The fat bulls of Basham compass him about; his friends stand aloof; yea, even his own kinsmen stand afar off. But although he is troubled on every side, he is not distressed; he may be perplexed, but does not despair; persecuted, yet not forsaken; imprisoned, but not destroyed. For who shall separate him from the love of TRUTH? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? Nay, in all these things, he is more than conqueror. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor knaves, nor fools, nor tyrants, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate him from the love of that TRUTH, which is laid in NATURE. Because these light afflictions, which last but for a time, worketh for him, a far more exceeding and eternal weight of CREDIT. Should you, courteous reader, be one of those who have been accustomed, through habit, to walk always in the same road of thinking, in which your fathers trod, without ever attempting to deviate to the right or left, in order to ascertain whether there might not be a much shorter, and less difficult path, leading to happiness, let me intreat you to bear in mind, that many opinions, which have been esteemed sacred by our credulous forefathers, are now derided: and many systems, that were universally received amidst the gloom of past ages, are now utterly exploded. If, then, we find them erring in those matters, through their ignorance and credulity, which, with our information, might have been so easily demonstrated, erroneous, why should we think it impossible for them to have been deceived and duped, in those matters, which were more abstruse, and, as Peter said, so hard to be understood ? 4 Let us, then, step awhile out of this high road of ignorance, and enter the court of inquiry; for we are told, that he that seeketh shall find; and where there is no search made, no examination, there can be no proof of truth; whatever may be found, is only by accident. Trust no longer to blind chance. Precious jewels lay not exposed to every eye. Error is oft-times blended with truth, like tares among the wheat, and left to grow together until the time of harvest. Be it our business, now, in this harvest of knowledge, to gather the wheat of truth into the garners of our understanding, and to cast out the tares of error into outer darkness, there to be remembered no more. From you who have too much good sense to follow blindly the footsteps of your ancestors, and too much honesty to sanction the perpetuity of established error, I crave indulgence. Consider the circumstances in which I am placed; and my deficiency of ways and means to obtain necessary information; likewise, the humble sphere of life, in which my educution has been cultivated: and your liberality must excuse the phraseology and grammatical errors, in the following pages. But they are not written for you: for they that be whole, need not a physician. It is to the broken and faint-hearted penitent, that is wandering in the darkness of ror, on the brink of despair; and to the entangled eaptive of rstition, that is groaning beneath the weight of his "soul PREFACE. eating shackles," that I write. Let not then my good, be evil spoken of. 5 Should I succeed, in drawing one from the error of his ways, to the light of reason; or release him, from his galling chains, to the glorious liberty of free inquiry, I shall consider myfelf amply rewarded: there being more joy in heaven, it is said, over one sinner that repenteth, than over ninety and nine just persons. If I fail, in this, my feeble effort, I shall, at least, enjoy, that consoling reflection, which naturally proceeds from a good intention, that will, no doubt, yield me a conscious pleasure, at the expiration of my labours, that I have not been all the day idle; and so, probably, may escape the judgment of the barren fig tree ! 6 To that acute reasoner, Peter ANNET; likewise to Thomas WOOLSTON; I am greatly indebted for the assistance which their writings have afforded me, in the following work; whose names will ever be remembered with veneration, by every man of sense and sound judgment; if he be a friend to free inquiry, and an enemy to persecution. JOHN CLARKE. 1. 1 Tim. i. 7. 2. Isaiah, i. 18. 3. 1 John, iv. 1. ΤΟ Ꭺ Ꭰ Ꭺ Ꮇ Ꮯ Ꮮ Ꭺ Ꭱ Ꮶ Ꭼ, D.D. L.L.D. F.R.S. F.A.S. and A.S.S. SIR. FORASMUCH as many have taken in hand, to set forth in order, a declaration of those things, which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, who, from the beginning, were strangers, and ignorant of the word: It seemeth good to me, also, having had perfect understanding of all things, from the very first, to write unto thee, in order, most excellent ADAM CLARKE, that thou mightest know the uncertainty of those things, wherein thou has been instructed. (Luke i. 1. and 4.) Being about to commence a Review of the Nativity, Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, called the Christ, recorded in those books which are now attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, I have selected you from the body of Theological Professors, as being most competent, by your superior and extensive knowledge, to appreciate my conclusions, and correct my errors: because, from your deep researches, and elaborate commentaries, on those books, you have attained to a degree of notoriety, far beyond that acquired by any of your brethren. The CRISIS has now arrived, in which it becomes an imperative duty for every man to come forward boldly and assist in extirpating that system of fraud and delusion, which, for ages past, has shackled and enslaved the minds of so many human beings. "To see the sufferings, of my fellow-creatures, Of Liberty, which, yet, they ne'er must taste of: It is true, that we have not that stimulus, which is extorted from the pockets of the poor, to call forth the energies of our minds and bodies. But, we have others, which, to the mind, is more consoling: one of which, is a peaceful and delightful reflection, assuring us, that we have contributed our mite towards the welfare and happiness of mankind; by our endeavours to teach the ignorant, and our efforts to release them, from those groundless terrors and deceptive arts, with which their imprisoned senses have so long been bound by that FAITH, which is "The Priest's strong chain, And prop of the It is this consolation which buoys us up, while passing through the waters of tribulation: and, though the flood-gates of persecution, may be opened wide, yet, it will not overflow us: even whilst walking through the fire of our enemies, we shall not be consumed; neither shall the flame of their malignant tongues, kindle upon us. I have made thus bold, Sir, to address myself to you, knowing you to be a defender of that system which I am compelled to look upon as nothing more than a "fancied vision." Having made the Old and New Testaments my particular study, during these last four years, in the hope of finding some internal evidence of their authenticity, I have at length discovered that there is none; and that to build upon them, is like resting on a "thing of nought." I shall, therefore, henceforth, fix my dependance, not on doctrines, which are made and unmade at pleasure; but upon a pure, uncontaminated, stable, system of morality; which is founded on Reason, and has for its object, general utility. For those doctrines and ceremonies, which are only founded upon things not seen, and things hoped for, can only be beneficial to those individuals, who, in submitting thereto, find it an easy and profitable profession. Thus the priests, taking advantage of the credulity of the ignorant, soon found themselves secure, and ruled over them as they pleased; and who, notwithstanding the increase of knowledge, still continue to claim, through the force of custom, that as a right, which was first obtained by subtilty, and now sanctioned by antiquity. But the age has now arrived in which their dogmas shall no longer be held sacred. Men will not tamely submit, to the customs and authority of their credulous fore-fathers; because they find that they have been founded only in ignorance and fraud. Therefore, if I do not obtain some better evidence than I now possess, concerning the utility and veracity of the dogmas of the Christian Religion, I must speedily renounce the name of Christianity, and adopt some other that is more allied to virtue: where the principle of " doing to others, as we would wish them to do to us," is less talked of, and more practised. It is said, that Man, by reason, may controul every propensity; then surely, that which has only existed in opinion, may, by the force of reason, be effectually removed, when found to be erroneous. It is the knowledge of this, which raises the venom of the priesthood against reason. It is carnal, they say. It is at variance with God. It is unable to comprehend the things which are spiritual. But, Sir, do you not affirm that reason is the gift of God? If this be true, where is his wisdom and justice displayed, in giving to us that which is incompatible with our wants and welfare ? For, if our reason be the gift of God, it is our greatest evil; seeing that by it we are drawn aside from that faith, which is so necessary for our salvation, and without which you, moreover, tell us we cannot be saved. |
