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right, causing a mere man to be born!" and by a sacrifice for sin, [the doctor says, by dying a martyr, merely to confirm the truth,] condemned sin in the flesh." Verse 8, "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be the Spirit of God dwell in you: now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ," that is, the spirit of a mere man! "he is none of his but if Christ be in you,"-viz. if a mere man, crucified in Judea, 1700 years ago, and now in heaven, be in you," the body indeed is dead, [is mortal,] because of sin; but the Spirit is life, [is immortal,] because of righteousness. And he that spared not his own Son," that spared not one mere man! "but delivered him up for us all; how shall he not with him, also, freely give us all things?" that is, on the doctor's principles, if he delivered one mere man to die a martyr to confirm the truth of the Gospel, how shall he not, with him, deliver millions of men from everlasting damnation, and put them in possession of eternal salvation! The apostle proceeds: "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ," a mere man! "that died: yea, rather, that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God; who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ?” the love of a mere man! "Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake," mere man though thou art! "we are killed all the day; we are appointed as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him," that is, through a mere man! "that hath loved us. Strange language this from the mouth of a scholar, a Christian, and an apostle! Nay, who can reconcile it with common sense?

But to proceed: still more irreconcilable therewith is the language of the same apostle, in the two next chapters. "I say the truth in Christ," that is, in a mere man, by whom I thus swear, and to whom I thus appeal; though as a mere man, now in heaven, he certainly cannot know my heart, nor be a witness in any such matter; however, "I lie not; my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart-for my brethren, -my kinsmen according to the flesh-of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came." Here again one might inquire what ideas the apostle, if speaking of a mere man, could annex to the words, “as concerning the flesh :" surely if Christ be a mere man, his whole person was from the Jews, as much as the person of St. Paul himself. And would it not be absurd, if, speaking of that apostle's progenitors and his descent from them, one were to express one's self in a similar manner, and say, Of whom, as concerning the flesh, St. Paul came? Those, indeed, who believe the soul to be inspired immediately from God, and not received by traduction from our parents, may suppose that the phraseology, though unusual, and unprecedented when applied to a mere man, is, however, not quite improper: but the doctor cannot avail himself of any such distinction between the soul and body; for he teaches that man has no soul, distinct from his body; and that even Jesus Christ had none. On his principles, therefore, the expression is doubly absurd. But what shall we say of the following clause: "Who is over all, God blessed for ever?" How many absurdities, on the

doctor's hypothesis, are wrapped up in this half sentence? To say that a mere man is over all, to term him God, to affirm that he is blessed, and that for ever! Surely reason and common sense could no more have a hand in dictating this than the Spirit of inspiration.

And what, on the doctor's principles, has common sense to do with the following passage, which we find in the next chapter? "Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven, that is, to bring Christ from above? or, Who shall descend into the deep, that is, to bring him back from the dead?" For if he be a mere man, who had no existence till begotten by Joseph, and conceived in the womb of Mary, why does the apostle speak of "bringing him down from above?" Surely if the latter clause: "Who shall descend into the deep [that is, into the grave, or into the state of the dead] to bring him back from the dead?" would imply an absurd inquiry, if he never had been in the grave, or in the state of the dead: so the former clause proposes a question equally ridiculous, if Jesus Christ, before his appearing among us, never had been above.

The apostle goes on, according to the Socinian principles, in the same strain of absurdity, (verse 11 :) "The Scripture saith, Whosoever be lieveth on him," a mere man though he be, "shall not be ashamed: for the same Lord over all," though but a man! " is rich unto all that call upon him for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not be. lieved? And how shall they believe in him," the mere. man! "of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher, and how shall they preach except they be sent ?"*

