But I have spoken against all systems. Answ. And always shall, so far as they are set up by particular men, or parties, as the just measure of every man's faith; wherein every thing that is contained, is required and imposed to be believed to make a man a Christian: such an opinion and use of systems I shall always be against, until the creed-maker shall tell me, amongst the variety of them, which alone is to be received and rested in, in the absence of his creed; which is not yet finished, and, I fear, will not, as long as I live. That every man should receive from others, or make to himself such a system of Christianity, as he found most comformable to the word of God, according to the best of his under standing, is what I never spoke against: but think it every one's duty to labour for, and to take all oppor tunities, as long as he lives, by studying the scriptures every day, to perfect.
But this, I fear, will not go easily down with our author; for then he cannot be a creed-maker for others: a thing he shows himself very forward to be; how able to perform it, we shall see when his creed is made. In the mean time, talking loudly and at random, about fundamentals, without knowing what is so, may stand him in some stead.
This being all that is new, which I think myself con cerned in, in this socinian creed, I pass on to his Post script. In the first page whereof, I find these words: " I found that the manager of the Reasonableness of " Christianity had prevailed with a gentleman to make " a sermon upon my refutation of that treatise, and the " vindication of it." Such a piece of impertinency, as this, might have been born from a fair adversary: but the sample Mr. Edwards has given of himself, in his Socinianism unmasked, persuades me this ought to be bound up with what he says of me in his introduction to that book, in these words: " Among others, they " thought and made choice of a gentleman, who, they " knew, would be extraordinary useful to them. And 388 A Second Vindication of the " he, it is probable, was as forward to be made use of " by them, and presently accepted of the office that was " assigned him: " and more there to the same purpose. All which I know to be utterly false.
It is a pity that one who relies so intirely upon it, should have no better an invention. The socinians set the author of the " Reasonableness of Christianity," &c. on work to write that book; by which discovery the world being (as Mr. Edwards says) let into the pro ject, that book is confounded, baffled, blown off, and by this skilful artifice there is an end of it. Mr. Bold preaches and publishes a sermon without this irrefraga ble gentleman's good leave and liking. What now must be done to discredit it, and keep it from being read? Why Mr. Bold too was set on work, by " the •• manager of the Reasonableness of Christianity," &c. In your whole storehouse of stratagems5 you that are so great a conqueror, have you but this one way to destroy a book, which you set your mightiness against, but to tell the world it was a job of journey-work for some body you do not like? Some other would have done better in this new case,, had your happy invention been ready with it: for you are not so bashful or reserved, but that yoii may be allowed to be as great a wit as he who professed himself " ready at any time to say a good " or a new thing, if he could but think of it." But in good earnest, sir, if one should ask you, Do you think no books contain truth in them, which were undertaken by the procuration of a bookseller? I desire you to be a little tender in the point, not knowing how far it may reach. Aye, but such booksellers live not at the lower end of Pater-noster-row, but in Paul's church-yard, and are the managers of other guise-books, than the 66 Reasonableness of Christianity." And therefore you very rightly subjoin, " Indeed it was a great master- " piece of procuration, and we can't but think that *' man must speak truth, and defend it very impartially " and substantially, who is thus brought on to under- " take the cause." And so Mr. Bold's sermon is found to have neither truth nor sense in it, because it was printed by a bookseller at the lower end of Pater-noster- Reasonableness of Christianity, fyc. 389 row: for that, I dare say, is all you know of the matter. But that is hint enough for a happy diviner, to he sure of the rest, and with confidence to report that for cer tain matter of fact, which had never any being but in the fore-casting side of his politic brain.
But whatever were the reasons that moved Mr. B to preach that sermon, of which I know nothing; this I am sure, it shows only the weakness and malice (I will not say, and ill breeding, for that concerns not one of Mr. Edwards's pitch) of any one who excepts against it, to take notice of any thing more than what the author has published. Therein alone consists the errour, if there be any; and that alone those meddle with, who write for the sake of truth. But poor cavillers have other purposes, and therefore must use other shifts, and make a bustle about something besides the argument, to pre judice and beguile unwary readers.
