ely embrace
them, is to me Matter of great Astonishment; yet this I am inform'd
is really the Case, with regard to one of the most ingenious_
Divines, _our Metropolis has to boast of. One Reason may perhaps be
alledged, for such an unexpected Alteration of Sentiment_, viz.
_That tho' we disbelieve these Doctrines, because they are_ absurd,
_yet we hold at the same time, others_, equally repugnant _to
Reason, and to Common Sense; and certainly we may as reasonably_
embrace _the one as_ retain _the other. Besides, with what
reasonable Expectation of Success could such a Man as this sit down
to argue with_ another _of_ absurd Principles, _when_ he himself
_might be so easily abash'd and put to Silence, by an Appeal to_
other Principles, _of_ his own, _equally absurd and inexplicable.
The best way then, instead of embracing a_ fresh, _absurd, Principle
of Faith, is, to renounce the_ old. _I would not willingly Offend_
Any, _by a special Application to_ particular Societies _and_
Doctrines: _let but every Man make an honest Application to himself,
and the Articles of Faith he professes, and the Work of Reformation
will, I am persuaded, gain something thereby. And that, not only
these Doctrines, but every other absurd Principle of Faith, which
either Ignorance, or Design, may have introduced into the Christian
church, to the_ Dishonour _of_ God, _the_ Burthen _and_ Reproach _of
Human Nature, may be_ utterly exploded, _is the incessant Wish, and
earnest Desire, of_

The Author.

Free _and_ Impartial

THOUGHTS, &_c_.

_CHRISTIANITY_ having been instituted, by its great Author and
Publisher, for the Benefit and Advantage of Mankind, it is pity we
should so greatly differ, concerning what _Genuine Christianity_ is;
if the _Holy Bible_, as we generally agree, was designed to lead us
to the true Knowledge of God, and to be a standing and perpetual
Rule of _Faith_ and _Manners_ to Men, it must surely have been
greatly corrupted since the primitive Times of the Gospel, or the
_Explication_ of it designedly left to a more excellent and superior
Director: For the seeming Contradictions, and Multiplicity of
obscure Passages, wherewith it abounds, shew plainly it could never,
in its present Condition, be a Rule of Faith, &_c_. becoming an
all-wise and perfect Being, to give to rational Creatures. Every _good
Man, Society_, and _State_, study Perspicuity in all their _Rules,
Orders, and Statutes,_ dispensed to their _Families,