I hope it is no derogation to the Christian religion, to say, that the fundamentals of it, i. e. all that is ne cessary to be believed in it, by all men, is easy to be understood by all men. This I thought myself autho rized to say, by the very easy and very intelligible arti* cles, insisted on by our Saviour and his apostles; which contain nothing but what could be understood by the bulk of mankind: a term which, I know not why, Mr. Edwards, p. 117, is offended at; and thereupon is, after his fashion, sharp upon me about captain Tom and his myrmidons, for whom, he tells me, I am " going to " make a religion." The making of religions and creeds I leave to others. I only set down the Christian religion as I find our Saviour and his apostles preached it, and preached it to, and left it for, the " ignorant and un-" learned multitude." For I hope you do not think, how contemptibly soever you speak of the " venerable Reasonableness of Christianity, fyc. 177 *' mob," as you are pleased to dignify them, p. 117, that the bulk of mankind, or, in your phrase, the " rabble," are not concerned in religion, or ought to understand it, in order to their salvation. Nor are you, 1 hope, acquainted with any who are of that Muscovite divine's mind, who, to one that was talking to him about religion, and the other world, replied, That for the czar, indeed, and bojars, they might be permitted to raise their hopes to heaven; but that for such poor wretches as he, they were not to think of salvation* I remember the pharisees treated the common people with contempt, and said, " Have any of the rulers, or " of the pharisees, believed in him? But this people, " who knoweth not the law, are cursed." But yet these, who in the censure of the pharisees, were cursed, were some of the poor; or, if you please to have it so, the mob, to whom the " gospel was preached " by our Saviour, as he tells John's disciples, Matt. xi. 5.
Pardon me, sir, that I have here laid these examples and considerations before you; a little to prevail with you not to let loose such a torrent of wit and eloquence against the " bulk of mankind," another time, and that for a mere fancy of your own: for I do not see how they here came in your way; but that you were resolved to set up something to have a fling at, and show your parts, in what you call your " different strain," though besides the purpose. I know nobody was going to " ask " the mob, What you must believe?'* And as for me, I suppose you will take my word for it, that I think no mob, no, not your " venerable mob," is to be asked, what I am to believe; nor that " Articles of faith" are to be " received by the vote of club-men," or any other sort of men, you will name instead of them.
In the following words, p. 115, you ask, " Whether " a man may not understand those articles of faith, " which you mentioned out of the gospels and epistles, " if they be explained to him, as well as that one, I " speak of? " It is as the articles are, and as they are explained. There are articles that have been some hundreds of years explaining; which there are many, and those not of the most illiterate, who profess they dp K 1 78 A Vindication of the not yet understand. And to instance in no other, but " He descended into hell," the learned are not yet agreed in the sense of it, though great pains have been taken to explain it.
Next, I ask, Who are to explain your articles? The papists will explain some of them one way, and the reformed another. The remonstrants, and anti-remon strants, give them different senses. And probably, the trinitarians and Unitarians will profess, that they un derstand not each others explications. And at last, I think it may be doubted, whether any articles, which need men's explications, can be so clearly and certainly understood, as one which is made so very plain by the scripture itself, as not to need any explication at all. Such is this, that Jesus is the Messiah. For though you learnedly tell us, that Messiah is a Hebrew word, and no better understood by the vulgar, than Arabic; yet I guess it is so fully explained in the New Testament, and in those places I have quoted out of it, that nobody, who can understand any ordinary sentence in the scrip ture, can be at a loss about it. And it is plain, it needs no other explication, than what our Saviour and the apostles gave it in their preaching; for, as they preached it, men received it, and that sufficed to make them be lievers.
