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THE

TRIUMPHS OF

CHRISTIANITY over INFIDELITY;

OR

THE TRUE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE

Of the COMING of CHRIST.

WHE

THEN Chriftianity was firft made known to the world, its divine Author delivered his doctrines and exhibited the Proofs of his Miffion with unaffected fimplicity. Satisfied of the intrinfic excellence of the one and of the clearness and evidence of the other, he left them to produce their own effects upon the minds of his hearers, without attempting to illuftrate that excellence, or to fhew that thofe proofs were proper and conclufive. The very intelligent and ingenious Dr. Gerard, in his Differtations on the Genius and the Evidences of Christianity has, with great propriety, termed this, Our Lord's original manner; from which it does not appear that he ever deviated, but when oppofition made it neceffary. When, however, Objections were formed against his Religion, he did not think it beneath the dignity of his Character to engage in its defence and to employ the powers of reafoning, with a view to expofe the weakness of thofe Objections and the unreasonableness of an oppofition to him. Nor does it appear that, in any one inftance, he expreffed the smallest displeasure at an inquifitive turn of mind, when under the direction of an unfeigned regard to Truth. It was only when an infidious and captious spirit were too ftrongly marked in their behaviour to be miftaken, that fuch a conduct fell under his reprehenfion. And even then, there are not wanting instances, when the cause of truth required it, of his replying to their Objections and entering into a full vindication of his conduct. So far indeed was Our Lord from requiring an implicit faith in his followers that

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that he directed them to fearth the Scriptures and to examine for themselves, whether his doctrines were founded on truth, or were the fictions of an artful and defigring Impoftor. The fame liberality of mind, moft evidently actuated his Apostles, in general, and particularly the Apoftle Peter, when he directed the Chriftian Converts from among the Gentiles, to give a reafon of the hope that was in them and, in the Spirit of meekness, in oppofition to a dogmatical and tyrannical Spirit, to inftruct those who opposed the Chriftian faith. As therefore a candid and ingenuous statement of any objections to the truth of Chriftianity was not, and indeed could not, if their Miffion was from heaven and their language had any meaning in it, have been offenfive to Our Saviour himfelf, or to his Apostles; it will neceffarily and unavoidably follow, that it ought not to be displeasing to any of its friends who come after them, from whatever quarter it may arife.

The learned Author juft mentioned has well obferved that "the excellence of Chriftianity could not poffibly have been attained, if Chrift and his Apoftles had not met with "oppofition," and that "all the indications of truth which it implies, may be justly afcribed, in a great measure, to "the Oppofition of Infidels. If none had raised objections against the divine miffion of Jefus, he and his Apostles must have either confined themselves to their original manner of fimply exhibiting evidence, or they muft have /pontaneously "illustrated and vindicated the evidence. If they had chofen "the former, their manner would have indeed contained

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feveral prefumptions of the truth of Chriftianity, but it "would have been in fome refpects, lame and imperfect, and "all the advantages arifing from their reafonings, would have "been loft. If they had preferred the latter, this would have "deftroyed all thofe proofs of their Miffion, which result

from the fimplicity of their original manner. It would have likewife rendered their reafonings of lefs weight "than they now are. Oppofition gives the moft natural "occafion of answering the objections to which that evidence "is liable. It enables a perfon to introduce illustrations "and defences without any appearance of defign or artifice. "It put it in the power of our Saviour to fupport and vindicate his claim, by argument, as often as any good purpofe required; and by giving as many opportunities for "this, as were neceffary, it left him at liberty, in all his

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ordinary addreffes to Men, to pursue that original manner "which is fo full of divinity. It made way for a delicate. "union of oppofite manners in oppofite fituations, which "bestows on his whole manner a degree of perfection, "and confequently beftows on his religion a brightnefs of "evidence, unattainable by any other means. Thus the "affaults of ancient infidels contributed greatly to the "confirmation of Christianity, merely by the influence which "they had on the manner of its author in propofing the "proofs of it. But this, though very confiderable, is not the only advantage refulting from them. This advantage is peculiar to the oppofition of the contemporaries of Jefus "but the fame prejudices and vices which produced that "oppofition, moved fucceeding unbelievers in the early ages, to

contrive new Objections against the gofpel, or to repeat the "former ones. Thefe too have been the occafion of throwing new light upon the evidences of our religion, and of rendering their ftrength more confpicuous.

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"The oppofition of modern Infidels must likewise be of very "confiderable advantage, as it has a very ftrong tendency to

make all fenfible Chriftians extremely cautious in chufing "their weapons--wary in examining the propriety of every "principle on which they build-attentive to the foundness "and ftrength of every argument which they urge-fcrupulous, "about the truth of every deduction which they make; in a "word, careful that the defences which they offer for their "religion be, in all respects beyond reasonable exception. The

Spirit of Infidelity fails not to lay hold of any weak arguments "which are employed in defence of Chriftianity. However fparing unbelievers are, in undertaking a regular confutation "of folid anfwers made to their Objections their writings "show, that they are not backward to make all the advantage poffible of the mistakes of Chriftians. When Infidels are awake to obferve these, Chriftians come likewise to have "a ftrong motive to expose and rectify the falfe reasonings of 66 one another and to banish inconclufive reafonings from the "defence of Christianity.” *

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But notwithstanding all the advantages which have arisen to Chriftianity from the oppofition of Infidels, it is not to be denied that instead of extending its influence, it is evidently lofing ground. One of the most populous and extenfive * See Gerard's Differtations, p. 309, &c.

