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paffion, or any thing else besides impartial examination, can never recommend a man to God. For thofe ways have no merit in them, and are the worst a man can take to obtain truth; and therefore may be objects of forgiveness, but never of reward, from God.

Let not therefore any man deny Mr. WHISTON the liberty of profeffing and propofing his opinions on account of the dangerousness of error to his foul; who, as far as we can judge, feems, by his conduct, both to do his best endeavours to obtain truth and to recommend himself to God, and to decline the worst methods of obtaining truth, and the most unacceptable to God.

17. If the queftion of the reasonableness of the open profeffion and des fence of what men take to be the truth, in oppofition to prevailing opinions, was to be determin'd by autority, I think Mr. WHISTON may lay claim. to the best autority, and has only the worst against him. C 4

He

He has the autority of JESUS CHRIST, who oppos'd the false traditions receiv'd in the Jewish church of his time; of the apoftles, who travell'd throughout the world, preaching down the receiv'd notions. both of Jews and Gentiles; of the fathers of the church before the empire became chriftian, who in their famous apologies written to emperors and fenates, and in their other writings in behalf of chriftianity, have with the utmost freedom attack'd all that the heathens efteem'd facred; of the noble army of martyrs in all ages, of the feveral christian countries, that fend miffionaries abroad to convert Heathens, Jews, Hereticks, and Mahometans, and of thofe countries, that hofpitably receive the faid miffionaries; of all countries, that allow toleration; of all true chrifti. ans and proteftants; of our first re, formers from popery; of the greatest philofophers and wifeft men of all times, who have either openly pro

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fefs'd their fentiments, or elle have by their moderation and temper, or by their oppofing perfecution, or by their arts of concealment, fufficiently shown, what liberty they would have been glad to have taken themfelves, and would have allow'd to others; of all men, who judge for themselves; and in fine, of all bigots, impofers, perfecutors, and enemies of liberty themfelves; for, as TILLOTSON (b) fays, there is one feaSon and nick of time, wherein they will allow any of the people to examine and inquire into matters of religion, and that is when they would gain a man to their religion.

And who have been or are the men, that make up the autority on the other fide? The interested, the politicians, the hypocrites, the bigots, the enthufiafts,and the ignorant; who,all wanting reason to support their opinions, either make decifions themselves, or are govern'd by the decisions of others.

(b) Tillotson's Serm, Vol. 13. p. 333.

18. I

18. I will conclude this apology for Mr. WHISTON with the paffage of a great prelate of our church.

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Autority is the greatest and most

« irreconcileable enemy to truth,and argument, that this world ever fur"nifh'd out, fince it was in being. "All the fophiftry, all the color of plaufibility, all the artifice and cun ning of the fubtileft difputer in the "world,may be laid open,and turn'd to the advantage of truth, which they are design'd to hide, or to deprefs. But against autority there. "is no defenfe. It is autority a"lone which keeps up the groffeft

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errors in the countries around us. "And where truth happens to be "receiv'd for the fake of autority, "there is just fo much diminish'd "from the love of truth, and the glory of reason, and the accepta"bleness of men to God, as there is "attributed to autority.

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"It was autority, which crush'd "the noble fentiments of SOCRATES, "and others, in the heathen world; " and prevented the reception of them among men. It was autority "which hinder'd the voice of the "6 Son of God himself from being "heard; and which alone stood in oppofition to his powerful argu ments, and his divine doctrine; "whilft it was a more moving que "stion, among the people, to ask, "Do any of the Pharifees, or Doctors

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of the Mofaick Law believe in him? “than to ask, whether ever man (pake

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or liv'd, or work'd wonders like him; "and whilft excommunication, or be"ing put out of the fynagogue, was "the mark fet upon those who "should embrace his religion. It was autority among heathens, “which afterwards put all the stop to CHRIST's profeffion, which this แ world could put. And when chriftians were increas'd into a majority; and came to think the fame "method

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