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days of the authors of the above predictions, there was nothing known among mankind, which might give the hint of such a power as that of antichrist, or popery ; and if no account of this power in our times, when it is so well known can in prophetic style more clearly describe it, than we find it represented in the predictions of scripture, let the opposers of prophecy account for this wonderful agreement between the prediction and the completion, as they best

can.

These are a few, among almost innumerable predictions of future events, of which holy scripture is full. And, as these show themselves clearly to be genuine revelations from God; the others contained in the same writings may in reason be supposed to be of the same original, though the times when they were given, and the exactness of their respective completions, should be more subject to cavil, than these here quoted. And the opposers of the revelation, in which these predictions are contained, are in reason obliged to give some plausible account, how they came there, if not by Divine inspiration.

Let christianity have been introduced into the world when it would, it is impossible to give any rational or satisfying account of its prevalence and establishment, but its being a Divine institution. For supposing it forged in any age before or since the received date of about seventeen hundred years ago, it will be equally impossible to conceive how it should come to pass upon mankind, if it was a fiction. The christian religion has been established upon the ruins of the national religion of every country, in which it has been received. It had therefore the united forces of regal power, sacerdotal craft, and the popular superstition to bear down, before it could get footing in the world. Its character is directly opposite to the sordid views and secular interests of mankind, and acceptable to none but virtuous and elevated minds, which in all ages and nations have ever been comparatively a very small number of the species, and not fit, nor disposed to struggle with, much less likely to get the better of, the majority, so as to cram a set of falsehoods down their throats.

All the false schemes of religion, which ever prevailed in the world, have come to be established either by the multitude's being led to embrace them by craft, or driven

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to it by force. That christianity was established by craft, is on all accounts incredible, and particularly from consid. ering its character, which is altogether separate from worldly views, or any kind of motives, which might incline men to deceive; and especially from its setting up upon the foot of the most strict integrity, of commanding all its votaries to avoid even the least appearance of evil, and by no means to think of doing evil for the sake of any possible good consequence. Such precepts as these would by no means have suited a scheme calculated for deceiving mankind. On the contrary, we always find the great doctrine preached up by impostors is, zeal for the cause, rather than for the truth. This appears dreadfully conspicuous in the bloody catalogue of sufferers, who have fallen a sacrifice to the Mahometan and popish delusions. The opposers of christianity are obliged, if they will show themselves reasoners, to give some rational account of the establishment of it, upon the supposition of its being false. They are in reason obliged to show how a religion requir ing the most strict purity of heart and severity of manners, the mortifying of inordinate lusts and inclinations, the avoiding every appearance of evil, and encountering all manner of difficulties, and even death itself, if required, in testimony for truth; they ought to show how such a religion could have been established in the world by such seemingly unpromising and inadequate means, as those by which christianity actually was propagated; and that all this might, in a way unaccountable by human reason, and suitable to the usual course of things, have come about in spite of universal opposition from all those in whose hands the secular power was then lodged; and in spite of that most unconquerable of all prejudices, which mankind. have for the religion they were brought up in. The opposers of christianity ought to show that there have been instances similar to this; and that a few artless, illiterate fishermen might reasonably be supposed equal to a design of outwitting all mankind, imposing a set of gross falsehoods upon them, and confounding their understandings with fictitious miracles, which they voluntarily, no one knows why, swallowed down without examination; and the consequence of which was the overturning all the national religions of a great part of the world, in spite of the R

power of princes, the zeal of the priests, and the bigotry of the people. If they cannot find some rational and probable way for accounting for this strange and unexampled phanomenon, upon the supposition of christianity's being a fiction; if they cannot show, that fraud was used (for no one ever alleged force) they must yield the point, and acquiesce in the account given in the New Testament, to wit, That it made its way in the world by the power of its own irresistible evidence.

The author of our religion must either have been, truly and indeed, what he declares himself; the Son of God, and Saviour of the world, and his religion a Divine appointment; or he must have been an impostor, or an enthusiast, or madman, and his religion either a secular scheme, an involuntary delusion, or a pious fraud.

