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who have established it, the method in which it has been done, and the dignities and emoluments, with which they have been fettled upon this new foundation, have much taken them off from attendance to thofe offices, to which they were obliged upon the antient fcriptural And as the plan of religion has been greatly altered, the method of education has undergone a great change by it; fince, inftead of teaching the principles of reafon and the holy fcripture, it has hereby been made to confift in teaching the manner and matter of fuch establishments, which in many things are evidently contrary to both. And if parents of families, and paftors of churches, instead of concurring in fuch a method of rational and fcriptural education, which is calculated to lead to true faith and right conduct in human life, fhall agree in fubftituting a very different one in its · room, whereby men are led into falfe notions both of the faith and practice of true Chriftianity, unhappy • must be the cafe of fuch as come under their care; they muft neceffarily come into life under great difadvantages, which their parents and paftors will be moft chargeable with the guilt of, tho' themfelves must in ⚫ confequence be confiderable fufferers,... as, where religion is prescribed by human authority, and received on that ground, is really the cafe.' For fays he, p. 78. They are the corruptions mingled with it, the falfe principles upon which it is recommended, and the crying ambition, avarice, cruelty, and every contrariety to it in the character of its preachers, which render an • examination into it more intricate and difficult now, than it was at firft; and are the great and standing ob• ftacles to men's coming, or being difpofed to come, to the faith of it.'

All these paffages, and many others, feem pointed against our established church; and therefore I was willing to let Mr. Mole fee how juftly they may be applied to Pædobaptift churches of other denominations. But waving further remarks in this view at prefent, I will now attend his answer to this alarming objection, which the author of Christianity not founded on Argument has introduced after this manner, p. 9. that Application was • not intended by the gospel to be made to the understand❝ing. . . . . . . 1 fhall endeavour yet farther to evince, by looking a little into life and practice upon the occafion, " by tracing this faith to its known original, and pointing G 2 • directly

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directly to the great root whence all our religious impreffions notoriously fpring. By afking you farther, Can a man be baptized into a rational religion?'

By life and practice here, this author does not feem to intend the duties of morality, but only thofe religious acts, which fome Chriftians perform, as the pofitive appointments of the gospel. And as thofe, who are ftrangers to the chriftian religion, are moft likely to pafs judgment of it by what they fee and obferve in the life and practice of its profeffors, performed by them as the appointments of Chrift, and effential parts of his religion, in order to their commencing Chriftians, or becoming members of his church; and as the kirk of Scotland, and other Pædobaptifts, as well as our established church, have changed or laid afide the rational fubject of baptifm, and fubftituted inftead thereof an irrational one; and have alfo fuperfeded baptifm by an act which hath nothing of the nature of baptifm in it, for where dipping is not practifed, there can be no baptifm; because baptifm and dipping are the fame thing, neither will the inftitution of Chrift admit of two different modes: So Mr. Mole had from hence the jufteft reafon to return the following anfwer to him, whereby he hath indeed reprefented, and fet forth, in the ftrongest and most moving terms, that great apoftafy or defection of Pædobaptifts, from the purity of chriftian baptifm, together with the abfolute neceffity they are under of a reformation herein; if they would for the future prevent fuch objections against Chriftianity, and take away occafion from thofe, who are perpetually feeking occafion to ridicule our moft holy religion; and thereby expofe it to fcorn and contempt as a very irrational thing, which has extorted this ftrange anfwer from him.

8 And muft we indeed be concluded by this manner of proof? Is the chriftian religion to be judged of, by what appears in the life and practice of thofe, who make profeffion of it? Is this a likely way to know, what the chriftian religon is? And is it juft, that it should bare the blame of all the egregious follies and abfurdities, which pafs in the world under its name? He may look as much and as long as he pleafes, and we may attend him in his fearches, without ever having this point evinced from any thing, that is to be difcovered in life and practice upon this occafion.' A moft melancholy

& Grounds, &c. p. 53.

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account indeed! But he ought to have excepted the Bap tift churches, because they have kept this ordinance as it was at firft delivered; tho', with respect to the practice of his own and the kirk of Scotland, he had too much occafion to add ftill further. He may indeed be able to fhew from thence, that men pretending a commiffion to teach Christianity make no application by it to the understandings of men, but endeavour to extinguish and put them out. Or he may be able to fhew from thence, that many call themselves believers, and pretend to faith, which neither their reafon nor understanding have C ever brought them to.' And how indeed fhould it be otherwife, whilft they account infants believers, and holy Chriftians before baptifm: and by their ceremonies pretend to cloath them with pureness and perfection, and make them members, or take them into the bojom of the vifible church; before they have any reafon or understanding to be applied unto. And therefore, as Mr. Mole proceeds, poffibly he may fhew, that fome very trivial matter [even infant• Sprinkling] is the known original, and great root, whence all the religious impreffions of great numbers of profeffors [both in Scotland and England] notorioufly fpring. But will this prove, that the commiffion fuch men claim, is really from God, of like nature with that which • Chrift and his apoftles acted with, and exercised in the manner, wherein they exercife theirs? Will this prove, that the faith fuch men boast of, is the true faith, which is required by God in order to falvation; and that reafon cannot lead to true faith, nor be the principle, which God intended fhould do it? And will it hence be evinced, that the known original and great root, whence all the religious impreffions of fuch perfons notorioufly fpring, is the real original and true root of that faith in Chrift, which God requires, and fincere Chriftians exercife in him? If not, what is this conduct of our author,' [of looking into life and practice, either under the English, or Scotish establishments, for Chrift's inftitution of baptifm] but running away from faith [or the ordinance of baptifm] in order to meet it; and turning his back upon it, in order to take a view of it? He fhould have looked a little into the fcriptures, from whence alone it can be known, what Chriftianity [Chrif tian baptifm] and the true faith of it is. Looking into life and practice among many, both teachers and profeffors, is the way indeed to know what they are not, ❝ and may serve the purposes of misrepresenting their true

