change will be made, or what particular fort or kind of incorruptible Bodies Thefe will be, as it is not at all revealed, as we ha\^e no Ideas of it, and know nothing a- bout ity it cannot polTibly be the Objed of our ' Faith. So that a Man's Faith muft ftill keep Pace with his Underftanding, and cannot move an Hair^s Breadth beyond it , and what goes farther, muft be a blind implicit Faith, a mere mechanical' Impulfe, Enthufiafm, or a flrong Perfwafion without any rational Grounds. But, 2d, It is faid, that tho' we cannot believe any Thing contrary to Reafon, yet we may and ought to believe many Things which are above our Reafon. Now, if by Things above Reafon, here, be meant Things which can be known only by Revelation, it is very true that we are obliged to believe many Things upon the Score of Revelation, which Reafon could never have reached to without it ; but then, I fay, that thofe Things which are in this Senfe above Reafon, as depending wholly upon Re- velation, miuft, by the Revelation it felf, be brought down to our Underftandings and Capa- cities, fo as to enable us to form fome clear con- (iftent Notions and Conceptions of them. But if by Things above Reafon, be meant Things wholly incomprehenfible, or Things of which we can have no diftind Notion or Perception at all ,* I fay, it will be as abfurd and impoflible in this Senfe to believe Things above Reafon, as it is to believe what is contrary to Reafon ; for nothing, I think, can be mere unreafonable, or ^Enthusiasm confidcr'^d. i^ br contrary to Reafon, than to require a Mm to believ^e what he can liave no didind: Notion, ^ no fettled determined Idea of. • But to fliew the Weaknefs and Abfurdity of this Diflin- 'dion, thus underftood, I will fuppofe fonie Body or other incliiAi to make the fame Ufe of his Eye-fight, that the Emhitfiajl does of his :Underftanding ^ and in order to this, he dx" ftinguifhes between Things contrary to his Eye- fight, and Things above or beyond his Eye- fight j and hereupon affirms, that tho^ no Man can fee a Thing that is contrary to Eye-fight, ■yet he both may and ought to fee many Things Avhich are above and beyond his Eye-fight^ or out of Sight. Such an One, I imagine, mud be allow^'d 'to pafs for a Vifionary with a Wit- nefs ; and I leave Thofe ^vho are concerned to determine what Diiference there is betwixt believing what is above and beyond our Un- derftanding, and feeing what is above and be- yond our Eye-fight ; or betwixt believing with-* out Ideas, and feeing without Light ot vifible Objebts. 3d, It is farther urged, in Favour of this Enthufiaftick Scheme, that there are infinite Things in Nature, which we cannot under- ftand, which yet we cannot but believe. And here indeed it would be pleafant enough, if it was not tor the ill Confequences of it, to ob- ferve how egregioul'ly fon»e leirned Men de- light to trifle, and blunder upon this Subjed i They are fometim.es extremely modeft, with' Regard to their Underftandings, \\\ Compli- ment to their Faith ^ they will frankly own, what indeed they make undeniably evident, that they underftand but very Ijttle of the Na- C % ' tui;e c o The Nature and Confequences ture and Reafon of Things : But then, what- ever they may want in Underftanding, they a- bundantly make up in Believing. That there are infinite Things in Nature, which we do not underftand, and which are wholly beyond our Compreheniion, and above our Reafon, I readily acknowledge; but then, I affirm, that not One of thofe infinite Things unknown can be the Objed of our Faith. I have frequent- ly, in Converfation, urged thefe myflerious Be- lievers, who think they have raifed their Faith above their Underflandings, to give me any one fingle Inflancej exprtfs*d in any clear in- telligible Propolition, of a Thing that they be- lieve, and that they do not at the fame Time underftand ; and tho' one would think this but a reafonable Requeft from Thofe, who talk fo much of believing above Reafon, yet I could never prevail upon any One of Them to oblige me thus far ; and 1 am fo well aflbred of thefe Mens Obff inacy in this Cafe, that I dare fay, let who vvill befeech them, they will never do it. I fhould not, perhaps, have thought any Thing could farther have been urged in Favour of implicit Faith, if you^ Gentlemen, had not f urn idled us with a very remarkable Di- ftindion to this Purpofe. It is certainly no eafy Matter to believe what one can't under- fland in any Senfe at all, or form any difiind determinate Idea of; but to help us out in this Cafe, You '' diftinguifli, p. 40. between the "^ Dodrines and Points propofed in Scripture *' to our Belief, and the Things themfelves that " are the Matter and Subjed of them. The *^ Former, you fay, may be known, and .^^ Ground fufEcieut /een for the receiving of . " ^ it them ; (?/ Enthusiasm confidcr'^d. a i *^ them ; where our Reafon, at leaft m this its " weak and impaired State, can't reach the " full, clear and adequate underflanding of " the Latter/' You ^dd, " I'hat not attend- *^ ing unto this, niay occafion Difficulties and *^ Entanglement in the Thoughts, which o- *• therwife v/ould be prevented/' I would gladly receive any AfTiflance wnich might ena- ble me to avoid Difficulties and Entanglement in ray Thoughts ; but I mufl frankly own, that I am not able to perceive the Groqnd of this Piftindion, or upon what Foundation, in the Nature of Things, you have made it; and therefore, I fear it is a Diftindioa without any pitference : For, what, I befeech you, are the Podrines and Points propofed in Scripture to Qur Belief, as diflinct or abflraded trom the Things themfelves, that are the Matter and Subject of them ? Is it poUible to believe the Dodrines, without believing the Things con- tained in them; or can you underflandthe One, in any Pegr^e or Meafure, further than you underftand the Other alfo ? What is it to be- lieve the Dodrines, but to aflent to the Truth of tlie Things that are the Subje6t-Matter of thofe Dodrines ? Or what is it to underflan4 the One, but to underflandthe Other ? 'Tis, J think, evident, that your Ideas mufl be the fame, and of the fame Nature, in both Cafes, plear or not clear, adequate or inadequate, alike ; and when you can make out the contrary, I fhall own that you have explained a Myflery, an4 (hall exped greater Matters from you for the future : But in the mean while, if we mufl with you diflinguifh between the Dodrines and Points propofed in Scripture, and the Things ' C 3 ' tliein^, '^5 The Nature and Confequcnces themfelyes that are the Matter and Subject of them, I think there is but one polTible Way of doing it ; and that is, by diftinguifhing be- tween the Words of the Dodrines, or the bare verbal Propofitions, and the Scnfe or Meaning of them ; and then, indeed, we may be fure that fuch Words, or bare verbal Propofitions, are written in Scripture, without troubling out Heads about the Meaning of them, or whe- ther they ftand for any 1 hing, or were intend- ed to convey any Ideas to our Minds, or not ; nnd this, I muft own, is a found Foundation tor implicit Faith, which can be built upon no- thing but Sounds. But notwithftanding your fliifting off this Bufinefs, under a Pretence of your not having full_, clear, and adequate Ideas of the Things themfelves, that are fuppofed to be the Sub- ject-Matter of the Doctrines revealed and pro- pofed to our Belief; I doubt not but to make it appear, that in your Way you can have no Ideas at all of what you call the Things re- vealed : I fay, no Ideas at all, either full or not full> clear or not clear, adequate or in- adequate ; and this, I think, will be .made out fully and clearly tb every one's Capacity, by confidcring your great and main Propofition ; in which you pretend to have given us the State of the Queftion; and in which, as I cannot but in-agine you have added to the Myfteriouf- nefs ci the Athenafian Qreed, you have left your felves accountable for fome peculiar Abfurdi- ties and Contradidions of your own, which Cannot be charged even upon That. Your main Propofition, in which you have laid down, as 3J0U think;> a neceflary Fundamental Article of Faith^ ofEisiTnvsiASMconJIdcrd. a^ Faith, and which you fay you are ready e-r- neftiy to contend, tor, agiinit all Oppulers, .s this, viz,. *' That the Father, Son, and Holy *' Gholt, (conjunctly taken) and no'c cither of *' Thefe alone, (or feparately confidered) are ** the One only Living and True God, or the *^ One Supreme Being, p. 15?, 20, 21." Ihis Propoiition being what you have fo ftrongly exprefled, and fo often repeated as a neceflary Fundamental Article of the Chriftian Faith, I fhali tal^e the Liberty to make (oire Remarks upon it. And here, the firft Thing I would obferve concerning this Grand Propoiition of yours, is, w^hat you have frankly own'd, 'viu^. That you m^ean nothing by it. I hope* there- fore, that from henceforth no Body will be Co injurious to you, as to charge you with under- ftanding or defending this Doclrine in a wrong Senfe ; lince I doubt not but eifeduaily to clear you from any fuch Imputation, by file wing, that you do noi underhand or defend it in any Senfe at all. You fay, p. 20. '' We farther add, *' that though thefe Three are in the Scrip- " fares diftinguifhed from, and therefore not ** to be confounded with, each other ; yet we ^* have learnt nothing there, either of their be- ^' ing compounded or divided : Nor do we. " therefore undertake to fiiew explicitly, and ^' in Particulars, how they are Three , noi how, (tho* Three, yer) '' they are OnQ.'^ Now, do, but ftand to this Principle, and do not pretend, as you fay you will not, to^ determine in par- ticular, how the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, are Three, or in what Senfe One ; and I dare undertake to fhew, that Sabellians, Tritheiflsy Arians, Spcinians, UiutarianSy Trinitariansy Rea- ^, lip^^ 9 4- '^^^ Nature and Confequences lifls, Modaliftsy Nomimlifls, Orthodox and Here-' ticks of all Sorts and Denominations whatever^ inay all fafely (ubfcribe your Grand Article of Faith; and without the leaft Prejudice to their particular and oppofite Opinions, may all ami- cably unite in one common Jingle of Words, in one general indeterminate, and therefore in- (ignificant Propcfition. This is doubtlefs a fafe and prudent Way of fecuring the Faith once delivered to the Saints, by laying down general Propofitions rf an implicit or no Meaning, and leaving every One at Liberty to underftand them in his own particular explicit Senfe. I hope, therefore, if you fhouid hereafter propofe this, or any fuch like Propofition, as a Teil of Mens Chriflianity, that no Body will take you for Impofers, fince you only ofier them a ge- neral implicit Fotni of Words, which Men are to receive as a Blank, and affix what par- ticular Senfe to they pleafe. What Pity is it this innocent Defign had not been more generally known a.t Salter' s-Hall ; \is no Won- der that thofe who were let into the Secret, rnade no Scruple of declaring their Aflent to a Set of Words, which had confeffedly no Mean- ing at all, till every one for himfelf had tack'd his own particular Senfe to them ; for who ^vculd not be Orthodox at fo cheap a Rate, ^s making the Words Three and One feem to chime fo, as to belong, in fome Senfe or other, to the fam^e Thing ? If you cannot or will not determine in what Senfe the true God is One, and in what Senfe Three,' then this, for any thing that you can qr will determine to the contrary, may be true ill either of the particulai: and oppofite Senfes, which (^fENTHUSiASM conftdet^d. 55 which commonly go under the Names of. 7ri- theifm and Sabellianifm, Thus, in the Trithe- iftick Way, the Three Perfons, Father, Son and Holy Ghoft, may be Three real Perfons, Three Individual Seli'-conrcious Beings, Three diftinft Selfs, or intelligent Agents ; and God may be One, not by a numerical but fpecihck Identity, of Three diftind: real Perfons or in- telligent Agents agreeing in one common Na- ture, or ElTence, one fort of Species ,• and thus the Words God and Godhead may be taken, not in an individual but colledive Senfe, as a Se- nate, Council, or fupreme Magiflracy may be faid to be One, tho" it conlifls cf many indi- vidual Members, or diftind: Perfons, of the fame Rank and Order, and ading in the fame Capacity by a Joinc-Exercife of the fame Pow-^ ers. Thus you fee, in the T'ritheiftick Way, God, or the Deity, may be One and Three in fome Senfe, One and Three in different Re- fpeds ; and if you are refolved to continue thus ix\ the dark, and will not limit the Mat- ter to any particular Senfe different from this, then it mufl be evident to every Body, that this T'ritheiftick Scheme may be the true Scrip- ture Dodrine of the Trinity, for any thing that you have determine to the contrary. Again, in the Sabellian Scheme, the One true God, or the One Individual Self-exiftent firft Caufe, whofe Unity confifls in a numerical Identity of Being, or diflind particular Exift- ence, may be reprefented and made known to us by Three diftind Names, or Characters, on the Account of his having three Relative Ca- pacities, or diflind Ways of ading with refpecSfc ro us ; as the rational Spirit in Men is fome- times a 6 The Nature and G)nfequences times called the Mindy when it is confidered as a thinking, intelligent Being or Agent in general ; lometimes the fame rational bpirit is c-ali'd the IVilly when it is confidered as exer- ciiing its activ^e Power, Command, or Domi- nion, in altering or dirterently determining its own Thoughts and Ideas within its felf, or the external Motions ot the Body ; and fome- times tne fame individual rational Spirit is called the Soidy when it is confidered as anima- ting and quickening the Body, and confi:itu- tiiig together with it tne compound Being, or ratncr tne Union ot two diftind: Beings^ the Soul and Bod\, which we call the Man. And thus to apply this Iniunce in the Sabellian Scheme concerning the Trinity; the One true God, or the One Individual SelF-exiflent firft C-iufe, who is but One real Perfon, or One diftincc, intelligent Agent, may yet be repre-* fented or made kno\^n to us under three di- ftincc Karnes or Charaders, on the Account of three ditferent Capacities or Ways of ading to- -^vards us; that is, this One true God, or One Self-exifienr nrft Caufe, confidered as the com- mon parent, the Author and Creator of all Things, may be call'd the Father ; but as he af- fumes the Humane Nature, and ads towards us in the Capacity of Mediator, he may be c^X^i 6. the Son y and thus agsin the fame Indi- vidual Self-exiftent firft Caufe, as he eftcduaily operates upon the Souls of Men, in Converfion and Regeneration, may be cail'd th^ Spirity or Hoi) Gfyoft ; and in this Way the felf fame Na- tural Pcrfon, the famie Numerical, Intelligent Being, or Agent, may be Three, or even Thirtyi or Three Hundred Perfons, in a Mo- ral ^Enthusiasm, cmfidcy^d. 2 7 ral or Political Senfe, with Regard to his dif- ferent Capacities or Ways of acting towards others. Now, fince you di not pretend to teil us in what Senfe the Trinity or Unity are to be here underflood, it may be underitood either in the Tritheifiick or Saoellian Sic-nfe, for any thing you determine to the contrary \ for it is evident, that if you cannot tell us in what Senfe the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft are One, you cannot tell us in what Senfe they are not Three j and if you cannot tell us in what Senfe they are Three, you can ni-irher tell us in what Senfe they are nor One \ and therefore, accorcing to you, they may be One and Three, either \w the Trhheiftick or Sabellian Senfe : And then, after all the Noife ana Out;- cry you have made againft your Brethren, as if they were apoftatized from the Faith once delivered to the Saints ; and after all the Zeal you have ihewn, and the Pains you have taken to make your felves Orthodox, or rather to fecure the Benefit and Reputation of Ortho- doxy to your felves, by the hne Amufement of empty, infignificsnt Sounds j you cannot, cr will not pretend to tell us wherher you believe in Three Gods, or Three Infinite Self-exiftent Beings, of one commicn Nature, Species, or Sort ; or whether you believe only One God, or One Infinite Self-exiftent Being, under Three diSerent Capacities, Relations, or Ways of acting. And thus by the m.ere Magick of Words, which, by your own Ccnfellion, iignify nothing, you have advanced ycur felves to be the Heads of a Party upon the Foundation of implicit Faith. Ycu ought doubtlefs to be own'd as leading Men among all thofe who can $ 8 The Nature and Confequences can proftitute their Underflandings low enough to believe that you mean fomething, when you can tell us nothing j and who are accordingly ready to yield a ftupid and blind Obedience to your reverend and venerable Darknefs. I hope, as you have taken fo much unfeafon- able and unnecefl'ary Pains to clear your felves from Arianifmy you will think your felves con- cern'd to fay fomething to clear your felves from Ti'itheifmy and to fatisfy the World that your One true God in Nature, Eflence, or Species, is not Three true Gods in Number, or Three Individual Seif-exiftent Beings. When you have done this, I promife that your Scripture TeftimiOnies fhall be very particularly and care- fully confidered, in order to determine how far the Scripture Account of the Three Perfons^ Father, Son and Holy Ghofl, can agree to that One Individual Being, who is the Supreme In- dependent firft Caufe of all Things, if you de- cline an open free Declaration, iuch as may ef- fcdually exclude I'vitheifniy I fhall leave the World to )udge with what Juftice you condemn others for not declaring themfelves ; and leave every Body at the fame time to judge how no^ table a Teft of Chriitianity yoq?; famous Pro- pofition mull be, 'that the Father ^ Son and Holy Ghofl are the One 'true God ; fince, for any thing you have faid, or I believe dare fay to the con- trary, your One True God in Nature, may be Three True Gods in Number, or Three Infi.- nite Independent Beings ; and One onlj^, as agreeing in one common abftraft EfTence, or Species, as all Mankind are one, as having one common rational Nature, or agreeing in one abftrad Idea of Humanity. ' " ■ ' ■■ I nfEnmv^ixsMconfdcr'd. 29 I think it is very remarkable, with what Ar- tifice you endeavour to evade declaring your felves upon this Point, and to keep the Reader in a Mill of W ordsj of a general, indeterminate, and therefore of no Meaning. Page 8. you fay, *' Now therefore that which upon this Foun- ** dation we alTert, and are ready earneftly to ^^ contend for, againft all Oppofers, is, that *^ there are Three, who do plainly bear di- *^ flind Names in Scripture, to wit, the Name *^ of the Father, of the [Word, orj Son, and « of the [Spirit, or] Holy Ghoft: We fay " there are thefe Three, to whom we find the '^ Scriptures do afcribe and attribute any thing, *' every thing, that is mofl peculiar and appro- *^ priated to the Divine Nature, without any ^' Difference. The moft pecuKar Things, that do diftinguifh God from any, from every made or deriv'd Being, do not diitinguifll " thefe [as to their Eflence or Being] from each " other/* I appeal to the whole World, w he- ther all this general confufed Talk may not equally be apply'd to the two moft oppofite and contraciidory Schemes, Ttitbeifm and Sal^el- lianifin ; and whether your Three Names, or Three Things, or Three you know not what, muft not leave your whole Senfe uncertain and indeterminate. There are Three Somewhats fpoken of in Scripture, to each of whom, as you imagine, every thing is attributed that is moft peculiar and appropriate to the Divine Na- ture i but whether thefe are three Names only, or three Things, three Relations of one and the fame Being or three diftind Beings, you can- not tell : However, for the more Safety, and that you may agree with Scripture at leaft m Sound, cc 50 The Nature andConkc^Quc^s Sound, you will call thefe three Somewhats One God, whether you underftand them as Three Gods, or One God, or whether you underftand and believe any thing at all con- cerning them or not. For tho' you neither have nor call prove that Self- cxiftence, Inde* pendency, or abfolute Supremacy, is in Scrip- ture attributed to the Son^ or to the Holy Ghoft,' and tho" you are not able to prove that every Perfection which is communicable at all in any degree, is not adually communicable from all Eternity in an infinite degree, only with the Limitation of Dependency or de- rived Exiftence ; I fay, tho' you neither have nor can prove any thing of this, which if you cannot, muft be fufficient to overthrow your whole Scheme, even granting the utmoft that you can feem to prove concerning the Son and Holy Ghoft I yet I (hall not infift upon this at prefent, but call upon you again to declare your felves off or on, as to the Tritheiftick Scheme, and whether in the Unity of your Divine Nature there are, or are not in- cluded Three abfolutely Supreme, Independent, Self-exiftent Beings ? I hope. Gentlemen^ you will not prevaricate here, but telJ us fin- cerely and plainly, whether the Objed of your Worfhip be that One Supreme Self-exi- ftent Being, whofe num^^rical Identity and infi- nite Perfe&ions are demonitrable from certain Principles of Reafon, antecedent to any pecu- liar Revelation -, whether, I lay, this One In- dividual Supreme Being is tlie fole ODJed of your Worfliip ^ or whether under the Names of Father, Son and Holy GHcft, you worlhip Three fuch Beings. I think we have the mvirc Reafon of Enr uv SI A^M conJJdcF^d. 51 Reafon to call upon you to be fatisfy'd in thi-5 Particular, becaufe you not only allert, but lay a vaft Strefs upon it, that fome People are fufpeded to ditler from you in the very Obje^ of Divine Worfhip. Now if the one fu* preme Being, ot abfolute, infinite Perfection, who is the firft Caufe of all Things ; if this fene fupreme B and what your general confus'd Talk, when it comes to fignify any Thing, mufl necefl'arily terminate in -, and to make this out beyond all reafonable Contradiction, I fhall here premife Two Things. F/r/?, That there is a neceffary eflential Dif* fercnce or Diriindion to be made between the Scripture itfeif, and your Judgment or Opi- ; nion concerning it ; for fince the Scripture it " fclf is fuppofed to be the certain infallible Word of God, which cannot poiTibly be falfe, and lince it muft be alfo granted that your Judg- ment or Opinion in Matters of Faith is falli- ble, and therefore uncertain, or fuch as may polTibly be wrong; it is evident, that the cer- tain infallible Word of God cannot be the fame Thing, or the fame Rule, with the uncertain Judg- ^Enthusiasm confid€Y\i. 5 7 Judgment of weak and flillible Men ; and there- tore, every one ought to dilb'nguifh here, be- tween the Scripture itfelf-^ and } our Judgment or Senfe of Scripture, who would not deceive and miflcad himfelf, by taking a fallible for an infallible, and an uncertain for a certain Rule. Secondly^ I fhall fuppofe that you have formed your Judgment, in Matters of Faith, upon a llrid, ferious and impartial Examination of the Holy Scriptures themfelves,- and that you be- lieve and hold what after fuch Examination appear^ to your Underftandings to be moft rea- fonable and agreeable to Scripture, without any Regard to the Judgment of others, or any Humane Authority whatever. This I fuppole you muft grant, and then it mufl be farther granted, that while you had the fame Scripture Rule, the fame Underftandlng and Faculties, and the fame Degree of Light or Rational Evi- dence, you mufl have formed the fame Judg- ment, tho' no Body elfe in the World fliouid have been of your Mind ; and that till you can fee fome farther Ground from Reafon and Scrip- ture to alter your Opinion, you muft continue to think as you do, tho' the whole Pofle of your Creed-Makers fhould change their Minds and turn againft you ; and therefore, that you are not your felves, and confequently that o- thers ought not to be, at all influenced by them. Seeing then there is an eflential Difference betwixt your Judgm.ent and Senfe of Scripture, and the Scripture it felf, the one being certain and infallible, and the other fallible and un- certain; and feeing alfo what you declare to P 3 V)% jS The Nature and Confequences be true and neceffary, is that only which you think to be fo, whether it be really fo or not ; and which you muft equally think to be true and neceflary, whether any Body elfe in the World fliould agree with you herein or not ; From hence, 1 think it is evident, even to a Demonftration, that you have changed the Rule of Faith even in Fundamentals , that you have fubftituted your own private Senfe in the room of Scripture, and advanced your ou'n weak and fallible Judgment as the Teft of Chriflianity, and the Rule and Standard of all Truth and Orthodoxy in Matters of Confci- ence and eternal Salvation. You can hai^e nothing to fay here, but to Infill pofitively in it, that you are in the right, that your Judgment in this Cafe is the fame with Scripture, and that your Senfe is the true Senfe ; but I muft tell you, that this is fo only in your Judgment or Opinion, in which you may, as ycu mufl own after all, be mi- ifaken : And there are other Men of undoubt- edly equal Parts and Abilities, and of equal Honefly and Integrity in fearching the Scrip- tures, who cannot be of your Mind in thefe Matters, and who yet, to any difinterefted By- {lander, mufl be thought; at leail as likely to be in the right as your felves. Good God! to what an Height of Enthufiafm and Bigotry muft Men be brought, before they can thus fubftitute their own private Judgment and Senfe, exprefs^d in their own Words, in the Place of Scripture it felf ,* and then damn all that will not come into their Scheme, or that will not join with them in the fame Jingle o£ JUnjntelligible Sounds. 1 I of Enthusiasm conjiderd. 59 I befeech you, Gentlemeriy nay I conjure you, as you vnre Minillers of the Gofpel, in the Name of your great Lord and Mafter, and lis you exped to be judged by him, Jet us know by ^vhat Authority you have taken upon you to make new Fundamentals, or to declare any Thing as neceflary to Salvation, which God by any Revelation to Mankind has never made fo. li you could prove your implicit contradidory Propofition to be true, which is impoflible, yet flill, while we have the Bible in our Hands, you could not give us the leafl Appearance or Shadow of a Proof that it is a Fundamental Truth, or neceflary to Salvation ,* and what Antichriftian Tyranny, what an Outrage of uncharitable Zeal then is it in you, to deliver over great Numbers of your Fellow-Chriflians, who believe in and worfhip the fame God, through the alone >4^'<^i^tioJ^ ^"hole Pifcourfe; and one cannot read a (ingle Page, without being fliock^d and furprizM at it. Buc I fhall have Occalion to exemplify this more particularly under the next Remark ^ w^iiich is, 2, That he brings his railing Accufations againft his innocent Brethren, of deapng t he- Lord that bought the?}i, and departing from the Faith once delruered tQ the Saints; not only in Defiance ot: all that Charity which the Gofpel requircs^^ but without the leaft Regard to the eternal Moral Obligations of Truch and juitice. He has given me a Tafte of this Spirit, a- mong the numerous Calumnies and Reproaches which he has poured out againfl the whole Body of the Non-fubfcribers. £iiQ Four Gentle- rttn, to whcm I \Nrore the foregoing Letter^ E ' having 50 TOSTSCRITT. havii^ declared it as a neceflary Fundamental Article of the Chriflian Faith, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft, (conjunctly ta- ken) and not either of thele alone, (or fepa- rately confider'd) are the One only True God, or the One Supreme Being ; I callM upon them to affix feme diflind determinate Ideas to the feveral I'erms they make ufe of in this Propotition, or to tell us what they mean by One God, or by the Words Father^ Son, and Holy Ghofiy as they ufe them fometimes fepa- rately, and fometim.es conjundly> and fuppofe thtm not to (ignify prccifeJy the fam.e Thing : This I thought they could not do in their Scheme, without giving up either the Unity of Gcd, or the Trinity of Perfons ; and fo falling into Socinianifin on the one Hand, or T'rithcifm on the other. It does not yet appear that the Gentlemen themfelves have any Thing to fay to this; for they .have not thought fit, to fatisfy the World, that they have ufed arti- culate Sounds in this Cafe with any Senfe or Meaning at all. Mr. Bradkiryy I believe, would willingly have helpM 'em to an Anfwer to this Part of my Letter; but he finds- it much eafier to furnifh his Quota of Defama- tion. He affirms in his Prejacey p. 12. referring to the foregoing Letter, /?. 34. *' That the ^« very Thing I there write againfl is, their *' fubfcribing that there is but One only Li- " ving and True God." I cannot but ftand amaz'd, to think with what Senfe or Shame, w ith w hat Honour or Confcience, he could fay this in the Face of the whole World about us, which every Body knows to be falfe : He might with equal Truth and Juftice have declared, tha TOSTSCRITt 51 that the only Thing I wrote agaiiiil was^ their having proteiled againft the Opinions of Alachiavely HobheSy or Spimx>ai but there is no guarding againfl a Man, who always W'rites Controverfy in a Fermtnt. In attempting to render his Non-rubfcribing Brethren, or all thofe he does not like, odious ; he has made himfelt . perfedly ridiculous, by the greatefl pofFible Abufe and Mifapplicatioii of Scripture ; He Contounds the external ra- tional Evidence, upon which the Truth of the Chriftian Dodrine is grounded, iii the plain Declarations of Chrift and his Apoflles, con- firmed by the Holy Ghofl in the Power of Miracles, with the internal Sahctificatioh of the Spirit fubduing the Lufts of Men, and reconciling them to the Purity and Holinefs of God: All thole Texts which plainly relate to the former of thefe, he applies to the latter ; and then all that deny or doubt of any of his confufed inexplicable Jargon, which, iti the Cant of Infallibility , is the pure Word of God, and the Faith once delivered to the Saints^ are reprefented as Men deftitute of the Spi- rit of Grace_, wicked, unfandify'd, ungodly Wretches, In what he fays concerning the Satisfadioii of Chrift, and the Juftificatioh of Sinners by Imputed Righteouinefs, he reprefents it aS the moft monflrous, abfurd and contradidory Dodrine in the World ; and perhaps, as he un- derftands it, it is fo. But I fiiall fliew prefently how effedi ally he has fubverted the Chriftian Revelation, and given it up into the Hands of Deifts and Infidels j I would here only take Notice of his confounding the rational Evi- E 3 denc^ 52 TOSTSCRITT. dcnce of the Chriftian Dcdrines to the Under- ilanding, with the inward Sandification of the Spirit. He fays, p. 40. " I am of the " fame Opinion with thoie that deny the Sa- " tisiadfon of Chrift, that it is an irrational " Dodrinej I mean, it could never have been " tound out by any Reafon that is not divine, " and it cannot be received by any Reafon *' that is not fan6tify'd/' What he here fup- pofes is plainly this, that as the Chriflian Do- drincs, particularly thatof Chrifl'sSatisfadion, could nt'ver have been difcovcred or revealed by any but God himfelf ; fo that they cannot be received, believed, or aflented to, as true, nov) they are revealed^ but by the Sandiiication of the Spirit. This Principle is evidently faife, and the \]{i^ he makes of it is mofl abominable i For, I beg to know of him, what One fingle Dodrine of ChrifHanity there is, which a wick- ed Man may not receive, believe, or alfent to, as True, and Divine; nay, which the Devil him- felf does not thus believe ? This, I think, muft be univerfally aliow^l, that 'tis more than pof- (ible for Men to ^ivq intirely into Mr. Brad- bury's Scheme, to believe all that the Gofpel reveals, i, e. to be of his Party *or Opinion, without having any Thing of the Sandification of the Spirit, or the leafl Fear of God before their Eyes. >Tow, tho'a Man may firmly believe a Dodrine as revealed in Spripture, without believing Mr. Bradbury's Senfe or Explication of that Do- drine, yet this is what he cannot allow ; for not to be of his Opinion concerning the Me- taphyfical Nature, the Perfon, the Satisfadion and Atonecnent of Ciirift, is with him the fame ^OSTSCRITT. 5^ fame thing as not to believe the Scripture, or to be no Chriilian. This Conduct mufl proceed froiTj a Vanity and Infolence, wiiich are ahiiofl peculiar to the Man. But his entaih'ng Prnctical Godli- nefs on his own Scheme, and his charging all thofe, whod' Opinions in thcfc Matters he does not like, with Irreligion, and Moral VVickednefs, is frill worfe, and a plain Evi- dence that he knows not what Manner of Spi- rit he is of; for thus he goes on p. 46. '^ Mark *' the perfed Man, and behold the .Upright ; *' obferve one who has not lift up his Soul to *^ Vanity, nor fworn deceitfully, who lives ** above the World, doing Jutlice, loving Mer- *^ cy, and walking humbly with his God : " Enquire of that Perfon what he thinks of *' revealed Religion; one that prays in his Fa- '* mily, and abounds in the Works of the " Lordi ask him his Opinion about the ^' Righteoufnefs of Chrifl, his Divinity, his " Union with Believers, and the Fellowlhip *' of the Spirit ; try whether fuch a one will *' tell you, this is all Cant. See what Dif- *^ courfes are moft relifhed, by thofe that are *^' of a humble and contrite Spirit, and tremble " at God's Word; who mind his Ordinance s, " keep his Sabbaths, and will not turn afide '' from the Flocks of his Companions. How *' vain is it for thofe who deny the Faith, to '^ talk againfl Impofitions ; when practical Re- *^ ligion it felf comes under that Notion ? How *' abominable is it, when the Liberty they *' plead for is not only oppofed to the Dodrincs ** of the Gofpel ; but to the Obfervation of ^^ the Lord's Day, to the Worfhip of God in E 5 f! Families^ 54 TOSrSCRITT. ?* Families, to the Communion of Saints, and *' the focial Devotion of the Churches ? ■ '' They mean no more by Liberty, than an " Occafion to the Flefti." Would not any one be apt to conclude that all this muft be cer- taily writ againfl the moft vicious and profli- gate Wretches, that caft off not only the Be- • lici of Revelation, but the Pradice alfo ot all moral Virtue and Duty. And yet whoever obferves the Caft and Temper of the Man, rnuft plainly fee, that this is all levelled sgainft rhofe who are not of his Mind, or who can- not agree with him in the Points which he is here contending for. I doubt not but an An- timnian in the Points of Satisfa([iion and Jufti- ficatipn by Faith, and a Sabellian, or difguifed S'^ciniany with refped to the Trinity, would return fuch Anfwers to the Queflicns here pro- pofed, as (hould wonderfully pleafe him, and obtain his Licence to be a Chriflian : But, if jiny one Hiould rejed his Senfe and Interpre- tations in any of thefe Points, they ought to Icnow, that they are Unbelievers, they can have no Communion with the Saints, and fhall not have Mr. Bradl'ury''s Leave to be honeft Men, or to worfhip God, or pray in their Families. If they will not come into his Scheme, and talk as down-right^Nonfcnfe, and palpable Ab- iurditic? as he does, he wall ftrike them out of the Book of Life, and efface all the Ideas and Impreilions of God and Religion upon their Souls. After all his Talk of fandify'd Rea- fcn, and the Illumination of the Spirit ; I am fure, if he breathes any Spirit here befides hu- man Frailty, and the Depth of Prejudice, it is a Spirit not very confiftent with the Chrifti>an Meeknefs. yam TOSTSCRITT. 55 Jafn Furor humanum noflro de peclore fenfum Expulity ac totum fpirant pracordia Pbabum. Does this Gentleman, while he is calumni- ating and fallly accufing his Brethren, confider whole Work he is doing, and by what Spirit he is inftigated ? Does he confider, that he has any Account to give, or that he is under the Cognizance of a Supreme Infpodor and Judge ? Or does he think that his Falflioods and Ca- lumnies are fanBijfd, as luell as his Reafon ? If he cannot miake good thefe railing Accufations, againfl: thofe who have provok'd hiiii fo much, by rejecting his human Impofitions, and con- tending for. the Sufficiency of Scripture alone as the only Teft and Standard of divine Faith, he ought to remain for ever filent under the Shame and Reproach of a falfe Accufer. 1 fup- pofe the Scripture is the only Rule of Faith to Mr. Bradbury and thofe that are of his Mind, and their Interpretations and Senfe of Scripture mufb be the only Rule to the refl of Mankind ; for upon any other Suppofition, I challenge him, or any of his cooler and more learned Friends, to juflify the impofing or exading any thing as ncceflary to Chriftian Communion, which the Holy Ghoft in Scripture has not exprefly and clearly made neceflary to Salvation. But it would be but a low and mean Condefcention in Mr. Bradbury to ftoop to the Drudgery of Rca- foiiing; and perhaps he declines that Work, as the only Guard he has againfl carnal Reafon : tho' he feems to depend very much upon Mr. IVilcox and Mr. Comming. What Mr. Wilcox may do, I cannot fay i but I dare foretel that Mr. Comming will never appear in Defence of E ^ Wfr. 56 fOSTSCRITT. Mr. BradbuYy ; and tlio' I have a juH Value for Mr. Comming^SiS a Gentleman of great Learnings Integrity and good Senfe, yet I am perfwaded that betore it is over, he will find himfclf en- tirely left and confounded, in the Caufe which he has now undertaken. But, " 3. Mr. Bradbur/s mofl: mafterly Strokes are yet behind. It mull be own'd, that he has contended for revealed Religion in a Manner^ \vhich no Body has ever done before him ; he has contended for h^ by giving up all the Prin- ciples upon which it is pofUble to defend it : For fpeaking of the meritorious Obedience, the Death aiid Sacrifice, the Propitiation and A- toncment of Chrift, and the Method of God's Grace m the Salvation of Sinners, thro' the Mediation and IntercelTion of his Son ^ he de- clares, til at thefe are all Abfurdities to the Rea-' fen oj Man ; that ^tis contrary mt only to the Lujls of People^ or to the carnal Mind, bin even to their mofl embed Reafon ; that tho' God has re- vealed it to us. by his Spirit, yet even iuppofing this external Revelation, and all the rational objeftive Evidence of Chriftianity, it cannot en- ter irdG the Heart of Man,but that the Satisfadion of Chrift, nqtv/ithfianding the Evidence of Re- velation propofed tp the Underllandings of iAeny is ftijl'.an /Vr/zf/OK/j/Dodrine; nay, that it deftroys every Natural Idea that lue have of divine J uftice y and that, laying afide the Evidence vf Revelation^ the DoBrine As fo far from being truey that it ?s ridiculous. See f, 39, /j.o, 41. where hu has heaped upall the Abfurdities and Contradictions concerning Reafon and Reve-^ iation, that could have been well thought of. Jf th«£ Chriftiar* Dodrines are fuch as de- flroj^ ^OSTSCRITT. 57 ftroy every natural Idea "we have of divine jufiice, , they mu(l deflroy every natural Idea we have of all other divine Peri:c(?cions ; for it is evident^ that all' the Natural and Moral Perfedions of God, have a neceflary infepa- rable Connexion with;, and Dependence upon, each other ; fo that whatever dellroys every na- tural Idea of Juftice, mull equally deflroy every natural Idea of ail other Perfections in God, i» e, mufl deflroy all the natural prior Evidence for the Being and Exiftence of a God, and fo leave no poilible Ground or Footing whereon to fupport any Revelation at ail. Again : If the Chrillian Dodrines, abftrad-' ed from the Evidence of Revelation, are in themfelves, and in the Nature and Reafon of Things, fo far from being true, that they are rjdkulousy 'tis certain that no Revelation can make them otherwife than ridiculous. Reve- lation is the Light that renders Things vifible, that could not be difcovered by the naked Eye of unaiufled Reafon ; 'tis like a Telefcope, that brings the Objed nearer, which was before too remote, and places it in a diftind and proper Point of View: But then it reprefents ihings as they are, and Reafon is ftiil the Eye by which they mufl be perceived and judged of. And to fay that any Dodrine, which is in it felf, or in the prior Nature and Reafon of the Thing, irrational and ridiculous, may be made true and reafonable by Revelation, is the fame Abfurdity as to fay, that the Light, which renders Things vifible, alters the Nature of the Things themfelves ; or that a Body, which is in its own Nature and Conftitution a Cube, is, by barely becoming vifible, turned into a * ■ Sphere^ 58 TOSTSCRITT, Sphere. According to this way of Talking, there can be no fuch thing as Truth or Falfe- hood. Right or Wrong, or any necciTary eden- tial Difference in the Nature and Reafon of Things. Now every one mufl fee it as a neceffary Confequence, from what has been faid^ either that the Chriftian Dodrines are not, and can- not pofTibly be true or divine ; or elfe that Mr. Bradbury mifunderflands them^ and talks of them upon wrong Principles. Perhaps he is too far gone in the Conceit of Infallibility, ever to receive any farther Convidion himfelf ; but I hope, the Generality ot Chriftians will chufe rather to quit Mr. Bradbury^s Scheme, and fuppofe him a weak, paflionate, prejudiced Man, than part at once with their Faith and Reafon, and give up all the Principles and Evi- dence of Natural as well as Revealed Religion. What a Notion muft Mr. Bradbury have, and what an Account has he here given, of the Illumination and Sandiiication of the Spirit ; while he reprefents it as the Work and OiEce of the Spirit of God, to efface all the Natural Ideas we have of divine yuflice, and confequentiy of all the other divine Perfedipns ; and there- by to eflabiifti Faith upon the Ruins of Reafon, and advance a Revelation, as from God, upon the entire Subverfion of Natural Religion ! Had the Apoftles, and firft Promulgers of Chriflianity, given this Account of it, muft not the whole World have rejeded it with Dif- dain, as a Religion intended to unman them, by deftroying the common Principles of Rea- fon, and converting them only to Idiocy, or wild Enthufiafm? For, fure I am, that if his Rep re- TOSTSCRIfT. 59 Rcprefciitation of this Matter be right and juft ; if he has confidered the Scripture Reve- lation as it is in it felf, and has not miftakcn the Nature of it ; none but a Fool or a Mad- man can be a Chriflian. That the Chriflian Doflrines are in them- felves, and laying afide the Teflimony of Scrip- ture, irrational, abfurd, and ridiculous, is the only Speculative Principle of Deifm and In- fidelity; and indeed granting the Principle to be true, as Mr. Bradbury doe'^, the Condu(S: of thofc who rejeft the ProfelTion and Belief of Chriflicinity upon this Foot, mufl be juft and rational. So that I hope Mr. Bradbuvy, when he has a little cooled upon it, will ft-rioudy be- think himfelf what he has been doing ; whe- ther he has not been pulling down what he in- tended to build up ; whether he hns nor effedu-^ ally armed the Enemies of Chriftiftnity a^ainft the Doctrines of the Gofpel, enabled thc^m to fight againft him with his own Weapons, and unanfvv crably to pin him down to Deifm and infidelity upon his own Principles. THE THE Nature and Confequence§ o ? ENTHUSIASM DEFENDED; Againft the Reflexions of the Re* verend Mr. Samuejl Fancourt, in his EfTay concerning Certainty and Infallibility. In a SECOND LETTER T O MuTongj Mi\ RobinfoHj Mr. Smithy and Mr. Reynolds^ A SECOND LETTER TO Mr. To NGj Mr. Robinson, Air. Smith, and Mr. Rey- nolds. GENTLEMEN, H E Donrine of the Blejfed Trinity Stated and Defend- edy came out with fuch an Aire of All'urance, aiid apoear'd to me fo diredly calculated todifcourage all rational Freedom oF En- quiry in Matters of great Importance; to bear down the cleareft Evi- dence, and the moft exprefs Declarations of Holy Scripture, by the contrary Weight of Human Authority j to prejudice the Judgm.ents, and g 4 The Nature and Confequences and inflame the Pafuons of the People, by giv- ing the Signal, and raifing ?. groundlefs Out- cry»of Hcrcfy againft your innocent Brethren ; and in a Word, \o diftradt and divide the Pro- teftant dilTei^ting Churches, in laying a Foun- dation for implicit Faith, and encouraging Diflenters to ad upon the very fundamental Principle of Po;^eyy ; that is, to hold fail their Opinions without any farther Examination, and to believe Contradictions, under the vain and fenfelefs Pretext of oppofing Faith to Rea- fon j chat I thought my felf obliged to expofe this Proceedure with loire Degree of Sharp- nefs, to prevent, if poilible, the Mifchiefs V'hich I faw arifing from fuch Sort of Manage- ment. I do not fay, that you defign'd all or any thing of this, for I believe the contrary ; but I cannot help faying, that this then appeared to me the natural Tendency, as it has fince proved the real Confequence, of your Book, and of your whole Condud in this Atfair from firfl: to laft. When you had Hated the Queftion relating to the Trinity in one main Propofition, upon which you have thought fit to lay fo mighty a Strefs as the Salvation of Souls, and the whole Bufmefs of Chriftian Charity^ Peace, and Communion, you declared your Refolution to contend earnejily for it againjl all Oppofers, p. i8. Whether in that Declaration you proceeded on the Prefumption that no Body would dare op- pofe you, I cannot fay ; but really, Gentlemeriy you muft give me leave to fay, that after fuch a Declaration, and all that has been faid againft you from fo many Hands, your long Silence in this of E^T nv SI \Su clefinded. 6^ this Caufe is a little furpriziiig ; and indeed I know not how to account for it, unlefs I fhould fuppofe it owing to certain Convictions that you have carried the Matter a little too far; and have advanced fomething that: is not very defenlible. The great Things you have promifed, dr thrcatned rather, feem after all to be dwind- led into an Ejffay concerning Certainty and Infalli-- bility^ or feme RefleElions tipvn the Nature and Con-- fequences of Entlmfiafm confideredj which the Au- thor, as your Defender, diredis in a Letter to me. I have chofen to direct my Thoughts up-^ on his Performance in a Letter to you, rather than to the Author of the RefleEiions^ for thefe two Reafons ; j?/yr, becaufe you are the Principals in this Debate ; and fecondly, becaufe I would lay you under fome Obligation to defend, your felves more effedually than this Writer has done, or I fear is like to do. Without any farther Apology therefore for the Prefumption of troubling you with a fe- cond Letter, I fliall proceed to examine Mn Fancourt's Reafonings ; and to iliew wherein I think he falls fhort of what he promifes, . and how far I apprehend you are concerned, ei- ther to appear in your own Defence, or look out for one that is more able to defend you. The Author, in his Preface, takes Care to acquaint the Publick with the fpecial Motives, vhich induced him to appear as my Adverfa- ry, and your Defender, in this Controverfy i and tho' he feems to doubt whether the Rea- fons he afligns will fufficiently excufe him, yet he prefumes he fhall at leaft be deem'd the more emfabte^ on the Account of the fpecial Relation he F hai 6 6 The Nature and Confequences has the Honour to ftand in to 'Three oj you i One having been his Tutor ^ Another his Preduejfor in the Place he removed fromy and a 'Third the Minifter principally concern d in his Ordination, Thus he has tounded his fpccial Atcempr upon Three fpecial Relations, which perhaps had never been heard of before, and I fuppofe will not be undcrftood now. The Relation of MaRer and Scholar^ while the mutual Obligation of Teaching and Learning continues, is fomething intelligible ,* but when that Obligation ceafes^ I think the Relation mud ceafe with it, and the Difciple may become the Mafler : And vhat fpecial Relation fhould arife between two Mi- nifters, who happen to fucceed each other at a confiderable Interval of Time to the Charge of a particular Congregation, I cannot fee, un- lefs his Predecejfcr help'd him to the Place ; and then the Obligation is vijibky tho the Relation luill be flill to feek. A like myfterious is the fpecial Re- lation confdtuted between the Ordainer and the Perfon ordained ; and tho' this mufj^ be allow M to have been a Piece of Service, yet I cannot imagine wherein the very peculiar Obligation of it fliould lie, uhlefs one was at Liberty to fuppofe (what is not true in the prefent Cafe) that if the Gentleman who be- friended him with his AfTiflance in that Af- fair, had not done it, no Body elfe would. So that 'tis evident, that this Gentleman by Rela- tion means Obligation, and by his Relatives his Benefadiors. But he needed not have gone fo far to fetch Reafons for attacking me, (ince that is what every one had an equal Right to who tiiought me in the wrong. It had been fuiHcient for him (^jTEnthusiasm defended. 6j liirn to have fa id, that he look'd upon the Caufe he efpcufed to be juH:, that he thought a Dftence of it neceflary, and apprehended himfelf capable in fome Meafure ot deiending it. But 1 am forty he (liould infill: only upon thefe poor worldly Inducements, and carnal Motives j a Refped to Perfons, Obligations received, and the like ; which ought to be of no Coniideration or Weight at all with us ia bur Enquiries after Truth. Mr. FaiKQun having thus declared tlie weigh- ty Reafons which engaged him in this War, and told the World that he took up Arms in Defence of his Relations, addrelies himfeif to me I and what fecms to be the main -DQCigxi of his Book, is, to fhew the vafl Eileem he has for you^ his mar and dear Relations and Be' nefaHorSy and how angry he is wWa me lor pre- fuming to write againft you. For my part, I did not know that Mr. Fdncourv Rood in any fuch near Relation, or that he was under :iny fuch peculiar Obligations to you ; tho' if I had, perhaps I might not have fpati^d any thing I have faid. He begins by comparing the Spirit of the two Books i and here he takes Occafidn to fay the bell things he can of you, and the worft of fne. Had I a Mind to make Reprizals upon him, 1 might here fpend three or four Pages in comparing his Manner and Way of Writing, his Language and Stile, in fome Part of his Ellay, with that of an ingenious fort of Dif- putants in low Life, who in ft rid Juflice to their Arguments are ufually left to the Cpnvic- tion of a Cold Bath : But the Reader, I dare fay, will excufe me this Trouble, fince every F % ons 6 S The Nature and Confequences one muft fee that his Raillery is infipid, as well as unmannerly ; and that it is not without Rea- fon that he declares his mortal Enmity to Wit. 1 fliall fay nothing directly to his Reflec- tions upon my Titie-Page^ becaufe 1 hope to make it appear^ that his whole Book is a Jufli- fication ot it. As for this Author, and fome others, who, as he feems inclinable to think, are not like to be difappointfd as I was, in your DoElrine of the BleJJed Trinity Stated and Defended; I do not in the leafl envy them the^ Satisfadion they may take in the Certainty of indubitable Perfwafion : I deiire only they would be fo good as to fulfer me to make the Evidence of Things, as it appears to my own Underilandiiig, the Ground of my Perfwafion. What he next infills upons is my Notion of Sincerity; and indeed he talks of it as if he had never heard the Word before, or knew not what is meant by it. He feems willing to make his Reader believe that thofe who make fo much ado about Sincerity in this Af- fair, would fhut Truth out of their Account ; as it it was a thing indifferent, or at leafl not neceifary, whether Men be in the Right, or hold the Truth in any Cafe whatever or not, pro- vided they do but ad according to their real Perfwa/iony and think they are in the Right : He would have it thought that I have fet up for Sincerity without Truth ; and fuppofes, that I not only wifh for, but think I fee the Dawn of fuch a glorious Day, when none but a Papift fhall maintain, that there is any one Truth in the whole Gofpel indifpenfably neceifary by the Covenant of Grace to be believed, in order to Salvation ; and goes on to reprefent as a Con- c/ Enthusiasm defended. 69 Confequeiice of what 1/ have faid about Since- rity, t/jat a Man might remume Chrifiiamty^ and ivorfiip the Hofts oj Hea'veu^ if not the Devil too, and yet have' a rational Confidence towards God, had he but the good Lack to hefimere in juch his Renuncia- tion and fVorflnp^ p. 8, 9. I dare fay Mr. Fan- court is better acquainted with the Practice of Sincerity, than he feems to be with the Na- ture of it; which I always underilood to be a Man's ading up fteadily to what appears to his own Unaerilanding to be moll; juft and rea- fonable, or moil: agreeable to the Mind arid Will of God, after a ftricl and impartial Exaini- . Tiation. lie wiio makes the heft life he can ot his '■ rational Faculties, in examining the Grounds | and Reafons of what he receives and embraces I for Truth, is (incere in his Enquiries ; and he f who ads according to his Judgment y after he has ta- ken all the Care he can to inform it right, by an im- partial Exa?nination, is lincerein his Practice : and both thefe are neceffary to denominate thePerfon^ fincere. Now W'her.e any Truth, which concerns qur Duty to God, andtheWay to Salvation, is (o evident in it felf, or fo clearly contained in the Chriflian Revelation, that a fincere Enquirer, or one who examines the Matter impartially, cannot mifsit ; in all fuch Cafes, the Truth will be as neceflary, as equally and indifpenfably necelf ? ry, as Sincerity ; btcaufc it will have a neccliary infepaiable Connexion with, and Dependance on. Sincerity it felf: But where the Truth is jfo difficult in it felf," or fo obfcurely revealed, that a (incere Enquirer may not be able to reach it ; in this Cafe, theTruth, whatever it be in it felf, or in its own abflracl Nature, can be of no NecefTity or Importance to the Pcrfon ; F J buc ^o The Nature awc/Gonfequence? but God will accept of his fincere Endeavours to know ;.nd do his Will, and not punifli him fcr his involuntary and unavoidable Miftakcs : for fureiy God will not call Men to an account for any Talents which he had never put into their Raids- And tho' fallible paflionate Men may boldly ufurp the Prerogative of the Al- n^'ghty, and (ex. up their own Judgments and ApprcLtniions of Things, even in the moft doubtiul and diiEcult Cafes^ as the Rule and Standard of Truth and Falfhood, Right and Wrong; yet certainly God will not, in his moft righteous Judgment, condemn any Man for not knowing what he could not polTibly know, or for not believing what, after /;;V ut-^ moft Enquiries, and the hefl nfe he could make of his Faculties, he thus could fee no reafon to be- .licve. Having thus flated the Cafe, I think the Author's Objt'Ctions confute themfelvcs; for to make good his Confequences againft my Principle of Sincerity, he mufl: fhcw, that an Impartial Enquirer, after the heft nfe he can make of his ra'iohal Faculties, may yet fee fufEcient Reafons to renounce his Chriftianity, or to wor- fllip the Hofls of Heaven j and he mufl fhew that tho^ God and the Devil are two oppofite Ma- jfters, and tho' all their Com^mands and Injunc- tions are directly contrary to each other, that for a Man to zvorftpip the Devil, and have at the fame time a Rational Confidence towards God, is not a dired Contradiction; or he m'ufl: fhew, that a Man, who is capable of dif- co^ ering the Being and Exiflence of the Devil, is not yet capable, upon his fincere Enquiries, oy thi beft JJfe he can make of bis Faculties^ to dif- cover. ^Enthusiasm defended. 7 1 cover the Being and Exiflencc of a God above the Devil. But this Writer {ql-ws unhappily^ refolved to diltinguiih himfelf in the way c£ 'I rilling, beyond all that have gone before him, and therefore cannot fatisfy himfclf with common Abfurdities. And here I may take occafion to explain to him, better than he has done it for me, what that Time Is which I hope and pray for. I long then for the Time, when the Sophiilry of fucli fort of Reafoning, as he has here given us a Sample of, fhall be more generally underftocd and exploded j when Bigotry and Enthufiafm fhall give Place to Charity, and a rational Freedom of Enquiry j when the ordinary Mi- nifters of the Gofpel fhall no longer be put to fuch poor Shifts to free themfclves ftom the dircd Claim of Infallibility j and when thofe who difclaim it in Words, fnall do {o m Re- ality and Truth j when Men fhall no longer aflront and m.ock the Almighty, by comple- menting his Word as the only Rule of their Faith, while they fubftitute their own Words inflead of it, and pretend that the Word of God is not particular, exprefs, or clear enough, even in Things necejfaryy 'till they have explained and improved the Revelation ; when nothing Ihall be pretcnd^^d as necefiary to Chriflian Peace and Unity, but what Chrift has made ( necefiary to Salvation j and, in a word, I long for the glorious Day, when the Chriftian People fiiall be admitted to the Communion of Saints, and be allow'd all the Benefits and ; Privileges of the Chriftian Difpenfation, upon : Scripture-Terms. This is the Time, and State of Things^ I hope and pray for ^ and this the F A happy ^ 2 The Nature and Confequences happy Day I earneflly wifh, at leaft to fee the Dawn of. It this be the very Dreggs of Paganifnt, then it muil. be allow'd that this Writer has given a juft and fair Reprefentation of me, and of this whole Affair. But if all this is nothing elfe but his own Miftake ; if he fhall appear not at all to have read and confider'd what has been faid by the befl Writers upon this Sub- ject ', and if he fhall be found only to have trifled, where he ought to have been mod o- pen and iincere : If this, I fay, fliould be the Cafe, as I imagine^ it will, I muil leave the World about us to judge of the Strength of that Caufe which needs fuch Supports. And however the Author may pleafe fiimfelf, and fome of his particular Friends, by this way of Talking, yet I cannot but fay that I fhould have thought this manner of Reafoning here wholly inexcufable, had he not fo honellly given the World to underfland, in this Pre- face^ that he enter'd the Lifls in this Contro- vcrfy from the particular Love and Gratitude Jie bears to you. *" Your affedionate Defender entertains his Reader almoft ev^ery where with loud and bit- ter Complaints of my having treated you with an unworthy Difrefped, and expofed you to Ridicule and Contempt. It was ever my O- pinion, that theTruth ought not to fuffer from any Refped: to Perfons ; and that where Men's common Religious Interefts are concern'd, all Mankind are upon a Level, as having all the fame Right to fpeak out, tho' by reafon of the Terrors of this World they have not always the fame Liberty : But for my own part5 I firall e?/ Enthusiasm defended. 7^ ftlU think my felf at Liberty to reprefent the Defeds and Inconfiftencies of an Advcrfary*s Reafoning in the cleared: Light I can ; and if when they are ftript of their artificial Colour- ings and Difguifes, they fhould hnppen to ap- pear ridiculous in a plain Englifh Drcfs, the Fault is none of mine. If this therefore be the true Ground of the Complaint, as I fufpetft it is, 1 muft be content to bear the Imputation, unlcfs he will be fo good as to pardon me with- out Repentance ; and if by treating you rudely, and expofing you to Ridicule and Contempt, he means expoling theWeaknefs and Infufficiency of your Scheme, and way of Talking, I fear I fhall incur the fame Cenfure in replying to him. I fhall now confider what the Author has ofrered by way of Argument, relating to Cer- tainty and Infallibility, and the Miflakcs and Mifapplications he thinks I have made about it. I fhall pollpone the great Charge of ha- ving abufed and mifreprefented you, by for- cing upon you the Confequences of an Infal- libility which you never pretended to : I fay, I Ihall poflpone this high Charge to the laft Place, becaufe iz will appear in a clearer Light, when I have examined what your Defender has made of Ins Certainty and Infallibility, as he would be thought to differ from me. Before I proceed farther, I muft obferve, that the learned Writer of this EUay has ta- ken a great deal of needlefs Pains, in endea- vouring to fhew that the Word Certainty is fometimes ufed in a lower Senfe than that in which I have defined it, and fo as to include all the difterent Degrees and Meafures of Pro- bability, and at the fan«< time to confound "" and y 4- The Nature and Confequences and blend in one Word all the infinite Degrees? ot Evidence, from the highef]; dovn to the lowefl:. And tho' it is evident that the Signi- fication of the Word, when thus ufcd, muft be fo general and indeterminate, as in etfedl to fignity nothing at all, or to be capable of fignifying any thing at Pleafure ; yet I acknow- ledge this improper Ufe of the Word in a loofe and popular way of fpeaking; and, that in com- mon Difcourfe^ where no great Matter depends lipon it, certain is often put for frobabk. So that when this Author quotes Scripture againft me, and philofophlzes in his own IVay^ he oppofes not me, but an Adverfary of his own ma- king ^ and when he fets his School-boys upon me, to convince me by Certus, Certior, Certijjl' jnusy if he underflands by certain only probar hky and his Lads mean no more (as they ought not, if he inftruds them right) than probabk^ more frobabky mofi probable^ he is contend- ing for nothing but what I had yielded. But thus it is to fall under the Refentments of a School-mafler ; for tho' I could not be igno- rant of this frequent inaccurate Ufe of Words in common Speech, and therefore obferved that Certainty^ in a loofe and popular way of fpeaking, was often put for Probability, and Certain ior Probable; yet I thought it necef- fary to fix the Boundaries of flrict and proper Certainty, fo as to diilinguifti it from all thofe infinite Degrees of Probability below it, with all which it is too often confounded in the Ar- gumentative Difcourfes of learfied Men, to the great Advantage of Bigotry and Enthufiafm, But the Author thinks he has found a fih- gle Inftance, in which I have ufed the Word Certain of Enthusiasm defended. 75 Certain in a lower Senfe than my o\sn Defini- tion ot it will juflify ; and hefeemsfo well pleased with the Difco'uery, that he can hardly contain him^ felf. WhatheiniiUs upon, is, my faying, ''That " you difcover'dthe fame Strength oi: Pcrfwalion ^^ in what you were contending for, as if you *' were as certain, or had tlie fame Degree ot E- *^ vidence, as that the Sun is up at Noon-day." Now he thinks that the Sun^s being up at Noon-day is not flridly certain at all, fo as to render the contrary inipofTible ; and the In- flanceS he gives to the contrary may afford the Reader Tome Diverfion, lince they do not in the leaft imply, or fuppofe the Poflibility ot the contrary. ''Tis true, God may create a Light at Mid-night, equal to the Light of the Sun at Noon, or Mid-day ; but no Body would fay this would be Noon-day, fince what we mean by Noon, or Mid-day, is the Sun's be- ing upon the upper Part of the Meridian. So the Sun may be totally Eclipfcd at Noon, in which cafe it might pofTibly be as dark as if it were Mid-night ; yet fiill while the Sun is a- bove the Horizon, and upon the Meridian, it mufl be Noon, or Mid-day. Again, God by his abfolute Power might, if he pleafed, retard or accelerate the apparent Motion of the Sun, or the real Motion of the Earth, fo that from Noon to Noon it fhould be 48, or only i% Hours ; in which cafe we fhould fay the Days were miraculoufly lengthened, or fiiortened ; yet flill in this, or any other extraordinary Cafe, the Sun's coming to the Meridian a- bove the Horizon, miufl make w-hat we call Noon, or Mid-day, So that our Idea of Noon mufl have a neceifary Connexion with the I- dea y jS The Nature and Confequences dea of the Sun upon the upper Part of the Meridan ; and nothing can alter the Idea of the one, but what mud: equally afted the Idea of the other. And therefore Mr. Fancourt may, if he pleafes, let this iland as a Fropo- fition certainly true, that the Sun is up, or upon the Meridian, at Noon-day ; fince, for any thing I can fee to the contrary, it mud be fo whether, he will or no. I fhould not have troubled the Reader upon fuch a Trifle, had not this Author's Triumph made it in fome Meafure neceflary. But I am not wil- ling to fay any thing more on this Part of his Performance, becaufe I would not provoke this Gentleman to write an Ejjay concerning the SuUi or fome deep Reflefticns upon Noon- day. But let us hear this Author's own Account of Certainty, and which he gives us as what you your felves intended by it. He tells us therefore. That "^ there is an Objedive, and " there is a Subjedive Certainty: The for- ** mer is no other than the real Truth i^nd *^ Importance of a Thing confidered abftradly *' in it felf ; the latter is the firm Perfwafion *' we have in our Minds concerning its Truth *' or Importance. He adds, Now the Certainty ^^ of which thofe Gentlemen fpeak is Subjedive ^' only ; which fuppofes that the Judgment be *^ adually formed, and an indubitable Perfwa- ^' (ion that the Judgment we have formed is " true ; or (in their own words) the knowing " we are in the right, p, 25.'*' I think it muft be evident to every one, that Certainty and Uncertainty, Truth and Falfhood, Right and Wrong, Doubtful or Indubitable, fc are all of (^/Enthusiasm defended 77 of them Tei-ms, and Ways of Speaking, taken from the Operations of the Mind, and the diii'erent Appearances of Things to the Under- ftanding. And therefore, to make any of thefe Diflinctions in the abfolute Nature of Things, abftraded from the Operations of the Mind, or the Acts of the Underilanding, muft be the grofTeft Abufe of Words, or a talking without Ideas. There is nothing in theThings themfelves, abfolutely conlider'd, but real Exigence, and the necellary natural Relations they iland in to each other. Thofe who talk intelligibly, I fup- pofe by Objedive Certainty mean, the Objeftive Evidence it felf, or the Nature and Reafon of Things, as they exiil Objedively, and by their Ideas, in the Mind ; and by Sub jedive Certain- ty, the adual Perception of the Nature and Reafon of Things as they exifl thus Objefitively in the Mind, or the perceived Pvelations of the Agreement or Difagreement of our own Ideas. However, if the Author has been a little loft in his Objeftive, iie runs into the very Wilds of Enthufiafm when he comes to his . Subjedive Certainty ; for he defines it by in- dubitable Perfwafionj and he tells me, that by Knowledge and Certainty, the Certainty of Knowledge^ knowing you are in the Right ^^ and fuch like ExpreiTions in your Introduciion, you mean only that you are Strongly or Indubita- bly perfwaded. If this be (o, 'tis evident you muft confound Seeing with Feeling ; and that by being certain of a Thing, you mean only that you hold it faft. Every one muft fee that there is no Manner of Connexion betwixt In- dubitable Perfwafion, and the real Truth or Certainty of Things, fince the Perfwafion may be ^8 The Nature and Confequences be equally Strong and Indubitable, whether a Man be in the Right or in the Wrong. This Certainty therefore of Indubitable Perfwafion, is fuch a fort of Certainty, as a Man may hare of the Exiflence of a Thing that does not exift, or of the Truth of what is abfolutely Falfe and Contradiclory. But here the Author has two forts of Cer- tainty in one ; for having defined Certainty by Indubitable Perfwafion, and being aware that Indubitable Perfwafion has nothing to do w^ith the real Truth and Certainty of Things j and confequently, that his Definition had no Re- lation to the Thing defined j he is forced to diftinguiih between Rational and Irrational Cer- tainty, or between a Certainty with and with- out fufficient Evidence, /. e. between Certainty and no Certainty, Truth and Falfliood, Light and Darknefs : which yet he includes under the common Name and Definition of Certainty. A notable Account of Certahtty indeed! and a Diftin- dion much of the fame Nature with that of a Preacher, who having occafion to mention, the Word Pe?feEInefs, told his Hearers that they ought to take Notice there were two forts of Perfednefs, namely, PerfeBnefs and UnperfeEinefs ! His diflinguifiiing between Certainty, with and without fufficient. Evidence, while he con- fines the Notion of Certainty to Indubitable Perfwafion, will afford him no Relief; for either Indubitable Perfwafion muft be Cer- tainty in every one alike , or elfe his own In- dubitable Perfwafion muft be the Rule and Meafure of Certainty to the reft of Mankind : The latter, I prefume, he will not fay ,* and therefore Indubitable Perfwafica muft be Cer- tainty ^/Enthusiasm defended. 79 tsinty in every one alike : Which is to remove all the Boundaries between Truth and Falfe- hood. Right and Wrong, and to fuppofe that the mod contradictory Things in the World may be equally True and Certain. If he Ihould fay^ that by real Certainty, he means that In- dubitable Perfwalion which is well-grounded, or built upon fufficient Evidence, wherever it is, whether in himfelf, or any Body eKc ; as this would be going oft' from his own Account of the Matter, where he has placed Certainty in Indubitable Perfwafion, as the very Nature and Definition of the Thing, fo it would be faying nothing at all : for fince the Qiieflion is where this true Indubitable Perfwa'fion is to be found, and Men of equal Parts and Integrity have hitherto been divided about it in certain Points, it would not tend much to the Infor- mation of the World, to tell us, that the true Perfwalion mull be found where it isy or that he who is in the Right is in the Right. If your Defender has been unhappy in his Attempt to get rid of the Abfurdity of an uncertain Certainty, by placing the Nature of Certainly in tJucertainty it felf, or defi- ning it by indubitable Perfwafion, w^hfch has no manner of Connexion with the real Truth and Certainty of Things; fo, by a like De- vice, he endeavours to evade the Force of what I had faid about ikvlCc and proper, i. e. in- fallible Certainty. The Author, by Inhillibility, thinks fit to underlland the Infallibility of the Intelleftual Faculty, as abftrafted from its Ad and Objed. Now, fhould I fuppofe, or grant all that he has advanced upon this Kead to be ,both intelligible and true, as I doubt it is neither. ^ o The Nature and Confequencel neither, yet it would not in the leaft afFet^t any Thing 1 have faid. Could this Gentleman have made it out, that a Determination of the Judgment by infallible Evidence, is not an in- tallible Determination ; or that thofe who have attained, in particular Cafes, the certain in- ftillibie Knowledge of Things, however they come by it, are not thus far infallible, and very fit and proper Perfons to be infallible Guides to others : 1 fay, could he have made this out, he had cohtradided me, and fhewn the Weak- nefs of the Principle I argued from. But this he has not been able to do. • However, when he had wrought himfelf up to Refolution, in Defence of his fpecial Relations ^ to write an Effay concerning Certainty and Jnfallihility^ it was fit for him to fay fomething, and it may not be amifs to confider what he has faid. The Foundation then of all that he has faid concerning Infallibility, he gives us in thefe Words : " Not to contend about mere Words, *' give me leave to explain a little what I take " to be your Brethren's Senfe of an infiillibie *' Judgment, when they declare they are far " from pretending to fuch a Judgment about " Gofpel -Truth and Error. By the Judgment *' here, I fuppofe them to underftand the De- " termining Faculty it feljy and not any parti- " cular Determination of this Faculty ; or (if *^ you will) the very Power that judges, and ^' not any particular Judgments that are form- " ed by this Power. And the Judgment is " then infallible, when it cannot be deceived, *' or when it is impoflible for it to determine wrong, CC " An of Enrnu^i ASNL defended. 8lt An Infallibility of Faculty in it [d^y or irt Its own abftrad Nature, as diftind from any particular Determinations, mufl be an abfo* lute unlimited Infallibility ; fince to (ayy that a Faculty is infallible in it felf, or in its own Nature, as abflraded from all its particular Determinations, may yet in particular Cafes determine wrong, is a plain Contradidion ; for if in particular Inftances it may deter-- mine wrong, the Reafon of its Infallibility in other Cafes mufl be fought for, not in the Faculty it felf, but fomewhere elfe; fince it is etident that a Faculty cannot be infalli*. Jble in^ it felf^ or in its own abftrad Nature, unlefs It is abrdutcly and univerfally fo. This Author therefore has been fo kind as to juftify me, even while he is bringing one of his mairi Charges agaihft rne, viz.. My havingfuppofccl you to have difclaimed no more than an ab* folute unlimited Infallibility. « / , , But I muft iipt diifemble a plain Trtithi' which is, that he immediately contradicts him- felf; for he has no . fooner iraifed the fine Strudure of Infallibility upon the Foundation of an abflrad Faculty, but he prefehtly pulls it down again with his own Hands ; . for he goes on thus : '' It mxatters not in the Cafe '' before us, whether this Infallibility (viz,. ^ the Infallibility of the Faculty) be natural ** or acquired ; whether it arifes from the mr " trinjtck PerfcElion of the Faculty y which can- " not but fee Things as they are, and deter- ^^ mine accordingly ; or from the over-powerr " ing Brightnefs of that objective or extrinfick f^ Evidence, which is fure to attend it, and to f5 fecure it againfl Miilakes in all its Deter- G mitiatidn^ 8 2 The Nature and Confequences ** minations. It matters not, whether this ** Infallibility be abfolute and unlimited, fuch *' as extends to every Thing ; or whether ic " be retrained to fome particular Objeds on- *' ly: Whether it be a conftant and an a- *^ biding Quality, fuch as is never feparated ** from the Judgment; or whether it be oc- ** cafional and tranlient, en joy 'd at fome cer- ** tain Seafons only, and for fome extraordi- *^ nary Purpofes. Yet ftill fo far, and fo long, *^ as the Judgment is infallible^ it can^t polTibly, " in fuch Things, and for that Time, be d6- *' ceiv'd. But how comes it about that it matters not whether an Infallibility of the Faculty be an Infallibility of the Faculty or not ? If it mat- ters not whether this Gentleman differs from me or no, why does he pretend to differ ? Does he write Eflays in mere Wantonnefs, or only to pleafe his Friends and Benefadors ? The Sum of all that he here fays, is this : By the Judgment here, I fuppofe your Brethren to un- derfland the determining Faculty it felf, ab- llraded from any particular Determination 3 but , then you muft know, that it matters not whether this Infallibility of the Faculty bean Infallibility of the Faculty, or an Infallibility of the objedive Evidence, or the Infallibility of the extrinfick Means of conveying the objedive Evidence to the Mind, or any other fort of Infallibility ; but 'tis enough, that fo far, and fo long as a Perfon is infallible, he cannot in fuch Things, and for that Time be deceived : And tho' the Infallibi- lity of the Faculty as fuch mull extend to all the particular Determinations of that Faculty, yet it matters not whether this infallibility be limited ^ E N THU St ASM defended. 8 ^ limited, or unlimited, univerfai. or re- ftrained to fome particular Obje(!;ts ( nly ; or^ in one Word, it matters not whetluT this Learned Writer talks conlii^enrly, or inrelligi-- bly, or no, provided he does but feem to dif- fer from me. But the Author finds himfelf fo much at a lofs in fixing his Idea of Infallibih'ty, that ha- ving firft placed it in the Faculty, and then fuppofed that it matters not whether it is placed in the Faculty or no, he runs from the Faculty to the Object, to the Evidence, to the External Afliftance, &c. and brings it at length to this fure Conclufion, that fo far as the Judgment is infallible, it is infallible, or cannot err. If he could have fhewn that an infallible Determination of the Judgm<^nt could be made in any Cafe without the Prccepcion o£ infallible Evidence, he had contradidt'- d me, and faid fomething to his Purpofe ; but fince he has left this untouched, I am not at ail concerned in any oi his line Speculations about the Infallibility of Abifract Faculties. I was not Writing an Eflay concs rning Infallibihty ; und did not pretend to conlider ail tne Grounds and Reafons upon which an Agent, with re- gard to his Faculties, actual Dttcrmim.t.'onSi and outward Aflillances, might be denomi- nated infaUible. It was enough for m.e to fhew what was necefl'ary and fuffici?nt to conflicute an infallible Guide ; and ail that is here ne- cedary, I fuppofe to be the certain inf llible Knowledge of the Way, however the Ptrfon comes by it, whether he found it out by an infaUible Faculcy, or received it by Revelation s Or, iaftly, whether he came by his infallible G 2 Ger- 8 4- The Nature md ConfequenceS Certainty in the Exercife of his own natural Faculties, in which he miglit have err'd, but did not. If a M^ai, tho' by Chance, or mere Accident, fhould hit upon a certain infallible Rule to determine the Longitude, I fuppofe it might aufwer the Purpcfe as well, as it it had been fent diredly from Heaven, or found bill by an infallible Faculty. He who has the certain infallible Knowledge of a difputable Point, in which others cannot obtain fuch Certainty, and appears alfo to be a Man of Uprightnefs and Integrity, is doubtlefs qua- lify'd for ah infallible Guide to others; and no Body would fcruple to receive and own him as fuch, who takes it for granted, or once believes, that he has that infallible certain Jvnowledge in the Cafe which he pretends to. And this is all the Infallibihty that Mankind are, or ever have been concerned in, with re- fpcdi to infallible Guides or Teachers;,. ....... The Miracles upon which the Truth of the Chriflian Rch'gion is founded, were wrought to prove, not the Infallibility of. the Apoftles Faculties, but the certain infallible. Truth of the Dudrines they taught ,• and tho" the Apo- ftles might poifibly have err'd, ot been milla- ken, concerning any fuper-natural Revela- tion made to them, in it felf confidereci.: yet fince they had the Power of working Miracles given them to confirm, the Truth of the Do- ctrines they had received; and fince alfo it ^vas impoflible that God fhould fet his Seal to a Lie, or fuller any faife Dodrine to be con- £rmcd by fuch numerous Miracles, without controuling them by a fuperior Power; from jicnce the Apcftles had as infallible a Know* Icdgei ^/Enthusiasm defended. 85 kdge, or Certainty, of the Truth of the Do- drines, as they could have of their own tx- iftence, and the Being of a God. And it was plainly from this infallible objedive Evidence of Miracles, proving the infallible Truth and Certainty of the Dodrines, that Chriftianity grew and prevailed, and that the ApolHes were received as infallible Teachers; and not from any fuppofed Metaphyfical abftrad In- fallibility of the Apoilles Faculties. Now it vas a ftrid and proper Certainty, as diftin- guiflied from bare Belief, Opinion, or Pet- fwaiiou ; and which, as thus dillinguiflKd, will be always infallible Certainty, which I appre- hended you to have claimed : And becaufe the Author charges me with a grofs, if not willful Mifreprefentation of your plain Words in this Cafe, I fhall here recall this Matter to a farther Examination. The Paffkge which I am fo warmly charge ed with, as having perverted and mifrepre- fented, is in your Imroduclmi, p. 5. where you fay, " We are far from pretending to an •' infallible Judgment about Gofpel-Truth " and Error ; but we take it to be mi agreed ** Point with Prote/iants, that there may be *' Certainty where there is not Infallibility: *' and none can deny this, unlefs they will *' venture to afl'ert, that we can in no Cafe *' know we are in the right, but by being " allured that it is impollible for us in any *' Cafe to be in the wrong''. In this Paflage 1 did indeed fuppofe, that by Certainty, and knowing we are in the right, you underflood the Words Certainty and Knowledge in a Itrid and proper Senfe, as diftinguiflied from V"?\:i- ^- G 5 br.r;^ 86 The Nature WConfec^uences bare Belief, Opinion, or Perfvvadon ; upon which Suppofition all that I faid about it muft have been the juft and necefl'ary Confcquences ot the Principle it felf : And the Reafon 1 had to undcrfiand you fo, was, becaufe I faw that the Words taken in any other Senfe, muft ren- der all you here fay perledly triQing and in- lignificant ; and I could not well imagine that learned Men, in an argumentative Diicourfe, and when they feemed to be laying down a general Principle, intended to fay juft nothing. B'at I am now told that by Certainty, know- ing you are in the right. Certainty of Know- ledge, and fuch like Expreffions, you mean only {ieiief, or Opinion, that you firmly be- lieve, or are indubitably perfwaded. I mud here obferve by the way, that dubitable or indubitable, when join'd with Belief or Per- fwahon, do not in the leaft affed the real Truth or Exiftence of Things. A Man may be in the right, where he has great Doubts or Scruples in his Mind whether he is in the right or not ; as he may be in the wrong, where his Perfwafion is moft flrong and in- dubitable. And indeed, the Strength and In- dubitablenefs of the Perfwafion in Matters of a doubtful and difputable Nature, is general- ly owing more to the Force of Emhufiafm and vain Confidence, than to the Clearnefs of the real objedive Evidence. However, I fhall not ftand with you in this Point, but readily grant ycu all the Strength and Indubitablenefs of Perfwafion you can defire : And fi nee by Certainty, you mean only indubitable Perfwa- fion ; and by knowing, only believing, you are i»i the Right; I fhali fiibflitute the one for the pther^. ^Enthusiasm defended. 