There are sundry other passages in the remaining chapters of this epistle, which, I am persuaded, no person that believed the doctrine of Christ's mere humanity, and was possessed of common sense, could have dictated or written. The following are among the most remarkable. Chap. xi, 26, "The Deliverer [a mere man] shall come out of Zion, and shall turn away iniquity from Jacob." Chap. xiv, 6, “He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord, [viz. unto a mere man!] and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord [the same mere man] he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, [a mere man,] and he that eateth not to the Lord [the same mere man] he eateth not. For none of us [real Christians] liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself; for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, [that is, unto a mere man!] or whether we die, we die unto the Lord, [the same mere man;] whether living or dying, therefore, we are the Lord's [that is, we are the property of a mere man !] For, to this end Christ both died, and rose, and liveth; that [though a mere man!] he might be Lord both of the dead and living! For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, [the judgment seat of a mere man!] for it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue con. fess to God. So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus [a mere man!] there is nothing unclean of itself. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. He that * In proof that this is to be understood of Christ, see Vindication, vol. vi, p. 441, and vol. vii, p. 43.

in these things serveth Christ, [that is, serveth a mere man !] is acceptable to God."

Chap. xv, 7, "Receive ye one another, as Christ also [a mere man!] hath received us to the glory of God. Verse 12, Esaias saith there shall be a root of Jesse, [viz. a mere man, not born till many hundred years after Jesse, and yet the root from which Jesse sprung!] and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him [though a mere man, and though it be written, Cursed is the man that trusteth in man; yet in him I say] shall the Gentiles trust! I will not dare, (verse 18,) to speak of those things which Christ, [a mere man,] hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed,-through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ. Now, I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, [that is, for the sake of a mere man!] and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me:"— Chapter xvi, 3, "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus, [that is, in a mere man!] Salute my well beloved Epenetus, who is the first fruits of Achaia unto Christ, [a mere man!] Salute Andronicus and Junius, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who were in Christ [the mere man] before me. Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, [who you know is a mere man!] The Churches of Christ, [that is, the Churches of a mere man!] salute you. Mark them that cause divisions, for they that are such, serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, [that is, serve not a mere man!] but their own belly. The grace of [this mere man!] our Lord Jesus Christ, be with you! Amen! [I say again, verse 24,] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the same mere man!] be with you all!"

These, reverend sir, are a few of the many passages in the Epistle to the Romans, relating to Christ, which, when opened with Dr. Priestley's key, and interpreted according to his doctrine, appear to be so absurd, that I think no person pretending to common sense would have written them. And as a proof that the doctor and his brethren consider them as absurd, or at least incompatible with their scheme, they are rarely observed to use such either from the pulpit or the press: "Serving Christ, preaching Christ, being in Christ, the Spirit of Christ, the grace of Christ; Christ made of the seed of David according to the flesh; sent in the likeness of sinful flesh; Christ dying for us, reconciling us to God by his death,-giving us redemption in his blood,-being the end of the law for righteousness," &c, &c, are expressions seldom, if ever, heard from their pulpit, or read in their books. And no wonder: for they are expressions which but ill agree with their doctrine of Christ's mere humanity. They are like the head of gold, and breast of silver, in Nebuchadnezzar's image, joined with feet and toes of iron and clay.

I am, reverend, sir, your obedient son, in the Gospel of God our Saviour,

JOSEPH BENSON.

LETTER II.

REV. SIR,-In the last letter we reviewed sundry passages quoted from the Epistle to the Romans, and found, I think, that on the supposition of the author's holding the doctrine of Christ's mere humanity, he paid little regard, I will not say to Divine inspiration, or to conclusive reasoning, but even to common sense, in writing that epistle. I now proceed to the first Epistle to the Corinthians, the very inscription of which, and benediction pronounced immediately after, demonstrate, either that the Socinian doctrine is false, or that St. Paul wrote, to say the least, very absurdly.

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, [that is, an apostle of a mere man!] unto the Church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, [viz. sanctified in a mere man!] called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours, [that is, call upon the name of a mere man!] Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ," who, though no more than a man, is able conjointly with the self-existent Jehovah, to confer grace and peace upon all the Churches.

