The creed-maker's following words, p. 258, have the natural mark of their author. They are these: " How can this animadverter come off with peremp-" torily declaring, that subjective faith is not inquired " into, in the treatise of the Reasonableness of chris-" tianity, &c. when in another place, p. 35, and 36, " he avers, That Christian faith and Christianity, con-" sidered subjectively, are the same?" Answ. In which words there are two manifest untruths: the one is, " That Mr. Bold peremptorily declares, that subjec-" live faith is not inquired into, i. e. spoken of, in the " Reasonableness of Christianity," &c. Whereas Mr. Bold says in that place, p. 31, " If he, [i. e. the au-" thor,] had not said one word concerning faith sub-" jectively considered." The creed-maker's other un truth is his saying, " That the animadverter avers, 414 A Second Vindication of the " p. 35, 36,, that Christian faith and Christianity, consi-" dered subjective!}', are the same." Whereas it is evi dent, that Mr. Bold, arguing against these words of the creed-maker (" The belief of Jesus being the Messiah, " was one of the first and leading acts of Christian " faith/*) speaks in that place of an act of faith, as these words of his demonstrate: " Now, I appre-" hend that Christian faith and Christianity, considered " subjectively, (and an ACT of Christian faith, I think, " cannot be understood in any other sense,) are the " very same." I must therefore desire him to set down the words wherein the animadverter peremptorily de clares, LIIL That subjective faith is not inquired into, or spoken of, in the treatise of the Reasonableness of Christianity, &c.
And next, to produce the words wherein the animad verter avers, LIV. That Christian faith and Christianity, considered subjectively, are the same.
To the creed-maker's saying, " That the author of " the Reasonableness of Christianity, &c. brings us no " tidings of evangelical faith belonging to Christianity," Mr. Bold replies: That I have done it in all those pages where I speak of taking and accepting Jesus to be our King and Ruler; and particularly he sets down my words out of pages 119, &c.
The creed-maker says, p. 59, of his Socinianism un masked, that the author of the Reasonableness of Chris tianity " tells men again and again, that a Christian " man, or member of Christ,, needs not know or be-" lieve any more than that one individual point." To which Mr. Bold thus replies, p. 33, " If any man will " show me those words in any part of the Reasonable-" ness, &c. I shall suspect I was not awake all the " time I was reading that book: and I am as certain Reasonableness of Christianity, 8$c. 415 " as one awake can be, that there are several passages " in that book directly contrary to these words. And " there are some expressions in the Vindication of the " Reasonableness, &c. one would think, if Mr. Edwards " had observed them, they would have prevented that " mistake."
Mr. Bold, p. 34, takes notice, that the creed-maker had not put the query, or objection, right, which, he says, " Some, and not without some show of ground, " may be apt to start; and therefore Mr. Bold puts the " query right, viz. ' Why did Jesus Christ and his " ' apostles require assent to, and belief of, this one ar-" ' tide alone, viz. That Jesus is the Messiah, to consti-" ' tute and make a man a Christian, or true member of " e Christ, (as it is abundantly evident they did, from the " ' Reasonableness of Christianity,) if the belief of more " ' articles is absolutely necessary to make and con-" * stitute a man a Christian?"
And therefore I put the objection, or query, to him again in Mr. Bold's words, and expect an answer to it, viz.
LV. Why did Jesus Christ, and his apostles, require assent to, and belief of, this one article alone, viz. That Jesus is the Messiah, to make a man a Christian, (as it is abundantly evident they did, from all their preaching, recorded throughout all the whole history of the Evangelists and the Acts,) if the belief of more articles be absolutely neces sary to make a man a Christian?
The creed -maker having made believing Jesus to be the Messiah, only one of the first and leading acts of Christian faith; Mr. Bold, p. 35, rightly tells him, That " Christian faith must be the belief of something " or other: and if it be the belief of any thing besides " this, that Jesus is the Christ, or Messiah, that other " thing should be specified; and it should be made ap-" pear, that the belief that Jesus is the Messiah, without 416 A Second Vindication of the " the belief of that other proposition^ not Christian faith."