87 other: and then what you fay is this; *^ We ** are far from pretending to an infallible ** Judgment about Gofpel-Truth and Error 5 *' but we take it to be an agreed Point with " Proteftants, that there may be an indubita- *^ ble Perfwafion, where there is not Infalli^ ^ bility ; and none can deny this, unlefs they ^' will venture to aifert, that we can in no *^ Cafe firmly believe we are in the right, *^ but by being affured that it is impoifibic *^ for us in any Cafe to be in the wrong" It would indeed be very ftrange, if Prote-- flants and all Mankind Ihould not be agreed in this, that there may be a firm Belief, or in- dubitable Perfwafion, where there is not In- fallibihty, or even the leaft Truth or common Senfe. The Zealots of all Parties are gene- rally fo firm and indubitable in their diile-* rent and contrary Perfwafions, as to put this Matter beyond all Doubt j and he muft cer- tainly be a very bold Man, who fhould ven^ ture to affert, that we can in no Cafe believe we are in the right, without being affured that it is impofiible for us in any Cafe to be in the wrong. It will be to no Purpofe to fay, that you fuppofe your indubitable Perfwa-* fion to be well grounded; for fince this i$ effential to all Belief or Perfwafion whatever, and no one can believe any Thing at all, with- out fuppofing he has fufficient Reafon for it ; and fince alfo there is no more Connexion betwixt your indubitable Perfwafion and the real Truth of Things, than betwixt that of another Mans to the contrary; all that you (an bring your indubitable Perfwafion to, '\^ only this, that as it may polSbly be right, fo ft 4 it 1 8 The Nature and Confequencei ic may as pofTibly be wrong. My great Crime then, it feems, is, that I have prelum'd to un- derftand your Words in the only Senfe of \\'hich they are capable, without fuppofing you to tritle and talk unintelligibly. But fince your Defender has thought convenient to ex-; plain your Meaning into nothing, I am con- tent to leave it there, 'till you fhall be pleafe4 to let us know, whether you intended to be tinderflood in any Senfe at all, or not. You endeavour, p, 8. to obviate an Obje- ction, which you apprehended might naturally arife from your Way of Talking, or from that Air of ft rid and proper, /. e. infallible Cer- tainty, which runs through your whole Dif- Courfe. You fay, -^ Perhaps it will be faid, *' tho' Men may be allowed to argue and rea- '^^ fon one with another in fuoh Points as ^' thefe, yet they ihould not be pofitive-nor ^^ importunate j they fhould forbear Admoni- '^ tion and Reproof, - which looks like aflu- *' ming an Authority over their Brethren, and *^ accuiing the other Side of Dullnefs or Ob- '^ ftinaCy'*; you might have added, of Here- fy and damnable Error. Now to this Objedion you immediately reply, that "Indeed as for thofe that are hot '' yet arrived at fuch a Certainty of Knowledge *' and Faith in this great DoBrine, it would ^' be very improper for them to prefs it fo *' earneftly upon others; they ought firfl: to '^ be well perf waded in their own Minds : But ^^ if the Dodrine be true, it is polfible it may ^' ie tou'ii to; be true; and thofe that know ** it to be fo, Vnay be allowed to tell others 5^ what they ^ i^i'w^ both of the Truth and Impqrj. tion^ ^Enthusiasm defended jg tion, to be debarred the Inilitutious of the/ iGofpel, and deny'd the Benefits of the Chri-» • ftian Covenant, purely for Confcience fake, and becaufe he cannot believe or declare hi^ Belief of the Truth or Neceffity of .what the Scripture has not made fuch, is a Treatment as much more cruel and antichrifaan than the infliding any corporal Punifhments, as the Interefts of the Soul and another World are more valuable than thofe of this prefent Life : And he who is debarr'd from the Inftitutions of thb Gofpel, deny'd the fpecial Love and Fellowiiiip of Chriftians, and ijeneiits of the Chriftian Covenant, merely for not declaring his "Belief of what God has either not reveal- ed, or but darlily and obfcurely revealed, and not made necefl'ary to Salvation, is as truly perfecuted, impofed on, and fubjeded to au antichriflian Power, as if he was fined, im- prifoned, or put to Death. I thought it the more necelTaryto flate aright the Notion of Perfecution, Imp ofition, and antichriftian Ty- ranny ; fince I find Men very often ready to wipe their Lips in this Cafe, and ask what Evil have we done, only becaufe they do not, when perhaps they cannqty enforce their human uncertain Decilions, and unfcriptural Tefis, with the coercive Power of the Civil Magiftrate. Nothing, you fay, is more certain than this, that every Man's Judgment is from the Lord, and to his own Mailer he mufl ft?.nd or fall ; and therefore, you do not indeed pretend tu pafs any fuch Sentence of Damnation as God Iiimfelf may not reverfe, either by bringing the Perfon to Repentance anda Sght of his Error, pr by extending Mercy to him in fome ex- tuordiaary 94 The Nature and Confequences traordinary Way. You have not, I muft own^ pretended to limit the fovcrcign Grace and prerogative Mercy ot God, or to put your Brethren and Fellow-Chriftians into any fuch State of Damnation, as not to leave it in the Power of God to fave them. ^ How faf, and in what Cafes, the Infinite Mer- cy of God may interpofe^ and prevent thofe pernicious Effeds which fuch an Error defervesy and would naturally produce if left to it felf^ are Secrets^ you fay, only knoiim to God the Judge of all, who is the wife and fovereign Difpoler of his own Grace. And I befeech you. Gentle^ men, where are thofe antichriftian Synods, or hereticating Creed-Makers, that have ever pre- tended to reveal thofe Secrets, or to deter- mine any thing at all of the Matter more than you have done ? All that they have done, has been only to affix the Sandions of eternal Life and Death to their own fallible uncertain Decifions, and mere human unfcriptural Tefts ; and how little foever you may like fuch Com- pany, I doubt you will find it fomewhat dif- ficult to get rid of it. If thefe Cenfures and Imputations, of dam- nable Error, are not defigned againft thofe of your Brethren and Fellow- Chriftians, who have different Apprehenfions from you in the difputable Points relating to the Trinity ; all that you can fay here can be to no Purpofe, unlefs it is to fix upon them a Charge of the mod criminal Nature, which you do not your felves believe them to be guilty of: But if they are thus defignM, as ^tis plain they are, I fear you have drawn a Weight upon your felves, which you w^ill not eafily remove ; fince you all that you fay is only this, that the OneTrue God, the OneTrue God, and the OneTrue God, and not either of Thefe alone, are the OneTrue God ; or, which amounts to the fame thing, that the One True God, the One True God, and the One True God, is, and is not, the One True God. If you can fliew that you have any different and diftind Meaning to the feveral Terms you make ufe of, I hope you will think your felves obliged to do it ; if you cannot, the Propofition, as I have put it, muff be your own. I am forry you fhould endeavour to impeach your Brethren as Hereticks, and diffrad the Minds of the Chriftian People, only on the Account of one mere Verbal Propolltion, which you your felves underffand, eithe.r in no Senfe at all, or, which is equally unhappy for you, in a Senfe you dare not own. But having been called upy as you fay, after an extraordinary Manner to defend the Truth, you thought fit to arife in great Fury, and to flate, or rather involve the Point in one im- penetrable Piece of Darknefs; and then calmly to fit down, and declare you intend to explain your felves no farther. I muff not eafe you of this Trouble, till I have adjufted one Account more, which ftill remains betwixt me and the Author ot thefe RefleclionSy with regard to three SelF-Contradidtions he has charged upon me. The firfl Contradidion he Ciiarges me with, is, my having fuppofed the Poflibility of Com- municating all the Infinite Divine Attributes H iind 9 8 T)^ Nature WConfequences . and Perfedions, by an eternal Ad of Gene-- ration, from God the Father to God the Son ; and yet my aJOErming it to be impofllble and contradidory, to fuppofe that any Infinite Divine Pcrfedion Ihould be communicated to Man, or any mere Creature whatever : Buc thefe two are fo perfedly reconcileable and confiflent, that I mull beg his farther Help befcrc I can fee any thing of a Contradidion betwixt them. 2. He fays, that the Necellity of being adu- ally in the right, is what I have both aflerted and deny'd ; and 'tis true that I have fo in different Cafts, and under difterent Relations and Qualifications of the Objeds; and thofe difi:'erent Refpeds and Qualifications of Truths i.nd Objcds, \ hich I referred to, m^ufi. have been vifible to every Body but this Author. He could not imagine, that I fuppofed it not neceflary to be in the right, where the Truth is fo evident in it felf, or fo clearly and ex* prefly revealed, as to have a neceflary infepa- rable Connexion with Sincerity, fo as that a fincere Enquirer cannot mifs it : But I fup- pofe it not neceflary to be in the right, where it is impofTible to be fo, or where after the mofl fincere Enquiry the Perfon may be mi- llaken, and not be able to difcover the Truth. And 'tis the NeceiTity of being adually in the right in thefe doubtful and difputable Cafes, that has troubled the World fo much, and the Bigots of all Parties fo ftrenuoufly infill upon. 5. Certainty in Matters of Faith is what he charges upon me, as having both afferted and deny'd ; Deny'd, where I fay that they mull ^ E N THU S I A s M defended. 99 muft be very weak Proteftants, if there be any fucii, who talk of Certainty in Matters of Faith ; and aflerted, as he would have it, where I fay, that doubtlefs, or as he explains it for me with an /. e, certainly, the Apoftles were Infallible in whatever they delivered as the Mind and Will of God, iXc. But why muft Doubtlefs be flridly the fame with Certainly ? The* this Author is certain of every Thing he does not doubt of, I do not pretend to it. I do not doubt but he had fome Defign or o- ther in making fuch Objedions, tho^ I am not certain of it. I am not flridly and properly, i, e. infallibly certain that there were ever any fuch Men as the Apoftles, the* I believe it upon fufficient Evidence. I have never, that I know of, confounded a bare Belief or Per- fwafion with Knowledge or Certainty, and why fhould this Gentleman charge his own Ab- furdities upon me ? And now, after all, if Mr. Fancourt has not been able to fix any Self-Contradiction upon me, it is plainly none of his Fault, fince he lias not fpared his kind Endeavours : He has put on his Armour, enter'd the Lifts, and bid Defi- ance like a Champion ; and if he has not anfwered the Expedations of the Publick, or in any mea- fure executed his Threatnings, he has however done his beft, and you are to take his Endea- vours in good part. But, if Mr. Fancourt fhould be prevail'd up- on to publifh the Second Part, which he has prom i fed under the Title of An Effay concern- ing Implicit Faith; I would advife him, for his own fake, to fpare his Raillery, and keep clofe to the Argument. Ha Upoa aco. Ti;^' Nature and Gonlcquences upon the whole, I cannot help believing .that you hcive adted an Impoling Part in this Aftair, and carried ynur Exhortations beyond the Bounds of Chnflifin Charity; that you have fubfiituted your o\vn Uncertain Decisions, and li.coniprehenfible Speculations, in the Place -of Scripture.; and, enforced them with, thofe Spiritual and Divine Sanctions, which can be- long only to the Laws of Chrifl in their Ori- ;ginai Pkinnels and Simplicity; and that by -fetting up Jiumane TeRs, as^ the Standards of Divine Faith, and endeavouring to work upon the Judgments and Paffions of the People, by thofe Engines of Bigotry and Darknefs, you have, however undefignedly, contributed not a little to bring the Scriptures into Difufe and Contempt; as if they were not in them- felves fufficiently exprefs and clear, and con- sequently, no fufficient Rule of Faith, even in Things necefi'f.ry : And hereby you have, I fear^ confiderably wounded and weakened that truly Catholick and Chriftian Charity, that juft and equitable Liberty of Confcience, and that firict Regard to the Authority of God alone, which are the Life and Glory of Chriflianity. 'Tis true, .you drcp here and there a PalTage, as difcl^xiing ail external com.pulfive Force in Matters of Religion ; and tho' I do not pre- tend to enter into your Hearts, or to fay how far a Change of Circumftances might alter your SentinTents in this Particular, yet I can- not but think, that fince you have difcovered in all other Refpcds the true Spirit of Perfecution, Impoiition, and Church Tyranny, that Man niufl have a ftrong Faith, or a weak Under- fianding, who (hould truft to. your Clemency^ had ^Enthusiasm defended. loi had you that Legal Force in your Hands, which }ou now diiclaim while 'tis cut of your Power. Whoever obfcrves your Manner of difcanting, with regard to Mr. Emlyns Cafe in Irelandy will not I believe entertain any great Opinion of your incire Averiion to all com- puliiv^e Force m thefe Matters; and your at- tributing the vifible Succefs of that Secret "Treacbeyy, join'd with open Violence and Compid^ (imy to the Bleffnig of God attending the Labours of a Reverend Brother, is fuch a foiemn Piece of Mockery, as one can hardly be ferious upon, and which yet ought not to be laughed at. After all : It you will, from any juft and clear Reafonings, make it appear that I have miilaken the Point ; that your Zeal in this Cafe is according to Knowledge; and that you have infifted upon nothing as neceiVary, but what Chrift has plainly made fo in the Conflitution of his Gofpel ; I promife to re- trad all that I have faid upon this Score: and ftiall be fo far from thinking it a Difgrace, that I fhall rejoice in a clearer Light, and be glad of any Opportunity to (hew how readily I can facriiice what is commonly thought a Point of Reputation, to the fuperior Intereft of Truth, whenever it fhail be propofed with fufficienc Evidence to my Underflanding. / anjy Gentlemen^ &c. Hj i^:^yL^,3:v^ziie.^:^ DEFENCE Of the Two Foregoing LETTERS T O Mr. To N G, Mr. Robin- son, Mr.SMiTB.:,.and Mr. Reynolds. AGAINST Mr. FAN CO UR T's Enthufiafm Retorted. wm>ww£^ DEFENCE Of the Two Foregoing LETTERS. HE Reverend Mr. Samuel Fancourty after three Years Silence in the Controverfy betwixt him and me, rela- ting to the Four London Mmifiers, has now at length, I fuppofe, convinced the World, that while he (aid nothing, he did not fpare Thinking. I fliall not anticipate the Reader's Judgment in the Matter ; but proceed diredly, as briefly and clearly as I can, to fettle the remaining Pare of the Account between Mr. Fancotirt and my felf, as it depends entirely upon the decla- red Principles, and well-Jcnown Condud, of C^'iefe Four Mmifters, After io6 A "DEFENCE of the After fome very Great and Learned Di- vines of the Church of England had ventured to recede from the common DoEirine^ or ra- ther common Sett of IVordsy which Men had been fuppofed to agree in with refped to the Boly Tniiity ; thtfe Gentlemen thought fit to interpole, in order to refcue the People of their Denomination^ thoir old Friends and Ac qtiaintance, from an Error which they appre- hended or fatal Coniequence ; and this at a Time when no Dilfenting Minifter of any one Congregation in Englandy that I know of^ had declared himfelf againft their common Verbal Belief The* Controverfy then lay wholly in the Eftabliflied Cnurch i and there only it might have been thoroughly and finally deba- ted, without the leaft Trouble or Moleflation to the Diffenters, if thefe Minifters could have vouchfafed us that Favour j but this they could not, it feems, in Point of Confcience grant us : and therefore, like true Guardians of the Faith cnce deli'vered to the Saints , they publifti a Book, confining for the moft Part of a Collection of human Creeds^ and a few Quotations out of Scripture, without taking the leaft Notice of what had been fo often urged againft the Senfe they would feem to underfiand them in. In this Book, they lay down what they take to be of the laft Confequence concerning the 7r/- nity ; and infift upon it as fuch in Point of Salvation and Chriitlan Communion, without rendring it either intelligible in it felf, or fhewing how it can poffibly confift with the Truth of the Chrifiiian Revelation. I, who had hitherto been a filent and peace- able Speftator only of what had been faid and[ done Two foregoing LETTERS. 107 done in the World, thought my felf now ob- lig'd to expofe the Weaknefs and Abfurdity ot fuch a Condud, with the fatal and mif- chievous Conlequences of the Principle they had advanced. In the mean while, I did not pretend to determine any thing concerning the Perfons themfelves, with refped to the Vin- cibility or Invincibility of their Error, or how far they might be innocent or guilty, clear'd or condemned, in Foro Qonfcientia, I look'd upon this as a Point uncapable of an human De- cifion, and fuch as mufc be left to the fi- nal Determination of Chrifl himfelf. But Mr. FancouYt would reprefent me, as chargc- ing the Brethren with great Impiety and moral Wickednefs, as if I had imputed all the fatal Confcquences, and the whole Guilt and Condemnation of their falfe Principles, to the Perfons themfelves ; than which he could have devifed nothing more groundlefs, nor more un- righteous: and yet his Declamations and Out- cries about this, make up a very confiderable Part of his Book. To condemn Mens Perfons, together with their Principles, has been ever the Manner of blind Bigots, and flaming Zealots ,* though nothing can be more contrary to the Nature, Spirit and Genius of Chriftianiry. Whea Men are imperious and impatient of Contra- didion, they will reckon themfelves decryM, if they are not ador'd j and he who pre- fumes to dilier from th m, or to queflion any of their Dtcifions, immediately becorres their Ex-cuticner: But if "Mr. Fancourt, and thofe of his Way, cannot difl'er from other Chri- ftians in Matters of dark and doubtful Spe- culation io8 A DEFENCE of the culatibn and Belief, without charging their Adverfaries with Infincerity and moral V/ick- cdnefs ; I am heartily forry for them, and can only wiili them lefs Infallibility, and more Charity. However , I hope the impartial World will obferve and confidcr it, if Mr. Fancoiirt will not, that 'tis hot Men, but Do- drines, not Perfons, but Principles, that I am concerned with, and arguing againfl. The main Principle which the Four Mint' fters have advanced as the very Subfianee of the l^'initarian Dodrine, and the Centre of. Chriftian Unity, Peace, and Communion, is this; That thefe Three, the Father, Son, and Spirity and not any One of thefe, is the One 'True God, Now, in the Letter of Enthujtafrn, and the Defence of it, diredled to the Four Miniftersy I have endeavoured at leaft to (bew, that this main Propofition, which they lay down as a Fundamental Article of Faith, is perfectly un- intelligible; that if they do not underfland the Word God, in a different Senfe, as ap- plyM to the Three Perfons feparately, and con- jundly confidered, thefe Words have no Meaning at all ; that their main Principle is utterly inconfiflent vvith all the human Creeds and Tefis of Orthodoxy they have produced, and cannot poilibly be reconciled even to their own Scripture Account of the Matter, I urgM them farther with the fatal and mifchie- vous Confequences of fetting up this abfurd unintelligible Principle, as a Fundamental Ar- ticle of Faith, as neceffary to Salvation and Chriflian Communion, while the Scripture is abfolutely (ilenc about it, and they had not Two foregoing LETTERS. 109 fo much as attempted to produce any Scrip- ture Evidence for any fuch Neceffity, So that had their Account of the Matter been intel- ligiblcj confiftent, or even true, as it appears to be neither i yet ftill their pretended Necef- fity of it, nnd the Strefs they lay upon it, muft be altogether groundlefs, and of fatal Confequence, as deflrudive of Chrifliaii Peace and Charity, and diredl]^ tending to fubjed and enflave the Underftahdings and Confci- ences of Men to an human Jurifdidion. My Endeavours to prove all this, have lain before the World a confiderable Time, and make up by far the greater Part of the Two Letters which Mr. Fancourt has underta- ken to animadvert upon. Put this Writer, who can defend his Brethren without Argu- ment, and clear up all Difficulties without taking the leaft Notice of them, tells the World roundly, that I had brought this Charge without any Evidence to fupport it; nay, againft the cleared Evidence to the con- trary ; when he fays, that I had charged thefe Confequences upon them without Proof: It will not be worth my while to confute him here, by quoting Three Parts in Four of the Two Letters againft him ; and therefore, I am content that what I have offer'd in Support of the Charge, fhould ftand as it is, and fpeak for it (di, till Mr. Fancourt can find fomerhing or other in Anfwer to it. But what is this clear Evidence to the contrary? How does it appear, that the Confequences which I have charged upon tliefe Gentlemens Principles and Condud^ are weak and ill-grounded? Why, to prove this, he quotes no A'DETENCEofthe quotes certain Paflages from the Fouy Minh fiersy in which they allow the Sufficiency of Scripture as a Rule of Faith, and declare for the Liberty and Right of private Judgment. But it falls out here very unluckily for Mr. Fancourty that the Qiieftion is not, What thefe Gentlemen profefs or declare; but w^hat the Confequences of their Principles are, and what the Effeds of their Condud muft be while they ad upon thefe Principles. If I had charg'd them with profefledly throwing off the Authority of Scripture, and fetting up an human Jurifdidion in its Stead, or with denying diredly, and in Terms, the Right of private Judgment, and declaring themfelves the only rightful, authoritative In- terpreters of Scripture ; in this Cafe, I fay, their Profeffion and exprefs Declaration to the contrary, had been a fufficient Evidence : But fince thefe are only Confequences which I had charged upon their Principles, and, as I think, effeduallyfupported; Mr. Famourt muRy I prefume, be fuppos'd to allow the Charge, as I had laid it, whilft he does not think fit to offer any thing to the contrary. Had this Writer been as able to defend his Brethren, as he w^as willing, he would have endeavoured to fhew, that the Principles which I had attacked were found and good, and that my Arguments were inconfequent and of no Force ; that his Brethren, the Four Mini" flers, had advanced nothing as a neceflary Ar- ticle of Faith, but what the Holy Scriptures declared as fuch ; that their Terms of Peace and Unity, are the very fame with thofe in- fifted on by Chri/l and his Apoftlesi and that they Two foregoing LETTERS, ill they have not endevivoured to exclude Men from Church Communion, and the Benefits of the Chriftian Covenant, for Want of any other Qualification, but that Faith and Repentance vhich the Gofpel requires as ncceffarv to Sal- vation ; in Ihort, that their Prmciples i*re truly Chriftian and Catholick, and iuch as have no Tendency to Impofition, Perfccucion, Party Rage, or Church Tyranny. This, doubtlefs, he would have endeavoured to prove, in Oppohtion to what I had offered to the contrary, ii he had thought himielf c?.pable of icj for no Body I imagine can think that he wanted an Inclination. And therefore, as his Brethren will thank him perhaps for his Good-v ill ; fo I have no Reafon to be angry with him, for the Shrewdnefs of his Arguments. I had urg'd upon the Four Minifiersy their fetting up for ft rid and proper, /. e. infallible Certainty ; and this in a Matter which the whole impartial World muft allow to be very difficult and doubtful, at leaft ,* and I made it appear, that if by Knowledge and Certainty, aS they ufe and apply the Words, they intend- ed only Belief or Perfwajton, as theWords were fometimes ufed in a popular Way of Speaking, this muft render the whole Paffage unintelli- gible, trifling, and perfedly ridiculous. To this Mr. Fancourt makes no Reply ; but conti- nues to tell us over and over, what his Bre- thren meant. Let their Meaning therefore be as he fays, if he pleafes ; I left it to their Choice at firft, whether they would here take the Charge of Prefumption or trifling Impertinence, And fince he here feems to accept the latter for them, if they will confirm his Choice, I ihall be eafy. That 1,2 ADEFEMCEofthe That Knowledge and Certainty is fre* quently, in a popular Way of Speaking, ufect tor Belief" or Pcrfwafion, every Body will al- low; nor does this deferve to be minded or regarded, where nothing depends upon it, and where it docs not give any different Turn to, or at all alter the i^enfe and Defign of the Difcourfc. Now, bccaufc I would not give this tefty Gentleman any needlefs Trouble, whenever I happen in the fame Way of Speak- ing, .to u(e the Words certainly, douMefsy dec, for the higheft Degrees of Probability only, or ii\ Cafes which no Body can well doubt of, tho' there is not perhaps ftrid and abfolute Certainty, he may fubftitute, if he pleafes, any other Words, as, I th'mky I guefs, &c. in the Place of the former. If this pleafe him better, it will ferve my Turn as well, and leave every Argument and Expreflion of mine in its full Force and proper Significancy. Let this be done in the Paffage relating to the Four Minijleysy and I defire no more j but am con- tent after fuch a Subftitution, to leave e- very Body to judge of the Intelligiblenefs, Confiftency, or Pertinence of the Difcourfe, as they fhuli find Occafion. And yet, whenever Mr. Fancourt finds me in any little incidental ExprefTion ufing the Words certainly, doiik- lefsy &:c. where there is not flrid and proper Certainty, he triumphantly reprefents it as a parallel Cafe with that of the Four Miniftersy and gravely returns it upon me, under the Name and Notion of Enthufiafm retorted. But I think an Adverfary muft be hard put to it in- deed, when he is driven to fuch poor Shifts as this. In T^o foregoing LETTERS. 115 In the Defence of the Letter of Ent/mjjafm, I ob- ferv'd that Mr. Fiincourt had committed a moil grofs and notorious Blunder about fubjeciive Certainty y as having defined it by indubitable Per-^ fuafion ; from whence it mufl follow, that every Man is equally certaiuy where his Perfuafion is ^(\\x^\\y Jirong ^nd indubitable ; and confequently, that there may be Certainty y the higheft and moll: indubitable Certainty^ where there is not the leaft Truth, Conliftency, or common Senfe. To this he has nothing to fay, but only, that he' fup- pofes his own Perfuajion to be a rational Perfuafion* And muff not every one elfe fuppofe the fame ; or is it poflible any Man fliould believe or be perfuaded of any Thing at all, without fuppo- fing that he has fufHcient Reafon for it ? The Queflion here is not. What Mr. Fancourt fup- pofes of his own Perfuafion ; but wherein fub- jeBive Certainty confifls, and what is the proper Nature and Definition of the Thmg. And here our Author having been clearly convided of ingenuoufly owning it, or giving up the Point as indefenfible, endeavours to fhufEe it over, and feems refolved to if and to it in fpite of Reafon or common Senfe. He proceeds to exercife his Talent in chi- ding me for what I had faid concerning the Nature and Ground of Faith i and he is fo an- gry at the Account I had given of Implicit Faith, that he has quite loll his Wits upon the Sub- jed, and no Man could have expofed an Ad- verfary more than he has here expofed him- felf. I had maintained that Faith, Beliefs or the rational AlTent of the Mind, could in no Cafe go beyond the Perception of the Underflauding ; I and ti4 ASfEFENCE of the and that to believe a Thing, \^ ithout knowing \vhat we believe, or without having any cer- tain fixed Ideas to the Terms of the Propolition aflented to, muft be impoiTiblc and contradi- dory. Now this plainly afttftcd thofe, who fet up for the Belief of what they cannot ex- plain or render intelligible; and who, after they have been fo often and fo clofely prefsM to it, are not able to affix any determinate Idea to their own Words. But here, upon my acknow- ledging a moft certain and demonfirable Princi- ple ot Sciencey namely, that there are infinite Things in Nature which we cannot underlland ; or that our Capacities are not infinite, and therefore cannot take in all the infinite Truths concerning God^ and the Nature of Things; our Author, /?. 31. thus exclaims: " What, " can\ Mr. Morgan believe that to be, which " yet he acknowledges to be ! What a myfteri- " ous Art is here ! to be able readily to affent *' unto that, which is neither the Objed of his " Knowledge, nor yet of his Faith ! This I *' muft own, to borrow a Pun from cur witty " Author, is a found Fotmdaticn Jor ifnplkit Faiths " vihkh can he built upon nothing but Sounds. Me- *^ thinks he fhould not willingly contend for *^ nought, if he knew it to be nothing he con- " tended for; unlefs, (which yet I cannot " fuppofe) he fights [for Bread or] only to " keep himfelf in Breath. For my Part, I *' cannot perceive in what he differs from tiief foregoing LETTERS. 117 ther in the particular Propofition afiented to i 'tis plainly impoflible thus to join or feparate in our Minds the Ideas of a Propofition, vhofe Terms are to us perfedly infignificant, and of which we have reallyjto Ideas at all. This is evident to a Demonflration , but Mr. Pancoun thinks he has overthrown it, by obferving, that tho' we know not for Inftance what is meant by Jefus^ or what by Ejnanuei, yet we may believe in general, upon a fuperadded fuf- ficient Teflimony, that this Propofition, Jefus is Emanuely contains fome certain Truch in it. But here it muft I fuppofe be evident, that he fubftitutes one Propofition for another^ a general for a particular one ; and then pretends that the Be- lief of a general Propofition of which he has IdeaSy is the Bc\k£ oi the particular Propofition of which he has no Ideas. The Propofition which* he pre- tends to believe, without knowing what he be- lieves, or which he believes without believing-, is this, Jefus is Emanuel; but the Propofition which he really and explicitly believes is this, that the former Propofition falls under the general Clafs of unknown Truths. He who really and explicitly believes or aflents to this particular Propofition, Jefus is Emanuel, muft in his own Mind join or conned the Idea of Jefus with the Idea of Emanuel; which he cannot pofTibly do, if he has no fuch Ideas : But he who be- lieves or aflents to the other general Propofi- tion, only joins or conneds the general Ab- ftraa Idea of a Propofition with the general Ab- flraft Idea of T'ruth. And here, if Mr, Fancourt cannot fee that thefe are two quite different Connexions, and relate to two perfectly diftind and ditferent 1 3 Propo- ii8 A DEFENCE of the Proportions, I doubt it would be to no great Purpofe tor mc to take much Pains to intorm him better. And now we have r.il our Author s Cleavings and Elucidations upon this Subject, I think "'tis evident that, in his way of Talking, we rriay as truly and properly be faid to know and tmderftand what cannot be kmvjn or under- flood, as to believe or ajfent to what we cannot underfland. In Oppolition to which, I have endeavoured farther to confirm the Truth of this Principle, that the rational Belief or Affent of the Mind can in no Cafe be carried beyond the perception oi the Undevftanding. I fhall not now ftay to expofe the Wcaknefs and Impertinence of all Mr. Fancourt^s infigni- ficant Gleanings, and his many dull inhpid A- bufes hereupon. I can eafily forgive his Heat and ReTcntment upon this Occafion^ iince per- haps it may arife from his great Afedion, and many Obligations to his Friends and Benefa- •6;ors, as he has given the World to underfland already. However, I would advife him, when he (hews himfelf in Publick again, to leave his PafTions at Home, and bring his Underftand- ing along with him. perhaps it may be expected, that I fliould here take fome Notice of Mr. Fancourt^s Obje- dions againft what I had offered in a Letter to Mr. Gumming concerning Confequences, or the Absurdity of that common Pretence, of car- rying the Principles and Dodrines of pure Re- njelation beyond the original exprefis Senfe. Now, tho' I fland accountable for this to an abler Pen, and fhould be glad to fee Mr. Cum- mings own Defence ; yet fince our Author muft be meddling where he had no Buiinefs, I Ihall T'WQ foregoing LETTERS. 1 1^ fliall endeavour to let him fee what he has got by it. When I advanced that Principle againfl: Mr. Cumjningy I allign^d Reafons for it fTom the different Nature oimcejfary and comingent "Xnithsy or from that well known Diftindtion between Matters of ScUiice and AJatters of FaB. I obfer^ ved, that all nqceli'ary Scientifick Truths, hav- ing an immutable ciernai Relation to, and De- pendance on each other, might theretore be inferred or deduced irom one another in a Train of rational Confequences j whereas all comm-" gem Truths^ or FaB;s^ as all Matters of mere Re-- relation are with refped to us, fince they are independent on each other, and have no ne- ceflary Connexion with the Principles of Rea- fon and Science properly fo call'd, and fince •they depend abfoluceiy on Tefiimony, cannot poffibly be carry^'d beyond the original ex- prefs Declaration of the Teflifier or Revealer himftlf. But thisReafon, whicii is perhaps de- monflrative, our prudent Author takes no No- tice of, and does not it feems think himfelf concerned with. He faw perhaps very well, that he could not pretei id to anfwer what I had olfered ; and therefore, iiiRead of this he devifes two other Reafons for mc, which never en« ter'd into my Head, which could not poilibly be any Reafons at ail, and in which he trifles, prefumes, and dogmatizes, beyond Example, And here, as a Specimen of our Authoi^s Ci- vility and good Senfe, I Ihall quote what he has thought fit to offer upon this Head, p. 38. where, fpeaking of his implicit coiuradidory Faith, which we have already confidered, he fays, " And by this Time you muft obferve, that if I 4 ''H lao A "DEFENCE of the *^ it be indeed a blind Faith, a mere mechanical '^ Imftdfe, Enthu/iafmy or a y?mi!g Perfuq/ion with- '^ out any rational Grounds, ss he in his great *' Modefty and Civility is pleas'd to call it ^ Mr. *' Morgans own Faith is every jot as blind, *' mechanical, and enthufiaftick, as his Neigh- *^ bours : Nay, more fo ; if what he affirms ** be true, that independent Facis are uncapable of *^ yielding Confequences ; and that this AEi of the *^ Mind in drawing rational Inferences and DeduEH" ** ons, muft he confind to Principles of Reafon and *^ Science ) diftinEifrom Matters of FaEi and Tefti^ ** ?nony* For if it be impoflible in the Nature *^ of the Thing, to carry any Matter of pure *^ Revelation, beyond the exprefs Senfe and *^ Import of the Revelation it felf, as abftrad- «^ ed from all really diftind Confequences *^ whatever ; (which is his Opinion ;) it muft *^ be (I prefume) for one of thefe two Rea- *' fons : Either, firft, becaufe the exprefs Senfe *^ of a Matter of pure Revelation is impoflible *^ to be known ; for if the Senfe of Rt velation *^ may be known, why mayn't fuch Dedudi- ^ ons as reprefent by Parts what the Whole *' contains, be drawn from it ? And are the ** Inferences that the Principles of Reafon af- *' ford any more ? But if the exprefs Import <* it felf of a Divine Revelation is not to be <' underflood, what does this Writer of eter- *' nal ContradiBiom mean, when he fays, "that *^ "Things which depend wholly upon Revelation, mufi *' hy the Revelation it felf be brought down to our *^ Underflandings and Capacities, fo as to form fome ^^ deary conjiftent Notions and Conceptions of them ? ** Or elfe. Secondly, becaufe the Truth of I' fuch a Senfe is impoffible to be proved ; ^ ?^ Which T'wo foregoing LETTERS. 1 1 1 " Which muft leave therefore the Truth of all " thofc Confequenccs which depend thereon, " clo^t)tful and uncertain ; there being in his *^ Cafe no rational Foundation to believe either *' the Propolitions themfelves, or any Truths *^ that he compriz'd in them. But will our ^ Author fay, that the Truth of the Revelation ^ is doubtful, and yet that the Apoftles v:ere *^ doiihtkfs infallibley in ivhatever they delivered as " the Mtnd and Will of God ?'' From what is here quoted, the Reader will perceive that our Author is moft ridiculoufly angry, and has been frighted almoft out of his Wits. 'Tis real- ly a great Exercife of Patience to be plagued continually with fuch Impertinence. But why fliould this TriJIer put his own prefumptive Rea- fins upon me, againft my exprefs Declarations to the contrary ? And this too, when I had given him another Reafon, and as I think a plain demonftrative Reafon, to which he has faid no- thing, and which therefore, as may well be pre- fum'd, he could not anfvver ? But does he indeed know, that the Ad of Inference, or Dedu^ion, depends upon the na" tural Relations of Things one to another, or does he not ? If he does, I would ask him how it is poflible that contingent Truths, orTruths in Fad only, betwixt which there is no natural Connexion and Dependance, fhould be infer'd one from another ? Or how any Circumftances of a Facl can poflibly be known, farther than is exprefs^ and declared in the T'eftitmny itfelfy upon which all our Knowledge h\ fuch Mat- ters muft entirely depend ? Here he has neither attempted to anfvver the Reafpn of the Thing, nor to ^\\q any Inftance laa d DEFENCE of the « ill Fad to the contrary i and therefore, it may be prefum'd that he does not underfland the Principle. And this is what he has plainly e- ncugh difcover'd in the Queftion he asks, tvhy maynt fuch DeduBionsy as reprefent by Parts what the Whole contains^ be drawn jrom it ? And are the Inferences that the Principles of Reafon a ford any more ? Yes certainly ; the Inferences which the Principles of Reafon afford, are fomething more than the Principle itfelf from which they are drawn, reprefented by its federal Parts ; for otherwife Dernonjlration would be nothing more than Definiticny or explaining a complex Term, by enumerating the feveral iimple Ideas of which it condfls. Can yix.Fancourt imagine, that the whole Sy- ftem of Geometry y and the poflible Truths of that Kind, are contain^ as Parts in this Propo- fition, the three Angles of a Triangle are. equal to two right Angles? Or that all the Truths and Doctrines of Natural Religion are included as the feveral conflituent Parts of this Principle, Man is a rational free Agent, under the fpecial Go- ijernment if a Supreme Being ? And yet this mull be the Cafe, if he underdands the Matter right. But before this accurate Writer pretends to be fo angry with thofe who will not talk in his blundering Way, he ought to acquaint him- felf better with the Nature of Things, and with the well-known and eftablifh'd Signification of Words ; fo far at leait, as not to put Definition for Demonfi/ationy and Defcription for DeduBion, This I think I may be accountable for, that whenever our Author fhall vouchfafe to give us any particular Inftances of his rational Infe- rences and Deduftions^ from Matters of Fad ^nd T^jjo foregoing LETTERS. 113 and Teftimony itfelf, it will foon appear, that thefe Inferences are the very Principle either in Whole or in Part, and that his Confequence carries him at moil no farther, and perhaps not quite fo far as the Principle itfelf: This, I fay, will eahly be made appear, or fomething worfe, namely, that his pretended Inference has no Relation at all to the Principle^ and that it is neither a Part of it, nor a Conjequtme from it. This Dodrine of Confequences fo nearly af- -feds thofe, who pretend to build their Hopes of Salvation, and the moil neceflary fundamental Articles of the Chriftian Faith upon it, that I think it may be rcafonably expected they iliould clear this their main Principle, before they pro- ceed too far in their excommunicating, hereti- :Cating Method. Let them prove that Things neceflary to Salvation, and Chriflian Catholiclc Communion, are left to the Inferences and De- dudions of human Reafon ; and that they are not plainly exprefsM and made charaderiflically neceflary in the Revelation itfelf. 'Till this be done, I verily believe M.r.Fancourt mull: leave his Suhfcrihing Brethren but in an ill Plight, whatever elfe he might be able to fay in their Defence. And this brings me to the laft Account de- pending between }Ar,Fancoun and miC, relating to Sincerity ; in which he has perhaps ufed his utmofl Endeavours to corrupt and pervert the well known eftablifli'd Signification of Words, and the plain Scope and Dehgn of :i\\ that I had faid, in order to charge me with the moft groundlefs and unrighteous Confequences. To give the Reader a Sample of Mr. Fancourt's Jw ftice and Jmfartiality, while he i$ treating of Sinceriijy 124 A1>EFENCEoftU Sincerityy I fhall here quote the whole Paflage out of the Letter of Enthufiafnty from whence he has torn that Scrap with which he has made fo weak and infignificant a Clamour. Having there cal W upon the Four Minifiers to give fome Account of their Condud, in letting up a Prin- ciple as a neceflary Fundamental Article of the Chriftian Faith, which, as I had fhevvn, could not confift either with Reafon or Scripture j I add, Z'. 35, 3<^. ^* But tho^ I have fufEcient *^ Reafon to conclude that you are under a Mi- *' fiake in this Matter, yet I have more Cha- " rity than to think that your Error is damna- " ble ; I am perfuaded, that whatever Miftakes " or Errors are confiftent with a fincere En- " deavour to know the Will of God, and to *^ do it, are confiftent with Holinefs, and *^ therefore with Salvation ; and that God not *^ only will not condemn a Man for an Error *' abfolutely invincible, but will alfo, upon the *' gracious Terms of his Gofpel-Covenant, by '' a general Repentance, thro' the Merits of '^ Chrifly be ready to pardon all.fuch Miftakes *^ and Errors as Men may fall into, not from ^^ any "vicious felfijh Principle y or any wilful Op- ** pofition to the Truthy but from mere human " Frailty, or fuch WeaknefTes and Overfights *' as are common to the beft of Men. This is *^ certainly moft agreeable to the Genius and " Spirit of Chriftianity ; a Principle, every *^ where recommended and enforced by the *' Gofpel oiChrifi'y and without fuch aPrinci- ** pie of Charity, and that Difpofition and *^ Condud that muft fiow from it, and be in- *' fluenced by it, I fear the moft illuminated ? Dogmatizer of us all would have Reafon to !* tremble .44. *^ So that he *' that knows any thing lefs than what he " might pofTibly have known ; or he that be- *' lieves any thing fhort of what, after the " utmoft Enquiries, he would have feen Reafon *^ to believe ; and does not ad up, and lleddily *' too, unto what he might thus have blown *' and believed ; isy for ought I fee, (Mr. Mor- " gan being Judge,) no other than en infincere ^' Man, or than a mere Hypocrite, and whom *' he himfelf could confign over to everlafling *' Fire. Alas, are there no Degrees in Since- *' rity 138 A 'DEFENCE of the " rity neither, no more than there are in Cer- " tainty ! Shall nothing bear the Name of this *' excellent Grace, but the higheft Flights we " can attain unto ! What Havock (hall fuch a " Cafuiflical Divine as this make of the Peace *' and Confolation of weak Believers ! How *' more charitable, as well as juft, are the Senti- ^^ ments of our Brethren, who allow that the *^ mofl: upright Saint upon Earth is not free " from (inful Guilt, but often kts Caufe to *^ complain of a treacherous Heart*? ^* Here it may be obferved, that our Author throws him- felf all along into Fits of Aftonifhment and Surprize ; and endeavours to perfuade his Rea- der, that when I talk of Mens taking all the Care they cauy making the hefl Ufe of their rational Faculties^ dec. to difcover the Mind and Will of God for their own Salvation, that I intend- ed to ftrain thefe and fuch-like Expreifions to the utmoft Extent of a bare natural PofTibility, fo as to exclude the Grace of the Gofpel, and that Pardon which it offers to Sinners upon Re- pentance, and Faith in, or Dependance on, the Merits, Mediation and Interceflion of Jefus Chrift. But how came Mr. Faucourt to make this Difcovery, that I am no Chriftian j that I have thrown off the Grace and Mercy of the Go- fpel, and ail the Benefits of Chrifl's Death to Sinners ; and that I can admit of no Salvation or Acceptance with God^ but upon a flridly faultlefs and unculpable Obedience ? Do the Expreifions, 7naking the left Ufe of our Faculties^ taking all the Care we can, dec, neceffarily imply fo much ? Or rather, are they, not conftantly, and without Exception, when apply 'd to Mens moral T*wo foregoing LETTERS. 1 2^ moral Condud, ufed in a lower and more qua- lify'd Seiife ? I challenge him to produce any CafuiJIieal Divine^ or any Philofopher, Divine, or Moralift at all, who has ever ufod thefc Ex- prefHons in reference to Mens moral Beha- viour and Condud:, in the Senfe that he would ftrain them to. But does our ferious Author never exhort his Hearers from the Pulpit, to ufe their bell Endeavours, and take all the Care they can for their own Salvation ? Is he afraid of this, loil: they fhould look upon their Duty as a Thing impradicable, or left he (hould difturb the Peace and Confolation of Weak Eelievers ? Does he tell them, that they need not take all the Care they can, and that their bell Endeavours are not neceflary in tnis Cafe ; but that they may indulge their Pride, their Malice, and other particular V'Ces, provided they are but right and good in the main ? If this be fo, I doubt our Author's Qualifications are intended only for his particular Friends, and that he cannot allow his Adverfaries to be fincere upon the fame Terms. But 'tis evident, that the very Nature of the Subjed, and the obvious Reafon of the Thing itfelf, might qualify thefe ExprefTions, and that there is no need of making any fuch particular Reftridions. What if one fhould fay, that our Author has done his befl in this Pertormance, and taken all the Care he can not t;^ cxpofe him- felf to the Pit\ or Contempt of the Publick j I fuppofe the Exprelfions mighc be ailowM as juft and proper enough, and what every one would eahly underltand. But yer, if I (liould venture to fay this, perhaps Mr. Funcoun would K cill 1 30 A "DEFENCE of the call me to a very ftrid and fevere Account for it; and maintain, on the contrary, that his Natural Faculties, in their utmoft Extent, inight pofTibly have carried him a little far- ther. No Body fcruples to fay of a wicked Man 5 who is flrongly and habitually devoted to his Avarice and Ambition, that he takes all the Care he can to raife and enrich himfelf, and ufes his befl Endeavours to obtain his carnal felfiftl End ', and if another fliould take the fame Care, and ufe the fame Endeavours to pleafe Gody and obtain his Favour, every one would allow him to be fincere,and that he made the beft Ufe of hi.*5 rational Faculties and Talents, in the Purfuit of true Happinefs ; tho' in the one Cafe and the other, there might be Room enough for different Degrees of Application and Dili- gence, conliflent with the fame perfonal Cha- raders, and the fame general Way of exprelling them. Thefe Things are clear and obvious to the menneft Capacity, from the natural univerfal Ufe of Language; and therefore our Author, not finding any Difficulty in the Cafe, was forced to make one. Now tho'this might pafs as a fufficient Reply to all that he has offered concerning Sincerity; yet fince he affeds to throw himfelf into Doubts and Perplexities upon the Subjcd, loads me with a Multitude of Queflions, and pretends to be at a great Lofs about my Meaning, I fhall fubmit my felf for a few Pages to the Imrd Fate of being his Catechumen. And here the iirfl Thing that puzzles our learned Author, is, what I ihould mean by an I?npartial Exarfiinationy v>'hether it be Twojoregoing L ETTER S. 1 3 1 be fuch Impartiality, Unprejudicednefs, &c, as a Man may be capable ot who is fubjed to human Infirmities, PafTions and wrong Impref- fions, or fuch as they only can be capable of who are free from all thefe ? Sure I am, that I have not given him the Icaft Ground for this Scruple. I always fpeak of the Sincerity of A/t/z, and not of Angels ; and of Men under their prefent real Circumftancesy fuch as they are in FaBy and not under any meer imaginary Cir- cumflances, in which Mr. Fam'ourty by his Inven- tion and Sagacity, might think fit to place them. What I maintain is this, that God wiif judge and reward Men according to what they are and have, and not according to what they , are not and have not , and confequently, that ' he will not condemn and punifh any Man, at any Time, and under any Circumflances, for not knowing, believing or doing, what that Perfon, at that Time, and under thofe Circum- flances, could not pofTibly know, believe, or do. Nay, that God will not only not condemn Men for any Ignorance or Error abfolutely invinci- ble; but will alfo, by the Grace and Mercy of the Gofpel, make great Allowances in this Cafe, and not condemn or punifli Men but where their Duty was clear and obvious, eafy and pradicable, by thofe gracious Aids and Af- (iftances. Helps and Advantages, which were freely, fincerely, and compalHonately offered them. This is what I have declared for, and the main Principle I infifl on, as every one muft fee and know ; and if Mr. Faucourt thinks he can prove the contrary, he is doubtlefs at Liberty, whenever he pleafes, to make a Trial of his Skiil. K z He 1 3 a A DEVEUCn of the He goes on, p. ^6, to ask whether Men may not be lincere in their Enquiry, v ithout being fo in their Pradice ; and whether it may not be juft in God for this Caufe, to jend them ftrong DeliiftonSy that they [hould believe a Lie ', that they all might be damned luho believed not the Truths hut had Pleafure in V might eoufnefs ? No Body, I pi'e- fume, can imagine that God is bound to con- vince and lave Men, whether they wall or no ; or that God may not juflly leave thofe to their wiUul chofen Blindnefs, Stupidity, and prac- tical Error, who refolve to be wicked and pro- fligate in Spite of Evidence and Convidiion, and in Oppofition to all the Reafons and Mo- tives that can be offered them to the contrary. This is plainly the Cafe, which the Apoftle fuppofes in the Paffage here referr'd to ; but what this is to the Author^s Purpofe, or what he would infer from hence is, I muft own, be- yond my Comprehenfion. There is no Con- nexion between Speculation and Pradice of any Sort or Kind whatever ; no Truth in Specula- tion and Theory which a good Man may know and believe, but the moft wacked Man upon Earth, however forfaken of God, may know and believe the fame. A Man may be perfedly and thoroughly orthodox in, the Senfe of our Author, the Four Mniflers, and all Creed-Makers ; and yet be given up to flrong Delufions to believe a Lie in, the Apoflle's Senfe, i. e, left to their own free Choice under the practical, and there- fore damnable Error, of a wicked ungodly Life. The Author's Malice in this Queftion is vifible enough, though it is no more to his Purpofe,' than if he had ask'd. Whether Cod might not, by his immediate Power, fu- fpen Tn^o foregoing LETTER 5. 1 5 g fpend the Motions of the Planets in their Orbs? He queries farther, M^hether the "Truths ivhkh harve a necejfary Connexion with Sincerity y are not as necejfary, and may not he as much itifijied on, as Sincerity itfelj ? Without all Doubt : Who ever deny'd it ? This is vhat I contend for, that no Truth can be neceflary to any Man's Salvation, but what has a necellary Connexion with chat Man's Sincerity. He goes on with his Catechifm, p. 47. and asks, IVhet^^er the Truths which ha'ue a necejfary Connexion with and Dependance upon Mr. Morgan'i Sincerity y mufi needs Le the fame in Number y Kind, and fV'eight, with the Truths that have a necejfary Connexion with and Dependance upon another Mans Sincerity ? This is asking, Whether all Mens Capacities and Talents are not equal, or one and the fame; and whether thofe who know more, and have more Talents committed to them, are not oblig'd in proportion to do more than others ? Which is too eafy, or rather too trifling a Queftion to need an Anfwcr. But he tells us, Jf the Truths which are necejfarily conne^ed ivith one Man's Sincerity, are not the very fame with the Truths which are necejfarily conneFJ-ed with ana- ther Mans Sincerity ; it will follow, that the Truths which neither are, nor appear to he, of any Neceffity or Importance to one Perfon, may really he, and ap-- pear fo to another. This is very true ; I readily grant it ; and what then ? Why then the Terms of Salvation, and Terms of Chrifiian Communion to every Man, are not one and the fame ; and fo that there may be Room for Chriftian Charity, where I am not therefore obligd to receive into Chrifiian Communion. But here I think our Author is K 3 ^ 134 A "DEVEUCE of the SL little myflerious, and ought to explain him- felf farther ; for I cannot imagine what Chri- ftian Charity }\^^r.Fancoun can have for a Man whom he cannot admit to Chriftian Communion, If he cannot admit a Man to Chriftian Com- munion, 1 hope 'tis becaufe he does not think him qualify 'd for it 5 and that he would not wilfully and knov^ingly exclude from his Com- munion thofe who are qualify 'd upon Gofpel Terms for the Kingdom of Heaven. But if he can have this Charity for his diflenting Bro- ther, to believe that he is a good Chriftian, in the Favour of God, and entitled to the Kingdom of Heaven^ and yet, notwithftanding this his Judgment concerning him, will exclude him from Chriftian Communion, or refufe to communicate with him as a Chriftian ; I muft leave him to account for this Condud to our common Lord and Mafter, at the iaft and great Day, fince I cannot exped that he fhould ever account for it before. 'Tis evident that this Writer goes upon a Principle, that muft oblige him tofeparate Com- munion from all who know either more or lefs than himfelf : For he who has a greater Capa- city, and knows more, will have fome Talent or other necellary to be improved, which can- not be neceftary in our Author, who has it not , and he whofe Capacities and Abilities are lefs, may want feveral Talents not neceffary to him, which yet may be of great Importance and Ne- celTity to be well apply'd and improved by Mr, FancouYt^ to whom they are committed. Upon this Principle, he muft feparate from, and ex- communicate fome Chriftians, becaufe they know more, or fee farther, or clearer than him- "'• ' felfi T^o foregoing LETTERS, i J5 felf; and others, becaufe they are not quite fo wife as he: tho' perhaps he might find it hard to form any Church or Congregaticn of fuch ^ex^ttdy fiz,eable Believers. Thefe are his Term's of Communion ,* which yet are as far from be- ing Chriftian, as a private, uncharitable, fchif- matical Fadion is from being the Cacholick Church of CM'/?, or any Part of it. _^ But, notv.'ithflanding thefe different Capaci- ] ties and Talents of different Perfons under the I fameChriflian Difpenfation ; yet the Catholick Terms of Chriflian Communion and Accept- ance with Gody are the fame at all Times to every Man alike, and throughout the whole Chriftian World, how much foever it may puz- i zle Mr. Fancotirt to conceive of it ; and con- 1 cerning thefe Catholick Terms of Communion and Acceptance with Gody no Chriftian could be in any Doubt or Hefitation at all^ if human Creeds, and the prefumptuous anti-chriflian Decifions of fallible, corrupt, and defigning Men, had not long fince eltablifhed another Rule of Orthodoxy befides the Holy Scriptures, and very different Terms of Communion froni thofe which were always declared for and infift-^. ed upon by Cbrifj^ and his Apoftles. But I have already faid fo much upon thisSubjed in the Two Letters to Mr, Gumming and Sir Richar4 Blackmorey that I hope the Reader will excufe my giving my felf any farther Trouble about it, till fomething more to the Purpofe fhall be offered on the other Side. Mr. Fancotirt perhaps might think himfelf flighted, if I fhould not take fome Notice of his new ingenious Hypothefis concerning the Trinity, He thinks, that three diflindt compleat K ^ Powers 156 A 'DEFENCE of ijoe Powers of Underftanding, Willing, &c. in the one individual Subftance of God^ is a juft and proper Reprefentation of what the Scripture cieclares ot the I'hree Perfons, the Father, SoUy anel Holy Gbofl. To expofe this Hypothefis in i.f, tull Light, and in all its Abfurdities and coiiiradi6iory Confequences, would be a very tedious and unneceflary Work ; and therefore I fhall only make a few brief Remarks upon it, fuch as may be fufEcient, I fuppofe, to over-* throw it. Firft then, 'cis evident that this Hypothefis cannot account for the different diflinguiftiing Offices and Operations of different and dillind Perfons or Agents. The Author talks much of diflinct fimilar Powers as the Charaderiflicks of Perfcns, and yet he mentions the Word Perfons with great Caution, and feems really afraid of the Expreflion. A fimilar Power, he owns, is not the Whole of a Perfou, If his fimi- lar Powder be not the Wkoky he ought to have told us whether it be a Part of the Perfon, and what the other Part is, that we might have known what he intended by a Whole Perfon. But I think 'tis evident, that in his Hypo- thefis thefe perfonal Powers cannot be Perions at all, either in Whole or in Part, but only the Properties or Attributes of a Perfon oc Perfons. I would ask then. What are the Per^ fonsy or Perfon y to whom thefe Powers be- long, and by whom they are exerted and emr ploy'd ? Here, if he would (peak out^ and fpeak Senfe in his own Way, he mufl fay, the adive inteiligent Subfiancey or Subjecly which being fuppofed but one and the fame, 'tis plain the Perfon or Agent can be but one^ who fome- time^ I T'wo foregoing LETTER S. 157 times ads and determines himfelf by one Power, and fometimes by another. And thus his Hy- pothecs does not relieve him at all, (ince he mull flill fuppofe God to be but one Per/on or Jgenty as well as one Being, And this one per- fonal Being, or one true God, muft be confldered as communicating to, and covenanting with himfelf j as fending and commiflioning himfelf; commanding and obeying himfelf; as worfhip- ping and praying to himfelf, and making Sa- tisladtion to himfelf. The fame individual in- telligent Being, or Agent, will make Satisfac- tion with one Power, and receive Satisfadioii with another Power ; will iniift upon infinite Satii^i^dion with one Power, and difpcnce with all Satisfaction in another Power ; will worfhip and obey himfelf with one Power, and receive his own Homage and Obedience with another Power. Nay, the fame God, and the fame Perfon, the fame active intelligent Sub' jeB, if this Hypothefis be Senfe, will ad and not ad, fuffer and not fuffer, be God and no God, Man and no Man. This, I think, muft be the State and Condition of Chriftianity, ac- cording to our Author's Hypothefis. But whe- ther this be likely to clear up the Scriptures, or to make Men wifer and better, or not, I muft leave him to confider. It farther deferves a particular Remark, that this Hypothefis, concerning the Being and Perfedions of God^ is purely arbitrary, with- out any conceivable Ground, Reafon, or Ne- cefTity, in the Nature of Things. All that our Author here contends for, is the PolTibi-- Hty of his Hypothefis, or that what he fuppofes (does not imply a Contradidion m the Nature of 138 A "DEFENCE of the: of Things; but then he muft grant, that the contrary is equally poflible, and may equally be fuppofed, without any Contradidiion iw the Nature of Things ; for he does not pretend to prove that what he has advanc'd is neceffary, and that it cannot poffibly be otherwife in the "Nature and Reafon of Things ; from whence 'tis plain that he has here reprefented God as a mere contingent Being, whofe Exiftence or Non-Exiflence are equally pofTible, and may be equally fuppofed, without any Contradi(5tion in the Nature and Reafon of Things. ''Tis evi- dent, that the Author can pretend to no more Reafon and Neceility, in the Nature of the Thing, to fuppofe three (imilar co-ordinate per- fonal Powers or Properties, three Underftand- ings, three Wills, &c. in God^ than he has to fuppofe an indefinite or infinite Number of fuch perfonal Powers and Properties. One in- finitely perfed Underflanding can I;now as much as three, or an infinite Number of fuch Underftandings; and one abfolutely perfe6; WiHy or Power of Afling, can do as much as three, or an infinite Number of fuch Wills. ''Xis plain then, that the fuppofing more than one in this Cafe, muft be a Supposition purely arbitrary, without any Reafon or Neceffity in the Nature of Things i and that fuch a Suppofition would imply no farther or higher Perfedion at all ; fince one abfolutely perfed Underftanding and Will, muft be capable and fufficient to know and do every Thing that is poflible to be known or done ; and to de- ny this, muft be a dired and exprefs Con- tradiction, The Two foregoing LETTERS. 139 The plain Confequence of all this is, that Mr. Fancourt's Hypothcfis deftroys and gives up all the rational demonflrative Evidence and Proof for the Being and Exiftence of One Gody or one fupreme independent firft Caufe, by {up^oCmg God to be fuch a Sort of Being as exills without any Reafon or Neceffity in the Nature of the Thing. He will fay, perhaps, that there may be Reafon and Neceflity in tiie Nature of the Thing for the Exiftence of fuch a Being as he has reprefented under the Name and Notion of the One Gody the' that Reafon and NeceiHty be undifcoverable by human Rea- fon, as being above and beyond our Under- ftandings and Capacities : But ililJ, this will be giving up all the rational Evidence and Proof for the Being and Exiflence of God, and placing Natural Religion upon the fame Foun- dation with Atheifm itfelf. An Atheift will tell him, that the Univerfe is eternal, neceflary, and felf-exiflent, by an infinite eternal Series and Succeilion of necef- fary natural Caufes and Eftefts. Now how -would Mv.Fancourt confute fuch an Adverfary, and overthrow this Atheiftical Hypothefis } Would he fay, that ^cis mofl unreafonable and abfurd, to fuppofe the neceffary Self-Exiftence jof Things, which are evidently in their own Nature contingent, and for whofe Exigence there is no more apparent Reafon or Neceflity, in the Nature of the Things themfelves, than for their Non-Exiftence ; and confequently, that they cannot poflibly exift by an abfolute intrinfick Neceflity in the Things themfelves, but muft neceflarily derive their Exiflence from the free Agency of feme firft independent Caufe? He I40 ADEFENCEofthe He cannot, with any Grace, urge this, or any fuch like Argument againft an Acheift; becaufe the other would eafily turn his own Hypothefis upon him, and make it appear, that he him- felf fuppofes the fame Thing concerning God ; and that there is no more Reafon or Neceffity, in the "Nature of tlie Thing, for the Exigence of fuch a Being as he has reprefented under the Nam-C of GolU than there is for the neceffary eternal Sclf-Exiftence of the Univerfe itfelf, in- dependent of any extrinfick efficient Caufe at all. I hope our Author would not here appeal with his Atheift, from Reafon to Scriptures, tho' I think he would have no other Way for it : but with what Succefs, I mufl leave him to confider. The plain Truth of the Cafe is, in fhort, this : No eifential Attribute or Perfection can poflibly belong to God at ail, which does not neceifarily belong to him, fo as to imply the Impoffibility of the contrary, in the Nature and Reafon of the Thing. The Scripture re- veals many Things concerning the Good-Will and Pleafure, the Actions or free Operations of God, and the Exercife and Difplay of his na- tural effential Attributes and Perfedions, in his Difpenfations of Grace towards his Crea- tures ; but it reveals no new eifential Attribute or Perfedion in God, which was not known or demonftrable before from the Principles of Na- tural Religion, and the Reafon of the Thing itfelf. How poflible foever therefore the Au- thor's Hypothecs might be, when apply'd to contingent Beings, whofe Exi (fence depends upon the good Pleafure and free Agency of God j yet "'tis plainly impoffible and contradido^ T'wo foregoing LETTER S. 141 l*y, when apply'd to God hlmfclf, as a necefTary felf-exiftent Being ; who exifts, not by any Will or Pleafure, but by Nature and Nccef- fity : I fay, his Hypothefis here is plainly im- poflible and contradidory, bccaufe it fuppofes eflential Attributes and Perfedions in God, without any Ncceffity in the Nature of the Things and. thereby deflroys and nullifies all the natural Evidence for the Being and Exift- ence of one God, Now, whether this Writer W^ill chufe to quit his own Hypothefis, or give up all the rational demonftrative Evi- dence for the Being and Exiftence of one God, I cannot tell ; but 1 am fully and clearly per- fuaded, that he muft do one of them ; and (ince he has difcarded the Principles of Reafon and Natural Religion, it mud doubt- lefs be worth the Publick's while, to fee what Work he would next make with Scrip- ture. It may be worth fome Notice here, that our Author, to give fome Colour to his three Cuni- lar Powers, or three co-ordinate diliiiid Sets of all perfonal Attributes and Perfections in God) pretends that there are in God, and in every Perfon, three diftind diffimilar Powers, which he diftinguifhes by the Power of Under- ftanding, the Power of Willing, and the Pow- er of Doing. That thefe three are not one and the fame, but different Powers and Princi- ples of Adion, he fays he is ready to demonftrate ; but he has luckily fpared his Demonjiratioiiy and I am well aflur'd that he has good Rea- fon for it. *Tis evident, that what he calls ti.e Poioer of Vnderftanding in God^ is no Po-j^cy at all, nor has 143 ATfEFENCEofthe lias any Relation at all to AEiion. God's infi- nite Underilanding, or Omnifciencey by which he knows all Things, is not an Adion, but a neceilkry eflential Attribute, or Property; and he might, with as good Senfe, talk of the Power of Exiftingy as of the Power of Under" flanding in God. ^Xis I think farther evident, that Willing and Doingy are the fame Thing in God, and in- deed in every other Agent. Every Adion mufl be an A61 of the Will, or a particular Determination of the felf-moving Power ; nor is it polTible to conceive of any other Adion. But what the Author feems to aim at here, if he aims at any Thing, is this, that dife- rent Ads fuppofe different Wills, or Principles of Adion, in the fame Agent 5 or that the Power and Principle of Adion muft be as dif- ferent, as the various Ads and Objeds to wiiich it is applyM and determined : By which Rule and Way of Talking, he might have found not only three, but three hundred, or, if he had pleas'd, an infinite Number of different and diftind Wills, Powers, and Principles of Ac- tion, in every particular Man. He might have diftinguifli'd, for Inftance, between the Power of Thinking, the Power of Speaking, the Power of Writing, the Power of Walking, and the Power of Trifling, and the Power of being very conceited, and very impertinent. From hence 'tis plain, that our Author's three difTimiiar Powers refolve themfelves into one fimilar Power, /. e, into the one Principle of Adion, or the Will of the Agent. But, to take him in his own Way ; there are in God three co-ordinate fimilar Powers, under each of which T'i^o foregoing LETTERS. 14.5 which are included three fimilar Powers of Underflanding, Willing, and Doing. And thus, according to this Hypothefis, God is a Be- ing endued in the Whole with Tvcche Powers^ Three (imilar Powers, and Nine dilTiniilar Ones, And is not this a fine Way of Talking concern- ing the Being and cOential Porfons of God^ and a likely Means of enlightening People's Underllandings in the right Knowledge of God and the Holy Scriptures ? Tis pollible that I may not efcape with this Writer, and (ome of his zealous angry Friends, the Ccnfure of Impiety and Prophanenefs, only for expofing in him a moft fenfelefs Abufe of the Name and Attributes of Godi which, howeVer it may con- (ift with Piety and a good Intention, cannot certainly confifl with a Zeal according to Kno-uj* ledge. I cannot but here obferve farther, what ap- pears to me very evident, that this Writer, while he talks of the Beingy Unity, and Perfec- tions of Gody and labours to diftinguifli an indi- vidual intelligent Being from an individual Per^ fin, deftroys the only Principle of Individuation, and has no Mark or Charaderiiilck at all lek of different Being. ^Tis plain, that he all along abftrads the general Idea, or rather the general Name of Beingy from all the Attributes, Pro- perties, and Perfections of Being ; and then he maintains that God is cne Being, under that ge- neral confufed Senfl^, or metaphyficnl Nonfenfe, in which all Beings are cne; and there can be no polTible CharaCteriflick, or any Mark of Di- itinixion, betwixt one Being and another. But is this all that the Scripture intends by the Unity of Gody or by declaring that God is ine, that ,44 ADE^nNCEofth that he is one abftrad metaphyfical EJfeme^ Subflaneey or Suhflratum ? DoiS the One God fig- nify nothing but an Ens Rattoni>y or a mere Creature of the Imagination ? He vho can perfuade himfelf, that the Names ot God in Scripture, Nvhich are fo plain- ly perfonal, and foevidi^ntly charafteriftical of one (ingle individual Jgent^, or one independent firft Caufe ; he, I fay, who can think that thefe Narres fland only for one abftraft metaphyfical Subflance, or Sril/iiatujn, mufl have an Under- ftanding ftrangely eurned to miftake plain Senfe, and to run into eternal Darknefs and Confu- (ion. Dr. Water Lwd, while he is fpeaking of the Unity of God, owns, that he has no Princi- ple of Individuation in this Cafe, which he fays is a Thing very much wanted : That is, in plain Englijhy he underftands nothing by the Unity of Gody and has no Meaning to the Terms of this Propofition, God is One. And have not thefe Gentlemen brought the Caufe of all Re- ligion, and of Chriftianity in particular, to a fine Pafs, while they have been difputing fo long about the Unity of God^ till they have loft it, and are driven to confefs that they mean nothing by it ? When our Author fhall pleafe to let us know clearly and diftindly what he means by the Words, Beingy SuhftancBy Perfouy and One God, as he makes ufe of them in this Controverfy, it will foon appear that he is really a SaLellian, or a Tritheifit and that there can be no poiTible orthodox Medium between thefe two ; I mean, according to the prefent Mea- fure and Standard of Orthodoxy ; tho' no doubt but there is a true and fcriptural Medium be- twixt thefe two Extreams. I (hall Two foregoing LETTERS. 145 I (hall make but one Remark more upon this Hypothefis ; which is, that it cannot at all ferve to fcreen the Author from that popular Odium, which he endeavours with a little Art, and a great deal of Malice, to throw upon his Adverfaries. His Invention cannot help him at all, but he muft be ftill prefs'd with all thofe Difficulties, which he thinks fo very great and unfurmoun table, and would reprefent as affed:" ing only the contrary Scheme. Upon his own Principle, and in his own Hypothefis, it muft be true, that Jefus Chrifl, the Son of God^ and the only Mediator betwixt God and Men, is not only a fubordinate derived Being, but a Creature, a very imperfeft Creature, and a mere Man. Will he fay, contrary to fo many clear and exprefs Texts, that the Man Jefus of Naz.a" retbyor the human Perfon born of the Virgin, was not Jefus Chrifi, the Son of God, and the only M- ^iator betwixt God and Man ? Will he fay, that the Man Chrifl was only Man in general, or an abftrad human Nature, but no particular real Man, no human Perfon ? Or will he pretend that the Man Chrifly or the human Perfon born of the Virgin, is perfonally the fupreme God^ and even the fecond co-ordinate fimilar Power in that imaginary metaphyfical Being, as it flands in his own Hypothefis ? Let him fliew how, upon his own Hypothefis and Principles, he can free himfelf from any of thofe Difficul- ties which he charges upon the Avians, or even the Socinians themfelves j and I fhall then think him in good earnefl, and begin to look upon him as an Adverfary worth difputing with. But if he cannot do this, as I am very fure he cannot, he muft be obliged in Confcience fo- L lemnly h6 a "DEFENCE of the lemnly to repent, and humble himfelf in the Prefence of God^ and to ask Pardon of his Ad- verfaries before the World, for his mod grofs and fcandalous Abufe of them, as if they lef- fen'd the Glory and Dignity of Jefus Chrijiy the Son ofGtdy and did not think as highly of him, or even more highly and honourably than this Writer himfelf. The Pains which Mr. Fancourt and fuch Sort of Writers are at, to obfcure, perplex, and ren- der unintelligible, the very firft Principles of all Religion, concerning the Notion and Belief of One Gody and the uncharitable Zeal they difco- verin unchurching and hereticating allthofe who cannot give into their dark inexplicable Schemes, is what one cannot look upon but with a great deal of Surprize, and fome Indignation. The Umty of God had been ever thought a Principle very plain and intelligible, and obvi- o\is enough to the common Scnfe and Reafon of Mankind, till certain Refiners upon St. Paul and the Scriptures took it into a Syflem of School' Divinity ; and then the Chriftian DoBrineSy by the Help of Pagan Metaphy/icks, were thrown all into Darknefs and Confufion. The Creed- [ Makers found they had a profitable Trade, and j gain'd much in lefTening the Number of Candi- dates for Church-Preferments, by turning the Articles of Faith into unintelligible inexplica-' ble Myfteries, which none but them/elves could -t underfland or explain. In ifhort, he was thought 'the beft Chriftian, who underftood the leaft of 1 his own Faith ; and it came at length to be i look'd upon as a Point of Merit in a Man, |iliiRy to maintain, that the Chriftian Revelation jisno Revelation at all, or that it reveals Things whicii Two foregoing L E TTERS. 147 which cannot polfibly be rcveal'd, becaufe they f are incomprehenfible to human UnderftandingsJ What Pity is it our Author had not been at Athens with St. Paul, to have help'd him out while he was preaching to thofe polite Hea- thens, and intruding them in the Principles of Natural and Reveal'd Religion, concerning the perfonal Unity and Perfections of the T'rue God, and the perfonal mediatorial Office of Jefus ChriB ^ The Apoftle there, while he profelVed- ly fets himfelf to redify the Athenian Notion??, by maintaining the perfonal Unity and abfo- lute Supremacy of the l^rue God, has fo little of this School-Divinity, that one fhould be apt to think he did not underlland it, it our Author could no way demonftrate the contrary. But Mr. Fancotfyty had he been there prefent, could have told the Apoftle, that he was miftaken in the Reprefentation he had there' made of the One True God; that he had omitted a very ne- ceflary eflential Point in his Defcription olGod; and that the Athenians^ by his Account of the Matter, could form no true Notion or Con- ception at all of the Unity and Perfedions of God, Our Author could have told Sc. Paul, that God was not an individual perfonal Agent, or one Supreme Almighty Creator and Gover- nor of the World ; but a Triune Being ; and that, under the Notion of three perfonal Pow- ers, we muft conceive a co-ordinate Triplicity of all Divine Attributes and Perfections in Gody three Underftandings, three Wills, BURrs Sermon on the Fifth of November^ en- tituled;, The Mature of Faith. Addrefs'd to the Five Minijlers concern'd with him in carrying on the Lec5ture at Tinners-Hall, TTis' '^^5^:c■';^*t?zs^Cl :3i^^c"ai^^; 7he Abfurditj of Oppojing Faith to Reason: o R, A DEFENCE O F CHRISTIANITY, e^ff. r R. 'Thomas Bradbury having thought fit, in his Chri- ftian Wifdom, openly, and ill the Face of the World, to renounce all Pretenfions toReafon; it will perhaps be look'd upon as needlefs, and to no Purpofe, to urge r . him farther with any thing ot Argument or Reafon againft what he ad- yances. But the' it cannot be expeded that this 154- The Abjurdity of O^pfmg this Gentleman fhould hearken to any thing of Reafon, yet it may not be amifs to take a little Notice of him, for the Sake of thofe who are not quite fo much befides themfelves, and who may be difpos'd, in fpite of Mr. Bradbury ^ to exercife their Reafon in Matters of Faith. I am very well perfwaded that many of thofe who permit Mr. Bradbury to efpoufe their Caufe, would willingly be thought, what they really are, fober, and in their right Senfes ; and, up- on this Foot, I hope to convince them, that they ought not to follow, nor even to fuffer this blind Reviler, who, in the Heat of his Imagination, has Idfl not only his Reafon, but his Faith too, becaufe he has loft himfelf. Very hard indeed would^he Cafe, it the Faith of the Gofpel fhould oblige Men to renounce the only Thing that diftinguifhes them from tlie Beafts, and makes them capable of any Reli- gion at all. And fince *tis Reafon alone which puts us into a Capacity of receiving an y thing as a divine Revelation, in order to eternal Life and Happinefs, and without which, we could neither know God nor enjoy him ; I would hope that very few who bear the Chriftian Name, can ever be tempted to join with Mr. Bradbury in lampooning their Creator for ma- king them rational. This fublime Believer, being got above the Force of Evidence and ra- tional Convidion, is certainly out of reach ; and fince he fcorns to be difputed with, and cannot bear the Affront, I would not be thought, in what follows, to fpeak oneWord to Mr. Bradbury : I fpeak only to thofe who think themfelves obliged to hearken to Reafon ; and therefore, I am fure that Mr. Bradbtiry cannot^ with Faith to Reason. 155 with any Senfe or Confiflency, look upon him- felf as concerned. However, if any thing 1 fhall here fay fliould chance to throw this poor Gen- tleman into new furprizing Firs, attended with farther ill Symptoms; if his irreconcilable E- nemy, Reafotiy fhould happen to find him out in his dark Recefles, and diflurb the Repofe of his beloved Frenzy ; I can only advife his Adverfaries to look to themfelves, and befeech his prudent Friends, if he has any fuch left, to take a little Care of him ; fince it muft be now evident to the whole World, that a Man under his Circumflances ought not to be trufled with a pen in his Hand. In my Pofifcript to the Letter of Enthijiafm, I made it appear that yix^ Bradbury y in what he had publifhed under }our Patronage, had be- trayM and given up the Chriftian Caufe, ex- pofed Religion to Contempt, and left himfelf no Ground or Principle upon which he could poflibly fupport the Gofpel Revelation againft Deifts and Infidels. This, which I endeavour'd at leaft with fotne Appearance of Reafon to make good againft him, he has neither had the Honour to retrad, nor the Courage to defend ; but being too infallible for the one, and too weak and infufficient for the other, he has chofen rather to perfift in the old Strain, with- out taking the leaft Notice of what had been urgM againft him ; and has thereby given the World a new Specimen, how far Reafon and Common Senfe may be loft in the Wilds of En- thufiafm. His laft Fifth of November Sermon, concern- ing the Nature of Faithy muft, I think, be al- jlpw^d as one of the moft extraordinary Pcrfor- mamccs I 56 The Ahfurdity of O^poJIng mances that has ever appeared in the Enthufia- ftick Way. He has at length, in his own Ima- gination, obtain'd a complete Vidory over Reafon, and put himfelf for ever out of the Power and Reach of this Enemy. Reafon, it feems, has awakened all his Rage, by offering Violence to his Faith ; and therefore, he has vow'd Revenge, that Reafon fhall die the Death. He faw very well that nothing but Reafon flood in his Way, and that his Argument could no more conlift with it than his Faith. Having therefore heroickly executed his Vengeance up- on Reafon, as a Traitor and a mortal Enemy, he fets up Faith as a blind infallible Guide, in Oppofition to the Law of Nature, and the com- mon Senfe of Mankind. Faith is, according to him, in all Refpeds contradidory to Reafon. *Tis an Obedience to Commands, that Reafon cannot comply with ; a Dependafice upon Promifcs, that Reafon can- not fubfcribe to ; a continual Regard to Jefus Chrif^) who to Reafon is a Scone of Sumbling ; and a Repofe of Soul upon Heaven and Im- mortality, which to Reafon is all Enthu- iiafm. Before I proceed to examine what he has of- fered in Proof of thefe grand Abfurdities, I fhall firft fettle the Meaning of the Terms, and lay down the common Principles upon which this whole Matter depends. By Reafon, then, is ever underftood, either, I. The inteiledual Faculty itfelf, by which we are enabled to perceive and judge of the Na^ ture and Relations of Things, and to diftin- guifti between Truth and Falfliood j or elfe, ^. The objective Evidence, or rational Proof, in Faith to Reason. 