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he reprefents it as exhibiting the clearest and most glorious Light, to deliver the World from Darknefs, and bring them into marvellous Light. He fpeaks of the Light which the Jews had, under the Mofaic Difpenfation, as vaftly exceeding the Light of Nature, which the Heathen enjoyed: And yet he fuppofes, that even the latter was fo clear, as to be fufficient to lead Men to the Knowledge of God, and their whole Duty to him. And he fpeaks of the Light of the Gofpel as vaftly exceeding the Light of the Old Teftament. He fays of the Apostle Paul in particular, "That he "wrote with great Perfpicuity; that he takes 66 great Care to explain every Part of his Subject; "that he has left no Part of it unexplained and

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unguarded; and that never was an Author more"exact and cautious in this." -Is it not ftrange. therefore, that the Chriftian World, without any native Depravity to prejudice and darken their Minds, fhould be fo blind in the Midft of fuch glaring Light, as to be all, or the Generality, agreed, from Age to Age, fo effentially to mifunderstand that which is made fo very plain?

Dr. T. fays, p. 167. S. "It is my Perfuafion, "that the Chriftian Religion was very early and grievously corrupted, by dreaming, ignorant, fuperftitious Monks, too conceited to be fatis"fied with plain Gofpel; and has long remained "in that deplorable State."-But how came the whole Chriftian World, without any blinding Depravity, to hearken to these ignorant foolish Men, rather than unto wifer and better Teachers? Especially, when the latter had plain Gospel on their Side, and the Doctrines of the other were (as our Author fuppofes) fo very contrary not only to the I 3

Pref. to Par. on Rom. p. 146, 48.

plain

plain Gofpel, but to Men's Reafon and common Senfe! Or were all the Teachers of the Christian Church nothing but a Parcel of ignorant Dreamers? If fo, this is very ftrange indeed, unless Mankind naturally love Darkness, rather than Light; feeing in all Parts of the Chriftian World, there was fo great a Multitude of those in the Work of the Miniftry, who had the Gofpel in their Hands, and whose whole Bufinefs it was to study and teach it; and therefore had infinitely greater Advantages to become truly wife, than the Heathen Philofophers. But if it did happen fo, by fome strange and inconceivable Means, that notwithstanding all thefe glorious Advantages, all the Teachers of the Chriflian Church through the World, without any native evil Propenfity, very early became filly Dreamers, and alfo in their dreaming, generally ftumbled on the fame individual monftrous Opinions, and fo the World might be blinded for a while; yet why did they not hearken to that wife and great Man, Pelagius, and others like Him, when he plainly held forth the Truth to the Chriftian World? Efpecially feeing his Instructions were fo agreeable to the plain Doctrines, and the bright and clear Light of the Gospel of Christ, and alfo fo agreeable to the plaineft Dictates of the common Senfe and Understanding of all Mankind; but the other fo repugnant to it, that (according to our Author) if they were true, it would prove Understanding to be no Underftanding, and the Word of God to be no Rule of Truth, nor at all to be relied upon, and God to be a Being worthy of no Regard!

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And befides, if the Ineffectualness of the Gospel to restrain Sin and promote Virtue, be owing to the general Prevalence of thefe Doctrines, which

are

are fuppofed to be fo abfurd and contrary to the Gofpel, here is this further to be accounted for; namely, Why, fince there has been fo great an Increase of Light in religious Matters (as muft be supposed on Dr. T-r's Scheme) in this and the last Age, and these monftrous Doctrines of Original Sin, Election, Reprobation, Juftification, Regeneration, &c. have been fo much exploded, efpecially in our Nation, there has been no Reformation attending this great Advancement of Light and Truth: But on the contrary, Vice, and every Thing that is oppofite to practical Christianity, has gone on to increafe, with fuch a prodigious Celerity, as to become like an overflowing Deluge, threatening, unless God mercifully interpofes, fpeedily to fwallow up all that is left of what is virtuous and praife-worthy.

Many other Things might have been mentioned under this Head, of the Means which Mankind have had to reftrain Vice, and promote Virtue ; fuch as Wickedness being many Ways contrary to Men's temporal Intereft and Comfort in this World, and their having continually before their Eyes fo many Inftances of Perfons made miferable by their Vices; the Restraints of human Laws, without which Men cannot live in Society; the Judgments of God brought on Men for their Wickednefs, with which Hiftory abounds, and the providential Rewards of Virtue; and innumerable particular Means, that God has ufed from Age to Age, to curb the Wickednefs of Mankind, which I have omitted. But there would be no End of a particular Enumeration of fuch Things. Enough has been faid. They that will not be convinced by the Inftances which have been mentioned, probably would not be convinced, if the World had

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ftood a Thousand Times fo long, and we had the moft authentick and certain Accounts of Means having been used from the Beginning, in a Thoufand Times greater Variety; and new Difpenfations had been introduced, after others had been tried in vain, ever so often, and ftill to little Effect. He that will not be convinced by a Thousand good Witneffes, it is not likely that he would be convinced by a Thousand Thousand. The Proofs that have been extant in the World, from Trial and Fact, of the Depravity of Man's Nature, are inexpreffible, and as it were infinite, beyond the Reprefentation of all Comparifon and Similitude. If there were a Piece of Ground, which abounded with Briars and Thorns, or fome poisonous Plant, and all Mankind had ufed their Endeavours, for a Thousand Years together, to fupprefs that evil Growth, and to bring that Ground by Manure and Cultivation, Planting and Sowing, to produce better Fruit, but all in vain, it would ftill be over-run with the fame noxious Growth; it would not be a Proof, that such a Produce was agreeable to the Nature of that Soil, in any wife to be compared to that which is given in divine Providence, that Wickedness is a Produce agreeable to the Nature of the Field of the World of Mankind; which has had Means used with it, that have been fo various, great, and wonderful, contrived by the unfearchable and boundless Wifdom of God; Medicines procured with infinite Expence, exhibited with fo vaft an Apparatus; fo marvellous a Succeffion of Difpenfations, introduced one after another, displaying an incomprehenfible Length and Breadth, Depth and Height, of divine Wisdom, Love, and Power, and every Perfection of the Godhead, to the eternal Admiration of the Principalities and Powers in heavenly Places.

SECT

Chap. I. 7
Sect. IX.

SECT. IX.

Several Evafions of the Arguments for the Depravity of Nature, from Trial and Events confidered.

EVASIONI. Dr.T. fays, p. 231, 232.“ Adam's

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Nature, it is allowed, was very far from being finful; yet he finned. And therefore, "the common Doctrine of Original Sin, is no "more neceffary to account for the Sin that has "been or is in the World, than it is to account "for Adam's Sin." Again, p. 52, 53, 54. S. &c. "If we allow Mankind to be as wicked as R. R. "has represented them to be; and fuppofe that "there is not one upon Earth that is truly Righ

teous, and without Sin, and that fome are very

enormous Sinners, yet it will not thence follow, "that they are naturally corrupt.-For, if finful "Action infers a Nature originally corrupt, then, "whereas Adam (according to them that hold the "Doctrine of Original Sin) committed the most "heinous and aggravated Sin, that ever was com"mitted in the World; for, according to them, "he had greater Light than any other Man in "the World, to know his Duty, and greater "Power than any other Man to fulfil it, and was "under greater Obligations than any other Man

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to Obedience; he finned, when he knew he "was the Reprefentative of Millions, and that "the happy or miserable State of all Mankind,

depended on his Conduct; which never was, "nor can be, the Cafe of any other Man in the "World:-Then, I fay, it will follow, that his "Nature was originally corrupt, &c. Thus their "Argument from the Wickednefs of Mankind,

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