Mr. B — d, in the four following pages, 36 — 39, has excellently explained the difference between that faith which constitutes a man a Christian, and that faith whereby one that is a Christian, believes the doctrines taught by our Saviour; and the ground of that differ ence: and therein has fully overturned this proposition, " That believing Jesus to be the Messiah, is but a step, " or the first step to Christianity."
To the creed-maker's supposing that other matters of faith were proposed with this, that Jesus is the Messiah; Mr. Bold replies, That this should be proved, viz. that other articles were proposed, as requisite to be believed to make men Christians. And, p. 40, he gives a reason why he is of another mind, viz. " Because there is no-" thing but this recorded, which was insisted on for that " purpose."
Mr. Bold, p. 42, shows that Rom. x. 9, which the creed-maker brought against it, confirms the assertion of the author of the Reasonableness, &;c. concerning the faith that makes a man a Christian.
The creed-maker says, p. 78, " This is the main an-" swer to the objection, (or query above proposed,) viz. '•' That Christianity was erected by degrees." This Mr. Bold, p. 43, proves to be nothing to the purpose, by this reason, viz. " Because what makes one man a chris-" tian, or ever did make any man a Christian, will at any " time, to the end of the world, make another man a " Christian:" and asks, " Will not that make a Christian " now, which made the apostles themselves Christians?"
In answer to his sixth chapter, Mr. Bold, p. 45, tells him, " It was not my business to discourse of the " Trinity, or any other particular doctrines, proposed " to be believed by them who are Christians; and that " it is no fair and just ground to accuse a man, with " rejecting the doctrines of the Trinity, and that Jesus Reasonableness of Christianity, 8$c. 417 " is God, because he does not interpret some particu-" lar texts to the same purpose others do."
Indeed he takes notice of these words of Mr. Bold, in this paragraph, viz. " Hence Mr. Edwards takes oc-" casion to write many pages about these terms [viz. " Messiah and Son of God]; but I do not perceive that " he pretends to offer any proof, that these were not " synonymous terms amongst the jews at that time, " which is the point he should have proved, if he de-" signed to invalidate what this author says about that " matter." To this the creed maker replies, p. 257, " The animadverter doth not so much as offer one " syllable to disprove what I delivered, and closely " urged on that head." Answ. What need any answer to disprove where there is no proof brought that reaches the proposition in question? If there had been any such proof, the producing of it, in short, had been a more convincing argument to the reader, than so much brag ging of what has been done. For here are more words spent, (for I have not set them all down,) than would have served to have expressed the proof of this propo sition, viz. that the terms above mentioned were not synonymous among the jews, if there had been any proof of it. But having already examined what the creed-maker brags he has closely urged, I shall say no more of it here.
To the creed-maker's making me a socinian, in his eighth chapter, for not naming Christ's satisfaction among the advantages and benefits of Christ's coming into the world; Mr. Bold replies, " 1. That it is no " proof, because I promised not to name every one of " them. And the mention of some is no denial of " others." 2. He replies, That, " satisfaction is not " so strictly to be termed an advantage, as the effects " and fruits of it are; and that the doctrine of satisfac-" tion instructs us the way how Christ did, by divine " appointment, obtain those advantages for us." And this was an answer that deserved some reply from the creed-maker.
BUT TO THIS HE ANSWERS NOT.
