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The extreme diversity of sentiments amongst the pretended Philosophers who reject Christianity has not escaped the pointed censure of some writers of their own class. The following language of Rousseau, descriptive of their conduct and contradictions, is highly worthy of attention. "I have consulted our philosophers, I have perused their books, I have examined their several opinions, I have found them all proud, positive, and dogmatizing, even in their pretended scepticism, knowing every thing, proving nothing, and ridiculing one another; and this is the only point in which they concur, and in which they are right. Daring when they attack they yet defend themselves without vigour. If you consider their arguments, they have none but for destruction: if you count their number, each one is reduced to himself: they never unite but to dispute: to listen to them was not the way to relieve myself from my doubts. I conceived that the insufficiency of the human understanding was the first cause of this prodigious diversity of sentiment, and that pride was the second, if our philosophers were able to discover truth, which of them would interest himself about it? Each of them knows that his system is not better established than the others; but he supports it, because it is his own :

there is not one amongst them who, coming to distinguish truth from falsehood, would not prefer his own error to the truth that is discovered by another. Where is the philosopher, who, for his own glory, would not willingly deceive the whole human race? Where is he, who, in the secret of his heart, proposes any other object than his own distinction; provided he can but raise himself above the commonalty, provided he can eclipse his competitors, he has reached the summit of his ambition. The great thing for him is to think differently from other people. Among believers he is an Atheist, among the Atheists a believer. Shun, shun then, those who, under pretence of explaining nature, sow in the hearts of men the most dispiriting doctrines, whose scepticism is far more affirmative and dogmatical than the decided tone of their adversaries. Under pretence of being themselves the only people enlightened, they imperiously subject us to their magisterial decisions, and would fain palm upon us for the true causes of things, the unintelligible systems they have erected in their own heads, whilst they overturn and trample under foot all that mankind reveres, snatch from the afflicted the only comfort left them in their misery, from the rich and great the only curb that can restrain their pas

sions; tare from the heart all remorse of vice, all hopes of virtue, and still boast themselves the benefactors of mankind. Truth they say, is never hurtful to man, I believe that as well as they; and the same, in opinion, is a proof, that what they teach is not the truth." a

That "truth" for which Plato so devoutly sighed, and the principles of that virtue which Infidels profess to be so anxious to practice, are said to be contained in a book, originally written in the Hebrew tongue, and which the people to whom it was given call the Torah-or Law! It is composed of doctrines, precepts, promises, and threatenings; together with the history of the first ages of the world, and prophecies of events to come: and professes to have been written by men immediately inspired by God himself. It is admitted by Jews and Christians, Heathens and Infidels, that unless this book contains a revelation from God, no revelation, has, as yet, been vouchsafed to the human race. It becomes us, therefore, to examine its claims, to so lofty a distinction, with care and impartiality. Having formed a deliberate opinion on the various topics to be discussed in this lecture, I shall express that opinion

a Gandolphy.

without hesitation, and corroborate every statement of importance by reference to the works of authors, some of whom were eminently qualified, by their mental endowments and comprehensive knowledge of Biblical criticism, to judge of the whole question at issue between us and Infidels. Unbelievers having found it impossible to reconcile the accounts given of the primitive times, by some ancient historians, with those furnished in the old Testament, have drawn, from these questionable premises, some plausible arguments against the truth of Divine Revelation; and as those arguments are still employed, by many, in this town, to prove that Infidelity has the sanction of antiquity, as well as of reason, it seems necessary, before we proceed further, to weigh their importance and show, with as much brevity has can consist with perspicuity, that it is not more easy to meet those arguments with reason than to confute them by an appeal to antiquity. We shall, therefore, endeavour to demonstrate the truth of the following proposition, viz:

THAT THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES

GIVE A MORE RATIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN
OF ALL THINGS, AND A MORE SATISFACTORY HISTORY
OF THE FIRST AGES OF THE WORLD, THAN ANY OTHER
WRITINGS OF ANTIQUITY.
To make this evident I

b

shall condense the accounts which the most ancient nations of the earth have given of themselves, and then contrast those accounts with the Mosaic Narrative. Here we must observe, that, the dispersion marks the limits of legitimate enquiry; for up to that time, "the people of the whole earth was one, and they had all one language." a While building a tower to perpetuate their unity and strength, their language was confounded, 102 years after the flood, and from "thence they were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth." c There is evidence that soon after this event, ignorance, depravity, and superstition, spread with amazing rapidity and became almost universally prevalent. 1st. Losing the true notion of the proper object of religious worship, and believing the sun, moon, and stars, to be inhabited by a race of intelligent beings, inferior to deity, but superior to man, they prayed to these as Mediators, and ultimately associated with them angels and demons, men and beasts. 2nd. Believing, that the divine being would transfuse himself into whatever was dedicated to him, they made images to represent the objects of their devotions and worshipped them. If we are deprived of the writings of Moses, we must go to these Idolators

a Gen. xi. 1. b Ibid v 7. c Gen. xi. 9.

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