"I thank my God, [proceeds he, verse 4,] always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Christ Jesus, [that is, by a mere man!] that in every thing ye are enriched by him [a mere man though he be!] in all utterance, and in all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ [this mere man] was confirmed among you, so that ye came behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, [though he be a mere man] shall confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of [the same mere man] our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord," I mean, the fellowship of a mere man! Now what a group of absurdities have we in these few verses! An apostle of a mere man! Sanctified in a mere man! Calling upon the name of a mere man! Deriving grace and peace from a mere man! Enriched by a mere man in all utterance and in all knowledge! Confirmed unto the end by a mere man! Waiting continually for the coming of a mere man! Surely this kind of language savours more of lunacy than of a sound mind, and betrays as great a want of reason or common sense, as of learning or inspiration. And yet one can hardly open any where in this or in the other epistles of this apostle, but, on the supposition of his being a Unitarian in the sense of Dr. Priestley and Socinus, one meets with absurdities equally numerous and glaring. Thus in the verses which immediately follow:

"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (viz. the name of a mere man,] that ye all speak the same thing. Was Paul [a mere man] crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I [a mere man!] baptized in my own name, [the name of a mere man.] For Christ [another mere man!] did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of speech, lest the cross of Christ [that is, the cross of a mere man!] should be made of none effect. For the doctrine of the cross is indeed, to them that perish, foolishness; but to us who are saved, it is the power of God, verse 23. We preach Christ [a mere man!] crucified, unto the Jews a

stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them who are called, Christ [the same mere man] the wisdom of God, and the power of God! Of him are ye in Christ Jesus [viz. in a mere man] who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption." A mere man, the wisdom of God and the power of God: yea, wisdom and righteousness, that is, the source and author of wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption, to all that believe! Strange doctrine this indeed, and very incredible!

Thus again in the next chapter: "I determined not to know any thing among you but Jesus Christ, [that is, I determined not to know any thing but a mere man!] and him crucified. We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, which none of the princes of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory," that is, a

mere man!

Again, chapter iii, 11: "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ," a mere man: that is, a mere man is the one foundation of the whole Church, with all its doctrines, privileges, and duties! All believers, in all nations and ages, are built upon a mere man! And, chapter v, this doctrine supposes the apostle to speak as follows: "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, [that is, in the name of a mere man,] when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, [viz. the power of a mere man,] to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." Will Dr. Priestley, or any of the Socinians, tell us how the power of a merė man, confined in the third heaven, could be exerted and felt on earth, and that in thousands and myriads of congregations at the same time? And will they inform us how sinners of every description could be washed, (as the apostle expresses it in the sixth chapter,) sanctified, and justified in the name of this mere man?

Pass we on to the seventh chapter: "Unto the married I command, yet not I [a mere man, as you know I am] but the Lord, [another and a greater mere man!] Let not the wife depart from her husband. But to the rest speak I, [a mere man,] and not the Lord, [particularly the other and greater mere man,] verse 22, He that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's [that mere man's] freeman. Like. wise, also, he that is called, being free, is Christ's [the same mere man's] servant. Ye are bought with a price, be not ye the servants of men.' Howbeit, ye may be the servants of Christ, who himself is but a man!

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Now how ridiculous is this language! How unworthy of the lips, I will not say of an inspired apostle, enlightened with Divine wisdom, but of any rational creature, however illiterate and uninformed! And yet this and such like language every advocate for the mere humanity of Christ, who acknowledges the authenticity of these epistles, and supposes their author to have been a Unitarian, puts into the mouth of the apostle; nay, and makes him utter it almost with every breath, even as often as he has occasion to speak of his Master, which, it is well known, is very frequently.

The Socinians glory much in the sixth verse of the next chapter, because the apostle there asserts, with great plainness, the unity of God; but even that passage affords a striking instance of the absurd and

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