pose their doubts, with their reasons for them; had they fairly and ingenuously set forth the arguments on our side of the question in their full strength, and then brought their own to set against them, and balance them; had they been willing to acknowledge, (what is undoubtedly true,) that we have many and great reasons, such as must weigh even with wise and good men, for what we believe and profess; much from Scripture, much from antiquity, and countenanced, now many centuries, by the sober and thinking part of the Christian world; had they freely owned this, giving at the same time their reasons on the other side, and leaving impartial men, after a fair and full hearing, to judge which should outweigh: I say, had they took this reasonable and ingenuous method, like modest inquirers after truth, I know not whether any fair and candid man would have condemned, or not have commended them for it. But when nothing less will serve the turn but misrepresenting us, as following only new scholastic hypotheses; when antiquity is searched only to pick out such passages as seem to make for one side, and much art used even to make them seem so; when our main strength from Scripture and from antiquity is, in a manner, totally concealed and disguised, and the principal objections and difficulties of their own scheme passed over in silence; the orthodox, all the while, being represented as a parcel of men overrun with prejudice and bigotry, preferring human and modern decisions, the words of men, before the infallible word of God; full of contradiction and absurdity, and bereft, in a manner, of common sense: say, when this is the method which some please to take to revive an old heresy, such rude attacks upon our common faith, though we had less to say for it, are never to be justified; nor indeed are they capable of any kind excuse, when the men are so far from proving that we have been mistaken in this matter, that they dare not trust the merits of the cause to a fair, open, and calm hearing, They dare not venture to set their scheme in its true colours and naked simplicity against ours, fearing lest I impartial men should too plainly see what advantage we are sure to have upon a just comparison. It is ungenerous and mean in any cause, (in this it is impious,) not to suffer all that can justly be pleaded on the opposite side to appear in its full light and strength. What harm can there be in admitting what is truth and fact, suppose it relate either to Scripture or antiquity? Let the evidences be produced, at least; the weight of them may be considered afterwards. And what if Arianism should not happen to prevail in this so fair and just a method? How can it be remedied? Must it be obtruded upon us, true or false, right or wrong, with or without reason? If there really be not evidence sufficient for it, or if it must be overpowered by contrary evidence, then this we may certainly depend on, either that the Arian doctrine is false, or, at the lowest, that no man can be obliged to think it true: which consideration alone may be enough to satisfy any conscientious man in rejecting it, in its present circum stances. To conclude all in a few words: one thing we may require and demand in the present case; that before we venture to dethrone our God and Saviour, by bringing him down to the rank of creatures; before we presume to abridge him of those honours, and that worship, which he has held in the Christian Church by a prescription of fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen hundred years; before we run upon what has hitherto been accounted blasphemy, horrid blasphemy, by the wisest, the greatest, and most eminent lights of the Christian Church, in former and in latter ages; before we disclaim our solemn vows in baptism, where we dedicated ourselves to the service and worship of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one God blessed for ever; before we go these lengths, let us, at least, have things fairly and impartially examined, in sincerity and singleness of heart; disguising nothing, nor smothering any evidences, but comparing things with things, Scripture with Scripture, reason with reason, and then balancing the whole account: let us know, in some mea sure, what we do, that we run not blindfold into our own certain damnation. In the mean while, it behoves us to retain steadfastly, what we have hitherto piously believed and professed, in the integrity of our hearts and minds. And may the sacred Three, to whom we once have so solemnly devoted all our services, accept of our sincere endeavours to preserve and keep up that divine honour, which has been hitherto (and we doubt not, justly) paid to each of them. To the same most holy, undivided Trinity, God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, adoration and worship, in all churches of the saints, now and for evermore. Amen. |