livered were by their followers.

The Christian

religion at once overturned their several systems, taught a morality more perfect than theirs, and established it upon higher and much stronger foundations, mortified their pride, confounded their learning, discovered their ignorance, ruined their credit. Against such an enemy what would they not do? Would they not exert the whole power of their rhetoric, the whole art of their logic, their influence over the people, their interest with the great, to discredit a novelty so alarming to them all? If St. Paul had nothing to trust to but his own natural faculties, his own understanding, knowledge, and eloquence, could he have hoped to be singly a match for all theirs united against him? Could a teacher, unheard of before, from an obscure and unlearned part of the world, have withstood the authority of Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Zeno, Arcesilaus, Carneades, and all the great names which held the first rank of human wisdom? He might as well have attempted alone, or with the help of Barnabas and Silas, of Timotheus and Titus, to have erected a monarchy upon the ruins of all the several states then in the world, as to have erected Christianity upon the destruction of all the several sects of philosophy which reigned in the minds of the Gentiles among whom he preached, particularly the Greeks and the Romans.

Having thus proved, as I think, that, in the work of converting the Gentiles, St. Paul could have no assistance, but was sure, on the contrary, of the utmost repugnance and opposition to it imaginable,

from the magistrates, from the priests, from the people, and from the philosophers; it necessarily follows, that to succeed in that work, he must have called in some extraordinary aid, some stronger power than that of reason and argument. Accordingly we find, he tells the Corinthians, "that his speech and preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power." And to the Thessalonians he says, "Our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost." It was to the effiof the Divine Power that he ascribed all his success in those countries, and wherever else he planted the Gospel of Christ. If that power really went with him, it would enable him to overcome all those difficulties that obstructed his enterprise, but then he was not an impostor. Our inquiry, therefore, must be, Whether (supposing him to have been an impostor) he could, by pretending to miracles, have overcome all those difficulties, and carried on his work with success?

cacy

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Now, to give miracles, falsely pretended to, any reputation, two circumstances are principally necessary, an apt disposition in those whom they are designed to impose upon, and a powerful confederacy to carry on and abet the cheat. Both these circumstances, or at least one of them, have always accompanied all the false miracles, ancient and modern, which have obtained any credit among mankind. To both these was owing the general faith of the heathen world in oracles, auspices, auguries, and other impostures, by which the priests combined

with the magistrates, supported the national worship, and deluded a people prepossessed in their favour, and willing to be deceived. Both the same causes, likewise, co-operate in the belief that is given to Popish miracles among those of their own church, But neither of these assisted St. Paul. What prepossessions could there have been in the minds of the Gentiles, either in favour of him, or the doctrines he taught? Or rather, what Or rather, what prepossessions could be stronger than those, which they undoubtedly had against both? If he had remained in Judea, it might have been suggested by unbelievers, that the Jews were a credulous people, apt to seek after miracles, and to afford them an easy belief; and that the fame of those said to be done by Jesus himself, and by his apostles, before Paul declared his conversion, had predisposed their minds, and warmed their imaginations to the admission of others, supposed to be wrought by the same power.

The signal miracle of the apostles speaking with tongues on the day of Pentecost, had made three thousand converts; that of healing the lame man at the gate of the temple, five thousand more. Nay, such was the faith of the multitude, that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches," that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them." Here was, therefore, a good foundation laid for Paul to proceed upon, in pretending to similar miraculous works; though the priests and the rulers were hardened against them, the people were inclined to give credit to them, and there was reason to hope for success among them, both at Jerusalem, and in

all the regions belonging to the Jews. But no such dispositions were to be found in the Gentiles. There was among them no matter prepared for imposture to work upon, no knowledge of Christ, no thought of his power, or of the power of those who came in his name. Thus, when at Lystra, St. Paul healed the man who was a cripple from his birth, so far were the people there from supposing that he could be able to do such a thing as an apostle of Christ, Acts xiv. or by any virtue derived from Him, that they took Paul and Barnabas to be gods of their own, come down in the likeness of men, and would have sacrificed to them as such.

Now I ask, Did the citizens of Lystra concur in this matter to the deceiving of themselves? Were their imaginations overheated with any conceits of a miraculous power belonging to Paul, which could dispose them to think he worked such a miracle when he did not? As the contrary is evident, so in all other places to which he carried the Gospel, it may be proved to demonstration, that he could find no disposition, no aptness, no bias to aid his imposture, if the miracles, by which he every where confirmed his preaching, had not been true..

On the other hand, let us examine, whether, without the advantage of such an assistance, there was any confederacy strong enough to impose his false miracles upon the Gentiles, who were both unprepared and indisposed to receive them.

The contrary is apparent. He was in no combination with their priests or their magistrates; no sect or party among them gave him any help; all eyes were open and watchful to detect his impostures, all

hands ready to punish him as soon as detected. Had he remained in Judea, he would at least have had many confederates, all the apostles, all the disciples of Christ, at that time pretty numerous; but in preaching to the Gentiles, he was often alone, never with more than two or three companions or followers. Was this a confederacy powerful enough to carry on such a cheat, in so many different parts of the world, against the united opposition of the magistrates, priests, philosophers, people, all combined to detect and expose their frauds?

The

Let it be also considered, that those upon whom they practised these arts were not a gross or ignorant people, apt to mistake any uncommon operations of nature, or juggling tricks, for miraculous acts. churches planted by St. Paul were in the most enlightened parts of the world, among the Greeks of Asia and Europe, among the Romans, in the midst of science, philosophy, freedom of thought, and in an age more inquisitively curious into the powers of nature, and less inclined to credit religious frauds, than any before it. Nor were they only the lowest of the people that he converted. Sergius Paulus, the proconsul of Paphos, Erastus, chamberlain of Corinth, and Dionysius the Areopagite, were his proselytes.

Upon the whole, it appears beyond contradiction, that his pretension to miracles was not assisted by the disposition of those whom he designed to convert by those means, nor by any powerful confederacy to carry on, and abet the cheat; without both which concurring circumstances, or one at least, no such pretension was ever supported with any success.