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CONCLUDING ADDRESSES,

TO

Deists, Jews, & Christians.

WHETHER the writer of these sheets can jufly hope that what he advances will attract the attention of unbelievers, he does not pretend to fay. If however it should fall into the hands of individuals amongst them, he earnefly entreats that for their own fakes they would attend to what follows with feriousness.

Fellow-Men,

TO DEISTS.

It is hoped that nothing in the preceding

T

pages can be fairly construed into a want of goodwill towards any of you. If I know my heart, it is not you, but your mifchievous principles that are the objects of my diflike.

In the former part of this performance I have endeavoured to prove, that the fyftem which you embrace overlooks the moral character of God, refuses to worship him, affords no standard of right and wrong, undermines the most efficacious motives to virtuous action, actually produces a torrent of vice, and leaves mankind, under all their miferies, to perifh without hope; in fine, that it is

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an immoral fyftem, pregnant with deftruction to the human race. Unless you be able to overturn what is there advanced, or, at least, be conscious that it is not true with regard to yourselves, you have reason to be seriously alarmed. To embrace a fyftem of immorality is the fame thing as to be enemies to all righteousness; neither to fear God, nor regard man; and what good fruit can you expect to reap from it, in this world or another, it is difficult to conceive. But alas, instead of being alarmed at the immorality of your principles, is there no reafon to fufpect that it is on this very account you cherish them? You can occasionally praise the morality of Jefus Chrift; but are you fincere? Why then do you not walk by it? However you may magnify other difficulties, which you have industriously laboured to discover in the Bible, your actions declare that it is the holinefs of its doctrines and precepts, that more than any thing else offends you. The manifeft object at which you aim, both for yourselves and the world, is an exemption from its restraints. Your general conduct, if put into words, amounts to this; Come, let us break his bands, and caft aray his cords from

us.

Circumftances of late years have much favoured your defign. Your party has gained the afcendency in a great nation, and has been confequently increafing in other nations. Hence it is, perhaps, that your fpirits are raised, and that a higher one is affumed in your speeches and writings than has been ufual on former occafions. You are great, you are enlightened; yes, you have found out the fecret, and have only to rid the world of Christianity in order to render it happy. But be

not too confident.

You are not the firft who have set themselves against the Lord, and against his anointed. You have overthrown fuperftition; but vaunt not against Christianity. Of a truth you have deftroyed the gods of Rome, for they were no gods; but let this fuffice you. It is hard to kick against the pricks.

Whatever fuccefs may attend your caufe, if it be an immoral one, and espoused on that very account, it cannot poffibly stand. It must fall, and you may expect to be buried in its ruins. It may be thought fufficient for me to reafon on the fyftem itself, without defcending to the motives of those who imbibe it; but where motives are manifested by actions, they become objects of human cognizance. Nor is there any hope of your unbelief being removed, but by fomething that thall reach the cause of it. My defire is neither to infult nor flatter, but ferioufly to expoftulate with you; if God peradventure may give you repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth. Three things in particular I would earnestly recommend to your ferious confideration.

How it was that you firft imbibed your prefent principles; How it is that almost all your writers, at one time or other, bear teftimony in favour of Christianity; and, How it comes to pass that your principles fail you, as they are frequently known to do, in a dying hour.

First, How WAS IT THAT YOU FIRST RENOUNCED CHRISTIANITY, AND IMBIBED YOUR PRESENT PRINCIPLES? Retrace the process of your minds, and ask your confciences as you proceed whether all was fair and upright. Nothing is more common than for perfons of relaxed mo

rals to attribute their change of conduct to a change of fentiments, or views relative to those fubjects. It is galling to one's own feelings, and mean in the account of others, to act against principle: but if a person can once perfuade himself to think favourably of thofe things which he has formerly accounted finful, and can furnish a plea for them, which at least may ferve to parry the cenfures of mankind, he will feel much more at ease, and be able to put on a better face when he mingles in fociety. Whatever inward ftings may annoy his peace under certain occafional qualms, yet he has not to reproach himself, nor can others reproach him with that inconfiftency of character as in former inftances. Rouffeau confeffes he found in the reafonings of a certain lady, with whom he lived in the greatest poffible familiarity, all thofe ideas which he had occafion for: Have you not found the fame in the converfation and writings of deifts? Did you not, previous to your rejection of Chriftianity, indulge in vicious courses; and, while indulging in these courfes, did not its holy precepts, and awful threatenings gall your fpirits? Were you not like perfons gathering forbidden fruit amidft fhowers of arrows; and had you not recourfe to your prefent principles for a fhield against them? If you cannot honestly answer these questions in the negative, you are in an evil cafe. You may flatter yourselves for a while that perhaps there may be no hereafter, or at least no judgment to come; but you know the time is not far distant when you must go and fee; and then if you fhould be mistaken, What will you do?

Many of you have defcended from godly pa

rents, and have had a religious education. Has not your infidelity arisen from the diflike which you conceived in early life to religious exercises? Family worship was a wearinefs to you; and the cautions, warnings, and counfels, which were given you, instead of having any proper effect, only irritated your corruptions. You longed to be from under the yoke. Since that time your parents, it may be, have been removed by death; or if they live, they may have lost their controul over you. So, now you are free. But ftill something is wanting to erase the prejudices of education, which in fpite of all your efforts, will accompany you, and imbitter your prefent purfuits. For this purpose a friend puts into your hands The Age of Reafon, or fome production of the kind. You read it with avidity. This is the very thing you wanted. You have long suspected the truth of Christianity; but had not courage to oppose it. Now then you are a philofopher; yes, a philofopher! Our fathers, fay you, might be well-meaning people, but they were impofed upon by priefts. The world gets more enlightened now-a-days. There ' is no need of fuch rigidnefs. The Supreme BeWing, (if there be one) can never have created the pleafures of life, but for the purpofe of en'joyment. Avaunt, ye felf-denying cafuifts! Nature is the law of man!?

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Was not this, or fomething nearly resembling it, the process of your minds? And are you now fatisfied? I do not ask whether you have been able to defend your cause against affailants, nor whether you have gained converts to your way of thinking you may have done both; but are you fatisfied with yourselves? Do you really believe

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