prefently follows, That whatever ftands in the way to cross this Refolution, must be vigorously and hear tily oppos'd. Let it otherwise be ever fo rational and juft, yet if it thwarts the grand Design, of a free and uninterrupted Enjoyment of the prefent World; it must be treated as things always are, which pretend to deprive Men of what is most grateful and agreeable to them; that is, be expos'd in all respects, as far as poffible,

And therefore the Gofpel, which pretends to abridg Men of fo much Liberty, and obliges them to a strictly abftemious and felf-denying Life, and a ready Submiffion to all Sufferings, which the Power and Malice of the World may at any time inflict for the Profession of it; muft of course be deny'd to be a Divine Revelation, and made the mere Invention of a Set of crafty designing Men, who were proud to be the Heads of a new Religion, and fond of making Mankind stoop to fuch Laws as they should think fit to impofe on them. And hence the Christians must be represented too, as a credulous bigotted fort of People, who have not Senfe nor Sagacity enough to fee thro the Imposture; but are held fast in their fond Belief, by the Artifices and Management of those Perfons, whofe Bufinefs and Interest it is, and has been always, to maintain and propagate the Cheat. All this will follow, from one stated Refolution, to be under no Reftraints, in the Purfuit and Enjoyment of the Pleasures of the World. How unreafonable foever the Inferences are in themselves; yet they naturally follow, upon the making fuch a Conclufion in a Man's own Mind.

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H

Owever, tho all this be very plain and clear, yet I would by no means be thought to assert, That this is the only poffible Cause of Deism; or that all who disbelieve the Chriftian Revelation, do it upon this Principle alone.

I believe it not impoffible for a Man to be a Deift upon Theory, or mere fpeculative Principles. Natural Pride and Conceit, wrong Notions of Human Nature, and particularly of the Power of the Understanding; by which Men fet it up for an abfolute and unlimited Judg of all things, and lay this down for a Rule (which is demonftrably a fallacious one) That nothing is true which the Mind cannot comprehend by its own native Force; (As if an infinitely wife and profound Being ought never to say any thing to fuch Creatures as we are, but what we should prefently take, and penetrate into all the Reasons of; and as if it were any more unfit in the nature of things, or unbecoming the Perfections of God, to propose unfearchable Myfteries to the Understanding, than to impofe Laws on the Will and Affections:) Thefe, I fay, and fuch like Causes, may lead fome Men (who have otherwise a regard to Vertue and common Morality) into inveterate Prejudices against Chrif tianity. For fetting themselves to try the Doctrines and Mysteries of it by their own falfe Rules, and finding they will not fquare with them, they presently condemn them as abfurd and irrational, and therefore impoffible ever to come from God; and fo all the rest is rejected of courfe. And thus by the means of one fundamental Blunder, the Gospel

Gospel is thrown by, the whole Chriftian Religion made an Imposture in a trice, and they fet up for profefs'd Enemies and Oppofers of it. But I imagine this to be the Cafe but of few. 'Tis poffible that others (who may, for all that I know, approve of the Morality of the Gospel, and practife it too, as far as it keeps pace with the Law of Nature) may yet think the inward and abstracted Duties which it enjoins, too cumbersom, and perhaps fuch an unreafonable Tax upon Mankind, as an infinitely merciful God (according to their Notions of infinite Mercy and Goodnefs) would never impofe. And tho the Error of this fort of Deifts takes its rife from a Principle very different from that of the former, yet it is as bad, and sticks as fast: Wrong Notions of the Government of God over rational Creatures, are not lefs pernicious, nor may they do lefs Mischief to fome, than an over-weaning Conceit of the Power of Human Understanding, may to others. I can only fay, with respect to these Gentlemen on both fides, That when they have carefully corrected their Notions of the Supreme Being, by what is demonftrable of his infinite Perfections; and when they have likewife rectify'd their Schemes about Human Nature, according to what plain Fact and Experience fhew us to be undeniably true of it: That then thefe Objections against Christianity will cease; and those on one fide, will no more think the fublimest Do&rines unfit to be believ'd, than those on the other, the most abftracted Duties unreasonable to be perform❜d.

And this is all the Answer I think is owing to that fort of Men.

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B

UT notwithstanding all these Conceffions of things that are poffible, and may be; the Cafe is quite alter'd, when we come to speak of what is probable, and most likely to be. And here, tho the Libertine and fenfual Deift, and the feemingly fpeculative or rational ones, do all unanimously agree, in exclaiming against fome Doctrines and Mysteries of the Chriftian Religion, which, they Say, are abfurd and contradictory, and affront all the Reafon of Mankind; or else pretend to take offence at fome trivial Corruptions and Abuses of the Canon; little Difficulties which they call infolvable, because they know not how, or do not care to attempt the Solution of them; and greater than the greatest of which, they easily pass over, and pardon every day in profane Authors: Yet after all, to deal freely and plainly with them, I must say, that there are Reasons enough to make People firmly believe, That the Precepts and Prohibitions of the Gospel are the Parts of it which give the main Offence.

SECT. XIX.

OR, First, Few People refent Affronts offer'd to their Reafon, fo much as they do Confinement and Impofitions on their Liberty. Because Paffion and Appetite govern more Men, and most Men more, than Reason and Understanding do; and fo are much more likely to be the occafion of the Quarrel.

Secondly,

Secondly, Where pure Scruples of the Mind are the occafion of a Controverfy, it feldom proceeds with fo much Malignity and Virulence, as this Dispute has always been manag'd on their fide withal. Clofe Reasoning is the proper and genuine Revenge of an affronted Understanding: As on the other hand, Satyr and Raillery always betray Interest and Paffion, and fhews they are far more concern'd in the matter than Reafon and Judgment.

Thirdly, But in the next place, If the great Offence taken against Christianity, were occafion'd by the Difficulties of fome Doctrines propos'd by it; Why Should the Christian Religion meet with fo much worse treatment in general from these Gentlemen, than another Religion does, which in their Fudgments as well as ours, is full of manifeft Abfurdities, and carries all the plain Marks of an Imposture along with it; but at the fame time does not reftrain and tie Men up, fo as the Chriftian Religion does? They easily conclude, that the Religion I intend here, is that of Mahomet; which abstracting from all the falfe and invidious Representations made of it by the misguided Zeal of fome Chriftians, is undoubtedly an Inftitution unworthy of God to appoint, and unfit for reasonable Creatures to receive. If this be queftion'd, there are plentiful Demonstrations of it to be fetch'd, from fuch Accounts and Records of that Religion, as the most learned Profeffors thereof do themfelves own to be Genuine and Authentick. I must not enlarge much on this Head (which is fomething foreign to my prefent purpofe) and fhall therefore only fuggeft a few things briefly.

SECT.