That Jesus Christ was no impostor will plainly appear, if we consider first what a monstrous pitch of desperate and abandoned wickedness was necessary to carry a person the lengths he went, if he was not really what he pretended. The whole body of history cannot produce such another instance of daring impiety. For no impostor ever arrogated such high honours and characters as he does; which to think of as mere fiction and groundless pretence, is startling to human nature. To suppose a man in his senses to go on, constantly and invariably for several years, giv ing out, that he was the beloved Son of God; that he came down from heaven, whither he was again to return; that he had enjoyed glory with God before the world was; that he had power to forgive sin; that he was to judge the world; to hear him address the Deity as he does, John xviiith, appealing to him for the truth of his pretensions, and keeping in the same strain to the last moment of his life; to suppose any man in his senses capable of all this frightful impiety, is imagining somewhat altogether unexampled, especially if we take along with it, that we have from this most impious of all impostors the best system of laws that ever was given to the sons of men, the peculiar excellence of which is their excluding all impiety, fraud, and secular views, teaching to avoid even the least appear. ance of evil, and to give up all for truth and conscience.

Again, what shadow or surmise, of indirect dealing, what suspicion of any thing immoral, or unjustifiable,

appears against his character? What fault were his enemics able to lay to his charge, when, challenged by him, except that he had exposed their wickedness and hypocrisy? Even when Judas, who knew his whole conduct, desired to betray him, was he able to find any thing against him? Had his behaviour been at all suspicious or obnoxious is there any reason to question whether Judas had it not in his power to have detected and informed against him? And is it to be supposed, that his inveterate wickedness would suffer any pretence for accusing his master, and justifying his own malice against him, to pass unimproved to the utmost?

Besides, if the author of our religion was an impostor, what was his scheme in deceiving mankind? Not any secular advantage. For it is notorious, that poverty, contempt, persecution, and death, were his portion, according to his own prediction; that his followers had no better treatment for the first three centuries; that the emperor Constantine's giving secular advantages to the Christians was the first blow struck to the original disinterested purity of that religion; and that from the time the world was thrust into the church, religion began to decline; which shows, that secular views were inconsistent with its true design and genius.

If it was set up with a view to worldly grandeur, how comes it every where to inculcate the contempt of riches, honours, and pleasures, and the pursuit of things, spiritual and heavenly? What steps were taken by Christ, or his followers, to aggrandize themselves? Was not, on the contrary, their practise suitable to their doctrine? Is not the whole of their character a perfect pattern of self-denial and abstinence? Who has ever convicted them of any one instance of worldly craft or design? It is certain from all accounts, sacred and profane, that at the time of Christ's appearance in the world, there was a general expectation of the Messiah; and that the idea formed by the gross apprehensions of the people, of the character he was to appear in, was that of a great prince. What could therefore be more natural for an impostor, than to take the advantage of this prejudice, so favourable to a worldly scheme? Instead of which we find him, (and his apostles after they came once to understand the scheme he was up

on) setting up on a quite different footing, the most un popular plan, that could have been thought of; disclaiming all worldly views, and declaring that their profession led directly to poverty and suffering. It is indeed evident, that considering the universal prejudice of the Jews with respect to the character in which the Saviour of the world was to appear, it must have been impossible for a person of that nation to frame an idea of a suffering Messiah but by inspiration, or from understanding the ancient predictions concerning him in a manner quite different from what was useful among them.

Farther; what probability is there, that he who had sagacity enough to contrive a scheme, which did in effect prevail against all opposition, should yet be so imprudent, as to hazard the disappointment of his whole design by overloading it with so many incumbrances? Why should he pretend to be the Son of God, if it had not been true? How, indeed, could a mere human brain invent such a thought? How work out of itself the imaginations of his having enjoyed pre-existent glory with God, of his coming into the world to give his life for the life of the world; and of his being the appointed future Judge of the human race; There is something in this, which lies wholly out of the way of mere humanity. And accordingly, those who heard him, at least the unprejudiced, owned, that "he spoke as never man spoke." But farther; Why should he forewarn his followers of the discouraging consequences of their adherence to his religion, if he had been capable of deceiving? Why should he disappoint the inclinations and prejudices of the people, who wanted a worldly Messiah, if he himself aimed at worldly grandeur? Why should he prevent many from following him, who were disposed to do it, by undeceiving them, and informing them that his kingdom was not of this world? Why should he exert a supernatural power to withdraw himself from among them, when they were going to raise him to regal authority; if secular power was what he aspired after?

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And, supposing Christianity an invention of later date, why should the Saviour of the world be represented in the supposed fictitious history, as suffering a shameful death? Would it not have been more likely to take with mankind, for the inventors of the scheme to have represented the

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