The only exception the creed-maker makes to Mr. BokTs sermon, is the contradiction he imputes to him, in saying: " That there is but one point or article " necessary to be believed for the making a man a chris- " tian: and that there are many points besides this, " which Jesus Christ hath taught and revealed, which " every sincere Christian is indispensably obliged to en- " deavour to understand: " and " that there are parti- " cular points and articles, which being known to be " revealed by Christ, Christians must indispensably as- *l sent to." And where, now, is there any thing like a contradiction in this? Let it be granted, for exam ple, that the creed-maker's set of articles (let their number be what they will, when lie has found them all out) are necessary to be believed, for the making a man a Christian. Is there any contradiction in it to say, there are many points besides these, which Jesus Christ hath taught and revealed, which every sincere Christian is in dispensably obliged to endeavour to understand? If this be not so, it is but for any one to be perfect in Mr, Edwards's creed, and then he may lay by the bible, and from thenceforth he is absolutely dispensed with from studying or understanding any thing more of the scrip ture.
390 A Second Vindication of the But Mr. Edwards's supremacy is not yet so far esta blished,, that he will dare to say, that Christians are not obliged to endeavour to understand any other points revealed in the scripture, but what are contained in his creed. He cannot yet well discard all the rest of the scripture, because he has yet need of it for the com pleting of his creed, which is like to secure the bible to us for some time yet. For I will be answerable for it, he will not quickly be able to resolve what texts of the scripture do, and what do not, contain points necessary to be believed. So that I am apt to imagine, that the creed-maker, upon second thoughts, will allow that saying, that there is but one, or there are but twelve, or there are but as many as shall be set down, (when he has resolved which they shall be,) necessary to the making a man a Christian; and the saying, there are other points besides, contained in the scripture, which every sincere Christian is indispensably obliged to en deavour to understand, and must believe, when he knows them to be revealed by Jesus Christ, are two propositions that may consist together without a contra diction.
Every Christian is to partake of that bread, and that cup, which is the communion of the body and blood of Christ. And is not every sincere Christian indis pensably obliged to endeavour to understand these words of our Saviour's institution, " This is my body, " and this is my blood? " And if, upon his serious en deavour to do it, he understands them in a literal sense, that Christ meant, that that was really his body and blood, and nothing else; must he not necessarily be lieve that the bread and wine, in the Lord's supper, is changed really into his body and blood, though he doth not know how? Or, if having his mind set otherwise, he understands the bread and wine to be really the body and blood of Christ, without ceasing to be the true bread and wine: or else, if he understands them, that the body and blood of Christ are verily and indeed given and received, in the sacrament, in a spiri tual manner: or, lastly, if he understands our Saviour to mean, by those words, the bread and wine to be only a Reasonableness of Christianity ^ <S$c. 391 representation of his body and blood; in which way soever of these four, a Christian understands these words of our Saviour to be meant by him, is he not obliged in that sense to believe them to be true, and assent to them? Or can he be a Christian, and understand these words to be meant by our Saviour, in one sense, and deny his assent to them as true, in that sense? Would not this be to deny our Saviour's veracity, and consequently his being the Messiah, sent from God? And yet this is put upon a Christian, where he understands the scripture in one sense, and is required to believe it in another. From all which it is evident, that to say there is one, or any number of articles necessary to be known and believed to make a man a Christian, and that there are others con tained in the scripture, which a man is obliged to en deavour to understand, and obliged also to assent to, as he does understand them, is no contradiction.
To believe Jesus to be the Messiah, and to take him to be his Lord and King, let us suppose to be that only which is necessary to make a man a Christian: may it not yet be necessary for him, being a Christian, to study the doctrine and law of this his Lord and King, and believe that all that he delivered is true? Is there any contradiction in holding of this? But this creed-maker, to make sure work, and not to fail of a contradiction in Mr. Bold's words, mis-repeats them, p. 241, and quite contrary, both to what they are in the sermon, and what they are, as set down by the creed-maker himself, in the immediately preceding page. Mr. Bold says, " There " are other points that Jesus Christ hath taught and " revealed, which every sincere Christian is indispensa- " bly obliged to understand; and which being known " to be revealed by Christ, he must indispensably assent " to. From which the creed-maker argues thus, p. " 240, Now, if there be other points, and particular " articles, and those many, which a sincere Christian is " obliged, and that necessarily and indispensably, to un- " derstand, believe, and assent to: then this writer hath, " in effect, yielded to that proposition I maintained, " viz. that the belief of one article is not sufficient to 392 A Second Vindication of the " make a man a Christian; and consequently he runs " counter to the proposition he had laid down."