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nature; but can be no likely way to do them juftice. It is like looking into the church of Antichrift to find that of Chrift, or into Popery for the doctrine of the fcriptures, where they are hid, and to be found only by • looking on the reverfe.' And hence Mr. Mole proceeds. It is queried: Can a man be baptized into a rational religion? And answers, Can there be any inconvenience in anfwering in the affirmative? Were not men ordered to be baptized into the chriftian religion? [yes, but babes and infants were not] And muft it not be either a rational " or an irrational one? And furely a man can as well be • baptized into the former, as into the latter. [but a babe or infant cannot] The nature of Chriftianity, as a rational religion, is, I think, as well delineated in the practice of baptifm, as it is poffible for reason to be reprefented in any rite. For confidering it as carrying in its nature the promise of full forgiveness of fins, that 6 are paft, and the obligation to complete holiness for the future; how could any external rite of initiation, or ⚫ manner of taking the profeffion upon them, better ferve to exprefs and reprefent them both, than the wash-. ing of the bodies of fuch, as did fo, with water? This was a proper fymbol of that remiffion, or cleanfing of them from guilt, which they enjoyed by the tenor of the gospel covenant; and of that future purity of life and manners, to which they were obliged, and freely • confented, by it. In both thefe views Chriftianity ap6 pears to be a rational religion: and why might not a man be thus baptized into it? Why might not the commiffion to preach it be executed, and fuch baptifm re<quired in an application to the understanding? Or how can any religion, that is worthy of God, and fit for mankind, be propagated without fuch application?' What Mr. Mole can think, when he compares all this with his own unfcriptural practice of infant-fprinkling, I know not; but furely his own confcience muft tell him, that he has here given a moft exact defcription of our practice, and of that of the primitive church; and that every tittle of it is abfolutely incompatible with the practice of his own, and every other Pædobaptift church whatsoever.

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But, fays Mr. Mole, it is further queried: "Where "is reafon concerned, when babes accept the terms of "falvation by deputy, and are intitled to all the privileges "of the most extenfive faith by another's act? By the "baptifmal

"baptifmal ceremony they commence true believers at "once, and are made heirs of heaven, you know, by "the faith of their bondfmen; whilft as yet they have "not the least share or symptom of understanding them"felves, and may in all poffibility never live to attain

one; and which, if they had at the time, I know not 66 yet, how they could well give a rational affent by "proxy. Yet fuch is the pleasure and ordinance of God "himfelf in this point." To all this Mr. Mole replies, I do not wonder, that our author was for looking into life and practice on this occafion, when what he wanted to find, was not to be met with in the fcriptures. It is the principle of proteftants, and rational believers, to look into the fcriptures, as the fole rule of their faith and practice, and not into the life and practice of any 6 men living for their religion; as well knowing the very ⚫ great difference of that, which is contained in the one, from what paffes for fuch in the other.'

This is plainly giving up infant-baptifm, as an unfcriptural thing, and declaring that, tho' it pafles fo generally among Chriftians for a religious rite; yet it is not contained in the Bible, but is greatly different from that, which is there prefcribed. And hence it is very easy to difcern, what conduct ought to be expected from Mr. Mole, and others under fuch convictions, if they would make the scriptures the fole rule of their faith and practice, as he fays, it is the principle of proteftants and rational believers to do. Befides, as Infidels and others are moft ready to form their conceptions of Chriftianity from what they obferve in the life and practice of its profeffors, hence alfo arifes an additional motive for their reformation in the case of baptifm, which is very evident from what he adds in these words. And as our author, who • ufually picks up fome fhreds and broken pieces of fcripture, which either of themselves, or with a little art, · are made to carry fome found, tho' that be all, in his favour,' [a practice too much like what our Padobaptifts themfelves in their controverfies with us are guilty of] has not practifed that method upon this occafion; I do not fee, what the chriftian religion, or the rational believers of it, have further to do with thefe abfurdities, which he has ventured to charge them with, than to difown and difavow them, as they very well may.' How Mr. Mole can think fo, I know net; for I am fure it must appear with a very ill grace till they are reformed, and

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