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is by the way; what I intend being only to obferve, that prevailing against great oppofition does not of itself yield probable proof that what prevails is weil grounded, and therefore other circumftances must be taken into the cafe, befides prevailing, to be a juft ground for fuch probability. But to re

turn:

I HAVE obferved, it is probable Chrift's miffion was divine, admitting what is fuppofed above; and if that be the case, then the great question with us muft of neceffity be, what was that miffion? That is, what was or is that important message which Chrift was fent of God to deliver to the world? I fay, the great queftion with us must needs be, what was that message? And not who or what was that meffenger? Because a meffenger, confidered abstractedly from his meffage, is a meer filion, is nothing; feeing the very character of a meffenger, as well as the importance of that character, are merely relative, refulting wholly from the important meffage they ftand related to. And, tho' it is ufual to fend meffages of importance by perfons that are important in other refpects, by way of grace and ornament to thofe meffages; yet, that

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does not make them to be important messengers, because their importance, as messengers, arifes wholly from the importance of those messages they are to deliver; their importance in other refpects being quite irrelative to their office as meffengers. I am fenfible, that, among Chriftians, the order of nature has been reversed in this particular, the queftion with many having been, not what is that important message which Christ delivered to the world? But who and what is that messenger, confidered abftractedly from his message? And this has introduced great contention and confufion, from which manifold mifchiefs have flown: Whereas this is a point that we are not interested in, nor concerned with; seeing Chrift's message, and it's importance to us, are just the fame, whatever his perfonal character may be. And, as the great queftion with us is, or at least ought to be, what is that important message which Chrift was fent of God to deliver to the world? So, it seems to be a matter of difficulty, as things now stand, particularly to specify and afcertain what that meffage is. Tho', I acknowledge, it seems naturally to fuppofe, that if God, by a special application of his power and pro

vidence,

vidence, should send an important message to men, in which the whole fpecies are greatly interested, and will be fo to all pofterity, which is the prefent cafe; then, he would, by a like application of his power and providence, particularly specify and afcertain that meffage, both in it's first promulgation, and also faithfully transmit it to all generations; I fay, it feems natural. to suppose that this would be the cafe, because to perform the latter feems equally neceffary as the performance of the former, in order to obtain the end propofed, viz. the well-being of mankind; whereas the contrary to this feems to be the present cafe. Christ's meffage has been fo loosely and indeterminately delivered to the world, that nothing but contention and confufion has attended it, from it's firft promulgation down to this time; infomuch that what has been deemed to be Chriftianity in one age, and by one, people, has not been fo in, and by another. And, as to the books of the New Teftament, they have been so far from being a remedy to this evil, that they have been partly the disease, or at least they have contributed to it, as the most opposite and contrary doctrines are capable of being grounded,

grounded, and have been grounded upon them; the New Testament being made the ground-work for the various parties of Chriftians to build their refpective and oppofite fchemes of Christianity upon. Indeed, the conftitution of the church of Rome is an edifice fo bulky and large, that the New Teftament alone was not fufficient to fupport it's weight; and therefore, it's builders prudently annexed oral tradition to the New Teftament, the better to support that stately fabric. And though it has been averred, by fome Chriftian divines, that those books, commonly called the records of our religion, have been faithfully tranfmitted from the apostles down to this time, by fuch tradition as renders it certain, at leaft as certain as the nature of the thing will admit, that what is recorded in them is unquestionably true; yet this is not admitted by fome learned men, who have informed us that in the fecond century (through which channel the the knowledge of every thing that was done in the first paffed to pofterity) not only many forgeries with regard to writings in general, but also that a great number of gospels in particular, took place; that the writers of thofe gofpels did not put their names

to them, fo that the people were left to guefs who was the author of any one of them; and accordingly, fome of these gofpels, (that according to St. Matthew in particular) were afcribed to feveral perfons as their authors; that each of those gospels was adhered to by fome Chriftians, and rejected by others; that there was no criterion, no rule by which Chriftians could judge and determine, with any certainty, which of thofe gofpels were genuine and which not, but every man was left to follow his inclinations in this particular, and which, probably, led him to favour that gospel most, which most favoured the particular tenets of the fect or party of Chriftians he adhered to; nor did providence interpofe for the removal of this perplexity, but every thing became orthodox, or was fo esteemed, as it prevailed and gained the afcendant over it's contrary; by which means, things and their contraries became orthodox and heterodox by turns; all which plainly fhews the great perplexity that must needs have attended this fubject. And as the Chriftian revelation was intended to be a benefit to all our fpecies through all posterity; so it must be a matter of universal concern to have a right under

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