157 in which Truth is propofed and affcnted to byY the Underftanding. Faith is an Afient of the Underftanding to the Truth of a Propolition upon credible Teflimony ; which credible Te- ftimony is in this Cafe the objedive Evidence, or rational Ground of Truth. To oppofe Faitlj to Reafon then, is to deftroy it, and lofe its very Nature and Ellonce. And hence the Au- thor of the Epiflle to the Hebrews, defining that Faith which is there confider'd, and fo highly recommended, calls it the Evidence, %My^*c„ the Argument, the Reafon, or convincing Proof of thofe invifible 'Things, Where every one muft fee, that the Word Faith is taken objedively for the Do(5iH)rine of Faith, i. e. the fure Word and Teflimony of God, which is the objedive Evidence, or rational Proof to our Underftand- ing and Reafon, that the Things thus attefted are true. Now, tho' Matters of Faith may be diftinguifti'd from Principles of Reafon, on Account of the different Way and Manner of conveying thofe different Truths to the Mind, yet they cannot poiTibly be oppofite or con- tradidory to each other j becaufe Truth, in its whole Frame and Connexion, muft be necella- rily confiftent with itfelf^ and ^tis evidently impoflible that one thing which is true, fhould be repugnant or contradidory to any thing elfe that is at the fame time true. And from hence- 'tis plain, that nothing can be true as a Matter of Faith, that is inconfiftent with, or repug- nant to, any clear eftablifhM Principle of Rea- fon I fince to affirm this, muft neceffarily de- flroy the Nature and Foundation of Truth, which muft, m its whole Frame and Connexion, be perfedly confiftent, or elfe there can be no fuclx 1 5 8 The Ahjurdity of O^fofing fuch thing as Truth at all. To fuppofe that a Thing may be true as a Matter of Faith, and ca- pable ot being receivM and afTentedto uponTefti- mony, whether it be credible or incredible, poflible or impollible, in the Nature and Rea- ibn of the Thing itfelf, is an Extremity to which none have been bfsik ever driven, but thofe who have defended T'ranftibflantiationy or fomething of the fame Nature ; and who, rather than own themfelves fallible or miftaken, have refolved to father their Abfurdities and Contradidions upon the Spirit of Truth. I muft here obferve farther, that this Propofition, viz>. whatever God re- veals, is true, or whatever God commands is reafonable and fit to be done: This, I fay, is not properly a Matter of Faith, but a Prin- ciple of Reafon. Nothing can be more certain or demonftrable than this, that God cannot lie, and that it muft be our higheft Wifdom and In- tereft to believe and obey him. That God can neither deceive nor be deceived, is one of the firft and moft evident Principles of Reafon and Natural Religion. Here then we depend upon no Teftimony ', the Thing is properly an Ob- )edi of Knowledge or Certainty, and not a Mat- ter of mere Belief. There is a vaft Difference betwixt this Propofition, God cannot liey and this, Man cannot be ?niflaken : And 'tis the cer- tain Charaderiftick of an Enthufiaft, to fubfti- tuce one for the other j to confound his own fallible Opinion, or Senfe of Scripture, with the certain infallible Word of God ; and to condemn all as Unbelievers, Anti-fcripturifts, and Op- pofers of the Truth of God, who are not of his Mind, or who cannot unUerftand the Scrip- ture in his Senfe. Having Faith to Reason. 159 Having premifed thus much, I may novv"^ lay down the great univerfal Principle, or Law ; ot Reafon, by which all rational intelligent j Creatures are eternally and indifpcnfably bound ; i which is this, that every reafonable Creature , under all pofTible Circum fiances, ought to deter- mine his Judgment and Choice by the Evidence of Truth to his Underfianding, iuch as it fhail j appear to him after a fincere impartial Enquiry; ( and in Confequence of this, fteddily purfue the greateft Good he can apprehend himfelf capa- ble of, and defigned for. This Principle is as demonftrable from the Nature of Things as the Being of a God, and therefore muft be allow 'd as a Principle of Reafon. He who ads upon this Principle, as here fuppofed, muft be a faith- ful Perfon, or a truly virtuous and good Man, in the Senfe of any particular moral Difpenfa- tion whatever, under which he may be placed for the Trial of his Obedience. A Conduct fuitable to this univerfal unchangeable Law o£ Reafon, is what I, and all the World who are under no Neceflity to the contrary, mean by a Rational Conduct y or ading agreeable to Reafon. And herein evidently confill the higheft Wif- dom and Virtue, Perfection and Happinefs of Men and Angels. No Man can receive any thing as a Revelation from God, or be influen- ced by the future Profpeds of Religion, or the Sanctions of eternal Life and Death, but by ading in Conformity to this natural immu- table Law of God and Reafon. Under every Difpen(fition of God's Providence' and Grace, this general Principle, or Law, will determine the particular Obligation of the rational Sub- }ed:, which therefore muft be one and the fame throughout 158 The /ihjurdlty of O^^opng throughout the whole intelledual World. Now in Confequence of this, it may be proper to obferve here, (before I pafs to a more particu- lar Account of our dark Preacher,) that there are two diflind: and contrary Principles of Self- determination, by which Men are governed and direded m their different and contrary Choice and Practice, 'vi-z.. the Light of Truth, or the objedive Evidence of Things to the Under- ftanding, on the one Hand, and on the o- ther, the Weight or Impulfe of bodily Pleafure and Pain, annexed to the feveral Appetites and PafTions, as the neceflary Effed and Impreflion of material Obje<5ts. The one of thefe is the rational Principle of Self-determination, and the other the brutal or irrational. And 'tis in Con- fequence of a Man's determining himfelf upon one or the other of thefe contrary Principles, that his Condud is denominated either wife, rationale and virtuous, or foolifh, irrational, and wicked. The Beafls, who have no Capa- city of abftrading their Ideas, or of reafoning &bout the Nature and Confequences ot Things, are unavoidably determined by the Impreffions of material O'bjeds upon their Senfes, Appe- tites and Paflions, without any Power of di- verting or over-ruling the Determinations : A Bead will ftruggle and ufe ail his Efforts againft Fain, or to get rid of any prefent Uneafinefs, rho' it fhould be neceHary to fave his Life, be- caufe you cannot convince him that what he now fulfers is for his real Advantage, and will turn to his future Account. And this is the very Principle of Self-determination and Con- dud in brutifh and unreafonable Men : They have Souls indeed endued with rational Facul- Faith to Reason. i6i ties, which, if they would exerciTe as they ought, muft dircd them to an inhnitcl) grea- ter Good than the prefent Gratifications of Senfe and Appetite, even the Joys and Glories of Eternity, as revealed to our Underflandings in the Gofpel, and made the ObjeCts of a rational Faith and Hope : But thefe they o- verlook and difregardj in oppofition to all Reafon, they give up themfelves to the In- fluence and blind Impulfe of their Appetites and Pallions, and fo are determined like the Beafts by the pleafurable or painful Impreflions of material lenfible Objcd:s. Here then the Principle of Self-determination is the fame in the Man and in the Beaft : But the Difference lies in this, that in the one it is owing to Na- ture and Neccflity, whereas in the other it is the Confequence of a foolifh and unreafon- able, but yet free and unneceflitated. Choice. This Weight and Impulfe of the Appetites and FaiTions, and the Biafs thereby given to- wards the Pleafures and Enjoyments of Senfe, is what St. Paul calls the Law in the Members^ the carnal Mind, the natural or animal Man^ &c. which we are to fubdue and mortify by Faith and Self-denial, /. e, by overbearing and re- filling the brutal Principle of Senfe, Appe- tite and blind Impulfe, and determining our felves by the contrary Principle of rational Evidence, and intelledual Pleafure, and a regard to the Diredions the Spirit has given us in the Revelation of the Divine Will. The Capacity of doing this in ren finable Creatures is the Foundation ot all moral Govern- ment, without which there c uld be no fuch thing as a State of Probation in order to any M future 1 6 1 The Ahjurdity of 0-^^ofmg future Rewards or Punilhments; and the ac- tual Exercife of fucii a Power, by the Helps and AfTiflances which God has given us, is tiie "very Pointy in which confill all Faith, Virtue, and true Religion. I have chofen to give this fliort. Account of the common Principles of Reafoh and Re- ligion, and to call them here together in one View, that the Reader may be the more eafily let into the true State of the Controverfy, and be the better able to judge from what follows, \vhether Mr. Bradhtiry has given a right Ac- count of the Nature of Faith. Here then, to give a general Specimen of this Gentleman's Method of proving Things, and to let the Reader fee what he is to ex- pect from him, 1 fhall fet down the dodrinal Part of his Difcourfe in its whole Order and Connexion. Having obferved in the Opening of his Text, that the Faith mentioned in the nth to the Hebrews^ the Faith in which thofe holy Men died, and by -which the Elders ob- tained a good Report ^ was converfant about dif* tant and invifible Things, or that the Objcd of it was fomething beyond the prefent Reach of Senfe, he from hence takes occafion to lay do^^ n four Riddles^ or Paradoxes^ as containing both the Theory and Pra<^ice of his Myfterious Faith. [" Page 6y 7. *^ There were four Things that ■ *^ may be called the chief Pradice of their ** Faith, by which it appear^ how much they " converfed with Invifibles and Futurities. *' I. Their Obedience to thofe Commands } " that Reafon could not comply w ith. ic 2 Their Faith to Reason. 165 " 2. Their Dependance upon thofe Promifes *^ that Reafoii could not fublcribe to. " 3. Their continual Regard to Chrifl J-fus, who to Rcafon is a Stone ot Scumbling. ' And, '^ 4. Their great Rcpofe oF Soul upon Hea- ** ven and Immortality, which to' Reafon is '' all Enthufiafm." To this he immediately fubjoins : " It is *' very evident from thofe Examples that the *^ ApolHe brings into his Record, that thefe '^ are the Things for which they have obtained *^ a good Report : And therefore theirs could by " no means be called a rational Religion, in *' the Senfe the Word now bears among us. *' Their Faith was employM in Duties that *' Reafon oppofed, and upon Promi(es that '^ Reafon fufpeded, and about a Saviour whofe " Perfon, Nature, Offices, and Errand, are " to the Natural Man, i. e. to Reafon, no bet- " ter than Foolifhnefs." But how comes this to be fo very evident'^ And why could not theirs be a rational Religion in the Senfe the Word now bears among us h I am fure he has yet given. no Reafon tor it -, and perhaps he will think it very unreafonable in any one to exped it, af- ter he has declared himfelf fo intirely againft the ufe of Reafon. All that he does here, is purely to allert the fame Abfurdity threeTimes over in different Words; from which triple Declaration of his own, he concludes that the Thing to be proved is very evidenty and therefore it muft befo. Is it evident that Faith mull: be ir- rational or contrary to Reafon, and that theirs could not be a rational Religion^ becaufe they aded by Faithy and believed what they could not fee? If this be a good Reafon, It will fol- M 2 lOW;, i64- The Abfurdity of O^^oJIng low, that ail Faith as fuch muft be effentially and in its own Nature contrary to Reafon ; and then it muft be contrary to Reafon in me^ or any others who have not feen Mr. Bradbury^ to believe there is any fuch Man in the World. He is not vilible to the Hundred Thoufandth Part of Mankind, and the Multitudes who have not, or cannot fee him, muft depend up- on Teftimony for his very Exiftence; which according to him Vvould be very irrational, and contrary to Reafon j and indeed Mr. Bradbury is fo very myfterious and unaccountable a Gen- tleman, that one could not in point of Charity have believed there had been any fuch Per/on in the World, upon any humanT'eftmcny but his own. He goes on : *' The People who tell us that *' God commands nothing but what Nature *' knows to be uieful, and reveals nothing but *^ what it fees to be evident, have caft their " Religion into another Mould from that of " thofe patriarchs who are colleded into the «' Rolls of Faith." I would here ask, not Mr. Bradbury, who is fuppofed to be out of reach and hearing, but the fober impartial World, what he can pofTibly mean in this Place by Nature, and the natural Man ? If he means with the Scrip- ture, the m^ere animal Man, the Body of Sin, the Flejh) or the corrupt Principle of Luft, Ap- petite and brutal blind Impuife, what he fays muft be this : The People who tell us that God commands nothing but what the Flefh or brutal Appetite knows to be ufeful, and re- veals nothing but what Senfe and Pallion fee to be evident, have caft their Religion into another Mould from that of thofe Patriarchs who Faith to Reason. 165 who are colleded into the Rolls of Faith. Now this is very true of thofe imaginary People; and if there were any fuch i\\ the World, I Ihould look upon them to be almoft as greac Paradoxes, and as much out of their Wits, as Mr. Bradbury : But as I have never feen or heard of any fuch People, I am in great hopes that they exift only in this Preacher's wild hnagina" tion, and that they can be the Objeds of no- thing but Mr. Bradbury's Faith. If it fhould be f aid, that by Nature and the natural Alan^ he means Reafon as employed about mere na- tural Objects, or Man conhdered as under the Light and Law of Nature only, without the farther additional Evidence of Revelation ; then what he fays mufi: amount to this : That the People who tell us that God commands nothing but what Men knew before to be ufeful by the Light of Nature only, and reveals no- thing but what was evident before without any Revelation at all, have caft their Faith in- to another Mould, &c. Now this is likewife very true of this other fort Chimerical People ; but then thefe People are abfolutely Invifihley and fuch as Mr. Bradbury could never have dif- covered, but by the Exercife of a ftrong and lively Faith. Tis impoflible to find any Ex- cufe for this Calumniator, while he endeavours to caft fo vile and ground lefs a Reflexion upon his Adverfaries, without fuppofing him to be literally out of his Wits ,* tW it he be fo, one Thing I am fure of, that much Learning has not made him mad. Some perhaps may be here apt to wonder how Mr. Bradbury came to miftake the Beaft for the Man, and to fall foul upon Reafon un* M 3 der 1 66 The Aijurdity of O^ppng dev the Name and Charader of Senfe, Appe- tite, and brutal Impulfe. To account ior which, it mufl be confidered, that Reafon had bafely aftronted him, by laughing at his Faith ; and havir.g no other way to be revenged, he thought ot this lilly and ridiculous one ; he goes to Scripture, and from thence fetches out the mere animal Nature, the Body of Sin, the Flejh, or brutal Appetite, which Image of Belial he fets up to the View ot his Audience, crying out, See, my Beloved! This is that Reafon! That Traitor to God and Religion, which my Adverfaries would m.ake Lord and King in oppoiition to Faith ! Thus he lays a- bout him in his dark Vengeance ; and having fpent his Rage, and inflamed the Paflions of the People againft this carnal fenfual, Devil Reafon, he comes off at length with the Air of a Conqueror in tlie Opinion of all thofe who are blind and implicit enough to believe that he has entirely vanquifh^d his Enemy, and ob- tained a complete Victory over Reafon, while he has been only contradiding, betooling, and expofing himfelf, Mr. Bradbury it feems walks by Faith ', but he owns that his Faith {qqs nei- ther by Senfe nor Reafon : And fi nee there are no other known Faculties, or conceivable Ways of feeing, muft not the Blind here lead the Blind ? Faith is the Evidence of Things not feen ; the Evidence to ixhat ? Not to the Faculty of Eyefight doubtlefs, becaufe then it could not be Faith ; ^or the Faculty of Reafon neither, according^this Preacher, whofe Faith is as contrary to Reafon as it is to Senfe : It contains Doctrines that Reafon cannot fub- fcribe to, and Duties that Reafon cannot fubmic Faith ^^ Reason. 167 fubmit to. What Power or Faculty of the Soul then is it by which we mull: perceive the Objeds, fublcribe and alllnt to the Doctrines, and fubmit to the Duties of Faith ? Why truly by the Faculty of a flrong and blind Perluahon. And thus we mud: perceive without perceiving, alTent without rational Proofs, and nceive things upon Evidence without Evidence. Here then is Faith -without Faith, Reafon without Reafon, and a Gentleman whofe Faith and Reafon run cxadly parallel from one End of infinite Darknefs and Confufion to the other. *Tis very diverting to obferve how in his Dif- traction he tolTes and bandies about the Word Faith ; 'tis his whole Talent, and yet he knows not what to do with it. If you take this Word from him, he can fay nothing; and if you allow him the Ufe of the Word, he can make nothing of it. Now, tho' it is evident that Mr. Bradbury^s Faith is not the Faith mentioned in his Text, but a blind implicit Creature of his own Ima- gination ; yet it muft be own'd that this Faith of his is a flronger things and capable of work- ing much greater Wonders^ than the Faith of thofe Elders who obtained a good Report. The Elders by their Faith have llain their Thou- fands, but Mr. Bradbury his Ten Thoufands. By his Faith he can reafon agiinft Reafon^ and maintain his Caufe by loling it: By his Faith he can prove that the mofl demon ftrative Principles of Reafon are contrary to Reafon; and that Reafon can by no means ailent or fubfcribe to the Truth of this Proportion, that God cannot lye : By his Faith he makes it evi- dent that God may reveal Contrvididions, and M 4 yet; 1 68 TJx Ahjurdity of Of^ojtng yet that what he reveals is not reveal'd or dif- covered to us at all : By his Faith he can be- lieve or afl'ent to what he has not the leafl I- dea or Conception of, and make it evident that thofe who have not fuch a Faith cannot be Chriftians : By his Faith he can prove that Noahy Abraham^ and all thofe holy Men who believed the Promifes, and obeyM the Com- mands of God, aded herein irrationally, or contrary to Rcafon, leaving Certainties for Un- certainties, and chuling a lefler Good in op- polition to a greater : By his Faith he builds Chrillianity upon the Ruins of natural Reli- gion, and lets the Dodrines of the Gofpel in oppofition to the eternal immutable Laws of God and Reafon ; and by the Power of this Enthufiafm he can fecure to himfelf Wifdom without Ideas, Certainty without Knowledge, Truth without Evidence, and Faith without Judgment or Diicretion : In fhort, by his Faith he can do every thing, whether it is poflible or impoffible ; believe every thing, whether it is credible or incredible; and fay any thing in the World, whether it be evident- ly true, or evidently falfe. But I fhall now take a little more particular notice of the Inftances he brings from Scrip- ture, and the Application he makes of them to the four grand Articles of his Creed already mention'd ; from whence it will plainly ap- pear that I have not fixed the Ridicule upon him without fufficient Reafon. To fhew that Faith is an Obedience to un- reafonable Commands, or to fuch Commands as Reafon cannot comply with, he begins with quoting a Part of cur Saviour's Difcourfe in the Faith to Reason. 169 the ^th of John, where he talks fo much of the Neceflity of eating his Fledi, and drinking his Blood, in order to eternal Life ; declaring that his Flefti is Meat indeed, and his Blood is Drink indeed ; that he is the true Bread which came down from Heaven, of which whofoever eateth fhall never die ; with much more to the fame purpofe. Ic mufl: be evident to any one who will but look into the Account, that thofe carnal Jews who took offence at this Dif- courfe, having no Thought or Concern about any thing but their Bellies, and biing too ffu- pid to confider any thing of an abflrad fpiri- tual Nature, underffood our Saviour all along in the grofs literal Senfe ,* and from hence they concluded, that if they were to fubfift only upon this Man's Flefh and Blood, they muft needs be flarved : Upon which they went away in great Hafle and Paflion, to look for fome better Maintenance, without giving our Sa- viour any proper Opportunity of reftifying their MiiUke. Now Mr. BraSury, in order to reprefent the Dodrines of the Gofpel as abfurd and contrary to Reafon, efpoufes this flupid Error of thofe Jews, as if the real Do- drine which our Saviour here preaches, had been in it felf as abfurd and contradidory as it mufl have been upon their miffaken Sup- pofition ; and hereupon he cries out, that it was by Faith they did the 'Things that were fo a- (ionijhing. But by his Leave, there was nothing affonifhing in it but the Stupidity of thofe carnal Jews^ who underffood that of a literal, which was meant only of a figurative eating and drinking; than which indeed nothing could be more affonifhing, unlefs it is Mr. Bradiury^s 1 yo The Ahjurdity of O^^opng Bradkirys aflonifhing Abufe and Mifapplica- tion of this Scripture-Teftimony. Ic falls out here very unluckily for him, that either this Inflance is nothing at all to his Purpofe, or elfe the Dodrine of Tranfub- flantiaticn is true, and a neceffary Article of the Chriftian Faith. If he could make out this laft, it would indeed be exadly to his Purpofe ; and therefore I hope he will fome time or other undertake it, in order to finifh his Ufefulnefs, and compleat the Charafter of his aftoni[Ioing Faith, 'Tis evident to me, that he can have no Reafon in the World, upon his own Principles, to rejed this Popifh Dodrine. He cannot fay with any Gracey that he rejeds it becaufe 'tis irrational, abfurd, or contrary to Reafon ; for he knows very well that the moft aflonifhing Abfurdities, how contrary foever to Reafon or common Senfe, may yet be true, in confequence of Revelation. If he fhould fay, that he re- jeds it not becaufe it is contrary to Reafon, but becaufe 'cis contrary to Faith j this Rea- fon in him muft be ridiculous : -For (ince by Faith her^an only mean his own Faith, or his own Perfuafion, this could only amount to fay, That he rejeds the Dodrine of Tranfub- llViT£ion, becaufe he rejeds it. And whenever he iliall think fit to give any better Reafon for it than this, I am fure he muft ad contrary to the Nature of what he now calls Faith, The next Inflance he brings, to fhew that Faith is exercifed in Obedience to Commands that Reafon cannot comply with, is the Cafe of Noah^ who being warned of God concerning T'hings not [ten as yety preparer} an Ark, for the faving oj his Houfe. Gad Faith to Reason. 171 God having refolved to deftroy the old World by an univerfal Deluge, declares his Purpofe to Noaby favouring him in fo extraordinary and fignal a Manner, as to give him fufficientTime, and dired him in the building an Ark, for the Security of himfelf and his Family ; by which Noah was to have the Honour of being the Father of a new World, and behdes efcaping a temporal Dcflrudion, intitle himfelf to the Happinefs and Glory of Life eternal. Now Mr. Bradbury thinks this Command of God to be very unreafonable, and that Noah aded con- trary to the Light and Law of Nature in fub- mitting to it : He fuppoles Noah with very good Reafon to argue againft God, even while he knew it to be the Command of God ; for this is eflential to the Cafe, and enters into his very Suppofition. Even after that God had abfolucely declared that he would drown the World, Noah's Reafon direded him, contrary to the Light of Nature, and alJ the Principles of Self-prefer- vation, to chufe rather toperifh in the Waters, than build an Ark, if God would have vouch- fafed him that Favour; for thus rationally does he fuppofe Noah to argue againil: God and Reafon, p. 8. '^ Lord, let me not be fo long " about it ; I had better prefs the World with ^' Exhortations to Sobriety, Temperance, and *' Godlinefs : A few moral Difcourfes upon the *' Heads of Moral Virtue may do 'em fome *' Good. If I muft be a Preacher of Righteotif- *' nefs, the mod likely way to win them is by *^ Sermons about Natural Religion ; but the " building of an Ark will appear to them fo *' extravagant and whimiical, that after I have " touch'd the Hammer, they will heed nothing " that I can fay.'/ Here I y 2 The Ahfurdity of O^poJIng Here Mr. Bradbury y having made Noah talk like a Fool, or a Madman, appeals to his Au- dience, as he now does to the World, whe- ther this muft not have been reckoned a migh- ty fine rational Harangue. As rational doubt- lefs as Mr. Bradbury^s Faith, i, e. quite contrary to Reafon. Had Noah's Reafon been the fame with our Preacbe/s, he mufl have perifhed with the reft of the World, and have chofen De- flrudion for fear of being laughed at. For fuppofing it ever fo reafonable in Noah, to con- clude that the World would laugh at him, and difregard his Preaching ; yet ftill he muft think them very fottifti and unreafonable for fo do- ing, and it muft .appear reafonable for him to provide for his own Security. And whatever might be the Confequcnce of Noah's building the Ark, with refpect to the Laughter and Ri- dicule of the World about him, I verily be- lieve the World could not then have laugh'd at Noah more, than they will now at Mr. Bradbury for thefe Irradiations of his natural Light. Noah aded upon this eternal unchangeable Principle of Reafon, T'hat God cannot lye. Up- on this rational Ground of Truth, his Under- ftanding or Reafon affented to what God had declared ; and fo he built an Ark upon the Principle of Sclf-prefervation, which I hope is a Principle of Reafon: And therefore Mr, Bradbury, when he comes foberly to bethink himfelf, muft reftore Reafon to its Ufe and Office in Matters of Revelation; or elfe Faith, 1 mean the Chriftian Faith, is as inevitably loft and gone, as the People who perifh'd in the Deluge. Faith to Reason. 17^ I cannot let it pafs here without a Remark, that Mr. Bradbury fpeaks of Nouh's preaching Sobriety, Temperance, and Godlinefs to the World, with an Air of Ridicule ; as if this had been the leaft part of Noiil/s Bufinefs as a Preacher of Righteoufnefs y and a Thing about which he ought to have been very little con- cern'd. But what does this Enthufiaft think that Noah was to preach to the World ? Why perhaps he imagines that his main Bufinefs was to preach the Righteoufnefs of modern Or- thodoxy, the Antinomian Scheme of Juflifica- tion, the NeceiTity of Faith without Reafon, and other fuch like Abfurdities, contrary to the Light and Law of* Nature. Bat becaufe no fuch Doctrines are yet revealed, at leaft with refpedto the Difpenfation of that Time, Mr. Bradbury will perhaps be thought to have ridiculed himfelf, if he does not befriend the World with what may have been communica- ted to him by immediate Revelation upon this Affair. ^Tis evident that the adorable Perfedions of God himfelf, for which we efpecially love and praife him, are moral Perfedions : And that the Conformity of our Mind to this moral Reditude of the divine Nature, is the very ellential conftitutive Happinefs and Perfedion of every intelligent Being. Even Faith in Chriir is of an inferiour Nature to this, as being on- ly the Means to obtain it; and therebre St. Paul declares all Faith to be inferiour to Charity, Yet this Godlinefs, or moral Cuni-ormity of our Hearts and Wills to the Nature and Vv^ill oi God is wiiat this Believer^ this truly pii- jnitive Saints laughs at, and defpifes, in com- pari Ton 1 74- r^^ Ahfurdity ofO^^ofing parifon to his blind unreafonable Faith, The inward moral Conformity and Obedience of the Heart and Confcience to the Will of God, may be the Religion of Deijis^ Socinians^ ArianSy and ail Hereticks, as it was certainly the Re- ligion of our Saviour himfelf j but this it feems is what our Preacher of Righteoufnefs has very little to do with. The next Inftance produced to prove the Oppofition and Inconfiilency betwixt Fairh and Reafon, is the Cafe of Abraham, who was fo blind and unreafonable, as to believe in God, and follow him up and down the World he knew not whither; by which Condud, in the account of this Believer, Abraham aded con- trary to all the Didates and Principles of Rea- fon, by leaving Certainties for Uncertainties. What he offers under this Head, is fo ridiculous a Banter upon common Senfe, that I fhall only Anfwer it by putting a parallel Cafe. Suppofe then fome great and good Man, tho' he be not omnipotent and omnifcient, as his Grace of Canterbury for Inftance, or any o- ther, fhould engage his Word and Honour to Mr. Bradbury, that if he would go a little Way with him, and follow hisDiredions from Time to Time, he would be fure to proted and take Care of him, and at length bring him to a Place where he would fettle upon him, under Hand and Seal, looo /. fer Ann. and at the fame time fecure to him the Inheritance in Reverfion of one of the beft Royalties in the Kingdom , muft it not be very unreafonable now in Mr. Bradbury, (who has a handfome Maintenance already) to accept of fuch an Offer as this, and thereby leave a Certainty for Faith to Reason. 175 for an Uncertainty, and dance abaut after his Grace of Canterbiiry no one knows whither? And if it would be unreafonable in this Cafe, \\ hen there is no more than a human Security, doubtlefs it mud be much more unreafonable, where the Promife is fuppofed to be from God himfelf, and the Security and Reward infinite- ly greater. As to Ahraharns offering up his Son, which is another Inflance he gives, p, ii. it is evident that in this Cafe Abraham proceeded upon the highefl and beff Security thats could polTibly have been given to his Underffanding or Rea- fon, even the fure infallible Word and Promife of God. He knew that what God had promifed he was alfo able to perform. He knew that God could have raisM up his Son again from the Dead ; and even in that Cafe as eafily have made good the Promife, as i'i he had never been (lain. Upon this rational Security A-- braharns Obedience was equally an Ad of Faith and of Reafon, and any Man in the like Cafe, who would have exercifed his Reafon^ * and not have judged by Senfe or Pafpoti, mull have aded in the fame manner j tho'at the fame time, to have aded thus without the like Security, on- ly upon a ftrong blind Perfuafion, would not Iiave^been a rational Faithy but Enthufiafm. But our Preacher declares, that this Cafe of Obe- dience is 7nore incomprehenflble to human Reafon than any Myflery that euer was revealed in the Old Teflament or the New. How a thing that is in- comprehenfible to human Reafon fhould be reveal'dy and difcoverd to human Underfiand- * Ao}iff7*iJiiif(^ Heb% II. 19. ings. 1^6 The /Ihfurdity of Op^ojtng ings, is a M} fiery which Mr. Bradbury or fome Body elfe for him would do well to reveal. However, if this Cafe of Ahraharns Obedience be the greateft of Myfteries, I hope he will never more blame his Adverfaries for denying Myfleries. But let him pretend what he will, he is himfelf the greatefl Myftery of all. Here Mr. Bradbury was come to Ne plus ultra ; for tho* he goes on upon the other three Ar- ticles of his Creed, yet he offers not one Word of Proof beyond what has been already con- fidered. And having fo fully opened himfelf at the very Entrance, he might be reafonably excufed from faying more in fo plain a Cafe. Now from all this, I think it muft be plain that what he has proved is the quite contrary to what he pretended to prove from all the Inftances he has produced. It evidently ap- pears, that the Religion of thofe Patriarchs, whofe Names are colleEled into the Rolls of Faith, was ever a rational Religion, and this in the only Senfe that the Word is now ufed or ever has been ufed among us ; and the World will now fee what Mr. Bradbury has got by ufing the IVord in any other Senfe, Had he pretended to prove that Faith is irrational or contrary to Reafon, bccaufe the Earth revolves about its Axis, or becaufe Grafs grows upon the Tops of Houfes, it had been more excufable ; for this, tho^ it could not have proved the Thing, would not however have inferM the contrary. But when a Man, in order to prove one Thing, (hall bring Arguments and Inftances which all evidently demonflrate the quite contrary, 'tis a fhrewd Sign of his fore Difirefs, and that he is under fome unhappy Nect-fliry of finking and betraying his otu« Caufe^ • Mr. Faith to Reason. 177 Mr. Bradbury having made it out, in his way 5 that Faith is contrary to Reafon, ai^id that the Chriflian Revelation Hands in dired oppofition to the Light and Law of Natures he proct eds to apply this important DoArine to the i^^'z;o- lut'miy and the Hanover Succejjlon. And here I think, the Sum of his Application plainly a- mounts to thi$ ; that he fliould have liked King IV'illiain well enough for his Faith and Prayers, if he had fought the Battels of the Lordy v.s fuc- cefsfully as lie did thofe of the Natim : But for wane of this, the Revohuicn, by Means of a Toleration, brought in a Torrent ot Arminh anifw, and even of Svcinianfin^ upon us i and, what is flill wojfe, the . Hanover St^cceffion j by which this Arr^'mianifm has been heigiitcned and iiouriftied up into Arianifm. Dr. Burneti how good a Friend foever he might be to his Country, muft certainly have been a Traitor to God and Religion,* for this great Divine and PoUtician, was likewife a great Prophet, an,d .forcfaw very well the difmal Confequences of fettling the Crown upon the.Houfeof Hanovevi viz, that by an impartial Adminiflration oi Juftice, and an equitable Liberty of Confcience, ^Parknefs, Confufibn, and implicit Faith, would be boldly ftruck at j Reafon, Light and Evi- dence fet up in Matters of Religion j and ^ the 'Truth hereby left deflitute of its only cfi-Vclual Arms of Defence, that is, Alyfiery, Perfiaition^ Penal Laws, and the Terrors oj this U^orld. This afpiring Believer, illuminated with thick Darknefs, having been bafely rejected as the Tool of one Party ^ , plainly difcj- ers an Liclination, if he mi'jif but be thought worthy, to be the Tool of another. Tune 1 78 The Ahjurdity of O^^ofng was , when the Diifcnters honoured him with their Acclamations and Applaufes, as thinking him a very proper Champion to be fet againft Dr. Sa / and Luke M rn. But now having no farther Occafion for him upon that Score, they ungratefully forget all his noble Exploits, and great Services for God and his Country. Could any Man in England befidcs Mr. Bradbury^ in that Hour of Diftrefs, have brandifhed the Sword of the Spirit in fuch a manner, as to make fome People ravingly Mady and others as extravagantly Merry I Could any one but himfelf fo patly and per- tinently have apply'd all the Prophecies of the Old Teftament to the Downfall and Deftruc- tion of the French King and our T'ory Miniftry ? And can we be fecure that we fhall never more ftand in need of fuch an Advocate ? May not the Days of Darknefs and Tribulation return upon us when we are leaft aware, and our Fears once more fhiver us ov^er the Brink of Ruin ? And O ! what fhculd we not then give for one Bradbury! to ftand in the Gapy to make up the Breach, to ftrike our Enemies dead with harmlefs Thunder, and to imploy all the Powers of his mighfy Faith in the Defence of our Re- ligion and Libtities! I hope therefore, the Gentlemen who are in the Diflenting Intereft will confider what they do, and bethink themfelves before they parr with Mr. Bradbury y whether they fhall be able to fupport the Caufe without him. If he fli ould in good earneft turn againft them, and Jet them drop,, what would become of them ? He wou Id m:ke them publick Examples of Virtue, true Religion, and good Senfe,- he would expofe them Faith to Reason. 179 them as Traitors to Myilery and Porfecution, and as the vile Supporters ot Chriilian Liberty, and a rational intelh'gible Faith : He would fly in their Faces with Ciiumny and Scandal, and attack tlum with all the incomprehtniiblt in- vincible Artillery of unmeaning Sounds. And what Power fhall skreen them againft fuch Vengeance ? O ! where will they be found, when he fhall clothe hhnfelj with Darknefsy and his Adverfaries with Shame '^ But after all, methinks a Min, who has driven Matters to fuch a dcfperate Extremity, fhould not be thought of much Confjquencc to any Chriftian Caufe whatever. If I thought him under any Influence or Government, I fhould ftand amazed at his Friends in London^ for fuftering him thus to expofe himfelf, his Party, and all Religion ,* fuice I am fure, it is impoflible to defend either the Doctrines or the Duties of Chriftianity, upon his Principles, Can you. Gentlemen, think your feives ho- noured by a Dedication of Sermons, in which he declares the Chriftian Doctrines to be fuch, as deflroy all the namral Ideas 'vje have of God\ jfufiice ? efpecially now he has given the finifh- ing Stroke to his deftruclive Scheme, by deny- ing Religion to be our reafonahle Service, and and thereby enervated and taken off the Force of all the pradical Motives and Inducements of the Gofpel ? The World, I imagine, will now exped it from you, that you fhould either Juftify or Cenfure his Condud ; and your not doing the latter, mud certainly, all Circum- fiances confidered, be looked upon as a Mark of your Approbat^ion. N z THE THE Grounds ^;/^ Principles O F Chriftian Communion, C O N S I D E R'D. I N A L E T T E R To the Reverend Mr. John Gumming, M. A. Occafion^'d by his Dijfertation concerning theAutho^ rity of Scripture-Confequences. The Grounds and Trindples of Chriftian Communion confiderdi In a L E T T E R to the Reverend Mr. John Cumjviing. SIR, >S you have difilnguifh'd me by particular Marks of your Candour and Good WilJ, and treated the whole Body of your Non-Subfcribing Brethren with very Jittle Ceremony ; fo you muft, I ._ _. _ ^ _ prefume, exped the fame frank and plain Dealing from me, or any others who may think fit to clear themfelves from your numerous Mifreprefentations, and the vilible 184 A Letter to the Inconfequence of jour Arguments. The goo4 Opinion I had entertained of your Capacity and Integrity, made me very impatient to fee a Book, which, as I underftood, was defign'd as a full Vindication of the fubfcribing Minifters, find the Tefts they otiered at Salters-HalL I thought I might reafonably exped from you, the Force of what could be faid in Defence of the Principles you had efpoufed; and I muft do you the Juftice to own, that I have not been difappointed ] and that, allowing for the na- tural '^J ^irxTiih of Conilitution, wiiich has per- haps led you into fome Excuriions of intempe- rate Zeal, I know no Man who could have managed the fame Caufe to better Advantage. For my own part, I can eafily forgive you the Injury you have done me, in mifreprefent- ing the plain and obvious Defign of fome Fo- lic ions in the Letter of Etttlmfiajm ; which I am willing to attribute to the wrong Impref- iions you are under, join'd with the Heat and Vigour of a natural Temper : And could you have devifed any thing worfe to have faid of me than you have done, it would not have gi- ven me the ieafl Pain ; lince every one mufl al- low that perfonai Reproaches, or the calling of a Man by opprobrious Names, is a very ditf^- rent Thing from confuting his Arguments. Thofe who will take my Charafler from your Draught of it, mud believe me to be a profane Jefter, an infolent .Libeller, a wicked iniincere Oppofer of the clear and evident Truths of Pivine Revelation, a Sceptick, a Heretick, or," m one Word, a complicated Villain. From thefe moft unmerciful Onfures, I appeal tothq |Bore ef^ukable Judgment of thofe who know ' • me Rev. Mr. Gumming. 185^ me better; moll of whom, I believe, arc en- dued with a more charitable and chridian Spi- rit, than that which you breathe m this Perfor- ms nee, and which I hope is not habitual to you, but rather the Eftedt ot a prefent unufual Ferment and iiideliberate PaiTion. But the De- lign of the Trouble I now give you, is not to complain or recriminate, but to argue ; and 'cis not all the Reproach that any Man's V/eak- nefs or Wilfulneis may load me with, that ftiall deter me from, purfuing thisConrroverfy, till I have either received farther Satisfadion my ielt, or iilenced thofe whom I cannot but look upon as Enemies in Confequence, tho' not in Principle, to that Liberty wherewith Chrift has made us free. You have thought fit to fpend about 20 o Pages in a Diifertation concerning the AuthGYity of Scriptun'CojtJequences ; and I am thus far entirely of your Mind, that the Sub- jed you have fallen upon, is of great Im.por- tance, and fuch as deferves to be ilrictly and impartially enquired into ; and therefore, I mud think it a Matter of equal Confequence, to confidcr whether what you have ofrered upon it has any Weight in it or no, and whether it be at all conliftent with itfelf, w^ith the Rights and Liberties of Mankind, as reafonable Creatures, or with that fole Authority and Jurifdidion of God over the Hearts and Confcicncis of Men, which we ail profefs to believe. It it fnall ap- pear that any of the Principles which you have taken up, and argued from, are wholly incon- fiitent with the religious Rights and Liberties of Mankind, as they are fubjed to God alone in Matters of Confcience and eternal Salvation, } doubt nor but you will be ready to tetrad them i86 yiLETTER ^0 the tipon fufficienc Evidence ; but if the contrary lliall appear to you, after all that I can fay, I prefume that common Difcretion, as well as Charity to my felf and others, will induce you to ufe your farther Endeavours for my better Information. I fhall not enter into a particu- lar Detail of the Matters debated betwixt your felf and thofe other Gentlemen with whom you are engaged, becaufe I would not prefume to take the Management out of better Hands ; who as they are fufficiently capable of doing theni- felves Juftice, fo they will not doubtlefs be wanting in their own Defence. But, to make as fhort as poffible with the Controverfy, with Regard to my own intended Share in it, and to fhew the Weaknefs and Infufficiency of what you have advanced, and of the Application you have made of it, I Ihall endeavour to prove thefe Two Things. Firft, That in this whole Bufinefs concerning the Authority of Scripture-Confequences, you have proceeded upon a wrong Principle. Secondly, That fuppofing the Truth of the Principle, yet your Deduaions therefrom are utterly inconclufive, and fuch as cannot in the lead ferve to fupport the Caufe you have under- taken to defend. Now, to clear the Way to what follows, and that I may not jumble, as I think you have done, Heaven and Earth together, I muft here diftinguifh betwixt Principles of Reafon and Principles of Revelation ; or, which amounts to the fame Thing in the Cafe before us, be- twixt Natural and Rcveal'd Religion. And fince the Scripture is a compleat Syftem of Natural as well as Revealed Religion, it muft contain Re^. Mr. Gumming. 187 contain the Principles and Truths of both thefe Kinds : The' ic is evident that thefe two Ranks or Clalfes of Principles, are in themfelves ma genere diflind, as being entirely different from each other in their Nature, Original, and Man- ner of Conveyance to the Mind,* yet this Di- ftindion, how necefTary foever it may be to any qlear or jufl Reafoning upon the SubjC(^ now under Confideration, is ufually overlook*d by thofe who argue in grofs, and are willing to take Things for their own Advantage by Whole- fale. Now fince you have thought fit to entertain the Publick with a long and laboured Difcourfe concerning ScYipture-Confequences , without di- flinguifhing between the two different Claffes or Kinds of Truth contained in Scripture ; it may not be amifs to confider briefly what Principles are, and what are not, capable of affording Confequences and Conclufions of the fame Kind, in a Way of rational Dedudion, which fhall be diilind from the Principles themfelves : And I fay that the Mind of Man, in this Ad of rational Deduction or Inference, mufl be con- fined wholly to Principles of Reafon, as con- tradiftinft from Matters of Faith, or fuch Pro- pofitions and Truths as mull depend entirely, as to us, upon Teftimony ', and that no Propofi- tion or Truth, as a Matter of Faith, can be de-^ rived by any rational Dedudion or Inference whatever, from any other Propofition or Prinr ciple of the fame Kind. In Matters of Science, the Principles and Truths of each diflinct Clafs or Order, have a neceffary Connexion with and Dcpendance up- on each other in the Natuife and Reafon of Things^ i88 A Letter to the Things ; fo that the Mind can proceed either from the firft Principles to the lail Conclufions, or back again from the laft Conclufions to the firft Principles, m clear and evident Deduc- tions of Reafon. ; That Man is an intelligent Agent under the \ Moral Government of God, as the Supreme i Independent Firfl Caufe of all Things, is a firft , j Principle in rational Morality or Natural Re- ^ligion ; and nothing can be admitted into this Ciafs or Order of Truths, but what has a neceflary Connexion with and may be derived from or reduced to this firft Principle, by clear and evident Deductions of Reafon. That the Sides oppofite to the equal Angles in fimiiar Triangles are refpedively proportional, is a Hrft Principle in the Mathematicks; and there is no Conclufion in that whole Science, how diftant or remote foever, but what by a right Management may be conneded with this Prin- ciple by a Train of intermediate Ideas ; every one of whicli fhall have a felf-evident Connexi- on with its next antecedent and fubfequent I- dea. Again, that all Fluids prefs undiquaque ot equally in all Diredions, and that their Preflures are in a Ratio compounded of their Gravities and perpendicular Altitudes, \% a Principle in Hydroflaticks ,* with which all the other Principles and Conclufions of that Science are neceffarily and infeparably conneded in the Nature and Reafon of Things. And thus alfo that Bodies can move only as they are moved or aded upon, and that the Motion communicated muft be proportional to the moving Force, and in the fame given Direftion with it, is a Principle in Mechanifm ; with which Re^. Mr. C u m m i k g. 189 which all other Truths of that Kind muft be infeparably connedcd in the Nature and Rca- fon of the Things themfelves, abflra(5ted from the Confideration of any politive Inflitution or Teftimony whatever. And this is in fhort the Cafe in ail Matters of Science, in which the Mind by Ratiocination is capable of acquiring any ftrict or proper Certainty, as diflind: from bare Opinion, Belief or Perfwalion. In Mat- ters of an intermediate Nature, which depend as far as we can underftand them upon probable Appearances of Reafon, but cannot be reduced to this State of Science, nor determined by any clear, exprefs and unexceptionable Teftimony, Men may indeed make their Guefles or Con- jectures about them in the beft Manner they can, and form particular Opinions and Judg- ments concerning them ; which will be more or lefs fatisfadory, according to the difterent pro- portional V/eight and Appearance of Evidence on that Side to which the Judgment is deter- mined. In thefe Matters of mere rational probable Conjedure and Opinion, where Re- ligion is not concerned, I muft do Mankind the Juftice to own, that they have been hither- to pretty well agreed in permitting a Diverfity of Sentiments, and in making proper Allowv ances for Mens different Apprehenfions and Capacities, as well as for the different Helps and Advantages they are furnifhed with.^ But tho' it might be difficult perhaps to determine all the Caufes of it, yet fo it is in Fad, that when fuch Conjedures and doubtful Opinions are brought into Religion, and made Matters of Faith, the Zealots of all Parties immediate- ly take Fire, and fet up with all the Clamour and 190 u4 Li'ETTER to the and Outrage in the World for infallible Cer- tainty, and their being adually in the Right, in Oppofition to all others j whilfl no fober dilinterefted By-ftander could have much Rca- fon to conclude them in their right Senles, and whilft thofe who difcover the moft intemperate Zeal, and make the lowdeft Outcry, are vi(i- bly fuch as underhand leaft of the Matters in Debate. I know not whether any Thing I can fay may be fuSicient to check this Madnefs, or to bring Men to a better Temper ; but I hope to prove, in Oppofition to what you have ad- vanced to the contrary, that in Matters of Faith the Cafe is quite different from what I have fhewn it to be in Matters of Science ; and that it is impofTible in any Cafe, by any Reafoning what- ever, to draw diilind reveal'd Confequences or Conclufions from re veal'd Principles. It muft, I fuppofe, be evident to every Body that will be at the Pains of confidering it, that ail Propofitions which are ftrictly fpeakmg Matters of Faith, and depend uponTeftimony, mufl be independent a- mong themfelves, and can have no neceflary Con- nexion w^ith or Dependence upon each other in the Nature and Reafon of Things : For where a Propofition contains a Matters of Faith, and depends wholly upon Teftimony, whether Di- vine or Human, or both, if we take away that Teftimony, the neceflary Means of conveying it to^bur Minds, and the whole Reafon and Foundation of our believing it, muft ceafe ; and this being equally true of all Propofitions of that fort, it is plain they muft all equally de- pend upon the fame common Teftimony, and. have no neceflary natural Connexion with, or Dependence on, each other, in the Reafon of Things: iJd'i;. Afr. Gumming. 191 Things : And to fay otherwife, would be to make them Matters of Science, and thereby to deftroy the firfl: Suppofition of their being Mat- ters ot Faith, and depending uponTeflimony. Every one who underftands any thing of the Nature of Reafoning, and drawing difliud Conclufions from antecedent Principles, or arguing from Things given to Things fought, muff know, that the fole Foundation of this Ad of the Mind, is that mutual Connexion and Dependance on each other, which fome Propofitions and Truths have in the Nature and Reafon of Things. Now fince I have fhewn that in Matters of Faith, the Truth of which depends wholly, as to us, uponTeflimony, there is not and cannot be fuppofed to be any fuch mutual Connexion or Dependance in the Nature and Reafon of the Things themfclves 5 and fince alfo you have profefledly confined your felf in this Argument to Mattters of Faith, as contradiftinguifhed from rational Morality, or to Revealed as diftind from Natural Religion; it muft from hence follow, that you have pro- ceeded in this whole Affair upon a manifeilly wrong Principle, and advanced your Reafon to an Office, which it is by no Means capable oh You will fay perhaps, if this be fo, what then becomes of Reafon in Matters of Faith ? Muft we in thofe Matters lay afide our Underftand- ings and Reafoning Faculties, and bclieveThfngs without any rational Ground or Evidence at all ? No, Sir, by no Means ; for tho' there is no Room in Matters of Divine Fai:h for Men to make New Revelationr, under a Pretence of explaining the Old, or ot drawing diflinft re- vealed Conclufions from revcal'd Principles, yet ther^ I9^ ..^Letter to the there \s fliil Ground enough for the ExerciTe of Reafon about Matters ot Faith j and indeed there would be a plain NecefTity for it, if it was only to difcover the Weaknefs of fuch Rca- fonings as yours. But, I fliall now endeavour to ftew what i^ the Ufe, and the only Ufe, that cm be made of Reafon in Matters of Divine Revelation : And here I fay, that the Exercife of Reafon about thofe Matters mufi; be confined intirely to thefe two Things. Firft, it is by the Exercife of our Underilandings and Reaion that we muft inform our Judgments whether there i^ any fuch Thing as a Revela- tion trom God made to Mankind or no; and particularly whether the Scriptures of the Old and New Teftamenc are fuch a Revelation. Se- condly, it is by employing our Undcrilandings and Reafon about the eflablifh^d Signification of Words, and applying the obvious Rules of Interpretation, that we muft determine the particular, original and genuine Senfe or Mean- ing of the Propofitions in which the Revela- tion is exprefs'd or conveyed to our Minds i af- ter the fame Manner that we come at the Senfe or Meaning of all other Hiftorians and Law- givers, where the Fads and Laws are commit- ted to Writing, and we cannot have Recourfe to the Revealers, or receive any clearer or more immediate Communications from the Law-giv- er himfelf. Where the Scripture is once receiv- ed a Principle, and own'd as fufEcient to an- fwer all the Ends of a Divine Revelation, the only Thing remaining, in which Reafon can be employ 'd about Matters of Revelation, is to fettle and determine the particular, origi- nal and genuine Signification of the Words or Terms, Rev. Mr. C u m m i n g. 193 Terms, in which the Revelation is deliver 'd, cxprers'dj and conveyed to our Minds. And this I might leave as a ncccflary Confequence of what 1 have already faid, till ic can be fhewn that it is pollible in any Cafe to draw diiHnd reveard Conclufions from rcveal'd Principles. But bccaufe you think you can give Inilanccs of this, and lince you have endeavour'd to ex- emplify your general Dodrine in particular Caies, I fhall now confider what you hav^e of- fered to this Purpofe; and I imagine it will ap- pear, that the clear and plain Confequences from Scripture Principles, which you every where talk of, and infid fo much upon, are either the very Principles themfelves, and no diflind Conclufions from them, or falfe In- ferences, and in Reality no Confequences at all* One Inftance which you very much inlift upon to this Purpofe, by repeating it in.feveral Parts of your Book, is that of our Saviour^s prov- ing againft the Sadduces the real Exigence of tlie Dead in a feparate Stare, by an Original Teflimony out of their own Law. For the Sadduces it feems deny'd the Refurrection upon this Ground, that they did not believe any fe- parate Exiflence of Perfons in the State of the Dead ', but /ince God had faid, I. am the God of Abrahaniy and the God of IfcuiCy and the God of Jacohy when the Perfons themfelves were dead, it is plain that the Meaning of the Propofition muR- be, that the Perfons then ex- ifled j for he that fays God is the God of the Dead, muft by the Dead here mean Perfons really exifting, or elfe the Propofition can have no Senfe or Meaning at all. God had faid after the Death of the Perfons, / am^ and nor, O 1 194 y^ Letter to the I wa'y the God of Abraham, &c, from whence "'tis evidf nt that our Saviour here urges an qc- prefs Scripture Teflimony againfi; the Sadduces, For fhould any one deny that Perfons actually in the Favour of God do adually exifl, you could not prove the Thing by any one inter- mediate Idea, fo as to make out the Connexion plainer than it is in it felF; unlcfs the Tran- fpoiition ot Words only, or the bare Sound of an ErgOy be fufficient to make a Confequence, without regarding the Order and Connexion of Ideas, or the Operations of tlie Mind about them. I know fome People fet up for deep Logicians, merely by (hewing they can draw what they call diftind Confequences from any given Principles, without advancing one Step beyond the Principle it felf. To let us fee with what Clearnefs and Strength of Reafon you draw Scripture Confequences, you exemplify your Doftrine farther, p. 87. in this Syllogifm. He that made All Things is God. Jefus Chrift is he that made All Things. Therefore Jefus Chrift is God. That Jefus Chrift is God the Son, Begotten of God the Father, and that God the Father made All Things by Jefus Chrift, the Scrip- ture plainly declares; tho' this is what you have not proved by Confequence. But to fhew* in how trifling and indeterminate a Senfe you make ufe of the Word Gody give me Leave to argue, upon your own Principles, thus : He that made All Things is God the Father. Jefus Chrift is he that made All Things. Therefore Jefus Chrift is God the Father. I ftiall undertake at any Time to prove, a* gainft whatever you can fay to the contrary, that this. Rev. Mr. C u k m i n g. 195^ this, in your Scheme, muft be as juft and ne^ ceffary a Scripture Confequence, as any one bf them all. Or thus : The One True God is tlie God and Fatlier of Jefus Chrifl. ' But Jefus Chrfft is the One True God. •' .Therefore Jefus Chrift is the God and Fa- . ther of Jefus Chrift. The Major Propofition is Scripture, and the Minor is your own. But to (hew that you can prove the fame Thing more Ways than one, you go on to fyllogize thus : There is but One God. '-' The Father is God, the Son is God, the '' ' ' Holy Ghoft is God. "Therefore thefe Three arc One God. If you here ufe the Word God precifely in the fame Senfe as apply 'd to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghoft ; if you have not one diftind determinate Idea, when you ufe thefe different Sounds, as I imagine you hav^e not, your Argument muft ftand thus : There is btit One God. ' But God is God, God is God, and God is --^God. • / '^ Therefore God is One God. If you can fhew that I have abufod you in this Way of reprefenting your Arguments, and that there is any one fingle determinate Idea ih your Account, that is not in mine, and in the very fame Order ; I fay, if you can make this appear, I doubt not but you will think your felf obliged to do it in the Juftification of your Logick. You may be apt to make mere Ver- bal Diftindions in this Gafe, as you have done already ; you will diftinguifh (for Inftance) be- O z tween i()6 .^Letter to the tweeii a Thing's being the fame fubftantiaUy, and perfonally, or eflentially and fubfiftentiai- ly ; and you will fay, upon Occafionj, when Neceflity drives, that the Father, Son, and Ho- ly Ghoft, tho' one Subflance, are yet three Perfons. But when you are cuU'd upon tell us what you mean by the Word Perfouy as you here ufe it, you endeavour to explain one Un- intelligible I'erm by another, and fubflicute the Word Suhf.jkme m the; Room of Perfm: And when you are farther urged to explaiij 'what you intend to (ignify by three Subfiftepces in one Subilance, you caa ^_ fay nothing, , but that you make, ufe of thefe ^Vprds forwani of more fit or proper Terms; • And thus you \^'ould by all Means feem to : fay fometbmg when you have nothing to iay, and labour to conceal the plain Truth, which iSy that, yq;^ have no Meaning at all to :y pur Words. Bui;,l befeech you do. not cafl a.^^rcu,ndicfs R^eflecr tion upon our Language, and all the Languaj ges you. are acquainted with, asif you had fome Ideas in your Mind which you caii fincl no Words to cxprefs, fo as to convey them to the Minds of others. In other Matters, \vKere you have really any Ideas at all ^ you do^not appear fo much at a Lofs for Words ; ancfTthe plain Truth i^, as every one muft iep, horsj^y ever you endeavour to difguife .or conceal it^ that you want not Words to^exprefs your I^ deas, but {Ideas to affix to y.pur Words. .Xou had as good therefore come to. a frank anifp- pen Confeflion, that you talk about you kqow not what, and that in Truth you underiland nothing at all of the Matter. Be free^ndin- .genuous if you pleafe, and let the World. know how Rev: Mr. Gumming. 197 how much they are obliged to thofe who fee up for the Orthodoxy ot Sounds without I- deas, and who would perfwade Men that 'tis damnable HertTy to underftand the Scriptures. For your own Part, as you have now mended your Scheme, and declared againft any eternal Generation of the Son of God whatever, whe- ther Voluntary or Necelfary, you have hereby plainly embr:xcd the the fundamental Principle of Socinianijm ; and herein 1 think you have given up all poffible Accounts of a Trinity. I am fenhble that you may flill feem to bear off from Socinianijm in feme verbal Diftindions, and Sounds of no Signification ; but I here chal- lenge you to lay down any one (ingle intelli- gible Propoficion, expreflive of any real Dif- ference betwixt your Orthodoxy and real 5j- anianifm. If you can now fhew that you are flill a Trinitarian in reality, and not barely in Words, I will admire your Skill, & eris mihi magmis Apoilo.lf you cannot,! hope your next will appear in a more Charitable and Chriflian Strain. What has been faid may I think be fufficient to fhew that you have proceeded upon a wrong Principle, in fuppofing that Matters of Faith are capable of yielding diflind Confequences in a Train of rational Dedudions, as is the Cafe in Matters of Science ; and that the Inftances you have given of it are not at all to yourPur- pofe, and moft egregious trifling. But I fhall now, for the Argument's fake, fuppofe theTruth of your Principle, and fh ill endeavour to fhew, that even upon this Suppohtion what you have advanced is no Weight or Confequcnce at all, and cannot in the lead weaken or injure tiie Caufe you have undertaken to write againft. The vi- O 3 fible 198 ^Letter to the fible and prcfefs'd Defign of your learned Dif- fertation, is, the Convidion and Confufion of thoie who rejed the real determinate Senfe of Scripture, and flick to the bare Words only, abflractcd from their Meaning, and who will not receive or own the mofi: evident and necef- fary Confcquences from any Scripture Princi- ples. Thcfe are your Adverfaries, or you have none at all ; and if you cannot produce the PerfonSj and prove the Charge upon them in another Manner tiian you have yet done, I be- lieve it muil appear to the whole World that you are here fighting without an Adverfary, and that you have taken Pains only to dellroy a Creature of your own Imagination. You charge your Adverfaries with fuppofing or maintaining that it is fufficient, even in fome Matters of great Confequence , barely to believe the Words of Scripture as abltracled from their Meaning. I mud here call upon you to name the Men, among any of thofe you are writing againft, who maintain that fuch a Belief, which is really no Belief at all, is yet fufEcicnt to denominate a Man a Chriflian, or to anfwer any one Purpofe of Religion. If you can produce the Perfons, I muft remit them to the Care of thofe whofe Bufinefs it is to cure Madmxn ; ii you cannot, you are only trifling, and falfely accufing your Brethren in a Mat- ter of the higheft Importance. 1 think every one mufl allow, that it is fufficient to believe the Scriptures to be the certain infallible Word of God, and to underftand them in the right Senfe as far as we are capable, tho^ we may not be able to fix or fettle that determinate Senfe of Scripture in fome doubtful or difpu- table Rc'v, Mr. Gumming. 199 table Cafes, ^vhich a warm zealous Dogmatift may inlift upon as very clear and evident, or even as neceil'ary to Salvation. By your determinate Senfe of Scripture, and evident Confequences from Scripture Princi- ples, you muft mean either that Senfe, or thofe Confequences, which cannot but appear clear and evident to the Underflandings of all fin- cere Chriftians, or to all who make a right Ufe ot their Faculties, and a due Improvement of the Helps which God has put into their Hands ; or elfe that Senfe, and thofe Confe- quences, which appear clear and plain to your own Underftanding, without any Regard to the different Uaderllandings, Capacities and Circumftances of others. One of thefe, 1 fup- pofe, you muft mean by what you fo much in- lift upon ; for I hope you do not talk of a de- terminate Senfe, and clear and plain Confe- quences as abflrafted from all Underftandings. If by the determinate Senfe and evident Confe- quences of Scripture Principles, you mean thst Senfe and thofe Confequences, which cannot but appear determinate, clear and evident to the Un- derftandings of all fincere Chriftiansj I muft here call upon you to name the Perfons among any of thofe you are writing againft, who rejed any fuch determinate Senfe of Scripture, or any fuch clear and neceflary Confequences from Scrip- ture Principles. If you can name the Perlons, and prove the Charge, I will pity the Men, and deteft their Hypocrify; if you cannot, I will deteft fuch Uncharitablenefs, and pity the Man that can be guilty of it. I think it is plain, that T'hat may be a clear Coi)fequence to one Man's Underflanding, O 4 which aoo ^Letter to the Avhfch can never be fo to another's ; and that one Man may apprehend a Thing necelVary, which another may never be able to difcover to be fo much as true, even Vvhilc they are both equally fincere : And before you can be quahfyM to pronounce as you do, or to pafs any fuch definitive Sentence, concerning what muft or niuft not be clear or evident to the Underitaud- ings of all fincere Chriflians, you muft be per- fectly acquainted with the Hearts and Con- fciences of Men, with the different Degree and Mcafure of their Capacities and Apprehenfion5, and the different Position .^nd Situation of par- ticular Truths to their Underftandings \ ycu ir.uft be well apprized of the different Talents with which God has entrufted your Fellow Chriftians, and the difterent Ufe and Appli- cation they have made of them ; of the dif- ferent Prejudices and Prepoffellions they labour under, and how far and in what particular Cafes any of their Doubts and Scruples, Mif- takes and Errors, are vincible or invinci- ble ; that is, you muft be either omnifcient your felF, or be able to fhew that you are in- spired, and have particular and extraordinary Revelations from God in all thofe Cafes, Thus qualify 'd muft you be before you can determine any Thing concerning the Sincerity or Infincerity of Mens Belief, while they e- qually profefs to believe the fame Scriptures as the certain infallible Word of God, and to endeavour the beft they can to underftand them in the right Senfe, in order to regulate their Anions thereby. I have therefore one Piece of Jufiice to demand of you, i\\ the Behalf of my iclf and others, which i'^^ that you would from henceforth Rev. Mr. G u m m i n g. aoi henceforth fufpend your uncharitable and bold Determinations concerning the Hearts and Con- fciencos of your Fellow Chri(lian|pn-rubfcribers in the Right, and the, Sub> fcriber^ in the Wrong. .;;y r ' ;\ ._-. . ', i/?', pne Reafon >\'hy.I;think the Non-fub- Jcribers in.the R.ight,; and you in the \yrong, iSj-lpecaufe I apprehend it impoffiblc, in the Nfitufi^.of, the Thing, . that Fallible Uninfpired Men Should exprefs any Dodrine of Faith, or Divine Revelation^ in Words or Terms more clear, fignificant or unexceptionable, than thof^ in which the fame Do Scripture., ^ ,^^ zi li!./ Foriince ail Dodrines.of this Naturey: con- taining.Fads and pofitive Inftitutions, depend- ing .wholly upon Teftimony, mud be indepen- de»to£.q^ch other, and can have iio ineceflary .Connexion or Relation amcng thc.mfclves in the prior Nature and Reafon of Things; and fuice alfotheWords orTerms by which theV' are exprefs^d in the Rcvejation it felf are the only na- tural Signs of the Ideas, or the only -Means of conveying the Doftrines or Trutlis to our Minds; it is, I think, fronr^ hence very evident, that no reveal'd Doctrine can be more clear or deter- 10^ ^ IjEtter to the determinate to us, than the Signification of the Words or Terms in which it is exprefs'd by the Revealer himfelf; and that where any Do- drine, containing a Matter of Fad or pofitive Inftitution, is delivered in doubtful or indeter- minate Expreflions in the Original Teftimony it felf, upon which alone it can depend, that Dodrine without a new Revelation mufl for ever remain doubtful and indeterminate, and no Confequence or Dedudions of human Rea- fon whatever can make it otherwife. Now, where the Holy Ghoft in Scripture has ex- prefs'd a Dodrine in Terms fufficieritly clear and unexceptionable, there can be no Reafon for Men to put that Dodrine into otherWords and Expreflions of their own, as if they in- tended hereby to render it more than fufficient- ly clear and unexceptionable. Perhaps yOu will fay, tho* the Holy Ghoft in Scripture has ex- prefs'd the Mind and Will of God in Terms lufEciently clear to thofe who will do what they ought to underftand them right, yet they may be miftaken, perverted and abufed; and where they are fo, they ought to be explained and limited to prevent the Growth of dange^ rous Errors and Herefy. This is the common Plea ; but I muft here ask you, whether any human Decifions and Definition^ concerning the Senfe of Scripture can be fufficiently clear to thofe, who will not do what they ought to underftand them right ? And whether the Words of Men are not as liable to be miftaken, per- verted and abufed, as the Words of the Holy Ghoft ? If you anfwer in the Affirmative, it muft be then plain that your Remedy is not at all fuited to the Difeafe, and that the Means vou Re'v. Mr. Gumming. 107 you propofe cannot in the leaft tend to prevent or cure the Evil you complain of. Befides, who (hall explain your Explications, and define your Definitions concerning theSenfe of Scrip- ture, M'hich are for the moft part more dark and obfcure than the Original Sacred Teilimonies themfelves? But i^ you will lay, that where the Holy Ghoft in Scripture has not exprefs'd the Mind and Will of God in Terms fufficient- ly clear and unexceptionable, fallible uninfpir'd Men may fo exprefs it : This is faying, by a Confequence fuinciently clear, that Men are wifer or more merciful than God ; that they are capable of drawing Confequences from Scripture Principles, which (hall be clearer than the Principles themfelves from which they are drawii ; and that fallible uninfpired Men can reveal the Mind and Will of God, better and more eftedaally, that is, in Terms more clear, fignificant and expreffive, than God himfelfhas done it. I cannot fee how you will avoid thefe Confequences, while you maintain that the Scripture is not fo exprefs or clear, even in Things neceffary to Salvation, but that there is ftill need of a more clear, exprefs and de- finitive Teft w^hereby to judge of the Sound- nefs of Men^s Faith in thofe Matters, than the Scripture it felf, as the Holy Ghoft has left it. It wifl afford you no Relief to fay, that your human Explications and Definitions in Matters of Faith, contain the true Senfe of Scripture; for as this is only your Opinion, and you muft own that the Opinions of others ought to have no Weight with you in the Cafe, fo if I (hould allow it, it could do you no Service; for you muft fay, if you will fay any thing to the Purpofe» ao8 _/^ L E T T E R to the Purpofe, that your human Declarations and Decifions, in Matters of Faith, not only con- tain the true Senfe ot Scripture, but that they contain it more clearly, exprefsly and defini- tively than the Scripturq it.felf. And while you are refolvtd to talk at this Rate, you may fay w hat you ploafe about the Sufficiency of Scrip- ture, "and your receiving it as the only Rule of Faithjbut every unprejudiced Perfon mull feet hat: you do in Eifed, and by necellary Confequence, lay afide the Scripture as infufficient, or Jefs fit and proper, while you fubflicute another Rule as more exprefs and clear, and confequently fuperior and preferable to i tv , And w^hile > you will go on to maintain this greater Expr^fsnefs and Clearnefs of your human Tefts and. Forms, of Orthodoxy, I doubt not but to make i;t.good3, againfl any thing that you ilia 11 fay to the con- trarj', that all that additional Significancy, Clear^ nefs,, and Exprefsnefs, above and beyond what iscontain'd in the Scripture it felf, as the Holy^ Ghofl has left it, mull; be owing either to a;, new Revelation, or a falfe Glofs. And from this Confideration alone , the Non-fubfcribers mi^ht, with great Reafon and Juftice, have re- jeded tlie Tefts ofer'd at Salters-HaU, even tho* every one of them had been of your Mind, with regard to the Dodrine of the Trinity. But, . 2dly^ Another Reafon why I cannot agree with you, concerning the Neceflity or Expedi- ency of fuch; human Explications and Defini- tions of the iSenfe of Scripture, and of making Declarations of Faith whica fliall be unexcep- tionable conformable to them as a Rule or Stan- dard, is, becaufe I think ^he Method you pro- pofe cannot polTibly anfwer the End you pre- tend Rev. Mr. Gumming. 109 tend to aim at, viz,, the prcrcrving the Purity of the Chriftian Dodrine and V/orfhip, by ex- cluding from the Communion of the Church, Perfons wickedly inlincere and unfound in the Faith. On the contrary, I think I can ftiew, tliat ' your Remedy can ferve only to fix and radicate the Diiealei that it muft in its XJfe and Application, do infinitely more Hurt than Good, and be attended with worfe Con- fequences than thofe you endeavour to avoid. 1 he great and popular Plea is', that Arminians^ Anabaptiflsy QiiakerSy ArianSy Sociniansy and all the different Parties and Sedaries among Pro- teilants, how erroneous foever, will readily fub- fcribe to the Scriptures as the only Rule of their Faith and Pradice,* profefs to ufe their beil Endeavours to under/land them right, in or- der to regulate their Adions thereby ; and may be aifo in all other Refpeds unexceptionably clear in their Lives and moral Condud. If this be true, as perhaps it may, I am glad to hear it j but then let thofe who w^ould exclude them from Chriflian Communion, and the Be- nefits of the Chriftian Covenant, look to them- felves; for I would not (land in their Place at the Great Day, for all the Infallibility they are intitled to, or all the Temporal Emoluments and Advantages of their fuppofed Orthodoxy. I believe you cannot fhew, that any oi thi^ dif- ferent Parties and Perfuafions am.ong Prote- flants, do deny or doubt of any one Principle or Truth which the Apoflles, and firfl infpired Preachers of the Gofpel infiflcd on as ncceilary to Chriftian Communion, or to conftitute Men Members of the vifible Church, and give them a vifible Right to the B.'nefits of the P Chriftian aio y^ L E T T E R to the Chriftian Covenant: And indeed their very retufing to fubfcribe your Teds, or to make any fuch Declaration of their Faith, as fhall be agreeable to your Judgment and diftinguifhing Opinions, with their being content to bear all the Reproaches and Calumnies you can load them wich tor not doing it, is a clearer Proof of their Sincerity, than you can give to the contrary.' If a "jew (hould now profefs to be convinced that Jefus is the true Mefliah, or the great Prophet, Prieil and King, who was to be fent from God, to reveal his Will for the Salvation of Men ; and that confequently, he is ready to receive the New Teftament in the beft Senfe that he can underlland it, and to become a Chriftian, provided you will but fuffer him to profefs and practice his own Religion too, and to ufe his beft Endeavour to convince others of the Neceflity of joyning it with Chriftianity, till he fhall be convinced himfelf to the con* trary ; I doubt not but you would be ready to rejed: and exclude fuch a Profeffor from your Communion, together with QuakerSy Avians^ Socim'ansy all other Hereticks, as you would e- fteem them ; and yet you muft own, that the Apoftles, who doubtlefs underftood the Prin- ciples of Chriftian Communion as well as you, received the Jewi/h Profelites upon thofe very Terms, and would not fufter the Gentile Con- verts to exclude them their Communion, or deny them the Benefits of the Chriftian Co- venant, even though they were very zealous for impofing the Obfervation of their Law as nec^ffary to Salvation on the Gentile Converts themfelves. The Rev.Mr.CvMMi-^G. an The Apoftles, and firfl infpired Preachers of the Gofpel, ^\ere fo little acquainted \vith our modern Method of Subfcriptions, and vo- luminous Declarations of Faith> that they thought it a fufficient Teft of Mens Chrifliani- ty, if they profels'd to believe this one A**ticle of Faith, that Jefas was the true. Mcffiah ; fmce he who embraced this one fingle Principle truly and fincerely, muft, in confequence hereof"^ think himfelf obliged to examine impartially all that Chrift has delivered as the Mind and Will of God, to endeavour to underftand it in the belt Senfe he can_, and to regulate his Faith and Pradice thereby j and he who is infincere in this ProfelTion, may, for any Judgment that fal- lible Men can make of it, be equally infincere in any other Profellion w^hatever. This w'as all that the Apoflles infifled on in Point of Faith, when they profelited the Jews to Chriftianity, who had been beforq inftruded in the Dodrine of One God : And when they preached to the Heathens, who had many Gods, they added the grand fundamental Principle of , Natural Religion concerning One God, or One Su- preme Independent Firfl Caufe of all Things, to this reveal'd Principle, that Jefus, whom they preached, was fent from God to reveal hisVVill for the Salvation of Man, and was the only Mediator betwixt God and Man. But now this, or even much more, will not ferve the Turn ; for he who cannot come into all the un- intelligible Cant and Schclaftick Jargon of mo- dern Orthodoxy, muft exped to be condemned as an Fleretick, and given to the Devil. But after all your high Pretenfions of fecur- ing the Purity of the Chriftian Faith and Wor- P z fliip ^l^ y^ Letter to the fliip by your human Explications and Defini- tions or" theSenfe of Scripture, ^tis evident, that your boafled Means of Security can ferve only to exclude sincere Non-fubfcribers from the Communion of the Church ; while you muft unavoidably admit into it all the wickedly in- (incere and unconfcloiiable Profeffors of Chri- ftianity, after you have made them fuch by the ftrongeft Temptations you could lay them un- der. Since we cannot enter into the Hearts of Men, or determine any thing about their Ca- pacities and Advantages, or the different Im- provement they make ol them, with refped to God and their own Confciences , I fuppofe it mufl be allowM as a Rule of Judgment, that every Man has an equal Right to be believed, \vith regard to the Sincerity of his ProfefTions and Declarations, till he has forfeited his Cre- dibility, either by acting apparently contrary to his own profefs'd Principles, or by a wicked im- moral Life 5 in which evefy one muft Hand felf- condemiiM, and proclaim himfelf to the w^hole World about him to be a Perfon of no Religion or Confcience at all. If this Rule of Judgment is not admitted, it muft deftroy all Credibility of Profeilion among Men, and leave noBodya Right to be believed in any Declaration whatever. Now, if you will fuppofe that you muft be in the right, or cannot be miftaken about any thing that you apprehend to be neceflary in Scripture by clear and plain Confequence ; tho* the Scripture it felf, by any clear, exprefs and unexceptionable Declarations, has not conftitu- ted any fuch Necefiity ,* and if you will alfo fuppofe, or take it for granted, that another who differs from you in any fuch Cafe, muft <\o^ Rev. Mr. Gumming. 213 not only be miflaken, buc mud be cilfo wick- edly inlincere and heretical in his Error, tho' he has not forfeited the Crcdibih"ty ot his Profef- iioHy by contradi<:iing it in Pm^-tice, or by rny open moral Wickedneis : Ir you will, I i'ay, fuppole thefo two l^hings, as you moil evi- dently do j by the fame Right, and upon the fam.e Principle, that Other may, and mufi: judge the fame of you ; and this moft unchri- iiian Rule of Judgment muft go round, not only to the diftercnt and oppciite Parties and Perlunfions of Men, but to all the ditferent O- pinions and Sentiments which are every where to be found among Men of the fame Commu- nion and general Denomination. Either there- fore every one has an equal Right to be believed as to the Sincerity of his ProfelTion, who has not forfeited the fame by any open contradictory Pradice, or elf: no Body can have any inch Right at all: .which muft equally affedc your felf, with the reft of Mankind, and leave you no Claim of Credence, or any Right to be believed or credited in ?.ny Profeflion or De- claration you can make. He who embraces the Scripture in Faith and Pradliice, according to the beft Senfe in which he is capable of under- ftanding it, muft, I fuppofe with you and me, be a real Chriftian ; and then he who profeftes fo to do, and has not forfeited the Credibility of his Profeflion by any outward contrary Prac- tice, of which Man can judge, muft be a Chri- flian vifibly, and in the Judgment of the Church; tho' he cannot perhaps in Confcience, or at leaft may not think it expedient to fub- fcribe or declare his AlVent to your Explications or Definitions of the Senfe ot Scripture in P 3 fom^ ai4 y^ Letter /(? //?^ fome difputable Points, which may appear clear and important to you, but in which you may be miftaken, and the other in the right : Or if he is in the wrong, may yet, for any thing you can know to the contrary, be (incere in his Miflake, and be readily difpofed to receive the Truth upon the Propofal of fuch Evidence as fhail appear Sufficient to his Underflanding. Novv' this being the Cafe, it is evident from what has been faid, that you muft either ad- mit fuch an one to the Communion of the Church, and allow him a vifibie Right to the Benefits of the Chriflian Covenant ; or exclude him upon a Principle that will equally juftify the Exclufion of your felf, or any other Perfon in the Vv'orld. And as your Principle, when received and aded upon, muft exclude from the Communion of the Church the bed and mofl fincere Chriftians in the World, fuch as I rec- kon thofe to be who will be determined by no- thing but the Authority of Sciripture alone, and will not fubmit to the Claim of thofe who pretend to explain the Chriftian Doctrines bet- ter than the Holy Ghoft has done ; fo it muft necelTarily admit into it the worft of Hypo- crites, and that perhaps after you have made them fuch by the flrongeft Temptations you could lay them under : For I think there can- not be a ftronger Temptation, or Bias upon the Mind of Man, againft any impartial Exami- nation of the Holy Scriptures themfelves, than to be tied down, under all the Sandions of Time and Eternity, to certain human Expli- cations and Definitions concerning the Senfe of Scripture ; which he may underftand perfe<5i:- ly Weil, and yet be never the nearer to the ture Mean= Rev. Mr. Gumming. 2i>- Meaning of the Holy Ghoft in Scripture. That aJl thofe Explications and definitive Declara- tions concerning the Senfe of Scripture, which are fo highly cried up, and fo much in- filled on, are only the Opinions of fallible un- infpircd Men, in \vhich they may as poflibly be miflaken as not, and that they are all clofely twifted and interwoven with human Paffions and the Intereils of this World, is as evi- dent as any thing can be of a Moral Nature : And I need not enlarge upon this Conildorition to fiiew how powerful the Temptation mud be againfi; a Manx's fludying or examing the Scrip- tures at all for himfelf, when lie can expect no- thing but to be condemned as an Heretick, to quit the Reputation of his Orthodoxy, and for the moil part, all the Hopes and Advantages of the prefent Life, if he fliould happen, upon fuch an Enquiry, to underiland the Scripture in any other Senfe but what is already fixed and fettled to his Hands. From hence it comes about, that the moil Stupid and Unthinking have been always mofl Orthodox, as being moft difpofed to take up with what comes firfi; recommended, and feems attended with the greateil Temporal Advantages; by which they can at once fave therafelves the Trouble of ex- amining, and avoid the Inconveniencies which are likely to arife from it. That this Obfer- vation holds good, with refped to the National Eflablifhed Orthodoxy in every Country, is evident beyond all Contradidion : And I can- not fee hpw a more general Confent can add any real Weight to any Dodrine whatever, even tho' great Numbers of very iincere and good Men ihould join in fupporting its unlefs P 4 it V ai6 u4 Letter to the it be fuppofed that Truth mufl be determined by Sufoge, and th:it Error may be made facred by Cuftom. I wifli, they who feem to think thus, and who arc fo ready to plead common Confcnt, and the Authority of the Churchy where they think it tor their Advantage, would but confider, whether (upon this Principle) Chriliianity muft not be voted out of the World, as contrary to the general Opinion of Mankind. But, to return. Since you fuppofe that they Vv'ho are not of your Mind in fome Things which you think of great Importance, mufl be wickedly infincere in the' ProfefTion of a contrary Belief; you could have no Reafon to think them fincere, fhould they profefs to be convinced, and offer to fubfcribe your Opinion or Senfe of Scrip- ture : For he who will be guilty of wicked Negligence in not examining as he ought, and thereby believe and profefs what he ought not, w'ill doubtlefs be ready, whenever he thinks it for his Advantage, without any farther Exami- nation, to profefs and fubfcribe what he does not believe ,* and yet, as long as he will pro- fefs and fubfcribe your Opinions and Senfe of Scripture, you mufi: i*eceive him, whether he be fincere in it or not ; and tho' you have per- haps tempted him to fuch a finful Compliance, by worldly Yioi^os and Fears, and the ftrongeft Inducements that can be laid upon Men to ad contrary to their Judgments and Confciences. And thus, when by the dired and natural Tendency of your ufurped Authority and hu- man Injundions, you have made thofe, who were before fuppofcd to be Hypocrites only in Profeffion, compleat Hypocrites in their whole pradical 4 Rev. Mr. Gumming. 