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sure, of public or private life; and it seemed impossible to escape the observance of them, without at the same time renouncing the commerce of mankind, and all the offices and amusements of society." (290) "The Christian, who with pious horror avoided the abomination of the circus, or the theatre, found himself encompassed with infernal snares in every convivial entertainment."-Page 382, he says, " The religious policy of the ancient world seems to have assumed a more stern and intolerant character to oppose the progress of Christianity, about fourscore years after the death of Christ. His innocent disciples were punished with death by the sentence of a pro-consul of the most amiable and philosophic character, and according to the laws of an emperor distinguished by the wisdom and justice of his general administration. The apologies which were repeat. edly addressed to the successors of Trajan are filled with the most pathetic complaints, that the Christians who obeyed the dictates, and solicited the liberty of conscience, were alone, among all the subjects of the Roman empire, excluded from the common benefits of their auspicious government." Page 383, he accounts for this peculiar severity towards Christians as follows" It has already been observed, that the religious concord of the world was principally supported by the impli cit assent and reverence which the nations of antiquity expres sed for their respective traditions and ceremonies; it might therefore be expected that they would unite with indignation against any sect or people which should separate itself from the communion of mankind, and claiming the exclusive possession of divine knowledge, should disdain every form of religion, as impious and idolatrous, but their own."

The reason assigned is very natural, and it is equally rea sonable to suppose, that a people uniting, "with indignation, against any sect," and possessing the power of the secular arm, would use it with vigour to persecute and destroy the ad herents of that sect; and if a pro-consul of an amiable and philosophic character could sentence to death (and that according to the laws of an emperor distinguished by wisdom and justice) the professors of Christianity, it is no less natural to expect that less amiable, wise, and just magistrates, would act with greater severity; therefore, this reason which Gibbon has assigned, will save me the trouble of transcribing those cruel instances of persecution which he himself has recorded; for if we had not one account handed down to us respecting it, this would be sufficient to prove that they were numerous, fre quent, bloody, and severe; and that the ruling powers, as well as the prejudices of the people, would oppose such a bar to the reception of Christianity, as to make it impossible to suc

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ceed by any ordinary or merely human means. to this the extreme difficulty of multiplying books, owing to the art of printing being then unknown-the danger to which the writers or vendors exposed themselves-the various languages into which they must have been translated-the difficulty of spreading this religion by books seems insuperable. The only way then by which it could have been propagated must have been as the scriptures say it was, by public and private teaching; but how was this to be accomplished amidst all the difficulties and dangers before enumerated? How were the first teachers to find opportunity or ability to learn all the different languages of the known world? and if not acquainted with them, how could they convey their opinions to others? But if the apostles were impostors, and their followers had not possessed the most substantial evidence of the truths they taught, let any man shew me, upon a just survey of the human mind, what stimulus could they have had to undertake the herculean and dangerous task, even admitting that it came within the compass of human power to accomplish. Many are the secondary causes assigned by Gibbon for the spread of Christianity, but none of them are adequate to explain these difficulties; and the causes I have enumerated from his work against it, are so many and so powerful, as compleatly to refute all he has said on the contrary side.

Here then we see a religion spread over the whole civilized world by twelve illiterate men and their followers, in opposition to the power of the magistrate, the priest, and the people; in opposition to an idolatrous religion, that had spread among all mankind, and intermingled itself with all their prejudices, their passions, interests, and inclinations, and succeeding in overturning them all without the aid of power, money, or learning. We see a religion taught to all the different people of the empire of Rome, divided into innumerable nations and languages, by men, if Christianity be not true, who knew but one language, unless they had learned them after they had commenced impostors;-but if they were capable of learning all these languages without the aid of prinitng; if they met with such rapid success under all these formidable circumstances; how happens it that the missionaries sent to the Chinese and Indians meet with so little success? how is it that they find such difficulty in learning a single language, when assisted by books, which printing furnishes so abundantly, when they are not only tolerated in some countries where they go, but in others are sanctioned by the ruling powers, and supported by the contributions of the wealthy of their own country?

Surely if they make but little progress under all these en

couraging circumstances, the first Christians, with all their disadvantages, must have made less. Yet Mr. Gibbon, that inveterate enemy to Christianity, is obliged to admit the fact, that they succeeded in less than fourscore years in diffusing their opinions all over the Roman empire; and in less than 300 years after the death of Christ, the adherents to these opinions had become so numerous, as to make it a matter of policy in the emperor of Rome to court their favour by pretending to be a convert to their faith.