Is there no difference, I beseech you, between being " indispensably obliged to endeavour to understand, and " being indispensably obliged to understand any point?" It is the first of these Mr. Bold says, and it is the latter of these you argue from, and so conclude nothing against him: nor can you to your purpose. For until Mr. Bold says (which he is far from saying,) that every sincere Christian is necessarily and indispensably obliged to un derstand all those texts of scripture, from whence you should have drawn your necessary articles, (when you have perfected your creed.) in the same sense that you do; you can conclude nothing against what he had said, concerning that one article, or any thing that looks like running counter to it. For it may be enough to con stitute a man a Christian, and one of Christ's subjects, to take Jesus to be the Messiah, his appointed King, and yet, without a contradiction, so that it may be his indis pensable duty, as a subject of that kingdom, to endeavour to understand all the dictates of his sovereign, and to as sent to the truth of them, as far as he understands them.
But that which the good creed-maker aims at, with out which all his necessary articles fall, is, that it should be granted him, that every sincere Christian was neces sarily and indispensably obliged to understand all those parts of divine revelation, from whence he pretends to draw his articles, in their true meaning, i. e. just as he does. But his infallibility is not yet so established, but that there will need some proof of that proposition. And when he has proved, that every sincere Christian is necessarily and indispensably obliged to understand those texts in their true meaning; and that his inter pretation of them is that true meaning; I shall then ask him, Whether " every sincere Christian is not as neces- " sarily and indispensably obliged " to understand other texts of scripture in their true meaning, though they have no place in his system?
For example, To make use of the instance above- mentioned, is not every sincere Christian necessarily Reasonableness of Christianity, fyc. 393 and indispensably obliged to endeavour to understand these words of our Saviour, " This is my body, and " this is my blood," that he may know what he receives in the sacrament? Does he cease to be a Christian, who happens not to understand them just as the creed-maker does? Or may not the old gentleman at Rome (who has somewhat the ancienter title to infallibility) make transubstantiation a fundamental article necessary to be believed there, as well as the creed-maker here make his sense of any disputed text of scripture a fundamental article necessarv to be believed?
•/ Let us suppose Mr. Bold had said, that instead of one point, the right knowledge of the creed-maker's one hundred points (when he has resolved on them) doth constitute and make a person a Christian; yet there are many other points Jesus Christ hath taught and revealed, which every sincere Christian is indispensably obliged to endeavour to understand, and to make a due use of; for this, I think, the creed-maker will not deny. From whence, in the creed-maker's words, I will thus argue: " Now if there be other points, and particular articles, " and those many, which a sincere Christian is obliged, " and that necessarily and indispensably, to understand, " and believe, and assent to; then this writer doth, in " effect, yield to that proposition which I maintained, " viz. That the belief of those one hundred articles " is not sufficient to make a man a Christian:" for this is that which I maintain, that upon this ground the belief of the articles, which he has set down in his list, are not sufficient to make a man a Christian; and that upon Mr. Bold's reason, which the creed-maker insists on against one article, viz. because there are many other points Jesus Christ hath taught and revealed, which every sincere Christian is as necessarily and indispensa bly obliged to endeavour to understand, and make a due use of.
But this creed-maker is cautious, beyond any of his predecessors: He will not be so caught by his own ar gument; and therefore is very shy to give you the pre cise articles that every sincere Christian is necessarily and indispensably obliged to understand and give his assent 394 A Second Vindication of the to. Something he is sure there is, that he is indispensa bly obliged to understand and assent to, to make him a Christian; but what that is he cannot yet tell. So that whether he be a Christian or no, he does not know; and what other people will think of him, from his treating of the serious things of Christianity, in so trifling and scandalous a way, must be left to them.
In the next paragraph, p. 242, the creed-maker tells US; Mr. Bold goes on to confute himself, in saying, " A " true Christian must assent unto this, that Christ Jesus " is God." But this is just such another confutation of himself as the before-mentioned, i. e. as much as a falsehood, substituted by another man, can be a con futation of a man's self, who has spoken truth all of a-piece. For the creed-maker, according to his sure way of baffling his opponents, so as to leave them nothing to answer, hath here, as he did before, changed Mr. Bold's words, which in the 35th page, quoted by the creed- maker, stand thus: " When a true Christian under- " stands, that Christ Jesus hath taught, that he is God, " he must assent unto it:" which is true, and con formable to what he had said before, that every sincere Christian must endeavour to understand the points taught and revealed' by Jesus Christ; which being known to be revealed by him, he must assent unto.