117 pradical Condud, you have no Means to pre- vent the Mifchief you have done, or to exclude fuch word of Hypocrites from your Commu- nion. But here you are ready to exercifc that Charity^ which tlmketh no Evil, which hopeth all ^Things, believeth all "Things, and cuvereth a Multi- tude of Faults. Here then lies the great Ad- vantage of your Scheme ! You will not receive Men into your Communion, who do nor, or perhaps cannot, underfland the Scriptures iii your Senfe ,* but you will lay them under the flrongeft Temptations poffibie to profefs what they do not believe, and then receive them as Brethren and Fellow^-Chriflians : A hopeful Method of curing a Difeafe, by rendering it incurable ! Find out but a fuifficient Teft againfl: Hypocrify, or a certain infallible Criterion whereby to examine the Hearts and Confciences of Men, and to determine clearly who are or are not fincerc, and I fhall admire your Skill, and give into your Scheme ; but while you can- not pretend to this, and yet will go on to cenfure and condemn your Brethren and Fellow-Chri- ftians, for no other Reafon but becaufe they are not of your Mind, or cannot underfland the Scriptures in your Senfe, I can only wonder at your Prefumption, and look upon fuch unchriftiaa Behaviour Vvdth a jufl Indignation and Difdain. ^diy, Such an Authority or Right in any fal- lible uninfpired Men to interpret or fix the Senfe of Scripture, and to enforce their Interpreta- tions and Explications upon others, as the Con- ditions of Chriflian Communion, is utcerly in- confiftent with the Right of private Judgment, and dire(ftly contrary to all the Principles anc{ Maxims, upon v. hich Chrift has founded his fpiritiial Kingdom. Xhe xi8 -^Letter to the The Papifls are the only Men who have ad- vanced any confiftent or pradicable Scheme for the befooling and undoing the Worlds by ta- king the Care of every one's Soul out of his own Hands, and putting it under the Direc- tion of thofe who know bell: how to difpofe of it to their own Advantage. As they afiert the Right of publick authoritative Interpreta- tion, fo they fuppofe this Right to be lodged in particular Hands, and that the Perfons en- truited with it are infallible y and, agreeably hereto, they deny all Right of private Judg- ment, and maintain their publick interpretative Authority to be indifputable, and abfbluteiy definitive, or fuch as ought finally to be fub- mitted to, without any farther Appeal. It mull; be ow'd that this Scheme is conliRent and pradicable , for as the Infallibility of the pub- lick^Interpreters is the only Principle that can fupport fuch a Claim, fo Mankind may, if they pleafe, give up their Underftan dings and Confciences to the Will and Pleafure of the Pope, and blindly receive, without Examina- tion, whatever his Holinefs, by the Advice of his Privy Council, fliall think fit to declare as a Matter of Faith. Thus Hands the Cafe in the Church of Rome ; and "'tis viiible to what wretched Shifts fome Proteftants are driven, while they endeavour to feparate the Advantages of this PopiftV Scheme from the Abfardities of it, and think they can reconcile the Right of private Judgment w ith the contrary and inconfiftent Right of publick Interpretation. Some of our Proteftant Re- formers, as Ecclefiaftical Rulers, have thouglit fit to invert themfelves, and be compliiiicnted by the Rev. Mr. Gumming. ai9 the People , with that publick authoritative Judgment and Right of Interpretation, which they had taken trom the Pope ; tho', as 1 faid before, it there are any fuch publick au ho- ritative Interpreters of the Mind and Will of God, befides the Apoftles and the Sacred In- fpired Writers themfelves, it is a Matter of little Confequence whether this Authority (hall be lodged in the Hands of the Pope, of a Ge- neral Council, of the Catholick Church, of a Scotch Presbytery, or an Engli(lo Convocation ; or whether, laftly, it is entrufted with a fele(5t Body of London Miniilers. Only thus much may certainly be concluded from thofe different and contrary Claims, that till the Matter is fettled, and this Right clearly and indifputably fix'd in fome particular Hands or other, every Man muft be left to make ufe of his own Un- derflanding and Judgment, and to determine the Senfe. of Scripture for himfelf in the bell Manner he can; fince no one can have any Reafon to regard thofe as Interpreters of Scrip- ture, who cannot agree among themfelves, ei- ther who mull: interpret, or how it muft be interpreted. But thefe Men are furely driven to the iaft and worft Extremity of all, who not daring to own any fuch publick authoritative Right of Interpretation in any Man or Body of Men whatever, do yet in Effect claim it to themfelves, and are forced to lodge a publick as well as a private Judgment and Jurifdidion of Confcience in every Manx's own Bread ; which muft bring the Matterat length to this, that you cannot maintain Chriftian Communion with any other Perfon in the World, who is of a different Opinion concerning the Senfe of Scrip- ture azo A Letter to the ture in any Matter, (how doubtful or difpu- table focver) which you think to be ot very confiderable Importance ,* tho', for any thing you can know to the contrary, you may be miftaken your felf, and the other in the right ; or if he is miftaken, he may be yet a very good and (incere Chriftian, and readily difpofed to receive the Truth upon any fuch Evidence as illail appear fuflicient, not barely to your Un- derftanding, but to his own. I mufl here take Occafijn to remind you, that either a Man's profelTing to receive the Scriptures as the only Rule of his Faith and Pradice, and to ufe his bell Endeavours to underftand them m the right Senfe, in order to regulate his Actions, %vhere it is not contradided by any Part of his outward vifible Condud and Behaviour; that either this, I fay, is a credible Profeifion of Chriftianity, or elfe there can be no fuch cre- dible ProfelTion among Men. If you will hy^ that a Man c .nnot be (incere in his Study and Examination of the Holy Scriptures, where he happens to differ from you in any Thing which you apprehend to be a neceflary and im- portant Truth, by fome juft Interpretation of or clear Confequence from Scripture ,• this \% not only fuppoling the Infallibility of your own Judgment, but it is alfo fetring up your own Underftanding as the Rule and Meafure of aii Scripture-Truth and Orthodoxy, and making your own Judgment the Teft and Standard of other Mens Faith and Confcieiices: Or, in o- ther Words, it is a bold Inv^afion of the Pre- rogative of Almighty God, and a pretending to exercife a Spiritual and Divine Jurifdidion o- ver the Hearts and Confciences of your Fellow Chriftians. ' Rev. Mr. Gumming, axi Chriftians. Upon this mod wretched Princi- ple, it will be impoirible for the bell and moft Jincere Chriftians in the World to hold Com- munion with one another ; they mufl: go on to the V/orld^s Endhercticating and excommunica- ting each other, even where they are proteifcdly agreed in every Thing which the Holy Ghofl in Scripture has (ufKciently defined, or exprefs'd in clear and unexceptionable Terms, as nccefTary to Salvation and Chriflian Communion, and differ only in Matters ot doubtful Interpreta- tion or difputable Confequcnce ; about which, thofe who profefs to receive the fame Rule of Faith, and appear to be equally fin'cere in ex- amining and applying it, could never be of one Mind, and are never like to come to any A- greement. It is evident therefore, that this Principle, when received and acled upon, as it muft lay afide the Right of private Judgment, with all the Benefits and Advantages of it, fo it muft neceflarily difiblve and deftroy that Charity which is the Bond of Perfednefs, to- gether with all that Catholick Unity and Com- munion of Saints, which every Chriftian is bound under the higheft poflible Obligations, even the Sandions of eternal Life and Death, to prcferve and maintain. If you will after all declare and ftand to it, that it is not fufficient for Men to agree in every Thing that the Holy Ghoft in Scripture has clearly and definitively exprcfs'd as neceffary to Salvation and Chri- ftian Communion, unlefs they agree alfo in fome other Things of doubtful Interpretation and difputable Confequcnce j in vshich thofe who appear equally to believe the Scriptures, and to be equally impartial in their Enquiries, could aXX ^ L E T T E R /^ /Z?^ could never yet, or are ever like to agree : If you will, I fay, a|nnn this; I will undertake to demonflrate, upon this moll fenfelefs Prin- ciple, that the Scripture is not a fuiEcicnt Rule of Faith ; that it can ferve only to fet Man- knid together by the Ears, to create endlefs Broils, and the moft inhuman Divifions; that it would be the Wifdom and In te reft of the Cliriftian Church and World to lay it afide. It w ill iignify notliing to fay, that what you infift upon as neceifary and important by clear Confequence from Scripture, is fo, not only in your Opinion, but in the common Opinion of Chriftians : for the common Opinion of Chri- ftians can ferve you to no purpofe, but to make a Show of,* lince 'tis plain, that you have no Regard at all to any fuch Opinion, but only as it is your own Opinion. And if you will ftand to the common Opinion of Chriftians in all Matters alike, as you ought, or in none at all ; you muft, upon this Principle, renounce the Proteftant Religion, or confine Chriftianity to your own Perfuafion : which I think is indeed the only Catholicifm that can be confiftent with your Scheme. For if it is neceifary for all Chriftians to underfiand the Scriptures in the one only true Scnfe, not only in Things which the Holy Ghoft has exprefly and definitively determined as neceft'ary to Salvation and Chri- ftian Communion, but alfo in other Matters of doubtful Interpretation or Confequence ; and if every thing which you apprehend to be ner ceffary by clear Confequence, is really fo, and be true genuine Senfe of Scripture ; it muft be then evident, that all Chriftians are bound to underftand the Scripture in your Senfe, or to be Rev. Mr. Gumming, iig be of your Opinion in every thing which you imagine to be a Matter of" Importance. If you will abide by this, I muft demand a Sight of your Credentials, conflituting and appoint- ing you the univerfal Judge and Decider of all Controverfies in Matters of Faith. When you can produce your Commiffion, and make good yourClaim uponit,I fliall be rea dy to congratu- late you on this fignal Honour done you by the Almighty, and fhall endeavour to let the World know to whom they are to have their Rccourfe in this grand Affair : But till then, I mufl beg leave to conclude, th^^t your fubilituting, as you mofl evidently do, your own doubtful Opinions andConfequences in the room of Scripture it felf, and placing a publick as well as a private Judg- ment and Jurifdidionin every Mar/s own Breafi-, is diredly contrary to the Proteftant Principles, and to all the Laws and Maxims upon which Chrifl has founded his fpiritual Kingdom. /i^thly. The placing a Right in fallible unin- fpired Men, to fix and define the general, in- determinate and doubtful Senfe of Scripture, and to enforce fuch their Explications and De- finitions upon their Brethren and Fellow Chri- flians, as Terms of their vifible Chriftianity and Church Communion, is the great Founda- tion of Irapofition and Antichriftian Tyranny,' and will ferve equally to juftify all the Reli- gions or religious Opinions in the Chriflian World, that can be fet up under a Pretext of Scripture Authority. Either the Holy Ghoft, in Scripture, has limited and explained all I^lat- ters necefiary to Salvation and Chriflian Coni- iTiunion, in fufficiently clear, exprefs and de- finitive Terms, or he h.''.s*not ; If he has, this Con- ix4 j^ hETTti^ to the Controverfy is at an end, and then we may fafely reject all human Explications and De- ciiions in thofe Matters, as infignilicant and needlefs : If he has not, then either there mufc be a Right in fome particular Perfons, as the Govcrnours and Dircftors of Churches, to fup- ply this Defed of the Holy GhofI:, by making fuch particular Limitations and Explications, about Matters necellary to Salvation and Chri- ftian Communion, as are not made in Scrip- ture ; and to enforce fuch their Explications upon others, as the Condition of their vifible Chriflianity and Church-Communion j or elfe every Man, in Matters of doubtful Interpre- tation, or di{putable Confequence, muft be left to his own Judgment, without being liable to any Excommunication, Cenfure, or other In- convenience therefrom. If the latter be the Cafe, this Controverfy is alfo at an end ; fince then all Proteflants will be agreed in being of the fame Opinion about all Matters, which the Holy Ghoft, in Scripture, has clearly, expref- ly, and definitively determined as neceffary to Salvation and Chriftian Communion, and in allowing a Diverfity of Opinions in the vifible Church, about other Matters of doubtful In- terpretation or Confequence. But if you will maintain, as I think you muft, or give up the whole Caufe, that there is a Right or Autho- rity in fome particular Perfons, as Governours or Managers of the Churches, to limit and explain the general and doubtful Senfe of Scrip- ture, and to oblige others to receive, fubfcribe, or declare their AfTent to fuch their Limita- tions and Explications of Scripture, as the Condition of their .vifible Chriflianity and Right Rev. Air. Gumming, lij- Right to the Benefits of the Chriftian Cove- nant : I fay, this Principle will juftity the en- forcing the moft difl-erent and contrary Expli- cations of Scripture, as Conditions of Salva- tion^and Chriftian Communion ; this Plea v ill be as good in one oppolite Party or Communi- on as another, and will ferve to lupport all the Impolition and fpiritual Tyranny that have, or can be exercifed, under the Colour or Pretence of limiting and explaining the general and in- determinate Senfi of Scripture : And if any Man, or Body of Men, have a Right to fet up any par- ticular Senfe of Scripture, as necefiary to Salva- tion or Chriilian Communion, where the Holy Ghoft in Scripture has not expreily and deluii- tively determined it as fuch ; every Man or op- polite Party of Men muft have the fame Right to enforce, in like manner, their own Senfe ot Scrip- ture, whatever it be. For fmce where Men are agreed in their common Principles, and diiier only about the Confequences and Application of them ; and where they have no common Judge or Umpire, to whom they can appeal, and be fatisfadorily determined, no Man can have any thing elfe to guide or determine him but his own Underftanding and Judgment ; either every Man's Judgment muft give him a Right to fee up his ow n Senfe of Scripture as a Tell ot Chri- ftianityjor elfe no Man's Judgment can give him any fuch Right at ail. Perhaps you will fay, that tho' Men jnay interpret the Scriptures right, and enforce the true Senfe in Matters of Importance, as ncceflfary to Salvation and Chriif ian Commu- nion : yet it will not from, hence follow, that they may interpret them wrong, and enforce a falfe Senfe. I (hall allow this to be fomething to the Q, pur-; aa(5 y^/ L E T T £ R to the purpofe, when you can fliew, that by right In- terpretation and true Senfe, you mean any thing more than your own Interpretation and your own Senfe; or when you can make good your Title to Infallibility, and evidently prove that your own Senfe mufl neceflarily be the true Senfe. But this Proof you have been very fpa- ring of i and if you had depended only upon that, you might certainly have comprehended the Argument in lefs Room. If feveral Perfons fhould differ about their Title to the fame E- ftate, and had no common Judge or Umpire to whom they could appeal and be determined ; I fuppofe neither of them would think himfelf fairly divefted of his Right, or cut off from his Claim, by each of the other's claiming it whol- ly and intirely to themfelves. This is the very Cafe between thofc oppofite Parties and Com- munions, who, being profeffedly agreed in the Sufficiency and Perfedion of Scripture, as the only Rule of Faith, and in every thing that the Scripture has clearly, exprefly and defini- tively made neceflary to Salvation and Chriftian Communion, and differing only about Matters of doubtful Interpretation and difputable Con- fequence, do yet go on to hereticate and ex- communicate each other with equal Right and Juflice, while they are not able to convince one another by fair Argument. If you fay, that your Arguments are fuiliciently clear and convincing \\\ themfelves, but that your Adverfaries are heretically perverfe and obfti- nate ; I mult beg you to remember, that this is what any Man in the World may fay, who has but Front and Allurance enough. If you fhould flill urge, that thofa who underftand the Scrip- Rev. Mr. C u m m i n g, xa7 Scriptures in the true Senfe, muft certainly have a Right to infif]; upon that true Senfe in Matters ot" Salvation and Chnflian Communi- on, more than thofe who pervert and abufe them, by mifunderftanding and mifapplying them 5 let the main Queftion be firft decided, who are in the right, and who are tne true In- terpreters of Scripture in thofe doubtful and difputable Points j and if it happens to fall up- on you, I fhall fubmit to your Claim. But in the mean while, if I fhould fuppofe, for Ar- gument's fake, that you are actually in the right ; nay, that you are certainly and infalli- bly fo y yet it would not yield you the leaft Advantage, farther than you could make it c- vidently appear to the Underilandings of others. For I think it is plain enough, that as Men may be fincerely and virtuoufly miftaken, fo they may be very infincerely and wickedly in the right. For as that Truth, which is quite above and beyond a Man's Capacity and Ap- prehenfion, can be of no Neceillty or Impor- tance to him ; fo no Truth can be of any avail to him, who only flumbles upon it in his Way to Preferment, or takes up with it as the com- mon Opinion or fettled Orthodoxy of his Church and Party, or barely as it comes re- commended to him by Parents, Mailers, fpi^ ritual Guides, or whomfoever elfe he may think fit to make choice of to have an implicit Faith in. All true Religion mull: conlift in the inward rational Perfuafion of the Mind, ground- ed upon a juft and fair Examination , and where this is ncgleded, it is a Matter of little Confequence in the Cafe of true Religion, whether a Man be in the right or in the wrong. Q.2 I 1x8 y^ L E T T E R /O //j^ I fear therefore, that the Heads and Leaders of the diftereiit and oppolite Parties among Chri- ftians, and the great Fomenters of their Di- vifions, will give at laft but a poor Account of their Condu(^t, whilfl they have been putting out the Eyes of their Difciples, in order to tlieir being led about in the dark by their Ma- ilers, deterring them as much as poiTible from reading or confidering any thing on the con- trary Side ; and beating and abuling their Fel- low-Servants, w ho thought it better to fee with their own Eyes, than to be put under the dif- cretional Guidance of thofe who could make the loudeft and boldefl Claim, and perhaps with the lead Right, to Truth and Orthodoxy. The main Queftion then here, is not, as fome may imagine, who is in the Right, and who in the Wrong ; but whether Truth can give a Man any fpiritual Jurifdidion over an- other m.ore than Error ? Or, whether a Man's being adually in the Riglit, in any of thofe doubtful and difputable Points, can juftify him in excluding another from Chriflian Commu- nion, becaufe he cannot fee the NecelTity or Ciearnefs of a particular Interpretation or Con- {iequence, w hich may perhaps be true in it felf, and may appear to be clear and neceflary to your Underflanding? This Suppolition gives your Caufe all the Advantage it is capable of; and yet even here you cannot juftify the ex- cluding another from Chriftian Communion, without ufurping that Authority and Jurifdic- tion over the Hearts and Confciences of Men, which God has referved to him felf. You will fay, that you only judge for your felf, as every one muft do, whom you are to receive Rev. Mr. Gumming, ai^ receive to, or exclude from, Chriftian Commu- nion ; and that this may be done without pre- tending to any Spiritual JurifdiCtion over the Confciences ot others, unkfs the Riglit ot pri. vate Judgment be l"aid to be fuch a Jurifdidion. To Mhich I reply, that the Debate here does not turn upon the Right of private Judgment, in which I fuppofe we are both agreed y bur upon the Principle and Rule ot" Judgment, \vhich you have advanced as the Ground and Meafure of your whole Procedure, both m forming your Judgment, and in dire(lting your confequent Pradice j and the Queflion is, whe- ther this Principle and Rule of Judgment will not ferve to jullify and fupport all the Impo- lition and Spiritual Tyranny in the Chrillian World ? I fuppofe you will allow, that tho' every one has a Right to judge for himfelf, yet no Body can have a Right to form his Judg- ment and regulate his Practice upon falfe Prin- ciples j and that nothing can excufe or ju/lify a Man m fo doing, but invincible Error. Whe- ther your Error is invincible or not, I cannot pretend to determine, and therefore I leave all fuch Matters to the moft righteous Judgment of God alone; but I think I can fhew clearly that your Principle or Rule of Judgment is wrong, and that it will ferve to fupport and juflify the Spiritual Cenfures and Excom.muni- cations of all other Parties as well as of yours. Your Principle is this, that there is a Right in fallible unin^Tpired Men, to fix and dcHne the Senfe of Scripture, as neceffary to Salvation and Chriflian Communion, in Matters where the Holy Ghofl in Scripture has not thus fix'd ^nd dciin'd it m Terms fufEciently clear, ex- Q, 3 prcfa a^o v:/Letter to the prefs and unexceptionable. That this \s the very Hinge of the Controverfy, and the Point upon which it turns, every one muft fee ; and that this Principle fuppofes fallible uninfpired Men capable of making new Revelations, or of revealing the Mind and Will of God clearer, or in more fignificant and definitive I'erms, than the Spirit of God has done it, I have proved already. I am now to fliew that this Principle, or Rule of Judgment, will juftify all Parties and oppofiie Communions alike, in making every thing neceffary to Salvation and Chriftian Communion, which they appre- hend to be the true Senfe of Scripture in any Matter which they think of fufficient Impor- tv^nce. Since it is evident in Fad that the Scripture in many Cafes is capable of different Interpre- tations, and that Men of equal Probity and Integrity, as far as we can judge, interpret it differently; and fince there is confefTedly no in- fallible Judge to whom they can appeal to de- cide their Differences ; 'tis plain that no Man can have any thing elfe to guide and determine him to one Interpretation or Senfe rather than another, but his own Underflanding and Judg- ment \ and therefore every Man's own Judg- ment, and confequently the joint Opinion of any Body or Party of Men, muft give them a Right to make every thing neceflkry to Salvation and Chriftian Communion that they think to be fo, or elfe no Man's Opinion or Judgment can give him any fuch Right at all. You will fay, per- haps, that every Man has a Right to interpret the Scriptures in the true Senfe, and to make that to be necefTary to Salvation and Chriftian Com- Re^. Mr. Gumming. 251 Communion which the Holy Ghoft has made fo, but no Man can have a Right to do the contrary. If by true Scnfe here, you mean that which is True and Right in it ie\^^ or in the Judgment of God, this in the prefent Cafe is laying nothing at all ; for fince what is True or Right in it felf, or in the divine Judgment, cannot polTibly be known, or any ways deter- mined, but by forming fome human Judgment concerning it j and fince there is no infallible Judge to decide where the Truth lies, amidft the different Opinions and Interpretations which may arife among thofe, who equally receive the fame Scripture as the only Rule of their Faith and Praftice; this muft leave the Matter juft where it was, and give every oppoiite Party an equal Right to eilablifh their own Opinions and Senfe of Scripture, as the only necellary Terms of Salvation and Chridian Communion. But if by true Senfe, and right Interpretation, you mean, as I fufped you do, that which is True and Right in your own Eyes, or in your own Judgment; and confequently that Men ought not to receive any thing as the true Senfe of Scripture, or make any thing neceflary to Salvation and Chriflian Communion, 'till they are of your Judgment or Opinion about it : If this be what you mean, you would do well to declare your felf frankly upon this Point, that all Parties and Communions may know where is the lafl Refort, and to whom they are ulti- mately to appeal as the infallible Interpreter of Scripture, and the final Judge and Decider of all Controverfies in Matters of Faith. If you dare not abide by this, you muft either allow your Principle, or Rule of Judgment, to hold a3^ A Letter to the good univ^erfaliy, as apply'd by all Parties while they are cAablifliing their own Scnfe and In- terpretations of Scripture, m oppolition to all otliers, as the only Terms of Salvation and Church Communion ; or clfe you mull; give it up entirely, as utterly groundlefs and indefen- iible. You are at Liberty to take which of thefe you like beft \ but both of them I think you cannot avoid. It will be to no Purpofe, ^ciil you have better Evidence, to cry up as you do the Clearnefs and Plainnefs of your Conftquences ; for I muil tell you again, that all this Talk of clear and plain Confequences, v\ hile the Matter is in Debate, and other Peo- ple have not Eyes to fee thofe Confequences, might come with as much Juftice, and with as good a Grace, from a Qiiaker^ or a Muggle- tmian. And thus, Sir, I have given you fome Ac- count why I cannot agree wdth you in the Bu- iinefs of Subfcriptions and Declarations of Faith, where the . Scripture it felf is not thought a fufficient Teft and Standard of Truth in Mat- ters nccefl'ary to Salvation and Chriftian Com- munion, without the farther Explications and Limitations of fallible uninfpired Men : And from hence, perhaps, it may appear, that the Non-fubfcribers might have fufficient Reafons for not complying with your Demands, tho' rhcy had been all of your Mind, with refped to any particular Dodrine, or even all the Do- cirines, of Chriflianity. I fhall not enter into the Confidcration of any particular Reafons they might have for not Subfcribing at that Tim.e and Place, or in the Manner you would have had them , fince this ma y perhsps depend upon Rev. Mr. Gumming, ag 3 upon Fads, of which I am not fufficicntly ap- prized. But it I am miftaken in the general Scheme, 1 defire to be fet right ; and I pre- fume you are too far engaged, to remain indif- ferent about it. But I am feiiiible, that all this, or wliatever elfe can be faidfor the Perfedion and Sufficiency of Scripture, againft the impofed Explications and Opinions of Men, will fignify nothing with thofe, who take it for granted, that the Controverfy now on Foot concerns a Funda- mental Article of Faith, as delivered plainly and clearly in the Holy Scriptures themfelves, and that the Difference betwixt us ftrikes at the very Being of Chriflianity. This is what you allert in the flrongef]: Terms, and with fuch an Air of Aflurance and Invincibility of Per- fuafion, as can be juflify'd only upon flrid de- monftrative Evidence. ''Tis openly and flrenu- oully declared, that there are fome among us who would dethrone the Supreme and Great God, and place him in the Condition of a mere Creature ; and who, by diverting the Sa- viour of the World of thofe high and glorious Perfedions with the Scriptures afcribe to him, would render him utterly uncapable of execu- ting that Mediatorial Office, which he had un- dertaken for the Redemption and Salvation of Sinners ; and the Wretches who are faid to be guilty of this horrible Wickednefs, are the A- rians and Socinians. I believe you think your felf at the fartheft Remove from Sodnianifm ; and fince you have declared the Socinians to be the grolTeft Hereticks, and have excluded them as inch from Chriflian Covenant, and from all the Benefits and Privileges o't the Gofpel^ one can- a34 ^Letter to the not fuppofe that you reckon your felf in any fuch Company ; and yet, if you are not, I think it will be impoffible for me, or any Man living, to guefs where or what you are. Now, feeing you have made fo great an Outcry a- gainft Herefy, and imagine your felf fo capa- ble a Judge of it, I (hall briefly examine your own Scheme, and try how far (even your felf being Judge) yoiir verbal Orthodoxy can differ from real Herefy. In order to fhew how far and wherein you can differ from a SQcinian, it will be proper to confider in what Particulars you muft neceifarily be agreed ^ and when I have fliewn the Agree- ment, I muft leave it to your felf, who are doubtlefs moft capable of it, to exprefs the Difference. You muft then, I fuppofe, agree with the Socinians in thefe following Particu- lars. I. That there has exifted from all E- ternity, by an abfolute intrinfick NecefTity of Nature, One only fupreme independent firft Caufe of all Things; One individual intelligent Being, or Agent, of abfolute infinite Perfec- tion ; or One God. This is the firft Principle of Natural Religion, demonftrable a priori from the Nature and Reafon of Things ; and in this, Chriftians^ Jews and Mahometans are all agreed. This, I think, is the only true Notion or Idea that Men have, or can have, of the One Supreme Being. And the Chriftian Revelation does not fet up a different Objed: of Worfhip, from that which was always the True Objed of all Re- ligious Worfhip, and Supreme Adoration to Mankind, under the eternal immutable Obli- gations of the Law of Nature. What the Scrip- ture Re^. Mr. Gumming, ris ture does in this Cafe, is, Firfl, To reftore the Knowledge and Worfhip of the^One True God, by letting his Being and Perfections in a clearer Light, and confirming this Account of him by tne Evidence of Miracles -, after the true Knowledge of God asrevealed in Nature had been in great Meafure loft ; and Men, thro' the general Corruption of Human Nature, had run themfelves into Idolatry, and the Worfhip of many Gods. Secondly, the Scripture reveals to us the true and acceptable Manner of Wor- Ihipping the One True God, thro* the alone Mediation of his only Begotten Son Chrift Je- fus ; and the Scripture requires us to receive and own Jefus Chrift as the Son of God, the Lord Redeemer, and the only Mediator be- twixt God and Man ; and that we honour, worfhip, and glorify him in this Capacity of Mediator, as the Perfon appointed by God the Father to Govern and Judge the World. But this does not fuppofe or imply the leaft Alte- ration or Difference in the Nature, Notion or Idea of the One Supreme God, or the Su- preme and Ultimate Objed of all Honour, Re- fped, Worfhip and Adoration. So that this Principle ftands now, as it ftood before, in the preordinate Nature and Reafon of Things, and is not alterM ; but clear'd, reftored, and fetin a ftronger Light. But fince it has been pre- tended, in order to juftify fome late Divifions, that the contending Parties in this Controverfy have a different Objed of Worfhip, and there- fore cannot with a good Confcience join toge*' ther in the fame Communion ; let it be fhewn that the different Parties have any one different Idea concerning God as the Supreme Objed of Wor^ ^^6 u^ Letter /^ /^^ Worfhip, which all Chrijliam^ Jews and Maho* metansy arf not agreed in: 1 fay, let this be made out, or tor Shame let this Plea be diop*d, as the Scandal of thofe who make ufe ot it W'ithout the leaflj^oundation, and when they have nothing ell^to fay. So that I c:in't fee wherein you can difter from the Sociniam, as to the Object ot your Worfhip. The Diflerenc?, I think, lies only as to the Manner of it ; in the Abfurdity ot your pretending to worfliip the One God, thro' the Mediation of himfelt; and fuppofing the Perfon, or intelligent Being me- diating, to be the fame with the Perfon of- fended ; or that the Perfon mediating, is not really a Perfon, an intelligent Being or Agent, but a metaphyfical Nature, or abftrad Idea only. 2. You muft, I fuppofe, agree with the Soci- nians in denying, that the Father, the Word, and the Holy Gliofl, are diftinci: intelligent Be- ings, Agents, or fclf-confcious Minds ,* which is what they have always declared to be their Meaning, when they deny them to be three di- flind Perfons. This is the only Trinity which a Socman denies ; and herein you are, I fuppofe, as much an Unitarian^ or Anti-T'rimtarian, as any Sociman in the World. And as for any incompre- henfible Differences or Diilindions in the One individual fupreme Being, call them pcrfonal, or what you pleafc, the Socmians nev^er aiHrmed or denied any thing about it. 'T\s notorious, that the Sociniam have always declared, that the Fa- ther, the Word, and the Holy Ghoft, are but One God ; ^tis true, they have commonly fup- pofed tlje Word to be the effcntial Wifdom, and tlie Spirit to be the effcntial Power or Energy, of Rev. Mr. Gumming. 237 of God ; and hereupon they h^ve deny'd them to be diflind: Perfons, i, e. dillind: intelligent Beings or Agents. The Notion of the Gene- ration and Proceffion of the Son and Holy Ghoft from Eternity, or before all Time, either by a voluntary or neceflary Ad, has been al- ways thought of the lafl Importance to keep up any Idea of dilfin(5l Perfons; and therefore, this is what the Socinians have always flrenu- ouily deny'd : And fince you are fallen in with them in their fundamental Principle, and have granted them the Ground of their whole Scheme, perhaps you may like them better for the fu- ture, and bring them into Chriilian Communion again. 3. Since you fuppofe that Chrift's human Soul was not the VVord himfelf incarnate, or made Flefh, but another intelligent Being, di- ftind from the Word y you muft alio w> with the Socinians, that the human Perfon, born of the Virgin, the true Body and reafonable Soul, or the Man Chrift Jefus, is a diftind intelligent Being from the fupreme God. Nothing can be more trifling and abfurd, than to fay here, as perhaps you will, that tho' the Natures are diftind, yet the Perfon is the fame ; unlefs you could fiiew, that diftind intelligent Natures muft not he diftind intelligent Beings, Agents or Perfons. But I hope we are not talking of mere logical Entities, or of metaphyseal ab- ftraft Natures and Ideas, but of Things really and adually exifting without us ; and yet this empty Sound of Words is the only Dif- ference you can pretend to keep with the So- ciniam. T(? agS ^Letter to the To fay. that a human Soul is the fame intel- ligent Being or Agent with the fupreme God, or that thefupremc God is the fame intelligent confcious perlonal Self with an human Soul, mufl: doubtlefs be the higheft Blafphemy, as well as the grofl'eft Abfurdity and Contradic- tion. I would not be thought hereby to fug- geft, that this \^ what you mean by the hypo- ilatical Union, as it mull ftand in your Scheme ; for I have the Charity to think you mean no- thing at all by it. But from hence it is vi(i- blc, how eafily learned Men may diflrad and inflame the Minds of very good and well- meaning People, by the mere Magick of Words. And as it is pollible, by the Mechanifm of Sounds, to teach dumb Creatures either to fight, or to dance, and to exprefs their good or ill Liking at Pleafure : fo I am forry I mufl fpeak out fo plain a Truth, and tell the World how much they are abufed ,• fince here is a learned Man, and a great Champion for the Orthodoxy of Sounds, who, as I prefume to fay, is not able, upon his own Principles, to clear himfelf from what he efleems the word of Herefies. When you can fhew, that your verbal Or- thodoxy differs in any thing that is intelligi- ble from real Socinianifinj I ihall allow you to have faid fomething to the Purpofe. If you can- not do this, I muil befeech you, 6Vr, by all the Regards you owe to Chriflianity and Religion, and by all the Sentiments of Humanity, that you would not go on thus unmercifully to cen- fiire and condemn other Men, and to beat and abufe the Servants of another Mafler ; fince it mufl be evident that you are only fighting in the Rev. Mr. Gumming, a 39 the dark, and inflaming the Paflipns of People, by the mere Mechanifm of Sounds ; and that you are at the fame Time, tho', I iiopc, igno- rantly and innocently, pronouncing your own Condemnation. All that the Socinians fay, is, that the fa- preme God and a human Soul cannot be the fame intelligent Being, Agent, or Perfon ; and therefore, that they cannot, with any Truth or Confiftency, be join'd together under one common Name, as if they were the fame I, the fime He, or the fame intelligent Agent or perfonal Self. And really, Sivy methinks it is a little hard, that Men fhould be damnM, only becaufe they will not talk the groflefl Nonfenfe, and renounce the very firft Princi- ples of Reafon. Tis well if you maintain the Credit of being flill in the right with your own Party, after you have fo plainly yielded the Caufe to the Socinians; for I can hardly think that all your Confidence will be fufficienc to skreen you from the Imputation of Herefy, with thofe who are of your own Make and Temper, and who think their own Undcr- flandings and Judgments to be the univerfal Tefl and Standard of Chriftianity, and the Rule and Meafure of eternal Life and Death. And when People fliall come to fee that you can differ in nothing from a Sociman herein, but only in the Abfurdity of calling two intelligent Beings one Agent, or two Perfon s one Ptrfon ; I fear they will begin to think, that you have carried your Refentments a little too far, and that you had much better have been filent ill this Controverfy, 2.40 y4 Lettv^r io ihe I fhall now proceed to take fome little No- tice, as I fuppofe you exped I fliould, of the Stridures you have been pleafed to make upon fome Parts of the Letter of Enthnjiafm, And here, as to the Account I had given concerning Certainty and Probability, or Knowledge, as diftind from Belief and Perfuafion, you have feveral Faults to reprehend me for^ which, be- caufe you could not find them in my Difcourfe, you have thought fit to make. It feems, my Account of Knowledge, or Certainty, as diflinguifhed from Belief, or O- pinion, has given you very great and grievous Offence j but as I hope to fliew that you are angry without Caufe, fo perhaps you may have fome Reafon to repent the Expencc you have been at, of a little Learning thrown away upon this Occafion, I had fo clearly fixed and defined the Senfe, in which I ufed the Word Certainty y that it was hardly pofTible for any one not to fee how I underilood it ; and you do not pretend to be in any Doubt about my Meaning : But you take the Word in a quite different Senfe from that in which 1 had pro- fefledly ufed it; and then attempt, with won- derful Perfpicuity, to find a Contradidion be- twixt ^Ar.ChillingiJoorth and me, in the bare Sound of Words, as abflradcd from their Meaning. 'Tis notorious, that Mr. ChilUngv^onJos whole Book is written againft the Popifh Claim of in- fallible Certainty in Matters of Faith ,* and it mufl be evident to every Body, that I have de- ny'd no other Certainty in fuch Matters, but infallible Certainty; or, if you will, a flrid and proper Certainty, or the Perception of in- tuitivb and demonflrative Evidence. Novv, if you Rev. Mr, C u u m i n g. i^t you have no fuch Certainty in Matters of Faith, you have neither contradided me, nor fliewn any Contradidion betvvixr nVe and Mr. Chil- lingivorth ; but if you think you have any fuch Certainty, why are you fo iliy ; and why do you not fpeak out, and claim it in plain Terms? When I fay, that they muft be very weak Pro- teflants, if there were any fuch, who talk of Certainty in Matters of Faith ; 'tis evident, that by Certainty here, I muft underlland flrict and proper Certainty, as diftinct from ail the Degrees of Probability below it, and which, as thus coniider'd, muft be always in- fallible Certainty : And to take me in any othc^r Senfe, is fuppofing me to fay, that they muil be very weak Prcteftants, who talk of Proba- bility in Matters of Probability, or of Faith in Matters of Faith. But, I allure you, Sir, that I had no Inclination to triBe at this Rate ; and have fince given the W.crld feme Account why I think Mr. Torig, in his Mroduclicny muft be underftood in the Senfe I had fix'd upon, or be fuppofed only to trifle and contradid him- felf, in pretending to a fort of Evidence which he dares not Aand by. To my faying, that they, the Four MiniflerSy Ind difclaimed no In- fallibility, but an univerfai unlimited Infallibi- lity in every thing, or an absolute Freedom from Error, you reply, p. ^5- '' And v/hat o- " ther Kind of Infallibility would he have " Men difclaim ? Would he have us renounce " our Reafon, and our Senfes ? This we muft *' do, if we tamely grant that we can't be in- " fallibly certain of any thing. What 1 will *^ not this Sceptick yield one Inch of Intallibility " to intelligent Beings?" I befeech you not to R tranf- a4^ ^Letter to tide tranfport your felf beyond Meafure : You know very well that I allow of infallible Cer- tainty in Matters of Science, or in all Matters capable of intuitive or demonflrative Evidence : I have deny'd infallible Certainty only in Mat- ters of Faith, or in fuch Matters as depend wholly upon Tcftimony, and are not founded in the prior Nature and Reafon oi Things, but are convey\i to our Underilandings only by hu- man, traditional, or hiftorical Evidence. And here you ought, in all Reafon and Confcience, to difclaim infallible Certainty, or throw oft* the Proteflant Difguife. You are now my Wit- nefs, that the Gentlemen I wrote againft had difclaim'd no Infallibility, but an univerfal un- limited Infallibility, or an abfolute Freedom from Error; and this the Pope difclaims as well as they : And therefore you muff difclaim infallible Certainty in Matters of Faith, or elfe I fhall not yet be. able to fee, that either you or they are inclined to yield one Inch of Ground to his Holinefs^ as the fpiritual Monarch of Chriftendo'm. tj I fuppofe you exped: that your common Rea- der fhould look upon Sceptiafin as a very great Herefy ; and yet, as you have managed the Matter, I cannot fee that you have left any Medium betwixt a Sceptkk and an Enthu/tafi ; and therefore, till you can clear the Account better, I rnuil leave you to honour your felf with which of the two Charaders you like beft. You go on, p. 66. to give the following Ac- count of the Infallibility claimed by the Pope and Church of i^ow^; " What we juftly ccn- " demn in the Pope and Church oi Roiney is^ ^' that they pretend to an abfolute Infallibility <* in Rev. Mr. Cum ii i n g, 145 *^ ill all Matters of Faith ,• (o that whitever " they decree as a Matter of Faith, and necef- *' fary to Salvation, is fo by virtue (^ their " Sentence j and that all Chridians are bound, *^' under the Pain of Damnation, (and all the " temporal Penalties they have Power to in- *' Aid,) to fubmit to their unexamined Deci- " fions, and to believe tliem infallible for the '' mere Authority's fake, tho'they have a De- *' monflration to the contrary. This Privi- " lege of Infidlibility they appropriate to the *^ See of RQmey and leave all the reft of Man- *' kind under the fame wild Uncertainty this '' Gentleman is bringing them to. And is *^ there any Parallel between this impious *' Claim, and afl'erting, that fuch is the Na- " ture of the rational Soul, made after the ^^ Image of God, that v.e may attain to an *^ actual Certainty concerning fome divine Mat- " ters, thofe cfpecialiy that are moft plainly " reveal'd, and of the greateft Importance to " be known ? All the Inrallibility any modefl ** Man ever pretended to, is, an Afibrartce " that in fome Things he is in the right : And ^^ this cannot be deny'd> without diveiling " Mankind of their rational Natures." If by Matters of Faith here, you mean, as you muft if you contradid me. Matters of pure Revelation, or Truths which depend up-* on Teftimony, as diftiniSt from Matters of Science j the Pope and Church of Rome may, with as much Juftice, claim Infallibility in all, as in any fuch Matters. And your pretend- ing to infallible Certainty in fome fuch Cafes, but not in all, while you are not able to fet- tle the JBoun dairies, or to tell us in what Points R 7, your a44 -^Letter to the your Infallibility lies, and in what not ; does but render your Scheme the more ablurd and contra^iidory, and is fo far from giving you any Advantage of the Papifts, that it expolcs you to their jufl Ridicule. It w ill be to no Purpofe to fay, that you are infallibly in the right in tlToie Matters of Faith which are moll clearly reveal'd : for lince you pretend, that feme Things are clearly and evidently reveal'd to yoUj which other People cannot find in their Bibles ; and fince the Reflexion of Inlincerity, or Dullncfs, is as eafily retorted as caft ; this muft fet you down juil where you were, and either bring your Infallibility in thofe Matters to nothing at all, or leave you at as full Liberty as the Pope, to claim it where, and whenfoever you plcafe. You know^, that Matters of Faith, and Points of Belief neceflary to Salvation, are, in the Popifli Senfe, equivalent Exprefiions ; and that the diflinguifhing Matters of Faith in^ to Points fundamental and not fundamental, is what the Papifis do nor alloW'. When the Pope, therefore, claims Inhllibility m Matters of Faith, he means, that he is infallibly certain of the Truth of whatever he declares, as ne- ceflary to the Salvation of all Chriflians. Now you are cither infallibly in the right in every thing neceffary to the Salvation of all Chriftians, or you are not ; if you are, you are as infal- lible as the Pope pretends to be, who does not claim any other Infallibility j if you are not, you may, upon your own Principles, perifb e- veilaflingly for want of it, by being miftaken about fome other Things which are fuppofed to be neceffary to Salvation, and to which ycur Infallibility does not extend. So that being certainly Rev. Mr. Gumming. 245* certainly and infallibly in the right in (bmcThings which are neceHary to Salvation, ur.lefj> you could be fo in all fuch Matters, can do you no good, but mud: leave your Cafe ilill as miferable and defperate as the Pupifls would make it. What you lay next, *' That the Pope and Church olf *' Ro7ne demand a SubmilTioii to wiiatever they '' declare as neccirary to Salvation, by Virtue of '' their Sentence, and Jor the mere Authority's juke^ '' even tho' Men have a Demonftration to the *' contrary/' is a molt notorious Falfhood, and a Calumny upon the Papifts th-jmulves. And indeed, without calumniating tne Pope and Ciiurcii oi Romey you could not, upon your own Principles, with any goed Grace appear againil: the.-n. The Papifls were never yet fo abfurd as to found the Authority of their Declarations and Sentences, upon the Declarations and Sentences themfelvesj as if they created their own Faith, and were not Subftitutes or Delegates in de- claring the Mind and Will of God. This would be to place the Pope upon the Throne of Al- mighty God, and to claim to him divine Ho- mage, WorOiip and Obedience; not barely by Confequence, but in exprefs Terms. But the Pope has never yet thou.^ht fit to declare lum- felf to be God, or to make himfelf not the Sub- ftirute, but the Principal ; and I am forry you fbould find your fclf under any NeceHlcy of charging the Pope and Church of Rome fo un- juflly with this impious Claim. The Papifls make as great a Noife about evident Declara- tions of the Mind and Will of God, and clear and plain Confequences from Scripture, as you can do, 'Tis true, the Popifli Advocates hava R 3 fome- a4^ yf L £ T T E R to the fometimes, in their Difputes with Proteftants, rejecied all Confequences, and demanded clear and exprefs Proofs from Scripture \ as knowing that the Protellants, as well as they, hold feme Things which cannot be proved from Scripture, fo much as in Appearance, without flying to the Pretence of drawing Confequences from Principles of pure Revelation ; which is the Method by which the Vafifis themfelves fupport the greateil Abfurdities in their own Religion. The Pope indeed claims an infallible Certainty in Points where he has it not ; and takes upon him to declare all Men to be out of the Fa- vour of God, and the Way to Salvation, who will not receive every thing as neceflary that he defines to be fuch. And herein, I think, you are even with his Holinefs, and I fhould be glad to know wherein you come behind him, unlefs it is m your not maintaining, or letting up as necc;fiary to Salvation, all the Abfurdi-* ties and Cpntradidions that the Pope does. The Clofe of your Paragraph is as extraordinary as the red; for you fay, " That all the Infallibility *' any modeil Man ever pretended to, is, an " Alfurance that in fome Things he is in the ^' right ; and this cannot be deny'd, without ^' diverting Mankind of their rational Natures/* This, I muft own. is a modeft Claim enough ; 2nd if this be all the Infallibility any modeft M^n ever pretended to, I prefume that no modeft Man has ever deny'd it him. I grant yo.u, you may be as inbllible as you pleafe concerning your own Exigence, the Being of a. God, and the Exiftence of the Ideas which you are feif-confcious of in your own Mind. "This is alio wing infallible Certainty in fome Things i Re'o. Mr. C u m m i n g. 147 Things; and if this will content 3^ou, the Concrov^erfy v/ith all modeft Men muft be at an End. But notwichilanding this Teeming Mo- defty, I dare fay, if I fliould grant you An m-' hillible Certainty concerning all the icie ncilick Principles in the World, whether natural or moral, this would not fatisfy fo mndeft a Man ; unlefs I fhould grant you alfo the fame Cer- tiinty in fome other Matters of mere Revela- tion, and (.f a very abftrufe, doubtful and difpu- table Nature. Having quoted p. 6-], the Account I haci given of infallible Certainty, as founded in the Perception of intuitive or demonftrative Evi- dence, you ha\'e thought fit to charge it wiih feveral Faults ; But perhaps it may appear, up- on a very little Con(ideration, that thefe Faults are not in my Account of the Matter, but in your Imagination only. The fnil: Blunder you think I have made is, in confounding neceifary with contingent Exigence. ^" I know not, fay " you, whether this Sceptick be certain of his *^ own Exiflence ; but I can tell him, it is no *' Contradiction to fuppofe he had never been " born." You Teem to be moft confident and fecure in your own SufSciency where you have leaft Reafon ; you might have obferved, if you had thought lit, that I was not fpeaking ot the necefl'ary Exiflence of I'iiings ; but of the ne- ceflkry Truth of Proportions, or the necelf^ry Reafon and Relation of Things. The Idea of Self'Confcioufnefs in my own Mind, has a ne- ceiiary felf-evident Connexion with the Idea of Exiftence \ aiid therefore it is a ncceflkry Truth, and the contrary impolfible, that a felf-con- fcious Being muft a(5tually exift : tho\ as you R 4 learnedly ^48 A Letter to the learnedly cbrcrve, it is pofHble that I might not have exifted. That every veafonable Crea- ture muft b=3 obliged to yield the hi[jhert Ho- nour, Worfliip r-nd Obedience ro the Supreme Being, is a neceiTiry Truth, and the contrary impoiTible in the Nature and Renfon of Things ; becaufe no reafonable Creature can cxilt with- out fuch a Relation to the Supreme Being ; and yet no reafonabie Creature can exift by an abfolute ictrinlick Nv-ceility v f N.cture. That a Cone is a tliird Part of a Cylinder of the fame Bafe and Akicude, and that a Sphere contains two Thirds or its C'rcum- fcribing Cylinder, are neceflary Truths, and their Contraries neceflarily faif;- and impofTible \\\ the Nature of Things, whether rh-re are any Bodies adually cxiiling exadly and goome-? trically Conicab Spherical, and Cylindrical, or not. It this v/iii not help you to diftinguilli the neceffary IVuth of Propofitions, and the ImpoiTibility of their Contraries, iTom the ne- cedary Exigence of Things ; I doubt you will hardly be thought fit to trouble the Publick any farther with your Speculations concerning Certainty and Uncertauity, Nxellity and Con- tingency. Another Fault, it feems, is, that I have made a total and abfolute Diilinction between Mat- ters of Science and Matters of Faith : Whereas thefeThings are to be dii}''iguifhcd but in Part. You fay, they are to be dillinguilhed in Part ; but, ^t is plain, you endeavour to confound them totally and abfolutely, and would not have them 4iftinguiihed atall. For, if what you have faid be to the Purpofe, there can be no fuch Diftinc- tion ill Nature , but Matters of Science and Matters Rev. Mr. Gumming. 149 Matters of Faith- muft with you be the very fame Matters. ^ristrue, that taking Faith orBjh'ef, in the largeft Seiife, for the general Aiient of the Mind to the Truth of a Propofitifen, every Matter of Science will be a Matter of Faith too ; becaufe it is impoifible for a Man to know a Thing, without believing or afi'enting to the Truth of it. But then, tho' the lower Dc^grees of Evi- dence are included in the higher, yet the high- er are not at ail included in the lower ; and therefore, where we depend wholly upon Tefti- mony for the Truth of a Propoiition, which has no prior Foundation in the Nature and Reafon of Things, this will be purely and mere- ly a Matter of Faith, and will be totally andab- folutely diftin(5i>from Matters of Science. This, as every one mufl: fee, was the Diftindion which I had made j but, inftead of keeping to it and arguing fairly upon it, you thought ic more convenient to endeavour to fhuffle it off, and to loofe the the Reader in a Mift of Words which have no manner of Relation to the pre- fent Controverfy. But I am not like to efcape fo ; for you will have me miftaken again, in not allowing what you Call Moral Certaintyy or "Traditional Evidence, to be of equal Force and Invincibility, in de-" termining the Judgment, with Demonft ration it felf ; which you affirm all Philofophers and Divines to be agreed in. This I mufl; confefs is wd:iat I did not know, and have now nothing to depend on for it but your Authority. How- ever, if all Philofophers and Divines are agreed in what you here fay they are, that Tradition- ^1 Evidence may be equal to Demonflration ; I ^So -t^Letter fo the •will venture to fay that they are all mlftaken, and I challenge any one Divine or Philofopher among them to make it good. I wonder you (hould think to bear me down with the mere AuAority of Philofophers and Divines \ fince were they all agreed with you herein, as I believe they are not, yet I fhould not place their Authority in the Room of Evi- dence : But as it happens, I have not faid one Word againft your moral Certainty in Matters of Faith ; and therefore am at Liberty to be as morally certain as your felf, where I cannot ar- rive at a ftrid Demonftration of Things ; only I muft put you in Mind, that as a moral Im- poilibiiity is a pofllble Impoflibility, or impof-* fible Poflibility, fo your moral Certainty will always be, in fome Degree or other, more or lefs an uncertain Certainty ; for w^here the Evi- dence falls fhort of Demonflration, it muft ftill fuppofe the Poffibility of the contrary, and then you cannot be ftridly i. e. infallibly certain that the contrary is not true, or you may pofubly be miftaken and adually in the wrong ; in which Cafe, the Hazard of being miftaken will be more or Icfs, according as the Evidence on both Sides comes nearer to, or recedes farther from, an Equality. I fuppofe you muft allow that a reafonable Creature ought to be deter- mined in his Judgment and Praftice by nothing but Evidence, or the Reafon and Fitnefs of Things, as it fhall appear to him upon a fair Enquiry J and confequently, that the Degree of Affent, or the Strength of Perfuafion, ought always to be proportional to the Evidence ; for what goes beyond it, muft be an irrational Perfuaiion, or an Affent without Evidence. Where Rev. Mr. C u m m i n g. zyi Where the Evidence appears equal on both Sides, the Mind cannot rationally determine it Telt at all concerning the Truth, Reafonablenefs or Fitnefs oi: Things ; but njfl^ fufpend its Judg- ment, and aa upon a Prifiyple of mere Indit- ferency. Where the Evidence on one iide ap- pears to prevail and outweigh that on the other, the Judgment and Pradice ought always to be determined to that fide on which the iuperior Evidence lies: And here there will be infinite Degrees of Probability on the one Side, and Improbability on the other, 'till we come at length to demonflrative or intuitive Evidence on one Side; which mufl: abfolutely decide the Cafe, and render the Determination at once In- vincible and Infallible, and take off all PolTibi- lity of Doubt or Sufpence. And from hence it appears, that every realonable Creature ought in all Cafes to be determined by the beil Evi- dence he can get; or to regulate his Judgment and Practice by what fhall appear to him to be true, reafonable, and fit to be done, after a fair Enquiry or impartial Examination. This is the very Pomt in which all Virtue, Religion and moral Goodncfs coniifl ; and he who re- gulates his Judgment and Practice upon what appears to his Underflanding to be true and reafonable, after a due Enquiry or an impar- tial Examination, muft be equally a virtuous Man, and equally juftifiable and rewardable, whether he be adually in the Right or in the Wrong ; and to fay otherwife is to afnrm, that Men may be juflly punifhed for not being ab- folutely and univerfally infallible, or for not being what they could not poilibly be. Tiiis is the Rule which all Mankind proceed upon in tl)e grand Affairs of Life and Death, and in all Mat- ^^^ jdl h-ETTER to the Matters of Equity and Juftice between Man and Man, in which they are not (o liable to be impofed on, or to be bubbled cut of their Rights and Senfi^^Jpy any learned Scholaftick Jargon. The Jutp in PVefiminfter-Hall are iuppofed to be Men of Uprightnefs and Inte- grity, and maintain the Character of Righteous Judges, as long as they proceed upon the beft Evidence they can procure in a Cafe before them ; tho' they may be, and often are, miftaken in the Evidence, and go contrary to the Reality and Truth of Things m Fad. You may call this, when apply 'd to religious Matters, Scepticifin, Herefyy Lifidelity, or what you pleafe. I have learned by Experience not much to regard fuch perfonal Reproaches, and opprobrious Names j efpecially from rhofe who are fo free with them upon all Occaiioiis, w hile they are fo fparing of their Proofs. I hope to maintain the TelUmony of a good Confcience, and upon that Foot to make light of the Con- demnation of Man. I write for no Party, nor with any Expedation of a Reward from Men ; but for what I take to be the Common Inierefl of the Gofpel, the Caufe of Chrifliaii Liberty, and the Religious Rights of Mankind ; and thefe 1 am refolvcd, by God's Affiilance, to defend in the bed Manner I can, againil the Spiritual Tyranny, Bigotry and Enthufiafm of all Parties, or any Party whatever. I have one Account more to adjuft with you befox^e 1 conclude ; and that is, concerning what you have faid in your Marginal Notes, p. 77. about the Belief of Myfterious Propofitions; in which, with a Dexterity common to Learned Men, who have a bad Caufe to manage, you affirm and deny the faniq Thing. You own, that; Rev. Mr. Gumming. XSI that what is Myfterlous and Incomprenhefible, cannot be the Objed: ot Faith -, Tnat we can neither believe or disbelieve it, or employ one SThouglit about it. That tij^e Thing it leli: may be clear and intelligible enough, where the Man- ner of the Thing is Myilerious and wholly In- comprelienfible, is very certain j but then, the Thing*it felfand the Manner of the Thing, are really too different Things ; and the Propofi- tions and Truths concerning them, as dilierent as any Propofitions and Truths in the Worlds Which is evident from hence, that the One may be clearly known and reveal'd, w here the Other is abfolutely unknown and unreveaW. And therefore it is very flrange what you add hereup- on, '^ that iw this Sen^j we can Juftify our be- " lieving Myfterious Propofitions, againll all '' the Cavils of proGne Infidels, who fporc " themfeh^es with their own Deceptions, when *^ they compare believing of Myfteries, orThings " above Reafon to comprehend, with feeing " Things which are out of Sight". If the JBelief of what is reveal'd, may be cal- led the Belief of a Myftery, or of wh-it is not reveal'd; by the fame way of Talking, the Knowledge of what is known, may be called the Knowledge of what is not or cannot be known : And therefore, in this Senfe we can ju- flify the Knowledge of what is unintelligible, and the undc-rflanding of what cannot be un- derflood; in this Senfe we can deffroy all Di- flinction between what is known or unknown, reveal'd or unreveal'd ; and in this Senfe we cm juflify any Abfurdity or Contradidion in the World, againfl: the Cavils of all fuch profane Infidels, as will not renounce at once both their Reafon and Senfcs, to be determined by down- right 1^4 -^ L E T T E R /(9 the right magifterial Nonfcnfe. However you may endeavour to impofe upon and abufe weak Peo- ple ; the QueRion is not, as you pretend, Whe- ther we may not both underltand and believe a» Thing as very clear and intelligible, where the Manner of the Thing (which in this Cafe is indeed a quite different Thing) is wholly incom- prehcniibie? But the Queftion is this. Whether the Thing it felf, which you fay is reveal'd, be fo or not ? And 1 think enough has been laid, till fome clear Anfwer be given to it, to ihew, that the Thing it (elf, which you con- tend for, is as incomprehenfible as the Manner of the Thing ; that you make ufe of Words \\\ Proportions, fuppofed to be reveal'd, without Ideas ; and that as you know vot inhat Spirit you are of^ fo you know not what you fay, nor can by any Means tell w^hat ^tis that you wculd have other People believe. If you can tell me clearly and intelligibly what your Opinion is, and vJh^t you think mine ought to be, concern- ing the I'yinity j I had almoft faid, that I will engage to become your Difciple: And till you can do this, I hope you will give me leave to underftand the Scriptures the beft I can for my felf, and to confefs my Ignorance where I can- not underfland them, without excluding me from the Communion of Chriftians, and the Benefits of the Chriftian Covenant. I have given you fome Reafons why I cannot be exac5i:ly of your Mind in feveral Matters, and why I think you ought to explain your felf a little farther : And 1 mufl now fubmit the Whole to your Confideration. / am, SIR, Tqut Humjk ScYvanty MttrVorwgl), May i?. T. M. ^'M.3^)litS^)L^i5^)!£.3XA\ LETTER T O Sir Richard Blackmore. Occafioned by bis Bcoir, intltled. Modern Arians UnmasKd. LETTER T O Sir Richard Black more. Cannot expre fs to you the dirferent PafTions with which I was affcded, upon reading your Book, intitled. Modern Arians Uuma^lid, See. With great Refolucion, and fome Pains, I have difpof- fefs'd my felf of all thofe Sentiments w^hich may not be fo proper to be mixed with a Controverfy ; cfpecially while I am concern'd with a Gentle- man, who muft in Juflice be confidered as a Perfon of Learning, Probity and Honour. But ftill I cannot ceafe to wonder, when I compare the Book with the Character of the Author ; for 'tis really in it felf farprizing, that a learn- ed and good Man fliould think to ferve the Caufe of true Religion, by fubflituting only v:arm DehortationSy wrong Irnpeachmms and inde^ § iiherate liberate Charges, in the Place and Room cf ra- tional objective Evidence. I fhall here therefore take the Liberty to lay before you the Reafons I have to conclude, that amidll: all this pafTionate Harangue, and poetick Fury, you have offered no good Argument or Reafon at all; but on the contrary, have, in all refpeds, imitated the Popilh Advocates in their Method of making ProJeUteSy and eilablifliing People in the Faith ; excepting only tlie fpecial Favour of not giving up your Advcrfaries to the Civil Coercive Power : for which Piece v( nattiral jTifiice, in the Name of all thofe who are fo unhappy as to be repu- ted unorthodox, I heartily thank you. You begin, by declaring the vafl Importance of the prefent Cafe, as it Hands in your Ap- prehenfion ; and endeavour to fhew, that it mufl be utterly unjuflihable, on the Principles of either Side, for the contending Parties in this Controverfy to maintain Chriilian Com-' munion with eacii other, p. 3, 4, 5. " A great Number cf Men among us, which " is very furprizing, fpeak of the Controverfy " between the Believers of Chriil's Deity and *^ their Adverfaries, as a Matter of no great '^ Concernment. It is only, fay they, a Dif- ** ference of Opinion about a Subjed that is " difficult to be underflood ,* that there are " Men of Learning and Probity on either Side '^ of the Queftion ; and therefore they conclude, " that fuch Men fhould live peaceably together, " and maintain Charity and Friendfliip with ** one another. Hence they are not afraid to cen- *^ fure thofe that engage in this Difpute, and " flrenuoufly contend for the Chrillian Faith, '^ as turbulent and injudicious Perfons, who " lay Sir R. Blackmore. %S9 ^* lay too great a Strefs upon Matters of infe- " rior Moment. Now to difabufe thefe Gentle- ** men, I will fet before them tlie Weight and *' Importance of this Controvcrfy. It is a *' Controverfy that nearly affeds Salvation, and *' concerns the very Being of Chriftianityj fince " the Objects ^vhich the Orthodox and their '' Adverfaries worfhip are eflentially ditferent. " The Objed which the Orthodox worfhip, is ^' One who never had Beginning; That which *' Disbelievers of Chrifl's Deity worihip, had *' a Beginning: The One iixi^is neceffarily, *' the Other does not exift neceflarily : One, '^ in the Opinion of the V/orfhipper, is e- " qual with the Father, God mo ft High^ in ^' Knowledge, Power, and Glory ; the Other, ** in the VVorfhipper's Judgment, is not equal *' with God moft High, in Knowledge, Pow- *' er and Glory. Now the plain Confequence ^ ^ of this Difference about the very Objed of <« Worfhip is, that the Believers of Chrifl's *^ Divinity mud: be condemned by their Ad- *^ verfaries, if they are true to their Principles, ** as guilty of Idolatry, for paying divine Wor- *^ fhip to One, who, in their Opinion, is not «' God mofl Highy Infinite, Eternal, and of him- " felf Omnifdent; which I have fhewn in a former '^ Writing on this Subjed, and fhall more evi- *' dently evince in the Sequel of this Difcourfe. " It will then follow, that the Disbelievers of *' Chrifl's Deity muft be Idolaters likewife, by ^' continuing in conftant Communion with our *' Churches, which, in their Judgment, if they *' follow their own Dodrine, are guilty of that «' Impiety : And on the other hand, the Or- i^ thodox or Calholicks, muft look UDon them S s ^ '' c$ a6o y^ hETTER to '' as Idolaters, for paying divine Honours to " One who is not God mofl High. Since there- *' fore Controvcj lies become, and are denomt- /' nated, great and important, from the Great- ;** nefs and Importanceof their Subject -, andiince «* here the Object of Divine VVorfliip is the '* Point in Debate i this Difpiue mufl: be of the ^' higheft Nature, and nrxc to that about the " Foundation ot all Religion, the Exigence of *' God; and mult be aliow'd to be the mofl *^ material that can aiife abcut the Chriflian '* Scheme.". 1 have cliofen to quote you out upon this Argument, that the Reader might have the whole Strength of your Caufe in one View ; for as to any other Appearance of Evidence in this Cafe, which is here prom i fed in the Sequel of this Difcourfe, 1 have not been able to dif- cover it. Now to dilTipate this Mifl of IVords^ and diffolve the Charm, I fliail beg leave to make the following Remarks. I, Then, it is a little furprizing, that you here attribute to Chrifl^ the moil peculiar and pcrfonal Charaders of God the Father i fuch as God mofl High, God in and of himfelj Infinitey . Eternal, Omnipotent, and Omnifcient , that isj if you mean any Thing, God abfolutely Supreme^ VnoYtginate, and Selj-exiflent ; tor this ypu muit fay, to eftabhfh that abfoiute, flrict and pro- per Equality and Co-ordination, which you here declare for in the flrongefl Terms, and in Words that are mofl cxprelfive of fuch an E- c- quality. Now upon this toot you m.ull: either fay, ' that Chnjfy as to his Deity, is the felj-fame Per- ; fon witli God the Father-, or elfe, that he is an- other Perfon diftin(!^ from the Father^ but ab- folutely Sir R. B L A c K M o R E. r6i folutcly co-ordinate with him, nnd in all re- fpeAs equally high and glorious. If you fliould fay, that Chrifl^ as to his Deity, is the jame Per/on with God the Father, you know the Confequences ot ihis S.ibdlian Schcjne ; that it mull trom hence follow^ that God the Father was incarnate, futterfd, and d\tL\y as much as the Sony and this, to make an Atonement and Satistadion to himfelf, that when Chrift fays, My Father is greater than /, he means only that the Di- vine Nature is greater than the Human, or that . himfeif, as God, was greater tlian himfelf, as Man j that as often as our Saviour pray'd to and V'orfliipped xXiq Father, hepray*d to and w orfliip- ped himjelf; and that w^hen, in hislafl Agonies, he cryM out^ My God, my God, ivhy hafl thou for fa- ken me, he mull; be underftood of crying out tqj himfelj, as having lorfaken himfeif. ^ Thefc, and luch like CoufcquenceSj I prefumc you cannot bear, and the Current of Orthodoxy feems now to be turned another Way ,• and therefore, perhaps, you will fay, that Chrift is not the fa??ie, but another and diflind Perfon from God the Father^ in all refpeds equally high and glorious. Now, though this might be demonftrated, upon ma- ny Accounts, to be abfolutely impollible and contradidory ; yet I fhall here only inhft upon that w hich mufl be obvious to every Man's Ap- prehenfion. 'Tis plain then, that where tliere is fuppofed to be a firict and proper Equality or Co-ordination between Two or more Perfons, the Title and Charader of mo/i High cannot, with any Truth or Juftice, be alfumed by any One of them ; bccaulefuch an Afl'umption muft derogate from the equal Honour and Glory of the Other's. When, therefore, you ftile Chrifi S 5 God z6z ^Letter to God mofl High, you mufl either fuppofe him higher than God the Father, or elfe you evi- dently derogate from, and deny the at leafl equal Honour and Glo-y '^f rh^ F'lth' r ; fince no one am be God mofi Highy while there is an- other, who is at Icaft as high and glorious as the former. If you fhould fay, that you do not entitle Chrifl God mofl High, with refped to the Father, but only with refped to fubordinate created Beings ; this would be too trifling to deferve a ferious Anfwer : Since in this St nfe you might as well be fliled the highefl, th'^ mofl learned and honourable Philofopher cr Divine ; that is, the mod: high, learned and honourable in reference to ail thofe w'ho -ire lower or lefs learned and honourable than your felf. But, 2, I mufl obferve farther, that you have here, by overdoing, ruin'd all, and unhappily involved your orthodox Friends, together with their Adverfaries, in the Guilt of Idolatrj^ Inftead of proving that the Orthodox and their Adverfaries mufl, in Confequence of their dif- ferent and refpedive Principles, confider each other as Idolaters, you have proved that both Sides muR- be Idolaters upon your own Principles. Idolatry, in your Account, confifls in paying any Religious or Divine Worfhip to any One "who is not God mofl high, God of hiinfelf^ in- finite, eternal, omnifcient, &c. i.e, felf-exiftent. Now it is notorious, that all the learned or- thodox Writers, who have hitherto undertaken to 'give us the Senfe of the Catholick Church in this Point, have ever declared it as the peculiar and perfonal Character of the Father only, to be God mofl high, or the mofl high God, God m and of himfelf, God unoriginate, or felf-exif- tent. Sir R. Blackmore. x6i tent, or God emphatically ; and they iiave ftili maintained, that Cbrifl is God of God, or God originate and begotten, who has fome Way or other derived. his whole Exiftence, Being, and Deity, from the Father : Yet all thofe Gentle- men protefledly pay a properly reh'gious and divine Worliiip to Chrift.^ as God of God, or Cod begotten. Dr. Waterlandy whofe Autho- rity you will not, I hope, flight in this Cife, dtclaros, th:it the Father onl)- is God emphatkall)'y i. e. God under a certain peculiar Senfe, in which there is no other God befides him, and in which Ciirifl himfelf is not God ; and there- fore, whenever he talks of an Equality, he takes Care to except the Cafe of Unorigination or Stlf- eyiiftencei by which he evidently dcftroys a real Equality, and eilabliHies a real Subordination; and I know of no conhderable orthodox Wri- ter who has ever contradicted him in this Point, or carry 'd the Matter in any other Way : And yet the Dodor, and thofe of his Way, w^or- fliip the Soiiy not as God mofl Highy God 0/ himfelfy or God abfolutely fupreme, unorigi- nate and unbegotten, but as God of God, or God begotten. Nothing can be more evi- dent therefore than this, that the Do(5tor, and, according to him, the whole Catholick Churcli, niuft, upon your Principles, be Idolaters j and confequently, you ought, upon your Hypothefis, to feparare from them, and renounce their Com- munion, as worfhipping Oney who, by their own Acknowledgment, is not God niofl high, God m and of himfelf, or God abfolutely fu- preme. It therefore, Sir, you expecl your Ad** verfaries fliouid take your Advice, by fepara- ting Communion from you, 1 hope you will S 4 give a64 A Letter to give them a good Example, by ading up to the -Scheme you have advanced, and refolving into a Church of your own, confifting only of your felf and a few private Friends. 