have I written thefe Things that it should be fo done unto me: as well as by Jews. Neither is it true what you fay, that they were in no Perfecuted Danger by Preaching to the Gemiles. The Reafon, why by Gentiles, fo many of the Apoftles left the Jews to preach to the Gentiles, was not to avoid Perfecution, but not to lose their Time and Preaching among the stubborn and hardned Jews, who undervalued their Doctrine, and trampled upon the holy Things. Nay, the Apoftles were fo far from being willing, upon this Account, to go to preach : among the Gentiles, that they were brought with great Reluctancy to leave the perfecuting Jews, to preach to the Heathens. And as for Perfecution, they had as large Share of it in the Heathen Countries, as in Judaa it felf. The Epiftles which the Apoftles wrote to comfort the Gentile Believers under their Perfecutions, and to exhort them courageoufly to undergo their Sufferings, do clearly demonftrate, that they were perfecuted, as well by those of their own Country, as by the Jews. For St. Paul writes to the Theffalonians, Ye have alfo fuffered like Things of your own Countrymen, as they have of the Jews, who killed the Lord Jefus, Theff. ii. 14. And, in the other Epiftles to the Gentile Converts, there are many Exhortations to Conftancy in their Tribulations, which they underwent from the Heathens in those Places, where the Jews could not hurt them. Heathen But I fee no Reason in 'the World, why you should Preached fay, That the Apostles did not preach against the Heathen against the Idolatry; for their bare Teaching the Principles of the Idolatry. Chriftian Religion, is a manifeft Confutation of the Worfhip of Idols. This was the firft Step, which was made towards Falfe Brethren not Informers. What St. towards Chriftianity, as the Apoftle fays, 1 Theff. i. 9. That you being turned from Idols, might ferve the living God. Paul and Barbabas at Lyftra, tell the People, That they preach unto them, that they fhould turn from Vanities, or Idols, unto the living God, Acts xiv. 15. St. Paul at Athens fhews them the Vanity of Idol-worfhip, from a Saying of the Poet Aratus. And 'twas his Preaching against this, that made Demetrius the Silverfmith, and the fuperftitious Multitude at Ephefis, in fuch a Rage with him, Acts xix. To which, if you add all the many Exhortations againft Idolatry, in every Page of the Apoftolick Epiftles, a Man can hardly be thought to have look'd into the New Teftament, who does deny this Truth. And 'tis a great Sign you are not fufficiently conver fant in your Bible, that you take the false Brethren fometimes fpoken of, for Informers against the Chriftians, upon Account of their condemning Idolatry. For the falfe Brethren were thofe, who would perfuade the Gentiles to take upon them the troublefome Ceremonies of the Mofaical Law; and thofe, who would pretend to be Jews to avoid Perfecution, which lay only upon the Chriftians; and this you will be fufficiently fatisfied of, if you read the 2d and 4th Chapters of the Epistle to the Galatians. As for the Evafion and Prevarication, which you tax Paul faid to St. Paul with; the Charge is very unjuft. For St. Paul fees no Pre- did nothing blame-worthy in this. If he had denied himvaritation. felf to be a Chriftian, it had been fomething. But he the Phari only faid he was judged for the Refurrection of the Dead, which was the most principal Doctrine of the Chriftian Religion. And indeed I do not fee, what more proper Argument he could ufe, to convince the Pharifees of their Fault in perfecuting the Chriftians, than to fhew, That they themselves did hold one of the prime Doctrines of their Faith. You cannot think, that St. Paul by this fhould make himfelf no Chriftian; he was too well known among them, for his deferting their Intereft, to make this pafs upon them. I believe he declined their Malice and Rage against him at that Time, by declaring this Doctrine of Chriftianity before them, which fet his Enemies upon an eager Difpute, and engaged the Pharifees on his Side; which was warrantable enough; for if by the Intereft of the Pharifees in holding this Point in common with them, he could make himself Friends, I fee no Reafon why he fhould decline it. * Phil. But fuppofing the Truth of thefe Miracles to be pretty well attefted, yet the Popish ones have as ftrenu ous Vouchers for them too; and yet they are believed by none, but the Bigots of that Religion. poftolick Cred. There is a great Deal of difference between the Cafe of 4Popish Miracles, and thofe of Chrift and the Apostles. and Popish In thofe Times when the Popish Miracles were moftly Miracles pretended, and in thofe Places where they are now chiefly different. faid to be done, Bigotry and Superftition univerfally pres vail. The Miracles are done privately, before a few Witneffes, whofe Intereft it is to have them believed, and who have that Power in the Government, that any Man fhall be undone, that dares to contradict them. The fimple Vulgar take their Prieft's Word for the