To conclude, when I heard that this learned gentle man, who had a name for his study of the scriptures, and writings on them, had done me the honour to con sider my treatise, I promised myself, that his degree, calling, and fame in the world, would have secured to me something of weight in his remarks, which might have convinced me of my mistakes; and, if he had found any in it, justified my quitting of them. But having ex amined what, in his, concerns my book, I to my wonder find, that he has only taken pains to give it an ill name, without so much as attempting to refute any one position in it, how much soever he is pleased to make a noise against several propositions, which he might be free with, because they are his own: and I have no rea son to take it amiss if he has shown his zeal and skill against them. He has been so favourable to what is Reasonableness of Christianity, 8$c. 1 79 mine, as not to use any one argument against any pas sage in my book. This, which I take for a public testi mony of his approbation, I shall return him my thanks for, when I know whether I owe it to his mistake, con viction, or kindness. But if he writ only for his book seller's sake, he alone ought to thank him.
AFTER the foregoing papers were sent to the press, the " Witnesses to Christianity," of the reverend and learned Dr. Patrick, now lord bishop of Ely, fell into my hands. I regretted the not having seen it, before I writ my treatise of the " Reasonableness of Christianity, " &c." I should then, possibly, by the light given me by so good a guide, and so great a man, with more con fidence directly have fallen into the knowledge of Christianity; which, in the way T sought it, in its source, required the comparing of texts with texts, and the more than once reading over the Evangelists and Acts, besides other parts of scripture. But I had the ill luck not to see that treatise, until so few hours since, that I have had time only to read as far as the end of the in troduction or first chapter: and there Mr. Edwards may find, that this pious bishop (whose writings show he studies, as well as his life that he believes, the scrip tures) owns what Mr. Edwards is pleased to call, " a " plausible conceit," which, he says, " I give over and " over again in these formal words, viz. That nothing " is required to be believed by any Christian man, but " this, That Jesus is the Messiah."
The liberty Mr. Edwards takes, in other places, de serves not it should be taken upon his word, " That " these formal words " are to be found " over and over " again " in my book, unless he had quoted the pages. But I will set him down the " formal words,'* which are to be found in this reverend prelate's book, p. 14, " To be the Son of God, and to be Christ, being but " different expressions of the same thing." Arid, p. 10, 4< It is the very same thing to believe, that Jesus is the " Christ, and to believe, that Jesus is the Son of God; " express it how you please. This ALONE is the faith " which can regenerate a man, and put a divine spirit 180 A Vindication, fyc.
" into him; that is, make him a conqueror over the " world, as Jesus was." I have quoted only these few words; but Mr. Edwards, if he pleases, or any body else, may, in this first chapter, satisfy himself more fully, that the design of it is to show, that in our Sa viour's time, " Son of God," was a known and received name and appellation of the Messiah, and so used in the holy writers. And that the faith that was to make men Christians, was only the believing, '* that Jesus is " the Messiah." It is to the truth of this proposition that he " examines his witnesses/* as he speaks, p. 21. And this, if I mistake not, in his epistle dedicatory, he calls " Christianity; " fol. A 3, where he calls them " witnesses to Christianity." But these two proposi tions, viz. That " SON OF GOD," in the gospel, stands for Messiah; and that the faith, which alone makes men Christians, is the believing " Jesus to be the Mes-" siah," displeases Mr. Edwards so much in my book, that he thinks himself authorized from them, to charge me with socinianism, and want of sincerity. How he will be pleased to treat this reverend prelate, whilst he is alive (for the dead may, with good manners, be made bold with) must be left to his decisive authority. This, I am sure, which way soever he determine, he must, for the future, either afford me more good company, or fairer quarter.
A SECOND OF CHRISTIANITY, &c.
PREFACE TO THfi READER, IT hath pleased Mr. Edwards, in answer to the " Rea-" sonableness of Christianity, &c." and its " Vindi-" cation," to turn one of the most weighty and import ant points that can come into question (even no less, than the very fundamentals of the Christian religion), into a mere quarrel against the author: as every one, with Mr. Bold, may observe. In my reply to him., I have endeavoured, as much as his objections would al low me, to bring him to the subject-matter of my book, and the merits of the cause; though his peculiar way of writing controversy has made it necessary for me in fol lowing him step by step, to wipe off the dirt he has thrown on me, and clear myself from those falsehoods he has filled his book with. This I could not but do, in dealing with such an antagonist; that by the untruths I have proved upon him, the reader may judge of those other allegations of his, whereof the proof lying on his side, the bare denial is enough on mine, and, indeed, are wholly nothing to the truth or falsehood of what is contained in my " Reasonableness of Christianity, &c." To which I shall desire the reader to add this farther consideration from his way of writing, not against my 184 Preface to the Reader.