3. Another Remark that I cannot but make upon this Reafoning of yours, and which I take to be weii worth your ferious Confi dera- tion, is, that you here apply the Name Chrip. to Two effentially diftind and infinitely different Perfons, intelligent Beings^ or Agents ; and you all along perplex and darken your Difcourfe and Argument, by confounding thofe Two Perfons under one and the fame Name, as if they were one and the fame Perfon. Chrifl with you is Tometimes God ?nofl highy or the fupreme God, and fometimes he is the Man Chrifl Jefus of Naz.arethy or the human Perfon born of the Vir- gin. But is it poflible, I befeech you, that the Tnoft high God fhould be the Man Chrifl himfeffy or that the Man Chrifl fhould be the fupreme God himfelf? Can thefe two infinitely different and efTentially diflind Perfons be one and the fame Self^, or the fame Perfon ? or, can you poflibly form any Notion or Idea of human Na- ture as abflraded from human Perfonality? If "you fliould pretend any Thing like this, I hope you will think your felf concerned to make it goodj and not expeft that People fhould fub- mit to bare Didates, or be determined only by pathetic k Declamations, without the leaft Appearance of Truth, or the leafl Spark of Light or Evidence. This is that grand Pillar which muft now be thought to fupport the whole Fabrick of Chriflianity, and upon which jail who will not re/1 for eternal Salvation muft be fliut out oi the Kingdom of Heaven ,* and ■ ' ' .yet Sir R. E L A c K M o R ^. ^6s' yet in this whole Debate, there his not been one orthodox Writer who has dar'd to meddle with it. 4. But that which is moft material of all, as to the prefent Argument, is^ that you here talk fo much of religions M^orfJjip and IdoLitryy without once fettling or afcertaining the deter- minate Senfe of the Words ; and indeed you apply them in fo general and confufed a Man- ner, that it does not yet appeir to me whether you mean any Thing by the Words or not. You charge your Adverfaries with Idolatry, for wor- (hipping One, who in their Opinion is not the moft high or fupreme God j and I have fhewn that your orthodox Friends do the fame, by their own Acknowledgment, It will be to no Pur- pofe here to fay, that the Orthodox, however, fuppofe Chrift to be much higher and greater than their Adverfaries m.ake him ; for flill while they fuppofe him to be any Thing lefs than the moft high or fupreme God, they muft be Idolaters in your Account. But becaufe I would not leave the Matter fo much in the dark, I fhall here lay down my own Principles ; and leave it to your Choice, whether you will fall in with me, or advance fomething farther of your own that may be more confident and intelligible. By religious Worfiipj then, I mean all that Obedience, of what Nature or Kind foever, which is confi- dered as an Obligation upon Confcience, and refolved abfolutely into the governing Will or Law of the moft high God; and in Confequence of this, any fuch Ad of Obedience, which is not refolved abfolutely into the fupreme Au- thority of the mcft high God, is in my Ac- count a66 /[ Letter to count Idolatry, or an Ad of falfc and mif- placed Worfhip. I fuppofe it mufl be pad difpute, that this fupreme abfolute Authority, or Right of Le- giflation, mufl tje founded in an abfolute Su- premacy of Nature, Being, and Perfection, an4 can no more be communicated to any fubor- dinate or inferior Being, than unoriginate Self- exiftence. There cannot be imagined any higher or more peculiar A6t of religious or divine Worfhip, than an abfolute SubmifTion of the Heart and Confcience to the legiflative Au- thority, or governing Will of any Being, as fuch ; for where there is no farther Appeal, no fuperior Power or Authority acknowledged, there cannot be any higher or m*ore abfolute O- bedience. As this fupreme Authority, with refped to the inward free Obedience of the Heart and Confcience, is abfolute ; fo it is like- •\vife evidently univerfal or unlimited, extend- ing to ail poilible Cafes whatever ; or, which is the fame Thing, the conftituting any Law which fhall bind the Confcience under the Sanc- tions of Eternal Life and Death, is the incom- municable and fole Prerogative of the fupreme or mofl; high God ; and therefore, where any iubordinjit^v Being fets up his own Will as the fuprem.e Law, and claims an abfolute Submif- (ion and Obedience of Confcience to this his Will, as fuch, he fo far places himfelf in Room of the moft High, challenges a properly religious and divine Worfhip, and affumes that peculiar Glory, which God will not, and cannot give to (another. In Confequence of this, it mull; fol- low, that no fubordinate Will whatever can have any binding Force or Obligation upoa Con* Sir R. B L A c K M o R E. ^6y Confcience: For either it will be agreeable to the Will and Law of God, or not,* ii^ nor, the Cafe is plain, that it cannot bind the Confci- ence ; but if it be agreeable^ the V/iil of God, as requiring the fame ThinjMiat God has like- wife commanded, the Oblation, or binding Force upon Conicience, arifes not from any fuch fubordinate Will or Law, as fuch, or in it felf confidered, but from the prior and fu- perior Will of God, which is ftrictly and pro- perly the Law, into which all Obedience of Confcience muft be abfolutely and rightfully re- folved. It has, I know, been pretended, that fubordinate Rulers, whether Civil or Ecclefia- flical, have flridly and properly a legitlative Authority vefted in themfelves, efpecially in Things merely indifferent, and where God has not interpofed by any prior Determination or Law of his own. But with SubmifTion, this is afcribing to them a ftridly divine Autho- rity, aiid paying them a properly religiousWor- Ihip and Obedience, and that in the higheft and moft unexceptionable Inftance of it. The neceffary Rectitude and Perfedion of the di- vine Nature, is commonly the Rule and Mea- fure upon which God himfelf conflitutes his Laws, and determines his Will ; and he very rarely exercifes that mofl: peculiar Prerogative of all, in commanding Things purely indif- ferent, merely for the Tryal of the mofl: ab- folute Refignation and Obedience. There can- not therefore be a more abfurd or extravagant Pretence than this, that any fubordinate Ru- lers have an Authority of making Laws about Things purely indifferent ; for where the Matter and all the Circumftancts of the Law are fup- pofed ^68 A Letter to pofed to be indifferent, the Law is confelVedly founded upon no Reafon or NecefTity at all, and ferves only to exercife an abfolute uncon- troulable Power, aiid that in the moft extraor- dinary Inftance ^Bit that can be imagined as peculiar to God fflafelf. But tho' God has re- ferred to himfelf the Right and Prerogative of trying the Obedience of his Creatures in this Way, yet he cannot poiTibly give his GIqy-j in this Cafe to another, without divefting himfelf of his Deity or fupreme Dominion. It will be here ask'd, perhaps. If this be fo, that all pro- per legillative Authority is peculiar to God rnofl high^ what Authority has fubordinate Ru- lers; and wherein does their Power confift ? I anfwer, in Promulgation and Jurifdiction, or in the Right of declaring, divulging, and exe- cuting the Laws of God, bv applying them to particular Perfons and Circumlfances : For tho' all proper legiflative Authority be peculiar to God only, yet it does not appear that he ever declared or executed his own Will by himfelf immediately, in his own Perfon, and without any fubordinate Agency ; this therefore is a Truft which he commits to fubordinate Agents in different Degrees and Meafures, according to their different Natures y Situations and Capa- cities. The Limits to which I have confin'd my felf, •will not permit me here to apply this to all the particular Cafes in which it might ferve to give Light ', but I muft not omit that famous Di- ftindion between fupreme and mediatorial or fubordinate pf^orfhipy which has lately occafion- ed feme Debate berw-ixt the Reverend Mr. Pykey and the Iearn':^d Author of The Unity y dec I take 5ir R. B L A c K M o R E. z6^ take Leave here, Sir, to mention Mr. Pyke's Name, becaufe 1 prefume he is an Author high- ly in your Favour, and one who has been thought to have advanced fomething of Con- fequence in this Matter : However, I doubt not but it mufl appear to Mr. PyJze, and to the whole World, upon a little Confideration, that his fupre7}ie Worjhip, when rightly underflood, will be the very fame Thing with his Adver- fary^$ mediatorial or fubor dinate H^lorJ/jip ; and that he has contradided him for no other Reafon in the World, but only becaufe he did not, or would not under/land him. I think it muft be evident, beyond all Contradidion, that the in- ward lincere Obedience and Conformity of our Hearts and Wills to the fupreme Authority and Law of God, is that which conflitutes the . Religion of any Adion ; and therefore everyAd which is equally founded upon, and refoived into, the fame fupreme Authority, will be e- qually a religious Ad, and a Part of divine WorHiip, be its dired and immediate Objed what it will. The Diftindion between fu- preme and mediatorial or fubordinate Worfhip, is not grounded upon the different Authority into which it is ultimately and abfolutely re- foived i but upon the different Objed on which it is conlidered as terminated, and which may be either fupreme or fubordinate, while the Conjiituti've Authority^ and confequently the Re- ligion of the Ad, is fliil the fame. He wlio honours and obeys Parents, Alagiftratesy and all other Superiors in the Lord, or as God has appointed and commanded, does at the fame Time, and in the fame Ad, pay the higheft -Honour to God, by rcfoiving all fuch fubordi- nate 2-70 A Letter to nate Honour and Obedience abfolutely into the iupreme Authority and Will of God; which is doubtlefs the higheft Inftance of Honour, Ve- neration and Refped, that can poflibly be paid to any Being. Will any Man of common Senfe fay, that his honouring and obeying Parents, Magiflrates, iyc. is no Part of his Religion ? or that God himfelf is not flriftly and properly honoured, worfliipped and obeyed in our fo doing, while all fuch fubordinate Honour is regulated by, and abfolutely refolved into, the Will of God ? Now if Mr. ^)ke cannot fay, ei- ther that he does not honour Chrift as Media- tor at all, or that his thus honouring him is no Part of his Religion, or that he honours him ai Mediator^ under the Notion of the fupreme God; it he cannot, I fay, (land to either of thefe, as I prefume he w^ill not, I muft leave him and others to confider what real Oppofi- tion he has made to the Author of I'he Unity ^ &c. in all that he would be thought to have faid againll: him on the Point of fupreme and mediatorial Worihip. If by fupreme Wovfloipy he means all that Obedience, of w^hat Nature foever, or upon what Obje(5t foever terminated, which is ultimately and abfolutely refolved in- to the fupreme Authority and Will of God ; it is granted him, that in this Senfe there is no fuch thing as fubordinate Worfhip, nor did ever any Body in this Senfe contend for it : But if he means, that all the Honour due to fub- ordinate Beings, by the Will and Appointment of God, is no Part of his Religion^ or that God js not hereby worfhipped and ferved, he may take the Honour to himfelf of having fet up a new Religion, or Method of worfliipping God, that 5/V R. B L A C K M O R E. X7I that was never known or heard of in the World before. In the firjft Cafe, he will contradid no Body ; in the fecond, he will contradid every Body. And therefore, he may take his Choice here, whether he will have no Adverfary, or no Friend ; none to oppofe, or none to defend him. I hope, Sir, you will pardon me this Di- greflion, which however I thought not wholly bdide the Purpofe ; and I fliall now proceed more direclly to your Argument, by which you endeavour to prove, that your orthodox Friends, and their Adverfaries, ought, upon their diffe- rent and refpedive Principles, to conlider and treat each other as Idolaters. But, in the firft Place, I mufl: ferioufly profefs to you. Sir, that I am heartily forry to fee the Temper you are in, and to think that I mufl yet contribute fo much more towards the heightening and inRa- ming your PaiTions ; which I fear the bare Ne- cefTity of the Argument will force me to, what- ever Favour I fhould allow^ you upon other Accounts. "'TIS great Pity, methinks, to fee you thus arming your felf with inexorable Re- venge, and breathing nothing but Slaughter and Deflrudion, Hell and Damnation, asainil; your innocent Brethren, and Fellow Chriftians, who never did you any Injury, and who w^ould not do it if they had it in their Powers but are willing to live peaceably with you, as good Subjeds, and good Chriflians, in worfhipping the One only tme God, through the alone Me- diation of his only begotten Son, by the joint Aid and Affi (lance of the fame hlejfed Spirit, and in hope of the fame immortal Crow'n and King- dvm ofGi'jry. But this it feems will not do, your a7- ^ L E T T E R /d your Fury is not to be appeafed with Friendflilp or Religion ; and indeed were your Power equal to your Anger, it mufl be very dangerous at this Juncture to approach you, and it would be high Time for your Adverfaries to betake themfelvcs, itpoifible, to the Rocks and Moun- tains for fheltcr. However, as this Rage of hnagination can hurt no Body but your felf, I Ihali venture even your higheil Difpleafure, in laying open what I look upon to be your Mis- takes and Errors. In order to which, I fliall only beg that you would pardon me the Pre- fumption, Slr^ of confidering you as a mere Man, and a fallible Creature ; which is the fole Foftuiatum I require, and all that I need a- gainfl you. You ftate the Cafe of Idolatry between the Orthodox and the Ariaru, thus : The Orthodox mufl look upon their Adver- faries as Idolaters, becaufethey pay divineWor- fhip and Honour to Chrift^ while they believe him not to be the fup-erne or mo ft high Godj but a fubordinate Being or Creature only; and thefe again mufl look upon the Orthodox as Molatersy for worfhipping Chrifl as God mo/i [High, who is not fo upon Ana}2 Principles ,* and tfarther, while they continue knowingly and willingly to hold Communion with each other, ^they mufl ftrengthen and aggra\ate the fame Guilt of Idolatry on both Sides, by a mutual Participation with thofe^ who upon their dif- ferent and refpedive Principles mufl be Idolaters. This is, I think, in fhort, the whole Strength and Force of your Argument, tho* you draw it out thorough the whole Book, only for the fake of mixing it with all the Invedive and Afiurance you are Mafler of; and hereupon you Sir R. B L A C K Al O R E. 275 you conclude, with great Security, p. 17. *' And now let thtTe fubtle Difputants call u\ " Aid all the Forces of:" Criiicifm and Philofo- *^ phy; let them explain, diflinguifh, fhift, *' and ftrive, as long as they pleafe, to difen- *' tangle themfelves; they are here Jet fafty and " and can never get off'* If this be fo, there is no help for it ; but if all this Ihould appear, as I imagine it will, to be nothing elfe but vaia Confidence, and mere empty irifignificant Eoafting^ perhaps you may repent this dogmatizing, and learn before you flcp into the Grave, to be more Catholicky and lefs InfuUible. I muft own, you have fet the w^hole Matter in as clear a Light, as Words are capable o£ without a Meaning ; but whenever we come to affix any certain determinate Senfe to the Words Gody Chrifly Religious WorfI:)ip , and Idolatry, your whole Argument will be loft ; and every one will fee that under great and fpecious Ap- pearances, you have been (ay ing jufl nothing. I have already kid down the general Principles, which, being apply "d to the feveral [Parts of your Argument, will eafily difcover itsextream Weaknefs and Inconfequence. You ground your Charge of Idolatry againll your Adverfaries, upon this, that they pay re- ligious or divine Honour to Chrifi, while they conlider him only as a fuhordinate Being. You , know very well that thefe Hereticks pretend to honour and obe]^ Chrift as Mediator, according to the Will and Appointment of God the Fa- ther : And methinks 'tis hard they ftiould be I- dolaters for obeying God. ' lis evident that God has dircded us to yield different Degrees of Honour, Refped, and SubmiiTion, to fubordi- T nate a74 -/^Letter to nate Beings, according to their different Re- lations to us, and the different Degrees of Au- thority and Jurifdidion they have over us. Now you muft either allow, that That very Honour and Obedience which is thus paid to any fuch fubordinate Being, by the Will and Appointment of God, is a Part of your reli- gious Worfbip, or elfe you muft fay, that 'tis no Part of your Religion to ohey God. I would here ask you. Sir, whether you and your Or- thodox Friends do not honour and obey Chrift as Mediator ; or whether you do not fubmit your felves to the Authority and Jurifdi6tion of tkat Man whom God has ordained to judge the M^crldy and whereof he hath given us fufficient Afl'urance in vaifwg him fvcm the Dead ? If you will fay, either that you do not honour and o- bey Chrift as Mediator at all ; or that this Ho- nour and Obedience is no Part of your religi- ous or divine W^orfhip ; or that you honour and obey Chrift as Mediator, under the Notion of the fupreine God ; I prefume your Adverfaries will not envy you the Honour of this new^ Religion : But if you cannot ftand to any of this, I verily believe you muft either acquit the Hereticks, or condemn the Orthodox ; which is indeed a very hard, but I imagine you will find it your only Choice. Methinks 1 could give fomething confider- able, if I had but your Definitions of religious Worjhip, and of Idolatry ; but fi^ce I am not fo happy, I muft content my felf with only guef- (ing at your Meaning. I fhall fuppofe there- fore, which feems moft likely, that by religious Wo'//hip, you mean that particular Degree and Meafure of Honour^ Veneration^ and Obedience, which Sir R. B L A C K M O R E. Z^f which is due only to Gody confidered as a Be- ing of ahfolutey infinite PerfeBion : which when paid to the true God, is true Reh'gion; but when direded to any other Being, it is Idola- try and falfe Worfhip. If this be not your Meanings I think it will be very difficult, if not impoffible, to difcover it by your Words ; and yet in this Account of the Matter, it muft neCeffarily follow, that there never has been, nor can be, any fuch thing as Idolatry in the World. 'Tis very evident, that neither Hea- thens, Papifts, or any other Idolaters, ever did pay that lort of Honour or Veneration to the it Idols and jalfe Gods, which is due only to the tme Gody confidered as a Being of ahjolute in- finite Perfection. The Heathens did not con- fider any one properly divine Attribute in any of their Gods; but afcribed to them human Ap- petites and Paffions, nay, the w^orll: of Lufts and Vices ; and the Honour they pay'd them was fuch, as, being paid to the true God, muft have provoked him more than not worfhipping him at all ; and fuch as could be agreeable only to the Nature and Will of the Devil. And indeed they feem*d to confider no fort of Per- fection in their Idol Gods, but that fuperior Knowledge and Power with which every one muft fuppofe the Devil himfelf to bo endued. Produce one fingle Inftance, if you can, in which any of the Pagan Idols were confidered by their Worfhippers as inverted with abfolute infinite PerfeBion^ or in which any falfe God ever aflumcd the real CharaBer, or peculiar Attributes, of the true God. This you cannot do ; and yet you are fo very fecure upon the Point, that, p. i6, you claim the miverfal Con-^ T z fm ^76 y^LETTER to lint of all Chviflian Writers. 1 cannot pretend to be acquainted with all Chrijlian Wvitevs up- on this Subjcd; but there is one CImftian Wri- ter, whofe Authority, I prefume, muft have fome Weight with you; 1 mean, the Learned Sir Richard Blacbnore \ wlio, in the Inftance of Popifli Idolatry, rcfpeding the Adoration of the Hoft, p. 1^. has contradided all that you have faid about religious WovJIoip and Idolatry, The Author juft now quoted, fuppoles the Pa- pifls to be guilty of Idolatry in worfhipping the Hofl, That they are guilty of Idolatry in this Cafe , is agreed indeed by Proteftant Wri- ters ; but how they fhould be fo upon your .Principles, 1 cannot fee. Does a Papifl fup- pofe the Body oj Chrift to be endued with ab- folute Perfedion, or that Chnft's Body is the one fnpreme felj-eyii(lent Being? Methinks you fhould not imagine this of them ; at leafl you can have no Reafon to imagine it. What if a Papifl fliould tell you, as doubtlefs he would, that when he kneels before the Hoft, it is not properly tliQ Body, but the Perfcnol Chrift that is the real Objed of his IVorfiip, and whom he thus worfliips upon the Occafion of his fup- , pofed Lodily Prcfence : Muft you not allow this, where the Objed ii right, to be a true Ad of Worfhip, whether Chrift be bodily prefent or not ? The worfliipping Chrift as bodily prefent, when he is not bodily prefent, is indeed a Mi- ftake; but ilill you muft own thar, whether he is or is not bodily prefept, he is always equally a pro- ■ per Objed of religious Adoration and WorHiip. You obfervc, in the Place laft quoted, fpeak- ing of the Papifts, " That fome of their own " beft Writers are fo honeft and ingenuous, as Sir R. Black MO RE. 277 *' freely to declare, that i't they are mfftakcn " in the Article of Tntnrubfkntiation, the^ ** are certainly Idolaters/' But fare lam, Si?^ that this honefl ingenuous Declaration can be no- thing at all to your Purpofe ; How the Papifts nuftaking, or not miftaking, in the Point of Tranfubftantiation, (houl'd any way afl'ed: the Cafe of Idolatry upon your Principles, i% won- derfully myflerious; for, is it not, I bcfeech you, as iluoid and fenfelcfs a Pitce of Idolatry to worfliip Flejh and Bloody :[$ it is to woifhip Bread and Wine ? or, can one Syftem or Parcel of Matter claim, \w this refpcft, any Preference to anotli^r ? Perhaps you would allow it to be carrj'ing the Matter a little too far to fay, thr:t Proteftants worlhip and adore the Altar, or the confecrated Elements ot Bread and IVine, when they kneel before them ; and you can have aS little Reafon to conclude, that the Papills, when they kneel before the HojU pay their mental A- doration rnd WorHifp to a material fenfelcfs Mafs of Fte(h and Bkod. The Papifts here are guilty of Idolatry, becaufe they refplve their religions Ohedieme into an undue Authority-, this, and this only, is the very Efleiice of Idolatryy whether the Objed be considered as finite or infinite, divine or human. The woriliipping even the true God, by Means and Methods of mere human Injiitution and Appointment., is doubt- lefs Idolatry I in which O.fe the Idol or falfe God \s the Magi[lrat€y the Briefly the Church, or wiioever befides the true GodcWxms an abfo- lute indifputable Authority, that mull not be examined, or fubmitted to any farther or higher Appeal The Popifh Idolatry then, as I hum- bly conceive, dees not confift [i^ worlhirpir-g . T J Fhfb 5^78 ^Letter to Thp) and Blood:, or any bare material Images^ but ill worfiiipping the Church, that is, the Prieflsy by an abfokte blind Suhjnijjlon ; and this is in- deed a fort of Idolatry, from \vhich fome Pro- teftants are not fo entirely free as one could wifii. I ftiall not here iland to apply this No- tion of Idolatry to particular Inilances; but I will undertake at any Time to make it good, with refped to any Inllance you ca^i produce. Before, therefore, you can prove that your Ad- verfaries are Idolaters upon Orthodox Principles, you mufi: fhew either that the Honour and O- bedience they pay to Chrifl the Mediator, is fuch as God has not appointed and commanded, or elfe that obeying God in this Cafe is no Part of true Religion, or divine Worship. Bat if you cannot prove the Arians guilty of Idolatry, in Confequence of Orthodox Princi- ples ', you will flill infill on it, that the Ortho- dox muft certaily be Idolaters upon Arian Prin-^ cipleSj becaufe they, the Orthodox, worfhip Chrifl as the fupreme or mofl high God, who m their Adverfaries Opinion is but a juhordinate Being. The Argument here is very pleafant ; you would needs be thought Idolaters, and are angry with your Adverfaries becaufe they have any Charity for you, and will not renounce your Communion. But this Comtek Prologue is to introduce a Tragedy; and the Reafon, it feems, w^hy your Adverfaries charge you not with Idolatry is, becaufe they do not follow the clear immediate and necejjary Conjequences of their cwn Principles ; and perhaps, becaufe they are afraid of the Temporal Imowveniencies that might enfue up-r on fuch a ConduEi, Perhaps, you think that Charity is a Dury not at all incumbent upon you aS/V R. Bl A C KMORE. Z79 you and your Orthodox Friends : 'Tis enough tor fome People to allume .in Aire of Infalli- bility, and to pronounce as from the Throne of God^ that no Man can polTibly be honeft or fincere who is not of theii' Almd, or does not fee the Clcarncfs and Juftncfs of their Li- terpretatiom and Confequences. That Charity vihicb fuffereth long, and is kind ; envieth not, vanntetb not it felf, is not puffed up ; which doth not behave it feJj tinfetmlyy Jeeketh not her own, is net eafily prO" 'uok'dy thinketh no Evil, 3cc. I fay, this fort of Charity would certainly have induc^-d you to conclude rather, that the Reafon why your Ad- verfaries charge you not with Idolatry is, be- caufe they verily behevc,upon Grounds which are to them fufEcienr, that you are not really guilty of it J and becaufe they cannot fee thofe Con- fequences from their own Principles, w hich you are pleas'd to call cleavy i7wnediate and necejjary. I mufl here foleninly protefl to you, Sir, that this is my own Cafe ', and that if I thought you really guilty of Idolatry, I fiiould not be afraid, upon the Account of any Temporal Inconvenience, to declare againll you as fuch, and to renounce your Communion. But whether I am miilaken in this, or ought not upon Arian Principles to think otherwife, is the Point now to be debated, 1 would not have you conclude, that I am here declaring for Arianifm : But I am willing to- put my {d^ in the Place of an Arian for once, to try the Force of your Argument; and whether an Arian, ading fairly upon his own Principles, mufl: needs charge the Orthodox with Idolatry, and feparate from their Com- munion. The Orthodox, you fay, worfhip Chrifl: as the fupn.'me God, or God ?noJ} high, as God T 4 'ei %So y4 h-ETTER to cf himfelf, infinite, eternal, omnifcient, &c> which mud therefore be an Objed of Worfhip, cfTentially different from a fubordinate derived Being. But, in the fiiil Place, 'tis fufficiently notorious that this is not Orthodoxy, and that all the learned orthodox Writers have ever own*d that Chrift is not God abfolutely fupremey or God jnoft highy or God m and of himfelj ; but Gcd of God, or God the Son, begotten of th Father, and who has fome Way or other de- rived his v'hole Being and Perfedion from the Father, It was never difputed betwixt the Or- thodox and the Avians, whether Chrift was an originated and derived Being -, they all ailow'd his Origination, and the Communication of his Being and Exigence from the Father ; and the only Difpute was about Eternity, and the Na- ture of the abflrad SubHance, which they inew nothing of, and concerning which the Scripture had declared nothing. Now it is iimply and abfolutely impofiible, that an un- originate and an originate, or a felf-exiftent and a derivM Being, fhould be numerically the felt-fame Being -, for nothing can be an exprefs Contradiction, if this is not : And therefore, thofe who in this prefent Eighteen Hundredth Century talk of Chrift 's abfolute Supremacy, or abfolute Co-ordination with the Father, are departed from the Catholick Senfe, and the u- niverfal Declaration of all Orthodox Churches, from the Beginning of ChriHianity down to this very Time ; and if you are not fatisfy'd in this, I refer you for full Convidion to Dr. Waterland and Mr. Gumming. Here then, you are fetting up a new Dodrine of your own, J)ecuiiar to your felt and a few private Friends i the &> R. B L A C K M O R E. a8i the Rtfulc, I fuppofc, of a new onhodox Jundo, in which Chridianity has been at length compleated by a few Winter Evcniiigs Confe- rences : And while you are thus letting up for your felf and Mr. Ctimjning-y in Oppolitioii to all Chriftian Churches, and all the Creeds and Confeifions of Faith hitherto known in the World i "tis but with an ill Grace, that you af- fume fuch an Aire of Ajfuruuccy and give out your infallible Dictates concerning P^eligioiis Wor^' fhip and Idolatry. But as I have taken fome No- tice of this already, and may have Occaiion to inlift on it farther under your Head of Sulfa ip- tiouy I Ihall d\[mi(s it here, and purfue your Argument about Idolatry. "Tis plain then, you mud agree with your Adverfaries, thatChrift is a fubordinate Being: for you will not, I hope, deny the real Entity and Exigence of the Man Chrift Jefusy as efi'en- tially diftind from the fupreme God ; and you cannot certainly fay, that Jefus of Nazareth, or the Man born of the Virgin, is not ChriR, be- caufe this is exprefly aiierted, and very often re- peated in the New Te/lament. "Tis plain like- wife, that the Man ChriR is he vJ:om God hath ordained to he Lord and 'Judge of Quick and Dead ; and that God has committed all Power and Judgment to the Son of Man^ to ChriR- the Me- diator, the authorized Mell'enger, the anointed of God. Here then it is, I prefume, pad Dis- pute, that you miuft fubmit to the Juridiclion of Chrif^y in this his Mediatorial Capacity, according to the Will and Appointment of Gcd the Father^ who has ordain d and anointed him to tliis Office, and required us to refpctSt and honour him as pur one and only Mediator ; and tho' this Ho- nour a8x A Letter to nour and Glory paid to Chrifi^ as Mediatory may be effentiaily different from that which is due to the fiipreine God, with refpect to the different Obje(^, yet as *tis refolved into the fame fu- peme Authority of the niofl High God, it is equal- ly a Part of our Religion with any other Branch of Divine or Religious IVorfhip and Obedience. And herein you muft either agree with your Adver- faries, orfet up a new Religion, never heard of, or known in the World before. But here you will fay, that you do not only w^orfhip and ho- nour the Man Christ, or Chrifi as Man, but you likewife worfhip and glorify him as God mofl High. But who do you here mean by ChriR ? Who is this whom you worfliip as the fupreme or mofi high God? Not certainly the Man ChriH : If you worfiiip the Man Chri^y as the fupreme or mofl high God, you are indif- putably Idolaters ; and if you, with your or- thodox Friends, will flandto this, the Ariansy .and all Chrifliansy fhall have my Confent to fe- parate from your Communion. But 'tis plain, that by Chrift here, you can mean only the J«- p'eme God > and then all that you fay amounts to this, that you worfhip the fupreme God, as the fupreme God, And I befeech you, are not your Adverfaries agreed with you herein ? Or have you orthodox Gentlemen any other and di^eient fupreme God irom the reft of the World ? I muft here ask you, 5/>, whether ChriRy as God m&ft High, is not the felt- fame moft high God with the Fatkery without any effential Diffe- rence ? If you fay he is not, you muft make iwOy or rather three mofl high Gods, and fupreme OhjeBs of Worftoipy effentiaily different from each Other 5 which being too grofs and abfurd, you will Sir R. B L A C K M O R £• xSg will chufe doubtlcfs to fay, that Chrif} is eflen- tially the very felf-fame moll high God, and fupreme Object of Worfliip witli God the Fa- ther. The ntcelfary Confeciuence of wiiich mufl be this, that whoever worftflps the Father as the one only living and true God, his Worfiip will be ejjeyitially the fame^ botli in reference to the AB and oijeB, with yours. And therefore, to pretend in this Cafe^ that you have any different Ol^jeci of IVorfiip, is to impofe on your felf with Names inftead of Things ; and then to unchurch and anathematize your Brethren and Fellow-Chriftians, becaufe they will not be im- pofed on in the fame Manner. You fuppofe, that the moil high God is three Perfons, or that the fupreme God bimfelf is three SeJfs^ three intelligent Agents, /. e. to make common Senfe of it, three intelligent Beings^ or afli've Subfiances. Now, if you could make this Diftindion intelligible, and free it from Contradidion, as I believe you cannot ; yet flill it would reft upon you to fhew, that ^tis fun- damental to Chriftianity, and that no Man ought to be admitted to Chriflian Communion who is not fatisfied in it, and has not the fam.e Notions about it that you have. But if you are from henceforth filent till you are able to do this^ I never exped to hear from you more. If your Diftindion, as above, gives you any different Notions and Ideas of God^ as an Ohjek of IVorfhipy you are exceedingly to blame in not producing and laying them before the World; but it you have no fuch, you are {lill more to blame for pretending to it. When you have fettled any clear determinate Meaning to the Words God and C/;n/?, your whole Hypothecs will 5.84 A Letter to win vanifli into Air and empty Sound. ^Tis evident, that the Name Chrif^ flands fbmetimes with you for the fupreme God, and fomecimes for a true and proper Man : But you cannot fay, that the one true &vd is a true and proper Alan, or that a true and proper Man is the one true God; and Yis manifeit, that thefe Tivo muft be infinitely different, and eflentially diftind Be- ings, Agents, PerfonS) or what you will : And therefore, in your next, I hope you will clear up this grand Point in another Manner than you have yet done j I am fure ^tis what you ought to do, before you proceed farther with fuch fort of Clamour, to diftrad and divide the mi- ferable Churches : for, whatever you imagine. Sir, it is not this airy Jingle, and School-play with Words, that will ever be fufficient to efla- blifti the Pradice of true Religion, or to di- ftinguifti real Chriftians and iound Believers from Hereticks and Infidels. What has been faid may, I prefume, be fufficient to take off the mutual Charge of Idolatry, which you would have the contending Parties bring againft each other; at leali:, I hope they will live peaceably together, and continue in Chriftian Communion, tilJ you have better cleared up your Pretenfions to Argument and Reafon up- on this Point. I fhall now therefore proceed to examine, snd make fome Remarks upon, the remaining Parts of your Difcourfe : for tho' I can fee no- thing but what has been already fufficiently confider'd and reply 'd to, in other Writings ; yet Iince it appears, by the Warmth and Zeal you difcover, that you look upon what you fay to be of the u:mofi Confequence, I would not be 5ir R. B L A c K Ai o R E. aSjr be thought to flight a Gentleman of your Cha- rader and Reputation in the learned World,. as it you had offered any Thing not worth a tarther Confideration. Do not miilake me. Sir, as if I was here confefledly putting my felf to a needlefs Trouble, by removing Objedions which have been fufliciently clear'd and obvi- ated already; tor I mufl own, that I am de- termined herein, not by my own ^uclgmcnty but yours. You have generoufly, as I have obferved be- fore, given up the coercive Power of the Ma- giflrate in Matters purely Religious i where Mens Opinions are fuch, as do not cither in themfelves, or in the Manner ot contending for them, endanger the publick Peace and Safety, you think very juflly, that Men ought not to be punifhed for them. But after all, you put the Queflion concerning the Civil Jurifdiclion with a vifible P-artiality, as if the Power of the Magiflrate in this Cafe might not equally be employed againft the Orthodox, as againft Here- ticks, when they grow turbulent and unpeace- able about their Opinions. Your Words are thefe, p. 25." Here a great Queftion will a- " rife, whether God has inveited the Magi- *^ flrate with a Power to interpofe coercively " for the Prefervation of the publick Peace, *^ when contumacious and infolent Hereticks \r\- " volve the Nation in turbulent Contentions " and Party-Rage, which manifeRIy fhake and *' endanger the Government ? When Ecclefi- *' aflick Strife and Fadicn h carried on to ^' fuch a Height, the Magiflrate, whofe Duty " it is to prote5t the State, muft be fuppokd t^ to be entrufted with fufficient Power to do '' his X86 y^LETTER/(9 *' his Duty ; and therefore, if the Repofe and *^ Safety of the State are greatly threatned, as *' before defcrib'd, he is certainly empower'd " to prevent the Danger ,* and if no other than *^ coercive Means are capable of procuring his " End, they muft be allow'd as lawful. But *^ how far this coercive Force may be extended, '^^ and with what Limits it is circumfcribed, is *^ a Point not fo eafy to be determined/' I fear, 5/r, the Difficulty of Determination here, arifes chiefly from a fecret Referve you have made in favour of your own Party ; tor other- wife I fee nothing in the Cafe that could have much perplex'd you. Your Manner of Expref- fion, certainly gives one feme Ground for this Sufpicion. But whatever may be doubtful in the Point, this I think is clear, that the Power of the Magiftrate extends equally to all Reli- gious Parties without Exception. Let Mens Opinions be what they will, true Cr falfe,^ right or wrongy the Magiftrate has an equal Right, and is equally obliged, to punifh and reftrain thofe, who contend for them in fuch a Manner, as by their outward Praftice to break and deftroy the publick Peace, and endanger the Government. Now *tis paft all Difputc, that the boldeft Pre- tenders to Orthodoxy may be, and often are, as imperious and turbulent, as fadious and fchifmatical, and as hurtful and deftrudive to the Government, in the Methods they take for promoting their Opinions, as any Hereticks in the World. And therefore, if inftead of con- tumacious and infolent Hereiicksy one fliould put contumacious and infolent Pretenders to Truth and Orthodoxy-) I hope you will allow that, the Cafe would be ft ill the fame ; and that as the Magi- ftrate Sir R. B L A c K Ai o R E. x87 {Irate h.is an equal Right, fo it mufl be equally his Duty, to preferve the pubiick Peace, and the Safety of the State, againll; the one, as well as againfl the other: Which being luppofed and granted, I readily profefs my Agreement with you in this Point ; and am willing to leave the Magiflrate, upon this impartial View, to ap- ply his coercive Power, as he fhall find Occa- (ion. Having thus briefly difpatched the Bufinefs of Civil Jurifdidion, you proceed next to the Affairs of the Church, and endeavour to fettle the proper and necelTary Method for the Con- vidion and Excommunication of Heretkh. I intirely agree with you, that fince it is our Du- ty to feparate from Hereticks, and not to hold religious Communion with them, a Heretick mufl be one who is capable of being deteded, and judicially proceeded againfl ; for it would, indeed, be ridiculous in the lafl Degree, to fay, that we are bound in Confcience to avoid Perfons, whom we cannot poffibly know or find out. And yet this is your Diflreis in the Cafe of Herefy, as you have here managed the Mat- ter. You place Herefy in inward fpeculative Opinions, as abflraded from any outward here- tical Pradice ; and then you ^ve no other Way to comjici the Htreticky but by extorting Con- feffions from him, and making him plead guil- ty againfl your c*:jjn Laiv, while you fit upon him as Jtidge. A Method of Procedure the m.ofl unjud and infamous of any in the W^orld, and fuch as was never allow 'd in any Court but that of a papjjh Inquifition ! In all other Me- thods of judicial Procefs among Men, the Per- fon accufed, or fufpeded; is firft to be proved gudty a88 A Letter to guilty by judicial Evidence, or credible capa- ble Wiciielles, acttfting upon their own Know- ledge to the Truth of the Fads for which he is accufed ; nnd no Man '\^ obh'ged to impeach and condemn himfclf : But here is a more re- fined Method of Judgment fet up, by which fallible Creatures are enabled to aflume the Prcrogativrs of C/jW/?, and exercife a Jpirimal and divine ^urifdiElion over the Hearts and Con- fciences ot their Felloiu Chriflians. For here, as you can have no Evidence but Confeffion^ fo even that Confeffion cannot be proved Heretical, with- out knowing the Perfon's Heart : For fhould you be fuppofed infallibly in the right your felf> yet he who differs from you may be fincerely and innocently miflaken, for any Thing you can pofTibly know, or prove againil: him. You mull here give me leave to ask, Whether you would take your Oath in a Court of Judica- ture, that your Opinion about the Trinity is certainly right ; and that. another, who is not of your Mind in the Cafe, cannot be fit by the Laws of Chrif} for Chrifiian Communion ? If 5^ou, or any of your orthodox Friends, cannot fwear to the Truth of this in Fad ; with what Reafon or Equity can you fit in Judgment a- gainft another uj^)n it, w^hen you may as well, and are as likely to be miftaken, as your con- demned excommunicated Brother > It muft be obferved here, that the Qiiefllon is this^ whether fallible uninfpired Men have any Authority from Chrift, to fettle and determine any Thing as a fundamental Armle of Faith, or as neceffary to Salvation and Chrifiian Cofn- muniony "which the Holy Ghoft has not clearljy expre/lyy and defniti'uely declared as fuch in Scripture ? Sir R. B L A c K MO R E. a89 Stripttire ? Or if you will, w hethcr the ordinary Minifters of the Gofpel have any Right to fet up their own Interpretations and Confequences, as neceffary Terms of Salvation and Chriltian Communion, where Chrifl and the ApolLles have made no ftich particular Determinations in Scripture? The Affirmative of this is the Dodrine which you maintain ; and the only Condition, it feems, upon which you will hav© any Chriftian Peace, Charity or Communion. He who cannot admit of this^ mufl: not be allowed to be of your Religion ; becaufe, in youi* Opinion, he faps the very Foundations of all Chriftian Faith and Pradice, and leaves no Room for the Convidion and Extermination of Hereticksy no pofTibility of guarding the Church againfl damnable Error : fince all, even the very word: of Hereticks, wlW fubfcribe the Scriptures ; and confequently, if Thefe be allowM as sl fuf- ficient Tefiy it will be impofTible to with-hold our Communion from Hereticksy as the Gc fpel re- quires. This is your Dodrine, and thus you fupport it. Hereticks, yoU fay wreft and per- vert the Scripture to their own E)ef(:ruction„ Well^ be it io ; and what then is the Remedy > Why, to prevent fuch an Abufe, the true Senfe of Scripture muft be explained and limitted, Explain'd and limitted, by whom I befeech you? Why truly, by fallible uninfpired Men, who are as liable and as likely to miftake and wreft the true Senfe of Scripture, as any of thofe for whom they are contriving Tefls, and excluding. under the Name of Hereticks : And yet, falli- ble and uninfpired as they are, we muft fup- pofe them, in your Way, to be wijer and more merciful than God^ and capable of delivering the U Mind %^0 y^LETTER to Mind and Will of God, in Terms more clear, exprefs, and unexceptionable, than the Holy GhoJ} has done. Thofe who have made this exorbitant Claim, and pretended to explain and define the Senfe of Scripture, in Things ne- ceflary to Salvation, cleaier than the infpired Writers, under the Diredion of the Holy Ghoft, have always in Fad darkened and perplex'd the Dodrines o£ the Gofpel, inftead of clearing and explaining them ; and thofe few moil plain and fimple Articles of Faith, which the Scrip- ture truly declares as Fundamental, and Ne- cefl'ary, have been rendered abfolutely unintel- ligible, by that Time our infallible Creed-makers have fufficiently limitted and explained them. The Sum and Subftance of Chriftianity, ac- cording to the Piah of the prefent Orthodoxy, is now reduced to two Propofitions. 1. That the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, are three intelligent Agents, in one undivided Subftance, or EJfence y which one Subftance ^ or Eflence, makes them One God. 2. That the Man Chrifty or Jefus of Naz.a^ rethy and the ftipreme or moft high God, do both together conftitute the one (ingle Per/on of Chrift ; and that the Man Chrift, or Jefus of Nax,arethy never was a human Per/on. And who now mult define your Definitions; and explain your Explications of Scripture? For nothing, certainly, in the Scripture it felf, can fo much need a farther Explication as this. Nay, when you have thus limitted and defined the Senfe or Scripture, it will be impoflible you fhould ever prove, that it is indeed the Senfe of Scripture, or that you have not loft the true Senfe in the pretended Explication, Sup- pofe Sir K. B L A C K M 0 R E. X9J pofe now, I Ihould be willing, upon reafonnble Terms, to fubfcribe the Scripture in your Senfey or to lift my felf into your Party ; what Security can you give me, that^owr Ser/je is the true Senjsy or any Senfe ? I prefume, you would not i cure me upon Oathy and I am under fome Difficul- ties againft taking your Word for it. And there- fore, fince I cannot poilibly be convinced by your ArgttmentSy I hope you will lufpend the Sentence of Herefy and Excommunication, till you have cleared the Matter a little farther. But let us fuppofe that your human Cre^d or Teft, whatever it be, contains the true Senfe cf Scripture ; yet ftill I cannot fee how it fhould be any Remedy againft Herefy, or any Means of deteding the Heretick, more than the Scrip- ture it felt, Hereticks, you fay, will readily fubfcribe the Scriptures, tho* in an unfcriptu- ral ^Senfe^ and what then fhould hinder th^ra from fubfcribing human Tefts and Creeds in the fame Manner ? If they will deal treacle- ^ roufly with the Word of Gody why not with the Words of Men ? You muft certainly fuppofe a Heretick to be a Hypocrite and a Deceiver^ and one who is felf-condemned in his Hypuufy^ as defignedly ading a treacherous Part] for I r.ope you will not fay,' that a good and fincere CBri^ Jiian may be an Heretick » A Per*!*on lincereiy dif- f pofed to know the Truth in order to Pradice, tho* he may be miftakeny yet he cannot bt an Heretick : For if a bare Miftake of Judgment^ without any e'vil Intenttony be Herefy ; let thofe who condemn their Brethren upon this Foot, look to therofelves, and tremble to think with what Face they will ft^nd before j^c Judge, in ,^e Day of their Accounts 1 But fiace it is pUin, U 2 that a9^ -^Letter /(? that the moral Wickednefs of 'the Heart, or an evil and treacherous Intention, join'd with the Ryyoy of judgment y is neceflary to coii- flitute an Htretick ', \is evident, that this muft difpofe the Man to fubfcribe any Creed or ■ Conftffion of Faith \^'hateVer, whether fcriptu- ral or unfcriptural, divine or human, if he finds it for his Turn and Intereft. And there- fore, yourboalled Method of Security can ferve only to brand and exclude from tht Commu- nion of the Church, honeft and good Men, or -fuch as a6t upon Principles of Confcience, ^ "arid from the religious Fear of God,* but can ^^^'tie of no Ufe or Service at all againft real Here- '" ticks, 'Tis plain, there can be no Teft againft "inward Heart-Hypocrify, as fuch; and when ^ the evil Intention lliall appear in any outwaj-'d 'ill Pra6:ice, contrary to the Obligati^s of ■'^Chriftianity, and the Laws of the Gofpel, the'te ^"will be iio need of any other T*eft ; but you tii^y "then, by the Confent of all good, Men, avoid ''''ihe Hetetick, and exclude him from y6ur Com- f* riiunion as foon as you pleafe, I'i he refufes to te- ^ " form his e'vll PraSlke upon fuffitimt 'Ad^nonition. But "'tis pretended, that allCh'UYcheSy in com- mon with all other voluntary Societies ^ muft have ' an undoubted Right to fettle their own Terms of Communion ^ and in Confequence of this, to require of all their Members a Conformity of Judgment to cevzcLin hu7nah Tefis, and Stan- dards of Faith and Orthodoxy ; without which, they are not to be admitted to the Communion of that particular Church. Hence you tell us, p. 22/?'** Jt is ftrange, e'ven to AdiniYationy that *^ Mdn ftiould believe thnt to be an Impofi- *f tion, which is only a Mark, or Teftimony, « oi Sir R. Black MO RE. 195 ^* of a Perfon's Qualification to be a Member " .^f a Chriftian Society, \s hich the Perfon to *' whom it is propofed may comply with, or " refufe, without incurring any Penalty. Have *' not all Civil Societies of what Denomination *^ foever, all voluntary Cabals and Airemblies ^^ of Men, fome Rules and Orders which the " Members engage to obferve ? And if any ^' are denyM AdmilTion, or excluded, becaule " they retufed this Qualification, may they " therefore complain of unwarrantable Impofi- '' tions?" You muil give m^e leave, Sir, here in my Turn, to obferve it with Wonder^ that a learned Proteflant (hould place Chriflian Churches upon the fame Foundation with Civil whmtary Societies^ which are of mere human Inflitution, and fubfift purely upon their own Conftitutiom and Laws. I deny that Chrijlian Churches are voluntary Societies y in the Senfe you refer to, or that they have any Power to conflitute their own Terms of Com- munion. It is not left to the Determination of Chriftian Churches what fhall be the Conditions of admitting, or excluding, their own Members^ as is the Cafe in all Civil voluntary Societies; and your fuppofing this, muft involve you in Confe-' quences equally abfurd and Anti-chrillian wirh Popery it felf. Nothing, I think, can be more evident than this, that Chriflians are not left to their Liberty, whether they will refolve them- felves into particular Churches and worfhip- ping AfTemblies, or not; nor are they even then at Liberty to determine what the Terms of' Communion, or the Conditions of Admiflion and Exclufion, fliall be. Thefe Things are all ^n^e^edently fix'd and determined for the whole U 3 CatholicK ^94 -^Letter to Catholick Church, by ChriR hmfelf; which no particular Church can have any Right to fu- perfede or alter. That particular Church can- not Certainly be- any Part of the true Catho- lick Church, whofe Terms of Communion are liot Catholick, and who exclude Men from their religious Feilowfliip and Worfhip, on the Ac- count of any I'hingy for which Chrift will not exclude them from the Kingdom of Heaven. I take it to be one of the firfl Principles of Chri- flianity, and without which 'tis impoffible the Laws of Chrift fliould be ever put in Execu- tion, that there is no mere human Authority^ or le^ giflative Power, in the Church ,* and therefore I iear, your Independent By-Laws are often made in bar ol" the divine Charter. , But you fay, if a Perfon is excluded from a particular Communion, becaufe he cannot fubmit to their Terms, there is no Harm done ; for if he cannot comply, he is at Liberty to refufe , which he may do without incurring any Penalty- You, I think, are the firfl Difci^ flinariany who has ever faid that Excommunica" tion is no Penalty. If Exclufion be no Penalty^ it rtiufl I fuppofe follow, that Admiffion is no Privilege ', and that the Perfon who refufes to comply with their Terms of Communion, is guilty of no Fault ; which yet, methinks, fhould be no great Compliment to any Chrift ian Church • But by no Penalty^ here, perhaps you mean no €ivil Penalty j or that the DilTenter, or Perfon excommunicated, is not fined, imprifoned, or put to Death. But thefe Penalties^ you know, are not always in the Churches Power , and there- fore, if not always inflided in fuch Cafes, this, perhaps, may be jio Thapks to th'e Churck But if Sir R. Blackmore. ^^s if you can name me any Church, who, having the Advantage of the civil Law, has not made ule of it to enforce her fpiritual Cenfurcs, I fhall own it as a very confiderable Difcovery. I'he Church, you muft allow, has a Power to inflift fpiritual Cenfurcs and Penalty, fuch as giving Men over to Sat arty branding them for Here- ticks, marking them out for Reprobation, warn- ing all Chriftians to avoid their Society and Converfation, and not to fhew them any Marks of Friendfhip or Charity, but to look upon them as abandoned Wretches, and Enemies to God and the Souls of Men. "Now ^\\ this, or whatever may be the Confequcnce of it, has doubtlefs nothing penal in it; and the Church Executioner, after all, will be ready to wafli his Hands, and declare in the Name of Gody that he is perfectly innocent; and that he has not intended the leafl: Hurt, or done the leafl Injury, to his Brother. Now it will be fufEcient in your Way to juflify a Man, in all this Barbarity and Outi'age againft another Chriftian who differs from him in Judgment, if the Zealot has but a common AJfiivance that he is aBually in the Right, and can but out-face God and the World, while he is violating all the Laws of Nature and Chriftianity, But in Oppofition to your Method of con- viding and exterminating Hereticks, I (hall now endeavour to prove, that the only Tefl of Chriftian Faith and Orthodoxy^ fo far as it falls under any human Cognizance and Jurifdiftion, is- Chriftian PraSlice ; and that to in fi ft on any o- ther Tefl in a Way of human Jurifdidion, muft be attended with all the fatal Confequences of popifh Infallibility, and Anti-Chriftian Tyran- ts ^ py. %^6 ^ Letter /(? " ny. I fhall here lay it down as a Principle, which, I think, cannot be cpntefled, th^t there /V po necejjavy Connexion Ipetwixt Speculation and Pratiice of any Sort or Kind wbate'ver ; but the Spe- culaticn may be right, . lihere the Pratiice is wrong ; and on the contrary , the Pratiice may be rights where the Judgment in Speculation or Theory is wyong. However, it mufl: not be concluded trorti hence, that a right PraElice can be determined and di- reded wiihouc Judgment j for that Judgment which has an immediate neceflary Connexion with the PraBicey is certainly right where the Pradice is right, and wrong if the Pradice be wrons:. therefore, to avoid Confufion and MiftrJce, I muil here diftinguilh between the fpecuiative and the pratlical Judgment : I call that the fpi-culative Judgment, which determines concerning the bare abflrad Truth or Falfhood of Propojitions ; and the pradical Judgment is that, which determines concerning the Reafcn- ablenefs or Unreafonablenefs, the Fitnefs or Unfitnefs of Adions, as they fall under the Power and Command of the Will. If we take the World as we find it, and conlider Mankind as they really are, it will appear^ that their ^bflrad Notions and Speculations of Things are almoft infinitely and unavoidably different ^ rhey depend upon fuch different Capacities, Ta- lenrs, Means and Opportunities, as to be very little the Matter of their Choice, or under the jCondud and D're6tion of the Will. Some Men, merely for want of natural Capacities, can ne- ver arrive at that Accuracy and Exadnefs of Judgment, which others obtain with Eafe ; and iome agaiDg without any Superiority of Genius, or Merit of their own, have their fpeculative ^ir R. B L A c K M o R E. X97 Views wonderfully extended and enlarged, and are fet vaftly above the common Level of Manr kind, merely by the Lot ot their Birch, Edu- cation, and other providential Incidents. Now from hence, there mull arife an unavoidable Difference in Mens fpeculative potions and Conceptions ot Things; and where they ufe the fame IVords, without fufpecting a different Senfe, they will yet mean at moft but partly the fame "Thing. A Philofopher's Notion and Idea of the Sun,' is as different from the. Notion or Idea of an ignorant Countryman, when he ufes the fame Wordy as the Idea of a Candle or Lamp, is from that of a burning World, or a vaft Globe of liquid glowing Fire. Now, mufl it not ap- pear extremely unreafonable and abfurd in this Cafe, fhould the Philofopher fall foul upon the poor Countryman, for his falfe millaken Notion of the Sun i telling him, that he is a ilupid, groveling, unthankful Wretch, and that by his talfe Judgment concerning the Stm, he under- values xh2ii glorious Luminary^ and is not there- fore worthy or fit to enjoy its Light. But this, and other like Inflances, may be thought perhaps not fo much to the Purpofe; and therefore I (hail apply the Cafe to Things of a moral and religious Nature, in which every one mufl perceive its Force. The Belief of a God, is doubtluTs the Foundation of all Religion | and therefore, if a right Notion, or fpecula- tive Judgment concerning any Objed, be fup- pofed neceffary, it mufl certainly be fo with Refpeft to the Nature, the eflential Attributes, and Perfedions of God : And yet, let the a- bove-qaentioned plain Countryman^ hcv/ pious an^ a98 A Letter to and religious foever, be examined in thefe Mat* ters upon any Principles that are ftridly true in the Nature and Reafon of Things ; and I dare engage for it, that his Notions and Appre- henfions concerning Gady and the dii)ine Perfec-- tionsy (hail be found in many Refpeds as inac- curate, and as far from being juft or true, as are his Notions and Ideas concerning the Sujjy a Star J or any other mere natural OhjeEi : And yet, while his Notion and Belief of God is iuch, as determine him pradically to a religious Fear and Truft, Obedience and Love, it is fufficient to anfwer his Purpofe as a Chriftian, and available enough for the Salvation of his Soul. Now, tho' in this Cafe, the Man's fpe- culative Miftakes and Errors concerning the Nature and Perfedions of God, might be fuch as, being ftridly purfued, would be inconfiftent in their neceffary Confequences with the Being and Perfedions of God : yet thefe fpeculative Errors and their Confequences cannot be im- puted to him, fo as to hinder his Salvation and Acceptance, while they do not hinder his prac- tical Obedience, Love, and Dependance upon God ; and to fay otherwife, is to proceed up- on a Principle, which, in its neceffary Confe- quences, muft equally exclude from the King- dom of Heaven all Mankind without Excep- tion, and render the Chriftian Revelation of no Ufe or Signification at all. I am perfvvad- ed, there is no Speculatift, how conceited or refined foever, but what has fome fpeculative Error, fome wrong Notion or other concern- ing God ; he abfcribes fome Things to him as Perfedions, which really are not fo, arid qannot belong to him \ and denies other Things of SirK. B L A c K M o R E. 199 of God as Imperfeflions, which in Truth are not fuch. Now (hould any fuch fpeculative Error, or Miftake of Judgment, be purfued in its natural ncceflary Confequences, it muft be found abfolutely inconfiftent with the Being and Perfections of God, And in this Way, there is no Man but might by neceflary Con- fequence, from feme Miftake or falfe Notion or other concerning God, be proved to be an Atheift. But the Abfurdity and Injuftice of fuch a Method, as deftrudive of all Charity, and all Rehgion, muft be too vifible to need any long Debate about it. The Belief of the Refurre(5lion, of the fu- ture Judgment, and of the Rewards and Pu- nilhments of another World, are undoubtedly fundamental Articles of the Chriftian Faith; and yet, I think, it cannot be deny*d, but Mens fpe- culative Notions and Apprehenfions about thefe Matters, areas various and different, as about any of the moft common and indifferent Matters in the World. Now, let but proper Tells be prepared to oblige all Men, as the Condition of their Church-Communion, to believe the Refurredioii, the laft Judgment, the Happi- nefs of Heaven, and the Torments of Hell, precifely in z\\q fame Senfe ; and Mens unavoi- dably different Judgment and Opinions con- cerning thefe Things will foon appear, together with the Impollibility of uniting them by any fuch Method, as well as the Vanity, Abfurdity and Arrogance of pretending to it. That Man's Faith muft certainly be true and favingf which determines him pradically to the feveral Duties and Obligations of Cbriflianity ; and ferves to work him up into a divine and heavenly joo -/^ Letter /^ heavenly Difpofition, in Conformity to the holy Nature and iVill of Gody tho' he may have dif- ferent Notions and Apprehenlions concerning the feveral Matters and Objects of his Faith, from thofe of another Man, who may yet a- gree •with him in the fame common PraEike of Chriftianity. I know, every Zealot will be ready to cry up his fpeculative Scheme and Theoryy as having the mofl immediate and dired Influence upon Chriftian PraEike : and while it has this In- fluence upon his own PraEike, it is well ; but let him not conclude from hence, that another Man may not be determined to the fame PraEike, under different ZVb^/owj and Apprehenjions ofT'hings. The Antinomians and Arminians have differed very coniiderably about fome of the mod: mate- rial Points of fpeculative Relief; and yet, I think, he mufl: be a moft hopelefs and incura- ble Bigot indeed, who will not allow, that there have been, and fliill are, very good Chrifl:ians on both Sides, The Devil has certainly a more true and adequate Notion of the Nature - Siud PerfeElions of God, and of the feveral funda- mental Articles of the Chriflian Faith, than any Creed-Makers can pretend to , and the Difciples had but an indifferent Under/landing concern- ing our Saviour, and the Nature of his Kingdom, when they expected Preferment under him as a Civil Sovereign or 'Temporal Prince : and yet, I imagine, no Body will fay, either that the De- vil may be faved by his Orthodoxy, or that the Difciples were in a damnable State for their mi- flaken Judgment, For my own Parr, I am fully and clearly per- fwaded, that the Athanafian Scheme relating to the Trinity and Incarnation, is unfcripturaJ and felf- 5ir R. B L A c K M o R E. 50I felf-con trad i dory ; and that, purfued in its juft nnd nect {Tary Confcquences, it mufl: overthrow the xuhole Cbriftian Revelation: yet I dare not charge ah Athanapan with thefe Confequences, as if they made up a Part of his real Belief, ot were indeed intended by him; for when he profefles that he does not fee them, I think my felf bound in Charity to believe that he cannoty and therefore is not obliged to fee them ; efpe- cially when I obferve him pradiling all the Du- ties, and fubmitting to the feveral Obligations of Chriflianity, I mufl neceflarily own him as a Brother and Fellow-Chriftian. If he will not extend the fame Charity to me, I cannot help it j but have this however to comfort me, that he is not to be my Judge; and tho' he may prefume to cenfure and condemn me here, yet I exped, and appeal to, a more righteous Judge another Day. After all, I prefume you muft allow, that he who fhall' profefs to believe the Scriptures, as the certain infallible Word of God, and the only Rule of Chriftiau Faith and Practice ; and that he ufes his beft Endeavours to underlland them right, and .to live accordingly : I fay, you muft allow fuch a one- to be duly qualify 'd for Chriftian Communion, provided he be lin- cere in this Profeffion-, and his Pra^ice does not contradid it. ISIow, 'tis evident, that outward ProfefJion and Pradict' is all that cm poffibly fall under any human Cogmz^ance or Jmijdit'imj. But a Man's Practice will have no need of any Teft to difcover it, that being open and vifi- bie to the whole World ; and as for the Since- rity of his ProfclTion or Praftice, that cannot polTiblv be difcovered without knowing, the • Heart. joi A Letter to Heart. Now, when you fufpeft a Man of fub- fcribing the Scripture infincerely, and then of- fer him a human Tefl to fubfcribe ; 'tis plain, that this can neither remove nor difcover his In- fincerity : and therefore, 1 fear that this is a mere Pretence, and that there is commonly fomething elfe in it, not fo proper to be own'd. When you have thus rejeded a Profeffion and Pradice purely upon the Foot of Scripture^ as an infufficient Tefi of Chriflianity ; you have no- thing elfe to do, but to fet up your own private ^udginent and Senfe oiScripture^ as the univerfal Teil and Standard of all Cbriflian Faith and Orthodoxy : In which there is this remarkable Piece of tnjuftice, that while you declare the Scripture to be the only Rule of your Faithy you will not allow it to be fo with refpeft to other Men. The Scripture is your only Rule, but your Judgment and Senfe of Scripture muft be the only Rule to every Body elfe, or other- wife you will have nothing to do with them in the Way of Chriftian Communion, Peace, and Charity. If you fhould pretend, that 'tis not your own Senfe, but the Catholick Senfe, or the Senfe oi the Churchy that you infift upon ; I hope you would urge the Authority of the Church in this Cafe only in jeft, and that you do not in good ear- ned believe implicitly as the Church believes. If your Faith has been grounded upon Scrip- ture, in Confequence of a fair Examination, this Faith muft be the fame, while the Ground of it is the fame, whether the Church fhould agree with you or not : And therefore, it is limply and purely your own Senfe, and nothing elfe, that you muft, upon your Principles, fet # up iSir R. B L A c K M o R E. 505 up as the univerfal Teft and Standard of Ortho- do%^ and Chriflian Communion. Now, for the fame Reafon, and upon the fame Principles, every Man elfe will have an equal Right to fee up his own Senfe in theiame Manner, whatever it be ; for I imagine you would be extremely hard put to it, to aflign any Reafon or Pre- tence, in order to juilify this Method in your felf, and your own Party, that muft not equally juftify it ill all other Parties, whatever their Opi^ nions arc. And this ^[\'es one, at once, a full View of the peculiar Excellency and Advan- tages of your happy Scheme ; and how glori- ous a State of Religion that muft be, where this Principle fhould be put in Pradice in all its natural and moft obvious Confequences ! Who can exprefs the univerfal Madnefs, Outrage and G)nfu(ion, that muft enfue upon it ? It muft put the Church into as bad a Circumftance, as Hobbes's State of Nature; and no two Churches upon Earth could maintain Chriftian Commu- nion with each other; and even the particu- lar Members of every individual Church muft neceifarily be divided and torn from one ano- ther, from the Catholick Church, and from Chrift himfelf, as often as they fhould prepare «fxu Tefts, to reduce the gmral Dodrines of Scripture to every Mail's particular Interpreta- tions and Confequences. Nay, w^here the Scrip- ture is ftippofed to need any explanatory Tefl, as a Rule of Faith, that 'very Tejl will as much need another to explain it, and that again another^ and fo on in infinitum. And nothing can pre- vent this univerfal endlefs Confufion, but an univerfal Lethargy, a ftupid blind Obedience, and implicit Faith. And indeed^ in this Cafe, Popery 304 ^ Letter /d Popery it felf muft be thought a proper Remedy j and a much more eligible Stare of Things, than fuch a publkk ^urifdiEiion lodg'd in every pri" *vate Breafl. I'his is the very Thing that has hitherto divided and diflraded the Chriflian Church I and that muft e'er this Time have crumbled it into Duft and Atoms, had not God, in his merciful and good Providence, prevented it, by retraining the Spirit of Impo- Jfttioriy which muft otherwife have naturally pro- duced fuch an EffeSl. Every Council that has fince fate in the Chriftian World, have had as good a Right to make forty New Creeds, as the Council of Nice had to make that one ; nay, e- very particular Church or private Perfon have as good a Right as any of them : And, that this has not been done, is owing, not to the Prin- ciple it felf, which muft terminate in it, but .either to Prudence ^ or Policy, or blind Suhmif' fion. Perhaps you will fay, that at this rate it muft follow, that the Scripture-Revelation has no determinate Senfe at all, even in fundamen- tal Articles of Paithy but every one may under- ftand th^?n differently, and yet be good Chri- ftians. To which I anfwer, that the Scripture has a clear determinate Senfe enough, with re- fped to the general Principles and DoBrines, to which the Revelation is confin'd ; and which is fufficient to anfwer all the Ends and Purpofes of true Religion. But if you will go farther, and carry the certain infallible Word of God beyond the plain exprefs Declarations of God; thofe inr- terpretative Inferences and Dedudions muft needs be different, according to Mens different Capacities, Apprehenfions, Opportunities, and Ways Sir R. Black MORE. 505* Ways of Thinking, niicl none of them can be the certain infallible ff'brdofGod: They will all be the uncertain fallible Conftquences and Opinions of Men ; feme of which, perhaps, may be demonftrated to be falfcy but not one of them U'ill ever be demonftrated to be true. I fhall here endeavour to explain this, by art Inftance or two. God has declared, that there will be a Refurrection of the Dead ; that he will raife both the Juil and Unjulf, to ftand before Chrift in Judgment, and to pafs under an im- partial Trial and righteous Sentence, in order to the vaft eternal Rewards and Punifhments of another World. Now all this is plain and in- telligible enough^ and fufficicnt to determine Men to a good Life, if they will be duly in- fluenced by it, under the Cognizance and In-* fpedion of the fupreme Judge. But li you will carry Matters beyond the general Princi- ples and exprefs Declarations of Scripture, you may make a thoufand Determinations, and draw an infinite Number of diftind: and diffe- rent Confequences, none of which can be the Word oj God, or any Part of Scripture', and therefore, fhould you refolve them into neCef- fary Articles of Faith, and require them to be believ^ed as the Terms of your Communion, you muft herein place your felf in the Room of God, and require a SubmifTion not to the Authority of God, but to your own Authority, Thus, fhould you pretend to pafs it into an; Article of Faith, that the fame Bodies fhall be raifed in this or that determinate Senfeof your" own; as with the fame numerical Particles they confifted of when laid in the Grave, or Nvith the fame numerical Particles they poffefled X >^'hea 3o6 -/^ L E T T E R /^ ^'hen the Soul departed ; or fhould you declare that God always inttrpofes by a miraculous Power to hinder any lubflancial Part of one dead Bod) from becomjng fucceilivcly a fubftan- tial Part oi another ; you might, by fuch a Me- thod, difcover Prefumption enough, and pro- cure fufficicnt Haired, or Contempt, from thofe who cannot be of your Mind, and who may apprehend themfelves ill treated by your Impo- fitions ; but you can never, in this Way, ckar up the Scriptures, or promote the Caufe of true Religion. *Tis declared, that the Bodies of Men after the Refurredion will befpiritual and incorrupt j Ue : Now, that they will be then made fit and proper Inibunients for the more fpiritual and refin'd Operation of the Soul, and will not be (ubjed to any of thofe continual Decays to which they are now liable, is eafy to conceive, and what every one will readily agree in ; but when w'e come to any farther particular Deter- minations and Ccnfequences , 'tis impoffible but Men mud: have different Apprehelifions, and form different Conclufions and Judgments, about the Nature, Exiftence, and Properties of fpiri- tual incorruptible Bodies. Again, "tis exprefly declared, that the Father and Son are one; for thefe are Chrift's own Words, I and my Father are one. Now 'tis plain from exprefs Declarations of Scripture, and what every Body will agree to, that they are one in Teflimony, Confent, and Will ; that they have one Intereft and Defign ; and that, they perfedly agree in all their Declarations concerning the Duty and Happinefs of Man- kind. If any one here fliould affert, and pre- tend to prove by Confequeaces, that the Unity &V R. Bl AC K MO RE. 307 muft denote fomething f.irrher, and Pcirticularly that they are • one in Subflance and Ejjcncey one fupreme independent felj-exijient Beings or one moft high God, he will be involved under infuperable Difficulties, from which he will never be able to extricate himfelf ; and therefore, Ihould his Opinion be intelligible and pofliblc, or even truey yet he can never make it jo clear and evi^ dent as to render all Men inexcufable, and wickedly infincere, who cannot fee it; and without which, ftiould it be ever fo tniey it would be equally prefumptuous and ridiculous, to fuppofe it a univerfally neceiiary and funda- mental Article of the Chriflian Faith. The like may be faid of that other famous and difputed Text, concerning the 'three who bear Record in Heaven : For fuppofing theText to be true and genuine, all thau can with Clear- nefs be deduced from it, is this, that they are three Witnejfes, perfcdly concurring and agreeing in the fame 'Teftimonyy or in attefting to one and the fame "Ihing. And if you, Sir, think you can draw any other Confequence from it, i fhould be glad to fee the Trial ot your SkilL But what gives you the greateft Uneafinefs of all, feems to be this, that fome Perfons, fufpeded of Arianifm^ fubfcribe the Orthodox Creeds, tho' in an unorthodox, i. e. a Scripture Senfe. I fhould have thought it an unconteft- ed Principle, among Proteitants at leaft, that no Articles of Faith ought to be fiibfcribed in any other than a Scripture Senfe, and that every Man is equally to judge for himfelf what is that Scripture Senfe : But "cis your Opinion, that all human Teds and Creeds ought to be fubfcribed in the human' Senfe of the Imnofers X . * Of 5o8 A Letter to or not fubfcribed at all. Upon this Occafion, you take the Liberty to load your Adverfaries with all the reproachful and criminal Imputa- tions that can be due to the moft wicked and profligate of Men, for eluding the pious Delign of thofe Im.pofers, who, notwithflanding their Infallibility and dwine Prerogatives, defire to kwui our Minds. They ought, Sir, to be capa- ble of knowing Mens Minds, without a De- claration or Confeffion trom the fuppofed Cri- minal himfelf, for otherwife nothing can be more fLnfclefs or ridiculous than the Jurifdic- tion they pretend to : And if they will vainly extend their Jurifdidion beyond their Cog- nizance, they muft be content to bear the Shame, and the D if appointment, of it. But if human Tefts and Creeds muft be fubfcribed only in the Senfe of the Impofers ; 'tis certain, that Multitudes of your own Or- thodox Friends will be in as bad a Condition as the Ay tans. The Ar mini an and Arian Stib- fcYihers ought, doubtlefs, to join in Fellowfhip here, and can have no Reafon to fall foul upon one another. I only juft mention this, hoping that when you come to be in a fomewhat cool- er Temper, you muft needs fee that all the Thunder-bolts, which on this Occafion you have difcharged againft the Arians, to (ink them into the Lake of Fire, muft fall with equal Weight and Venge'ance upon your own Friends and Party. ''Till I can fee w^hat I have offered fairly refuted, I muft take it as fufFiciently proved, that no mere human Authority whatever can oblige Men to fubfcribe any thing as a Rtik of Faithy or as neceflary to Salvation and Chriflian CommnnicHi Sir R. Black MO RE, 509 Communion^ but the pure JVord of God, or the Scripture it felf. Men may in many Cafes un- doubtedly bind themfelves, and give up their own Liberty wliere God has not bound or re- ftrain^'d them ,* but 'then they have certainly a Right to judge for themfelves h\ what Cafe they are to do this, and what not ; and no Man ought to part with his Liberty in any Cafe, unlefs he apprehends fome very good and valuable End may be obtained by it, fufficient to recompence him for the Righc and Property which he gives up. I'ho* a Command be ever fo unjuft or unreafonable, yet it may be fit and proper, upon fome Occafions, to fubmit to it : As to deliver my Money, for In fiance, to a Gentleman who demands it on the Road, if it be nccefl'ary to fave my Lite. The want of a fufficient Authority in the Impofers of human Tefls and Creeds, mufl for ever filence them in the Cafe of Non-fubmiflion : But if the Thing impofcd be not in it felf (inful, and the Impofer has it in h\s Power to make it my Interefl to fubmit, I am certainly at Liberty: For while the Thing in it felf is conlidered as indifferent, any B-uiefit and Advantage on the one Side more than the other, will be fuffi- cient to determine the Choice. But after all, a great Queftion farther arifes. Whether it be lawful, upon any Account, to fubfcribe human Creeds and Tefts of religious Orthodoxy in any other Senfe, than that of the Jmpdfers? Towards the clearing of which, it mufl be here confidered, that the original Im- pofers, in fuch Cafes, are always fome Eccle- fiaflical Perfons, who pretend to derive their Authority purely from Chrift, and who firfl ol; X 3 all 3IO ^Letter /(? all impofe upon the Civil Magiftrate, to efia- blifli their own DoBrineSy or rather their own Set of Words, into a Law ; and by that Means impofe upon others to receive and fubfcribe them under certain civil Penalties and legal Dif- couragfneras. In the Bufinefs of Subfcriptions to human Tefis and Standards of Orthodoxy, the Obligation, where there is any, muft be TKeveJy Civil i and I defy all the Ecclefiajlical Im" pofers in the World, to make it appear that there is, or can be, any other Obligation in the CcSe, Abflrading from this Force of the Civil Law, Ecclefiaftfcal Impofitions will be utterly infignificant and vain -, and it muft be always every Manx's Duty and Intereft to rejed them with Contempt and Scorn. Now, from this Prin- ciple, which I fhall venture to proceed upon 'till it is refuted, it muft follow, that in the Cafe of Subfcriptions to human legal Tefts of Orthodoxy, Men are not at all concerned with the Senfe of the Ecclefiaftical Impofcrs, or Creed-makers, (who, perhaps, had no Senfe at all,) but only with the Senfe and Intention of the Governn^cnt in the Civil Law. Now, ^tis cer- tain, that the Magiftrate as fuch^ while he afis conliftcnt with himfelfy and with the Nature of his Office, (as he muft always be fuppofed to do, ^till the contrary appears) can intend nothing in the Civil Law but the ptihlick Good, or the Prefervation of Civil Intereft and Property; and therefore, he who fubfcribes any human Teft of Orthodoxy, in a Senfe equally con- fiftent with the publick Good, and the Civil Rights and Properties of his Fellow Subjeds, equally anfwers the End and Intention of the Government in the Civil Law s and if he does not aS/V R. Bl A C K MORE, gll Hot anfwcr the End of Ecckfiaftical Impofcrs-, there can be no Harm in that^ provided he does not hurt hamfelF by fubfcribingany Thing that will not bear a Stnfe conlifteut with his Judgment and Conicience. The Senfe of Ecclcfiafh'cal Impofers in hu- man Tefis of Orthodoxy, is often impofjlhle, always diffictdt to come at j but their Intention, with relped to the Event or Confequence, is for the moft part obvious enough ,* being only to engrofs the Wealth and Preferments of the Church into their ouii Handsy by excluding all who will not lifl themfelves into their Party ; which being a wicked and felfijh D(:fig}7y ought certainly to be eluded by all lawful Means, But you lay, that upon this Principle, all the Obligation of Oaths, and all natural Ju- ftice in Promifes and Contrads between Man and Man, may be eluded both in Words and Adions; which is fo wild and groundlefs a Confequence, that I think you ought in natural Jujlice to review it again, and either to make good the Charge, or withdraw the impeach- ment. You have a great deal more to do, Sir, before you can carry this Caufe in any Court of Equity or Juftice : You mufl prove, that our Creed-??? akers have an undoubted Authority from Chrift,' to enforce their own Senfc of Scrip- ture under the Penalty of Excojmnunkationy whe- ther that Senfe be right or wrong ; or at leaft, that they are not grofly miflaken in the Point of Fundamentals, and do not infift upon any Thing as Fundamental, which the Scripture has not made fo : You mufl prove, that a hu- man Jurifdiction in Matters ol: mere Belief and Speculation, is a Thing polTible or practicable : X^ You 5 IX .^Letter /(? you muft fhew, that 'tis a Thing in it felf fin- iul to fubfcribe a human Teft in a real Scripture Senfe, if that Senfe fhould happen to differ troni the Senfe of the Impofers', and that in all fuch Cafes I am bound to tell the Impofers, that I do not believe or fubfcribe the Article in their Senfe : You mull: prove, that Men are ob- liged in Reafon and Confcience to accufe them- felves before partial uncapable Judges, who take upon them to determine in Matters ab- folutely above their Cognizance and Jurifdic- tion, and who are ready to condemn their in- nocent Brethren for obeying God rather than Man : And with Refped to the Articles now debated, you muft make it appear, that they are capable of any Serfe at alh "^"^^ which an Art* an may not as fairly fubfcribe them as an Atha- naftan. If you ihould write no more, till you can prove even this laft, I fhould never exped to hear from you upon this Argument again. But the I'luth is, you can prove nothing that fhould make out your.fevere uncharitable Confe- quencts ; and yet you write with as much Af- furance as if you had Demonftration for all you fay, or was dealing only in felf-evident Propofitions. Dodor Waterland thinks, that the Articles which were profelledly intended as a Teft againft the AvminianSy are capable only of an Arminian Senfe i and what if it fhould be proved, that the Articles which are now urged as a Teft againft the Avians^ are capable only of an Arian Senfe, or at leaft as capable of an Arian as of any other Senfe ? This may be -fo for any Thing the Dodor has proved to the contrary, or I believe for any Thing that he cm prove. 'Tis not all the Talk and Suppofi- tion &> R. Black MO R E. 315 tion of three perfonal Hypojiafes or Subflances united in one undivided Sub fiance ; ol: three in- telligent Agents, who are yet but one intclh- gent Agent; of Two eflentially diftindt and* infinitely different intelligent Beings, who are but one Perfon, i. e. one intelligent Agent: I fay, 'tis not all this Darknefs, Uncertainty, and Confufion of Sounds, that can ever ferve to clear up either the Scriptures, or the Articles, or that can, in the leaft, juflify the Athanafians more than any other Sort of Subfcribers. One might undertake at any Time to make it ap- pear, that Tritheijisy Avians, and Sabelliansy may ail, or any of them, fubfcribe the firft and fe- cond Articles of the Church of England, in as clear and confident a Senfe, as Doctor Water- land can in his Syftem, which he calls Orthodox and Catholick, All the learned Orthodox Writers have been ever driven to this Acknowledgment, that their own Docirine, even in their own Words, is In- comer ehenfible. They wail not allow their Unity to be either numerical or fpecifick ; and could never agree among themfelves, whether their Trinity be either real or modal, or neithevy bur fomething abfolutely unintelligible between loth, 'Tis true, they all endeavour to throw off this Darknefs and Confufion upon the unknown Manner of the "Thing ; and pretend that the Thing it felf is clear and intelligible enough ; but whoever will not fhut his own Eyes, m.ufi: needs fee, that "'tis the very Thing it felf which thus confounds them, and that they cin fix no de- terminate Meaning to their own PVords. When- ever they talk of Unity and Trinity upon Atha- pafian Principles, they always take Care to ad- mpnifh 314 ^ Letter to monifh us, that theje Terms are not to be un* derilood in any literal numerical Senfej but that they are figurative and allegorical, expref- ling fomething of which we have no proper Comparifon, Analogy, or Refemblance, in the whole World belides. Thus then ftands the Cafe : The Expreffmts are figurative, and the "Nature ot the Figure is fuch as cannot be ex- prefs'd ; and why then may not the Orthodox fgurative, be the Jh}7e w^ith their Adverfaries literal Senfe, notwithilanding the feeniing Re- pugnancy ot Sound. This can never be deter- min'd to the contrary, till the Exprellions are brought cut of the Allegory, or at leafl 'till the Nature of the Allegory it felf be agreed upon ; which I fear is never like to be done. The Orthodox Terms in this Cafe may there- fore be expounded by, or compared to thofe Quantities, which the Mathematicians call ima- ginary or impoilible ; fuch as is the Root of a Negative Square ; and which, tho^ they (land for nothing in themfehes, yet are fometimes of very good Ufe in the Bufinefs of Equations. 'Tis ijjondetfuly methinks, when all Kind of Herefy is intelligible enough, that Orthodoxy fhould never be underftood j but when it cannot be underftood or literally exprefs'd, 'tis flill more "xonderjul that all Men fhould be obliged to fubfcribe it in any one particular determinate Senfe. Whenever Doftor IVaterland fhall think fie to acquaint us, in what particular determi- nate Senfe he himfelf fubfchbes the two fir ft of the Thirty-nine Articles, I am perfuaded, he will put his Adverfaries out of all manner of Pain concerning either thefey or any of the reft ; and till he can e.^plain his own pavtictdar Senfe, he &r R. Black MOR E. 315- he ought, I think, in Honour and common Juftice, to drop the Bufinefs of Subfcriptions. \Vhen it fhall once appear, as I prefume it fome time or other muft, that 'tis impolTible and impradicable for the moft honefl and iin- cere Perfons in the World, to fubfcribe the fame human Tefls of Orthodoxy in the fame Senfe ; perhaps, all Parties will then fee and own, that thefe Tefis are no w^ays preferable to the Holy ScriptureSy and that the Caufe of God and Religion may fublift as well without as with them. You feem in great Pain, Sir, left your Ad- verfaries, by their Number, Weight, or Influ- ence, fhould fome time or other get the Go- vernment on their Side, and procure their Do- drines to be eflahlifloed by Law. 'Tis fome what eddy tho* nothing new, to obferve how foon a little Change of Circumftances may oblige even Gentlemen of your Steadinefs and Penetration, to change Sides. You have been hitherto with others, complaining againft legal exclufive Efta- blifhments i and pretending, that Chriftianity may very well fublift upon the Foot ot the Gof- pel, without any Cvuil Laws, or Acts of Par- liament, in Matters of pure Religion and Con- fcience : But now you are all on a fudden of another Mind, and would not lofe your legal Eftahlijiomeni iox the whole World- Is this the Language of a learned Proteftant ? Does the Force of his Argument, the Strength of his Caufe, lie here ? 1 muft tell you, Sir, chat what- ever yours may^ my Religion needs no legal E/ia--. bliftoment ; and if under a legal "Toleration only, it cannot fubfift and fupport it felt upon the (ole Foundation of Reafon and Scripture^ I fhall never 3i6 A Letter to never repine to fee ft fall to the Ground. I can eafily give up all thofe Advantages, of what Na- ture or Kind foever, which can be fecured on- ly by a legal Church-Enclofure ; and am forry to fee you quitting your Principlesy while you are defending your Opinions. ^HSy for about Half a Sheet together, from Page 45,-52. that you found the Allarm of the infinite Danger that muft enfue to your Orthodox Faith, fhould it once lofe its legal Eftablijhment . I am here intirely of your Opinion, Sir, and verily be- lieve that your Fears and Apprehenfions are well grounded : For if your Scheme of Ortho- doxy be fuch as cannot keep its Footing with all the vaft Advantages of Civil Law and Church Preferments, what would become of it ihould it ever chance to lofe thefe ncceflary Pillars of Truth y and be left to fubfift only upon the Me- rits of the Caufey and the bare Light and Strength of 'Reafon and Revealation ^ But that which muft needs darken your Fears, and draw the Images ot Juftice under the moft difmal Shades in your Imagination, is, left your Adverfaries gaining the Start, fhould turn the Tables upon you, and promote Truth in your own Way. And what, oh! what muft be the Confequence! fhould Orthodoxy be once ftript of her Infallibility, and be brought to the Tefts of fallible Hereticks ? What then would become of your main Argument, your only fufficient Teft and Trial of real Chri- ftianity ? But methinks I would fain abate your Fears, and adminifter a little Comfort. I hope better things of your Adverfaries ; and that if they fliould ever have a proper Occafion, they would %vj^ you for once a good Example of the Mild- &V R. Black MORE. 317 Mildnefs, Humility, and Chanty of the Gof- pel: An Example which was never yet given by any Orthodox Church in the World, where they could but engage the coercive Power o£ the Civil Magiftrate in Favour of trrie Religion. 