The like piece of honesty the creed-maker shows in the next paragraph, p. 243., where he charges Mr. Bold with saying, (C That a true Christian is as much " obliged to believe, that the Holy Spirit is God, as " to believe that Jesus is the Christ/' p. 40. In which place, Mr. Bold's words are: " When a true Christian " understands, that Christ Jesus hath given this ac- " count of the Holy Spirit, viz. that he is God; he " is as much obliged to believe it, as he is to believe, " that Jesus is the Christ: " which is an incontesta ble truth, but such an one as the creed-maker himself saw would do him no service; and therefore he mangles it, and leaves out half to serve his turn. But he that should give a testimony in the slight affairs of men, and their temporal concerns, before a court of judicature, as the creed-maker does here, and almost every- where, in Reasonableness of Christianity, 8$c. 395 the great affairs of religion, and the everlasting concern of souls, before all mankind, would lose his ears for it. What, therefore, this worthy gentleman alleges out of Mr. Bold, as a contradiction to himself, being only the creed-maker's contradiction to truth, and clear matter of fact, needs no other answer.
The rest of what he calls " Reflections on Mr. Bold's " sermon " being nothing but either rude and misbe coming language of him; or pitiful childish application to him, to change his persuasion at the creed-maker's entreaty, and give up the truth he hath owned, in courtesy to this doughty combatant; shows the ability of the man. Leave off begging the question, and su perciliously presuming, that you are in the right; and, instead of that, show by argument: and I dare answer for Mr. Bold you will have him, and I promise you, with him, one convert more. But arguing is not, it seems, this notable disputant's way. If boasting of himself, and contemning of others, false quotations, and feigned matters of fact, which the reader neither can know, nor is the question concerned in, if he did know, will not do; there is an end of him: he has shown his excellency in scurrilous declamation; and there you have the whole of this unanswerable writer. And for this, I appeal to his own writings in this controversy, if any judicious reader can have the patience to look them over.
In the beginning of his " Reflections on Mr. Bold's " sermon," he confidently tells the world, " that he " had found that the manager of the Reasonableness of " Christianity had prevailed on Mr. Bold to preach a " sermon upon his Reflections," &c. And adds, " And " we cannot but think, that that man must speak the " truth, and defend it very impartially and substan- " tially, who is thus brought on to undertake the " cause." And at the latter end he addresses himself to Mr. Bold, as one that is drawn off, to be an under journey man- worker in socinianism. In his gracious allowance, " Mr. Bold is, seemingly, a man of some " relish of religion and piety," p. 244. He is forced also to own him to be a man of sobriety and temper, 396 A Second Vindication of the p. 245. A very good rise, to give him out to the world, in the very next words, as a man of a profligate con science: for so he must be, who can be drawn off to preach, or write for socinianism, when he thinks it a most dangerous crrour; who can " dissemble with himself, " and choke his inward persuasions," (as the creed- maker insinuates that Mr. Bold does, in the same ad dress to him, p. 248,) and write contrary to his light. Had the creed-maker had reason to think in earnest, that Mr. Bold was going off to socinianism, he might have reasoned with him fairly, as with a man running into a dangerous errour; or if he had certainly known, that he was by any by-ends prevailed on to undertake a cause contrary to his conscience, he might have some reason to tell the world, as he does, p. 239, " That we " cannot think he should speak truth, who is thus " brought to undertake the cause." If he does not certainly know, that " Mr. Bold was THUS brought to " undertake the cause," he could not have shown a more villanous and unchristian mind, than in publishing such a character of a minister of the gospel, and a worthy man, upon no other grounds, but because it might be subservient to his ends. He is engaged in a contro versy, that -by argument he cannot maintain; nor knew any other way, from the beginning, to attack the book he pretends to write against, but by crying out socinian ism; a name he knows in great disgrace with all other sects of Christians, and therefore sufficient to deter all those who approve and condemn books by hearsay, without examining their truth themselves, from pe rusing a treatise, to which he could affix that imputation. Mr. Bold's name, (who is publicly known to be no socinian) he foresees, will wipe off that false imputation., with a great many of those who are led by names more than things. This seems exceedingly to trouble him, and he labours might and main, to get Mr. Bold to quit a book as socinian, which Mr. Bold knows is not socinian, because he has read and considered it.