book, but against me, for writing it, that if he had had a real concern for truth and religion in this dispute, he would have treated it after another manner; and we should have had from him more argument, reasoning, and clearness, and less boasting declamation, and rail ing. It has been unavoidable for me to take notice of a great deal of this sort of stuff, in answering a writer, who has very little else to say in the controversy, and places his strength in things beside the question: but yet I have been so careful, to take all occasions to ex plain the doctrine of my book, that I hope the reader will not think his pains wholly lost labour, in perusing this reply; wherein he will find some farther, and, I hope, satisfying account, concerning the writings of the New Testament, and the Christian Religion contained in it.
Mr. Edwards's ill language, which I thought person ally to me (though I know not how I had provoked a man whom I had never had to do with), I am now satis fied, by his rude and scurrilous treating of Mr. Bold, is his way and strength in management of controversy; and therefore requires a little more consideration in this disputant, than otherwise it would deserve. Mr. Bold, with the calmness of a Christian, the gravity of a divine, the clearness of a man of parts, and the civility of a well-bred man, made some " animadversions " on his u Socinianism unmasked;" which, with a sermon preach ed on the same subject with my " Reasonableness of " Christianity," he published: and how he has been used by Mr. Edwards, let the world judge.
I was extremely surprised with Mr. Bold's book, at a time when there was so great an outcry against mine, on all hands. But, it seems, he is a man that does not take up things upon hearsay; nor is afraid to own truth, whatever clamour or calumny it may lie under. Mr. Edwards confidently tells the world, that Mr. Bold has been drawn in to espouse this cause, upon base and mean considerations. Whose picture of the two, such a de scription is most likely to give us, I shall leave to the reader to judge, from what he will find in their writings on this subject. For as to the persons themselves, I am Preface to the Reader. 185 equally a stranger to them both: I know not the face of either of them: and having hitherto never had any communication with Mr. Bold, I shall begin with him, as I did with Mr. Edwards in print; and here publicly return him this following acknowledgment, for what he has printed in this controversy.
To Mr. BOLD.
SIR, THOUGH I do not think I ought to return thanks to any one, for being of my opinion, any more than to fall out with him, for differing from me; yet I cannot but own to all the world, the esteem, that I think is due to you, for that proof you have given, of a mind and temper becoming a true minister of the gospel; in appearing as you have done, in the defence of a point, a great point of Christianity, which it is evident you could have no other temptation to declare for, but the love of truth. It has fared with you herein no better than with me. For Mr. Edwards not being able to answer your arguments, he has found out already, that you are a mercenary, defending a cause against your per suasion for hire; and that you " are sailing to Racovia " by a side-wind:" such inconsistencies can one (whose business it is to rail for a cause he cannot defend) put together to make a noise with: and he tells you plainly, what you must expect, if you write any more on this argument, viz. to be pronounced a downright apostate and renegade.
As soon as I saw your sermon and animadversions, I wondered what scarecrow Mr. Edwards would set up wherewith he might hope to deter men of more caution than sense, from reading of them; since socinianism, from which you were known to be as remote as he, I concluded would not do. The unknown author of the " Reasonableness of Christianity," he might make a socinian, mahometan, atheist, or what sort of raw-head and bloody-bones he pleased. But I imagined he had had more sense than to venture any such aspersions, on 186 Preface to the Reader.