'Tis well known, that the firft Orthodox Cctin- cil were the firft Anti-Chyiflian Tyrants in the Chrijlian Church', and that the myfterious infal- lible Homooiifians firft began the wholefome Chriflian Method of enlightening, and con- verting Men, by Pcrfecmion and penal Laws, If the Avians, in their Turn, gave their Adver- faries a Tafte of this falutary Difcipline, it was but what they might reafonably cxped: ; and how unjuftifiable foever the Thing might be in it felf, the Orthodox could have no juft Caufe of Complaint ; they, the Orthodox, had opened the Way for it, and taught their Adverlaries the right Method of promoting true Religion ; and who could blame them for following the bright and brave Example of fuch glorious Leaders ? The next Half Sheet, p. 52, — 59. is fpent in a Charge of Infincerity againft the Authors of the New Scheme. The main Ground of the Charge \s this, That tiiey will not tell you d\- redly their whole Minds concerning the Points now in Debate ; which yet, you think, they are indifpenfably bound to declare when 'tis de- manded of them. The Obligation here is doubtlefs as great and indifpenfable, as that which a Man lies under to anfwer diredly and fully to a Robber, who Ihould ask him' how much Money he has about him, and demand it all. Suppofe now, I fiiould tell him in this Cafe but Part of the Truth, and fo cheat him OlK gi9 A Letter to out ot Part of my ciuw Right? Why then I Ihould injure him juil as much I do you, by not acquainting you with my whole Mind con- cerning the 1 rinity, or any other fpeculativ^e Point, as often as you might be impertinent and bold enough to demand it of me. Your inftance relating to the Conduct of the primi- tive Chriftians profeffing and pradifing their Religion, while expofed to the Outrage of their Heathen Perfecutors, is nothing at ail to the Purpofe; for it will not follow from hence, that I am obliged to make you my Confejfovy concern- ing any Point of mere Judgment or Beliefs in which you might think fit to demand Satif- fadion. The Heathens brought no Creeds, no I'eft of Orthodoxy againft the Chriftians, as a Scrutiny upon Confcience and inward Judgfnent : They condemned them only for an outward Pradice, contrary to their Laws. The Chri- ftians might have worfhipped their own God in their own Way, provided they would but have - comply^d with the Pradice of their Country, and. offered Sacrifices at the Heathen Altars too. Creeds and Tefls of Orthodoxy, contri- ved to rack Men's Confciences for their inward fpeculative Judgments and Opinions, while they cannot be charged with any wrong Prac- tice, is a more refined Method of Convidicn, left to the Difcovery of Chriftian Perfecutors, which the fimple Heathens, who aimed at no- thing but what was poffible and pradicable, never thought of. When therefore, laying a * fide your perfecuting Tefls and inquifitory Engines, founded and employed upon a Suppofitioa of Infallibility, you (hall content your ielf to fuf- pend your judicial Procefs againft your Bre- threo^ &> R. Bl ACKMORE. 318 thren, ^cill upon your own Principles you can convid them of fomething criminal in Pradice ; you will then, and not 'till then, come up to the Rules and Meafures ot Pagan Juftice. Under this Head, you pretend to ridicule your Adverfaries, tor acknowledging rhatChrift is Godj and yet denying him to be the one fu- preme Jelf-exifient Being ; whereas your Ortlio- dox Friends mud ailert the fame Thing, if they would talk Senfe, and be confident with themfeives : and they cannot decline it, but by faying, that the felf fame numerical individual Being IS begotten and unbegotten^ originate and umrt- gimte, felj-exifient and not felf-exiflent, at the fame 7^i?ne, But this is not the only Contradidion by a great many, that their cruel hard-hearted Orthodoxy puts them to the needlefs Expence of. But nothing can be more furprizing than the Account you give tow^ards the Ciofe, concern- ing the Difficulties on both Sides in this De- bate. The lead-, I think, that can be faid of it is, that you have been hurried into this Con- troverfy without l^hought or Conjideration, and before you had read both Sides : For fuppoling otherwife, I mud declare, that I would not bear the Shame and Reproach of fu«h grofs Ahufes and Mifreprejentationsy for all the 7nere Otthodosy in the World. On your Side, it feems, there are no Difficulties; 'tis but to take every Thing you fay for granted, and to fuppofe that what you contend for, is a Matter of divine Re've- lation^ and the Bufinefs is done. But this you know is the very Thing in Queftion ,• which* therefore, you ought not to have begg'd. And 'tis certainly wholly unaccountable and inex- cufablc, 310 A Letter to cufable, that you fay nothing to that very Point, upon which any fair Difputant would have thought himfelf concerned to have Ipent his main Strength. As for the Difficulties you feem to enumerate on the Arian Side, I dare now trufl: them in the Hands of any common Reader, fmce every one mull: fee that they are mere Dreams and FiEiions of your own Imagina" tion ; tho*5 perhaps, you may by an arbitrary Impofition of Names, call them Confequemes. Your ranking the Dodrine of your Adver- faries among thofe heretical, impious, and damnable Methods, which draw down divine Vengeance, and the Judgments of God, upon a Nation, is fuitable enough to that Party Spirit^ Zelotifmy lurking Conceit of Infallibility, of which you have given but too plain Difcoveries through- out this whole Book. In fine, after you had fpent the whole Strength and Force of your Elocution and Rhetorick, to animate and infpirit the learned Men among the Orthodox, to appear and make a Stand a- gainfl a growing formidable Herefy; which, by fpreading flill farther and farther like a mortal Contagion, threatens to lay all waile before it ; you conclude with this remarkable Paragraph, p. 84. *^ How defirable is it in fuch Circum- " fbnces, that thofe Numbers of our Ortho- " dox Clergy, who are Men of diftinguifhed " Learning, able in Difputation, and not in- *' cumbered with bufy Life ; and whofe Duty ^' it is to ftand in the Gap, and oppofe the *' Encroachments of a pernicious Herefy ; *' would beflir themfelves, and follow the Ex- *^ ample of feveral excellent Writers? The *^ learned Doctor Waterland^ the judicious Eari " of Sir R. Black MO RE. 311 *^ of Nottingham^ the acute Dr. Knight ; who *' have (ignaliz'd thcmfelves in this Contro- " verfy, bravely defended the orthodox Faith, *^ and led in IViumph the Champions of the *' Arian Philiftines^ that defyM the Armies of *' Chrift the living God ,* befidcs many others, " as well DilTenters as Churchmen, who have " engaged in this honourable Caufe, fought a " good Fight, and covered with Shame the '^ boaftful Adverfary/' Never, I think, did any Hero before, thus mix his 7'ritimphs with his Fears; and ling T'e Deum for ViBoryy while he is trembling under the Apprehenlions of a Defeat. You fum>mon up ail the Powers of Heaven and Earth, to fall upon a poor routed vanquifhed Enemy, whofe Chiefs are all, either (lain upon the Field of Battle, or taken Cap- tives, and made Prifoners of War. You cry , aloud for Help, and fpare net ; but when the drowfy Legions begin to awake, and are ready to receive your Commands, you calmly tell them there is no Danger, they may fleep on and take their Reft, for the Work is all done already to their Hands : Dr. PFaterhind, the Earl of Nottinghaniy and a few others, have got the Honour of the Day, and their Adveriaries are all dead in Argument^ and buried wi,ch Shame. But if it be indeed fo, to what Purpofe is all this ' Noife and Outcry ? Whence proceeds this Panick in the midft of all your Trophies? One would think you expeded the Rtfurreciion of the Wicked before that of the Juft ; or at leaft apprehended that thefe dead Men are flill alive, arm^ in their full Strength, and capable of giving you as warm a Reception as ever. And ir.deedj after fuch a Koiit as t/;/j, no Body won- Y ders ^%% ^Letter, ^c. ^lers to find the ^uanquifi'd Enemy fafe and un- hurt, without having received the flighteft Woundy or loft one Drof of Blood. But when you come calmly to review this whole Matter, I hope you will think of fome more proper Method of ending the War ; and either renew the Debate in a V/ay of fair Argtrmenty or fit down content with the pefent Victory, If I have omitted any Thing material in your Argument, I fhould be glad to hear fron. you again as Occafion ferves; for tho' I have very little Spare-Time to beftow upon this Contro- verfy, yet I think that little cannot be better employ M than by doing Juftice to a Gentleman of your diftinguifh'd Charader and Merit in the learned World. I fllall be aly/ays ready either to fubmit upon Convidion, or give you my farther Reafons why I cannot be convinced; and as to the Event, it does not at all concern me, whether I am to be better enlightened to receive your Primiples^ or more ftrengthened and confirmed in my civn, I am, Sir, with Refped to all the Obligations of Juftice, Peace, and Charity, Marlborough, YouY mofl Obedient^ March 14. -* ' Humhk Sew ant J T. M. • A REFUTATION O F T H E FALSE PRINCIPLES Aflumed and apply'd by the Reverend Mr. Jofeph Pyke, In his Book, entitiiled, J^n hnpartial View of the^ Trin- dpaVDiffictilties that affe&; the Trinitarian^ or dog the A R I A N Scheme y &:c. To which is added, Some fliort REMARKS on Sir Richard Blackmore's Jufl Prejudices againfl the Ariali Hypothelis, WITH A POSTSCIPT Concerning the real Agreement between the Athanaftans and Socinians in the "Trinitarian Contro\'erfy. In aLETTER toaFRIEND, REFUTATION G F THE FALSE PRINCIPLES AfTumed and apply 'd by the Reverend Mr. JOSEPH PTKE, &c. In a L. E T T E R to a Friend* Reverend arid Dear Shy OU defire to know my Opinion of Mr. PykeS Performance; as to which I have endeavoured to give you Tome Satisfadioii in the following Remarks- I have nor accompanied ia him thro' ail his declama- tory Harangues ; for I have neither Time noir Patience to attend a preaching Difputant, while he is only appealing from Mens Underilanding to their PaiTions, I have therefore contenred Y 3 ■ my 3 16 The Falfe Trinciples of the my felf with only ihewing the Weaknefs, Ab- furdity andSelf-contradidionof his main Prin- ciples; and the Foundation being removed, I leave the Superftrudure to take its own Fate. Our Author having made a Bow or Two to Charity and Moderation, and paid a few Com- pliments to the Mildnefs, the Tendernefs, the Mecknefs and Humility of the Gofpel, prefent- ly throve s off the Difguife, and appears in his own Perfon, fparing no Argument in his Rage, of what Force or Energy foever, nor regarding the ftrongeft Contradi&ion that flands before him. This Gentleman finding it for hisPurpofe, find having refolved with himfelf to write in the Defence of what, as he owns, he does not un- derfland ', it muft be allow'd that he has hit upon the only proper Method of doing it : I mean, by flrong Affertions, moving Harangues, Diftindions without Difference, and a thick Cloud of unintelligible Terms. For I fhali fliew in its proper Place, that he makes ufe of the Principal Words upon which this Contro* verfy turns, fuch as Sul'flance, Efjence^ Perforin Nature, and the like, either without any Senfe or Meaning at all, or elfe with a Senfe alterM and vary'd according to the Exigence, of the Cafe, and the Diflrefs he is under. Perhaps this Writer will think that 1, above/all Men, ought to have fpar^d him, becaufe the only Con- ceflion he m.akes in his whole Book is to me. He grants, becaufe he could not well help it, (tho* yet what miight he not have helpM ?) that the Four Miniflers had not that flrid and' proper or demonflrative Certainty, which I argu'd a- gainft ; and he allows that Matters of Faith are uncapable of it: But then he thinks it was very Re'v. Mr. P y k e^ refuted. 3 27 very hard and unreafonable in me to underftand them fo, and endeavour to ^x a Senfe upon them, which I could not well fuppofe to be their real Meaning. That they had no flrid demonftrative Certainty of what they contend- ed for ; that Matters of Faith are in their own Nature uncapable of it ; and that they, the Four Miniflers, could not fiand to it when charged, I knew very well : But fliil their pre- tending to and claiming it in Words, and in- (inuating fuch a Senfe into the Minds of other People, is as vifible as the Book it felf j and their fecret Meaning ought not to skreen them againft the Charge of a contrary Senfe, plainly exprefs'd and convey M wherever it could meet with any Difpofition to receive it : and this Senfe had been ^o plainly exprefs'd, and fo often inculcated in the Book, tliat I may ven- ture to fay, there was not One in a Thoufand of their own Friends but what underiliood them fo. In Confequence of which, I v/as for a long Time after impeachM and condcmn'd by the whole Party, for denying the moil ftrid and abfolute Certainty in Matters of Faith ; and this was reprefented as a bold Attack up- on Religion, and no lefs than Scepticifm, Infi- delity, and a Subveriion of Chriilianity ; not only the common* People, but the Minifters themfelves, with great Zeal and Earneftnefs joyning in the Cry. It was very jufi; and pro- per in me, therefore, to fhew the Abfurdities and intolerable Confequences of fuch a Pretence; and I am perfwaded, that thefe Gentlemen are not half fo angry with their own Friends for mifunderftanding their real Senfe, as they are with me for undeceiving them : fince it i$ y 4 now 3 x8 The Falfe Trinciples of the now generally believed, that notwithftanding their indubitable Perfwafion, and invincible Confidence, they arc as liable to Miftakes, even in this very Matter, as other People. Mr. V'jke may call his Pcrfvvafion rational Perfwa- (icn, with all my Heart; he may pity and pray for others, and blefs himfelf in the glorious Conceit of his Orthodoxy, as he plcafes : Hov^'- ever, I doubt not but to make it appear, that his rational Perfwafion is not only above, but contrary to, Reafon. The Author in his Introdudion, /?. 6. lays down (as I underftand him) An uncontefted Prm- ciple. He tells us, that it is rational to fappofej that God ?nay reveal fome T'hings, the Nature, Reafons^ Circiimfiamesy and Modes of vchich cant be brought doirn to the Level of our 'weak Under flandings. I fuppofe he means, that a Thing in it felF may be reveal'd, as to its Truth and Exiftence, tlio' the Manner, Reafons, and other Circumflances of the Thing, are not revealM, and fo flill re- main as to us incomprehenfible. This doubt- lefs, is all that he can mean by it ; for fliould he fay, that the Modes, Reafons, C7c. are re- veal'd or m.ade known to us, and yet that they remain ftill incomprehenfible or unknown, notwithftanding the Revelation, it would be a Contradi(5tion in Terms. A Thing in it felf, as to its Truth and Exiftence in general, may be certainly revealed, and made clear and in- telligible enough, where the unreveal'd Man- ner and other Circumftances of the Thing may remain ftill unknown and incomprehenfible ; h\ v/hich Cafe, we ought to receive and believe the Thing fo far as it is revealed, and content curfdves with bein^ ignorant in other Mat- ters, Rev. Mr. P y k e, refuted. 3 19 ters, where God has not thought fit to inform us. And who ever doubted of this^ or once "^ deny'd it ? And therefore, the Author's going about to prove it, and urging it upon his Friend, as a Matter of great Confequence, and as if it was v hat his Adverfaries would not grant, is a little extraordinary, and a fignal In- Itance of his Chrlftian Tendernefs, Moderation and Charity. If this Author cannot find a Man, who owning a Thing to be reveal'd from God, will yet with-hold his AiTent, becaufe he cannot underftand the Reafon or Manner of the Thing, let him bear the Imputation which he now lays upon his Adverfaries, without the leafl Appearance, I will not fay of Chrijiian Charity y but even ^f Pagan Juflice. Let him prove the Thing, that there are Three diftind: , Intelligent Agents in the One God, and we (half i receive it ; but he knows very well that 'tis the Thing itfelfy and not the Manner of the Thing, that he and his M^fters affirm, and we deny, to be a Matter of divine Revelation ; and tho* " he pretends to throw off all his Ignorance and Inconfiftency upon the unreveal'd and unknown Caufes, Reafons and Modes of Things, yet I doubt not but to make it evident, that his Ignorance lies in his having no Notion of the very Thing that he whites about, and ufing his own Words without Ideas. As preparatory to what follows, it may be proper here to obferve to you, that there is one general Contradi(5Lion which is inclulive of all particular Con traditions, and to which they are all reducible, ^uiz,. that the fame Thing, at the fame Time, may be, and not be ; or that the fame Propofition may be true and falfe. 3 3 o 77?^ Falfe Trinciples of the iaifc, at the fame Time, This being the primary tundamental Contradidion of all, whoever can get oti with -it, will never boggle at any other ; but you may to as good Purpofe fling Dull in the Air, 4s ftare him in the Face with Con- tradidions. Now this Sum and Subftance o£ all Abfurdity and ImpolTibility, our Author, and others ot his Caft, by the help of a mere verbal DiflincTtion, always aflume as their firfl Principle j which they employ as the great En-' gine, whereby to remove all other Difficulties, and deliver themfelves from the uneafy Weight, whenever they happen to be taken, as they fre- quently are, in affirming and denying the fame Thing. Their Principle is this, that the fame Thing may be, or not be ;ior the fame Propo- iicion, at the fame Time, m.ay be true and falfe y not indeed in the fame, but in different Refpecls. Now if you grant them this Principle, it will be impofTible ever to faftcn a Contradiction up- on them ; becaufe it will follow from the Prin- ciple it feif, that there can be no fuch thing in Nature as a Contradidion, but every Thing is equally true and falfe. I fhali fliew therefore, that this Diftindion of the fame and different Refpeds, as thus apply'd, is merely verbal ; and that it is impoffible, that the fame Thing, at the fame Time, fhould be true and falfe in any Senfe at all, either in the fame, or in different Refpeds. 'Tis evident, that whatever is af- firmed, or deny'd, in any one particular deter- minate Senfe, muil neceflkrily, in that deter- minate Senfe, be either true or falfe ^ and can- rot be both, or neither, becaufe in a particular determinate Senfe there can .be noVariety ; and there is no Medium or St:ite of Indiffcrency be- twixt Rev. Mr. P y k e, refuted. 331 twixt Truth and Falfehood. ^Tis mdent alfo, that the Thing affirmed or deny'd, cinnot be the fame "Thing any longer than the Terms of the Propofition retain the fame precife deter- minate Meaning ; for where the Complex Ideas to \N hich the Terms oF the Propolition are af- fixed, fliall be any way altered or varied, either by putting in feme new Ideas, or leaving out any of the old, tho' the fame Sound may be re- tained, yet the Thing it felf, which is here- by affirmed or deny'd, will not be the fame> bu: quite different Things. What is therefore frequently, to ferve a Turn, called the fame Thing in different RefpeSis, is really two diffe- rent Things ; one of which may be eafily true, and the other ialfe, at the fame Time. And this is the Myftery of difterent Senfes and Re- fpeds, being a Device of fubtle Di fputants, when they have a Mind to fhufHe upon you very diuerent and perhaps contradidory Things, under tLe fame Sound, as one and the fame Thing. And now^ Sir, I fiiall exemplify this unfair Management throughout this whole Book of our Author. And here thatjl may do him all poilGble Juftice, and leave him no Reafon to complain, 1 ("hall fir/l of all confider this Mo- no-triple Scheme upon its own general Princi- ples, as common to ail the Athanaf.ansy with- out any Regard to the feveral different and in- confiflent Explications given of it by their Doc- tors and learned Men ; and fhew that it im-^ plies an Impoflibility and Contradiction in the abftrad Nature and Reafon of Thin^r^; and then I will apply it to the Author's own Account of the Matter, and fhew that 'tis as much a Con- 33^ The FalfeTrtnciples of the Gontradidion in his Scheme, as in any other; that he lias not, as he imagines, hit upon a Medium between Sahellianijm and Tritheifm ; and that, it he will ftandto his own Principles, he muft build his Hope of Salvation upon a neceflary eternal Contradit3:ion, and profefs himfelt a AMo-Tnthei/i. To fay, that there are Three Things really diftind and difterent,fo that the One is not the Other i that each of thefe Three dillind: and dif- ferent Things are infinite, and yet that there are notThree dirferentThings which are infinite, or Three Infinites, but only One Infinite, or One Thing only that is infinite, is an exprefs Contra- didion in the Nature of Things. Thus alfo, to affirm, that there are Three really diflinct and different Subjeds, which are each of them in- dued with infinite Power, Wifdom and Intel- ligence ; and yet, that there are not three in- finite Powers, Wifdoms or Intelligences, or Three infinitely powerful, wife and intelligent Subjeds, but only One fuch, is evidently con- tradidory, and impoflible in the Nature and Reafon of Things. For the Diilindnefs and Infinity of the ^me fpecifick Attributes, muft neceflarily be multiplied with their diftind in- finite Subjeds ; and the Negation of this muft be eternally a Contradidion, while the fame precife Meaning is affixed to the fame Terms : And iilently to alter the Senfe of theTerms by clapping a different Meaning to the fame Sound, under a Pretence of the fame "Thing in different RefpeBs^ when it is really two different Tilings ; this, I fay, is not to clear a Contradidion, but to ufe a bad Piece of Artifice, and impofe up- on the Reafon and Senfes of Mankind. Now, to Rev. Mr. P y k e^ refuted. 333 to carry this a little farther : It \s^ I think, univerfally allowed by ail the Athanafians-, that the Father, Son, and Spirit, are Three really diftind and different Subjedsj and fo far diftind, that they are each of them indu'd with really diftind and incommunicable Attributes or Pro- perties. 'I'hey likewife affirm, that each of thefe Three diftind and different Subjeds, is God in the flridefl Senfe, or God abfolutely fupreme over all ; and yet they maintain, that there is but One only Subjed that is God alone, /. e, they fay, that there are Three who are each of them dd{!d\\&i.y God, and yet there is but One who \s God alone. -. Now, tho' the Contradidion here be fuf- ficiently evident in it felf ,• yet it will be pro- per to confider the general Evafion, by which they endeavour to get off with it ; which is this : They fay, that the Three diflindSubjeds of the perfonal Properties are united in one com- mon Subjed of the ellential Properties, and fo are one and the fame in Subflance or Ellence. But here they labour to get rid of one Co^" tradidion, by running at leafl into Half a Do- zen more ', for either this one common Subjed of the effential Attributes, is precifely and de- terminately the very felf-fame with the Three diftind Subjeds of the perfonal Attributes, or it is not. If they affirm that it is, this will be faying, that one Subjed is Three diflind Sub- jeds, and Three diftind Subjeds but one Sub- jed, without Diflindion or Diverfity ; and this at the fame Time, and in the fame Senfe : which, Iprefume, no one can be in any doubt of, whether it be a Contradidion or no. But if it b? faid, that the common Subjed o^ the '- * ' cfientiai 354 ^^^ Falfe Trinctples of the effe 11 tial Properties, is not the felf-fame, but a di- ftind Subject from theThree other diflind Sub- jects of the perfonal Properties ; then liiice alfo the efl'ential Attributes are fuppofed to be communicated to the Three diftinct Subjects of the perfonal Attributes, this muft necelTariiy make Four diflind Subjects, each of which is indu'd with all the eilential Attributes ; that is, Four diftinft infinitely perfect Subflances. 'Tis true, thefe infinite Subilances wall be un- diviaedly and infeparably united to each other mutually, lince it is impoflible that Three in- finitely extended Subflances iliould be divided or leparated with refped to Space orDimenfion; which, by the way. Sir, you may obf^rve, is all that any of Dr. IVaterland's ExprefTions a- bout it will amount to ; but then this does not deftroy the real Exigence, and numerical Di- ftin(5tions, of the Subflances themfelves. If to avoid this Multiplicity of Subjedsor Subflances, it fhould be faid, that the Subjeds or Sub- ilances w^hich fuftain the perfonal Attributes, are .not numerically diftind, but one and the fame with the common ElTence; as this de- ftroys all manner of Diftindion betwixt eflen- tial and perfonal Aftributes, and fuppofes a Perfon to be only adiilinfl Mode of Sublicence in tne one common Subjed or Subflance ; which is Sahellianifm : fo by confounding the dillind Subjed:s, and fuppoiing them to be numerically one and the fame, it contains an exprefs Con- tradiction, and overthrows this Hypothefis up- on another Principle, as I have fliew'd already. And therefore turn this Scheme which Way you will, it mull ftiil appear contradidory, and ne* ceffariiy fubvert and deltroy ic felf. I know theye Rev. Mr. P y k e, refuted, n^ there is one Evafion flill behind, ns the Ir^il Re-«' fore ot' thofe, who in this Scheme are prels'd with Contradiftions ; that is, when they can- not get themfelveS off by any poflible Senle that can be put to their own Words, they lly to the Incompreiiendbility of the Subject, which, as they feem to think, gives them a Right to ufe Words without a Meaning. And thus, at length, they fland acquitted in empty Sounds and im- penetrable Darknefs; for who can charge a Propofition with a Contradiction, which is own'd to be unintelligible, and without any Senfe or Meaning at all ? . ^ And now. Sir, having confider'd the Impof- fibility and Self-contradidorinefs of this Hy- pothecs upon its general Principles j let us turn again more diredly to our Author, and fee how he has mended the Matter, in his own parti-^ cular Account of it. The great Diiliculty in his way, w^as to find a Medium betwixt Sahel- lianifm and Tritbeifm^ and to fix a certain de- terminate Meaning to the word Perfon, which might be fleadily kept to, fo as to anfwer this Purpofe. And this the Author thinks he has done in the following Definition, />. 13. Here then, a Perfon is, according to him, *^ A fpiri- *^ tuai infinite intelligent Agent ; which muft *' not be confider'd as abllraded from, but as ** truly fubfifling in, the Divine Nature, and a$ ** mutually eternally and infeparably related " to the other Co-eifential Perfons in the God- *' head j from whom he is fufficicntly and only *^ diftinguifhed, by fom.e perfonal, and as fuch *^ incommunicable Properties. This is his Definition j which if you can un- fjerfland, the reft will be all clear j and there- 33^ The Falfe Trinciples of the fore, I (hall the more diflindly conlider and ex- amine it, becaufe it will fave me the Trouble of purfuing him much farther ; and let the World fee, that he has bven at the Pains of writing a large Book, upon a Subjed: of great Importance, without faying one Word to the Purpofe : It wnW likew i(e ferve as a fignal In- ftance of the magical Power of Sounds, and let you into the whole Myftery of fcholaftick Jug- gling. That a Perfon is an intelligent Agent, or an intelligent adive Subftance , is plain and intelligible enough ; and thus much the Author allows : From whence one fliould be naturally led to conlude, thatThree Pcrfons are Three intelligent Agents, or adive Subflances. But this will not do with our Author, and the Difficulty is how to avoid it , which, I believe, every one muft allow to be a little pinching. He will grant perhaps, that an Agent or Per- fon, is an intelligent active Subftance, becaufe "'tis impolTible to define a Perfon or Agent, with- out including the Idea of Subftance in it ; but then, he will fay, that the" one Agent is an adive Subftance, yet it will not follow, that Three Agents are Three adive Subftances. Which plainly amounts td this, that tho^ it is granted, that one Agent is one Agent, yet it will not follow from hence, that three Agents nre three Agents. Perhaps indeed one will not follow from the other, becaufe they are both felf-evident, that is as evident as the Self-con- tradidion of our Author's Definition and Hy* pothefis. 'Tis plain, that the Subftance it felf is the Agent or Perfon ; and therefore ^tis fim- ply and abfolutely impoiTible to multiply the Perfons or Agents^ without multiplying the Sub- Re^. Mr, P y k e, refuted. 337 Subftances. And from hence it is evident, that the Diftindion between elTential and perfonal Properties, is abfurd nnd ridiculous : forlince the Perfon or Agent is nothing elfe but the adive intelligent Subflance it felt'j and fince there is no other Subjed of Properties but this one Sub- flance ; and confcqucntly the Intelligence, adive Power, and all other polTible or conceivable Pro- perties,muft fubfifl in thisone Subftance^as their proper Subjed, or elfe fubfiil: without any Sub- jed at all; 'tis plain, that every edential Pro- perty mufl: be a perfonal Property, and every perfonal Property an eflential Property, withouc any Difference or Diltindion. * But fince our Author talks in his Definition, and throughout his whole Book, of perfonal incommunicable Properties, as the Charaderifiicks of theThree di- flind Perfons ,• I would ask him what is the im- '^ mediate Subject of thofe incommunicable Pro- perties? If he fays, the diflind Perfons them- felves ; he then allows the Perfons to be the pro- per fuftaining Subjeds of their own Attributes, that is, diflind Subftances ,* which is Tritheifm. ^ But if this does not pleafe him, he muft place thefe perfonal Properties in the one common Subflance or Effence, as their only proper Sub- jeft, which muft make them eflential Attributes, and deflroy the real diflindion of Perfons ; and this is plainly Sabellianifm-, which is the fame with Socimanifm. It will be impoffible in this "Way to fuppofe any Diverfity or Multiplicity of Perfons, without fuppofing at the fame Time, and in' the very fame Senfe, a like Multiplicity and Diverfity of Effence. And I challenge this Author, or any of his abler and more learned Friends, to aflign any poffiblc Meaning to their Z own 3 ^8 The Falfe Trinciples of the own Words, or tell us what they intend by Three real juhflantial PerfonSy upon the Hypo- thecs of one individual Eil'ence, or numerical Identity of Subilance. Perhaps, the Author vill be here ready to wonder at my Dullnefs, or Prefumption, and ask whether he has not done this already ? I fay no, he has not done it ; and I fhali venture to tell him farther, that he cannot poilibly do it. In this very Defini- tion, he underflands Perfon in Two different and contrary Senfes, even while he pretends to be fixing and afcertaining the determinate Meaning of the^Word. And this I fhall now Ihew, which will let you into the whole My- {lery. I do not mean into the t^eep T'hings of Gody but into the deep T'hings of Mr. Pyke. Let us fee then what he can pofTibly intend byThrce Ferfons in the Divine Nature^ in the Godheady in one and the fame Subftance or EJfence ; for thcfe he ufes all along as equivalent Expreflions. When therefore he afferts Three Perfons in One and the fame Subftance or Effence ; if he fhould here keep to his own defined Senfe of the Word Perfon, viz.. an intelligent Agent, or intelligent adive Subflance, by puttting the Definition for the Thing defin'd, what he fays muft amount to this, That there areThree in- telligent adive Subflances, in One intelligent adive Subftance; that \Sy Three Perfons and but One Perfon, Three equally infinite and fu^ preme Gods, and yet but One fuch : which is fo Far from a Medium between Sahellianifm aud 7r/- theifniy th^t *tis jumbling them both together, and maintaining both Parts of the Contradidion. Here then his defin'd Senfe of a Perfon which he declares for, will not do, and therefore he daps Rev. Mr. P y k e, refuted. 539 claps in his fecret and refervcd Meaning, while he difclaims it. By Perfon here therefore, when he fays there are Three Perfons m One and the fame Efl'ence, he can mean only Three Modes of Subfiftence in the fame Subftance or Ef- fence. And becaufe there is no other Subje(5t of thefe Attributes or Modes, but the One Ef- fence in which they fubfift, they muft necef- farily be eifential Attributes j and fo there wiil be but One real fubftantial Perfon under Three Modes or Attributes; which is direct and plain Sabellianifm or Socinianifm : And this Opinion is indeed no Contradiction in it felf, tho' it be a Contradidion to every Thing elfe in Chriftiani- ty. Thus, Sir, you fee how our Author plays at faft and loofe ; how he fhuiRes in, or flips out, the Idea of Subftance, or Agent, in his Account of Perforiy juft as he thinks ht; nay, fuppofes Two contrary Senfes to be both true at once, and fo makes his Definition abfolute- ly unintelligible and felf-contradidory. And to ftiew that the Author is ever the fame incon- fiftent Perfon with himfelf, I mull defire you to obferve the Method he takes to difengage himfelf, p. 213, where he is prefs'd, among others, with this Contradidion, that if one and the felf-fame Subftance or Eifence be com- mon to all the Three Perfons, it muft follow, that the fame numerical Efl'ence is begotten and un begotten. Now, what does he reply to this? Does he pretend that there is not a ftri(± and abfolutely Identity, or numerical Samenefs of EfTence, in the Three Perfons ? Nothing like it ; but he fays, that it was not the EJfencey but the Perfon of the Father, who begat the Perfon of the Sm'y and that the Subftance or Z 2 Eiience 340 The Falfe Trindples of the Eflence is equally unoriginate and unbcgotten in each Perfon alike. And this he was forced to fay, becaufe it is ielf-evident, that the felf-fame in- dividual Eflence cannot pofTibly be begotten and unbegotten, derived andundcrived, communica- ted and not communicated, at the fame Time. When therefore he tell us, that the Person of the Father begat the Verjm of the Son\ he mud either underftand the Word Verjon according to the Sahellian Senfe in both Places, and iay, that the Father in begetting the Son, did not att efl'cntially, and that he did not beget a real fubflantial Son, but that only One Mode or Attribute bcgait another ; or elfe he mull: in- clude the Idea of Agent, or aftive Subftance, in the complex Idea e::prefs'd by the Word PerfoN^ when apply'd to the Father as begetting, and leave it out when apply'd to the Son as begot- ten. He is at Liberty to chufe either of thefe, as he likes beft, lince 'tis evident, that he muft take one of them ; but which way foever he turns himfc-lf, he can only by wriggling out of one Contradiction, flip into another; and yet, which is v^ery diverting, wdiile he is only tri- fling with Words, he talks of fighting, defeat- ing and conquering, and fcems overjoyed in the Conceit ot a Victory. Dr, Waterlandy whom our Author always admires and never underflands, was fo well aware, that Suhflance and Perfony as ufed in this Argument, muif be liable to the very fame Sort of Unity and Diverfity, that he exprefly owns, that in a certain Senfe, or rather different SenfeSy the Three Perfons are but One Perfon, and One Perfon Three Perfons. And in the fame Senfe, and by the fame Neceffity, had he dar'd fpeak Rev. Mr. P y k e, refuted, 341 fpcak out, he muft hare likewife own\i, that the One Subflance is Three Subftances, and the One God Three Gods. But the' this double Intention may f:tve the Doctor trom real ContradtcJknSy as to his fecret refervM Meaning, where he ftems to run into them in Words, yet it can by no means fave his Julh'ce and In- tegrity in the Management of this Controverfy. 'Tis upon this Score the Doftor allows^ that One may be Three, and Three One, when np- ply'd to Perfon, or Agent, but not (o when ap- ply'd to Subflance, or God ; that he cun allow of Three Perfons united into One Perfon, but not of Three Subftances alike united into One Subflance, or Three Gods into One God : And 'tis from hence he can grant, that there are Three different, but not feparate Perfons, each of whom is God j and yet denies that there are Three different, but not feparate Gods. This feemsa little hard, and unequal ; but there is a Myflery in it, which the Dodor could ex- plain very well, had he a Mind to it. It would be the eaiiefl Matter in the World to defend all that Dr. Clark has advanced concerning the Trinity, upon Dr. Waterland's own Principles ; but thofe who like a Man only becnufe he feems to be Orthodox, never trouble their Heads about the Meaning, provided his Words found well ; and \is^ for want of being let into the Secret that our Author has converted his Ma- iler's feeming ContradiElions into real Ones. What has been faid, may, I think, be fuf- ficient to fhew, that our Author's Happinefs is only imaginary, and that he has had the ill luck to mifcarry in his Attempt to fix a Me- dium bct^^'een SalManifm and Tvitheifm ; un- Z 3 der 34^ The FalfeTrinciples of the der vhich Mifhap, however, he has this to comfort him, ihat he has done as much towards it, as other greater Men, u e, jufl nothing at all. The next grand Principle upon which he builds his Fabrick, is this, that the Man Chriil born of the Virgin, or Jefus of Naz^arethy was not a human Per/on. By which^ ii he means any Thing at aii, I think it mufl be this, that the Man Chrift, or Jefus of Naz^areth, was Man in general, but no Man in particular ; that he had no real adual human Exigence as diftind from the Supreme God ; that he was only hu- man Nature, or the general abftrad Idea of Humanity, but no particular real Man, or human Perfon adualiy fubiifting. But becaufe I cannot pofTibly find out any Meaning for him, but what muft at once be Cor.tradidion and Blafphemy ; if he has him- felf any Meaning to the Word Perfon, as he applies it to the Incarnation and the One Per- fon of our Saviour, I muff here call upon him to produce it. And I cannot but think him un- der a plain indifpenfible Obligation to it, as he would from henceforth be reputed a Man of any Confcience, Integrity or Honour : For I muft tell him, that to lay the whole Weight of Chriftianity upon a Thing of which he has not the leaft Notion of Conception, to ufe Vv'ords of his own without any' Meaning, un- der a Pretence of the Myflerioufnefs of Scrip- ture, and to exclude from the Chriftian Cove- nant, and the Communion of Saints, all who will not join with him in the fame unintelli- gible Sounds, is the moft infufferable Piece of Arrogance and Antichrillian Zelotifm. I could cafily Rc'v. Mr. P Y K E, refuled. 345 eafily have forgiven our Author all the Abfur- dity and Contradidion in Nature, without calling him to any Account for it, if he had not tacked Chriflianity, and the Salvation of Mens Souls, to it. But iince he claims the Privileges of the Gofpel, with an Exemption to all but himfelf and his own Party j and has employed all his Artifice in working up and inflaming the PalTions of the People, where he could not inform their Judgments i fmce he looks upon Moderation in this Point as a Crime, and has done his utmoft yet farther to rend, diftrad, and divide the miferable Churches: I hope he will think himfelf concerned to fupport what he has laid fo vaft a Weight on ; and that he will not, after the Example of fome others, firft dif- cover his Prefumption and Prejudice in writing about what he does not undcrlland, and then his Cowardice and Treachery to the Souls of Men, in not defending what he takes to be of the utmoft Confequence. And now, Sir^ I have juft done with our Author; only, to make fome Amends for my not attending him farther, and that he may not think himfelf flighted, I here faithfully promife him, in the Face of the World, that if he can fairly refute what has been ofl'erM, and defend his main Principles, which I think I have overthrown ,* I will frankly make him a Prefent of all the reft, and yield him the whole Caufe. If he can do this, I have here con- confin'd him to a narrow Compafs, and thereby favM him the Trouble of writing a large Book, in a iong-labour'd preaching Harangue : But if he cannot fupport his Foundation, the Build- ing muft fall of courfe. I doubt not, however, Z 4 buv 344 The Falfe Trinciples of the but the other Gentlemen, with whom he is more particularly engagM, will take care to relcue themfelves from his jeeble Gloffes, in which he continually applies the foregoing falfe Principles, and never fails of begging the mofl material Parts of the Queftion. But fince our "Author pretends all along to be very clear, and that he does not ufe Words without a Mean- ing, let him in his next fettle any one certain determinate Senfe to the Words, Communica- tion, Generation, Proceilion, Divine Nature, Pi vine EfTence, Godhead, Undivided Sub- ftance, as he applies thefe Sounds to the Subject ot theTrinity; as alfo to the Words, Nature, Per- fon. Incarnation, tJnion, Humiliation, Infinite Satisfaction, and the like, when he applies them to the mediatorial Capacity, Offices and Tranf- adions of the Son of God : For what I charge upon him., is this, that tho' thofe Term.s have a fix'd determinate Senfe in their common Ap- plication and Ufe, and he may not be igno- rant of this their common Senfe, yet when he comes to apply them to his own Hypothefis^ he flrips them of their common cftablirhM Meaningy without fubftituting any other in its ftead, and ufes them as mere empty Sounds, without any Senfe or Meaning at all. If he does not, upon this AdmiOnition and Charge, fettle the deter- minate Meaning of thofe Words, as they mufl {land in hisHypothefis; I believe all the World muft conclude, that his Infignificancy and be- loved Darknefs is neceffary to fome thing elfe befides the clearing of Truth, and informing the Judgment. 1 had drawn up an Exammation of Sir Richard Bkckraore^'j Jufi Prejudices againfl the Arian Hy- pthejisi Re^. Mr. P y k e, refuted. 34^ fothejis, with a Defign of publifliiiig it about tour Months ago ; but this farther Occafion of Writing happening in the mean while, I thought it altogether needlels to trouble the PubUck with a particular Anfwer to a Book, \vhich, as to its main Argument, might fairly be overthrown in the Compafs of two or three Pages. I mud: here therefore obferve to you, that this honourable and worthy Gentleman has thought lit to lay the whole Strefs of his Caufe upon this Principle, viz,. That the governing Perfedions of God, and his Truth and Fide- lity in the Promifes of the Gofpel, cannot pof- fibly be vindicated, upon the Suppcfinon that the Athanaf.an Hypotheiis, or modern Scheme of Orthodoxy, is not true and agreeable to Scrip- tture. A bold AJfumpt ion certainly this, and, I fear, a very rafh and immature one. ^Tis won- derful, that a Gentleman of fo great Learning and Abilities, as every one mufl: own Sir Richard Blackmore to be, fhould irrecoverably plunge himfelf at once beyond a PoiTibihty of defending the Perfections of God, or tlie Truth of the Chriflian Revelation, ii he fliould hap- pen to be miftaken about a particular fchola- Itick Hypothefis, which he ow ns to be incom- prehenfible. His general Argument is this i That if the Chriflian Church has been mifla- ken for at leafl: thefe 1400 Years, about a Point of fuch Importance j it muft hence follow, that the Promifes of the Gofpel relating to the Sta.- bility and perpetual Eftablifhrnent of the Church of Chrift upon Earth to the End of I'ime, have not been in Fad fulfiird ; on whicli Suppofitiqi it will, as the learned Author concludes. 34^ The FalfeTrinciples of the concludes, be impoffible to vindicate the Divine Perffii^tions, and the Truth of Chriflianity. But I muft defire you to take Notice, that this learned Gentleman, in the Management of his Argument, affumes feveral Things as Poftulata, without Proofs, which no Adverfary will grant him. ift. He fuppofes, that the Point now in De- bate, is a Fundamental, or elfential to Chri- ftianityi and that one Side or other in the pre- lent Controverfy, mull: be guilty of Herefy or damnable Error. This he affumes as granted, and contents himfelf with barely afTerting it in ftrong and poUtive Terms, without taking the leaft Notice of many Things which had been offer'd with great Appearance of Reafoa to the contrary. And therefore, 'till the learn- ed Author fhall be pleas'd to produce his E- vidence, I fhall here make very fhort with him, and content myfelf with as flatly denying it. idly. This very learned, and m other Re- fpe(5ts juftly celebrated Author, affumes it as a Thing granted, that the Chriflian Church, i e, the Grofs of thofe who outwardly and vifibly profefs Chriftianity, have, for at leaft thefe 1400 Years, been agreed in this Point, in Senfe as well as Sound ; and that the Dodrine they have unanimoufly received, has been no o- ther than what is now contended for. But I am very well perfwaded, that the Proof of this would give the learned Author a great deal of Trouble^ and therefore it was prudently done of him to decline it. For ii it be confider'd what vaft Numbers in the Chriftian World there are, and always have been, who have ne- ver 1 Re^.Mr.Vx-^v.^ refuted. 347 ver troubled themfelves at all about this Matter, fo much as to underftand the Mean- ing of the very Words and Terms in which their feveral Creeds and Confeflions have been conceivM and exprefs'd j and who there- fore can be fuppofed, at moft, only to agree in the Sound of Words, without Meaning ; and if it be likewifc conlider'd, that even the learn- ed Men themfelves, who have thought it in- cumbent on them to fettle the Faith and VVor- Ihip of the Chriftian World, when they came to examine Things, have ever given fuch dif- ferent and contrary Explications, and divided into fuch oppofite Parties, each hereticating and condemning the others, that they cannot poiTibly be fuppofed to mean the fame Thing ; and that the learned G^ntenders for what is efteemed Orthodoxy at this very Day, are ap- parently as much divided among themfelves, as they are from thofe whom they now call A/ians :' If thefe Things are confider'd, I fay, it muft appear, that there never has been any real Har- mony or Agreement at all among the Ghriftian Churches in this Point, arifing from any ration- al Perfwafion, after a free impartial Enquiry ; without which , any other feeming Harmo- ny and Agreement in Words only, can be of no Moment at all in Matters of Religion. The learned Author therefore had no Reafon to take this for granted, unlefs he thinks it a Mark of their religious Harmony and Agree- ment, that they plainly appear for many Ages together, not at all to have confidered or ex- amined the Matter. Sdly, This learned Gentleman takes it for granted, that the Promifes of the Gofpel con- cerning the Stability and Prefervation of the Church, 348 The Falfe Tnnciples of the Church, relate not to the true Catholick invifi- ble Church, but to the outward vihble Church, or the Grofs of thofe who make an external vifible Profeffion of Chriftianity. And his Mi- flake here muft have overthrown his Argument, even tho' he could have prov'd the Fundamen- tality of the Point in Debate, and the general Confent of the vilible Church for 1400 Years i both which he yet ailumes without Proof. I hope this honourable and worthy Gentle- man does not think, that the Promifes of the Gofpel which relate to the Prefervation of the Church, are contrary to and inconfident with thofe Predictions and Prophefies of the fame Gofpel, which plainly foretel that general grand Apoflacy from the Chriftian Faith and Fradice under the Antichriflian State, and which accordingly grew and prevail'd, 'till it had fettled and fpread it {t\i over the whole Chriftian World for many Ages together. Now had this Antichriftian Apoftacy been more uni- verfal, and of much longer Continuance ; had it lafted, not only 1400, but even 14000 Years j yet ftill I conceive, while a 'certain Number, more or lefs, of lincere Perfons, and faithful Difciples of Chrift, had been referved in the World, however fcatterM up and down, and as it were loft in the general Corruption for a Time, the Perfedions of God and the Truth of his Promifes muft ftand fecure. And if this learned Author thinks otherwife, I doubt he will find it an hard Matter, and even impof- iible, upon his own Principles, to defend ei- ther natural Religion againft an Atheift, oif Chriftianity againft a Deift, whatever fhould become of the particular Point now in Debate. Since therefore chis learned Author has plainly miftaken Rev. Mr. P y k e, refuted. 549 miflaken the Notion of the Clmvcb in Reference to the Gofpel'Promfes ; fince the real general Confent which he talks of, is only fuppofed without Proof; and fince he has not proved, and I beheve cannot prove, the Fundamcn- tality of this Article, with regard to the dif- ferent Sentiments of thofe who now difpute about it ; I cannot but think that he has grounded all his Prejudices, and even tlie Per- fedions of God, and the Truth of Chriftianity, upon a very flight and fandy Foundation. In Confequence of which, I think it muff plainly reft upon this learned and worthy Gentleman, either to retrad what he has written, or ex- plain himfelf farther, and fupport his Scheme with much ftronger Evidence. 4?/.'/)', As to what the learned Author has offered concerning the Dependance of Articles of Faith upon Confequences , I hope he v.iil for- give me the Prefumption of faying (what is moft certainly true) that he has quite miftaken the Queftion, and by proving too much, has prov'd nothing at all to the real Purpofe. He obferves, that all Propofitions which are not feif-evident, muft depend fome Way or other upon rational Inferences and Deductions ; which is very true, but 'tis what no One Perfon in the World, that 1 know of, has ever deny'd. And fo this worthy Gentleman may be perfedly eafy, at leaft in this Refpeft, as having no Adveriary. Confequences, in this Debate, had never be- fore been oppofed to ftlf-evicumt Propofitions, but to exprejs Declarations in Matters of pure Revelation, or Teftimony, where the Divine Authority of Scripture is fuppofed to be re- ceived and own'd on both Sides, as a common Principle, upon antecedent Proofs. TheQue- ""","' ftion 3 SQ The Falfe Trinciples of the ftion therefore is this, whether any Thing ought to be made neceilary to Salvation and Chriftian Communion, that the Holy Ghoft in Scripture has not clearly, expreily, and defi- nitively declared as fuch. And with me, who have carried the Matter a little farther, the Queftion alfo is, whether independent Fads are capable of yielding any fuch Confequences, and whether this Ad: of the Mind in drawing rational Inferences and Dedu<5tions muft not be confined to Principles of Reafon and Sci- ence, as diilind from Matters of Fad and Teflimony. 'Tis here then, that the learned Author , if he would talk to the Purpofe, ought to fhew his Strength. Let him prove that every Thing necefl'ary to Salvation is not clearly and exprefly determined by the Holy Ghoft in Scripture ; but that fome fuch Matters are left to the confequential De- termination of fallible Men in after Ages, ac- cording to the different fcholaftick Syftems which might happen to prevail. Nay, let him prove it fo much as poilible, in the Nature of the Thing, to carry any Matter of pure Reve- lation beyond the exprefs Senfe and Import of the Revelation itfeljy as abftraded from all real^ ly diftind Confequences whatever. What the learned Author can offer upon this, as it will be diredly to the Purpofe, fo it fhall be impartially and candidly condder'd, and reply 'd to. Thus, ray dear and ever faithful Friend, I have endeavoured, briefly and clearly as I could, to anfwer the Defign of your Letter; and I hope you will like it never the worfe, as coming to you in this Way, I am, 5zV, Tour fincere Fricndy and humble Servant^ Marlborough* T. M. Nov. 16 THE POSTSCRIPT Concerning The real y^greement hetween the Athanasians and Soci- NiANs, in the Trinita- rian Contro^erjy. H E many unhappy Differences and (harp Contentions am ongChriftians, which rend and divide the Church, and keep the Caufe of Religion con- tinually bleeding, are, and ever hare been, by the ConfefTion of all, raifed and main- tained for Defence of Truth, Ev^ery Man who pretends to be of any Religion, and thinks him- felf capable of handling an Argument, is ready to declare his paflionate Concern for "Truths and that he feeks it with the utmoft Impartiality, But the great Conteft is. Who has this T'reaftiYe in Poflefifion ? Where it is to be found ? And to what Party it of Right belongs ? It is evi- dently impolfible to fettle this Point of Right upon the Foot of any feparate divided Proper- ty ; becaufe all Parties are ready to take up Arms in their own Defence, and the Matter is uncapable of any human Reference. For who- ever (hould aflign the Property to any one Par- ty in particular, mufl: needs difpleafe all the reft, and provoke them to revenge the Injurv. And 5-n TO ST SCR ITT. And there is no hopes, that a Propofal of fha- ring the Prize betwixt them would ever be ac- cepted, (ince "every one feems refolved to have al) or none. One would wifh indeed, that the Matter for the prefent mighty at Leaft, peace- ably reft here ; that ChrifUans would put them- ielves out ot a State cf War, and agree to re- fer the Decilion of the Point to the Lafl Day. For fince they cannot determine it among themfelves, why fhould they not in Equity leave it to God to decide betwixt them ? Bur becaufe this, how reafonable foever, is not, I fear, likely to be obtained i 1 can think but of one Expedient more with any probability of Succefs for reconciling the Parties at Variance ; and that is, by making it appear, that they are really agreed ; that they have no different No- tions or Ideas of the Things themfelves, which they contend about, but differ only about Words, and the manner of Exprellion. And, methinks. Men fhould not willingly contend for nothing, if they knew it to be nothing that they contend for ; at leaft thofe, who would ftill fight for Aire^ and only to keep themfelves in Breathy could have no Pretence of contending for the Truth. I do not think it an impoflible Thing to fhew, that the moft famous and troublefome Controverfies which have divided and diffrac- ted the Church, and put the Chriftian World into a State of War, have been only about. Names y and the Right of Chriflning Things; while the oppofite and contending Parties have had all the fame Notions and Ideas of the Things themfelves. But I fliall confine myfelf here to the proper Subjed of this Poflcript, with regard TO STSCRITT. 35-3 regard to the real Confcnt and Agreement be- tween the Athanafians and Socinians : Which mufl: be allows to be a famous and pregnant In- ftance enough j (ince, perhaps, tliere never was any Contention in the Chriflian Church, among thofe at lead who have profefVd the lame Rule of Faith, where the oppoiite Par- ties have more heartily contradi(5led each other, or feem*d to be at a wider DiHance : The Athanafians conflantly afierting h\ the itrongeft Terms Three Ferfons in the one Eflence, or Subftance, of God, which the Socinians rejeft and ridicule ; the Socinians alfo ilatly denying the Supreme Deity or Godhead of Jefus Chrift, which the Athanafians as IHHy m.aintain : Up- on this Account the Socinians have ever repre- fented their Adverfaries as Fools, or'Madmen ; and thefe again, to be throughly reveng'd, have given the others to the Devil. But not- withftanding this verbal Contradidion and Re- pugnancy of Sounds, I fhall now fhew, that they are both agreed in Senfe-, fo far ns eitiier the one or the other have any real Notion or Conception of the Thing ; that the Socinians never did deny the Godhead of Chrift, or the Trinity of Perfons in the Athanafian Senfe \ and on the other Hand, that the Athanafians them- felves do and mufl: deny the Godhead of Chrift, and a Trinity of Perfons, in the Socinian Senfe : And confequently, that it is not the fame Thing, but very different Things, which the one affirm, and the other deny ; and fo that the Point of Difference is not in Senfe, but in SoundocAy. The feeming Difference in Reference to the Trinity lies in this, that the Socinians affirm the One God to be but One Perfonj whereas the^f/;^K^- A a fans 3y4 TOSTSCRITT. fians maintain, that He is Three Perfons. But this Contradidion is merely verbal, arifing on- ly from the different Senfe of the Word Per- jon ; which in the Socman Senfe ftands for an intelligent Agent, or intelligent aftive Sub- ftance ; and confequently, Three Perfons muft, according to them, be Three intelligent active Subftances : And *tis in this Senfe only, that they deny Three Perfons in the One God. And do not all the Athanaftans with one Voice deny Three Perfons alfo in this Senfe, as much as their Adverfaries ? On the other Hand, the Jthamjtans, as they declare, by a Perfon, mean a dift'erent, or really diftind Mode of Subfiftence in the fame Sub- fiance, or Eflence, i, e. the Subftance or Eilence it felf, as thus or thus modify 'd, and differently fubfifting under a certain Charaderiflical Man- ner, which they call perfonal. And no Socman, or any Man elfe in his Senfes ever deny^ the PofTibility or Truth of Three Perfons in one and the fame Subftance, or Three Perfons and One God in this Senfe. The Socinians have ever declared, that the Logos, /. e. according to them, the Eflential Word, Reafon, or Wifdom, of God, is God himfelf ; or the Divine Effence as thus modify 'd, or fubfifting in fuch a particular Manner ; and that this is the Cafe with refped to any other Effential Attribute in God. And what if a Socman calls that an Effential Ami- lute, which an Athanajian calls a Perfon ? While the Thing is evidently the fame in Senfe, and they agree in one common Definition, where is the Harm ? And however therefore our learn- ed Athanajians may af^ed to keep up a certain unintelligible Medium '^ whenever they fhali think TO STSCRITT. -ss think fit to fpeak out their Minds clearly in this Cafe, I dare be accountable for ity that either they will agree with Sociniam, or not dif- fer from Tritheifts, The other verbal Contradi(5i:ion between the Athanajtans and Socmiam, is this, that the one affirm, and the other deny, the Supreme Deity or Godhead of our Lord Jefus Chrift. I'his indeed looks likG a very flartling Dif- ference in IVordsy and is the very Thing by which many in this Controverfy afiright and terrify the common People; who having their Paflions deeply pre-engaged, and being flruck with Horror at the very Somdy are uncapable of conlidering the Matter, and attending to the real State of the Cafe^ and fo run away in a fort of Frenzy, crying out eternal Ven- geance and Damnation ! Now. notwithiland- ing this fenfelefs and uncharitable Clamour; that there is no poilible conceivable Difference between the Athanajtans and Sociniam in this Matter, will Sufficiently appear, if we con- fider what both Parties fay in the Cafe, how far they agree, and wherein they can be fup- pofed to differ. The great and flartling Charge, as I have obferved, is, that the Socimam, and in- deed theAriam, and Eufebians too, deny the flrid: and proper, /. e, the Supreme Deity of Chrid:. But I fhall now Ihew, that the SocinianSy and the other Parties here referr'd to, do not, and never did deny the Supreme Deity or Godhead of Chrift, under any Senfe in which it is af- firmed by the Athanajtans ,* and that the Atha^ najians themfelves do and muft deny it like- wife in the Senfe that 'tis deny'd by the Socini-' ansy and confequently, that it is not the fame A a a Thing 35-6 TO ST SCRITT. Thing that is affirmed by one Party, and de- ny'd by the other ; but quite different Things^ which are equally either affirmed or deny'd by all Parties alike. And this Teeming wide Difference, where there is none in Reality, a- rifes from the different Ufe of Words in the Babel of Languages. From hence it comes about, that what in the Socinian Senfe, (and indeed the common Senie of Mankind about all other Matters,) is Two diftind and different Perfons ; is in the Athamfmn Senfe, ii any fuch Senfe there be, but one and the fame Perjon, But let the different Meaning of the Word Perfon, as it is ufcd in this Part of the Argument by the oppofite Parties, be once clearly fettled, and both Sides will foon appear to be of the fame Mind about the Things themfelves, and the remaining Difference will be only inWords. The Sociniansy by a Perfon, mean an intelligent Agent, or intelligent adive Subflance; and therefore God fubfifting under the Character of his Effentfal Word, Reafon, or Wifdom, muft with them be a dfftind and different Per- fon from the Man Chrift, or Jefus of Naza- reth, And from hence, when they deny the Supreme Deity of Chrift, they mean no more than this, that the Man Chrift was not the fame Agent, the fame intelligent adive Sub- fiance, with the Supreme God. And (ince the affirming of this would be the groffeft Con- tradidion, as well as downright Blafphemy, the Athanafians muft neceffarily deny it as well as the Socinians ; that iSy they muft deny Chrift to be the Supreme God, or the fame Perfon with God, in the fame Senfe that the Socini- ans do I and muft neceflkrily allow, that in the Socinian TO STSCRITT. 377 Sociiiian Senfc, they arc Two didiiicl and in- finitely difFerent Peifons. Tliusfnr then i\\q Atlmuafians muft: unavoid- ably agree with the Sociniaus. And here I muit call upon all the learned Athanafuins of this Age, to make it appear, that tiie Smni- ansy Avians, Eufehians, or any other Party a- mong Chrillians, ever deny'd the Perional U- nion of the Supreme God with the Man Chrift Jefus, under any Senfe in which they iheni- felves can poffibly conceive or affirm it. Lee them do this, or for Shame be (ilent j and not make a Noife and Outcry in the World a- gainfl; others, as if they wanted foa'cilang El- fential to ChriPdanity, while they ai\; not a- ble to fix any intelligible Point of Di ftcrence. A a3 LETTER To the Reverend Dr. WATER L^ND, Oecafion'd by His Late WRITINGS inDe- fence of the At hanasian Hypothefis. LETTER To the Reverend T>x.WArERLANa SIR, HILE you nre contending \\ith Dr. Clarke, Mr. fVhi- ftm, and other learned Ad- verfarieS;, about the true and genuine Senfe of Scrip- ture, and Primitive Anti- quity -y I cnnnot but ob- ferve Vvith Wonder, that you have, by 1 know not what fort of Contri- vance, really changed the State of the Qucflion ; which is now no longer about the Senfe ot Scripture and Antiquity, but about common Senfe itf.^If, and ih^ \cry frfi Prmcipks of Reajon. 56a ^Letter to the 1 find you are not agreed with your learned Ad- verfaries, in any one Iking 'i but what is with them a felf-evident Truth, may be with you a Contradi(ftion , and on the other Hand, what they declare as an exprefs Contradiction, may be, and often \s^ in your Account, a great and neceflary Truth. 'Tis plain therefore, that the Controverfy betwixt the Athanajians and the . reft of the World, can never be brought to an IfTue upon the Foot it now ftands. There is no difputing to any Purpofe, till we are firft agreed upon fome common Principles, or at leaft, till the Point be determined, whether there be any fuch Thing as common Principles of Senfe and Reafon among Mankind or not. To wliat Purpofe would a Set of Workmen pretend to agree in the meafuring their Work by one and the fame Rule, while they can't agree about the Nature and Dimenfions of the Rule itfelf? Some contending that it is one Foot long, others tw^o, others three ; and fome a- gain, that it is of no determinate Length at all; that it is neither finite nor infinite, ftreight nor crooked ; or at leaft, of fo myftical a Na- ture, that 'tis impoffible to determine of what Length it is, or whether it be a Rule or not. Suppofe all the Aftronomers in the World fhould be agreed, that the Caroline Tables are the beft, and moft exad for determining the CcEleftial Motions; while they difpute about the Arithmetical Principles and numeral Conftruc- tion of the Tables themfelves ; fome contending they ought to be underftood and apply'd ac- cording to the decimal, others according to the duodecimal, and others again according to the fexagefimal Account and Denomination ; nay, they jRd'aj.2)r. Water LAND. ^6^ they difpute whether the Mark of Unity in the Tables, ought not to fland for three Units; and whether the Figure 3 muft not fometimes ftand for Three, and fometimes for One ; and this too in a Senfe, which no Body is ever like to find out : Muft not other People from hence be tempted to conclude, either that tbefe 'Tables can be of no Ufe at all ; or at leaft that thofe Gentlemen find it for their Intereft, to keep the Secret to themfelves, that Men might not too generally arrive to the Knowledge of Aftro- nomy? For my own Part, I cannot think that the Scriptures are writ upon more unin- telligible Principles than the Caroline Tables, fince I am fure they were defign'd for a more general Ufe, and in a Matter of infinitely greater Importance : And I make no doubt, but that there are fome common Principles, in which Men may^ and in reality mufl agree, whether they acknowledge it or not. However, when I fee a Man denying in Words thofe com- mon Principles, I cannot prefently impeach his Honefty, or conclude that he has any ill De- fign upon me; becaufe 'tis poffible his Under- ftanding may be fo far enflav'd to an Hypo- thefis, and his Mind darkned with general, confus'd, and ambiguous Sounds, that he may not fee or obferve the Inconfiftency or Contra- diction of his ow^n Words; nay, perhaps he may be really of the fame Mind with his Ad~ verfaries, and fee and know himfelf to be (oy but yet may think himfelf bound in Confcience to talk unintelligibly, and to kQQ'p above the grofs impure Regions of common Senfe. How- ever, I think it worth while to enquire, whe- ther the Chriftian Rule of Faith be indeed in- telligible J 364 A Letter to the tellgible ; and whether you have not defended the AthanafianHypotheCis upon Principles, which might ferve equally to defend Tranfubflantia- tion, or any other Contradidion in the World ? Whoever reads your Writings with Atten- tion, muft needs obferve in how confufed, ge- neral, and doubtful a Senfe, you all along make ufe of the Words, God, Hypoflafisy Unityy and Identity ; to each of which Words you have fe- veral Meanings, which you take out, or flip in, alter and vary at Pleafure, and juft as the Exigence requires, without giving your Rea- der any fair Notice of it : Nay, if you hap- pen to drop any thing that may feem to glance at what you aim at, and give one any Light into your real Meaning, 'tis fo nicely guarded, and delivered with fuch extreme Caution and Warinefs, as if you was afraid of nothing fo much, as of beingunderftood. However, iince you have frankly, and thus far fairly declared a- gainft the Sabellian Senfe of Unity and Identity, as apply 'd to God, Subftance, and Hypoftalis or Perfon ; il will be worth while to enquire, whether you can have any other than a Trithei- flick Meaning; or whether you have indeed hit upon any Medium of Unity, any Principle of Individuation, that can fave you from Tri- theifm. You give us Leave to conceive of your Meaning, with refped to Hypoftalis or Perfon ^ in the common authorifed Senfe of the Word, as it ftands for an Intelligent Agent, or Intelli- gent A6tive Subftance : For fince Intelligence and Agency, or Adive Power, are only Pro- perties or Attributes, we muft necelTariiy fup- pofe the Subftance itfelf to be the Agent, the Thing ading, or the Subjed which is endued with /J!(fu Z)r. Wat E R L A N D. g^y with fejf confcious Intelligent Agency. But in- deed, 1 need not take Pains to prove this, be- caufe you acknowledge, and often repeat it, that by Hypoilalis or Perlon, you mean not a Mode only, but a real jtilfiimtialFeHon, Now in the fame Senfe that one Perfon is one Intelligent Agent, or A6^ive Subftancei 'tis evident that Three Perfons muft be Three Intelligent, Adive Subftances. I doubt not but you will be here ready to clap in your other Senfe of one Subftancc ; and cry out, that Three Agents are but One Undivided Subftance : I fhall fuppofe for the prefent, this Compofition of Subftances to be another Senfe of one Subftance, that I may allow you, according to your Talent, to abound in different Senfes 5 yet flill I fay, that under the fame Senfe in which One Perfon is One Intel- ligent Adive Subftance, in that Senfe precifely. Three Perfons muft be Three Intelligent, Adive Subftances : and the Denial of this, raufl pafs for an exprefs Contradiction, even in the Schools, upon the laft Pinch ; becaufe it would be aifirming and denying, the fame thing at the fame time, and in the very fame Senfe. And indeed, when you are forced to own, that the Three Perfons are but One Perfon, and That One Perfon again Three Perfons, in diffe- rent Senfes and Refpetts ; why can you not as well fay, that in the fame difcrent Senfes and Refpeds there are Three Stibftancesy and yet but One Subflance^ The fame Nature of the Thing, the very Reafon and NecelTity, mufi lead you to fay the one, as well as the other, if you dar'd fpeak out ; but fince you are obftinate, and will not do it, I challenge you to give any bet- ter Reafon for it than this, That it would not f o 366 A hY.TT'Ei^ io the fo well fuit with yov^x Hypothejts ; which being inconfiflenc with it felf, mufi; really overthrow what it only feems to eftablifh. I believe every one muft allow, that One Independent, Om- nifcient, All-powerful Agent, is the true and proper Definition of One God ', confequently Three fuch Agents, which your Hypothelis lays you under a Neceflity of admitting, muft be 'Three Gods. You will fay doubtlefs, that they ought to be confidered as united in One Undi- vided Subftance ; and fo the 'Three Perfons are but One God: But then you fay likewife, that, as thus confider'd, they are but One Perfon j and therefore ftill they muft be Three Gods, in the fame Senfe that they are I'hree Perfons, But to let the Reader fee a little farther the Excellency of your Hypothefis, I fhall now fhew, that it lays you under a Neceflity all along, of ufing the Word God in no lefs than Four difte- rentSenfes ; in everyone of which there is fome- thing included, eflential to the Nature and De- finition of the Thing, that is left out in all the reft ,' and confequently, they cannot be God in the fame Senfe^ or one and the fame God. When you apply the Word God to the Perfon of the Fa- thery and fay God the Father, or God who is the Father, ^tis evident you muft identify God with the Perfon of the Father ; and confequently, in the Nature and Definition of God, as thus un- derftood, you muft include the Idea of Unori- gination, or abfolute, intrinfick, and perfonal Self-neceflity, or Self-exiftence : which being peculiar and efTential to God the Father, can- not be taken into the Nature and Definition of God, when the fame Name is apply*d to any other Perfon. Again, when you fay Cod the Son, jR^u Z)r. Wat E R L A N D. 367 Sony you muft here, in the Nature and Defini- tion ot God, include the Ideas of Filiaticn, and communicated Subfiftence from the Father only : which being eflential to God the Son, cannot make a Part of the complex Idea exprefs^d by the word God, when it is made ufe of as the Name or Denomination of any other. In like manner the Property of Proceflion, or comm.u- nicated Subfiftence, both from the Father and the Son^ mull: alter the Signification of the fame Word, when apply 'd to the Spirit as God. And laflly, When you apply the fame Word, God, to all Three Perfons conjundly, or confider'd as uni- ted in your one undivided Subflancey you join all the inconfiflent Ideas together in One God, who is then likewife faid to be One Perfon ; as if all thefe contrary and incompatible Properties could pofTibly exifl in«one and the fame fimple indivi- dual Subjed or Subflance. You will fay perhaps, that tho^ the word God has thefe difrerent per- fonal Senfes, from whence the real Diflinc^tion of Perfon muft arife ; yet thefe Perfons, whether confiderM diflindly or conjundly, are One and the fame God: Which is as much as faying, that tho" you ufe the word God in Four diit'erent SenfeSi yet thefe different Senfes are but one and the Jame Senfe ; but ft ill God ,in another and another Senfe, will be another and another God, do what you can. And indeed, the Ab- furdity here is fo grofs and apparent, that 'tis impolTible for any Colourings of Sophiftry to hide it : For who does not, or may not fee; that what in the common Language and Cant of the Schools, is call'd the fame Thing in diffe- rent Senfes, muft in Truth and Reality be quite different Thingi ? For as thefe different Senfes muft 3 63 ^ h Err BR to the muft ncccfikrily alter the Nature and Definition of the Thing,- the fameThw^in Sound, will be ill Truth really and ejfentially diftercnt Tubings : which different 'Things trump'd upon the Under- ftanding, under the fame Sounds may be as con- trary and incompatible, as Light and Dark- nefs. Truth and Falfhood. And that they are lb in your Hypothefis, is evident from hence, thatyou have not been able to eflablifh the No- tion of One God in any Senfe at all, without fuppofing and allowing the "Three Perfons to be but One and the fame Perfon, in the fame Senfe that God is One, And here I might fairly leave it to your Choice, whether you will take Sabel- lianifm or Tritheifmy fince you are evidently fu- fpended in the Air, and without any Founda- tion betwixt 'em both. However, for Specu- lation fake, and becaufe lam ajfo willing to do you all polTible Juftice ; I fhall confider your Hypothefis a little farther, with refpeCl to your One Individual Suh flame, as a Principle of Iden- tity and Individuation j but before I do this, I muft inform the Reader what I take to be your real Notion, that you may explain your ielf more diftindly to the World, if I am mi- ftakan about it ; or mend your Hypothefis, if you fhould find it defective. Since then the Sahellian Notion of One numerically fimple and individual Subftance, muft neceflarily o- verthrow* the Foundation of Three real Perfons, and by Confequence be abfolutely inconfiftent with a real Trinity ; there was plainly a Necef- fity of fuppofing Three fuch fimple, perfonal, individual Subftances or Eflences j which yet you will not call Subftances or EfTences in the Plural, becaufe being all equally and infinitely extended. Rev. 'Dr. V/at e r l a n d. 369 extended, they mufl, as you fuppofe by their Ubiquitary Prefenccs, pervade each other ; and, by a fort of mutual Penetration of Elfences, become One numerical Compound, ot indivi- dual Subftance. And thus tiie Three, Simple, Perfonal Ef- fenccs, of which the one Compound Subftance confifls, by their intimate Union and Infepa- rability with refped: to Space or Expanlion, are, as I conceive, in your Account individua- ted ,• and after this manner you have a Trinity in Unity. It will be difficult, and perhaps impoffible, to guefs at your Meaning, by inti- mate Union, Inhabitation, ?mitual Penetration, Un-* dividednefs, and the like, if you do not borrow all your Ideas of this Kind from the Nature and Properties of Space, or Expanfion. Prefuming therefore, that you have not Facul- ties difterent from other Men,and that you would be thought to ufe Words with fome Meaning or other ; I fhall here take leave to make l\vo or Three Remarks upon this Way of Talking. I. ^Tis manifefl that you all along confound intimate Union, Undividednefs, or Infepar ability^ with nmnerical Unity, Indi'ui duality, or Identity ^ tho' thefe are as dilUncl and difterent, with re- fped to the Things themfelves (ignified by 'em, as any Ideas you can poffibly have in your Mind. ''I'is evident, that where different Things are confidered as united, be the Union never fo clofe, intimate, or infeparable, the Things themfelves muft dill be fuppos^'d to retain their proper Individualities, or numeri- cal Diverfity, with refped to their real, adu- al Exiftence, as much as ii they were not fo united. And whenever we lofe or let flip the B b Idea. 370 ^Letter to tide Idea of actually diftind Individuality, or nu' mer^il Diverfity, we can no longer confider it under the Notion of a JJnion^ or different T'hwgs united', but muft necellarily conceive of it, as an abfolute Identity of the fa?ne 7'hing with itfelj- And tho' different 'Things^ thus united, may make one Compound under a different Denomina- tiony and exprefs'd by a colleBive Name ; yet they can never make one Compound of the fame De- nomination, without confounding the moft dif- ferent Ideas, and deftroying the Nature and Reafon of Things, Let us put the Cafe i for Inftance, that of the Soul and Body, as Two Subftances, diftinguifhed by fome eilential and incommunicable Attributes ,* as fuppofe, intel- ligent Agency andSolfdity: And now letthefe Two Subflances be fuppofed to be united as clofely, intimately, and infeparably, as you pleafe ; let them mutually inhabit, and pervade, and penetrate each other, or what you will ; yet ftill while they retain their really diflind:, effential, and incommunicable Properties, you muft neceflarily conceive of them as Two Sub- ftances, as much as if they were locally fepara- ted, and at an infinite Diftance. Now, tho* the Confequence, or Refult of fuch an Union, might be One Compound under a general De- nomination, or One Man ; where the Term, Man, is taken colleflively for the Two Sub- ftances of Soul and Body united : yet 'tis im- poflible that their mutual Union, of what Kind Ibever, (hould make One Sul; fiance, without de- ftroying the firft Suppofition of Two Subftances ; and alfo denying, what is at the fame Time granted, that they have efifentially diftind and incommunicable Properties. If any One after all this Rev. Dr. Wat e r l a n d. 571 this would flill refolutely maintain, that the Soul and Body, by their Union, ceafe to be Taa Suhjiancesy and are really idcntityd into One and the fame Sul?fimce; what would be thought of him, but that he was under fome unhappy Neceflity of confounding and deftroying the Nature and Reafon of Things, by uiing in- differently, and without Diftin61:ion, the Words, White and Black, Light and Darknefs ? r Now to apply this general Principle to your Hypothefis: You have been oblig'd to allow Three real Hypoftafes, or Three really diftincSt, and adually exifting, perfonal Eflences : And this you were under a Neceility of doing, to avoid Sabellianifniy and to fupport the really di- ftinft and incommunicable Properties, which are eflentially peculiar to each of the Three Perfons. But here, ftartled at what you had granted, and being well aware that this would be undifguifed Tritheifm, you endeavour to make all up again, hy running into the con- trary Extreme, and contradicting all that you had faid. For now, rather than lofe the Uni- ty, your Three Hypoftafes, or PerfonalEJfences, fhall be but One Hypoflafisy or Perfonal EJfencs. But how comes this about ? how is it polfible, that three Subftances, or EfTences, fliould be but one fuch ? Why, by a certain unconceiva- ble Inhabitation, and mutual Pervafion, or Pe- netration of EfTences, which really identifies them into one and the fame Suhftance. But here lies the Mifchief : If they are not only clofely and intimately united^ but really identified, you have really loft the 'Trinity; and have created your Three Hypoftafes, to ffiew that you could annihilate them again: If they are only B b 2 united^ 37'2' j4 h^ri: ER to the united, and not really identified , you have really loil the Unity, or Samenefs ot Subflance* But it they are really identified, and not real/y iden- tified, which is what you indeed fay, I think it muft be evident to common Senfe, that your Hypothelis is really a ContradiEiion. Here, as 1 exped, you will fly to your ditierent Refpe^i and StufeSy the laft Refuge of fchola- itick Fencing, which never fails of bearing off a Contradidion upon the clofefl Thrull. And by the Force of this Diftinction, I muft own, that Light maybeDarknefs,and Darkncfs Light : not indeed in the fame Senfe, as every one muft allow; but he who cannot admit it in different Senfes, will never be able to fathom the Depths of many learn- ed elaborate Defences. However, this Diftinftion here, after what has been faid, cannot help you ; nor can you get oft" with it, without a ConfefTion more fhameful than any Error of the mere Un- derftanding; namely, that by Uw//^ you mean Mm/- tiplicity ; by Identity, Diverlity j and by one and the fameThing,t\iYee or four quite different Things, But Truth needs none of thefe Doublings ; nor is it really ferv'd by all the Subtilty and Wind- ings of the Serpent. You would never want a different Sound, where the Senfe is different, if you had not one Senfe to conceal, while you are uncovering another', and this again muft be wrapt up, while that is fufter'd to take a little Air : WhertaSj (hould both in one View be expos'd to the open Light, the Myftery would become a ^Jeft ', and the Reader muft exchange his Won- der, for a Pafijon of a merrier Strain, 2. 1 muft obferve to you farther, that if your Principle of Identity, or Samenefs of Subftance, be admitted ; it cannot in the leaft ferve the Caufe iS^u 2)r. Wat E R L A N D. 373 Caufe you have been contending for. It will iland as well in a different, or contrary, Hypothec fisy as m yours \ and an Heretkk will find his Ac- count in it, as much as a good Chr'iftian : Nay, it will help the Eiifebiam and Arians out of all their Hardfhips, and enable them to be Orthodox^ without changing their Prmiples. There is no Neceflity of luppoiing the LOGOS to be a finite Subftance, whatever the Manner of Derwation from the Father be, whether by an Eternal Geiie- ration before all Times and Ages, or by a 'Tempo- rary Generation ; fince one may as eafily and con- fiftently fuppofe the Infinitenefs as the Finitenefsy even of a created Subflance : For fince the firfi: felf-exifient independent Caufe is allowed by all to be Omniprefent, and Ail-powerFul, and can, whenever he pleafes, with the i'ameEafe and Freedom, ad every where alike,- 'cis plain, that nothing can reflrain or limit his Powers in the Produdion of a ^nite Being, but his M/ill Now fuppofing the LOGOS to be a diftind Hypoflalis from the Father, and fuppofing him likewife infinite, or every where exifting, whether created or uncreated j the fame univerfal intimate Union, and mutual Penetration of Hypoflafes or fimple and individual Perfonal Eflences, mufi: necelTarily follow ,* which is the Ground and Foundation of your Ldentity, or Samenefs of Subflance. Here will be the fame Inhabitation^ the fame mutual PervaJIony the fame Undividednejsy with refped to Space or Expanfion \ and confeqiient- ly the fame Indentity of Subftance. So that your Method will ferve to identify, not only God with God, one divine Hypofiafis with another, as they are confidcred in your Hypothefis ; t)Wt even an uncreated with a created Subflance, B b 3 OS 374 ^/Letter to the or God with a Creature. And now, whether all you call Hereticks, will thank you for what you have done, I cannot fay j but this I am lure of, that bating the uncharitable Manner of the "things you have done them no harm. But, 3. The great and ftartling Difficulty which attends your Principle of Identification, is this. That it mufl: neceffarily identify all Subftances, whether finite or infinite, with the one infinite felf-exifling Subflance. Inhabitation, mutual Pervafion, Penetration and Co-exiftence, Infepa- rability and Undividednefs of Subflance orEf- fence, is with you the general Principle of Iden- tification, or thst which makes one Subflance numerically the fame. Now, whatever is fuffi- cient to identify Subflance every where, mufl do the like any where ; and becaufe 'tis impofli- ble for any finite Subflance any where to exifl, without co-exifling, or undividedly exifling with the one infinite Subflance, by an intimate Union, mutual Pervafion, and Undividednefs of Efience \ this mufl, upon your Principle, identify all finite Subflances with the One Subflance of God : And being thus identified with one and the fame Divine Subflance, they cannot be different Suhftances from each other. 