INTRODUCTION.

RELIGION effential to Man; his Duty and Happiness. Natural Religion defined, its immutable Obligation, &c. Revealed Religion, its Expediency and Utility. General Hiftory of the Old Testament. The fuperior Excellency the New Testament. Truth, its Nature, and Importance in general, and of religious Truths in particular. The principal Source of Uncertainty in our Enquiries after Truth, the Caufes of Corruption in Chriftianity, and the Difficulties attending the Understanding the Scriptures, confidered. Truth, nevertheless, attainable in all important and effential Paints, with the Means of acquiring it. The right Privilege and Duty of free and impartial Enquiry, as oppofed to Prejudice and Bigotry, and to a careless Indifference. The abufes of free enquiry. The Advantages attending the diligent Purfuit of Truth, and the pernicious Confequences of Ignorance and Error." With fome Remarks applicable to the Subjects of the Work.

ELIGION, in its genuine principles Religion of and influences, is fo fublime and ex- Jential to Man, bis cellent, in its nature and effects fo Duty and noble and beneficent, and fo admirably Happiness. fuited to the state and circumftances of reafonable, intelligent and accountable creatures, that it justly claims to be the matter of our firft and princi pal concern.

*

Man is a creature formed for religion, Zor TO DEODICEsalo , is dependent on a fupreme Being, capable of knowing on whom he depends; and bas a natural awe

VOL. I.

* Plato in Timeo.
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of

Dupin, Tillemont, Speed, Stowe, &c. and as to fome Rites, Ceremonies and Cuftoms, I have been obliged to recur to fuch Authors as had controverted thofe Subjects, and produced the best Authority they could in fupport of their Point.

In the Dictionary of Sects annexed to this Work, and of ambiguous Words and Phrases, I have, in general, quoted the Author from whence I have borrowed the Definition, or received my Ormation and where Words have been fo dif ferently understood and applied, as scarce to have a diftinct determinate Meaning, I have given the Sense of more Authors than one, that the Reader may form a jufter Idea thereof.

The WHOLE is moft humbly infcribed to every ingenious and impartial Enquirer after Truth, by

INTRODUCTION.

RELIGION effential to Man; his Duty and Happiness. Natural Religion defined, its immutable Obligation, &c. Revealed Religion, its Expediency and Utility. General Hiftory of the Old Testament. The fuperior Excellency the New Testament. Truth, its Nature, and Importance in general, and of religious Truths in particular. The principal Source of Uncertainty in our Enquiries after Truth, the Caufes of Corruption in Christianity, and the Difficulties attending the Understanding the Scriptures, confidered. Truth, nevertheless, attainable in all important and effential Paints, with the Means of acquiring it. The right Privilege and Duty of free and impartial Enquiry, as opposed to Prejudice and Bigotry, and to a careless Indifference. The abuses of free enquiry. The Advantages attending the diligent Pursuit of Truth, and the pernicious Confequences of Ignorance and Error. With fome Remarks applicable to the Subjects of the Work.

R

ELIGION, in its genuine principles Religion of and influences, is fo fublime and ex- Sential to Man, bis cellent, in its nature and effects fo Duty and noble and beneficent, and fo admirably Happiness. fuited to the state and circunftances of reafonable, intelligent and accountable creatures, that it justly claims to be the matter of our firft and princi pal concern.

*

Man is a creature formed for religion, Zoo To 9E0DEGEsala, is dependent on a fupreme Being, capable of knowing on whom he depends; and bas a natural awe

VOL. I.

* Plato in Timeo.
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of

of his Creator impreffed on his mind. He naturally admires the grandeur, beauty, and ufe, that abound all over the world; he has a natural curiofity to prompt him to enquire after the caufe, and has reason to difcover to him a fupreme all perfect mind, as the only adequate caufe of this infinity of beauty and good; his paffions of veneration, gratitude, fear and hope, naturally terminate in this Being; as the only object equal to them; and his natural apprehenfions of eternity, naturally excite him to fecure, by goodness and piety, the favour of that Almighty and eternal Being, who alone can make him happy during that everlasting state of which he is apprehenfive. And now laying all these properties together, felf-love, reason, a focial difpofition, and benevolent affections, a ftrong fenfe and love of beauty, a natural dependence on a fupreme Being, and a natural awe of him, &c. we have an idea of human nature, and from this idea of human nature, the natural difference betwixt virtue and vice, and the excellency of religion, will appear *.

Religion is generally confidered as natural or revealed, and these are differently defined, and as difNatural ferently eftimated as to their importance. Religion Natural religion, Mr. Wollafton tells us, defined. confifts in the pursuit of happiness, by the practice of reafon and truth t. Mr. Chambers defines it to be, "whatever we difcover to be due and meet by the mere dictates of natural reason ‡. This is fometimes called ethics or moral virtue, and includes in it thefe duties which, on the principles of reason, a man owes to God, to fociety, and to himself; the duties we owe, to the Deity refulting from our relation to him, as our Creator, benefactor, lawgiver, and judge, and as the original fountain of all goodness, wifdom, beauty and happiness are veneration, grati

* Grove's Moral Philofaphy, p. 139.

+ Wollafton's Religion of Nature delineated, p. 52. Chambers's Dictionary, Art. Religion.

tude,