or vifion, even communicating with them no way but by ordinary' providence, it is but too evident, that God hath nothing to do them in the matter of that religion, but that it is expired, and no way obligatory to them or pleasing to him which is become im poffible to be acted; whereas the Chriftian religion is as eternal as the foul of a man, and can no more cease than our fpirits can die, and can worship upon mountains and caves, in fields and churches, in peace and war, in folitude and fociety, in perfecution and in fun-fhine, by night and by day, and be folemnized by clergy and laity in the effential parts of it, and is the perfection of the foul, and the highest reafon of man, and the glorification of God.

30. But for the heathen religions it is evidently to be feen, that they are nothing but an abuse of the natural inclination which all men have to worship a God, whom, because they know not, they guefs at in the dark; for that they know there is and ought to be fomething that hath the care and providence of their affairs. But the body of their religion is nothing but little arts of governments, and ftratagems of princes, and devices to fecure the government of new ufurpers, or to make obedience to the laws fure, by being facred, and to make the yoke that was not natural, pleasant by fomething that is. But yet for the whole body of it who fees not that their worshippings could not be facred, because they were done by fomething that is impure; they appeafed their gods with adulteries and impure mixtures, by fuch things which Cato was afhamed to fee, by gluttonous eatings of flesh, and impious drinkings, and they did litare in humano fanguine, they facrificed men and women and children to their dæmons, as is notorious in the. rites of Bacchus Omefta amongst the Greeks, and of Jupiter, to whom a Greek and a Greekess, a Galatian and a Galatess were yearly offered; in the answers of the oracles to Calchas, as appears in Homer and Virgil: who fees not that crimes were warranted by the example of their immortal gods, and that what did difhonour themselves, they fang to the honour of their gods, whom they affirmed to be paffionate and proud, jealous and revengeful, amorous and lustful, fearful and impatient, drunken and fleepy, weary and wounded; that the religions were made lafting by policy and force, by ignorance, and the force of custom, by the preferring an inveterate error, and loving of a quiet and profperous evil, by the arguments of pleasure, and the correspondencies of fenfuality, by the fraud of oracles, and the patronage of vices, and because they feared every change as an earthquake, as fuppof

ing overturnings of their old error to be the everfion of their well established governments: and it had been ordinarily impoffible that ever Christianity should have entered, if the nature and excellency of it had not been fuch as to enter like rain into a fleece of wool, or the fun into a window without noise or violence, without emotion and difordering the political conftitution, without caufing trouble to any man but what his own ignorance or peevishness was pleased to spin out of his own bowels, but did establish governments, fecure obedience, made the laws firm, and the perfons of princes to be facred; it did not oppofe force by force, nor frike princes for juftice; it defended itself against enemies by patience, and overcame them by kindness; it was the great inftrument of God to demonftrate his power in our weakneffes, and to do good to mankind by the imitation of his excel lent goodness.

31. Laftly, he that confiders concerning the religion and perfon of Mahomet, that he was a vicious person, luftful and tyrannical, that he propounded incredible and ridiculous propofitions to his difciples, that it entered by the fword, by blood and violence, by murder and robbery; that it propounds fenfual rewards, and allures to compliance, by bribing our basest lufts; that it conferves itself by the fame means it entered; that it is unlearned and foolish, against reason, and the difcourfes of all wife men; that it did no miracles, and made false prophecies: in fhort, that in the person that founded it, in the article it perfuades, in the manner of prevailing, in the reward it offers, it is unholy and foolish and rude; it must needs appear to be void of all pretence, and that no man of reafon can ever be fairly perfuaded by arguments, that it is the daughter of God and came down from heaven. Since therefore there is nothing to be faid for any other religion, and so very much for Christianity, every one of whose pretences can be proved as well as the things themselves do require, and as all the world expects such things should be proved; it follows that the holy Jefus is the Son of God, that his religion is commanded by God, and is that way by which he will be wor fhipped and honoured, and that "there is no other name under "heaven by which we can be faved, but only by the name of "the Lord Jefus." He that puts his foul upon this cannot perifh; neither can he be reproved who hath fo much reafon and argument for his religion. Sit anima mea cum Chriftianis ; I pray God my foul may be numbered amongst the Chriftians.

That thefe FOUR RULES do oblige the Jews, as much or more than the DEISTS, to the Acknowledgment of CHRIST.

With an ANSWER to the moft material of their OBJECTIONS and PREJUDICES againft CHRISTIANITY.

BY CHARLES LESLIE.

I.

PREFACE.

ENDEAVOURED, when I fet my thoughts upon this fubject, to find out the most modern objections of the Jews; because my business is with thofe of the prefent age. I procured what I could of what they have, of late, published in their defence in Holland and Germany. What Grotius has, wrote concerning them in his De Veritate Relig. Chriftian. is well known, becaufe reprinted at Oxford, and tranflated into English; but the arguments of the Jews are rather there fuppofed, than told us in their own words. In the year 1644, Hackfpan published R. Lipmann's book Nizachon, and does reafon with them upon their principles. Afterwards, in the year 1655, Hornbeck wrote against them; but the latest I find is Limborch, Anno 1687, his Amica Collat. cum Erudit. Judæo; wherein the Jews defence, arguments, and objections are fet down at large, in the Jews own words. Therefore I have made moft ufe of this book, and have taken thence the prefent principles of the Jews, out of the writings of that learned Jew, which is there inferted verbatim: and indeed he makes the beft defence for them that, I think, their cause will bear, and fhews himself a man of letters, and of great natural wit and fagacity. Therefore I conclude, that we have here the jugulum caufæ, the heart of the caufe; and, if fufficiently anfwered, the likelieft method to bring matters to an iffue.

II. I have here forborn to enter upon the objections of the Jews concerning the genealogies and chronological niceties which they raise against several paffages of the New Teftament; because that is done lately by a better

because there are more objections of this fort,

which are brought by the Deifts against the Old Testament than the New: and therefore the Jews are equally concerned herein with us, against the Deifts; and cannot make fo many objections against us upon this head, as are made against themfelves.

But chiefly, because objections are no anfwers; and, as hereafter fhewn, there is no truth, even the existence of a God, against which objections and difficulties may not be started; and herein the Deifts are concerned against the Atheifts (if they be not the fame) as well as the Jew or Chriftian. It is easier to object than to anfwer; but if the proof be clear for the truth of any thing, we muft fubmit to it, though we were not able to folve every difficulty; and the chafing of difficulties diverts the queftion, and often lofes it; and they are many times brought for that purpofe: befides making books fo long and tedious, that few have the leifure or attention to go through with them,

Therefore I have chofen, for once, to put the Deifts upon the defenfive; and if they cannot anfwer, they muft furrender; for it is not a nicety or objection that I infist upon; but the merits of the caufe, to which every one is obliged to anfwer.

And as to this, "I have given them full liberty, and invited them to make all the objections that they can; and I have made the ftrongeft for them that I could think of: let them make stronger.

I have had greater confideration for the Jews (because they deferve it more) and entered, more at large upon their objections and prejudices, which has fwelled the fecond part fo much beyond the first,

3. Let me here take notice of the uncertainty of the genealogies now kept of Jewith families. They have intermarried with their profelytes of all nations, and fometimes with others; infomuch that they cannot be fure of one Jew now in the world, who is of the pure