possible fidelity and strength of reasoning that the writer could command when he was a sincere believer in the truth of the Christian religion; with the arguments in favour of which he has had ample opportunities of being acquainted. On the other hand, he must admit that, by a close study for the last twenty years, he has endeavoured to avail himself of every advantage in order to become conversant with the opposite view of the question. The portions of the work devoted exclusively to the advocacy of Christianity are from page 9 to 50, and from 245 to 258. Should any Christian reader be so conscious of the weakness of his faith as to desire to know only what can be said in favour of his religion, he is recommended to confine himself exclusively to the perusal of these pages, and, when he has read them, to shut the book, lest his prejudice be irritated, or his mind roused to critical inquiry. But should he be one of those enlightened Christians who believe that religious truth is unchangeable and eternal; that whatever is urged against it cannot alter its nature; that the more it is assayed the brighter it shines; and that the existence of true religion does not depend upon antiquated creeds and ancient records, he may venture to read the whole of this volume, from which it is trusted he will derive some advantage. Taught from infancy that it is sinful to read anything which calls in question the truth of their religion, there are still in Christendom, notwithstanding the rapid strides which the spirit of free inquiry has lately made, and continues to make, a great number whose predilections are shocked when they see any argument advanced against either their faith, or its founder; and whose hereditary superstitious notions. have such an influence over their reflective powers that they regard Christianity as too sacred for criticism, and too solemn for argument. Such people forget that God is the author of their reasoning powers; that the sound dictates of reason are God's revelations to man; and that it would be as absurd to suppose that the Deity can be at varianee with himself, as to imagine that any thing can be Divine which is contrary to the dictates of sound human reason. In the following work, however, the writer has taken the utmost care not unnecessarily to wound the tender feelings of these timid Christians, by the use of any harsh language, in pointing out the imperfections of the object of their faith. Nor has he advanced many things on this point, that have not already been insinuated even by writers standing in the Christian ranks. All that he has done is to speak out a little more plainly and fearlessly than most of these have done. This is, probably, to be attributed to the fact that he is in no fear of forfeiting a rich preferment, patronage, popularity, or any of those Christian premiums which are held out to orthodoxy, are the means of existence to thousands of learned and talented men in this country, and, necessarily, regulate and guide both their tongues and pens. For men to write, shackled by the creed of a Church which they have previously sworn to defend, -to write in fear of its excommunication, or of contravening any of its Articles, has the effect of misleading truth-seekers, by such obscure suggestions of things which the writers cannot venture openly to state, as are either misunderstood by their readers, or not understood at all. This is peculiarly applicable to a great number of modern German writers of profound research, who, being connected with the Christian Church, evidently with hold much that they believe on important religious points. Having worked out a train of arguments leading inevitably to a conclusion unfavourable to Christianity, they stop short of stating that conclusion, giving the reader only dark hints as to the view they wish him to adopt. The consequence is that, thereby, they enable the advocates of orthodoxy to represent their works in a ludicrous light; whereas, if they stated their premises clearly, and drew their conclusions fearlessly and explicitly, their arguments would be unanswerable, and would have an immense weight on public opinion. The reason given by some writers for the great cautiousness they exercise in exposing religious errors, is that it is more prudent and expedient thus to proceed gradually, in proportion as the age becomes riper and riper for the change contemplated. And, indeed, when one thinks of the sad fate of almost all, in past times, who had the courage to speak plainly of what they believed to be wrong in Christianity, it must be admitted that the slow process of exposing religious error, in a country where a heretic, even in the present day, can be severely punished, possesses some advantage. Lately, however, several of our Doctors, such as the authors of the "Essays and Reviews," Bishop Colenzo, and others, have broken the deep silence in which thousands of the Anglican clergy were spellbound, touching the origin of the Christian religion, and have, in comparatively plain terms, pronounced it human and erroneous. For this honest expression of their opinion, they have, of course, been denounced as heretics, infidels, and ignorant men. When these dignitaries of the Church are thus treated, the writer of these pages has no reason to expect a better fate. Orthodoxy will, doubtless, deem it a sacred duty to represent his work in the most hideous colours. It is frankly admitted that it has many imperfections. Its errata are by no means few; but these will be pardoned by the real critic, who knows the difficulty of conducting through the Press a work of this character, free from literal errors. It has, however, not the fault of wilfully misrepresenting a single fact. The analogical and historical proofs which it contains that Christianity has emanated from paganism-the chief element in its composition being heathen monkery-could be greatly multiplied. The question of the origin of this religion, belongs to the antiquary rather than the theologian. CONTENTS. A statement of the evidences and facts which tend to prove that the prophecies of Christ, in Matthew, chap. xxiv; Mark, chap. xiii; Luke, chap. xxi, and in other passages of similar import, are predictions solely of the Destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army, under Titus Vespasian; and not predictions of the Last Day of Judg- ment and the Destruction of the World. SECTION I.-The language, proper interpretation, and requisite proof of IV. The erroneousness of the notion that Christ, in these predic- tions, foretold the near approach of the End of the World, V.-The analogy between the predictions of the ancient Prophets and those of Christ, in reference to the Destruction of VI.-The Gospel Dispensation, which followed the abolition of the Jewish Polity, not a secular dominion, meant by the ex- VII. The Apostles, both in their writings and discourses, prove A statement of the evidences and facts which tend to prove that the prophecies of Christ, in Matthew, chap. xxiv; Mark, chap. xiii; Luke, chap. xxi, and in other passages of similar import, are predictions of the Last day of Judgment and the Destruction of the World, as events which were inevitably to take place during the life-time of the generation of men who were on earth contemporary with Christ; and not predictions of the Destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army, under Titus Vespasian. SECTION I.-The identity of the Jewish and Pagan prophets in name and character. The obscurity of their predictions, and the causes of the popular belief in them.-Jesus of Nazareth a Jewish prophet, whose language, predictions, and doctrines, closely resemble those of his predecessors, and |