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of his Chriftian Apology, the first of which is, that the doctrine therein advanc'd is new-fashioned: Secondly, That it tendeth to encourage a spirit of indolence: and, thirdly, That it would explode the use of our intellectual powers. The Doctor vindicates his performance in answer to these three charges against him with some spirit, as the reader will perceive by what follows.

The third article (Jays he) of Mr. Heathcote's charge is, that the fermon tendeth to explode the use of our intellectual powers. And yet, his only reason for afferting this is, that it hath cautioned the understanding from entangling itself in • a trackless thicket; from attempting to fill the perforated tub, from fpinning cobwebs, or unravelling them already spun, which are of no substance or profit; from affecting to foar on metaphyfic wings into the void regions of abstraction, ' where

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Fluttering her penons vain, plumb down fhe drops

• Ten thousand fathom deep;

and hath exhorted her to exert herself in the fearch of true learning, by working upon matter, and limiting herself thereby; especially in fearching after that truth, which is, * of all others, the moft concerning; that truth, which is the life eternal of those who so know it as to embrace and ⚫ truft in it.

The fermon then hath not exploded the use of our intellectual powers in religion, but hath directed them to their juft object and exercife, the enforcing Chriftian truths by their own chriftian arguments, and building the proofs of the divine origin of the gospel on the fure foundation of facts, communicated to us either by history, or by reve⚫lation.

And let the reader determine whether he doth not endeavour most effectually to explode the ufe of the intellectual 'powers, who contendeth for employing them in trifling, fruitlefs fubtilties, inftead of ftable, effective reasoning: and whether the ftrength of Hercules was not more likely to be totally enervated by inveigling him to pin at the L 4 • diftaff, 5

distaff, than by tasking him to those manly exercises for which his limbs were naturally formed."

The pamphlet concludes thus:

If I return once more to Mr. Heathcote, it is to conjure him by all his hopes of everlasting happiness to think more worthily and justly than he seemeth to think of that lively, • energetic faith, to which the scriptures admonish us to trust entirely for falvation, but which he who exhorteth Chriftians to truft to, is by Mr. Heathcote charged with enthusiasm and fanaticifm.

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Let him but take his idea of the nature and spirit of • Chriftianity, not from the fancies of the ingenious, who have been affecting to furprize by new discoveries, but from the fincere word of God, and he will perceive, (if he earnestly seek to know the truth) that the gospel of Jesus • Christ was intended for an infinitely more important purpose than to improve our moral knowledge; and that Christianity is not truly understood, even by the wife and penetrating, till its good feed hath taken root in their hearts, till it hath begun to wean their affections from this world, and to make them know Chrift and the power of his refurrection, and feek thofe things which are above, where Chrift fitteth at the right hand of God. He will then perceive that by whatever proofs the word of God is recommended to our intellectual faith, yet if another faith do not fpring up within us, that word will, after all, prove unfruitful, While the vanities and follies of the world, while the raging thirft of pleafure, or wealth, or honour keep poffeffion of our defires; while pride, or malice, or felf-conceit difdain to vield to a meeknefs and lowlinefs of heart, which our Blefled Saviour is ever ready to teach us by the filent inftruction of his good fpirit; vain and trifling to us are all our examinations of his doctrines, all our arguments for their truth. They may, by God's grace, convince others, they will not convince ourselves; we are yet to feek for true faith in Chrift, and the true meaning of his gospel. He only who is difpofed to do his will, fhall truly know of the doctrine whether it be of God. The knowledge which availeth • unto jalvation, (which alone perhaps deferveth that name, be• caufe

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cause all other knowledge fhall vanish away) is to be fought not inter fylvas academi,' in the woods, the endless intricacies of fceptical difputation, but in an honest, and good, and penitent heart, inflamed with an earnest defire to hear, and a stedfaft purpose to obey the will of God."'

What Dr. Patten has advanced in fome parts of his pamphlet, concerning the neceffary limitation of human reason, is not unplaufible: but he seems, in many others, very unwilling to reft contented without the utter expulfion of it; probably (as hath been intimated by an * excellent writer) with a defign

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The author of A free and candid examination of the bishop of London's fermons who, in his preface to that work, takes occafion to fpeak of Dr. Patten's Chriftian apology in the following terms: To vindicate the rights of reason in religion (Jays be) appears now fo defperate an adventure to the learned of Oxford, that in a fudden fit of defpair, as it fhould feem, they are for giving up the cause at once, and ridding us of all our labour at a blow. The fcheme is to expel reafon out of the province of faith and to ⚫ believe on no other account but because it is thus written: that the • data for the truths of revelation are so flender, that the application ⚫ of human reason to it only makes it totter the more; for that all ⚫ which human reafon can do is to furnish out topical arguments; which as they have two handles, two faces, and two edges, are laid hold on equally by the two parties; who with the fame ease ' and facility turn them against one another, till the conflict ends in 'an universal scepticifm. The learned doctor, who has made this important discovery, concludes therefore that human reafon is that 'carnal weapon, which the apoftolic men most of all difclaimed ; and which it is now high time, after having done so much mischief with it, to throw finally afide.