'Tis true, there will flill remain the different, incommunicable and diflind individuating Pro- perties, by which we commonly diflinguifh dif- ferent Things from one another; but the moft different and incompatible Properties are very confiflent, you know, with one and the fame Sub- flance, And feeing they are thus confiflent, when confider'd as every where, they mufl be alfo con- fiflent any where confidered, or where-ever you eonfider them in particular. So that I cannot fee but Rev. Dr. Wat e r l a n d. 375- but your Principle of Identityy if you would be thought to mean any Thing, muft coincide with that of Spinofa, that there is a Confubftanrinlity, or Identity oi EJfmce, betwixt God and the Vnh verfe ; or tliat God is all Subftance, and there is no other Subftance, but the one Neceflary, Self- exiftent or Di'vine Subjlame. This looks like a very unlucky Appendage to your Hypotbefis; and a dead Weight upon ;>, which I fhould be glad to know how you will get rid of. Perhaps the beft way may be, to own that you have talked without Ideas, and delire that what you have faid may pafs for nothing', and this, I believe, will be really the Cafe, as to the far greater Part of the learned World, whether you defire it or no. Whether this way of Talking about Subftan- ces, or Suhftrata, as the SubjeEls and Supports of diftincl individuating Pro/zf-rnVj, be agreeable to the real Exigence and Nature of Things or nor, is not my Bufinefs here to enquire : 'Tis fuffici- ent to fliew, that if it be granted, it will (land good in one Ilypot belts as well as another ; and mull: be attended with Confequences, which you cannot bear. I am very well perfuaded, how- ever, that the true Syftem of Nature, when rightly underftood, is ftill more inconfiftent with your Hypotbejis -, but we need go no far- ther, fince your own Account of Things, if you will fland to it, is fufEcicnt to overthrow all that you have faid. It you lofe your One Sub- ftancey you are gone, as having no other Prnici- ple of Identity for One God ; and while you will retain it, I think you cannot pofTibly, in the fame Senje, fuppofe ?nore SubJIances than One : And therefore an Atbanajian^ an Eufebian, an Aridn^ a Socinian^ and even an Atheift, will P b 4 equally 37^ ^Letter /^ /Z?^ equally find their different and contrary Ac- counts, in one and the fa?ne Thing. And is not Chriftianity, think you, extreamly clear'd and mended, by this fort of Philofophy ; at firft brought in by the Fathers, from the Pagan Schools, and now efpoufed a-new, and farther improved in Defenfe of the Holy Scriptures, by a Learned modern Divine? Can you indeed fit down, and with Satisfadion blefs your felf upon the Review, while you have been filling the Heads of Chriftian People with empty Sounds, and their Hearts with Antichriflian Rage, againft all thofe, who will not e:?v'plain St. Paul and the Scriptures, by Plato, Arifiotle, and the Heathen Mctaphyfuks ? Really, Sir, ii Chriflianity can- not be underftood or defended, but upon fuch Principles afthefe, I fear you will never be able to VMderftand or dejend it at all. But could you clear your Hypothefis, re- lating to the Trinity and Unity, from Ab- furdity and Contradidion, as I believe you cannot ; yet there is another Difficulty flill behind, more fliff and inflexible than the former ,• and that is, how to apply your Principles, with any Truth or Confiftency, to the Chriflian Dodrine of the Incarnation, and the acknowledged One Per/on of our Saviour Jefus Chrift, after the Word was made Flejh, Could you therefore avoid Tritheifm, with- out falling upon Sabellianifm, which is what you have not been able to do j yet ftill, I can't but think, that it will be altogether impoffible, in your Way, to avoid Neftorianifm, without falling upon fomething ivorfe. I hope it will not be look'd upon as a Mark of Irreligion or Profane- nefsj, to fuppofe that Chriflianity is an wtelli- gibk Rev. T)r. Wat e r l a n d. 577 gihkT'hing;. or to enquire about tlie Meaning ot certain M^h'ds, which are now made ufe oF, in Matters of the greatefl Importance, tho' they are not to be found, thus applied, in the Scrip- ture it felf. I have the greatefl: Deference tor the Dodrines of the Chunk ; but then I mud fuppofe that the Church defigns to be under- ftood ; for otherwife her Articles of Faith will not be really DoEirines, but Words only. And as for our own Church ot England, I can be very confident, that fhe never once intended to bind any of her Members to Impoflibilities, or ex- peded to have her Articles underflood, in any other than a Scripture Senfe; and confequently, not to pin down Men to the Athanafian Senfe^ farther than it may be made intelligible, and confident with the true Senfe of Scripture. Up- on this fair and reafonable Suppofition there- fore, which cannot be denied me, I muff ap- ply my felf to you, Sir, for a little farther Sa- tisfadion, in what Senfe we are to underdand the Athanafian Doctrine, concerning the Incar- nation and One Per/on of Jefus Chrift. And here I believe all the World muff own, that I could not have mxade a more proper perfonal Application, fince you are univerfally acknow- ledged as One of the Ableff and moff Learn- ed of our modern Athanapans ; and your Obli- gation to give us all reafonable Satisfaction, is the more feculiavy as you have in a very particular and diflinguifhing Manner, efpoufed and interefled your felf in the Athanafian Cauft^. The common Docirine, or at leaff verl^al De- clarationy of the Athanafians is this, 7'hatChrift, or the Logosy by his Incarnation, afluraed the whole human Nature, /. e. a true Body, and a fatipnai 378 y^ Letter to the rational Soul, into a perfonal Union with his Eternal and Divine Perfon ; and fo ever remains Two diftincl Natures in One Perfon. Now here the great and feemingly unfurmountable Dit- ficulty lies in this ; How it is pofTible, in any intelligible Senfe, that the perfonal Logosy an infinite, eternal, and neceflarily exifting Agent, fhould be the felf-fame Perfon with a finite crea^ ted human Soul ; i. e. how Two fuch infinitely diftantand different Beings, Agents, and Sub- ftances, can be One Perfon, the felf-fame I, the fame He, or the fame common individual Subjed of the moft efiential and infinitely dif- ferent Properties and Anions ? Here then it is certain, that the Words, 0}2e Perfon, One Agent ^ One numerical Selfy &c. canuor poffibly be taken in any hitherto known or explained Senfe ', fince to fay, that a finite, created, human Soul, is the fame intelligent Agent, the felf-fame indi- vidual Perfon, the fame Subflance, the fame perfonal I, or He, with God Infinite, Eternal, Uncreated, and necefiarily Exiftent ; I fay, to affirm this in any hitherto known or explained Senfe, mufl be not only the groflefi: Abliirdity and Contradidlion, but downright Blafphemy alfo. When therefore you, with other Athana- Jiansy in a Senfe peculiar to your felves, affert this ; it cannot appear, till you have explain'd your Meaning, whether you contradid any Body or no. Perhaps, if you w^ere able and willing to explain your felves, we might be found all of one Mind, and the Difterence might lie in Words only. Nothing can be more unreafonable therefore, in you and your Party, than thus openly to condemn other Peo- ple, as dangerous Hereticks, while you will not i?^u 2)r. Wat e r l a n d. 379 not tell them in what Senfe, they can, or ought to be Orthodox. ''Tis certain, that in your HypothepSj when you f:iy, C}?rift is God, you muft mean One PerfoK, and when you fay, C/jrift is Man, you muft mean amther Perfon, accord- ing to the known cftablifh'd meaning of the Word Perfon, in the common Senfe of ^lankind : Now if in common Senfe you have Two Perfonal Saviours, T-wo Chrifls, and Two Sons of God; One, Infinite, Eternal, and Uncreated; and the Other, Finite and Created in Time : I fay, if this be fo in common Senfe; and confequently, if the Scripture cannot be underftood in, but is a Contradidion to, common Senfe ; you ought in all Reafon and Confcience, to tell us in what Senfe it can and muft be underftood ,- or fairiv^ own, that it is abfolutely unintelligible, and cannot be underftood in any Senfe at all. How- ever, I am very much inclined to think, that it is not the Scripture Account of Things, but your Account ; not the Chriftian Revelation, but your Hypothejis ; that is inconfiftent with, and contradidory to, common Senfe. For tho' the Heads and Leaders of Parties may, yet I cannot think that the Holy Ghofl, in the Chriftinn Re- velation, would ufe Words under a different Senfe from what they had been ever ufed a~ mong Mankind before, without giving us the leaft Notice of it. I (hall content my feif there- fore to fhew, that your Hypothefis \s a Con- rradidion to common Senfe, and muft make the whole Chriftian Revelation fo too; and then leave you either to affix fome other Senfe to Scripture, or quit your Principles, as you fhall find Occafion. It is granted by all Atba- rt7aftans, that Chrift had a com pleat and perfeft Human 380 yf L E T T E R to the Human Nature ; and that after the Incarnation, he wanted nothing that is eflential to Alan. But Human Intelh'gent Agency is eflential to Man, as fuch ; and ^tis plainly impofTible to have any Notion or Idea of Humanity, or Hu- man Nature, without including the Ideas of Human Intelligency, and Human Agency ; and Human Intelligent Agency is the fame Thing, in the common Senfe of Mankind, with Hu- man Perfonality : From hence then, I think, it is plain, that 'tis impoflible to have any I- dea at all of Human Nature, without including Human Intelligent Agency, or Human Perfon- ality ; and confequently, it will be alike im- polTible to conceive of a Man adually Exiting, Underflanding, and Acting, without conceiv- ing him to be a Human Perfon. To abilrad Human Nature then from Human Perfona- lity, and to talk of a true and proper Man, really exifting, and ading a^ Man^ who is not a Human Perfon, is to renounce and deny iiU the Principles of Reafon and common Senie, and to make Words fignify nothing at all ; and all this to avoid faying, that the Name Cbrifl, is taken coUedively, as being put for T'luo Perfonsy a Divine Perfon, and a Hu- vman Perfon ,* tho* 'tis impoflible, in the Atha- napan Hypothefis, that the Thing fhould be o- therwife. And I here challenge you, upon your own Principles, to make it appear as po(- (ible, how Chrift fhould not be a Human Per- fon^ and yet be a true and real Man ; or to di- veft him of a Human Perfonality, without rob- bing him of his Hu7nan Nature too. You allow iiim to be a Divine Perfon ; and I think I have proved, that, in yoi^r HypothefiSj he miJift be jR^u 2)r. Waterl A ND. 381 a Human Perfon too ,* and confequently, that the Son of God, and the Son of Man, mult, up- on your Principles, be Two different Perfons, under the common Name of Jefus Chrjfi, and acting in one common Capacity of Mediation i And to fuppofe otherwifc, muft oblige you to make one imaginary compound Perfon of Two iimple and real Perfons; of Two infinitely dif- ierent Intelligent Agents ; of which compound Perfon, every Thing that can be affirmed or de- nied, will at the fame Time be equally true and falfe. In your Hypothefis, it is as falfe that Chrifl fuffered and died for our Sins, as it is true that Chrifl is God : That Chrift is Finite and Infinite, Created and Uncreated, and that he is God and Man, are both true, and both falfe. That his Father is greater than He^ and that he did not, while he was upon Earth, knovj the Day of Judgment^ are both true, and yet both as falje as they are true. This, Sir, is your Divinity : But alas ! for the DuUnefs of Hereticks ! all this comes about for want of diftinguifliing between the different Senfes^ ia which the fame T'hing may be true and falfe at the fame Time. And alas ! again for the IVif- dom qH Cbatholicks ! thde different Senfcs \si\\y in fpite of your Heart, change the Subjed: of the Propoficion, and make your fame Thing, quite different Things ; and your One Perfon, l\vo different Perfons', infinitely more difirerent than Michael the Archangel, and St. Paul. But I (hall now fuppofe that you hnd made all this clear and intelligible ; how Two Intelligent Natures may poffibl^ be united in One Perfon, without either confounding tnc Natures, 01 dividing the Perfon ; yet even upon this Sup- pofiticn. 38x A Letter to the pofition, I fay, you cannot, upon your own Principles, have any Notion or Idea ot the Hu- miliation ot Qlmfi^ or of any poflible Satisfac- tion or Atonement he could make for Sin, but what a Socman may allow. For call it a Per- fonal Union, or w hat you will, you cannot but grant, that whatever is created mull be elfen- tially different from God; and the Human Na- ture, or the Man Chrrfl being a Creature, no Talk of Union or Perfonal Identity can help you, or in the leaft alter the Cafe, while the Diftance and Difference are confelfedly as e- qually and infinitely great, as if there was no fuch Union at all. For nothing can be con- ceived under a greater and more eflential Dif- ference, than the Son of God, and the Son of Man, as they mufl ftand in your Scheme. Now to comply with the NeceiTity of your Hypo- thefis, I fhall endeavour, for a little while, to talk without Ideas, and fuppofe the Infinite, Eternal, Uncreated Logos^ to be the fame Per- fon with a Created Human Soul and Body ; or, to fpeak flill more unintelligibly, with the Hu- mane Naturey i. e. with Man in general^ but no Man in particular. Well, but let this be fup- pofed to contain fome Truth in it, in fome Senfe or other; and what then will be the Confequence ? Why, that the Sufferings of the Human Soul, or Human Nature, will acquire an infinite Worth and Value, from the perfon- al Union of the Logos, For by reafon of the perfonal Union, what is done or fuffered in One Nature only, may be attributed to the 'whole Perfon. By Perfon here, muft be meant both Natures, which by their Union conftitute the Perfon ,* and therefore to fay, that what is done iJ^u Z)r. Wat E R L A N Do 385 done or fufFered in One Nature only, is attri- batcd to the ivhole Perfouy is tlie lame Thing with faying, that what is done or fuftcred in one Nature only, is by a fa lie Attribution fup- pofed to be done or fuftercd in both Natures, For what is the tuhok Perfon, but both Natures united ? And indeed, the Real, Vital Union of both Natures, and the mutual Communi- cation of Joys and Sufferings, which is the only Principle that can raife the Dignity and Value of the Human Sacrifice, is here plainly fuppofed and aflerted, at the fame Time that it muft ne- ceflarily be deny'd, as inconfident with the Hypothefis. But fince the Logos is here fup- pofed to be uncapable of fullering by any Lofs or Pain fuftained by the Human Nature, what is fufter'd in the Human Nature only, can- not be attributed to both Natures^ or to the Perfon, without a manifeft Abfurdity, and Self- contradidion. The ivhole Perfon cannot be fa id to lofe or fulfer, unlefs the Lofs and Suffering be in both Natures ; for the human Nature only, is not the Perfon. While there is a real vital Union, for InRance, between the Soul and Body, and a confequent mutual Communicati- on, fo that they muft neceflkrily enjoy, or fuf- fer together ; the Sufferings of either, will be the Sufferings of the whole Man : In which Cafe, the Sufferings, if they are freely under- taken^ will be eftimated .and valued, in Pro- portion to the Innocence and Dignity of the Soul, the nobJeflPart of the Man. But if we fuppofe the Soul and Body to be fo unittd, or rather difunited, as to deffroy this vital Union and mutual Communication of Joys and Suf- ferings ; the bare Sufferings of the Body^, fhould we g84 ^ L E T T E R /^ the ve fuppofe it capable of fuftering without a real vital Communication with the Soul, could not at all be raifcd by the Dignity of the Soul : Tis plainly the Dignity of the Sufferer, that muft raife the Value of the Sufferings; and therefore, where the Sufferer is only a Human Soiily or Human Nature, the bare Name or Sound of Union with the Logos, can add no real Weight or Worth to the Sufferings. This Hypothefis then, that is fo much cried up, and, as it were, adored, on Account of an infinite Satisfaction and Atonement, inTruth and Reality affords no Satisfaction at all, be- yond the Capacity and Value of Human Na- ture, or a Human Soul and Body. It will be ftill urged, perhaps, that where Two Natures make one Compound, the Properties and Af- fedions of each may certainly be affirmed of the Whole ; and that this is juftified by the ge- neral Confent of Mankind, and the common XJfe of Language, while the mere Properties and Afl^'edions of the Body, as Weight, Sta- ture, Complexion, 6*c. are affirmed of the Man : but this is only by a ufual Figure of Speech, where a Part is put for the whole, or the con- trary ; and in all fuch Inflances, the Man can only fignify the Man's Body ; for fhould we take Man here properly for Soul and Body too, of which the Man really confills, fuch Predications could not poffibly be true. 'Tis wonderful, how far this grofs and pal- pable Fallacy has prevail'd, and how apt Men are to catch at a figurative, improper Expref- fion, in a loofe and popular Way of Speaking, as if it was flridly true in Argument, and a- greeable to the Nature of Things. Nothing is more Rev. Vr. Wat e r l a n d. 58^ more frequent in a common Way of Speaking, than this Sort of Metonymy, where the Name ot the Whole is put tor a Part only, or the Name of a Part for the Whole. But in Argument, and Strictnefs of Speech, we ought to take care not to lofe the proper Subject of the Predica- tion, by affirming that of the Whole, which is true only of a Part. ^Tis evident, that where any M^'^hole under a common Name, is made up of Two different and diftinct Sd'jetls,^ with their peculiar and different Porpcrcies; the Properties of each cannot be affirmed of the IVhoky i. e. of both Subjeds. In all fuch Predications, if truei there mulf necell:irily be confidered a real Communication, or Commu- nity of the fame Kind of Properties in both Subjeds; which being here contrary to the Sup- polition, fuch an Affirmation is plainly a Self- contradidion. In your Hypothelis, there muft be an infinite and effential Difference betwixt the Logos J and the Human Soul of our Saviour ; fo that there cannot pofTibly be fuppos'd any real Communication, or Community of Pro- perties ', they will have nothing in common, but every Thing, both Subftance and Properties, effentially and infinitely different. And there- fore, if you fuppofe the Name ^efus Chrifty affixM to the whole Perfon or Compound, con- fiiling of the Logos in Union with a Hum.an Soul and Body, there is not One Propofitioa in Scripture concerning Chrifl^ but what muft be necelfarily falfe. In this Hypothefis, it will not be true, that Chrifl fuffered and died for our Sins ; becaufe this is true only of the Hut man Nature : But the Human Nature only is not Chrifl. Again ; it will not be true, that Cq Cbrifi 386 >^ L E T T E R to the Chrifi is God, that he is the Only-begotten of the Father j that he was fent from the Father, and that he took Flefli, to be made an Offer- ing for Sin : This, I fay, in your Hypothefis, cannot be one Word of it true ; becaufe all this is true only of the Logosy or Divine Na- ture ; but the Logosy or Divine Nature onljy is not Chriil. "Tis evident, that this Way of Talking, fuppofes Chrift or the Perfon to be fome Tertium Qnid^ fome common Subje»5i:, in which both Natures f ubfiil as Properties or Attributes. But what is that Tertium Qjiidy or common Subjed, but the Sum or Aggregate of both Natures united ? And therefore, to affirm the Properties of each Nature of the Perfony is the fame Thing with affirming the Properties of each Nature of both Natures ; or faying, that every thing that is true of Oney is true of Both : which yet is contrary to the Hypothefis. And from hence again appears the Ncceffity you are under, of filently changing the SubjeiS: of the P.ropofition, as often as you join the Properties of each Nature diflindly, under One Perfonal Name. Thus when you fay, Chrifi is God, and Chrift is Man ; becaufe you retain the fame perfonal Sound in both Propoiitions, the Reader has his Eyes dazzled, and thinks you mean ilili the fame Perfcn, by the fame per- fonal Name, Chrift : Whereas in your Hypo- thefis, you mufl unavoidably mean two efien-' tially diftin(5u, and infinitely different PerfonSo But here I muft defire you to obferve, that whenever I fay. This or that mufi: necellarily be fo, or that fuch or fuch a Thing is falfe, im- pofTible, or contradidory ; I mean only with Hefpe^t to compion Senfe, And therefore, all that I Rev. 7)r. Wat e r l a n d. 387 I pretend to prove, is. That your Senfey what- ever it be, cannot po/Tibly be co7n7non Senfe. But I would not be thought hereby to fuppofe, or intimate, that you have no Senje at all ; or that what you fay, is not in your own Senfe true. Doubtlefs you have fome Meaning or other ; fome fecret refervd Senfe, whicJ?, when you fhall pleafe to fpeak out, perhaps it may appear, that t you and I are of one and the fame Mind; and > that we are contending all this while about Words only. However, if this be fo, the Fault IS none of mine. I {^^e^k freely, and endeavour to fpeak plainly ; and 'till you will do the Ifke^ if there Ihould happen to be any Mifunder- flanding betwixt us, the Blame mufl lie at your Door. Upon the whole, I cannot but thmk, that without fome other fort of Defence, ^nd fome clearer Account of I^hings, than have hitherto appeared on the Athanafian Side ; the World muft foon begin to fufped: that you are but in Jefly and that you write only to betray the Caufe you would feem to efpoufe. This, doubtlefs, you will receive as a very hard Say- ing, and be ready to cry, mjo can bear it ? And I hope, Sir, you will not bear it, without anfwering the true Defign of it; by celling us plainly, whether Qhriflianity be an Intelligible Thing, and whether it is indeed confident with Ommon Senfe ^ or not. I am, SI R, Tour Humbk Servai^t, ^'c; C P '4 EnthH^ ^ ^ ^> #• -^ #' ^' •^- -Si -*- -^ -St Enthujiafm in Diftrefs: O R, A"N EXAMINATION OF THE Refledions tiponReafon, I N A LETTER T O Phikleutherus Britannkus. -* If ^^ € W W W ^ # W *• ^ A N EXAMINATION O F -T H E Reflections upon Reafon. SIR, '.HE different Opinions and Parties into which Man- kind are divided about Matters of Religion, ha- ving determined you to attempt the uniting and reconciling them in one Scheme of fpeculative Be-- lief, and under one Form of Church-Government ; as I could not but look upon fuch an Undertaking to be very ex- traordinary, and what no wife Man would venture at, without fom.e fuitable and very un- C c 4 Gommon 39'^ -^^ Examination of the common Abilities; I thought my felf concerned to examine the Plan you have laid down, and to weigh and conlider it in all its Parts, in or- der to difcover what mutual Relation, Connec- tion, or Dcpcndance, there might be betwixt the feveral Springs and Movements of this new Contrivance. I'he Refult of which is, that your Hypothecs , like all the refl which have been hitherto coinM for the fame Purpofe, appears to me to be altogether precarious and infuffi- cient ; neither conliftent with itfclf, nor in any wife adjufted or accommodated to the End you propofe. The fettling all Points of Difference in Ipeculative Belief, and the deciding all Con- troverfies relating to the different Modes, Rights, and Forms of Difcipline, and external Worfliip, is beyond all Dilpute a Matter of great Difficulty ; and therefore, if any one fhould think it poffible and neceffary, he ought to go about it with a very nice and diflinguifli- ing Hand, and proceed m a Bufinefs of fuch Importance with great Judgment and Caution. If luch a Decider does not pretend to Infallibi" lity, he ought at leaf]:, as a Reconciler ^ to make it appear that he is ftricflly jufi: and impartial ; that he is himfelf fufficiently free from any thing of that Prejudice, PafTion, and Party- Zeal, which he complains of in others ; and that he has nothing in View, but the Glory of God, the Advancement of true Religion, and the Happincfs of Mankind. But if, among the feveral Sefls and Fadions into which the Chriflian World is divided, a flaming Zealot fhould ftand up, in the Name and Spirit of a Pany^ bidding an open Defiance to all the reft^ and declaring that he can admit of no Terms but RefleBions upon Reafon. 395 but an abfolute Compliaiicej nor maintain any Peace or Communion with thofe, who are fo ignorant and fenfelefs, or fo wicked and pre- fumptuous, as to ditfer from him in Matters of Ipeculative Belief, ritual Wo rftiip, or Church- Government ; it is plain, that by fuch a Me- thod, a Man muft put himfelf out oi ail Capa- city of doing the leafl Service, either to Reli- gion in general, or to his own Caufe in parti- cular ; iince he thereby only enables his Adver- faries to engage him with the greater Advan- tage, and has nothing to exped: from them but Pity or Contempt. This is a Method, which I may prefume to fay never made one Profelyte, or ever convinced any unprejudiced Perfon, that the Man who thus contends for Religion, ei- ther underftands it right, or appears to be in carnefl: about it. He may be in good earnefl perhaps for the diflinguifhing Tenets and Cri- teria of a Party ; but Catholick Chriftianity and True Religion are quite another Thiiig. You begin with nn Obfervation and Com- plaint of the great and popular Abufe of the Word Reafon. " The Confulion introduced *' into our Language by the Abufe of Words, '^ which have through Length of Time ba-^n '•^'perverted from their natural and primitive *' Signification, has been learnedly obferved and *' finccrely lamented by a Right Reverend Pre- ** late of our Church. I have ofren wiihed " that the fame judicious Hand, that has en- *' deavoured, with uncommon Zeal, to re(cue '' fome Words from this lamentable Abufe, " fuch as Churchy Religton, &c. would have al- ** fo (hewed fome Regard to that much per- *' verted and abufed Word Reafon ; the Abafe '' of 594 ^^^ Examinaticn of ths *' of which has been as fatal to Mankind, as " prejudicial to the^publick Peace and the In- *^ terefls of Truth, as thofe others which he *' has ^o elaborately endeavoured to explain. *' Not to mention that his Lordfhip would ^^ hereby have wonderfully obliged feveral of *^ his Admirers, pretty Gentlemen^ who have *' heartily abjured Prieftcraft, Bigottry, and *^ flavifli SubmifTion to Authority, and boldly *' and reiolutely aflert the Dignity of human " Reafon ; yet, for want of a right under- *' Handing of the Word, have been forced to *' defend it, in a mod unreafonable Manner, ^' with Nonfenfe and Abfurdity. In fliort, *' there is fcarce a Word in the Engli(h Tongue, *' of a more general, uncertain, indeterminate *' Signification. Every wrong-headed Mortal *^ calls his Mifunderllanding his Reafon ; every ** Manx's different Way of apprehending or mif- " apprehending Things, is Reafon. So that *' there is no Opinion fo abfurd, no Notion fo *' filly, no Pofition fo monftrous, but is de- *' fended and juflified by Reafon.- »But '•' if every Man fiiall call his particular Way of *' Thinking and Judging by that oracular *^ Name, he will make it the moil uncertain *' fallacious Thing in the World i for it muft ^ be as various as the different Compledions, *' Educations, Tempers, and almoft Features of *' thofe who pretend to it.'' />. 3,4, 5. Here you take it for granted, as a very {lain Cafcy that there^as many different Senfes and Accep- tations of the Word Reafon among Men, as there are different Jind contrary Opinions in the World ; . which is a Conceit fo very peculiar, and fo oddj that I imagine the intelligent Reader will hard- ly Reflexions upon Re a [on. 395' ly forbear laughing. The Matter of Fa6t \s plainly this j that every Man does, and mud fuppofe his own Opinion, whatever it be, to be true and reafonable, fince this is eflential to all Belief, as fuch j and no Man can believe any ^ Thing at all, without believing it to be true, or j agreeable to the real Exigence and natural Re-j lations of Things. Methinks therefore it is very hard, and looks a little fpightful and ill- natured, that you, can allow none but your felf, and your own Party, to fuppofe their own Opinions to be true and reafonable. For this is really the mighty Grievance, the Evil which fo deeply afteds you ; the different Opinions and Parties into w-hich Men are divided about Matters of Religion, is what you cannot bear with any Patience ; and therefore you would fain contrive a Method to bring them all into your own Scheme and Party, and thereby de- liver them from the odious Characters of pretty Gentkmeny minute PbilofopherSy Scribhlersy and •wrong-headed Alortals. But if you could accomplilh this notable Defign, and make them all of your Mind, perhaps they might not be one Hair's Breadth the nearer to Truth and Reafon in the Nature of Things; fince I doubt ?iOt tot to make it appear that you, Sir^ in this very Book, have as much miftaken and perverted tlie right Ufe of Reafony both in Na?ne and T'/?mg, as any pretty Gentleman or minute Philofopher in theWorld. It is vifible that Men's Difputes and different Opinions in religious Matters mufl remain the fame, tho' they fhould be all agreed, as they really are, concerning the general abflrad Na- ture, Definitions, and different Acceptations of the Words Truth and Reafon. A Scotch Presby- terian, 39<5 An Examination of the terfan, an EngUfi Prelatift, and a Roman Ca- tholick, would all readily agree in the general Signification, and various Acceptations of the Word Reafon ; and yet the Quellion would fliil remain betwixt them, which Religion is the true, or moft agreeable to the Will of God, and the Nature of Things. If a Queftion fhould arife concerning a certain Parcel ot Matter, whe- ther it be pure uncorrupted Gold or not ; 'tis plain that Men might be of different Opini- ons about it^ as their different Methods of Tri- al and Proofs fhould be more or lefs accurate* One perhaps might conclude it to be pure un- mix'^d Gold; another that there is a certain fmall Mixture of Copper in it ; and a Third that there is no Copper at all, but a confider- able Proportion of Lead, or Iron. Now fhould any one advife them, in order to a clear deci- five Determination of the Cafe, to fettle the precife Meaning of the Words Goldy Copper^ Lead, and Iron, fuch a Propofal might polTibly give them fome Diverfion, but would aftbrd no Light towards ending the Difpute. They would tell the Advifer, that they have no Dif- pute about the Meaning of thofe Words ; that their Controverfy is real ; and therefore if he can help them to any more certain or fatisfac tory Method of Proof, they are ready to thank him, but otherwife he might as well fpare his Pains. Thus, fuppofe a Company divided up- on the Queflion, whether a certain Perfon they are looking at be the Prince or not ; feverai perfonal Marks and Charaderifticks are brought on both Sides, fome of which feem to agree, and others to difagree, fo that they can come to no common fatisfadory Refolution. But here a grave Rea- RefieBions upon Reafon. 397 Reafoncr fleps in, and tells them, Gentlemen, before you dilpute farther about this Matter, you ought to fettle and afcertain the clear determi- nate Signification of the Word Princes ^what you mean by Prince in its general abftrau Na- ture ; what by a Princey and what by the Prince ; and when you have once fettled this grand Point, vou will eafily come to a Refolution, whether the Perfon you difpute about, be really the Prince or not. Muft not this Formality look ridiculous ? They would be doubtleis ready to reply. Sir, we have no Controverfy about the general abftraa Nature of a Prince; and we ali mean the fame Thing, the fame Perlon, by the Prince. If therefore you can help us to any more certain Marks or Characterifticks ot the Princey whereby to determine the Que ft ion to the Satisfadion of thofe who doubt whether this Perfon be the Prince or no, we fhall rec- kon our felves obliged 5 but the Method you propofe can be of no Service to us at all. Ihis, Sir, is the Cafe here; you have taken Panis to fettle the Meaning and cji&rent Acceptation of the Word Reafon^ without being able to fhew that any one Point of difference now in Debate depends upon it. Mankind are divided into different Opinions and Parties about Religion, and the Difficulty is how to unite and reconcile them ; to which Purpofe you think it of great Importance, to fettle the proper and genuine Signification of the Word Reafon ; and you tell us, that Reafon ftands, either, Firft and princi- pally, for the eternal immutable Relations, Ha- bitudes, and Analogies of Things ; or Second- ly, for the Underftanding or reafoning Faculty itfelf; or Thirdly, for the Ad of Reafoning; ;p8 An Examination of the or lailly, for the rational objedive Proof, or the intermediate Ideas, made ufe of in order to difcover the Relation and Connexion of any T\vo remote Ideas. Thefe are the different Acceptations of the Word Reafon ; and you think, if the pretty Gentlemen and minute Philofophers did but confider this, they would not trifle, and talk Nonfenfe, as they do. ""Tis Pity methinks you had not condefcend- ed to have given us fome particular Intonces, wherein the fettling the Senfe and different Acceptation of the Word Reafon^ could in the leaft tend to clear up any Queflion or Contro- verfy now on Foot. But this mufl have utter- ly fpoil'd a fine Harangue, and quite effaced and rubb'd off all the Colourings from a feeming Piece of Wit. 'Tis of the greateft Confequence to fettle the clear determinate Senfe and Meaning of the Words, upon which a particular Controverfy chiefly depends, fince otherwife no Debate what- ever can be brought to any Iffue, And there-' fore the Right Reverend Prelate you here aim at, had great Reafon to fix and afcertain the Senfe of the Words Church, ReUgiony Authority^ &Q, about which he was difputing. And this his Lordfhip has done fo eftedually, and with fuch Succefs, that his Adverfaries have nothing to fay, but by keeping up a mere verbal Strife, and infilling upon a different Senfe of the Words, from his Lordfliip's plain declared Senfe ^ and this too in direct Oppofition to the Nature and Reafon of the Things themfelves. If you will call any external Rites and Forms of Worlhip, of mere human Inftitution^ by the l^ame of F^eJiffoa 5 'tis plain that by Religion yoii ca!3. Refle&ions upon Reafon. 399 can only mean fome outward P,aBke, as ab- ftra^ed from that inward Sincerity y to wliicli human Cognizance and Jurifdiction cannot pof- fibly extend, and yet without which there can be no fuch Thing as Religion at ali. You might in the fame Way of Trifling, while your Hand was fo happily in, have obliged the World farther, by fettling the clear determi- nate Senfe and difterent Acceptations of the Word Scripture. In your Way of Talking, *Tijere is fcarce a Word in the Englifli 'Tongue of a more general^ loofe, and indeterminate Signification, Enjery wrong-headed Mortal calls his Mijunderfland" ing by the Name of Scripture ; e'very Mans diffe- rent Way of apprehending^ or mifapprehending Things is Scripture. So that there ism Opinion fo abfurd^ m Notion fo filly y no Pofitionfo monjirousy but is de- fended and juftified by Scripture. Methinks therefore no Word in the Engli/b Tongue could have more needed an Explication from fo greac a Mailer, than the Word Scripture ; efpecially when you tell us, there are Articles of Faith to be built upon it, which are abfolutely unintel- ligible, and above and beyond all human Rea- fon and Comprehenfion. This I think, even in your own Account,, mufl be allowM to be as great a Defed: in your Performance, as any thing you complain of, that his Lordfliip had omitted. And therefore, how averfe foever you might otherwife be to the granting of fuch a Favour, I hope you will forgive his Lordfhip, if not in Point of Jufiice, at lead for your own Sake. I intirely agree with you, that Chriflianity^ in its whole Frame and Conllitution, with Re- gard both to its Dodrines and Duties, Theory and 400 An Examination of the and Pradlce, is highly reafonable; exadly conformable to the Nature and Attribuces of God, and mofl eftedually conducive to the true Happinefs and moral Perfection of - Mankind. But yet I muft freely declare, that I cannot think the Method you have taken with the DeJfts^ and Free-l'hinkers^ is likely to have much Effect towards their Convidion. For as Juilice is due even to the Devil himfelf, I muft here put you in Mind cf oneThing, that 1 take to be a fundamental Error in your Way of Reafoning with them, and which I fear will hinder, in great Meafure, the good Effect your Difcourfe might otherwife have had upon them ; and that is, the vilible Partiality you all along difcover, in charging their Lufts and Vices as the Confequence of their Principles. 'Tis moil: evident in Fad, that any Scheme of fpeculative. Belief whatever, one as well as ano- ther, may confift and ftand together with a wicked and prolligate Life. The Vicious and Immoral among all Parties, (and there are but too many fuch'>find fome Way or other to elude their own Principles, in order to make way for their finful Purfuits, and the Gratification of their Lufts and PalI!ons. You are very angry with thofe who make fo free in their Declamations upon the Lufts and Vices of your own Clergy ; and you would think it very unreafonable to have their Prac- tice, in this refped, charged upon their Princi- ples, or affigned as the Reafon why they can- not be convinced of the Abfurdity and Pre- fumption of the Claims they lay to certain Powers and Prerogatives, which cannot belong to them ; and yet a Derft or Free-thinker might Reflections upon Re of on. 401 eafily make even with you upon this Score, if you could be content to he repaid in your own Coin, and take Railing tor Reafoning. But when you vouchfal'e to argue with any Sort of Men, you muft fuppofe them convin- cible, for otherwife you \souId not tlirow a- way your Time and Pains about them. If a Deifl be under the abfolure Power and Inllu- ence of his Lulls and Paffions, and refolved not to confider or examine any Thing that might take him off from, or diflUrbhim in^ his linKil Purfuits ; 'tis plain that he mufl be uncapable of Convidion, and it would be to no Furpole to offer Reafons and Arguments againft him : and the Cafe will be the fame, if you apply it to a Quakevy a Presbyteriayiy a Church of England Man, or a Papifl. In Point of Prejudice, Lull, and Paflion, therefore, (which are undoubtedly the great Obftacles to a more free and impartial Enquiry after Truth) you ought in all Rea- fon to place your own Party upon a Level with others; and if you will not admit of this, you may ftand the Ridicule of Deifls and Frec-tbink- ers as well as you can, and return Railing for Railing at leaft, if you cannot return Wit for Wit j but every impartial By-ftander, I fup- pofe, muft look upon this as a Scuflle of very little Confequence. A Deifti^ if he bo really j fuch, muft, upon his own Principles, think j himfelf obh'ged to practice all the Duties, and fubmit to the feveral Obligations, of natural Religion ; and this would be a tair Step, and great Advarce, towards Chriftianity. You al-'^ lows that Chrillianity is nothing ehe but natu- ral Religion, enforced upon flronger and m.orc powerful Motives, and direaed to higher and D d' nobler 40 X An Examination of the nobler Ends; and confequently, you muft, I prefume, allow that Deifm is a very good and fufEcicnt Preparative to Chriftianity. Let us fuppofe then, a fnicere Deifly one who both underftands and pra6tices the Principles of na- tural Religion ; let fuch an one, I fay, come to you for farther Advice and Inftrudions, de- claring, that he is readily difpofed to embrace the Chriftian Religion, upon fufficient Evi- dence of its Truth and Reafonablenefs. Now this being the Cafe, you cannot, I think, juftly reject him ; and no Doubt you would condud him in a fcientifick Way, from Definitions, Axioms, and Pracognita, to the more remote, implicate, and difficult Conclufions. I could wifh you had obliged us with a more fuccinct Account of your Method of teaching this Science ; but {ince you have not thought fit to be very particular, we muft be content with fuch Hints as you have given us. The firft Principle then that you lay down as the Foundation of the Chriftian Faithy is this. That there are certain unintelligible Dodrines in the Chriftian Syftem, which being abfolutely above and beyond all human Reafon and Compre- henfion, we are yet required to believe as ne- celTary to Salvation. Your Words are thefe, /). 33. ^' But the greateft Difficulty is ftiil be- *' hind i and that is, the Myfteries of the Go- " fpel ; certain unintelligible Dodrines, im- " pofed upon us as Articles of Faith, which " no mortal Man can explain or compre- *' hend; and yet we are told, that thefe are " neceffary to be believed in order to Salva- ** tipn; which feems very abfurd and unreafon- " able. And here I muft premife a very ne- J! ceffary (C Reflections upon Reafon. 403 ceflary Diflindion, , tho^ very much exploded *' by fome Jittle Scribbleriy betwixt being above ^' our Reafon, and corarary to it. TheShortnels ** and VVeaknefs ol: our Under/landings can- ** not comprehend or explain many Things, •' that are fenfibly and demonflrably certain 9 *^ but no Man fure will be fo weak as to dif- " believe his Senfes, and deny tlie Certainty ^^ of feveral Effeds in Nature, becaufe he can- " not explain their feveral Caufes, nor the " exad Method, Reafon, and Manner of " their Production. Let this be granted, and *^ then let us fee whether our Patrons of Rea- *^ fon muft not difdain their Senfes as well *' as their Fairh. If they refolve to believe no- *^ thing of which they have not adequate *^ Ideas , the neceflary Modes and Relations *^ of which they cannot explain, what adequate " Idea have thefe Gentlemen of Matter ? What *' is the Eifence of it? They tell you, it is an *' extended impenetrable Subftance, having ^^ Parts without Pares. Weil, but all this *' while we apprehend nothing by this Defini- *^ tion, but a Congeries of Accidents and Qua-; *^ lities; fuch as Extention, Impenetrability, " &c. But what is the Subjed, the Stibftratum *' of thefe Accidents ? What is the Subjed: to ** which thefe Predicates belong ? What is the " naked Ellence of Matter, flript of all itsAc- " cidents ; which, though infeparable in Fad, *^ may, one would think, be diflinguiihed in •^ the Underftanding ? And one would be ape *' to imagine, that any Idea fliort of this were " inadequate and imperfed. But does any one ^^ doubt of its Exiftence ? Do we not difcourfe, *' reafon and judge about it ? And, in fliortj J) i % tl our 404 j4^ Examination of the ** our Notions of Spirit, are as obfcure and " inadequate as thofe of Matter ; about which, ** however, we argue and draw ConfequenceS, ** with as much Certainty, as from any other *' Subjeft or Matter of Science". Here we have your main Principle upon which the Chri- fiian Faith is to be built, together with your Evidence for it ; and you cannot complain that I have not quoted you fairly. I muft own my felf to be one of thofe ScrilbJeYs^ who have thrown off this Diftindion, as it is commonly underftood and apply'd, or rather as I think mifunderilood and abufed. But I did not do this without affigning my Reafons for it, and fuch as have never yet been anfwered ; and when any Man, how great a Mailer foever he may be, in arguing for a Point, fuppreffes any material Evidence againft it, he does but betray and expofe, inftead of defend- ing his Caufe. You ought to have cleared the Ground of your Diflindion, betwixt Things ahm^e Reafouy and contrary to it ; and have made it appear that the rational Belief, or JJfent of the Mind, might in any Inftance be carried be- yond the Perception of the Under/landing. But inftead of this, you only raife a Mift about the naked EfTences, and unknown Caufes of Things. And in thefe Matters you pretend to exercife a Faith that is above Reafon, or to believe beyond what you perceive; nay, that you can reafon clearly, and draw the moft certain and undoub- ted ConfequenceS from Things of which you have no Knowledge, Idea, or Perception. I muft own, that this is very ftirprifing ; and if you can clear up this Method of Belief and Rcafoning, I (hail look upon you to be one of the ReJleBions upo7i Reafon. 405: the greateft and mofl extraordinary Divines and PiiilofopherSj that has ever yet appeared in the World. You ask thofe whom you call Patrons cf Reafon, What is the fimple naked Ef- fence of Matter, as abftraded from all its At^ tributes and fenfible Qualities? To which. I readily anfwer, that I cannot tell, I know not what it is, it comes not within the Province of my Underftanding. But before you are too hafty in drawing any Confequence from this Conceflion, you muft give me leave in my Turn to ask you. What you believe the real Ef- fence of Matter to be ? My Underftanding can- not reach it, but it Teems your Faith can. What then is the naked ElTence of Matter, according to youvBelief of it ? Your Anfwer to this will de- termine the Point, whether the real ElTence of Matter be not fomething ns much above and beyond your Faith, as it is above and beyond tny Under/landing. And if this fhould be fo, I can- not fee what Ground you have gain'd as a Pa^ tron of Faith, Perhaps you will fay, that tho' you know not wherein the real Eilence of Matter confifts, yet you believe Matter is fome*^ thing really exifting; and herein my Under- ftanding goes as far as your Faith. That there is Something really exifting without you, which you call Matter, and which is fome Way or o- ther the Caufe or Occafion of certain Ideas and Senfations excited in your Mind, is evident in Fad, and as certain as Senfe it feif can make it ; and therefore this is what you know and per^ ceive, as well as believe : But wherein that Some- thing confifts as to its abfolute real Eifence, or what it is by which thofe Senfations arc excited ifl your Mii^d, can be no more a Matter oi; P d 3 Faith^ 4o6 Afi Exa7ninatton of the Faith, than it is of Perception or Knowledge. If you fhould receive a Blow in the dark, you %vouId certainly conclude that Something ftrikes you, tho" perhaps you know not what ; for while you feel and are fenlible of the Blow, you muft needs perceive and aflent to the Truth of this felf-evidtnt Propo/ition, that fuch an Effed: cannot proceed from no Caufe at all. Now you might call this unknown Caufe, Mattery yet ftill that bare Name^ while it is fuppofed to fland for Something unknown, can add no more to your Fahh^ than it does to your Under flandmg ,* and you can reafonably helkve no more than you kmv-i or perceive con- cerning it. It reils upon you here, to give fome particular and clear Inftance of any one fingle Proportion, which you believe, oraffent to, without underftanding the Signification of the Terms, or without having any fettled de- termined Ideas of the Thing believed; which if you are not able to do, it muft be ftill evi- dent that your Faith, or rational JJfent, cannot advance one Hair'^s Breadth beyond your Ideas, or the Perception of your Underftanding. But in your Account, one may not only believe vhat is unintelligible,' incomprehenfible, and above Reafon; but like wife di fcourfe and ar- gue upon it, and draw the moft certain and undoubted Confequenccs from it. So that here is not only Faith above Reajon^ but even Reafon above Reafon, Knowledge above and beyond all our Ideas and Perceptions, and a Science without rational Evidence : For you tell us, that tho' w^e Icnow nothing of the Subftance, Subftratunt, or real Elfence of Things ; yet we argue about It, and dvaw Confequences from it, with as much Rejle&ions upon Reafon. 407 much Clearnefs and Certainty, as from .diy o- iher Subjed or Matter of Science. But this is certainly a very great Miftake ; and it it had not been made by a Gentleman, who is fo much advanced above the Scribbkrs and minute Philo^ fophers, I fliould havecall'd it a very great Blun- der, How any Thing, of which we have no Idea or Perception at all, fliould be a Mutter of Sciencey is very hard to concei\'e j and will not, I prefume, be well underflood without fome farther Explication. ^I'is Pity,methinks, you had not condefcendcd to have given us fome particular Inftances, in which we are fup- pofed to argue about, and draw Confequcnces from, the naked abftrad: Eifences of Things, as they exift abfolutely and in their own Nature^ or extra Mentem: But ^tis fufficient, it feems, to fuppofe or take the Thing for granted, and to ask, whether thofe who deny ir, muft not dif- dain their Senfes as well as their Faith? But wuh- out difdaining either Faith, or S.^rife, I dare un- dertake to prove, that your Method of Reafon'^ ing is impoflible, and contrary to Reafon. That we have no Idea of Matter, abflraded from all its Attributes and fenfible Qualities, i. e. frorai all the Ideas we have of it, is very fure ; nor is it eafy to conceive how we fhould ; but then I fay, that 'tis impoffible to argue and reafon about it, impolTible to draw any Confequences from it, farther than our Ideas go. The Ad of Reafoning, in its very Nature and Definition, confifts, in aranging our Ideas fo, as to dif- cover the Relation and Connexion of any two remote Ideas, by a right Order and Difpofi- tion of other intermediate Ideas ,• but lince we have no Idea at all of pure Eiience, Suhftance, P 4 4 ox 4o8 An Examination of the or Suhflratum, as fubflraded from all its Attri- butes and Properties i 'tis evident, that this I-^ dca vvhi'eh we have not, cannot come into the Account of our Difcourfes and Reafonings. A Man indeed may talk Nonfcnfe, as well as be- lieve Nonfenfe, and he may call the one Faithy and the other Reafoij ; but his real Faith, as well as his Knowledge and Reafon if he has a- iiy, mud be confined to his Ideas j and if this will not content him, he may trifle and ramble, he may lofe his V'/ay, and wander in the dark, but he can never argue, reafon, or clear up the Truth. From hence I think it is plain, that in your Way, that Faith which is above Reafon^ will be likewife contrary to Reafon ; and confe- quently, that your feeming Diftindion is really no Diftinction at all, but muft bring the Matter to this, that we are bound under the Penalty of eteriial Damnation, to believe T'hings contrary to Reafon. Having laid this folid Foundation, you pro- ceed with your Account of the Chriflian My- ilerics, p. 3 I' " The firft and great Myflery, ^' which is at prefent the Scumbling-Block '^ of our rational Men, is that of the holy un- ** divided Trinity ', Three co-effential co-eter- ^* nal Perfons, fubfifling in the fame Eflence, " This, they fay, is a Contradidion, that One ^' fhould be Three, and Three Ihould be One, ** And fo it would indeed, if they fhould be ^' the fame in the fame Refped; but what the *' Holy Scripture ajferts, is, that they are Three ^* in Per/on, and but One in EJfence", You are always wonderful happy in the clear- ing of Difficulties ,* and if you can make good what you here fay, you wil! have decided this Con- ReJleBions upon Reafon. 409 Controverfy at once, and we fliall all from henceforth agree at leafl in Words, whether we mean the fame Thing or not. But I fear, Sir^ that your Zeal has in this Cafe been prejudi- cial to your Memory. Where, I befeech you, does the Holy Scripture ajfert this, that they are Three in Peyfon^ and but One in EJfencel Others indeed before you have pretended to draw this as a Confequence, and have according- ly fet it up as their own Inference and Deduc- tion from Scripture; but that it fhoi^ld be Scripture it felf, or a Scripture Ajfert ion, was ne- ver I fuppofe known or heard of till now. If you have found out any fitch AJfertion, in any hitherto unknown Copy or Manufcript of the New Teftament, I hope you will not long con- ceal fo very material and remarkable a Difco- very ; but if you can produce uo fuch Evidence, I think you have here difcovered fomething, that you had much better have concealed. One would think that Self-Exiftence and originate Exiftence, Begotten and Unbegotten, fhould be an eflential Difference, and that the fame nu- merical Effence cannot be originate and uno- riginate, felf-exiftent and derived; but this you will allow to be above Reafon, and therefore pel haps it may be as impoflible, as if it were contrary to Reafon. You go on to inftance in the Myftery of the Incarnation, C7c. But fince you have neither fufficiently explain'd your felf, nor offered any Thing in Confirmation of your own Opinion, and have taken Care not to leave your felf accountable for any one Propo/itioii of a clear determinate Meaning, I fhall dffmifs this Subjed, and not drag you into the Con-- firoverfy againft your WiiK } 41 o An Examination of the I fliall now proceed to examine, and make feme Remarks upon, the Method you propofe, in order to unite and reconcile the feveral Seds and Parties among Chriftians, in one Scheme of Belief, under one Form and Model of external Worfhip, and Church-Government. Now here you grant, p, 50. what you fuppofe all to be agreed in, that the Sripture is a plain intelligible Rule of Faith and Pradice. You obferve very well. That if it be not intelligible, it cannot anfwer the Ends for which it was given ; jor that no Man can be taught, reproved, correciedy or tnjh'ucled, by what he does not or cannot under [land. And that it is inconfiftent, either with the IJ^ifdom o>' Goodnefs of God, to give us a Revelation to be a Guide to T'vuth, and a Rule of Righteoufnefs, %vhich is not eafy to be underflood by every hone/i En* quiver ^ Now from hence you infer, " That ** the Holy Scriptures are in their own Nature *' a plain, eafy, and intelligible Standard of " Truth, and Rule of Faith ; and that the " Difficulties in explaining them are of our own *' making, arifing not from any Obfcurity in " the Books themfelves, but from a natural or *^ moral Incapacity in the Readers or Interpre- *' ters/' Here, after you had granted the Scrips tures to be a plain, eafy, and intelligible Rule of Faith and Pradice to every honefi Enquirer y or to ail who are morally difpofed for it, and ^o not incapacitate themfelves, you prefently reaf- fume the Grant by a natural Incapacity -, for in order to a right underflanding of Scripture, in many very great and important Points rela- ting to both Faith and Pradice, you require a great deal of Knowledge and Skill in Lan- guages and Criticifm, and Ability to examine an4 Reflexions upon Reafon. 411 and compare the different Ufe and Acceptation of certain technical Words, and a thorough Ac- quaintance in Ecclefiaftical Hiftory. Now thefe are Qualifications which mull at leaft incapa- citate 9^9 in a 1000 of thofe, who might be o- therwiie bonefl Enquirer s^ and morally difpofed to receive and obey the Truth. But how comes it about, that while you here maintain the Scripture to be an eafy intelligible Standard and Rule of Faith and Pradice to every bonefl En- quirer^ and that it muft be inconfiftent with the VVifdom and Goodnefs of God to fuppofe otherwife, that you fuppofe at the fame Time not one in a Thoufand of thofe bonefl Enquirers capable of the right Ufe and Application of this plain and eafy Rule ? To what Purpofe is it that a Rule is plain in it felf, if it is above and beyond the natural Capacities of thofe for whom it is intended ? Every Thing I fuppofe is plain and intelligible enough in it felf; and the Reafon why we do not underftand every Thing, and are not omnifcient, is only forWant oi a natural Capacity. ^Tis inconfiftent then it feems with the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God, to give us a Rule of Faith and Pradice, which is not plain, eafy, and intelligible, to every honefl Enquirer 'y and yet God has given us fuch a Rule, which can only be underftood and ex- plained by Pbilofopbers and learned Men ; nay, which cannot be underftood by any inortal Man : for I hope you have not fo foon forgot your Notion of Myfieriesy or thofe Articles of Faith, which are necefl'ary to be believed in order to Salvation, and which are yet perfedly unintel- ligible, or above and beyond all human Rea- fon ap4 Comprehenfion. No Man c^n be 41 X An Examination of the taughty reprovedy correEledy or inflruBedy by what he does not or cannot underfland; and yet the prin- cipal Articles of the Chriftian Faith are fuch, as he does not and cannot underfland. The Scripture therefore, according to you, muft be a plain, eafy, intelligible Rule, that cannot be explain'd or underltood ,* and it mull doubt- leis very much conduce to the Convidion of Deijis and Infidehy to be taught from fo great a Mailer, that Chriflianity is a Syflem of very plain obfcure, eafy difficult, intelligible incom- prehenfible Dodrines. But 1 (hall farther confider this, when I come to the Account you ^ivQ of a fuper-ra- tional Spirit in Man, diflind from the rational Soul. At prefent, the Difficulty is how to re- concile Men in their different Notions and Ap- prehenfions concerning external ritual Worfhip, and Church-Government. Now here you mufi: allow, that the Scripture to the common People can be no Rule at all in thofe Matters, becaufe they want a natural Capacity, or fufficient Learning, to enable'and qualify them for fuch Enquiries. But you will fay, perhaps, that thefe unlearned Chriflians mufl be flill inexcu- fable, if they are not direded right and led inr to the Truth, becaufe there are learned Men enough of natural Cafacityy who are ready to aflifl them by due Information, and right In- flrudion. I mufl ask you then, who and where are thofe Men of natural Capacity and Integrityy whom all unlearned Chriflians ought to refer to, and be determined by in fuch Matters ? If the Right of Judgment and Decifion lies in you and the learned Men of your Varty^ you ought i^^ make it appear, and produce your Commif-^ fioni ReJle£iions upon Reafon. 413 fioti, fo as to fatisfy the learned honeft Men of all other Parties, and then you need not doubt ol: the common People. But what lurks at the Bottom is this, that there are no learned honeft Men of any other Church or Party but your own. If any Man is not of your Mind, in the difputable Points relating to Herefy, Schifm, ritual Wordiip, and Church- Government, it is for want of Learning or Integrity, and your Adverfaries are all either Fools or Knaves, or both. But if this be your Method of fecuring the Claims and Intercfts of a Party, I doubt not but there are learned impartial Men enough, even in the Church of England^ to defpife fuch a Defence. Your frequent applying the Cafe to the Mathematkks, in which the Learned are all agreed, is mere trifling. If you would have the Inftance parallel, you muft fuppofe the Ma- thematicians divided among themfelves into different Seds and Parties, all contradiding and oppoiing one another ; as is the Cafe with the learned Divines in the Matters you refer to ; and then tell me what Weight or Authority they ought to have with the common People, in thofe Matters concerning which they could never agree among themfelves. If the Mathe- maticians were no better agreed among them- felves about the feveral Arfedions and Rela- tions of Number and Quantity, than the warm Party-Zealots are, in the difputable Points re- lating to Rituals and Difcipline, and yet Ihould difcover the fame Heat and Rage in contend- ing for their repugnant and irreconcilable Hy- pothefes, they might very worthily be (lighted and defpifed. But the Cafe is quite othcrwife ; and I am perfwadcd your Argument will re- ceive 414 ^^ Examination of the ceive no Strength or Grace, by applying it to the Mathematicks . Let a Man's particular Scheme and Theory of fpeculative Belief, and external Rites and Modes of Worfhip and Church-Go- vernment, be what it will ,• if he fhall be too "Warm and zealous in contending for it, lay the whole Strefs of Chriftianity upon it, and tack the Criteria of his own Party to the Catholick Terms of Salvation and Acceptance with God ; the unprejudiced World will be apt to conclude, that there is Something more in it than he is willing to own, and that it is not fo much Re- ligion, and the Salvation of Souls, as the Power and Interell of his own Party, that he is thus , paffionately concerned about ; and how much foever a Defign may be coloured or difguifed, it is for the mofi; Part very eafy to difcover what Men are contending for, by their Manner of contending. From hence one can hardly be miflaken, in gueffing at the Reafon of your Anger and Refentments againft that moft excellent and truly Chriftian Prelate, who has fo bravely diftinguifhed himfeif in Defence of the Civil and Religious Rights .and Liberties of Mankind. His Lordfhip's ^ Scheme, like the Gofpel it felf, cafts a favour- able and benign Afped upon the World about him, and is not calculated to promote the fe- ■ cular exclufive Intereft and exorbitant Power of ■ a Party. He cannot juftify any Church upon Earth m afluming the Prerogatives of Chrift, and claiming a fpiritual Jurifdidion over the Hearts and Confciences of Men ; he fuppofes \ all Men to be equally good Chriflians, who e- qually fubmit to the Authority of Chrift, and who are equally and fincerely difpofed to know and Reflect tons upon Reafon. 415- and do the Will of God. The good Bifhop ever takes Care to diftinguiih betwixt the pe- culiar Tenets of this or the other Party, and the Catholick Terms of Chriftian Communion and Acceptance with God. Now this is treat- ing Mankind fairly, and doing as one would be done by ; for which it cannot be expeded, that Men of your Caft in Controverfy fhould . ever forgive his Lordfliip. Before I quit what relates to his Lordfhip, I muft here take a little Notice of the Abufe you offer him, with Regard to his Notion of Sincerity. You have often wondered you fay, p, 61. " What Reafon {except Reafons cf State ^ '^ which are always out of the Queftion) fhould " influence a Prelate of great Learning and Sa- *^ gacity, to fcatter fuch a loofe indigefted No- " tion among the giddy unliable Multitude ; *^ and to make it, as he feems to have done, the " chief, if not the only. Qualification for our " Acceptance with God. ■ The common *^ and popular Notion of Sincerity, is a plain, *' open, and undifguifed Behaviour ; and a fin- " cere Man is one that fays what he thinks, or '^ means what he fays. And I can afTure his *^ Lordfhip, whatever Intention he might have, *^ this is the Senfe in which the Generality of *' his Friends and Admirers underfland it ; who ^' upon his great Authority fpeak Peace to " their Confciences, and think themfelves ju~ ^' ilify'd before God and Man, for profefTing " openly what they really and fincerely believe, " be it in its own Nature true or falfe. So ^' that at this Rate there is t}o fuch Thing as *^ pofitiveTruth in .theGofpel ; or i'i there be, it */ is not neceflary to Salvation that ft fhould be 1' known. 41 6 yin Examination of the *' known. There is at this Rate, no neceflary '' Connexion betwixt evangelical Truth and e- '^ vangelical Holinefs : So that had there been *' no Scripture given by Infpiration ofGody a Man *' might have been ferjeEt and throughly furnified to *^ all good Works", You here charge upon the Generality of his Lordfliip's Friends and Ad- mirers, a very grofs and dangerous Notion of Sincerity ; in which Senfe you fay his Lordfliip has been generally underftood, whatever he in- tended ; and that Men fpealc Peace to their Con- fciences herein upon his Lordfhip's Authority, I believe I may claim, at leaft, the Honour of as large an Acquaintance among his Lordfhip^s Friends and Admirers, as you can pretend to ; and yet fo far as my Acquaintance and Infor- mation go, I can aflure his Lordfhip, that the quite contrary to all this is true. And if you cannot produce any one learned Divine, or Ca- fuift, who has ever confidered or treated of re- ligious Sincerity in this grofs miftaken Senfe ; if you cannot find any one learned Man a- mong his Lordfhip's Friends and Admirers, who has efpoufed his Caufe, or appeared in his De- fence, and who has thus underftood his Notion and Account of Sincerity ; nay, if you cannot produce any of thofe among the Generality of his Lordfhip's common Friends, and unlearned Admirers, w ho have ever been led into fuch a Miftake by his Lordlhip's Writings, or who fpeak Peace to their Confciences upon any fuch Foundation : I fay, if you can do nothing of all this, as I verily believe you cannot, I mud here appeal to the Publick, whether you are not obliged folemnly to repent and humble your felf before God, and to ask Pardon of his Lordfhipj, I y^ RefleElions 7ipo?t Reafon. 417 Lordfhip, and the World, for this open and notorious Piece of pure Calumny raid Scandal > Sincerity, in his Lordfhip's Account, confifts ia^, a Man's acting up with Steadinefs and Rcfo- I lurion to that which f!iall appear juft and rca- fonable to his own Underftanding, after a f.ee impartial and unprejudiced Enquiry, I have never met with any one of his Lord- fhip's Friends who has underftood him other- wifei and I think it is hardly polTible for any Man, without the deepeft Prejudice, and wil- ful Blindnefs, to underftand him in any other Senfe. His Lcrdfhip's Notion of Sincerity, is evidently the very fame with that, which you have been forced to efpoufe and declare for, your felf: But the Difference lies here, that his Lordfhip can allow Men to be very fincere and honeft in their Enquiries, (confidering their different Capacities, Talents, and Opportuni- ties,) tho^ they fhould-, after all, differ very confiderably in their Judgments concerning feveral fpeculative Points of Belief, and the different Rites and Modes of external Wor- fhip, and Church-Government ; whereas you (for fuch feems to be the Completion of your Confcience) can allow no Man to be impartial and unprejudiced in his Enquiries, ''till he comes into your Scheme, and makes himfelf of your Party. For my own Part, tho' I caa eafily grant that a Man might be v^ery fincere and honeft in his Enquiries, who fliould give into the Scheme which you have here ad- vanced ; yet I am apt to think that his fup- pofed Clearnefs, or great Satisfidion in it,' muft be owing to a certain T)e^e6t in his Un- derftanding, which he is not fenlible of In E e your 4i8 An Examination of the your Way of Talking, it miglit fcem a little unaccountable, how a Man's being adually in the right in all the Parts of his religious Scheme, fhould be neceflary to Salvation j and yet, that there are fom(j Errors in Judgment concerning fuch Matters, which are not damna- ble. Now, to clear up this Difficulty, you have found out a very remarkable Diftindion ; and you tell us, p. 63. " Tho' I do not pro- *' nounce e\tty Error of Judgment to be dam- " nable, God forbid ! yet I do affert, that fo *' far as we are in Error, fo far are wc out of " the Way of Salvation, tho* we fancy we are ^' in the right/' I cannot eafily reconcile what you fay here, either to Truth or common Senfe. You allow that there are fome Errors in thefe Matters, which are not damnable ; no, God forbid ! and yet all Error, fo far as a Man is in it, puts him out of the Way of Salvation. If therefore he be really in it, it muft really put him out of the Way of Salvation ; but if he be only in Danger of it, or inclined to- wards it, it can only endanger his Salvati- on. I cannot perceive the Difference betwixt a damnable Error, and an Error that puts a Man out of the Way of Salvation. But what you feem to aim at is this. Men may be partly out of the Way of Salvation, and partly in it. Some Errors put a Man quite out of the Way of Salvation, and fome but half-way, or partly out. ^Perhaps it may be owing to the Dullnefs of my Apprehenfion, but I muft own that I cannot conceive this ; it feems to me, that e- very Man muft be either in, or out of the Way of Salvation : but if there be a middle State, I would ask, what muft become of this middling fort Reflections upon Re a [on. 419 fort of People ; will they be either fave J, or damned, or neither ? And fince all Error is not damnable, and yet all Error jo far puts a M^n out of the Way of Salvation, I would ask, how far, upon your Principles, a Man may befaved, out of the Way of Salvation ? I hope, you will take fome proper Opportunity farther to dear up and fettle this very important Point. If you Would do this, it might pofTibly give you an Occafion to difcover all the dark Receilcs of a Scheme, which I Hnd you have not hitherto thoroughly examined. But i mud not forget the oracular Decilion you have made, concern- ing the Point of Schifm, between the Church and Diifenters; which I the more willingly take Notice of, becaufe it may ferve as a notable Inftance of your Skill and Authority in deci- ding Controverfies, p. 58. '' The Nature and " Guilt of Schifm is yet plainer to be under- *' flood, as depending on fewer and more fim- *' pie Ideas ; fo that a moderate Share of Un- *' derflanding, with due Attention, Sincerity,' " and Ingenuity, cannot fail to give a Man a *' right Notion of it : And did I not know. ^^ the monftrous Artifice and Impudence of fome " of the Leaders, and the more than fuperfti- *^ tious Credulity of the Herd, I fhould be *' as much furpriz'd at the feveral Separations; *^ from the Church of Englandy as I fhould, to '^ fee a whole Nation at Logger-Heads upon *' the Queftion, whether a Triangle had three. '^ Sides as well as three Corners! And yet *^ they all talk gravely of their Reafon, and " offer many Reafons, as they call them, *^ for their Separation ; which confifl: of «^ a certain Cant, an odd Form of incoherent E e a t Words, 4XO An Examination of the " WordSj uttered with a formal Countenance, *' which are handed thro' the Crowd, by * a feWj who are in the Diredion of the Par- *^ ty i who muft certainly aEi upon Reafcm, * but fucb as they dare not own to the abujed Mid- ^ titude I who are led by the mere Force of emp- * ty Sounds, artfully apply 'd, into the moil * abfurd Notions, and unreafonable Practices. ^" There is, for indance, a natural Malignity *• in the Words Popery ^ Popifl), Ami-cbriflian, *• the Mafsy Hierarchy y &c. The Sound of them * implies Error, Confulion, Tyranny, the De- *■ vil, and all his Works. On the other Hand, *'' there is a Scul-faving Sweetnefs, a native *' Benignity in the Words, Protcflam Religion^ *^ GcfpehOrdinanceS:, Moderation, Edification, &C. *' by a right Application of w^hich, the Popu- *^ lace an:ong them are as abfolutely led and di- *• rccted, as any Piece of Machinery upon Mr. •^ Pozvel's Theatre. ■ Upon the whole, they f' make as unreafonable Pretences to Reafor, ** and Freedom of Thought, as their Brethren *' the Free-thinkers; and I muft take the Liberty ** to fay, that till they are able to prove, by a *^ clear and evident Chain of Reafon, that the *^ Terms of Communion with the Church of En- y gland are unreafonable and finful, they muft *' not take it ill to be told, that they are guilty of *' Schifm, or a caufelefs Separation from a found *^ Branch of the Catholick Church. Nor will it •^ avail them any Thing to infift upon their Sin- *^ cerity ; a Plea that may with as much Pro- *' priety be urged in Defence of Treafon, or •^ Horfe-ftealing, as of Herefy or Schifm/' Such a Piece of Don Qjiixotifm as this, might hai^e paf- fed perhaps as a notable fmart Declamation in an Rejle&ions upon Reafofi. 421 an Univerfity, and ha\c been kindly taken by fome implicit believing Zealots, who come to Church on Sundays only to be furjiifhcd with Matter of Raillery for the Week. Eut many Things, which might do well enough among Friends, are not fo proper for a more general Infpedion. The World will certainly diOin- guifli betwixt Railing, and Rcafoning^ and therefore I cannot but wonder you fliould trufl: this to a publick Examination and Scrutiny. However, ycu acted prudently in conceal- ing your Name, lince it can never be either for the Interefl; or Honour of thofe, who are im- ploy'd in fuch Work, to be perfonally known. As to the Diflenters taking it ill to be cali'd Schifmaticks, you need not be in any Pain, Sir : For after fo frank a Declaration of your Kindnefs, I dare engage for them, that they will not think any Thing you cnn fay to be a Matter of much Scandal ; and they ought ra- ther I think- to glory in it, that you have fo ill an Opinion of them, after you have plainly difcovered your great Abilities againft them. Whatever the Separation be betwixt the Con- formifls and Non-conformi(ls, it is certainly mutual, and they both equally and alike fepa- rate from one anothei^ Suppofe then, that to carry on the Jeft, I (hould let the Kirk of Scot- land againfl you, and tell you roundly, that till you can prove by a clear and evident Chain of Reafony that the Terms of Communion vvith that Kirk are tinreafoyiahle and finful, you mufl: not take it ill to be told, that you are guilty of ScLifm, or a caufelefs Separation from a found Branch of the Catholick Church. If you fhould fay, that the Model of Government, and Terms E e 3 of ^%z An Examination of the of Communion in that Church, have been al- ready fufficiently demonflrated tobeunreafonable and finful, by many able and learned Menj a true Kirk Man will as abfolutely deny this, and as poficively inliil: on the contrary j and then he would be even with you, and have faid as much in Defence of his own Church, as you have in Defence of yours. But what do you here mean by a jouud Branch of the Catbolkk Church ? Is ycur Church found in every Thing; in all Points of Faith and Pradice, without Excep- tion ? Have you nothing amifs among you ? No Flaws in the Conflitution > Nothing at all that needs Amendment ? If this be the Cafe you are very happy^ Tpex(^d\y found indeed; and 'tis great Pity you fhould not be able to make it ap- pear, by a clear and evident Chain ofReafon. This however, I fuppofe, is what you will not pre- tend to make as evident, as it is that a Trian- gle has three Sides as well as three. Corners. If therefore you muft content your felf with be- ing found in Fundamentals, found in all the Ellentials of Chriflianity, or in every Thing relating to the Catholick Terms of Communion and Acceptance w ith God ; if this be the only Soundnefs you can rcafonably pretend to, why, I befeech you, may not o'thcr Churches, other Branches of the Catholick Church, be as found as yours, notwithilanding their different Form and Model of external Worfhip and Church- ^ Government > All true Chriflians who believe ' and pradice every Thing the Scripture has made neceffary to Salvation, muft I fuppofe be of one Church and one Communion, even of the Catholick Church, whatever other Marks or Charaderifticks thejr may be diftingui^ed ReHe&ions upon Reafon. 413 by, with Regard to external Difcipllne, and Modes of Worfhip. If that Faith and Repen- tance, %vhich the Gofpel requires^ as the Means oi our Juftification and Acceptance with God, be not fufficient to Catholick Unity and Communion, unlefs Men agree likewife in one external Form of Church- Govern- ment and ritual Worfhip i 'tis plain, there can be no fuch Thing as a Catholick Churcii upon Earth ; but the Church of England in p.irticu- lar, and all other Churches, mud: be Schifma- tical with refpeft to each other : And this will conftitute not the Catholick Church, or tlie fpiritual Kingdom of Chriff, but a confufed Medley and Jumble of fecular Parties and Fac- tions. When thofe who (hould be the Mini- fters of Peace and Reconciliation, not content- ing themfelves with the Catholick Terms of Communions as laid down in »SVr//?2^^/r^,fhall form Parties and Fadions, upon fecular Views and Interefts of their own, and endeavour to fave Mens Souls by fetting the World together by the Ears, they make themfelves the Subjt^ds of Ridicule i and the Ridicule will be juif from ■what Quarter fdever it comes; even tho' it fhould be laid in by Atheiflsy D^ifls, and Idfi- dels. But however you may fometimes^ to ferve a Turn, cry up our legal Church Conflitutioii as the beft in ^orld ; I could name you many Things, which have been loudly and bitterly complained of, by the Gentlemen of your Prin- ciples, as great and fore Evils in the Church as eftablifhcd by Law. What, I befcech you in the Name of a High Church-man, can you think of a Church, that has fo far betray'd her Truft, and the Chriftian Caufe, as to have gi- E e i^ sx\y 4^4 ^^^ Examination of the veil up and fubjeded all the Powers and Spiri- tualities of Chrifl's Kingdom, to a Civil Jurif- diction ? What, upon your own Principles, can you think of a Church, that claims I know not what fort of Authority, after fhe has given up and fworn away all Authority to the Crown ? I hope, Sir^ you are a good Church-man, and that you do not repent your Oaths -, and therefore if you can find any Authority, that is neither Ecclefiauicai nor Civil, nor of any Sort or Kind whatever, I Ihall reodily fubmit to you in all Matters, wliich niay happen to fall under fuch a Jurifdidion. Now, fetting afide the Autho- rity of the Church, which, 1 hope we may lawfully do, after the Church her felf has re- nounced all Authority upon Oath; I would fain know what Obligation the Diffenters are un- der to Conformity, or how they come to be Schifmaticks, for not worfhipping God accord- ing to the liuman Rites and Forms of the Church of EriglancU It will be to no Purpofe here to fay, that the Terms of Conformity are not in themfelves finful ; or that nothing is re- quired upon the Foot of any human Authori- ty, but Things indifferent : For let this be fup- ' pofed at prefent, let the Things required be in their own Nature and common Ufe ever fo in- different) or even trifling ; yet Hill where there is no Authority, there can be no.Obligation to Obedience ; and the Juftice and Equity of throwing off any Claim of Authority, where there is no Right, will always be a fufficient Reafon 'for Non-fubmifTion. Befides, if the Things impofed are indifferent, why are they made neceflary ? Nothing I think can be more fibfurd, tb^n to pretend by any human Au- thority Reflexions upon Reafon. 425' thority to alter the Nature oF Things. If the Crojs ill Baptilm, tor In (lance, is inditferent, why is it infeparably tack'd to a divine Inftitu- tion ? And why mull Ciiildren be denyM Cap- tifm, if their Parents cannot be fatisty'd in the Expediency or Lawkdnefs of it ? Let me add, that Thini^s which are in their own Na- ture indiilerent or law tul, may not appear foj to every one ah'ke. Natural V/eaknefs, or an unavoidable Tendernefs of Confcience, may fometimes occafion even groundlefs Scruples, where there is no finful Prejudice or PafTion in the Way : And muft all fuch be excluded from Chriftian Communion, and given to the Devil, only for want of a better Underflanding, or a flronger Faith ? The Church, I fuppofe, as a tender Mother, ought to take a prudent Care of all her Children, and not nourifli and che- rifh the flrong and healthy only, and call: the weak and fickly away. If a weak or fickly Child has an Averfion to a particular Difh, tho' perhaps it may be owing to his Diflemper, why fhould he be cramm'd with it; or call out of the Family and the Mother's Bofom, to perifti for want of Food, becaufe he cannot' feed as the ftrong and healthy do ? You may fuppofe therefore, if you pleafe, that the Diillnters are under a natural Incapacity to Conformity ; let their Scruples, if you will, be owing to an in- curable Weaknefs of Undcrftanding ; yet flill you ought to remove the Ground of thofe Scruples, efpccially when by your own Ac- knowledgment the Matter of their Complaint is only Things indifterent, and fuch as may be altered at Pkafure. The Church might cer- tainly leave Men to their Liberty in Things in- 4x6 An Examination of the indifferent, and this is all that is defired. To deflroy Liberty in Things indifferent, is to exercife Authority only for Authority's fake ; which is the more inexcufable, becaufe it lays the Impofer under a Self-condemnation, and the Neceflity of confeffing the Impofition to be iieedlefs. 