287 / 514
3trtr.
XVI.
À
RATIONAL
DEF'ENCt
OF
THE
GOSrE7,.,.
279
seldom heard or known among
christians: The apostle
describes
them in
'Rom.
i.
26.
and
that
in
such
a manner,
as
leads
us
to
believe,
that
they were
practised
by
those
who professed wisdom
among
them.
It
must
be
acknowledged
also,
that
these
nations
were
gross idolators,
and worshipped
many
gods,
and
that
even
in
the times
when
their
social
virtues
were
most
conspicuous.
Now
this
is
Most highly
criminal
in
the
sight
of
the
great
and sovereign
God, the Creator of
all
things:
And the warmer and the more zealous
were
their
dovotions which they paid
to
these
idols,
with the
neg-
lect or contempt
of
the
true God,
the
greater
was
their
guilt and abomination.
But,
3.
The
chief answer
I
give
is
this,
that
when
whole kingdoms are made christians merely
by
birth,
education,
arid
custom, it
is
not
to be supposed
that
a
twentieth
part of
them believe the gospel upon
any
just
and
reasonable principles
of
knowledge
and choice.
When
whole cities
and nations
are
worshippers
of Christ,
no
Otherwise
than
the Ephesians were worshippers
of
Diana, or the
Turks
of
Mahomet,
it
is
not'
reasonable
to expect
that
there
should
be
much difference
in
the
virtues
of
such
a national
sort of
christians, rnahome-
tans,
'or
heathens; for
the
principle
from which all
their
religion springs
is
the
same,
namely,
their education,
custom, and
fashion
of
their country;
and
therefore
their
vices
are
much the same
as
they would' be
according to
the
present
reigning
humour,';
disposition,
or
political
temper
of the
nation, whatsoever were
their
form
of
re-
ligion
and
their
established worship.
The true
way
therefore
to
put
these
things
to the test,
is
to consider
-those
Christians
only
who
believe and pro
-
fess
the gospel from knowledge,
and
choice,
and inward
conviction,
and
who
make
their
religion
a
matter of
sow
lemnity and importance, and
not
of
mere form
and
cus-
tom.
Now if you separate
these from
the rest
of
man-
kind,
I
am
well
assured,
that
as
bad
as the
christian
world
is,
you
will find
all
the human
and divine virtues
more gloriously practised among such christians
as
these,
than
among an equal
number
óf
the professors
of
any
other
religion
under the
sun:' For
inward
Christianity,
and
the
faith
of
the
gospel,
when
it
is
built
Upon'
just
foundations,
will
necessarily draw
along
with
it
such
a
T4