418 A Second Vindication of the Mr. Bold says right, that this is a doctrine that is of mighty importance for a Christian to be well acquainted with. And I will add to it, that it is very hard for a Christian, who reads the scripture with attention, and an unprejudiced mind, to deny the satisfaction of Christ: but it being a term not used by the Holy Ghost in the scripture, and very variously explained by those that do use it, and very much stumbled at by those I was there speaking to, who were such, as I there say, " Who will.
te not take a blessing, unless they be instructed what " need they had of it, and why it was bestowed upon " them; " I left it with the other disputed doctrines of Christianity, to be looked into (to see what it was Christ had taught concerning it) by those who were Christians, and believed Jesus to be the Saviour promised, and sent from God. And to those who yet doubted that he was so, and made 'this objection, " What need was " there of a Saviour? " I thought it most reasonable to offer such particulars only as were agreed on by all Christians, and were capable of no dispute, but must be acknowledged by every body to be needful. This, though the words above quoted out of the Reasonable ness of Christianity, &c. p. 129, show to be my de sign; yet the creed-maker plainly gives me the lye, and tells me it was not my design. " All the world are " faithless, false, treacherous, hypocritical strainers " upon their reason and conscience, dissemblers, jour-" neymen, mercenary hirelings, except Mr. Edwards:" I mean all the world that opposes him. And must not one think he is mightily JDeh olden to the excel lency and readiness of his own nature, who is no sooner engaged in controversy, but he immediately finds out in his adversaries these arts of equivocation, lying, and effrontery, in managing of it? Reason and learning, and acquired improvements, might else have let him gone on with others, in the dull and ordinary way of fair arguing; wherein, possibly, he might have done no great feats. Must not a rich and fertile soil within, and a prompt genius, wherein a man may readily spy the propensities of base and corrupt nature, be acknow ledged to be an excellent qualification for a disputant, Reasonableness of Christianity, fyc. 419 to help him to the quick discovery and laying open of the faults of his opponents; which a mind otherwise disposed would not so much as suspect? But Mr. Bold, without this, could not have been so soon found out to be a journeyman, a dissembler, an hired mercenary, and stored with all those good qualities, wherein he hath his full share with me. But why would he then venture upon Mr. Edwards, who is so very quick-sighted in these matters, and knows so well what villainous man is capable of?
I should not here, in this my Vindication, have given the reader so much of Mr. Bold's reasoning, which, though clear and strong, yet has more beauty and force, as it stands in the whole piece in his book; nor should I have so often repeated this remark upon each passage, viz. "To this Mr. Edwards answers not;" had it not been the shortest and properest comment could be made on that triumphant paragraph of his, which begins in the 128th page of his Socinian creed; wherein, among a great deal of no small strutting, are these words: " By " their profound silence they acknowledge they have " nothing to reply." He that desires to see more of the same noble strain, may have recourse to that emi nent place. Besides, it was fit the reader should have this one taste more of the creed-maker's genius, who passing by in silence all these clear and apposite replies of Mr. Bold, loudly complains of him, p. 259, " That " where he [Mr. Bold] finds something that he dares " not object against, he shifts it off." And again, p. 260, " That he does not make any offer at reason; " there is not the least shadow of an argument — -As if " he were only hired to say something against me, [the " creed-maker,] though not at all to the purpose: and " truly, any man may discern a MERCENARY stroke all " along;" with a great deal more to the same purpose.
For such language as this, mixed with scurrility, neither fit to be spoken by, nor of, a minister of the gospel, make up the remainder of his postscript. But to pre vent this for the future; I demand of him, that if in either of his treatises, there be any thing against what I have said, in my Reasonableness of Christianity, which 420 A Second Vindication of the he thinks not fully answered, he will set down the pro position in direct words, and note the page of his book where it is to be found: and I promise him to answer it. For as for his railing, and other stuff besides the matter, I shall hereafter no more trouble myself to take notice of it. And so much for Mr. Edwards.
