SECTION II, 520 theheathens, that is, through all the world ; I Would askAgrippa why should not the same sort of expressions be permitted to signify much the same thing, when they are made use of in the New Testament, and applied to thesufferings and death ofChrist, as an atonement for the sins of men ? Were not the apostles sent to preach the gospel to the gen. tiles as well as the Jews ? and if it could be supposed that they used theseexpressions of atonement only inconformity to Jewish customs andphrases, why did they use them so much among the gentiles ? Did they not design to preach in such language that the gentiles might understand their meaning ? But if these phrases werewell known among the heathens as well as the Jews, then why should we not suppose these expressions, when applied to the death of Çhrist, to be understood in the common sense of mankind, both Jews and Gentiles ? 'ro confirm all this, let me enquire here, what was the sense in which the primitive christians understood these expressions of Christ and his apostles? How do they describe and setforth their conceptions of these great and momentous doctrines in their Writings ? Do they not speak plainly and strongly of the atone- ment of Christ for sin, and his dying as a sacrifice to expiate their offences, and their interest in this forgiveness by faith Now if primitive writers inform us this was thecommon sense in which the first christians understood the speeches of Christ and his apostles, why should we not imagine that they took them in the rightsense ? Why should the church be supposed to wait so' many hundred years for thetruemeaning of the christian doctrine till the days of Socinus ? Why was it left to wander so long in- such strange superstition and mysterious darkness, as the doc- trine of " atonement for sin by the death of Christ," if these speeches meant nothing else but natural religion, or the confir- mation of it by the martyrdom of a prophet ? In doctrines and expositions of lesser moment I easily suppose manyof the fathers may greatly mistake, but methinks in doctrines of such vast importance, Christ would not suffer all his earlychurches to bc- dhistaken. III. Again, I would ask Agrippa, was not Socrates raised up by divine providence to instruct a corrupt nation, and to reform a degenerate age, as he supposes Jesus Christ to be ? Did. he not teach the " unity of the true God," and the true way `óf worshipping him by inward devotion of the heart, in the midst . of many Grecian idolatries and superstitions; as Jesus taught the spiritual nature of God and inward. religion, in opposition to the traditions of Jews, and meré outward ceremonies ? Was not Socrates accused for speaking against the idols of Athens, and the public religion, as Jesus was for his reprovingthe corrupt manners of the Jews ? Was he not condemned by wicked men, Vol., iv. L z,
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