writer was a fool, and knew nothing at all about the matter.

Such general accufations, thrown out in the air without proof, are fit only for the mob of readers, who never think; and can affect thefe only. Whether Dr. Priestley interprets scripture rightly, or not; or difcards any part of it without caufe, can only be determined by its proper evidence.

SECTION VIII.

CONCERNING THE PERSON OF CHRIST,

The eternal God a feeble suffering man! How the minds of many are capable of being reconciled to fucha ftrange affertion. Throughout the bebrew fcriptures, Chrift uniformly Spoken of as a man, and a great prophet, who was to be born of a particular tribe and family among them. The Jews expected him, and those who received him, believed in him, in that character only. The three former evangelifts, and Luke in his fecond treatise, never seem to have had a thought of Christ being any other than a man like themselves,

M 3

themselves, with extraordinary powers from God. The evangelift St. John and the rest of the writers of the New Testament do not differ from the preceding. A fingular teftimony to the Spreading of this true doctrine concerning Chrift. The teftimony to it of the late Dr. Le Courayer.

IN one place Dr. Horne introduces you thus addressing Dr. Priestley, making himfelf one of your number, as ufual. 'With the fcriptures open before us, we can no more believe that our Lord Jefus was only a man, like ourselves.; we can no more adopt your interpretation of those texts, which affert or imply him to be O God, than we can believe the Alcoran, or adopt the ftories which it contains." Undergraduate's letter, p. 25.

Dr. Horne may make this declaration for himself, though I flatter myfelf you will be perfuaded, that it does not befpeak him to have much confidered the subject. If I be not mistaken, you would have anfwered for yourselves with more modesty and less prejudice;

judice; and perhaps in fome fuch manner as this ;

'We will confider, Dr. Priestley, what you offer, from fcripture, to prove our Lord Jefus Chrift, not to be the eternal God, but a man like ourselves. For we frankly own to you, that we have never • examined this matter, as you with us to ' do. Our education has hitherto led us to ' embrace the contrary, as a true doctrine, intirely upon the authority of others, without any proper inquiry and conviction " of our own. And to say the truth, we

⚫ oftentimes know not what to make of God Almighty being a weak mortal like ' ourselves.'

many of you

I have no doubt but I fpeak the natural fentiment of here. And indeed this is a doctrine that would startle with its impoffibility, every understanding of man, that was not familiarized to it from the cradle, or that could fuffer himself to entertain one free thought about it: and yet with Dr. Horne, and many others, it is the corner-stone of chriftianity. So strong

are their prejudices, and their minds fo faft closed up by the awful notion of Christ being the most high God, first instilled into them, that there is not the leaft crevice left for one ray of light to penetrate afterwards. From the liberality of the times in which your happier lot is caft, and at and pliant age, truth may expect a fairer hearing, and gain admittance.

your open

The general outline of the evidence in the facred writing, concerning our Lord Jefus Chrift, who, and what manner of perfon he was, I shall lay before you, to be weighed in the even fcales of your own judgments: defiring you however to excufe the pofitive, peremptory manner, in which I may speak of his being intirely one of the human race, moft highly favoured of God, which I cannot avoid if I fpeak at all; fo plain appears to me the evidence for it, throughout the bible. You will determine for yourselves, whether there be fufficient grounds for my perfuafion.

In your refearches then firft into the hebrew fcriptures, you will find, that in all the mention made of the Meffiah, and the predictions relating to him, he is always spoken of, exprefsly, as one of the human race, and not as of any different condition of being; and in nothing beyond other men, fave that he was to be the most honoured, beloved (f) fervant, prophet and meffenger of the Divine Being, that had ever appeared.

If the prophet Ifaiah, fpeaking long before of the gofpel-times, fays, xxxv. 4, they fhall fee the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. Behold your God Shall come and fave you: and the like, in other places: We fay, God did come, at that time, in and by his fervant Jefus, upon whom he put his fpirit, xlii. 1. xi. 2. And God truly came, in the fcripture-phrafe, though it was only the prophet, or Chrift,

who

(f) Behold my fervant, whom I uphold; mine elect in whom my foul delighteth: I have put my spirit upon him. I. xlii. 1. And the fpirit of the LORD full rest upon him, the fpirit of wif dom and understanding, &c. xi. 2.