There is ftill more behind. The fubtile doctor has apparently ⚫ communicated but one half of his fcheme, and myfteriously keeps 'the other in reserve for we can never fuppofe his intention is to 'leave religion quite defenceless. We must conclude therefore, that 'tho' he has not thought fit to tell us what fecurity he has provided for religion, yet at least that fomething he has in petto, ready to fupply the place of reafon, as foon as ever we fhall be disposed to give it up.

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Now, what this fomething is, we can but guefs. There are two famous fects of nominal chriftians, to whom reafon having 'given as great offence, as it has happened to do to our learned doctor; they have both acted on his exterminating principle. The fects I mean are the quakers and the papifts: but then, both of them have, in their feveral ways, provided for the fecurity of religion, in the absence, or during the captivity of reason.

The quakers have fubftituted the fpirit in its ftead. And, indeed, suppose them not to have juggled with us, and they have

⚫ made

to fubftitute fomething else in the room of it. There is befides in this gentleman's performance, an acrimony and bitternefs of refentment, which we are always forry to find in men of abilities; especially as part of it hath unluckily fallen on the authors of the CRITICAL REVIEW, which, in justice to ourselves, we are here obliged to take notice of.

Page 85, our readers will meet with the following fevere animadverfion :

• This is not an age in which one must hope for candid and fober judgments, especially concerning books written on religious fubjects. Few readers are to be found who examine while they read, and who determine to hear both fides before

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made no ill exchange for us. "Why should you, wretched earth-worms, (fay thefe men to us) keep groping out your way by the weak and feeble glimmering of human reafon, when you have the light within; the glorious light of the spirit rifing in your fouls? Reafon indeed is good, when nothing better can be had. It ferved the philofophers. But fhall their old ftale ware ferve the faints? Purge out, for fhame, this old leaven, that you may be a new lump." Now, thefe illuminati afcribing fo much more to human reason than our Oxford divine, and indeed talking fo much more foberly concerning it, I conclude that the thing which he keeps in referve, and is fo thy of producing, is not the • fpirit.

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*It remains then to fee, if it be that with which the papists have 'done fuch wonders. I mean, the arm of flefh, whether diftinguished by the titles of Inquifitions, wholefome Severities, folemn Leagues and Covenants, Acts of Conformity, or by what other name whatsoever it may be called, as different times and places hold most commodious or falutary. Now there are many circumstances which plainly indicate the great fecret to be this, and no other. For 1ft, the learned doctor agrees with them in the moft lavifh abufes of human reafon; efpecially when it fubmits to the guidance of private judgment. 2dly, His fpite and rancour, like theirs, is chiefly directed against fuch whom human reafon is fuppofed to have favoured moft. 3dly, He condefcends, as the papifts have ever done, (and which the quakers, to do them justice, never did) to borrow aid of this enemy of all godliness, as often as it may ferve his purpose. From the famenefs in thefe various characteristic marks I am inclined, and I hope without breach of charity, to conclude, that the learned doctor's prime object, like theirs, is the peace, rather than the purity, of religion and confequently that he has a more fubftantial fupport for the church, than that flender pillar of the light within: which, when he pleafes to explain at large, he will, without all queftion, meet with the encouragement he deferves.'

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* they pronounce upon a controverted point. Even they who • affume the title of CRITICAL REVIEWERS will frankly 'confefs, after all their profeffions to the contrary, that they 'give their account of an author's doctrines and principles, from the representation of his adversary, and, taking it for granted that this reprefentation is juft, will, without hesitation, break out into bitter revilings of the writer, for a work which, by their own account, they have never read.

In answer to this dreadful accufation we must refer our readers to the account of Mr. H's book in our number for April, where all that is faid of Dr, Patten will be found in one fhort paragraph (fee No. III. p. 271) and is no more than this; The discourse, (Dr. Patten's) if we may be allowed to judge of it by our remarker's extracts, was doubtless a pretextraordinary performance.'

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This is what the Dr. calls breaking out into bitter revilings: wou'd not any of our readers imagine, by the expreffion, that we had exhaufted fome pages in a fcurrilous abuse of him? But he is likewise very angry with us for condemning what, by our own confeffion, we had never read: now, tho' it is evident that the doctor cannot poffibly tell whether we had read his fermon or not, yet certain it is, that we were not obliged to do it, Mr. H's extracts from it were the only things we had any bufinefs with, as the difcourfe itself (being publish'd before the commencement of our work) did not fall under our inspection: but the doctor was angry with us before because we did not read his works, and who knows but he will be as angry now because we did? He will however be forced to acknowledge, that we have dealt more candidly by him than he hath by us we shall therefore take our leave of him, with this advice; that he wou'd remember for the future, to temper the sprightliness of his fancy, and foften the edge of his refentment with the mild fuggestions of cool and unprejudiced reason, which will at least be serviceable to him in this life, however infufficient he may esteem it in regard to the more important concerns of the next.

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