a man whom, though I have not yet the happiness per sonally to know; yet, I know, hath justly a great and settled reputation amongst worthy men: and I thought that that coat, which you had worn with so much repu tation, might have preserved you from the bespatterings of Mr. Edwards's dunghill. But what is to be expected from a warrior that hath no other ammunition, and yet ascribes to himself victory from hence, and, with this artillery, imagines he carries all before him? And so Skimmington rides in triumph, driving all before him, by the ordures that he bestows on those that come in his way. And, were not Christianity concerned in the case, a man would scarce excuse to himself the ridiculousness of entering into the list with such a combatant. I do not, therefore, wonder that this mighty boaster, having no other way to answer the books of his opponents, but by popular calumnies, is fain to have recourse to his only refuge, and lay out his natural talent in vilifying and slandering the author. But I see, by what you have already writ, how much you are above that; and as you take not up your opinions from fashion or interest, so you quit them not, to avoid the malicious reports of those that do: out of which number, they can hardly be left, who (unprovoked) mix, with the management of their cause, injuries and ill-language, to those they differ from. This, at least, I am sure, zeal or love for truth can never permit falsehood to be used in the de fence of it.
Your mind, I see, prepared for truth, by resignation of itself, not to the traditions of men, but the doctrine of the gospel, has made you more readily entertain, and more easily enter into the meaning of my book, than most I have heard speak of it. And since you seem to me to comprehend what I have laid together, with the same disposition of mind, and in the same sense that I received it from the holy scriptures, I shall, as a mark of my respect to you, give you a particular accoun of it.
The beginning of the year in which it was published the controversy that made so much noise and heat amongst some of the dissenters, coming one day acci- Preface to the Reader. 187 dentally into my mind, drew me, by degrees, into a stricter and more thorough inquiry into the question about justification. The scripture was direct and plain, that it was faith that justified: The next question then, was, What faith that was that justified; what it was which, if a man believed, it should be imputed to him for righteousness? To find out this, I thought the*right way was, to search the scriptures; and thereupon be took myself seriously to the reading of the New Testa-j ment, only to that purpose. What that produced, you and the world have seen.
The first view I had of it seemed mightily to satisfy my mind, in the reasonableness and plainness of this doctrine; but yet the general silence I had in my little reading met with, concerning any such thing, awed ine with the apprehension of singularity; until going on in| the gospel-history, the whole tenour of it made it so clearA and visible, that I more wondered that every body did, not see and embrace it; than that I should assent to what was so plainly laid down, and so frequently incul cated in holy writ, though systems of divinity said no thing of it. That which added to my satisfaction was, that it led me into a discovery of the marvellous and* divine wisdom of our Saviour's conduct, in all the ci cumstances of his promulgating this doctrine; as well as of the necessity that such a law-giver should be sent from God, for the reforming the morality of the world; two points, that, I must confess, I had not found so fully and advantageously explained in the books of divinity I had met with, as the history of the gospel seemed to me, upon an attentive perusal, to give occasion and mat ter for. But the necessity and wisdom of our Saviour's opening the doctrine (which he came to publish) as he did in parables and figurative ways of speaking, carries such a thread of evidence through the whole history of the evangelists, as, I think, is impossible to be resisted; and makes it a demonstration, that the sacred historians did not write by concert, as advocates for a bad cause, or to give colour and credit to an imposture they would usher into the world: since they, every one of them, in some place or other, omit some passages of our Saviour's 188 Preface to the Reader.
life, or circumstance of his actions; which show the wisdom and wariness of his conduct; and which, even those of the evangelists who have recorded, do barely and transiently mention, without laying any stress on them, or making the least remark of what consequence they are, to give us our Saviour's true character, and to prove the truth of their history. These are evidences of truth and sincerity, which result alone from the na ture of things, and cannot be produced by any art or contrivance.