1 have faid all this upon your own Suppofition, that the Terms of Conformity are in all Refpccts Lawful', yet it will not follow from hence, that they are necejjaryy or that we are under any Obligation of fubmitting to them. But atter all, the Lawfulnefs of any mere human pofitive Rites and Inftitutions, in the ^Worfhip of God, has never yet been clear'd. ' Let a Thing be ever fo indifferent or lawful in its own Nature^ and in civil and common Ufe ; yet it cannot be infer'd from hence, that Men may introduce and pradife it in the VVorftiip of God, under a fpiritual and religious Signifi- cation ; becaufe this takes the Thing off from its natural and common Ufe, and applies it to another Purpofe, without any fufEcient Autho- rity. Doubtlefs you would think your felf very 'well juftiFy'd in any of the Rites and Ceremo- nies of the Church, if one fhould not be able to produce any clear exprefs Texts in which they are forbidden ; and yet this is evidently a wrong Rule, and a Principle upon which a ;Thouiand other Ceremonies and human Infli- Tutions might at any Time be introduced, and the Chriflian Service rendered more grievous ,and burdenfome than the Law of Mofes. And it will be no good Anfwer to this Queflion, IVho hath requird thefe Things at your Hands ? to fay, that they were not forbidden,^ or that they were only in themfelves Things indifferent. A ReJle£tio?is upon Reafon, 4x7 A Man might kill a Calf in his own Houfe, cat fome Parts of it and burn the reft, and this in its natural and common Ufe would be an indifferent Adion : But \s ho will fay, that therefore the Church may infticute fuch a Prac- tice in her publick Service, as a Part of Reli- gion and divine Worfhip ? The extreme Dif- ference in thefe two Cafes muft be vifible to every Body. The facrilicing of Dcgs in the Temple was no where forbidden in the Law of Mofesy and yet we know that fuch an Oft'ering muft have been an Abomination to the Lord. And why the Sacrifice of a Dog fo abominable more than that of a Goat^ I fuppofe it would be hard to find any Reafon in the Nature of the Thing. But the true Reafon is plainly this, be- caufe there was a Command in the one Cafe, and none in the other. It might be wiflied therefore, that thofe who are fo fond in fome Cafes of imitating the Le- gal Priefthood, and introducing real Sacrifices into the Chriftian Service, would but confider how punftually thefe Levitical Priefts kept to their divine Inititution, and never receded from it in any one Particular, but God in fome re- markable Way or other difcovered his Indig- nation and Difpleafure. Thefe Conliderations, to mention no more at prefent, leem to me to have fome Weight in them. But I hope you will take a proper Opportunity to make the contrary as evident, as that a Triangle muft have three Sides, as well as three Corners; and that the Diflentcrs are ftill as inexcufable in their Separation, as Tiui- tors and Horfe-fleflkrs, JIaving 4x8 An Examination of the Having thus knock'd down the Difltnters, you proceed in the fame Maflerly Way, to put an End to the Trinitarian Controverfy,* p. 6<), '' And as for our Arian Adverfarics, *^ who talk more of their Reafon, and as " much of their Sincerity, as the Sehifmaticks ; *^ the learned World will foon have a very " mean Opinion of either, unlefs they quit *' their Pretenfions to both, after having been ** fo clearly, fo rationally, fo learnedly confu- *^ ted, by thofe many eminent Defenders of the *' Catholick Faith, that have of late glorioufly " diftinguifhed themfelves in that Controver- *^ fy." What the learned World will conclude concerning thefe Defender Sy or what Reputation they will fecure to themfelves by that Time the Controverfy is ended, I cannot exadly deter- mine ; but one Thing I am pretty fure of, that the learned World mull have but a mean Opi- nion of your Performance, and that the Caufe of Orthodoxy is very little indebted to you for its Defence. But you feem to have been aware, that your Scheme could not be defended upon the Principles cfRcafon; and therefore not daring to venture your felf farther among thefe Quick- fands,you think it expedient, towards the Clofe of your Book, to become invifible, by quitting the Body and the rational Soul, while you af- fume the Charfl(:R:er and talk in the Quality of a Super-rational Spirit. And having thus left the Regions of Mortality, foar'd above the third Heavens, and clothed your felf with myfterious inacceffible Light; you look down with Majefty and Contempt upon thofe poor groveling Crea- tures, who have no other perceptive Powers but Sen(e and Reafon, and who, for want of fpiritual Faculties, Refections upon Reafon. 419 Faculties, are as much inferior to your fuper-ra- tional Dignity, as a Worm is to an Angel. You tell us, p. 66, " That there are in every true " Chrillian, three diftinft Conftituent Princi- ** pies, Body, Soul, and Spirit ; each of which *' have their diftind Powers, Faculties, and '' OiEces." Here 'tis plain, that you confideruhe Spirit as* an immaterial Subflance, or Subjed of Agency and Properties diflind from the Soul. You juft after indeed call the Spirit a Faculty y but then you call the Soul it felf a Faculty too ; from whence one would think, that you make no Diflindion in your Philofophy between Sub- fiances and Attributes, Agents and Faculties, or at leaft, that you know not what to make of this Spirit^ nor are much concerned what other People think of it, provided they will but al- low you to have faid fomething extraordinary; and this I fuppofe will be readily granted. You leave us at Liberty, to fuppofe this Spirit to be a Subftance or a Property, a Subjed, a Prin- ciple, a Faculty, or what we pleafe. For my own Part, I am not much concerned to enquire w^hat it is; but I fhall fettle the Account with you, in reference to the Body ^nd the Soul olM^n, and having allotted thefe their Due, you will have my free Leave to make the moft of what remains for the Spirit. It may be worth while here to confider the Reafon you aflign, why there muft be fuch a Spirit in Man, as a Sub- jed or Principle of Adions and Properties, di- ftind from the ratioml Soul ; and that is, be- caufe other wife, as you imagine, we could have no poflible Communication with the fpiritual World, or be capable of forminj^ any Ideas but of bare material Objcds. For you tell us, that 43 o An Examination of the that, *' By our bodily Senfes we converfe with *' this material World, furvcy the feveral Parts ** of Matter, examine their Forms, Bulks, Di- *' menfions, and other fenfible Qualities : From '' hence we raife Ideas, which are lodged in *^ the Memory, or painted on the Imagina- *^ tion \ and to judge of thefe, to compare their *^ feveral Habitudes and Relations, and draw *' Conclufions, is the li^hole Province of Rea* " fo«." Here you w'ould perfuade us, that the ra- tional Soul has no Ideas or Perceptions but thofe of Senfation only; fuch as are excited in the Mind, by the ImpreiTions of material Objeds upon the Senfories of material Organs, as the Ideas of Extenjion^ Solidity^ FigurCy Motion^ Colour J Sound, &c. and confequently, that with- out fome Principle, or Faculty, fuperior to Reafon, we could never form any Idea of a fpi- ritual Being, or of any Thing but material Objefts, and their feveral Modes, Relations, and Analogies, to one another. I would here ask you, in the firfl Place, whether thofe Ideas of Senfation before mentioned, are not them- felves purely imm.aterial, and Modifications of the fpiritual immaterial Soul ? Thofe Ideas which are the immediate Objeds of your Senfe and Perception, are certainly immaterial ; and tho* they give you Notice of the feveral Pro- perties and Relations of Bodies without you, yet the Ideas themfelves I fuppofe are not Mat- tery or any Thing Corporeal. And therefore in thefe very SenfationSy you know as much of Spirit as you do of Matter ; you hereby perceive certain Modes and Attributes of Spirity and this is all that you can kiiow of Matter. But then • yoa Rejle&ions upon Re a f on. 431 you here allow farther, that the Soul has a Power of refleding and reafoning upon, of ab/lrading, compounding, and comparing its Ideas, in order to difcover their mutual Habi- tudes and Relations, by which we form Pro- fofitions, and come to the Knowledge of gene- ral ahflraEl Truths. Now by reflecting upon thcfe rational Operations of the Mind, which are them- felves the Objeds of our Perception, we derive and form to our felves an intirely new Set or Clafs of Ideas, as diftind: and different from the Ideas of Senfation, as the necefl'ary mechanical Motion of a Body, is from the intelligent free Agency ot a Spirit. In this Way we come by the Ideas of Perception, Volition, Intelligence, Rea- fon. Liberty, active Power, &c. and 1 hope you will not fay that thefe are reprefentative of any Thing in Bodies ; or that the abflrading, com- pounding, comparing, and reafoning about, thefe and fuch like Ideas, can carry us no far- ther than the material IVorld. Again, by re- flecting upon our klvQS, and the rational Ope- rations of our own Soulsy we find that our ra- tional free Adions have certain Relations of Fitnefs or Unfitnefs, Conformity or Difcon- formity to the Nature and Rcafon of Things; and from hence we form the Ideas of IVifdom and Folly, J iifiice and Injuflice, Right av\d IVrong^ and the feveral Modes and Relations of Virttie and Vice, moral Good and Evil; which n re lim- ply and purely Attributes and Qualifications of Spirit, and of which we find not the leafl Trace or Appearance in the whole Syftem cf Bodies, or the material M'^orld. Having thus ob- tained the Ideas of Intelligence, V?ifdom, Li- berty, and adive Power, together with the fe- veral 43 X /In Examination of the veral moral Relations of qur rational free Ac- tions, we form an Idea of Gody or a Being of infinipe abfolute Perfedion, only by attributing all the limited finite Perfections we find in our feives to God in an infinite Degree, and re- moving trom Him whatever we conceive as implying any Thing of Weaknefs, Defed, or Impertedion. Here then is a rational, intel- ligible, and accountable Method of communi- cating with the Spiritual World, and with God the infinite Spirit, w'ithout your Contrivance of a fuper-rational Spirit in Man, diflind from the rational Soul And therefore, fhould we fuppofe this Spirit to be a mere Phantom, and Creature of your own Imagination ; yet w^e Ihould not be fo intirely deflitute, as you imagine, of all the pofTible Means of obtaining our fupreme Felicity. From hence perhaps it may appear, that what you call a moft certain Metaphyfical Axiom, That nothing can he in the Under ft andingy that vcas not firfl in the Senfes ; that this, I i^y, is fo far from being moji certain, that there is nothing either of Truth or. common Senfe in it. And indeed, w^hen the Method of forming our Ideas of fpirituai intelligent Beings, had been fo clearly and demonflratively ex- plained and accounted for by the new Philofo- phers, upon the Principles of Reafon ; ^tis won- derful methinks that fo great a Mafter at this Time of Day fliould throw it all off, with- out afTigning any Reafons againfl: it ; and fly to an old exploded fcnfelefs Axiom in the Pagan Philofophy, and to the new and vain Pretence of an immediate Infpiration, and the Intuition of the Logosy tiiie eflential Wifdom and Reafon of God, by a fuper-rational Spirit in Man, diftind and RefieHions upon Reafon. j^n from the rational Soul. However, if you will but do that Juftice to the Soul of Man, as to allow her her own proper Ideas of Senfation and RefleEliony as they fland already in our publick Lifls, I fuppofe it may be long enough before you will find a third and diltind Clafs, as peculiar to the Spitit. This I think is plain, that you have not obliged us with any fucli new Ideas i which gives one a fhrewd Sufpi- cion that you had no fuch to produce ; and that not being able to talk clear and confiftent Senfe upon the Subjed you had undertaken, you were yet refolved, rather than fay nothing, to talk unintelligibly about it. I have the Honour to be acquainted with feveral Gentlemen of good Senfe, and confiderable Abilities, both among the modern Orthodox and modern Hereticks, but cannot find one Man who pretends to have the leaft Notion of this fuper-ratioml Spirit^ or what its Ideas, Perceptions, and Operations are 5 and yet was there any fuch Thing, tho' the carnal and rational Man perhaps might not underftand it, doubtlefs the fpiritual M^n muft, unlefs the Spirit be fuppofed faft aflecp in them too, as having never been once awakened by Baptifm and Regeneration. If there be any Se- cret in your Application of that fort of Baptifm, which is necelTary to awaken this Spirit by Re- generation, you would have done well to have reveal'd this Myftery to the World ; and when you found us fuch perfed Idiots in Theology, and the Dodrine of Spirits, methinks 'tis great Pity you fliould have left us fo without your farther AiTiflance. But fince you pretend to ground this Diflinciion, or rather Coriftifion, of intelligent Subjects, Souls and Spirits, upon Scrip- F f turej 454 ^^ Examination of the ture ; it may not be amifs perhaps to take a lit- tle Notice of what you fay upon that Score, f. 62>* " From thefe three diftincl Principles, *^ arifes that Diftinftion in Holy Scripture, *' between 'Zccfy-'^KU, the carnal Man, the *f;^*»04, *' or natural Man, and the ni-jy^mos, or fpi- *' ritual Man. The carnal Man is under the *' Dominion of the Flefh, whofe whole De- ** light is in gratifying his flefhly Appetites; *' and thefe make up the Bulk of Mankind, ^^ and differ from the natural Man, as a faga- *' cious Brute does from a Man of Senfe. The *' natural Man is he that has improved his ra- *' tional Faculties, and prefers the Exercife of *' his Underftanding, before the Gratification ** of his Senfcs ; thefe are the great Mailers of ^' Reafon, the Leaders of the Free-thinking I'rilpe, *' cunning Statefmen, acute Philofophers, *' good Linguifts, and Orators ; but yet are *' as much inferior to the fpiritual Man, as <' the moft illiterate Labourer or Mechanick, <' to the mod: fubtle Philofopher and Politician. " Thefe* three diftin(!H: Principles have their " proper Objeds adapted to them, in the moft *' exad Harmony and Proportion. So that as ** in the natural Body, the Eye cannot perceive *' the Harmony of Sounds, nor the Ear appre- *' hend the Beauty of Colours, nor the Sym- *^ metry of Proportion ; nor any one Senfe *' tafte or apprehend what are the proper Ob- *' jeds of another : And as the united Power *' of all the Senfes cannot apprehend, much ** lefs demonftrate any abftrad Truth, ho more *^ than a Man can fmell a Syllogifm, or eat a *' Demonftration ; fo neither can all the Pow- f ers of Reafon apprehend thofe fpiritual I' Truths, Rejle&io/is upon Re a [on. 435* *^ Truths, and Myllerles of Religion, which " are only to be apprehended by the Spirits " which is, with Regard to them, the fame as *' the Organs of Senfe are to their proper Ob- *' jcds. Hence it is evident, that he who ** would judge, determine, and purfue, the '^ pradical Conclufions of thofe Determina- '' tions, about the Nature and Properties of " fpiritual and divine Things, by his Reafon, " ads as contrary to Reafon, as he who fiiould ^^ attempt to fee without Eyes, or hear with- " out Ears/' You here invent a Diftind-tion between 5:otfx»»o5_, and 4'«'a;*«oS the carnal and the natural Man, without the leaft Founda- tion or Appearance of Reafon in the Holy Scriptures. Thefe Terms in Scripture are e- very where ufed indifterently and without Di- (lindion, as expreffive of the very fame perfo- nal Charad:eriiHcks, Tempers, and Difpoiitions of Mind. The Fle(h and the Shinty with the different Effeds and Fruits of each, are every where oppofed as dired Contraries, without the leaft Hint or Intimation in Scripture, of any intermediate Principle , that is neither Flefh nor Spirit. You feem to take fome Ad- vantage from our Enghflo Tranflation of the Word ^^«A:;. 50, 51. Nay, even themoft abftraded and fpeculative Points of Divinity, the mofi: fubtle and refined Attributes and Re- lations of fpiritual Beings, in Reference to - Jullification, Predeflination, &c. were then properly within ths yerge and Province of Reafon^ and Rejle&ions upon Reafon, 439 and might be very eafily and plainly accounted for, by a Perfon of right Reajony and an honefl Hearty p. 57. But now you are got into your fpiritual fuper-rational Altitudes, all this is re- call'd and revoked : Now, to examine and judge concerning the Modes, Properties, and Relations of Bodies and material Objeds, is the whole Province oj Reafon, Reafon is now tied down to Matter and Mechanical Motion, and cannot carry her Views or Inquiries one Hair's Breadth beyond the bare Intelligence of the Ifodily Senfes : 'Xis the Spirit only that can judge of Spirits : The rational Soul is a grofs material Thing ; but little, if at all, fuperior to the perceiving thinking material Organs ,• and he who fliould go about to examine, or judge of the Nature, Properties, and Relations of Jpiritual Beings y by his Reafony would aft as con-- trary to Reafon, as he who fliould pretend to fee without Eyes, or to bear without Ears. But thofe who can approve of, or embrace fuch an Hy- pothefis, muft I fuppofe be neither rational nor fuper-rational ; and whatever your Faith be, fure I am that your Scheme is abfurd^ fenfelefs, and contrary to Reafon. If you think that no rational human Soul ought to have made fo free with the human Spirit y I have only this to fay for my felf, that you had drefs'd up and rcprefented your Spirit in fuch a manner, that I could not forbear laughing at it ; and if the fpiritual Men cannot take the Ridicuky they ought not to pour out their Contempt and Raillery upon others, without Argument or Reafon. I am. Sir, in reference to all the Obligations oF Juftice and Charity, . . ,, , . Tout humhk Servanty MarlborouBha rp \.g g^si^ass^'t^siSi^a^ POSTSCRIPT T O Enthuftafm in Diftrefs. OCCASIONED By a Pamphlet, intitled, Compre- henfion more froferly than Enthufiafm in T>iftrefs: Said to be written by- one Mr. Peter Nisbet, in De- fence of Thilekuthertis Britannkus. POSTSCRIPT T O Enthujiafm in Dijtrefs. ^'^T^^^W^VO^ my publifhing the ^"Eds^M^?^ Letter to PUleleutherus Bri- ^ tannicusy occafion'd by his RefleSlions upon Reafon, the learned Gentleman who had taken that Name, endea- voured at firft to perfuade the People, that what I had offered againft him was of noConfequence; that as fuch it ought to be flighted ; and that he, for his own Part, had other Fifh to fry, and did not intend to trouble his Head at all about it. But when he found the popular Tor- rent bear too ftrong upon him ,* and that Peo- ple of ail Perfuafions generally ran into the Opi* nion, that he had fome other Reafon for not defending himfelf, than what he ailign'd ; and that 444 -e^PoSTSCRIPT tO that the true Reafon was not proper to be given : This feem'd to provoke him into a Re- folution of undeceiving the World in a Matter which fo nearly concerned his Charader, as an able learned Man. And now his moft intimate Friends freely opened themfelves in Converfa- tion upon it, declaring, that the Author of the Refletiiom, &c. had determined upon a Reply ; that a flinging one was gone to the Prefs ; that he would clearly ev^ince how much I had beea miftaken in myAdverfary ; and make a publick Example of me, for theWeaknefs and Prefump- tion of attacking him. But it foon appeared, that the learned Author had taken Wit again in his Anger : For having been convinced by fome of the ableft of his Friends in London^ whom he had confulted a- bout it, that both his ovsn Reputation^ and the Inter efl of T'mth, requirM his Silence i he re- fumes his Refolution as ftrong as ever, to keep himfelf on the fafeft Side, and to make fure of faying nothing amifs, by faying nothing at aU, Here then is our learned Author's Prudence ; and no doubt but he is infallibly in the right, that the Iriith is beft fecur'd, by refolving not to defend it. 1 fhall not enter upon the Detail of this Gentleman's private Management. I envy him not the Honour he gains, by fhuffling up and down, among truily Friends, a ftill-born Pro- dudion of his own, fill'd with bitter Revilings, and the moft grofs Mifreprefentations, which he dares not expofe to publick View. Nor fhall I prefume to fay, how many Letters he has re- ceiv'd from Gentlemen of the moft eftablifh'd Reputation for Learning and Piety, with Thanks and Enthufiafm in T)i/Irefs. 445- and Compliments for his Performance ,* or how fecure he is in the good Opinion oF himfelf^ upon their Authority and liis oim. I'hele, and fuch like Shitts, to fave the Credit of a dying Authory may afford Matter of Speculation and Difcourfe at Marlborough j but it does not at all concern the reft of theWorld, who ought noc therefore to he troubled with it. No fooner had the Author of the RefleEliom refolved to give up the Ghofl^ but out comes a printed Letter, direded to me, as from one Mr. Peter Nishet of Briflol. Whether there be any fuch Perfon in Being or no, I cannot tell, nor am I at all concerned to enquire ; my Bufi- nefs is only to confider, what the Author of the Letter has faid to the Purpofe, and whether he has indeed faved the Honour of his deceafed Friend by an handfome Funeral. A decent In^ terment is fuppofed to be the leaft Refped a Man can pay to a dead Friend : But, in my Opinion , Mr. Nisbet has been merry quite out of Time and Place : Such Airs are not fo proper for a Houfe of Mourning ; and inftead of being fo gay, it would perhaps have been more fui table to the Occafion, if he had fe- rioufly bethought himfelf, that his own Turn might come next. Mr. Nisbet ought to have been very fcrious at fuch a Solemnity, and not have turned his Friend's Obfequies into a Theatrical Piece of Mockery. But let us fee how he behaves upon this Occafion. •And here the firft Thing he introduces, is a certain Engine, contrived by the late Author, to preferve the World from the Flames, and pre- vent a general Conflagration. With this En- gine, as he pretends, his Friend might have done 44^ ^ Postscript* to done great Service, if I could but have let him gone on with it, and had not difturbtd him and his good Workmen, vvhile they were play- ing it. But what does Mr. N'nbet mean by this ? Does he think we are come to a Funeral, to be entertain^'d aicer this idle ridiculous man- ner ? Has it not been proved, tfiat thefe Flames are only imaginary ? And befides, that the En- gine was a mere Whim, fo ilightly put toge- ther, that it would not hold Water ; and there- fore could have been of no Ufe, fuppofing the Danger to have been real : You know very well, that your Friend, though a good Man, -was now and then a little whimfical ^ he would laugh and cry in the fame Breath : This Mi- nute he would be extremely merry, and pre- fently throw himfelf into a great Rage upon a Matter of no Moment : Sometimes he would make his Bows and Compliments to the good old Gentleman Reafony and tell him, that he was a great Prince, and ought to govern the World ; and foon after, he would fail into ftrange Fits at the bare Sight or Name of Rea^- fin, and cry out, the Spirity the Spirit ! O that carnal Devil, Reafon! Brom thefe odd Symptoms People began to fufped, that if he had lived longer he muft have run quite befide himfelf. This is no Se- cret ; ^tis well known to the whole Neighbour- hood, and to every one of us, who now, upon your Invitation, attend his Funeral. And therefore pray, Mr. Nisbet, call another Caufe, and talk no more of the Engine. Mr. Nisht, in the next Place, falls into an odd Train of Diforders, partly HypocondriacaU aud partly Malignant^ upon the Sound of that ^art:r Entlouftafm in 7)i/IreJs. 447 ftartling dreadful Word Comprehenfion, Thit Stimulus hiis contradied all his Nerves ; and the Sprm feizing him while he was laughing, 'tis wondertul to obferve what a Figure he mak^ : for though he flill endeavours to laugh, and ftrives to put on a merry Countenance, yet e- very one mulf fee, that 'tis mere Affedation and Grimace ', fince he difcovcrs the evident Symp- toms of a Plague in the Bowels, and is plainly tormented with all the Gripes of hterefl and worldly Povcer. Perhaps the Ealing ot his Mind upon this H^ad, might be one chief Caufe of his inviting me to this Entertainment; and lince I have been the Occafion of throwing the Gentleman into this Diforder, it concerns me to give him all reafonable Satisfadion. 1 had mdntain'd againft his Friend, that no-"^ thing ought to be infilled on as necelTary to ChriiHan Peace, Unity, and Church Commu- nion, but what the Scripture it felf has made necefTary to thefe Ends ; and that to exclude Men from the Communion of the Church, and j the Benefits of the Chriftian Covenant, on the 1 Account of any Thing, for which Chrift himfelf has not, or will not, in the laft Day exclude \ them from the Kingdom of Heaven; that ■ this, I fay, is a bold prefumptuous Ufurpa-i tion of Chrift's Authority, an exercifing a fpiri-j' tual Tyranny over the Confciences of Men,| and the Ground of all the Enmities, Church- j Divifions, and Party-Rage, in the Chriftiaiil World. Here Mr. Nisbet has been fo far from confuting any Thing I have faid upon this Prin- ciple, that he has not fo much as mentioned it. Church Coimnuniony upon Scripture Therms ^ is the very Thing that he fearj \ he cannot %ear the TJiought ; 44^ A Postscript to Thought; this is the Thing at which his Soul trembles. But let us only luppofe the Thing as polTible ; let us fuppoie that Comprehenfion (hould fome Time or other take Place, and Chriflians come to be better united, than they hitherto have been, upon a Scripture Foot ; what then ? What then 1 Why then the Lord have Mercy upon us ! for this muft make Oathsy Ca- nons, Articles, and Ruhrkks, as much old Almanacks as the Covenant ; that henceforwardy as the Churches fall uoidy a Quaker may get one, an Arian another^ and fo on, li^ith the like Privilege to every new Seci a fruitful Age ryiay produce : A Dejign, it feems, iDhich never had its Parallel Jince the Times of Julian the Apofiatey p. 8. If I thought him capable of giving a fober Anfwer under fuch a Fright, I fhould here ask him, whether his Canons y Articles, and Kubricks, are neceffary Rules of Chriflian Faith and Prac- tice ? or whether the Holy Scripture, without Thefe, is not the only Rule, and a fuffici§nt Rule of Chriflian Faith and Pradice ? To fay, that the ^Scripture is the only Rule, and a fujfficient Rule ; and yet that there are other Rules, without ' which the Scripture cannot be fufficient ; is af- fronting the Underflandings of Men, and a moft ridiculous Banter upon Common Senfe. And fhould a Man fay this, and yet at the fame Time pretend a mighty Zeal againft Popery y Jefuitifm, and Emiffaries from Ro7ne ; it muft be fuch a Complication of Ahfurdity and Impudence, ! as cannot be parallel'd even in Julian himfelf. f Mr. Nishet is mightily concern'd to guard the 1 Church againft Error and Herefy ; and hence it ! is, that he feems fo fond of Oaths : Whereas he nJ ought tU confider, that all the Oaths and Sub- fcriptions Entloufiafm in T>i/lrefs. 449 fcriptions in the World, can ferve only to keepj out honell: confciencious Men, but cannot pof-f fibly keep out thofe who will profefs, iubfcribe,! and fwear anyThing, For their own Jnterefl ; and,^ iFJ am not much miftaken, t/jefe are tne worfti and moft dangerous Hereticks of all. Oaths call' be no more a Teft againft Herefy, than againft Jacobitifm ; and of how little Confequence they are in this lad: Cafe, every Body knows. I can-" not imagine therefore, why he has here tack'd Oaths to Canons^ Articles^ 'cfc. unlefs he thinks that his human infallible Standards of Chriiliaii Faith and Pradice ought to be continu'd, if it was only tor the mere fake ot Swearing. I beg his Pardon for this Freedom ; I hope it will not rufRe his Confcience, or put him out of his good Humour. But the greated: Jeft of all is, Mr. Nhhet*s feeming Concern for the good People^ and the miferable Shifts to which he iuppofes they mud be reduc'd, if the Inftitutions of ChnP: fhould ever take Place, inftead of the Inidtutions of Men> Upon this Occafion he turns the People out of their Churches, and direds them to the Meeting-Houfes ; and fends n poor honeft Man up and down on a fleevelefs Errand, from one Parifli to another, to get his Child br.ptiz'd, and brings him home at laft difappointed, as finding a Quaker in one Church, an Anabaptift in an- other, &c, and all this he pretends as the ne- ceffary Confequ.r^^.e of exchanging human Creeds and Canons for the Bible. 'Tis evident that he is here maintaining the fecular exclufive Interefts of his own Clergy^ while he pretends to be con- cerned for the religious Rights and Liberties of the Chriflian P^ofle, No doubc but the Clergy, Gg fo 4^0 A Postscript to fo far as they arc Civil Officersy and expcd their pay from the Crovcuy mult conform themfelves, in Matters of Religion^ to the Civil Law. I have never difputed this, nor pretended to dired the Magiftrate about the making or repealing of any Civil Laws in Matters of Religion j and therefore, if this Gentleman has miflaken me here, the Blame muft lie at his Door, and not at mine. But then this has no manner of Re- lation at ail to the Conftitution of Chrifliati Chtrches, or the Terms of Chriftian Unity and Communion, as laid down in Scripture, and fettled by Chrifl and the Apoflles. Thefe Mat- ters, depend intirely upon divine Inftitutions and Sandions, which no human Authority, or Civil Power in the World, can any ways fuper- fede or alter. Let us fuppofe, then, the Per- fon legally prefented and induded to a particu- lar Parifh, and who hereupon takes PoffefTion of the Church, and has a legal Right to the Tithes ; let us fuppofe him, I fay, not to be a Quaker, an Anabaptifty or an Arian, but in Truth and Reality a Man of no Religion at all, who gives fufficient Proofs that he neither fears God nor regards Man, and who is to all Intents and Purpofes an Atheifl : Now 1 would asb here, docs this legal Prefentation and In- dudion give the Man any fpiritual Jurifdidion in the PariHi, or oblige the People to intruft him with the Care of their Souls ? To fay this, would be as contrary to the Law of Na- ture, and to the Law of Chrift, as it is to the Law of England ; and therefore, the People in this Cafe being at full Liberty, by all the Right and Law in the World, muft be indifpenfibly bound to make the beft Provifion they can for their Enthuftafm in Dt/irefs. 45-1 their own Souls, by chufing a fit Perfon for that Purpofe, juft after the fame Manner as it there had been no fuch Thing as an Impropriation of Tithes to any particular Ufe at ali. And here the Perfon aforefaid could not think him- felf aggrieved in being difcharged from the Care and Trouble of feeding the Flock, lince he would ftill have the Right and Liberty of fleecing them. The former he is fuppofed either to have no Capacity for, or no Inclination to ^ and there- fore the latter, which is what he aims at, mufl: needs content him. Thus is all Mr. Nishet*s Concern for the good People founded upon the fecular Interell ot the Hierarchy ; and upon this Suppofition, that a Chriflian Man has not as much Right to take Care of his Sotily as he has of his Horfe, while he can chufe his Farrier, but not his Paftor. If this Gentleman hasj frighted himfelf with any fuch fort of Comprehenlion as p. as never aim'd at, or contended for, by me, I cannot help it. 'Tis well known that what I have argued for againft his Friend, and all along in other Wrkings, is this. That the Holy Scripture a-] lone is the only Rule of Chriftian Faith and ' Practice, the only Tefl of religious Orthodoxy, <, and the only Centre of Chriftian Unity ; that \ to fet up any mere human Tefls and Standards of religious Faith and Pradice, is in Efted to lay afide the Scriptures, for the fake of a more intelligible, clear, and certain Rule ; that this has been the great Engine of carnal Intereft, Church- Tyranny, Perfecution, and Party-Rage, in all Ages ; that thefe Tefls and human Decifions have always been more dark and doubtful than the Scripture it felf, which they pretend to H- G g 2 mit 4T^ ^ Postscript to mit and explain ; and that this mufi: necefla- rily eternize our Divifions, and propagate the Flames and Animofities of the Chriftian Church and World in infinitum. Now to pretend, as Mr. Nishet does in his Letter, that this Principle and way of Talking are Jefuitical \ and that if People are once dri- ven trom their human Creeds and Tefts of Or- thodoxy, they can have no other Refuge but to betake themfelves to Rome for a Decifion : This, I fay, is fo vain and groundless a Pretence, fo much unlike a Gentleman, a Scholar, or a Chri- ftian, and vifibly contains in it fo mean a Piece of Ill-nature, that I do not envy him the Fa- vour and good Opinion of thofe who can be weak and unthinking enough to be influenced by it. If the Scripture be not fufficiently deary definitinjey and exprefsy in every Thing neceffary to Salvation and Chriflian Communion, to what End is it pretended as a fufficient Rule of Chri- flian Faith and PraEiice ? And if other Rules are necejfaryy why is this declared to be the only Rule 1 Let Mr. Nisbet and his Friends tell us plainly, whether they are Protefiants or not, ^nd. this Controverfy will be at an End. If he does not believe the Scripture to be a fufEcient Rule, and the only Rule of a Chriftian's Faith and Pradice, as I have confiderM and explained it ; let him fhow me how he can defend himfelf againft the Papifis upon any other Principle, and I will admire his Skill, fubmit to his Autho- rity, and become his Difciple : But if he can- not do this, I hope he will not for the future argue againft any Thing that is neceffary to make us rationally confiftent with our felves. Upon Enthufiafm in Dijirefs. 4^3 Upon my faying, that the Church, as a ten- der Mother^ ought to a take a prudent Care of all her Children ; and not ncurilh the ftrongand healthy only, and caft the weak and iickly a- way, or leave them to perifh, becaufe they can- not feed as the ftrong and healthy do ,* Mr . Nisbet thus merrily replies : *' No, God forbid ! *' Sir : Only, if you pleafe, inftead of Mother^ *' for once we'll take Father ,* whofe Olive *' Branches running much on the Female Kind, *' he obferves fome of the younger Fry look ^^ pale, and off their Stomacks; and, upon ^^ Enquiry, finds they eat Salt, and any Trafll ** they can come at ; nor do the Sluts deny it, ** but clinging about, cry. Indeed, Papa, we *' do eat as you fay, but we love it, and it goes ** down good ; when Meat makes us fick, 'till ** we puke again. Now, pray, what fhall this " Man do ? Shall he let 'em eat on 'till it kills or *' cripples 'em, as one or t'other it rarely fails *^ of? Or retrain ''em what he can, 'till a Phy- *^ (ician, with proper Remedies, has fo re- " cover'd their former Appetites, that they eat, " and look like the reft ? Your Opinion, Sir^ ** as a Man of Senfe and Sincerity, and (as I " am told) a little Piece of a Phyfician too, " which of thefe two Childifti Allufions think *^ you moft apropos? p. 14, 15". Mi\ Nisbet^S Wit here is very pretty ; and I have given this as a Specimen of his innocent Mirthy to let the Reader fee with what perfefl Eafe, and entire Satisfadion, he can make himfelf ridiculous. I will notdifpute with him, whether the Church be a Mother or a Father : The former has been generally allow'd ; but fince he will now have it otherwife, let it be Father Church for G g 3 thcv 4T4 ^ Postscript to the prefent: And then it is plain, that in this Comparifon, as he has put it, all Diflentcrs are repreiehLLcias \\\\% Father Churches young green- fick Girls j who, being in their Non-age, and wanting a Judgment of Difcretion, when they would eat anyl'hing hurtful, niuft be reflrain'd by Paternal, i. e. Qhurch Authority. V/hen Atithoriiy has once turned a Man's Heady and his Imagination has been well heat- ed with the Pleafure and Advantages of Do- mimcny it is wonderful to obferve how he will diflort and pervert every Thing that comes in his Way ; and be continually difcovcring the Caufe of his Diforder, even while he is endea- vouring to conceal it. The Queflion here was about I'l.ir.gs indifferent, ^^hich by human In- junctions are made necejfary, and infeparably tack'd to the Inftitutions of Chrifl ; but he carries the Cafe quite out of the Way, and ap- plies it to Things in themfelves hurtful ox finfuly and fuppofes the Perfons concerned, to take that which, if not prevented by due Reflraints and proper Remedies, m^uft certainly prove mortah that is, as his Comparifon mud conclude, dam^ nabk : Whereas he cannot but know that this is not the Queflion; my Argument had no Rela- tion to it, nor is there any fuch Thing in Dif- pute. .Again, the Perfons refer^d to, as capable of Church-Communion, were fuch as muft be al- lowed a Judgment of Difcretion to ad and determine for themfelves ; but this Author turns it oft" to Children in a literal Senfe, who muft be kept under the Awe and Influence of Pater- nal Authority, ^till they come to Years of Dif- cret^pn, and are capable of a rational Self-Cm^' Enthuftafm in Dijirefs. 45-5' duB, And thus where he could fay nothing to the Purpofe, he thought it much like a Gentle- man and a Scholar, to be very gay, and very impertinent. To my asking, Why any Thing that is not neceflary, fliould beinfeparably tackM to a divine Inftitution; as for Inftancc, why People mud be deny'd Baptifm for their Chil- dren, if they cannot be fatisfy'd of the Lawful- nefs of that human lignificant Sign of the Crofs ? Mr. Nishet has nothing to fay, but by pretend- ing a particular Exception to the general Rule, in the Cafe oi private Baptifm, where the Time and Circumftances are fuppofed not to admit of it : but as it happens, I have faid nothing to exclude this Exception, fuppofing it was an Exception to the general Rule. I did not affert that the Crofs is infeparably and univerfciUyy without Exception, tack'd to a divine Inflitution : but ftill I fuppofe it is in- feparably tack'd to a divine Inflitution in all thofe Cafes where Baptifm cannot be had without it ; and this I am fure is in all ordinary Cafes. Be- fides, \[s plain, that in the extraordinary Cafe of private Baptifm, this Signing is not difpen- fed w ith, but only for the Time, and upon the prefent Exigence, 'till there be a proper Op- portunity for it. And upon this Principle, it might be faid, that Baptifm it felf is difpenfed with, or not made neceffary in fome Cafes; (ince, methinks, no Body fhould fay that 'tis neceflkry, where it cannot pollibly be had. I may now leave it with the Reader to con- fider, whether the Crofs in Baptifm be not, according to the Senfe and Judgment of the Church, infeparably tack'd to a divine Infti- tution ,* and whether there was any Thing of Gg 4 Ab' ^s6 A Postscript to Abfurdity or Falfhood in what I had faid con- cerning it. But Mr. Nhhet tells mc, /?. i5, that this was a much greater Blunder in me, not to fay downright Faljboody than it was in the Author of the Re- fietiicns to declare, that the Scripture ^j^^mThree in Perjony and but One in Effeace, Any candid Reader y he fays, would have underflood it, that b-^^Jertion, he meant only necejfary Inference. And any veil-meaning, unwary Reader, who had confided in the Author, muft, 1 fuppofe, have underflood it, that this was a Scripture Doc- trine exprefsljy and in "Terms j and that thofe "who doubt of it, muft deny the moft plain ex- prefs Texts of Scri.^iure. I cannot think, that the Author did not know the Difference be- twee'» /.Jfertion ^nd Inference, or that this was a mere blip or Overfight in him. But why muft a candid Reader by the Word y^fjertiony underftand Inference ? At this Rate, any Party- Zealot, of what Opinion or Perfwa- fion, foever, might eafily make the Scripture ^ffert whatever he pleafes ; for *tis but to call his own Affertiony a Scripture Affertiony or a ne^ ceffary Inference from plain Texts, and the Bu- finefs is done. This Gentleman's Infinuation, that the true Churchy in ail Ages, has been agreed upon this Point, in Senfe as well as Sound, is a moft vain and groundlefs Pretence. If we may take the Senfe of the Church, from the Writings of the moft learned AthanaJianSy who for feveral Ages paft have engrofs'd to themfelves the Re- futation and Advantages of Orthodoxy, 'tis plain that they have never been agreed upon this Pointy and that they are as much divided, ^nd Enthijiafm in Dijirefs. 45-7 and differ as widely, at this Day as ever. Some rake the Word God as a perfonal proper Name, for the one unoriginate, independent, /r/? Caiife, and Author of all Things ; and by the Word Per/on, they mean only a particular Alode, At- trihutey or Manner oi Subftftence in the one divine Subftame, Others underftand the Word Gody as fignifying an abflraCt EJfence, Species, or fort of Things j and by Three Perfom, they under- fland three real, fubftantial, and diftind /«- dividuah, of the fame Nature and Kindy i. e, three equally fupreme, independent, firfl Caufes, Creator Sy and Governours of the Univerfe ; and this has been proiefledly declared and contend- ed for by fome Orthodox H^r iters. But the more artful Managers, being aware that both thefe mull: be Herejyy continu illy play at faft and loofe between them both, and fly from one Extreme to the other, juft as NecefTity drives them, and as the Exigence of the Cafe requires i while no Man has ever yet fix'd or fettled any poflible, confident, or intelligible Medium between Sahdlianifm and Tritheifm up- on Athanajian Principles.' ^Till thofe Gentle- men therefore have better acquitted themfelves, and cleared their own Charafter in this Pointy they can never be thought good Evidence in any Court of Juftice againft Hereticks. Tis im- polTible to determine from any Thing the An- thor oi the Reflexions y Sec. has faid, which Side he takes, or whether he underdands his own AJfertion in any Senfe at all, or not ; and Mr. Nisbet has taken great Care not to leave himfelf accountable for any Opinion of his own in this Cafe. His implicit Faith in the Church, concerning an Article which the Church has never 45"8 A Postscript to never defined or explained, may prove him perhaps a good Churchman ; which he may be in one Senfey whether he makes any Ufe of his ov:n ReafoHy or not. Upon my faying, that whatever the Separation be between the Conformifts and Non-Confor- niifts, it is certainly mutual, and that they both equally and alike feparate from one another ; this Gentleman's Temper is much ruffled, and difcovers a fort of Diforder, which feems to be hereditary to him, and leaves but little or no Hopes of a Cure. For here Mr. Nisht falls to talking of a great many broken incoherent Things, concerning the Kirk of Scotland^ King James, certain Books written in that Reign a- gainft the Chnrch of Romey and a Pamphlet coming out about that Time by a difguifed Pa" pifty and pretending there could be no Centre of Unity, but by fubmitting to the Anthority of the Popey &c. All which are as much to the Purpofe, as if he had went off from the Mat- ter in Hand to the World in the Moon. Does he deny, that the Separation between the Con- formifts and Non-Conformifls is mutual? Or has he offered any Thing in Proof of the con- trary ? Not at all. But the great Grievance is, my faying, that the Church has fworn away all Authority to the Crown : And is not this Matter of Fad ? Is it not undeniably plain, and does not every Body know it ? Yes, that's true ; but I muft not think to come off fo ; for my faying this, looks too like a premeditated Stroke at the Supremacy, and a denying the Magiftrate the Power which this Gentleman and his Friends allow him. But Enthuftafm in Dijirefs. 45-9 But all this is mere Aft'edation and Grimace : Mr. Nisbet underftands me better than he pre- tends ; and I am forry, for his fake, that he fhould have given me this Occailon of explain- ing my felf farther to him. He knows very veil, that I difclaim for my felf and Friends all Authority and Jurifdidion, but what is lodged in the Hands of the Civil Magiflrate,' and therefore we may take the Oaths to the King upon Principle, with good Conferences, and without Repentance. I did not blame the Church for taking the Oaths, and invefling his Majefly with all Authority^ both Ecclefiaflical and Ci^il j but only thofe Church- Men y that do this againft their Principles; who give with one Hand, and re-aflume with the other ; who are continually claiming and purfuing an Au- thority, w hich they have fworn away ; who take the Oaths, and then banter them, pretend to wafii them down w ith a Glafs of Wine, and quote Hudibras to juflify their Perjury. ''Tis wtil known, that there is a Party in the Church, who would be thought the only true Church-Men, that claim an Authority and Ju- rifdiction from Chrift himfelf , and yet fwear away that 'very Authority to the Crown, and lay themfelves under a Pramunire, if they fhould dare to a6i upon their own Principles, in dif- charging that Trufl, which they pretend to hold by divine Right, and independent on any human Authority whatfoever. For this I appeal to all the Books and Writings of the High- flying Authoritative Church-Men, which are fiird with loud Complaints, and bitter Invec- tives upon this very bicore. And that thefe Gentlemen are not fatisfy*d with the Oaths, or eafy 4^o ^Postscript /^ eafy under their prefent Circumftances ,* if there were need of any frefh Proof, Tprefume the late Confpiracy, now under the Confideration of the Parliament, will atford us fufficient Evi- dence. But, perhaps, Mr. Nisbet will fay, that all this is nothing to him i he is very well fa- ti.'-fy'd with the Oaths, and has no Hand in the Plot. This may be true enough ; I have Lid nothing againft it ; but then he muft give me leave to reply upon him in his own Words, *That good Wits are ap to jump -, and that Eggs are Eggs in all Ages and Countries j and inhere Men are atled by the fame Princij^leSy they will always be known by their Fruits, Mr. Nisbet, in the next Place, proceeds to fupport his Friend, and the Two Univeyhiesy up- on the Credit of this Axiom, That Nothing is in the Under ft anding^ but what was firfl in the Senfe or Senfory ; Ntbil eft in IntelleEiu, quod non prius fuit in Senfu. Mr. Nisbety having juft men- tioned this Axiom, and made it a civil Com- pliment or Two, prefently marches off, and leaves it, with his Friend, in the Lurch, as having a Bufinefs of greater Importance upon his Hands. And here he goes on for Two whole P^ ges, in proving, that a blind Man cannot fee, w^x s. deaf Man hear; and that a Man born blind and deaf, cannot perform any ot thofe Offices and Operations which necefla- rily depend upon thefe Senfes. This is no News; the Gentleman is doubtlefs in the right ; and it would be great Obftinacy, and very unconfcion- able in me, to deny this. But what does he infer from hence ? Why, that abfl: rafting from the Mediation and Inftrumentality of the or- ganical Senfes, the Soul, or MW, mull be per- "" ' feaiy Enthujiafm in "Diftrefs. 461 fe(5lly quiefcent, and remain, for the Time,' without any Power of Thinking or Ading at all. But this Conclufion of his has the ill Luck to be attended with two fmall Inconveniencies : for, in the firfl Place, it is not true ,• and, in the next Place, *tis nothing at all to the Purpofe ; either w ith refped to the Senfe, Ufe, and JppH" cation of the Axiom in the Ariflotelian Philofophy^ or the Defign of his Friend in producing it. I grant, that where all Communication by the organical Senfes fhould be cut oft^, the Soul^ in that cafe, could not act upon the Body^, nor be aded upon by ity or give any fenfible Proof of its Union and real Prefence. Yet ftill, while it is fuppofed really to exift, as a rational, in- telligent, felf-determining Agent; it muft be allow 'd a Power of refleding upon its own real Exiftence, upon the Exiftence of a firft independent Caufey and of forming all thofe Ideas which concern the natural or moral Re- lation of fuch a Caufe to its EffeEis, To deny this, is to all Intents and Purpofes a denying the real Exiftence of the Souly as diftind from the Body ; a fubjeding ail the Powers and Opera- tions of the Mind to the Laws of Mechanifm; and a fuppofing Thoughts and Ideas to be nothing elfe, but the difterent Modifications, or at leaft the neceflary Phyfical EffeBs of Matter and Mo- tion, But whatever an Ariflotelian or a Mate- rialifl might fay, one would think a Chriftian Philofophcr and Divine fhould not maintain this, without refleding upon its Confequences. As this Principle therefore is fallc, and piufl: terminate in Materialifm ; fo I fhnll now fhew, that 'tis nothing to the purpofe, fuppofing it true. /^6% A Postscript to true, and that Mr. Nisl^et has not at all ferved the Caufe ot his friend by it. The Aviftotelian Dodrine, concerning the fen- fible and intelligible Species of Things, is well Icnown to the Learned , and, I believe, no Body, who has confidered the Matter, can doubt but the prefent Axiom was laid down by them as the Ground and firft Principle of this part of their Phiiofophy. Now thefe Philofo- phers teach us, that external Objeds, by cer- tain determinate ImprefTions upon the material organical Syilem, produce the fenfible Species, i. £>. the Senfations of Things ; of which Sen- fat ion, thus produced, they fuppofe the mate- rial Organ it felf to be the proper Suhjeci. All this being granted, without Proof ; they next proceed to tell us, that thefe fenfible Species, or Senfations, being convey 'd by their proper and refpedive Organs into the Senfus coynmunis, and being there received as a common Bafon, or Re* ceptamlum Chyli, they are from thence conduded in one continued Channel, and emptied into the Underftanding ; where making their Im- preffions like a Seal upon Wax, they become /«- telligihley and by an incomprehenfible Chymiftry are converted into Rational Notions and Per- ceptions. If Mr. Niihet does not think this to be a fair Account of the Ariftotelian Dodrine in this Cafe, he is at liberty to m.ake a better Senfe of it, if he can ; but, I think, this is plainly what they aim at, fo far as 'tis capable of being explain'd at all However it be, I mufl do the Author of the Reflections the Juflice to own, that he feems to me not much to have miflaken the Senfe of the Ariftotelian Philofophers in this Axiom 5 Enthiftafm in Dijirefs. 463 Axiom ; and could he have made good the Axiom it felF, he muft have carritd his Point fo tar, as to have prov'd two diflind: Subjeds of Senfations, Ideas, and Perceptions in Man ; namely, the material Organicai Syfleniy and the Rational Soul: tho' he might, perhaps, have mifcarried in what he faid afterwards about the Super-rational Spirit. But Mr. Nisbet^ in giving the Axiom another Meaning, and turn- ing it off to quite a different Queftion, has very much dillirved his Friend^ as well as the Tnuh ', and would here represent him as ad- vancing a Principle, in order to prove Somethings which, if granted him, could have been Nothing at all to his purpofe. But in oppofition to this Part of the Peripa^ tetick Philofophy, befides what I have already faid in overthrowing the Author's Principles, it might be eafily demonffrated from the Nature and Reafon ot the Thing, that Matter cannot poflibly Think ; and that there is but one only Subjed of Senfation, Thought and Intelligence in Man, which is the Soul or Mind it felf. For which, to avoid Prolixity here, I refer the cu- rious or learned Reader to what Dr. Clark has written againft Mr. Dodwell upon this Head, and to what Mr. Dimn has farther demonftra- ted in the Appendix to his Book of the Refur- reBion : Which Authors I refer to, not to de- termine any thing by their Authority, but only to let the Reader know where he may find the Demonftration, as I would refer to Euclid in a like Cale. But for the fake of thofe, who may not be fo capable of fuch ab{lra«5l Reafonings, I mufl here obferve farther, that the fame Thing is undeniably confirmed by Experience likewife, in 4^4 ^ Postscript to in every one who has had the Misfortune to lofe a Leg, or an Arm ,* who plainly feel, and perceive the fame Senfations in the fame Part after, as they did before the Amputation j and did they not reafon about it, and were not con- vinc'd by other Experience of their Lofs, could not know by any different Senfation, or the want of any FeeUng in the Part it felf, that they had indeed loll it. Which is an evident Proof, that thefe jenfihh Species or Senfations are not fubjeded in the material Syflem, or corpo- real Subftance it felf, but in a quite different Subjed j that is, in the Soul. Mr. Nishet feems to have been under great Pain and Difficulty to determine, in what gen- tle manner he fhould touch upon the Super^ rational Spirit^ He has neither advanc'd any Thing new in Favour of his Friend, nor re- ply'd to any Thing that I had urged againft him on this Occafion; but he tells me, that he takes the Queftion to be properly this, Whe- ther barely a Whim of the Author's, or other- wife of long {landing, and only put into a mo- dern Drefs ? And he thinks, that the vigorous Affaults I have made againft it, are manifeflly owing to a fettled Prejudice and Spite againft Antiquity. But I can affure him, that he is much mi- ftaken,and that 1 have no Prejudice at all againft Antiquity. I can readily allow the Ancients their proper Place and Office, as the moft credi- ble capable Witneffes of what was faid and done in their Time ; but not as Judges of Tmth or Deciders of Contro^verfy. I can fubmit to their Tefiimony in Matters of FaEl, where they are clear and confiftent with themfel vesi but not to Enthujiafni in Dijlrefs. \6s to their Umpirage and Arbitration in Matters oF Reafon and Revelation. The Ancients might as well be miftaken, were as much divided a- mong themfclvt^s, and maintained as many idle abfurd and ridiculous Things, as any of their Succeflbrs have fince done; and therefore I pay no more regard to their Judgment, than to any modern Judgment equally fallible. And in- deed, this flavifh Subjedion of the Mind to tlie^ Opinions of others ; this Canonical Method ot Voting for Truthy and proving it by Stiffvage ; is fit for none but Common-Place Men, and fuch Retailers of Knowledge, as deal only upon "Trufl^ and never concern themfelves to examine Mat- ters fo far, as to make any Opinion properly their own. This, I know, has fometimes pafs^d for Learnings and been taken as the Mark and Cha- rac^terillick of a Scholar ; but yet 'tis only fuch a fort of Learning, as an Idiot might attain by the bare Force of Memory, without Reafon or 'Judgment, But to proceed : The Qiieftion a- bout the Stiper-rational Spirit, as Mr. Nisbet would now have it put, is perfetftly ridiculous ; Whether it was a IVhim of the Author's own, or whether fome other People had not had the fame Whim in their Heads before him ? For the Author did not barely quote it as the Opt- nionoi others^ but he efpoufed it as his own. He laboured to eftablilh it upon the Principles of Reafon and Scripture^ as a Thing of fuch Con- fequence, that the Chriftian Faith could not fubfift without it, and as abfolutely neceffary to the obtaining our ftipreme Felicity y and the keeping up an Intercourfe and Correfpondence with the fpiritual invj/ible World. I think there- fore, th^t he has nothing to complain of, and Hh that 4(5<5 A Postscript to that I aded right in taking him upon his own Principles, and (hewing that there was no fuch rational or fcriptural Evidence For it as he pre- tended, and that both theje Principles were plain- ly againft him. There is one very unfair and unchriftian In- finuation, that Mr. Nisbet has made up and down in his Book, as if I had- intended art- fully to favour the Caufe of Deifm, and to w^ound Chriflianity it felf through the Author's Sides. I therefore declare, that I exped to ap- pear before the yudgmera-Seat of Chrifl, and to be accountable for vvhat I have faid and done, as much as Mr. Nisbet, or the Author of the RefleBions, &c. I firmJy believed, and think I have proved, that the Author's Principles are ab^ furd, unintelligible, Rud felf-contraditlory ; that they mufl give the Deifts all the Advantage in the World againft Chriflianity ,* and that the Chri- flian Dodrines cannot pofilbly fublifl: upon them. Whether I have fufficiently proved this or no, muft be fubmitted to the Judgment of the Publick, upon the Merits of what has been faid, vinlefs the Author, or fome Body for him, fhould demand farther Satisfaction ,• and in that Cafe, I promife either to defend my felf, or to give up the Caufe. And now it muft be left to every Man's Judgment, whether this Gentleman has not quite given up his Friend under the moft con- fiderable Difficulties, and made the Matter ra- ther worfe than better, as to thefe Points which he has fo flightly touch'd upon. The Author's felf-contradidory Account of the Chriftian Do- drines, that they are intelligible and unintelli- gible, comprehenlible andincomprehenfible, very plain Enthufiafm in T)i/irefs. 4,6^ plain and eafy, and yet very dark and intricate, and ail this in Things neceflary to Salvation, IS filently dropt : His Charge againft all Diilentcrs, without Exception, as Schifmaticks; that their Sin is as great and inexcufable as T'reafon or fforfe-fiealing, and as evident as that a. Triangle has Three Sides as well as T/jree Corners^ is now Imjhed up : His unrighteous Charge againfl a Right Reverend Prelate of the Church, and his Lordfhip's Friends and Admirers, is decent- ly laid to Sleep : His great Prmcipky that the rational Affent of the Mind may be carry^ be- yond the Perception of the Under [landings is lett in the Grave with the Author : And what is ftill worfe, if worfe can be, he is luffered to to (ink under the Weight of the Super-rational Spirity and not a Word to be faid by any ra- tional Soul to fupport him. To conclude ; I doubt not but Mr. Nishet cin talk more to the Purpofe upon other Occiiions, than he has done, or could do, in this Letter. He had un- dertaken an hard Task ; he was refolved to fay fomething for the fake of a Friend, in Detcnce of a Book which he knew could not be defend- ed. Hhz Ji ' <& ifc i)& .^ I iXf ^Sl i& ^ t!& "jfr {! ^^^£g»'^i^(^£t^^ Second Postscript T O Enthufiafm in Diftrefs. Oi^cafioned by Mr. Nisbett's Second Letter^ INTITLED, Comprehenfion Confufion. Addrefs'd to Mr. N i s b e t t. r¥W%'^''^"t A -ibhA fi^a^aEagnscCTRagcv'igigvKatjngi Second Postscript T O Enthtijiafm in Diflrefs. Addrefs'd to Mr. N i s b e t t. SIR, Have Jufl now received the Second Letter, with which you have honoured me from the Prefs, in Defence of your good Friend, the Author of the Reflexions tipon Reafon ; for which I find my felf o- bliged to return you my Thanks, and to make the Acknowledgment as publickas the Obligation. lam very certain, that nothing can contribute more to the Honour and Advantage of that Chriflian Liberty, or Re- ligious Compreheniion , which 1 have been pleading for, than your Way of writing againfl it ', and I am therefore extremely forry, that H h 4 after 47^ ^ Second Tojlfcript to tifrer the Offence you had taken at the Fune- ral of a late Author, you fliould chufe to ad over the fame Tragedy upon your felf, by re- folving to depart, in fpite of all the Perfuafions and Intreaties ot your Friends ; and that m- ihwgy not even the Caufe and Interell of the ChuYclh fhall ever provoke you to appear again. But you mufl: give me leave here to tell you, Sir^ that 'tis not friendly, or benign to Man- kind, tlius voluntarily to deprive the World for the future, of your clear and flrong Rea- joii'ngs, your majlerly Illii/I rat ions, and judicious Rejie^lions, which I am well allured would do a great deal of Good ; efpccially in fuch a Time of common Danger, w hen all Hands fliould be a-Iott to fare the Churchy from the confounding Pretcufions, and exorbitant Claims of Reli^ gion. Howcvei*, if it mull be fo ; if you and I are never to fee each other's Face more ,* there is nothing, I think, to be done at prefent, but to underiland one another, if pofTible, and endeavour to part as ^good Friends as we can. 1 mufl own, that I can perceive no Manner of Relation or Connt xion between that Kennel of Dirt and Filth, which you have raked together out oi Hiflory and fome late Pamphleteers, and the Controverly between your Friend and me. Whether you are in the Right or in the Wrong, iiS to your perfonal and Party-Refledions, the Argument ftands juft as it was; and you have faid no m.ore to it, than if you had been all this while only picking your Teeth, or paring- your Nails. When I read your Book, and en- cieavour to find out any one Principle of Rea- fon upon which you proceed, or any one Re- niark. Enthiftafm in Diflrefs. 473 mark, or Hiftorical Obfervation, that may noc be turned with much greater Strength againfi: you 'y I am utterly loft, and can fee notjiing be- fore me but Dirt and Darknefs. You tell me, in the firft: Place, with an Air of Hypochondriacal Pleafure, that your Friend, the Author of the RefleBionSy notwithftand- ing the Entertainment of a late publick Fu- neral, is ftill alive, and in good Health ; that his Bufinefs andJReputation grow upon him, in Confequence of his learned Performance ; which he gratefully acknowledges as owing, in fome Meafure, to me. This, I prefume, is faid to let us fee, that you cannot write a Page in publick, without making your felf a publick Jeft. Whati have maintained, and have ftill reafon to ftan3 to, is this, That your Friend is departed out of the World of Authors, that his Spirit deeps, and that he has not one Drop of Blood left to be fpent in the Controverfy. If it be otherwife, 'tis he alone who muft difprove it ; fince 'tis impoflible that you, or any Body elfe, fhould do it for him. But you, in your great VVifdom, to difcredit the Report of your Friend's De- ceafe and Interment, give us to underftand, that he ftill lives, and breathes, and teaches School ; w hich is what I had never contradic- ted. Your carrying the Jeft fo far, is turning it upon your felf 5 and your A/Iiftake argues a very great want of Logick ; as if the fame Perfon might not be dead and alive, in different Re- fpecis ; or as if a living Man might not be a dead Author ; and a dead Author a very good gpd ufeful ISdml'inaJleu Your 474 ^ Second To/ijcript to Your Friend's Talents, I believe, are by this Time fufficiently known ; and, I hope, he wjU, for the future, obferve that Proverbial Admonition, to which his beft and mofl difccrning Friendshave advifed him already, Ne futor ultra crepidam. The moft material Pallage in your whole Book, and without w^hich I fhould fcarce have troubled you or the Publick with any farther Reply, is what I iind in p. 6, 7, where you charge me with wickedly mifreprejenting your Friend, the Author of the Reflexions -, and as ^ot ba"jing the Fear of God he fore my Eyes, impu- ting to him a horrid Piece of Prophanenefs ; ma- king him aflert, as a Foundation of the Chriftian faith ^ what he only mentions as an Ohjeciion of the wodhm Free-T'htnkers, ivhofe Stile he there ufes. if I am as wicked and ungodly a Wretch, as you here reprefent me, 'tis certainly fit that I Ihould be treated accordingly, and be brought to publick ConfeiHon, Shame, and Repentance. But if I have herein aded fairly, foberly, and in the Fear of God, 'tis fit likewife the World fhould know it; and determine what they ought to think of a Man, who can bring fuch a Charge, without the leaft Ground, and con- trary to the pluincxl: Matter of Fact:. You darea not here truft your Reader's Eyes with the Evidence on both Sides; and there- fore you chofe rather barely to quote the Pages, :and refer him to Paflages in Books which he rnight not have by him, and which, as you mufl prefuire, he would not give himfelf the Trouble to look into or examine. The Objedion, as put by the Author, p. 55, oi the Refleclionsy and as quoted by me, /?. 18. of the Anfwer, is this. But the greatefl Dijficiil- Entldiiftafm in T)ijlrejs. 475* fj is flill behind j and that is the Myftevies of the Go/pel, certain unintelligible DoBrineSy impofed upon us as Articles of Faith, luhich no mortal Man can explain or comprehend ; and yet we are told, that thefe are neceffary to be belie^ued in order to Salvation^ whicii feerns very ahfurd and unreafonable. Now, how docs he get rid of this Objedioii ? Does he deny, that thefe Chriflian DoElrines here refer- red to, are, in his own Scheme, unintelligible, incomprehenfible, and fuch as no mortal Man can explain or conceive > Not at all ; but he grants the whole Thing, and leaves the Ob- jedion in its full Weight ; only he makes aa infignificant Diftinction between Things above, and contrary to Reafon : From whence he con- cludes, that thefe Chriflian Doctrines, and neceffary Articles of Faith, tho' they are unintelligible, in- comprehenfible, and fuch as no mortal Man can explain or conceive -, yet they may be true for all that, and not contrary to Reafon ; they rnay be unintelligible, incomprehenfible, and inexplicable Truths. Well ! perhaps it may be fo ; but then it would be a Contradiction in Terms, to pretend to any Thing of a Revelation in thi^ Cafe, or to fay that thefe unintelligible, incom- prehenfible Truths, are revealed without being piade known to us ; and therefore thefe Truths, thefe Chriflian DoBrines, and thefe neceffary Articles of Faith, himfelf being Judge, can be of no Ufe or Service to us at all : For he tells us, p. 50. that. If the Scripture be not intelligible^ it cannot anfwer the Ends for which it was given ; That no Man can be taught, reproved, correBed, or inftruBed by what he does not or cannot under fland,— and that it is in^ mfifient, either with the IVifdom or Goodnefs of Qod, to give us a Revelation, to be a Guide to Truth, 47^ ^ Second Tojijcript to and the Rule of Right eoufnefs^ which is not eafy to k tmderftood by every Honefl Enquirer. I prefs'd this Difficulty upon the Author before, to know how he would reconcile the unintelligible, in- explicable Myfteries of the Athanaftan Divinity, with the obvious Plainnefs and Clearnefs of Scripture, in all neceffary Points of Chriftian Faith and Practice. But this is I find noli me tangerey which you have not dared to meddle with yourfelf, and for which, perhaps, you will not eafily forgive me. I farther urge upon the Author, that hisDi- flindion of Things above Reafon , and con- • ti'ury to Reafon, could be of no Ufe to him \ here j not only becaufe unintelligible Dodrines I can be no neceffary Part of Religion, by the Autho/s own Acknowledgment, but efpecially becaufe, as I have proved, 'tis impofTible that the AiTent of the Mind fhould, in any Cafe what- i ever, go beyond the Perception of the Under- i.fianding; and confequently, an unintelligible I Proportion can no more be the Objed of Faith, ' than it is of Knowledge or Perception. To this you have given no Anfwer, tho* it plainly dc flroys 'the Author's whole Scheme, and leaves bim intirely in the Power and at the Mercy of the Deifts and Free-ThinkerSs And now I niay fafely leave it to the Reader's judgment, whether I had wickedly charged the Author againft his Principles, or whether you have not wrongfully charged me againft the plain Truth of the Cafe in Fad. I will not fay, that this was ivickedly done of you, and that you had no Fear of God before your Eyes; fince "^cis poUible it might proceed from you under the Influence and Polfefllon of fome ilrong Enthufiafm in Dijirefs, 477 firong enlivening 5/?/n>, which leaves a Man for the prefent not flridly accountable for his Words or Adions ; or it might be owing to a certain conflitutional Elevation of the Blood, which fometimes, after a great Depreffion, is ape to rife too high, and carry a Man above and be- yond the Sight and Comprehenfion of himfelf, or any Thing about him. Thofe I find who pretend to know your proper Name and real Charader, are of this Opinion ; but as that Matter is nothing at all to me, lihall let it pafs. Having graced your Title Page with fome grave Impertinences and folemn Fooleries, from an Author, whofe Authority is juft as good as your own, and charged me with Impudence, Prefumption, Wickednefs, and every Thing, that either Weaknefs, or Malice, a cankered Heart, or a diftempered Head could fuggeft ; you come at length, p. 1 2. to tell me, that the Queftion between you and me fhall not be, who is in the right, but whether Two and Three make Five ? The late Author's Queftion was this, l^hether a Triangle muft not have thrct SideSy as well as three Corners? Which was to determine the Controverfy between the Churcli and DifTenters i and you come up fo near to him in the Clearnefs of ftating Queflions, that one might be apt to imagine you the fame Man, But if Two and Three make Five, then it muft plainly follow, that as the religi- ous Right and L'berty of Mens a(^Ing accord- ing to their Judgments and Confciences ha? been abufed, fo it may be abufcd again, and therefore no fuch Liberty of private Judgment and Confcience ought to be granted; but the Authority of the Church i^ to be fubmicced to 478 A Second Toft [crip to to ill all Matters of Religion and Confcience^ under the Penalty of Damnation. If this be not the plain Defign of ail your Rant and Scan- dal, and of all the fiily Party-Stories you have raked together j I defy any Man living to put any confiflent Senfe, or Meaning, at all to it. And that this is your Meaning, I need no o- ther Evidence, than the Addrefs of that Houfe of Commons which you quote and approve, f, 1 7. where they inftigate their Prince againft that Indulgence and Liberty of Confcience, which his Majefty was inclined to grant : A Piece of Advice certainly, which ought to ftand upon Record, to the eternal Shame and Dif- honour of thofe who gave it j and who thought, no doubt, the moft favage unnatural Perfe- cution a better Way and to fecure the Peace and Happinefs of the King's Subjeds, than re- ligious Indulgence and Liberty of Confcience. . But what if 1 had now Time and Patience to '\ turn the Tables upon you, and to fhew, from the moft authentick hiflorical Evidence, that ever fi nee the Civil EftabliChment of Chriftian 1 Churches, the ambitious domineering Part of the Clergy, thofe who have been for making Creeds, Canons, and Conftitutions, to bind the Confciences of Men in Matters of Religi- on, have ever proved the common Plagues of Mankind, the Pefts and Incendiaries of human Society, and the true Authors and Fomenters of the moft general and moft fatal Miferies and , Calamities, that have ever befallen the Chriftian \ World i Would you quit your Pretenfions to ChuYch' Authority upon this Evidence, and lay afide a Thing that ever has been, and is ever like to be fo much abufed ? • I fuppofe not j hue you Enthuftajm in Dijirefs, 479 you would ask me, perhaps, how 1 came by fuch Stories'^ whether I am not mifinformed? and whether thefe Incendiaries have not been fome other Sort of People in the Drefs and Habit of Prie/is and Clergymen ? As to which I fhould have nothing to aniwer. Sir, but only to defire you to go to deep a little, and write again upon this Subjed, when your Head is better com- pofed : But at prefent you feem uncapable of judging about I'hings that are nearcfl Home ; and whether the Dilorders and Confufions you complain of, in our Civil War, might be more owing to Oliver Crojnwell, or to Archbifhop Laud. I had faid, that to allow the Sufficiency of Scripture , as the only Rule of Chriftiau j Faith and Pradice, and yet to plead for the NecefTity of other Rules, fuch as human Creeds, [ Canons, &c. was affronting the Underflandings I of Men, and a moil ridiculous Banter upon ' Common Senfe. Upon this you appear very much hurried and diftraded ; and you run up and down forward and backward, like a Man at his Wits End : Sometimes you cry out. If all Parties flpould be laid on a Level':, that isy if nothing fhould be made nc- ceflary to Church-Communion, but what the Scripture has made neceffary to Salvation, and if Men fliould leave the Way into the Church as free and open as Chrift has left the Way in- to the Kingdom of Heaven, this muft intro- duce nothing but Diforder and Confufion: But then prefently you recall yourfelf, by al- lowing the Sufficiency of Scripture as the only Rule, and quote the 6th Article of the Church for it. " This ^%o A Second Tojlfcrtpt to This then you fee h a moft perplexing Cafe, If rhe Scripture it felf^ the Bible alone, be a fufEcient, and the only Rule ; 'tis evident, that all other Rules, of what Nature, Kind, or De- nomination foever, muft be unneceflkry. But if other Rules are neceflfary, and fuch as cannot be fpar'd, 'tis plain, that the Scripture, the Bible, is not a fufficient, nor the only Rule of Chri- ftian Faith and Pradice. Now fuch is your Diftrefs here, that you are reduced to the Ne- ceflity of maintaining both Parts of the Contra- didion : The Scripture, with you, is a fufficient infufficient Rule ,* and your human Articles, Canons, ciTc. are unnecefTary neceflkry Rules, or needlefs Things that cannot be fpared. You muft maintain the Sufficiency and Per- fedion of the Scripture, as the only Rule of Chriftian Faith and Pradice, or otherwife you would give up the Proteftant Caufe, and fall a Sacrifice to the Church of Rome, On the other Hand, you are conftrain'd, by the cleareft and moft neceftary Confequence, to deny and difclaim the Sufficiency and Perfedion of Scrip- ture, as the only Rule of Chriftian Faith and Prac- tice, and maintain on the contrary, that there are certain human Articles^Canons, &c. that are neceflary in Point of Chriftian Faith and Pradice, : and without which the Scripture alone would not be fufficient. And unlefs you will fay this, you muft agree with the Proteftant Dif- fenters, that your Articles, Canons, &c. are needlefs at leaft, if not hurtful. You are there- fore crucify'd between thefe two, fufpended between Heaven and Earth ; and I can fee no Help for it, tho' you fhould make wry Faces to the Right and to the Left, and call them both f Thieves* Your Enthuftafm in 'Dtflrejs. 481 Your quoting a Popidi Writer againft me, as if I could be afhamed or frighted out of the Truth, becaufe a Papift had happened to fpeak it betore me, is weak and trifling beyond all Expreffion. I mufl declare, that I have never feen the Pamphlet which you refer to, from f. 44 — 47. but by what you have tranfcribjd from it, the Argument is very firong againft you, and fuch as neither you, nor all the High- Churchmen in England^ can ever anfwer. Now, becaufe this leems to be the mofl: pro- per Place for ir, I fhall here fettle the Account with you, concerning the Authority of the Church, as eflabUJhed by Law. I had main- tained, that the Church, in this Capacity^ could have no proper Authority at all diftind from the Civil Jurifdi(5tion ; becaufe all Authority whatfoever is, by the Laws, and the Church's Oaths, veiled in, and derived from, the King's Majefty, and exercif^d by the Clergy, only as State-Penfioners under the Crown. Now here you have not been able to deny the Principle, as Matter of Fad. This could not be done, (ince 'tis as certain as that th^re is any fuch Thing as a Church of England eflablilhed by Law. But you here very unluckily refer me to Hohbs's Leviathan, as a Book which ycu pre- fume I muft have by me ; and you give me to underfland, that it this be fo, as 1 have ob- ferved, and which you have granted, it muft follow, that the Church is a Leviathan, efta- blifhed upon the Principles of Hohhifm, which refolve all Religion into the Will of the Civil Magiflrate. .But would any Churchman, in his Wits, have dra\Nn fuch a Confequence from a Princi- h I i Pl^ s^%r A Second Toflfcript to pie which he had filenty granted, and could not deny ? Did ever any Man but you thus betray his own Caufe, and damn the Church, of which he is an unworthy Member? I defire that this may be taken Notice of here, as your own Inference. No Adverfary certainly need to bring any Charge againU: a Church, that is fo happy as to have fuch a De- fender. Nay, to make the Matter fure, you quote Hobles's own Words, />. 45 . fVe never jloall have a Jcifling Peace , 'till the Miniflers know they have no Authority bat what the Supreme Civil Power gives them. I'he M/i!//?^"^ then,, it Teems, know- that they have an Authority which is not derived from the Supreme Civil Power, tho' they fwear the contrary. A fine Compliment, furely, up- on thefe Mini/Iers, for which they will doubtlel* vote you their due Thanks ; who, according to your Account of them, mufl be a Pack of mer^ cenary gracele fs Wretches, that, to fccure the Benehts of a Civil Edablifhment, take Oaths every Day, contrary to their Knowledge and Confcienccs. But this Perjury will never be' at an End, 'till the Pretence oF Independent Church- Authority is dropt, and 'till theje Mi- nifiers know that they are Subjeds, and not Rulers ; the Servants , Delegates and Sub- Agents, and not the Lords and Mafters of the Churchy or Chriftian People, From hence 'tis plain, that whatever Church you and your Brethren are of, it cannot be ot the Church eftablij]:ed by Law : Since that Churcli is fo far from admitting any independent Au- thority in her Priefthood, that fhe obliges all her Clergy to difclaim it before God and Man, by renouncing it upon Oath, and placing all Authoriry, Enthuftafm in T>iflrefs, 485 Authority, Eccldiaflical as well as Civil, in the King's M:; jelly. 1 had urged it as wholly indefenli'ole in the"^ Conditution of the Church, that Things con- i tdledly indifferent and unneceiVary (houkl be luperadded by mere human Authority, and tack'd to the neeellary Inftitutions oF Chrill:, in fuch Manner as to exclude from the Com- munion of the Church, and from the Benefits .. of the Gofpel, thofe, who by reafon of na- tural Weaknefs, ground iefs Scruples, reafon*- able Prejudices, or any other Caufe whatever, / fhould ivat -be able to comply with thefe prC'^ tended indifferent Tubings : And I Ihewed, that^ no Authority upon Earth could be fufficient to \ conftitute any mere pofitive Rights and Infti-^ < tutions in Matters of ReJmony and to eAciude Men from the Cl.nircb of Chrifl, in Cafe of Non- / compliance. Now your Anfwertothis is wholly evalive, and perfedly trifling, and a full Proof that you can take' nothing in hind without fpoiliiig it: For here you put yourfelf to the Expence of feveral Pages in Quotations from the learned Writers of the Church, to prove that they do not look upon thefe confelledly indifferent Things to be neceffary : but that the Inftitutions of Chrifl: are compleat and perfect without them,' as Baptifm, for inftance, with- c-ut the Sign of the Crofs : And you might have added, without Sponfers or Sureties; and that unaccountable Method of Baptizing by Proxy, and of one Perfon's believing and re-' pen ting for another. ^^*^' ^ Kow this. Sir, you may remember was the very Objedion which I made ; that thefe hu- \ man Inftitutions being profclledly indiiiorent j I i 2 an4 t- 484 A Second Tojljcript to and needltfs, the tacking them to the Inftitu- tions of Chrif]:, and denying People what is neceffary^ unlefs they will comply with what you own to be unneceliary, muft therefore be the more unreafonabk and inexcufable, and fuch as mull needs leave the Impofers fclf-condemned. But to this you have faid nothing ; and that for a very good Reafon, becaufe nothing could be faid. The Church cads out her weakefl Children, her Babes and Sucklings, and fuch as have n-.oft need of her Compailion, and leaves them to perifh with Famine, unlefs they can find Provilion elfewhere : And yet at the fame Time, you cry out how tenderly you re- gard them, and how w^illing you are to receive them, while you will not part with the leaft Trifle for the Salvation of their Souls. The Government indeed has been more wife and merciful, and granted them a legal Tole- ration ; which has kept them from periftiing, and for which as is evident they owe no Thanks at all to the Church. . But the Author of the RefieBions had neither Wit nor Mercy i he was reiolved that the Toleration ftiould be of no Service at all to the DilTenters, and therefore he roundly declares them altogether to be a pack of the moft wicked and ungodly Schifma- -ticks, whofe Sin is as great as Treafon or Horfe- fiealingy and evident as that a T'riangle has three Sides as well as three Corners. At the fame Time he falls foul upon a Right Reverend Prelate of the Church, and charges him with advancing a moft wicked and fatal Notion of Sincerity, which muft needs lead Men into, and harden and encourage them in Sin. And all this for no other Reafcn in the World that I could fee, but Enthufiafm in Dijlrefs. 487 but becaufe that Prelate, who now happens to be his Dioccfan, had cieFcnded the Church upon Principles confident with the Nature ol: Reli- gion, the Authority of God and Confcience, and the Common Rights and Liberties of Man- kind. Thefe, Sivy are the true Grounds upon which I ventured to attack the learned Author, and without which he had never heard from your humble Servant by Way of Oppofition ; but he might have gone on to reform the Deifls and Free-Thinkers of the Age, in his own Way, "without any Hindrance from me. But I hope he will not fay, that the Bifliop of Sarum, and all his Friends in the Church, with the Dif- fenters in general, are, in this odious Senfe, Deifts and Free-Thinkers. This, I hope, was Reafon fufEcient for my anfwering the Au- thor of the RefleEiions, But what you pretend, that I wrote againfl him from mere Spite and perfonal Prejudice, is utterly falfe and ground- lefs. I had refolved upon, and begun the An- fwer, before I had any the leail; Intimations about the Author: And therefore, it could not be owing to any perfonal Prejudice, unlefs you can fuppofe me to have been under any particular perfonal Obligations to him, which ought to have induced me to lay afide the Delign,as foon as I came to know^ who was my Adver- fary ; but I had no perfonal pyejtidice nor Obli- gation, and therefore wrote as to that with the utmofl Impartiality. Now (ince you have dropt this main Caufe, and left your Friend in the Lurch, and intirely deftitute of Help, wliere he was mofl of all in Diflrefs.; I cannot think but he will be afha- ined 486 A Second To/ijcript to med of your Defence. And I believe you could not upon this Occafion diiTemble your own Con- fufion, if you did not comfort yourfelf with the imagination that your Face is covered, and that ading thus in Mafquerade no Body knows you. I had blamed the Author, for charging the Lulls and Vices of the Deifts upon their Prin- ciples: But you take me up for it, and fay, tbat^ on the contrary , he charged their Principles upon their Lulls and Vices. The Truth is, he has done both : Sometimes he reprefents the Principles as pregnant with all Wickednefe'; and at other Times he inverts that Order, and derives the wrong Principles from the wrong Pradice j and indeed he could not be the Man he is, if he did not in every Thing contradid himfelf. You endeai^our to juflify the Author's Ac- count of the Spirit, by producing a long Quo- tation from p. 52 58. out of Dr. Chejm's. Thilofophkal Principles of Natural Religion^, as ybii tell me ; tho' in that Edition of the Book I have by me, there is not one Word of the Matter in the Places you refer to, nor any where elfe ; but as Tis pofTible there may be After-E- ditions of the fame Book which I have not feen, I fhall take the Quotation at prefent as Dr. Cheyne^s. I thought I had fufficiently mortified you as to this trifling, in quoting Authorities inftead ot Arguments. But I fee this petty^ retaiUped- Your Humble Servant^ T. M, FINIS. I C: I ,<7 ' ■ ' n/vTP ni IE / / />. 9 0 '■ c^-.vr 4? ^'9 / / mm ^■i:mf^^: ^;.*K • ;:^^^^;