THERE is another gentleman, and of another sort of make, parts, and breeding, who, (as it seems, ashamed of Mr. Edwards's way of handling controver sies in religion) has had something to say of my " Rea-" sonableness of Christianity," &c. and so has made it necessary for me to say a word to him, before I let those papers go out of my hand. It is the author of " The " Occasional Paper/' numb. 1. The second, third, and fourth pages of that paper, gave me great hopes to meet with a man, who would examine all the mistakes which came abroad in print, with that temper and indifferency, that might set an exact pattern for controversy, to those who would approve themselves to be sincere contenders for truth and knowledge, and nothing else, in the dis putes they engaged in. Making him allowance for the mistakes that self-indulgence is apt to impose upon hu man frailty, I am apt to believe he thought his perform ance had been such: but I crave leave to observe, that good and candid men are often misled, from a fair unbiassed pursuit of truth, by an over-great zeal for something, that they, upon wrong grounds, take to be so; and that it is not so easy to be a fair and unpreju diced champion for truth, as some, who profess it, think it to be. To acquaint him with the occasion of this re mark, I must desire him to read and consider his nine teenth page; and then to tell me, 1. Whether he knows, that the doctrine proposed in the " Reasonableness of Christianity, &c." was bor rowed, as he says, from Hobbes's Leviathan? For I tell him, I borrowed it only from the writers of the four Gospels and the Acts; and did not know those words, he quoted out of the Leviathan, were there, or any thing like them. Nor do I know yet, any farther than as I believe them to be there, from his quotation.
Reasonableness of Christianity, 8$c.
2. Whether affirming, as he does positively, this, which he could not know to be true, and is in itself per fectly false, were meant to increase or lessen the credit of the author of the " Reasonableness of Christianity," &c. in the opinion of the world? Or is consonant with his own rule, p. 3, " of putting candid constructions on " what adversaries say? " Or with what follows, in these words? " The more divine the cause is, still the greater " should be the caution. The very discoursing about " Almighty God, or our holy religion, should compose " our passions, and inspire us with candour and love. " It is very indecent to handle such subjects, in a man-" ner that betrays rancour and spite. These are fiends " that ought to vanish, and should never mix, either " with a search after truth, or the defence of religion."
3. Whether the propositions which he has, out of my book, inserted into his nineteenth page, and says, " are " consonant to the words of the Leviathan," were those of all my books, which were likeliest to give the reader a true and fair notion of the doctrine contained in it? If they were not, I must desire him to remember and beware of his fiends. Not but that he will find those propositions there to be true. But that neither he nor others may mistake my book, this is that, in short which it says: 1. That there is a faith that makes men Christians.
2. That this faith is the believing " Jesus of Naza-" reth to be the Messiah."
3. That the believing Jesus to be the Messiah, in cludes in it a receiving him for our Lord and King, promised and sent from God: and so lays upon all his subjects an absolute and indispensable necessity of as senting to all that they can attain the knowledge that he taught; and of a sincere obedience to all that he commanded.
This, whether it be the doctrine of the Leviathan, I know not. This appears to me out of the New Testa ment, from whence (as I told him in the preface) I took it, to be the doctrine of our Saviour and his apostles; and I would not willingly be mistaken in it. If there fore there be any other faith besides this, absolutely re- A Second Vindication of the quisitc to make a man a Christian, I shall here again de sire this gentleman to infovm me what it is, i. e. to set down all those propositions which are so indispensably to be believed, (for it is of simple believing I perceive the controversy runs,) that no man can be a believer, i. e. a Christian, without an actual knowledge of, and an explicit assent to them. If he shall do this with that candour and fairness he declares to be necessary in such matters, I shall own myself obliged to him: for I am in earnest, and I would not be mistaken in it.
If he shall decline it> I, and the world too, must con clude, that upon a review of my doctrine, he is con vinced of the truth of it, and is satisfied, that I am in the right. For it is impossible to think, that a man of that fairness and candour, which he solemnly prefaces his dis course with, should continue to condemn the account I have given of the faith which I am persuaded makes a Christian; and yet he himself will not tell me (when I earnestly demand it of him, as desirous to be rid of my errour, if it be one) what is that more, which is ab solutely required to be believed by every one, before he can be a believer, i. e. what is indispensably necessary to be known,, and explicitly believed to make a man a Christian.
