and mercy: befides that men in general will ever be (as nature intended they fhould) influenced by objects present, whose power over their happiness they have experienced, rather than by objects in a diftant and unknown world. If, indeed, men did thoroughly believe that infinite happiness or mifery did certainly await them in a future ftate, they would be fo overwhelmed by the confideration, as to be altogether difqualified for the offices of life. This, it fhould feem, was the cafe of fome, when there was more faith upon the earth. What opinion can one entertain of thofe early chriftians, who were fo defirous of the crown of martyrdom, and fo earnest to take poffeffion of eternal felicity, as to obtrude themselves on their perfecutors, contrary, even, to their mafter's injunction? And, in later times, instances have not been wanting of fanguine perfons frantic with unutterable joy, while others, of a melancholy complexion, have endured

torments

torments fimilar to what are supposed to be the lot of the damned. But, at prefent, the number of true, cordial, chriftian be lievers is not great among the multitude profeffing chriftianity.

: Nevertheless, whatever has been the de-, gree of faith attually existing in the minds of certain men calling themfelves chriftians, they have persecuted their fellow-chrif-, tians, even to death, for not believing creeds dictated by the perfecutors and by them ftyled orthodox; and these christian perfecutors have reprefented fuch murder as a chriftian duty. This practice, moreover, has not been confined to one age, or even to one century: infomuch, that the annals of the church have been, with great propriery, termed, annals of blood.

The genuine fpirit of chriftianity is, doubtless, a spirit of benevolence; and, af- · furedly, many chriftians in all ages have, N

more

more or lefs, imbibed it: but it happens, unfortunately (as a little reflection will fhew us), that our power to do hurt and injury greatly exceeds our power of doing good. A man who can do nothing else, may, in a moment, by a single act (a murder fuppofe) do mifchief incalculable: while, in order to a good man's effecting any thing greatly and extenfively beneficial, many circumstances must come in aid of his benevolence. Now christianity has, in fact, fupplied fuel to the worst of human paffions: and dreadfully far have the effects of chriftian rancour and animofity extended.

But the fpirit of chriftianity is also a fpirit of flavish and implicit belief, hostile. to intellectual improvement *.

Confidering, then, that the mafs of mankind is little influenced by religious be

* See Apology, pp. 107, 108, 109, 110, 111.

lief, confidering that the genuine influence of christian belief is, in some respects, unfavourable to human happiness, confidering that, though christianity did not authorize, it has eventually given occafion to, the most cruel and deftructive wars, and likewife to fyftematical and ingenious tortures, inflicted by chriftians on their christian brethren -I own it appears to me very doubtful whether the quantity of evil resulting from the chriftian religion, be not more than equal to the quantity of good which it has produced.

To many reflecting perfons it feems improbable, in the higheft degree, that the Author of Nature, who communicates his gifts to us by the operations of nature, agreeably to the established laws of the universe, should break in upon those laws, by miraculous operations, in order to communicate good to us. And indeed, by philofophical men, who are christians,

it is admitted to be incredible, excepting where that great and wife Being has in view fome object of the first magnitude and importance. But this was the cafe, they apprehended, with refpect to what are termed the jewish and christian revelations; the object of the one having been to preserve the faith of the Divine Unity among the chofen people, which faith among the reft of the human species was loft; the object of the other, to reform the world of mankind, fo deeply corrupted with vice and wickedness. Thus good Dr. Watts, fpeaking of the Eternal Deity, fays,

He faw the nations lie

All perishing in fin,

And pitied their fad state," &c.

Now in the jewish history we have an account not only of miracles for the introduction of the Mofaic religion, we find

there