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Countries

Countries in Europe has openly abjured Chriftianity as art Imposture. The feeds of Infidelity have, with incredible diligence been fown, in Germany, in Italy, in the Low Countries, and even our own more highly favored Ifland has not escaped the Contagion. The learned Author of a series of Sermons preached before the University of Cambridge has afferted that the Objections which the celebrated Historian "of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire has revived against the divine origin of our Religion, are acutely urged "and forcibly expreffed," and that "their pernicious influence is rendered lasting and extenfive, as they are not contained ❝in a detached and trivial production, but are inferted in the body

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"The Centre from which the Mischief hath spread," fays the learned Bishop of Rochester, "is France. In that Kingdom the Mystery of iniquity began to work, fomewhat earlier than the middle of the century which is "juft paffed away. Its machinations at firft were fecret, unperceived, "difguifed. Its inftruments were perfons in no confpicuous ftations. But by the perfevering zeal of an individual, who by an affectation of a depth of univerfal learning which he never poffeffed; by audacity in the "circulation of what he knew to be falfified Hiftory; by a counterfeit zeal "for toleration; but above all, by a certain brilliancy of unprincipled "wit, contrived to acquire a celebrity for his name and a deference to his opinions, far beyond the proportion of what might be justly due either to "his talents or his attainments (though neither the one nor the other were inconfiderable); by the perfevering zeal, I fay, of this mifcreant, throughout a long, though an infirm and fickly life of bold active impiety, "a confpiracy was formed of all the wit, the science, the philofophy, and "the politics, not of France only, but of many other countries, for the extirpation of the Chriftian name. The art, the induftry, the difguife, the deep laid policy with which the nefarious plot was carried on, the numbers of all ranks and deferiptions which were drawn in to take part in it, &c. are facts that are indeed aftonishing. In this confederacy the "men of science and letters certainly played the principal part. And with "fo much earnestnefs they played it, that for many years, nothing was done "in France for the improvement of Science, without a view to the differvice "of Religion. To this purpofe every discovery was bent, every advancement "in learning was applied.

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"From the middle of the Century to the period of the French Revolution, every great literary undertaking in that Kingdom, every confiderable publication upon whatever fubject, Natural Philofophy, Natural Hiftory, "Chemistry, Anatomy, Morals, Law and Politics, was in fome way or "other brought to bear, directly or indirectly, upon the great object of the "confpiracy, the defamation and difcredit of the Chriftian Religion. This was feldom indeed the immediate and avowed Object, but it was a fort of under-plot, if the expreffion may be allowed, in every piece, to which what appeared to be the main action was in truth fubfervient. The feratagem was in this part the more certain of fuccefs, and of a wide

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body of a history, which can perifh only with the language "itself. But," he adds, "the force of truth will oblige us to "confess that in the attacks which have been levelled against our Sceptical Hiftorians, we can discover but flender traces "of profound and exquifite erudition-of folid criticism and "accurate investigation; but are too frequently disgusted

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by vague and inconclufive reasoning, by unscafonable "banter and fenfelefs witticifms-by unlettered bigotry and enthufiaftic jargon,-by futile cavils and illiberal invectives." Having thus degraded the Advocates of Christianity;Of the Hiftorian of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire he fays, "Proud and elated by the weakness of "his Antagonists, he condefcends not to handle the fword "of controverfy, but darts forth the invenomed shafts of farcaftic ridicule: he approaches indeed the camp and defies

"and permanent effect, because many of the works, which has this tendency, "were performances of great merit in their avowed subjects, and for a long "time will be standard books, among those who apply themselves to the "sciences of which they treat. Thus they convey the poison in the most "unsuspicious form; they have scattered it wide over the civilized world, "and they will transmit it to remote ages."

It may not, perhaps, be thought improper to present the Reader with one of the two inftances which the learned Bifhop has selected in proof of his affertion, as it may poffibly guard the Reader against the pernicious influence which might otherwise arise from the perusal of it. "The famous

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Encyclopedie," says he," was undertaken by a knot of Atheists, at the suggestion of the leader of the band, as a work which would prove highly "conducive to the success of their plot, by the opportunities it would afford them, in the way in which it was proposed to them to manage it, in which indeed they have managed it, of diffeminating their own principles, of bringing darkness, doubt, and uncertainty. upon the first principles of "Religion and Morals, and of perplexing the inquifitive mind with the subtlety of dismembered disquifition upon abftruse metaphyfical disquifition queftions; disquifition, not given altogether, but broken into parts, and scattered, as it were, in fragments through the work; care being taken, "that what seems proved in one article fhall seem to be confuted under "another; while the Reader is ftudioufly referred from the one to the other "of these contradictory articles; that, if he is a ftudious enquirer after Truth, he may derive nothing from the moft diligent consultation of these "omniscient Volumes, but the torment of Doubt, Miftruft, and universal Scepticism. Floundering in that maddy ocean for a certain length of time, "it will be well with him indeed, if its troubled waters float him not at laft, "when his ftrength is spent, to the dreary fhores of Atheism. For, if a "Man, who has once believed in God, can but be brought to waver and doubt in that belief, the end will generally be, that there will be no God "for him. To bring mankind in general, flily and unawares, to this ftate, was the object of the Encyclopedie." See Bishop Horley's Charge in the year 1800, pages 4-9. "the

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