Another thing which I must desire this author to ex amine, by those his own rules, is, what he says of me, p. 30, where he makes me to have a prejudice against the ministry of the gospel, and their office, from what I have said in my Reasonableness, (Sec. p. 135, 136, con cerning the priests of the world, in our Saviour's time: which he calls bitter reflections.
If he will tell me what is so bitter, in any one of those passages which he has set down, that is not true, or ought not to be said there, and give me the reason why he is offended at it; I promise him to make what repara tion he shall think fit, to the memory of those priests whom he, with so much good nature, patronizes, near seventeen hundred years after they had been out of the world; and is so tenderly concerned for their reputa tion, that he exccpts against that, as said against them, which was not. For one of the three places he sets down, Reasonableness of Christianity) S^c. 423 was not spoken of priests. But his making my mention ing the faults of the priests of old, in our Saviour's time, to be an " exposing the office of the ministers of the " gospel now, and a vilifying those who are employed in " it;" I must desire him to examine, by his own rules of love and candour; and to tell me, " Whether I have not " reason, here again, to mind him of his FIENDS, and " to advise him to beware of them?" And to show him how I think I have, I crave leave to ask him these questions: 1. Whether I do not all along plainly, and in express words, speak of the priests of the world, preceding, and in our Saviour's time? Nor can my argument bear any other sense.
2. Whether all I have said of them be not true?
3. Whether the representing truly the carriage of the Jewish, and more especially of the heathen priests, in our Saviour's time, as my argument required, can ex pose the office of the ministers of the gospel now? Or ought to have such an interpretation put upon it?
4. Whether what he says of the " air and language I. " use, reaching farther," carry any thing else in it, but a declaration, that he thinks some men's carriage now, had some affinity with what I have truly said, of the priests of the world, before Christianity; and that there fore the faults of those should have been let alone, or touched more gently, for fear some should think these now concerned it?
5. Whether, in truth, this be not to accuse them, with a design to draw the envy of it on me? Whether out of good will to them, or to me, or both, let him look. This I am sure, I have spoken of none but the priests before Christianity, both Jewish and heathen. And for those of the jews, what our Saviour has pro nounced of them, justifies my reflections from being bitter; and that the idolatrous heathen priests were better than they, I believe our author will not say: and if he were preaching against them, as opposing the mi nisters of the gospel, I suppose he will give as ill a character of them. But if any one extends my words farther, than to those they were spoke of, I ask 424 A Second Vindication., fyc.
whether that agrees with his rules of love and can dour?
I shall impatiently expect from this author of the occasional paper, an answer to these questions; and hope to find them such as becomes that temper, and love of truth, which he professes. I long to meet with a man, who, laying aside party, and interest, and prejudice, ap pears in controversy so as to make good the character of a champion of truth for truth's sake; a character not so hard to be known whom it belongs to, as to be deserved. Whoever is truly such an one, his opposition to me will be an obligation. For he that proposes to himself the convincing me of an errour, only for truth's sake, can not, I know, mix any rancour, or spite, or ill-will, with it. He will keep himself at a distance from those FIENDS, and be as ready to hear, as offer reason. And two so disposed can hardly miss truth between them, in a fair inquiry after it; at least they will not lose goodbreeding, and especially charity, a virtue much more ne cessary than the attaining of the knowledge of obscure truths, that are not easy to be found; and probably, therefore, not necessary to be known.
The unbiassed design of the writer, purely to defend and propagate truth, seems to me to be that alone which legitimates controversies. I am sure it plainly distin guishes such from all others, in their success and useful ness. If a man, as a sincere friend to the person, and to the truth, labours to bring another out of errour, there can be nothing more beautiful, nor more beneficial. If party, passion, or vanity direct his pen, and have a hand in the controversy; there can be nothing more unbe coming, more prejudicial, nor more odious. What thoughts I shall have of a man that shall, as a Christian, go about to inform me what is necessary to be believed to make a man a Christian, I have declared, in the pre face to my " Reasonableness of Christianity," &c. nor do I find myself yet altered. He that, in print, finds fault with my imperfect discovery of that, wherein the faith, which makes a man a Christian, consists, and will not tell me what more is required, will do well to satisfy the world what they ought to think of him.
