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To his Question therefore, Can a Man be baptized into a rational Religion? I anfwer, yes. A Man that is convinced of the Truth of fuch a Religion, and believes it upon good Evidence, may be reafonably baptized into it; i. e. he may folemnly, by that outward facred Rite, profefs his Belief of that Religion, and oblige himself to the Duties it prefcribes; which is the defign of Baptism with regard to the Adult. And with regard to Infants, it may be very reasonable for a Man that himfelf believes it upon rational grounds, to baptize his Child, i.e. folemnly by that facred Rite to devote his Child to God, and to bring him as far as in him lies under Engagements to embrace and practise that excellent Religion, as foon as he is capable of doing fo; at the fame time folemnly obliging himfelf to take care that the Child be betimes feasoned with the Knowledge of facred important Truth, and formed to the Practice of Piety and Virtue. And there is nothing improper, in fuppofing that it is the Will and Appointment of God, that Children fhould betimes be brought under fuch Engagements, when he knows them to be in themfelves fit and reafonable, and of fuch a nature that it will be their Duty and their great Advantage when they come to Years of Difcretion perfonally to approve and to fulfil them. If this be laying Prejudices and Prepoffeffions in their way, it is prepoffeffing them in favour of Truth and Virtue; and it is every way agreeable to the divine Wisdom and Goodness, to lay them under fuch a Prepoffeffion, and what the Author of our Beings has a right to do. And therefore his doing that, can never be

justly

justly brought as an Objection against the Reasonableness of a Revelation.

THIS leads me to another Argument advanced by this Writer, to fhew that Faith is not a reafonable thing, and that is, becaufe we are ordered to be taught it in our Childhood. "If the Affent

"God required were to be a rational one, it would "be highly wicked and unjust to prepoffefs Men's "tender Minds in any manner before they came to "the full Ufe of their rational Faculties.

But now

"that we are actually commanded with early Di"ligence to retain our Children as fo many fure "Votaries to the Caufe we profefs ourselves; it is "plain that a rational Affent is by no means calcu"lated for, or expected at our hands *."

He is fo fond of this Thought, that he repeats it, as his marmer is, in other Parts of his Book, where he obferves, that fuppofing Faith rational, "The off"cious Piety of what they call Education would "be highly partial and unjust, and would be no"thing elfe but the undue Cultivation of the moft "notorious and palpable Prejudices; the antici"pating unfairly the Strength of the fuppofed E"vidence, &c. "

I muit own, this way of talking appears to me very extraordinary. That can never be a juft Argument against the Reasonableness of a divine Revelation, which it would be reafonable to expect, supposing a Revelation really given. And of this kind is this Gentleman's Argument here. For, fuppofing a Revelation really given from Heaven, and that it is in itself agreeable to Reafon, and of

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#P. ii, iz. † P. 102, 103.

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an excellent Tendency, then certainly the more reasonable and excellent its Doctrines and Injunctions are, the more proper it would be, and the more for the Good of Mankind, that Children hould be inftituted in it betimes, and trained up in a Knowledge of its divine Principles. For the Juftness of this Confequence, I appeal to the Experience and Obfervation of all Ages, and to the common Confent of Mankind, and especially of the wifeft and best of Men, who have ever agreed that it is a Matter of the greatest Importance to take care to train up Children betimes in good Principles, and cultivate good Difpofitions in them. And if greater care was taken this way than there generally is, there is great reafon to think that Mankind would be much more generally happy and virtuous than they are.

It is plain to any one that has made juft Reflections on Human Nature, that the Author of our Beings defigned that we should be instructed in our Childhood. For we are fo framed and conftituted, that we must neceffarily depend for the Beginnings of our Knowledge very much on those that are about us. We are in a special manner caft by God and Nature on the Care of our Parents. All will own, that they are obliged to take care of the Bodies of their Children; and muft no care be taken to instruct and principle their nobler Part, their Minds? To cultivate the Seeds of Reafon, and to form them to the Knowledge of facred Truth, and to a virtuous Practice? This is what Reason, the Good of Mankind, a Love to their Children, and a Defire of their Happiness, requires

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of Parents; and the Neglect of it has been always regarded as a criminal thing. It may be faid, this is to prejudice and prepoffefs them; but it is a Prepoffeffion that Reafon directs to; And to neglect this, under pretence of leaving them to their own unprejudiced Reason, would be to leave their Minds entirely rude and uncultivated, and give them up to Vice and Ignorance. This Gentleman pretends, that according to the Judgment of Reason, it would be a wicked thing to prepoffefs their Minds in any manner, before they come to the full Ufe of their rational Faculties. The plain Meaning of which I take to be this, that they must be left without all Instruction of any kind, till they arrive to the Age of Manhood. No Attempt muft be made to inftruct them in any Branch of Learning or Knowledge, or to put Books into their hands, because Books and Inftructions of Tutors or Masters would probably prepoffefs them. Every Man must be left to find out the Whole of Religion and Knowledge for himself, by the mere dint of his own Reafon and Induftry. And what would be the confequence of this, but univerfal Barbarism ? Our Paffions, as this Gentleman obferves, are most prevalent in thofe early Years, when Reason is leaft able to form ber Judgments in our Affiftance.

They must needs have got the ftart in their Advances, before she can by her Nature have made any confiderable progress in thofe falutary Principles, which are to regulate or fubdue them. For want of timely Notice, we may more than probably have embarked in wrong Meafures at fetting out, and be loft in the Power of Habit beyond Recovery, be

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fore we know where we are. All this, and more to the fame purpose, our Author produces *, to fhew that Faith is neceffary from the Beginning; from whence, by a strange way of arguing, he infers, that it is not a rational thing, fince it muft anticipate the Exercise of our Reason. But all that it proves is this, that it is neceffary to endeavour to inftill fuch Principles into the Minds of Children betimes, as may be of use to correct and regulate their Paffions and Affections, before they can themfelves go thro' the tedious Procefs of fuch an Examination, as he fuppofes to be neceffary to a rational Faith. But it does by no means follow, that because it is proper to inftruct Children betimes in the Principles of Faith and Religion, even before they are capable clearly of themselves to difcern the Evidence; therefore the Principles of Faith are not confirmed by good and rational Evidence, or that the Faith of the Children when they grow up, and can fee the Evidence, may not become in the propereft fenfe rational.

Nor can it justly be pretended, that the Prepoffeflion of Education takes from a Child, when he comes to Maturity, the Ufe of his own Reafon, and the Liberty of Judgment. It is ftill in his power to examine into the Truth and Reasonablenefs of what he was taught before. And furely this will scarcely be denied in the prefent Age, when it is become fo fashionable a thing to throw off the Principles of Education; and when there are fo many Inftances of Perfons, that inftead of being prejudiced in favour of the Religion in which they

P. 13, 14.

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