CONFERENCE III'. 481 greater crimes committed by Christianswill prove, that the gos- pel is insufficient. PITH. This objection has been already answered : But to speak yet plainer on this head ; it is granted, Sir, that the vices of professing christians, the venial lewdness of papists, their ido- latries, -their bloody murders and massacres, are as bad or worse than the crimes of heathens, because they sin against much brighter light, andfar greater advantages : But the greatness of the vices of popish or protestant Christians cannot infer, that Christianity is insufficient to guide, to reform, or save mankind ; for it is not the greatness of the crimes, but the entire number or universality of the criminals, that represents reason to be so practically insufficient to save or reform the heathen world. Now you must grant me, that men are not so utterly and univer- sally irreligious, vile and vicious in chlstian countries, even in popish nations, where the gospel is so corrupted, and much less in protestant lands, where religion is learned and practised with freedom, as they are in the regions of heathenism. There are multitudes of knowing, and virtuous, and pious persons in Chris- tendom, and particularly in the British isles, which shows the practical sufficiency of the gospel to reform mankind; whereas in the more learned and more polite heathen countries, there have been exceeding few truly religious, and in the rude and barbarous regions, which have been the chief scene of our dis- pute, it will be hard to ,find one single virtuous and pioùs man or woman ; and therefore, I say, that in a practical sense, reason may rather be called insufficient, though revelation cannot be called so. Los. Let usproceed then to a fifth argument why reason, methinks, should be practically sufficient to direct all mankind to those duties which God requires of them, and to conduct them to happiness ; and that is, because happiness, that is, spiritual moral happiness, is the end for which man was made, and therefore it is certainly tobe obtainedby those rational moral powers, which are the very principles God gave man for his guide and conduct to this happiness. Otherwise man was made for an end, to the obtaining of which, the means are insufficient. PITH. I answer this two ways : First, it may be said in a sense, that God made mankind-in general, in his first formation of them for happiness, but he made them to obtain this happi- ness ina way of free choice, by the diligent use of their rational faculties in the best manner : Now if far the greatest part of the heathen world will wretchedly and wilfully abuse these faculties, if they will thoughtlessly and rashly chase the evil, and-rush into it, if they-will neglect to seek, -or to enquire, or to learn what is good, as well as to practise it, then though these faculties may be said to be naturally and remotely sufficient for religion and hap. Vox.. III. II H
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