How much I was pleased with the growing discovery, every day, whilst I was employed in this search, I need not say. The wonderful harmony, that the farther I went disclosed itself, tending to the same points, in all the parts of the sacred history of the gospel, was of no small weight with me and another person, who every day, from the beginning to the end of my search, saw the progress of it, and knew, at my first setting out, that I was ignorant whither it would lead me; and there fore, every day asked me, What more the scripture had taught me? So far was I -from the thoughts of socinianism, or an intention to write for that, or any other party, or to publish any thing at all. But, when I had gone through the whole, and saw what a plain, simple, reason able thing Christianity was, suited to all conditions and capacities; and in the morality of it now, with divine authority, established into a legible law, so far surpassing all that philosophy and human reason had attained to, or could possibly make effectual to all degrees of man kind; I was flattered to think it might be of some use in the world; especially to those, who thought either that there was no need of revelation at all, or that the revelation of our Saviour required the belief of such ar ticles for salvation, which the settled notions, and their way of reasoning in some, and want of understanding in others, made impossible to them. Upon these two topics the objections seemed to turn, which were with most assurance made by deists, against Christianity; but against Christianity misunderstood. It seemed to me, 'that there needed no more to show them the weakness of their exceptions, but to lay plainly before them the Preface to the Reader. 189 doctrine of our Saviour and his apostles, as delivered in the scriptures, and not as taught by the several sects of Christians.
This tempted me to publish it, not thinking it de served an opposition from any minister of the gospel; and least of all, from any one in the communion of the church of England. But so it is, that Mr. Edvvards's zeal for.he knows not what (for he does not yet know his own creed, nor what is required to make him a Chris tian) could not brook so plain, simple, and intelligible a religion; but yet, not knowing what to say against it, and the evidence it has from the word of God, he thought fit to let the book alone, and fall upon the author. What great matter he has done in it, I need not tell you, who have seen and showed the weakness of his wranglings. You have here, Sir, the true history of the birth of my " Reasonableness of Christianity, as delivered in the " Scriptures," and my design in publishing it, &c. What it contains, and how much it tends to peace and union among Christians, if they would receive Chris tianity as it is, you have discovered. I am, SIR, Your most humble servant, My readers will pardon me, that, in my preface to them, I make this particular address to Mr. Bold. He hath thought it worth his while to defend my book. How well he has done it, I am too much a party to say. I think it so sufficient to Mr. Edwards, that I needed not to have troubled myself any farther about him, on the account of any argument that remained in his book to be answered. But a great part of the world judging of the contests about truth^ as they do of popular elec tions, that the side carries it where the greatest noise is; it was necessary they should be undeceived, and be let see, that sometimes such writers may be let alone, not because they cannot, but because they deserve not to be answered.
1 90 Preface to the Reader.
This farther I ought to acknowledge to Mr. Bold, and own to the world, that he hath entered into the true sense of my treatise, and his notions do so perfectly agree with mine, that I shall not be afraid, by thoughts and expressions very like his, in this my second vindication, to give Mr. Edwards (who is exceedingly quick-sight ed, and positive in such matters) a handle to tell the world, that either I borrowed this my " vindication" from Mr. Bold, or writ his " animadversions" for him. The former of these I shall count no discredit, if Mr. Edwards think fit to charge me with it; and the latter, Mr. Bold's character is answer enough to. Though the impartial reader, I doubt not, will find, that the same uniform truth considered by us, suggested the same thoughts to us both, without any other communi cation.
There is another author who in a civ Her style hath made it necessary for me to vindicate my book from a reflection or two of his, wherein he seems to come short of that candour he professes. All that I shall say on this occasion here, is, that it is a wonder to me, that having published what I thought the scripture told me was the faith that made a Christian, and desired, that if I was mistaken, anyone that thought so, would have the good ness to inform me better; so many with their tongues, and some in print, should intemperately find fault with a poor man out of his way, who desires to be set right; and no one, who blames his faith, as coming short, will tell him what that faith is, which is required to make him a Christian. But I hope, that amongst so many censurers, I shall at last find one, who knowing himself to be a Christian upon other grounds than I am, will have so much Christian charity, as to show me what more is absolutely necessary to be believed, by me, and every man, to make him a Christian.
A SECOND OF A CAUSE that stands in need of falsehoods to support it, and an adversary that will make use of them, de serve nothing but contempt; which I doubt not but every considerate reader thought answer enough to " Mr. Edwards's Socinianism unmasked." But, since, in his late " Socinian creed," he says, " I would have " answered him if I could," that the interest of Chris tianity may not suffer by my silence, nor the contemptibleness of his treatise afford him matter of triumph among those who lay any weight on such boasting, it is fit it should be shown what an arguer he is, and how well he deserves, for his performance, to be dubbed, by himself, " irrefragable."