A.
ABRIDGMENT of faith, what Acts of the apostles, book so called, the author did not charge his readers against stir ring beyond it, 24-8 — how wisely as well as faith fully written by St. Luke, 328, Actual assent to fundamental ar ticles, how necessary, 223, 224 Adam, wrong notions concern • what he fell from, ibid.
Allegations between contending parties, to be esteemed false until proved, 192 Apostles, the wisdom of the Lord in choosing such mean per sons, 83 < their minds illuminated by the Holy Spirit, 92, &c.
Article of faith, how the author pleaded for one only, 174, Articles of Christianity, and such as are necessary to make a man a Christian, different, 352 — — — of religion, have been several hundreds of years ex plaining, and not yet under stood, 177 Atheism, want of seriousness in discoursing of divine things may occasion it, 304 • • how falsely " The Rea sonableness of Christianity" is charged with promoting it, 305 Author of" The Reasonableness of Christianity"falsely charged with making one article ne cessary in formal words, 194 • falsely accused of deny ing some articles of Christian . falsely charged with new modelling the apostles creed, • the several articles made necessary by him, 202, &c.
falsely charged with say ing " all things in Christianity " must be level to every unrequires proof of his making all but one article use less to make a man a Christian, — denies his contending for but one, that men may under stand their religion, 205, Author not guilty of folly in re quiring from his opponent a complete list of fundamentals, — ' his opponent compared to a judge unwilling to hear both sides, 243 • not justly called a socinian for omitting what is not expressed in the apostles creed, his faith unjustly repre sented as little different from that of a Turk, 282,283 — his account of faith very different from that of devils, . • unjustly charged with patronizing ignorance, 293 . his adversary's arguing from one to none would equally serve a pagan, 305 • how he proves himself a Christian, 359 • sometimes represented a socinian, sometimes a papist, • why he omitted several passages in the Evangelists, 361 • • should be judged of by what he says, and not the con B.
BELIEF, what it is to believe in our Saviour, and in his name, it is necessary to believe every thing known to be re vealed in scripture, 156 — — what must be believed explicitly, and what implicitly, — we must believe the manner of things, when re vealed, 239 Bold, (Mr.) the author's letter of thanks to him, 185 — vindicated from contradict Bold, (Mr.) his opponent's scur rilous reflections on him, 395, — how falsely his words are cited, 4-12 — — — several remarkable passages in him not answered, 409, groundlessly charged with not answering his opposer, •• why so much of his rea soning is mentioned by the author, 419 Book, two ways of making one unanswerable, 192 Booksellers, stirred up against our author by his adversary, C.
CHRIST, the meaning of his answer, (John vi. 70) 56 • why he did not expressly reveal his Messiahship to his disciples, 35, &c.
— hisMessiahship more clearly discovered a little before his sufferings, 57 — Yet even then he did not expressly declare it to the Jewish rulers, 69 — how wisely he answered his captious enemies, 74 — why he owned himself to be the Son of God before the high-priest, 77 — — why he would not expressly own himself a king before his innocency attested even by Pilate and Judas, 80, 86 — why he spoke obscurely of his destroying Jerusalem, (Matt, xx iv.) 88 — Judas being gone, he spake more explicitly of his king — to the last he required of his disciples only to believe him to be the Messiah, 96, &c.
Christ expressly applied the pro mises of the Messiah to himself after his resurrection, 99, &c.
. much oftener mentioned his kingly office than any other, . how he fulfilled the moral • what we may think to be the state of those who never heard of him, 132 . the necessity of his coming to make God known, 135 — To teach men their duty, 1 38 — To instruct in the right forms of divine worship, 147, &c. — To give sufficient encouragement to a good life, 148 — And to assure men of divine assistance, . his deity not understood by the jews by the phrase '* Son . the word Christ often used as a proper name, 374 Christians, what is necessary to be believed to make men so, • • whether all things of this sort were revealed in our Saviour's time, 345, &c.
