flander and defamation, that violence and perfecution, that war and bloodshed, which have taken place on the score of Christianity, and have been introduced thereby, with refpect to which, furely, had thofe Christians not been Chriftians, but been left to follow the guidance of their intellectual and reasoning faculties, without any unnatural biafs upon their minds, they would not have commenced fuch monsters in nature as they have done. Indeed, this kind of evil feems to have attended all traditionary religions, in fome degree, each fect being apt to pay a partial regard to those of their own religious party, and fometimes to have an evil difpofition towards others; tho', perhaps, this has appeared much more notorious and common among Chriftians, than among any other religious fect: Among Chriftians, men's attachment to their religious party, and their zeal for it's intereft and propaga tion, have not only weakened, but in many inftances, have difpofed them to put off humanity itself; to discharge themselves of all the obligations of nature; and to pursue,. even unto death, by methods most barba-. rous and cruel, those who differ from them in matters of religion, tho' they have neither done, done, nor wished them ill. This, furely, is the groffeft corruption human nature is capable of finking into, with respect to which the fin of our first parents, in eating the forbidden fruit, muft needs have been a meer trifle. However, tho' other traditionary religions have not been fo productive of this kind of fruit as the Chriftian, and tho' the Church of Rome has much more abounded in thofe deeds of darkness than any other Chriftian Church; yet, perhaps, there has been no fect, founded on traditionary religion, that has been quite clear of this kind of partiality, but hath had a particular regard to the houshold of faith, only because they were the houshold of faith, exclufive of all other confiderations, and exclufive of others who, upon other accounts, were much more the proper objects of fuch regard. St. Paul, indeed, exhorted the Galatians, (chap. vi. verse 10.) to do good unto all men, especially unto them that are of the houshold of faith; by which if he meant, that those who adhered to the fame confeffion of faith with ourselves, should be preferred to others in acts of benevolence, when fuch fellow-believers are as much the proper objects of kindness as those others they are preferred to, and when the benevolent person has it not in his power to do good to both; in fuch a cafe, I think, unity of affent may very juftly be admitted as a ground of preference, as there is a feeming relation arifing from fuch unity, or at least a mutual liking of those who are of the fame fentiments, when there is no higher relation or obligation fubfifting to fupplant or put it by, and as fuch preference must be given to one or the other; I fay, in such cases, unity of affent, or being of the fame religious fociety, may, I think, very justly be admitted as a ground of preference, and which, 'tis hoped, was all the Apostle intended. But if, by efpe cially unto them that are of the bousehold of faith, St. Paul meant that, in our acts of kindness, we are to prefer those who fubfcribe the fame creed, join with the fame fociety, and use the same form of external religion, as ourselves, to others who, in other refpects, are much more the proper objects of our regard; then this is misleading us, or leading us to act improperly, by making that a ground of preference which, in fuch circumstances, ough not to be fo. Unity of affent, and being of the fame religious fociety, or, perhaps, VOL. II. C€ unity unity in many other refpects, may be admitted as a ground of preference, under the circumftances before mentioned; but then, these are not to be admitted when greater or prior obligations will be cancelled thereby. Whatever St. Paul meant by efpecially unto them that are of the household of faith; it is plain that christians have made an improper ufe of his advice, as long and conftant experience hath fhewn: Each chriftian fect having been apt to be greatly and unreasonably partial to their own party, or to their own household of faith, in their acts of kindness, and in the distribution of their bounty, and think they have St. Paul's injunction to juftify them in fo doing. Nevertheless, it may, perhaps, be a piece of juftice due to christianity (could it be clearly defined, and certainly determined what chriftianity is, and could it be Separated from every thing that hath been annexed and blended with it) to acknowledge that it yields a much clearer light, and is a more fafe guide to mankind, than any other traditionary religion, as being better adapted to improve and perfect human nature; and. as I have given the preference, or have, at leaft, admitted that christianity may be pre ferable ferable to any other traditionary religion, fo I beg my readers to obferve what it is which I make the ground of that preference. Religion, in the more general sense of that term, confidered as the offspring of nature, and as the ground of God's favour, is a conformity of affection and action to that eternal and invariable rule of right and wrong which results from, and is founded in the natural and effential differences in things; and which rule man, as an intelligent free being, ought, in reason, to govern his affections and behaviour by, with refpect to God, his neighbour, and himself: And all traditionary religion is more or less valuable, as it more or lefs leads men to a ftrict conformity to this rule; and therefore, when I give the preference to the chriftian religion, it supposes that this religion leads men to a closer conformity to the forementioned rule than those other traditionary religions do, that are put in competition with it. And as the proper ufe of all traditionary religion, whether it be of a divine or human original, is to lead men to a clofe conformity to the aforefaid rule; fo, confequently, no traditionary religion, whether it be the chriftian or any other, |