Truth of them, and the Wifer do not care to run the Rifque of a Fine, or the Plagues of the Inquifition, by expofing the Cheat. But all Things were juft contrary, in the Cafe of the Apostles. They could not divulge the Miracles they were Witneffes to, without incurring the Danger of fe vere Punishment. The Magiftrates of that Time did not hinder Men from looking narrowly into them, whe ther they were Tricks or no, but would have taken it kindly from, and rewarded, any one, who could have detected the Fraud. And if there had been any, fome prying officious Body or other, would moft certainly have found it out, and difcovered it to the Magiftrates; which would have ruined the Caufe of Chriftianity, in the very Beginning. Jud. Apud. Limb. Phil. But before I have done with this Head of the Lives and Actions of Chrift and his Apoftles, I must tell you that all this Succefs of Chrift and his Apoftles was owing to fome whimsical Doctrines of the Jewish Cab bala, or Gematria, fet about after the Captivity; when the Jews got fome Notions of a Meffias, which we never read that they dreamt of before; becaufe forfooth Shilo and Affias confifted of Letters which make up the fame Numerals; and when they once got this Notion of a Meffias in their Head, then would they pretend to find him in a hundred other Prophefies. And this was a very agreeable Fancy to fuch a miferable People as the Fes were then, to expect a great Deliverer, which they thought this King Meffias muft needs be. Hence feveral Meffias's were fet up, and came to nothing. But the People be lieving Chrift to have done a great many Miracles, tl ought, for fome Time, he must be that Meffias. After this, his Crucifixion and Death fpoil'd all, for they had no Hopes of a Deliverer that was dead. But when the Apostles teftified he was alive again, their Hopes of a temporal Meffias, are again affumed, and the Apostles themfelves expected the fame, as appears by their laft Interrogation, Lord, wilt thou at this Time restore the Kingdom to Ifrael? And therefore, to ftop the Mouths of the Jews, the first Propagators of Chriftianity, were forced to fay, That after a while Chrift was coming to reign with them in Giory, for a thoufand Years, for otherways they would have doubted of his Messias-fhip; but this millenary Invention, of his coming to reign a thoufand Years in Glory, falved all again. And this, Credentius, I take to be the Ground of the Succefs of Christianity. Cred. But, because you should not run away with a great Deal of bare Affertion without any Proof, I would defire you would take Notice, That you have amaffed here feveral Mistakes together, befides the blafphemous Confequences, you draw from them. For, *Oracles of Reafon, from p. 158. to p. 165. 1. It is not true, that the Notion of a Meffias among Doctrine of the Jews, came among them, after the Captivity. For the Meffias the Doctrine of the Meffias did obtain, through all Ages Captivity: before the in that Church. It is the univerfal Opinion of the Jews, that all the Prophets prophefied of Chrift. The Book Sanhedrin quotes a Saying of R. Focharan, That all the Prophets prophefied only of the Days of the Meffias. And R. Salomon brings. a like Saying of Mar, That all the Prophets did not prophefie but of the Years of Redemption, and the Days of the Meffias. And Maimonides in Hilcot fays, That be that does not believe in the Meffias, and expect his coming, does not only disbelieve the Prophets, but the Law, and our Doctor Mofes. For the Law bears Witness of him. And indeed the Doctrine of the Meffias, more or less exprefly, was as old as that Nation; for Abraham the Founder of it, had it revealed to him, That in his Sced fhould all the Nations of the Earth be Bleffed; which the Jews took always as a Promife of the Meffias, or fome great Governour or Benefactor to Mankind; as is plain by that of the Apoftle, To Abraham were the Promifes made, Gal. iii. 16. And fo feveral Places in the Pfalms are fpoken of the Meffiass or there is no Senfe to be made of them; and many other Paffages in the other Prophets do evince, that the Notion of a Meffias was as common in thofe Times, as under the Reign of Herod. I cannot fay, that all along this Series of Time, this great expected Perfon was called by the Name of Meias but thefe Antient Writers meant the fame, as the Jews did afterwards, by that exprefs Name. Nay, the Name as well as Notion feems to be fully fetled, and generally to obtain in Daniel's Time; for he mentions the Name of the Meffias as a Name univerfaliy known; from the going forth of the Commandment to build Jerufalem unto the Meffias the Prince, fhall be feven Weeks. Now if the Meffias had not been a Name generally ufed to exprefs that expected Redeemer, he would have ufed the fame Kind of Periphrafis, as the other Prophets do. 2. Neither is it true what you affert, That the Jewis Not owing. Cabbala, or Gematria, gave occafion to the Notion of the to the FMeas. For notwithstanding the pretence of the Jews, i tria: |