Those who, like Mr. Edwards, dare to publish in ventions of their own, for matters of fact, deserve a 192 A Second Vindication of the name so abhorred, that it finds not room in civil con versation. This secures him from the proper answer, due to his imputations to me, in print, of matters of fact utterly false, which, without any reply of mine, fix upon him that name (which, without a profligate mind, a man cannot expose himself to) till he hath proved them. Till then, he must wear what he has put upon himself. This being1 a rule, which common justice hath prescribed to the private judgments of mankind, as well as to the public judicature of courts, that all allegations of facts, brought by contending parties, should be presumed to be false, till they are proved.
There are two ways of making a book unanswerable. The one is by the clearness, strength, and fairness of the argumentation. Men who know how to write thus, are above bragging what they have done, or boasting to the world that their adversaries are baffled. Another way to make a book unanswerable, is to lay a stress on matters of fact foreign to the question, as well as to truth; and to stuff it with scurrility and fiction. This hath been always so evident to common sense, that no man, who had any regard to truth, or ingenuity, ever thought matters of fact besides the argument, and stories made at pleasure, the way of managing controversies. Which showing only the want of sense and argument, could, if used on both sides, end in nothing but downright railing: and he must always have the better of the cause, who has lying and impudence on his side.
The un masker, in the entrance of his book, sets a great distance between his and my way of writing. I am not sorry that mine differs so much as it does from his. If it were like his, I should think, like his, it wanted the author's commendations. For, in his first paragraph, which is all laid out in his own testimony of his own book, he so earnestly bespeaks an opinion of mastery in politeness, order, coherence, pertinence, strength, seriousness, temper, and all the good qualities requisite in controversy, that I think, since he pleases himself so much with his own good opinion, one in pity ought not to go about to rob him of so considerable an admirer. I shall not, therefore, contest any of those Reasonableness of Christianity, fyc. 193 excellencies he ascribes to himself, or faults he blames in me, in the management of the dispute between us, any farther than as particular passages of his book, as I come to examine them, shall suggest unavoidable remarks to me. I think the world does not so much concern itself about him, or me, that it need be told in that in ventory, he has given of his own good parts, in his first paragraph, which of us two has the better hand at " flourishes, jesting, and common-places; " if I am, as he says, p. 2, troubled with " angry fits, and passionate " ferments, which, though I strive to palliate, are easily " discernible, &c." and he be more laudably ingenuous in the openness of that temper, which he shows in every leaf; I shall leave to him the entire glory of boasting of it. Whatever we brag of our performances, they will be just as they are, however lie may think to add to his, by his own encomium on them. The difference in style, order, coherence, good breeding, (for all those, amongst others, the unmasker mentions,) the reader will observe, whatever I say of them; and at best they are nothing to the question in hand. For though I am a " tool, " pert, childish, starch'd, impertinent, incoherent, tri-" fling, weak, passionate, &c." commendations I meet with before I get to the 4th page, besides what follows, as " upstart racovian," p. 24, " flourishing scrib-" bier," p. 41, "dissembler," 106, "pedantic," 107: I say, although I am all this, and what else he liberally bestows on me in the rest of his book, I may have truth on my side, and that in the present case serves my turn.
Having thus placed the laurels on his own head, and sung applause to his own performance, "he, p. 4, enters, as he thinks, upon his business, which ought to be, as he confesses, p. 3, " to make good his former charges." The first whereof he sets down in these words: That " I unwarrantably crowded all the necessary articles " of faith into one, with a design of favouring soci-" nianism."
If it may be permitted to the subdued, to be so bold with one, who is already conqueror, I desire to know, where that proposition is laid down in these terms, as o 194 A Second Vindication of the laid to my charge. Whether it be true, or false, shall, if he pleases, be hereafter examined: but it is not, at present, the matter in question. There are certain propositions, which he having1 affirmed, and I denied, are under debate between us: and that the dispute may not run into an endless ramble, by multiplying of new, before the points in contest are decided, those ought first to be brought to an issue.