INTRODUCTORY NOTICE

OF THE

REV. DR. LELAND.

THE learned Dr J. LELAND ably refuted the infidel sophis tries of Tindal, Morgan, Henry Dodwell, and Lord Bolingbroke, as they successively made their appearance. His reply to Tindal's Christianity as old as the Creation, was first published, in two volumes 8vo, in 1733. Four years afterwards, he gave consecutively to the world, his two volumes 8vo, upon the Divine Authority of the Old and New Testament, in answer to Morgan's Moral Philosopher. These works justly procured for him marks of the highest respect from the most eminent members of the Established Church. In 1744, he exposed, in two letters separately printed, Dodwell's anonymous pamphlet, entitled, Christianity not founded on Argument; and, in 1753, came out his Reflections upon the late Lord Bolingbroke's Letter "On the Study and Use of History," &c.

After having thus vanquished the principal Anti-Christian writers in single combat, he proceeded, in 1754, to attack them collectively, in his View of the Principal Deistical Writers of England of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. In this he gave, not only a short analysis and exposure of their several schemes, as far as the cause of Revelation was concerned, but also an account of their mos

powerful antagonists, and a valuable Appendix, which has supplied the substance of the first of the subjoined Tracts. A compressed summary of his previous productions, is followed by an examination of the illogical statements of Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Hobbes, Charles Blount, Toland, the Earl of Shaftesbury, Antony Collins, Woolaston, Chubb, the authors of the Resurrection of Jesus Considered, and of Deism fairly stated, and fully vindicated; and finally, (in a Supplement published in 1756), the three last volumes of Bolingbroke's Works, which had then recently been edited by Mallet, and the Philosophical Essays of Hume. Of these two insidious writers, the first, in addition to the attempt made in his Letters on History against God's moral attributes, &c. had proceeded even to question the immortality of the soul, and a future state of retribu→ tion; and the latter, in his Essay on Miracles, had endeavoured to shake one of the main pillars of Christianity.

He had the happiness of being spared to complete, in two volumes 4to, his last and greatest labour, The Advan tage and the Necessity of the Christian Revelation, &c.: and died in 1766, at the age of seventy-five,

A collection of his Sermons was posthumously published in four volumes 8vo.

REASONS

OF THE

CHRISTIAN'S HOPE, &c.

66

DEISTS may be divided, principally, into two classes. They are either such as, taking it for granted that Christianity has been proved to be an imposition, reject it at a venture; or at most, acquiesce in some slight objections, and, contenting themselves with general clamours against priestcraft" and "imposture," never think of examining the evidences and nature of the religion itself; or, they are such as pretend to reject Christianity, because, after what they deem due examination, they conceive that they have discovered in it marks of falsehood. There is ground to apprehend, that the greater part of our modern Deists are of the former description. But few are willing to own, that this is their case. Whether they have really made a free and diligent inquiry, or not, they would be thought to have done so, and not to have rejected the Christian revelation without good reasons.

Of this sort professedly are those, who have appeared among us, under the character of Deistical

Writers. They have made a show of attacking Christianity by argument. But, though never writers expressed a greater admiration of themselves and contempt of others, it may truly be affirmed that, taking them generally, they have had little to support their vain-glorious pretensions. That no writers ever acted a part more disingenuous : That, while they have set up for advocates of Natural Religion, in opposition to Revealed, many of them have endeavoured to subvert the main articles even of Natural Religion itself, and have used arguments which, if correct, would banish all religion out of the world: That they have often put on a show of great regard for genuine Christianity, whilst at the same time they have used their utmost efforts to subvert its authority: That instead of exhibiting it fairly as it is, they have, by mirepresentation and abuse, treated the Holy Scriptures in a manner which would not have been endured, if put in practice against other ancient writings of any reputation whatever: That, with regard to the extraordinary attestations of Christianity, they have advanced principles, which would be accounted absolutely ridiculous, if applied to other facts, and which really tend to destroy the credit of all past facts altogether. And, finally, that never were there writers more inconsistent with themselves, and with one another, or more obviously tainted with obstinate prepossessions and prejudices. Now, should not all this naturally create suspicions with respect to the goodness of a cause, which stands in need of such management? And yet it is to be apprehended, that many of those who laugh at others for relying apon their Christian teachers, are ready to resign