Here then I pretend not to draw the fact from scripture, but from its enemy-I see an effect, and as a philosopher I look for a cause that could produce so mighty an effect-that men, knowing only one language, should communicate their minds to various nations speaking languages different to their own-that men without property or literary attainments should be able to learn these different languages-that men continually persecuted, thwarted, and opposed by tyrants, priests, power, property, and prejudice, should succeed in producing such an effect by the ordinary means and powers of man; and the farther I look, the less capable am I of assigning any adequate cause for such an effect. The only one I can assign, is that which must suppose something beyond all ordinary means, viz. that the religion was from God, and that he furnished the persons who were to communicate it with ability to speak the different languages, without the trouble of learning them -with a power of working miracles, which would sanction their claim as messengers sent by the Deity, and incline men to listen to their important message; while the aid they re ceived from the Almighty, and the certainty and importance of the truths they taught, would be sufficient to support them under every persecution, and enable them to surmount every diffi culty that prejudice, ingenuity, or malice, would place in their

way.

Here then I see a cause adequate to the effect, and the only adequate cause that can be assigned. Satisfied with my enquiry, I turn to the scriptures to see if they account for it in the same way, and to my satisfaction I find that it perfectly agrees with what reason would dictate, and tells me that the cause which I had supposed was the only adequate one that would account for such an effect, was that, by which it was produced.

Jesus never apprehended so mighty a work could be accomplished by ordinary means; he therefore says to his disciples (John xv. 26) "but when the advocate is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even that spirit of truth which goeth forth from the Father, he will bear testimony to ine;

and

ye also shall bear testimony, because ye have been with me from the beginning." Again (xv. 7, 8)" for if I go not away, the advocate will not come unto you; but if I do go, I will send him to you; and when he is come he will reprove the world con cerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning justice." And after his resurrection we find him acting on the same principle, giving them the same promise, but enjoining them not to enter on their mission till they were properly furnished for their work. Luke xxiv. 44, he says, "I will send the promise of my Father upon you, and stay ye in Jerusalem till ye be endued with power from on high," and (Acts i. 8), it is again recorded that he said, "ye will receive power, by the coming of the holy spirit upon you, to be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the land;" and on this advice and promise we find the apostles acted, for (Acts ii. 1)" when the day of Pentecost was fully come, the apostles were all with one mind in the same place," and (verse 4)" they were all filled with the holy spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as that spirit gave them utterance." Then, and not till then, that they were furnished with adequate means to accomplish the work, did they pretend to set about it.

Thus then these facts and effects confirm the scripture history, and the scripture history confirms the fact, and accounts for the effect by furnishing an adequate cause for it. At the same time this inference fairly follows, if the effect could not have been produced without such a cause, and if such a cause was that by which the effect was produced, then is Christianity true, and the resurrection of Jesus is confirmed beyond a doubt; as the giving this cause was in confirmation of his divine mission, and could only come from God, who would never sanction an imposture such as this by his divinè interference. I am free to declare that I am perfectly satisfied with the cause assigned by the New Testament-1 can imagine none other capable of satisfying my mind; and could only give up Christianity by denying all the facts and effects 1 have quoted from Gibbon, which rest upon such testimony as it is impossible to doubt. 1 must therefore be a Christian till any man can assign a cause more rational or adequate. I should, and I think the grossest sceptic could not do otherwise than believe any other fact upon much more slender evidence: but in this case, as it regards a fact which happened at so remote a period of time, it should be our business to unite all the evidence together, and ask if a real fact, under all the circumstances, could admit of greater evidence; or if there are not

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many that we give full credit to which do not admit of half as much?

I have now, Sir, concluded, to the best of my ability, the evidences I had to offer in favour of Christianity. If in any part I have failed for want of greater talent, I sincerely regret it; but I do'hope that 1 have furnished such a clue, that persons more competent to the task will be able to improve uponthat so the divine, the inestimable religion of Jesus, cleared of all its rubbish, may appear in its true and proper light, and that numbers may be brought to see its truth, and experience its benign effects.

1 think I have said enough to excite enquiry, and indeed to satisfy those who are anxious to know the will of their Creator, that they may perform it from their heart; and 1 am persuaded it is as much the duty of those who deny revelation to answer our arguments, as for Christians to answer their objections and that no man can honestly reject Christianity till he has answered to his own mind all that I have said in its defence.

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1 shall conclude by calling upon Deists to assign an adequate cause for the facts and effects here stated, equal, if not superior, to that which the scripture has assigned; and also to those other facts and effects stated in my former essays. When such an opponent appears, I shall meet him with plea, sure; but I do not pledge myself to enter the contest with any one who does not fairly take up the matter, and assign fair, rational, and substantial causes, agreeable to the rule laid down in my first essay. Till then, Sir, 1 take my leave, as suring you of my most sincere wishes for the advancement of truth, and of real Christian truth in particular, because I know it is calculated to make men wise, virtuous, and happy.

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