and fictitious, tho' these are as much to be depended on as other Miracles pretended to be wrought in favour of falfe Doctrines. But if he would offer any thing to the purpose, in order to run a Parallel between the Atteftations pretended to be given to any falfe Doctrines, and thofe given to the Christian Dispensation, let him fhew,

1. That the Miracles wrought or pretended to be wrought in favour of falfe Doctrines, or of Impoftors, were Works plainly above all the Power or Art of Man to perform. For many wonderful things may be done by human Art or Skill, and a dextrous Application of natural Causes, which cannot properly be called Miracles.

2. That these things were done, not in a fingle Instance, or in a very few Inftances, in which cafe there might be fome Sufpicion of Management; but that there was a Succeffion of them in many Inftances, and for a Course of Years together.

3. That these Miracles were wrought in profeffed Atteftation to the Divine Miffion of the Perfons by whom, or in favour of whom they were wrought, and to the Truth of the Doctrines they delivered. For ftrange things have happened from time to time in all Ages and Countries, from which no Confequence can be drawn, as not being wrought in declared Atteftation to any Doctrines, or to the Divine Miffion of any Perfons.

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4. That

4. That they were wrought not in fecret or before a few only, but in an open publick manner; wrought not merely in favour of the reigning Religion, when a very nice Examina tion would not be very fafe; but in favour of a Religion contrary to the moft inveterate Prejudices, and in the view of fubtil and malicious Enemies, who had the Power in their hands, and who had all the Opportunities that could be defired to have detected the Imposture, if there had been any; and were ftrongly carried by their Inclinations and Interefts to do it. And yet were not able upon the most diligent Examination to detect Fraud or Imposture in any one Inftance, in which cafe it might have induced a Sufpicion of the reft, that they were all owing to the fame Causes.

5. That the Accounts of these Miracles were delivered by Perfons, who themselves faw and knew him, and who by their whole Conduct gave all the Marks of difinterested Probity and Sincerity, and persisted in their Testimony with an unfhaken Conftancy, without ever falfifying in any one Inftance, tho' they thereby expofed themselves to the most grievous Perfecutions and Sufferings.

6. That even fome of the most obftinate Adverfaries that lived neareft thofe Times did not pretend abfolutely to deny the Facts, tho' they endeavoured to attribute them to wrong Caufes; and that great Numbers of Perfons frongly prejudiced against the Religion thus attefted,

attefted, embraced it upon the Credit of thofe miraculous Atteftations, in oppofition to their former Prejudices, and to their worldly Interefts, as well as to their favourite Appetites and Paífions; and this in the very Age in which the Facts were done, and in Places where they had the best Opportunities of enquiring into the Truth of thofe Facts, and detecting them if they had been false *.

*The Jewish Story concerning Jefus's performing his wonderful Works by virtue of the ineffable Name which he ftole out of the Temple and hid in his Thigh, is well known. And many both of the Jews and Heathens afcribed his Miracles to his extraordinary Skill in Magick: And among others, Celfus, as appears in feveral Pallages of Origen's Work against him. All that can be truly gathered from hence is, That the Truth of the miraculous Facts was fo evident, that they were not able to deny it. For as to the Charge itfelf, it is manifeftly abfurd and ridiculous, whether we confider the Nature and Circumstances of the Works themfelves, or the End for which they were wrought, or the Character of Jefus, and the Nature and Defign of the Religion he published to the World.PLINY obferves, that never was any Man fonder of Magick than NERO, or did more to encourage and countenance it, and that he fent for the ableft Mafters of it from all Parts, and yet that never was the Vanity and Falfhood of it more plainly difcovered than in his Time. Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 30. Cap. 2.-—~ And if the Favour and Encouragement given to it by a mighty Emperor could not hinder the Fallacy of it from being detected; can it be imagin'd, that if the Things done by our Saviour and his Apoftles, who had no Authority to countenance them, and fo many watchful Enemies to obferve them, had been of no higher kind than Magical Operations, the Folly and Impofture would not have been foon detected and exposed?

Lett. II.

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If

If this Writer will please to produce any false Religion that had fuch Teftimonials, and to whom all this may be applied, it fhall be confidered. In the mean time I affirm, that it is abfolutely out of his power; and that therefore this Part of the Evidence for Christianity ftands upon a firm and immoveable Basis; fince it may be clearly fhewn, that all the above-mentioned Circumftances concur in it, in which it can never be equal'd by any falfe Religion. And tho' the Scripture warns us (as he obferves) of lying Wonders and falfe Chrifts, and to take the utmost care of what we give credit to of this kind; yet it certainly never fuppofes, that any falfe Christs should arife, who fhould be able to work fuch a Succeffion of glorious Miracles, as were wrought in atteftation of Christianity.

The wonderful Works wrought by our Lord Jefus Chrift in avowed Confirmation of his divine Miffion were of fuch a nature, and fo manifeftly transcending all the Art and Power of Man, fuch as the restoring perished Limbs in a Moment, healing the moft defperate Diseases by a Word, commanding the Winds and the Seas, and even raifing the Dead; that they might be alone fufficient, as they were circumstanced, to give a convincing Proof of his divine Miffion : but they received a wonderful Confirmation by his Refurrection from the Dead, which he himfelf had foretold, and to which he appealed, and of which there was all the Evidence that could

be reasonably defired *. And this was followed and farther confirmed by his Afcenfion into Heaven in the view of his gazing Difciples; and both were placed beyond all reasonable doubt, and received a mighty additional Force, by the extraordinary Effufion of the Holy Ghoft foon after

* Our Author gives a hint, that if our Saviour had but taken one Turn in the Market-place after his Refurrection, this would have been a more effectual Conviction to the Jews than all the Evidence that was offered, and might have fpared both the painful Lives and Laboursof fo many holy Vouchers, who perished merely by the thing's being done in a Corner, p. 67. But certainly the Proof already given of Chrift's Refurrection was a much stronger Evidence of it, than merely his taking a Turn or two thro' the Market-Place would have been, before a Croud of People, few of whom could be fuppofed to be fo intimately acquainted with him as to be abfolutely fure that it was he: or if they had believed that it was like him, they would have been ready to think, as the Difciples at first did, that they bad feen a Spirit, or fome unaccountable Appearance in his Form and Shape. Whereas, as the Cafe is now circumftanced, he fhewed himself alive after his Resurrection by many infallible Proofs, to Perfons to whom he was perfectly known, and who could not be impofed upon in this matter. They themselves were not forward to believe it, till they could no longer doubt of it without renouncing the Teftimony of all their Senfes. They faw him, they handled him, they eat and drank with him, they converfed familiarly with him on many important Subjects for forty Days together. If it had only been the eleven Apoftles that teftified this, the Number of the Witneffes would have been very fufficient; but there were many others that faw him, and converfed with him. And at laft he was feen, as St. Paul in his first Epistle to the Corinthians affirms, by above five hundred at once, most of whom were alive when he writ that Epiftle. It can

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not