• • what was sufficient to make men such in Christ's time, is so still, 358 • are obliged to believe all that they find our Saviour taught, 404 all things necessary to be believed by them, not ne cessary to their being such, why they must believe whatever they find revealed by- Christ, 408 Christianity, the fundamental ar ticles of it easy to be under stood, 175 Commission of our Lord, was to convince men of his being the Messiah, 332 Commission of the apostles, and of the seventy, of the same Covenant, changed, when the conditions of it are changed, Creed, of the apostles, not newmodelled by the author, 201. • contains all things neces sary to be believed to make a man a Christian, 277 • the compilers of it may be charged with socinianism by the same rule the author is, D.
DEFIANCE, what it signifies, of any truth, unjustly charged on the author, 197, Deists, what is necessary to make men such, 229 — the " Reasonableness of " Christianity" written chiefly for such, 268 Devils, why they cannot be saved by believing, 102 E.
EDWARDS, Dr. John, complained of, for his charge of atheism, 161 his accusing the author of socinianism refuted, 167 his commendation of himself, 192 his rule for good-breed ing out of the Mishna, 194 . sometimes represents the word Messiah as easy, and sometimes as hard to be un derstood, 178, 244 . represents fundamentals both as essential and integral parts of religion, 245 I. charged with assuming the power of the pope to him self, 290 • his harangue for the atheistical rabble, 300 — — — of his arguing from one — — his reasons of but one ar ticle, being so often required, considered, 308, &c.
accused of unfairness in citations, 391 Edwards, Dr. John, charged with insisting on what con cerns not the subject, 409 — — blamed for readiness to find unknown faults in his opposers, 418 Epistles, of the apostles, why written, and ho\r to be under stood, 152 • notdesigned toteach funda mental articles of faith, ibid.
— wisely explain the essentials of Christianity, 154 the author's notion of them no contempt cast on them — passing by any of them, no argument of despising them, doctrines necessary and not necessary hard to be dis tinguished in them, 258, 259 Evangelists, numerous citations out of them, ill-termed a te dious collection, 251, 252 — — though they wrote for believers, yet relate Christ's doctrine to unbelievers, 253 no good reason to sup pose them defective in relating fundamentals, 316,317 contain all doctrines necessary to make a man a Christian, 318, £c.
some things wrote by them not necessary to make a man a Christian, 320, &c.
when they made the greatest omissions, yet they recorded all things necessary to Christianity, 323, &c.
— — wisely observe the ge nuine rules of history, 324 • • fundamental articles unjustly supposed to be omit ted by them, 325 to charge them with such omissions, to accuse them of unfaithfulness, ibid.
omitted no necessary article for brevity's sake, Exclusion of some truths, the author vindicated from it, 197, F.
FACT, common justice makes allegations of, false until proved, 192 Faith, what kind of, is required as the condition of eternal life, justifying, consists in be lieving Jesus to be the Mes siah, 101 — — very acceptable to God, and why, 129 — consists in relying on the goodness and faithfulness of God, ibid.
the fundamental articles of it, well explained, though not taught in the epistles, 154 the essentials of it, best learned from the gospels and acts, ibid.
the author does not make only one article of it necessary, other truths useful, beside the necessary article of it, • but one article of it, not pleaded for, that religion may easily be understood, 206, &c.
Faith, a practical one, plainly taught by the author, 284, &c.
an entire one, believes every scripture truth, 349, — - how but one article was taught by the apostles, to make men Christians, 352, 353 whether all the articles of it necessary to the being christians, were discovered in our Saviour's time, 355 — the author falsely charged with bringing no tidings of an evangelical one, 414 Formal words, when charged, ought to be expressly proved, Fundamental articles (of faith) where to be found, 215, &c.
Fundamental, whence unreasonble contentions arise about — • how the same things