CHAPTERV: I97 I may give another instance of the same practice, where there is a prejudicate fondness of particular words and phrases. Suppose a man is educated in an unhappy tornof speech where- by he explains some great doctrine of the gospel, and by the means of this phrase he has 'imbibed a very false idea, of that doctrine : vet he is so bigoted to his form of words, that he imagines ir those words are omitted the doctrine is lost. Now, if I cannot possibly persuade him to part with his improper terms, I will indulge them a little, and try to explain them in a scrip- tural sense, rather than let him go on in his mistaken ideas. Credonins believes that Christ descended into hell ; I think the word bell, as now commonly understood, is very improper here; but since the bulk of christians, and Credoiius among them, will by no means part with the word out of their English creed, I will explain the word hell to signify the state of the dead, or the separate state of souls; and thus lead my friend into more just ideas of the truth, namely, that the soul of Christ existed three days in the state of separation from his body, or was in the invisible world, which might be originally called hell in English, ás well as hades in Greek. Anilla has been bred a papist all her days, and though she does not know much of religion, yet she resolves never to part with the Roman catholic faith, and is obstinately bent against a change. Now I cannot think it unlawful to teach her the true Christian, that is, the protestant religion, out of the epistle to the Romans, and show her that the same doctrine is contained in the catholic epistles of St. Peter, James and Jude ; and thus let her live and (lie a good Christian, in the belief of the religion teach her out of the New Testament, while she imagines she is a Roman catholic still, because she finds the doctrine she is taught in the catholic epistles, anti in that to the Romans. I grant it is most,proper.there should be different words (as far as possible) applied to different ideas ; and this rule should never be dispensed with, if we had to do only with the reason of mankind ; but their various prejudices and zeal for someparty- phrases, sometimes make it necessary that we should lead them into truth under the covert of their own beloved forms of speech, rather than permit them to live and die obstinate and unconvinci- hle in any dangerous mistake ; whereas an attempt to deprive them of their old established words, would raise such a tumult within then, as to render their conviction hopeless. III. Sometimes we may make use of the very prejudices under which a person labours, in order to convince him of some particular truth, and argue with him upon his own professed principles as though they were true. This is called, argumentunt ad honzinenz, and is another way of dealing with the prejudices of men. Suppose a Jew lies sick of a fever, and is forbidden n 3
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