But though our creed-maker be mightily concerned, that Mr. B — d should not appear in the defence of it; yet this concern cannot raise him one jot above that Reasonableness of Christianity, $c. 397 honesty, skill, and good breeding-, which appears to wards others. He manages this matter with Mr. B — d, as he has done the rest of the controversy; just in the same strain of invention, civility, wit, and good sense. He tells him, besides what I have above set down, " That he is drawn off to debase himself, and the post, " i. e. the ministry he is in, p. 245. That he hath said " veiy ill things, to the lessening and impairing, yea, " to the defaming of that knowledge and belief of our " Saviour, and of the articles of Christianity, which are " necessarily required of us, p. £45. That the devout " and pious," (whereby he means himself: for one, and none, is his own beloved wit and argument,) " observ- " ing that Mr. Bold is come to the necessity of but ONE " article of faith, they expect that he may in time hold " that NONE is necessary, p. 248. That if he writes " again in the same strain, he will write rather like a " Turkish spy, than a Christian preacher; and that he " is a backslider, and sailing to Racovia with a side " wind: " than which, what can there be more scur rilous, or more malicious? And yet at the same time that he outrages him thus, beyond not only what Chris tian charity, but common civility, would allow in an ingenuous adversary, he makes some awkward attempts to sooth him with some ill-timed commendations; and would have his undervaluing Mr. Bold's animad versions pass for a compliment to him; because he, for that reason, pretends not to believe so crude and shal low a thing (as he is pleased to call it) to be his. A notable contrivance to gain the greater liberty of rail ing at him under another name, when Mr. B — d's, it seems, is too well known to serve him so well to that purpose. Besides, it is of good use to fill up three or four pages of his Reflections; a great convenience to a writer, wlio knows all the ways of baffling his oppo nents, but argument; and who always makes a great deal of stir about matters foreign to his subject; which, whether they are granted or denied, make nothing at all to the truth of the question on either side. For what is it to the shallowness or depth of the animadversions, who writ them? Or to the truth or falsehood of Mr.
398 A Second Vindication of the B — d's defence of the " Reasonableness of Christianity," whether a layman, or a churchman, a socinian, or one of the church of England, answered the creed- maker as well as he? Yet this is urged as a matter of great weight; but yet, in reality, it amounts to no more but this, that a man of any denomination, who wishes well to the peace of Christianity, and has observed the horrible effects the Christian religion has felt from the impositions of men, in matters of faith, may have reason to defend a book, wherein the simplicity of the gospel, and the doctrine proposed by our Saviour and his apostles, for the conversion of unbelievers, is made out, though there be not one word of the distinguishing tenets of his sect in it. But that all those, who, under any name, are for imposing their own orthodoxy, as necessary to be believed, and persecuting those who dissent from them, should be all against it, is not per haps very strange.
One thing more I must observe of the creed-maker on this occasion: in his socinian creed, chap. vi. the author of the " Reasonableness of Christianity," &c. and his book, must be judged of, by the characters and writings of those who entertain or commend his no tions. " A professed Unitarian has defended it; " there fore he is a socinian. The author of A letter to the deists speaks well of it; therefore he is a deist. An other, as an abetter of the Reasonableness of Christian ity, he mentions, p. 125, whose letters I have never seen: and his opinions too are, I suppose, set down there as belonging to me. Whatever is bad in the tenets or writings of these men, infects me. But the mischief is, Mr. Bold's orthodoxy will do me no good: but because he has defended my book against Mr. Edwards, all my faults are become his, and he has a mighty load of accusations laid upon him. Thus con trary causes serve so good a natured, so charitable, and candid a writer as the creed- maker, to the same purpose of censure and railing. But I shall desire him to figure to himself the loveliness of that creature, which turns every thing into venom. What others are, or hold, who have expressed favourable thoughts of my Reasonableness of Christianity ^ <fyc. 399 book, I think myself not concerned in. What opi nions others have published, make those in my book neither true nor false; and he that, for the sake of truth, would confute the errours in it, should show then- falsehood and weakness, as they are: but they who write for other ends than truth, are always busy with other matters; and where they can do nothing by reason and argument, hope to prevail with some by borrowed pre judices and party.
Taking therefore the Animadversions, as well as the sermon, to be his, whose name they bear, I shall leave to Mr. B — d himself to take what notice he thinks fit of the little sense, as well as great impudence, of putting his name in print to what is not his, or taking it away from what he hath set it to, whether it belongs to his bookseller or answerer. Only I cannot pass by the palpable falsifying of Mr. B — d's words, in the begin ning of his epistle to the reader, without mention. Mr. B — d's words are: " whereby I came to be furnished " with a truer and more just notion of the main design " of that TREATISE." And the good creed-maker sets them down thus: " The main design of MY OWN " TREATISE OR SERMON: " a sure way for such a cham pion for truth to secure to himself the laurel or the whetstone!
This irresistible disputant, (who silences all that come in his way, so that those that would cannot answer him) to make good the mighty encomiums he has given him- self, ought (one would think) to clear all as he goes, and leave nothing by the way unanswered, for fear he should fall into the number of those poor baffled wretches, whom he with so much scorn reproaches, that they would answer, if they could.