Prophets and Apoftles, to confirm their Doctrine, brought down to us by the un"doubted Testimony and univerfal Tradition "of of the Church of CHRIST,-and sticks not to affirm, that the Alcoran may vie "Miracles and Traditions with the Scripture, p. 105. And that there is no more Reafon to "believe thofe, who have received that Tradition, and plead they have it, before and against them, who profefs they have no fuch Report deliver'd them from their Forefathers, p. 108. Nor have we more Inducement to give Credit to their Affertions, than to a like Number of Men holding out a Tra"dition utterly to the contrary, That is, why we should believe the Teftimony of the "whole Chriftian Church, before the TestiCC mony of Jews, Pagans, and Mahometans, to the contrary.

"

The ingenious Author of Mifcellanea facra, fays, (c) the Comparison between the State of Prophefy under the Old and New Testament, which he has made, to fhew where"in the fuperior Teaching of the Spirit did "confift; will also fhew wherein the Supe

riority of the Witness of the Spirit, to all "other Teftimonies given to CHRIST, did "confift. Our Saviour went about working

Miracles, curing Difeafes, and cafting out "Devils; yet it might be said by Malice and "Perverfeness (perhaps by. mere Scepticism, "in fome given to doubt) that they did not

"know the Power of Nature, and therefore

could not judge of a Miracle; that they xc did not know what Secrets there might be "for the fpeedy and inftantaneous Cure of Difeafes; and that they could not tell, "whether thofe few were really dead, that

were faid to be raised. And the Blafphemy "against the Son went fo far, as to fay, that "he caft out Devils by Beelzebub the Prince "of Devils; and, poffibly fome thought, that "his Cures of Difeafes, as well as his difpof

feffing of Devils, was by Charms, and Spells, " and magical Arts, used almost universally in "Medicine in that Age of the World. See "Acts xix. 18, 19. And as for working Miracles, curing of Difeafes, and cafting out Devils, the heathen Priefts and Exorcifts. pretended to them; and many among the " Jews pretended to fome of them. And our Saviour, as well as his Apoftles, foretold, "that there should be falfe Christs, and falfe Prophets; and that they fhould work fuch Signs and Wonders, as, if it were poffible, "would feduce the very Elect; and that Satan "fhould come among thofe, who received

not the Truth in the Love of it, with all "Power, Signs, lying Wonders, Matt. xxiv. 24. 2 Theff. ii. 8, 9, 10. Nay, even as to "CHRIST'S Refurrection, a wicked Imagi"nation might perhaps ftrain itself so far, as to find out fome Cavils and Exceptions to it. But the Witness of the Spirit quite "blunts and deadens all the working of the "moft, active and fublimated Malice; for is

"there

"there any fecret Art, Trick, Slight, or "Power; or was any fuch Thing ever pre"tended to, fince the World began; by which "the Knowledge of Things of the greatest Compafs, Ufe, and Confequence, can be "infufed into the Minds of vaft Numbers of "illiterate Men and Women in an Inftant, "and the Power given to fome of them to "communicate fome of those Gifts, but different ones, to all thofe Believers, to whom they came without Diftinction; by the laying on of their Hands? He adds, if all this "Illumination, in the feveral Kinds and Degrees, in which it was communicated to vast Multitudes, had, nothing in it more than the "Miracles wrought by our Saviour and hist Apoftles in his Life-time, and was of the fame Rank and Clafs with them; yet inaf "much as it was in many Instances of it, and "in the great Numbers, to which it was com"municated, entirely new, (none of the Prophets, JOHN the Baptift, or the Apostles in "the Life-time of our Saviour, having ever had it,) it was the more likely to produce much greater Effects than any of the other."

Mr. GREEN, therefore, in afferting Miracles to be the only Method for God to manifest his Will, rejects the Doctrine of the Witness of the Spirit; and in building Christianity upon the Proof of the miraculous Facts contain'd in the Gospel in particular, quits the Notions of his great Predeceffor in the Ministry, Dr. OWEN; who, as appears, argued against fuch Proof, as equally conclufive for all Religions, and made

Ų 3

the

the great Proof of the Truth of Christianity to lie in the felf-evidencing Power and Light of the Scriptures themfelves, and of the Witnefs of the in-dwelling Spirit within every

Man.

But tho' I take the Way of Inspiration to be better than the Way of extraordinary Works, and can think of no better; yet I would no more conclude, that That must be God's Way, if he thought fit, (I say, if God thought fit, for I know not (d) upon what Right we can demand to be told any Thing) to give Proof of his revealing his Will to Mankind, than I would conclude from God's giving to every Man Reafon, that there is no Need of, nor can be, any other Way for God to communicate his Will to the World; and, in particular, would not even conclude, that it was abfurd to fuppofe, that God had left us to learn his Will among the infinite Sorts of thofe, who pretend to be Minifters of his Word, and Ambafadors from him. On the contrary, I would give every Sort of them a fair Hearing, as to the Proof of their Miffion or Embally, how unpromifing foever their obvious Figure, Marks, Livery, Appearances, and Pretences may be, of their being fent by the great God of Heaven and Earth.

Mr. GREEN having, as appears, proved nothing, and having fuppofed the very Thing he was to prove, proceeds to answer the (e) only Objection, which, as he fays, lies against

(d) Sherlock's Ufe, &c. p. 55.

(e) Letters, p. 29. bis

us;

his laft Propofition, viz. "That there are "other Beings, befides God, fuperior unto and we cannot fay what Power they may have of doing the Works we are fpeaking of; and confequently, we cannot "tell, when they are the Works of God, and "when the Works of thefe other Beings."

How he answers his own Objection, I fhall. now confider, and fhew you, that he anfwers that Objection in fuch a Manner, as to evince, that Miracles, or extraordinary Works, are not a Proof of the Divinity of a Doctrine. And then I think nothing will appear lefs argumentative than his Propofitions; which pretend only to affert the Poffibility of their being fuch Proof, and which really fhew that they cannot be Proofs. In answer to the Objection started by him, he allows, that Beings, inferior to God, can do extraordinary. Works. How then can we diftinguish when God acts, or does extraordinary Works, and when other Beings do them? He fays, God can give us a certain Criterion. But what is that Criterion, confiftently with allowing that Beings, inferior to God, can do Miracles, or extraordinary Works?

I. First, he fays, the Works themselves furnish us with this Criterion, when, in a Contest between two Parties doing Miracles, one Party makes it appear, that the Power, by which he was acted, was fuperior to That of the other. Thus, he fays, in the Contest between AARON and the Magicians of Egypt before PHAROAH and his Servants, both