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one preliminary; which is, that the queftion we are 3 debating, is not by any means to be decided by human authority. I am very fenfible, Sir, fays the doctor, that fome eminent divines of the Roman communion, and the established church at home, as well as among our Nonconformifts, have, in the zeal and humility of their hearts, expreffed themselves in a manner which cannot be defended, and thereby have given too plaufible an occafion for [this Infidel's] dangerous and fatal mifreprefentations. ... ... But my bufinefs is with the law, and with the teftimony; and where thefe holy and excellent men have not spoken according to that rule, I cannot believe that celeftial light to have been in them, or fuppofe their minds under the guidance of that fpirit, whom, tho' by ill-judged methods, it was undoubtedly their fincere and affectionate defire to glorify. Taking the matter therefore, as the fcripture reprefents it, it will be very easy to fhew,' that there is not the leaft foundation there for the practice of infantbaptifm, to which this paffage of the doctor's may be justly applied; the truth of which is, I think, evident enough from his answering this writer in the manner he has done. For he hath no where quoted a fingle text of fcripture for it, but wherefoever he mentions it, or in the leaft glances at it, he always, with the infidel whom he oppofes, takes it for granted, as a common principle, a thing general acknowledged; which, as I before obferved, is a mere begging the queftion. He must know, it hath always been oppofed by thofe of our perfuafion, as a practice concerning which the fcripture is totally filent, and therefore, this his neglect, if he knows there is fcrip. ture for it; or elfe his practice, if he knows there is not, must be abfolutely inexcufable. And,

As to the many writings, which have been published in behalf of this unfcriptural practice, I may very justly fay of them, as the doctor does of thofe for infidelity. + Sad indeed is the drudgery our brethren muft go thro' in reading fuch authors,... but the confirmation which their faith may receive, by the very efforts made to overthrow it, [our practice, and to establish their own] will, I hope, in many inftances, be a fufficient reward. And as thefe pieces, especially in the hand of fecond rate writers, contain little more than a confident and un'wearied

Third Letter, p. 9, 10. 4 First Letter, p. 46, 47.

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wearied repetition of the fame objections, [and arguments,] which have been answered perhaps many scores and hundreds of times, without taking any notice of thofe replies; (which, whether it be owing to the learning, or modesty of the authors, I will not undertake to fay;) one who is acquainted with these controverfies will be able to difpatch large volumes in a little. time, and will fee that many of them need no new ⚫ answers. All which will be circumftances of fome • confolation under fo tedious a task.' And as he fays elsewhere, Answers will be fuggefted, with those objections; and he will foon be weary of hearing fuch poor unfatisfactory things, as moft of the cavils of Infidels [or Padobaptifts] are. And here again, the good habits, and difpofitions formed in his mind, will be of great fervice. He will perceive, that Chriftianity [with adult-baptifm] wears fo favourable an afpect, and opens upon him fo fine a profpect, that he will not hunt after objections against it; as a man is not ftudious to find a flaw in writings, by which he ftands intitled to the re• version of some noble estate: and when they accidentally start up in his way, he will foon fee, that many of them are grounded on notorious falfhood, and are in themselves defpicably mean; especially when fet against the great arguments for it, of which he is already pof. • feffed.'

6

But to return to the doctor's answer, all these valuable purposes, and many more, fays he, may be answered by infant-baptifm.' And because the doctor is a little fparing here, I will take the liberty to enumerate them in his own words elsewhere. 6 Nevertheless, for the farther illuftration of the fubject, I fhall freely tell you, how I apprehend the cafe to ftand, with regard to the generality of the common people, who are in good earneft in the profeffion of religion; readily acknowledgC ing, tho' with great grief, that there are thoufands and ten thousands, who wear the name of Chriftians as by meer accident, without at all confidering its meaning, reafon, or obligation; a cafe very confiftent with the poffibility of their being better informed, and rationally convinced.'. . . . . 7 That this is the cafe of fo many, I very readily acknowledge, that, thro' a negligence, for which I fear a multitude of parents and ministers 1 2 • have

6

5 Ibid. p. 21, 22.

6 First Letter, p. 12.

7 Ibid. p. 23.

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have a terrible account to render before God. . . . . By far the greater part of profefling Chriftians have probably no better reafon to give for their religion, than that they were early baptized [he fhould have faid rantized] into it, and have been trained up in fome of its external forms. Far from being inftructed in its evidences, they are hardly taught its doctrines, or its precepts; or fuperficially learn them from thofe, who do not themfelves feem to be in good earneft concerned about the one < or the other. The fatal confequence is too plain. The corruptions of nature, abetted by the force of evil examples, prevail against them; and they are early plunged into fuch licentious practices, that if they ever reflect on the moft evident and exprefs declarations of the word of God, they muft immediately fee, that they are condemned by it.

Now there is no reason to wonder, if many of this fort of Chriftians are eafy profelytes to infidelity. It is no furprising thing, if a bold jeft thrown upon fcripture, or a confident fenfelefs aflertion of its falfhood, (perhaps from a perfon, on whofe word hardly any thing elfe would be believed,) have with them all the weight of a demonftration. They will be little concerned to afk information, or confider how objections may be anfwered. Thofe magical words, prieftcraft, and the prejudice of education, ftun and terrify them. They fubmit as [his Infidel] gravely expreffes it, (page 75.) "in the impotency and impuberty of a dutiful underftand"ing, in the tractable fimplicity of unpractifed reafon :

with the obfequious and humble acquiefcence of a babe, "they fit down to learn their leffon" too; and their unbelief, after they have attained the ftature of men, is juft as blind and implicit, as the faith of their childhood was.

This, Sir, is undoubtedly the cafe with many and you ⚫ cannot but have obferved, what large companies in the free-thinking army are raised and enlifted from among thefe vagabonds. But the generality of men among

as in every nation, go on thoughtlessly in the re6 ligion in which they were educated hearing the truth of it often afferted, and perhaps never hearing it contradicted, they entertain no doubts on the fubject, but grow old in a mere fpeculative and ineffectual aflent to Christianity. And if their heart at any time fmite them, with the contrariety of their temper and con⚫duct

duct to the rules which they acknowledge to be divine, they feek their fhelter in the hope of making their peace with God, (as they commonly exprefs it,) before they go out of the world; and perhaps abufe fome of the nobleft difcoveries which the gofpel makes, as an encouragement to continue in thofe fins and follies, from which it was exprefsly defigned to reclaim them.'

The doctor hath here given us a difmal, melancholy train of evils indeed, and they are fuch by his limitation of them, as we may reafonably fuppofe, would not have for frequently exifted, had it not been for infant-baptism ; becaufe according to him, they arife from amongst thofe infants, to whom that is fuppofed to be adminiftered; and the numbers of them it feems are fo very great, that far the greater part of profeffing Chriflians have probably no better reafon to give for their religion, than that they were early baptized, or rather rantized into it. And fuch as these are they, who are eafly led into infidelity; and whofe unbelief, he favs, after they have attained the ftature of men, is just as blind and implicit, as the faith of their childhood was. And therefore, if there was a poffibility of giving them faith, and making them Chriftians in that way, it would have been much better for fuch unhappy creatures to have had nothing at all done to them, becaufe, as the apoftle affures us, it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 2 Pet. ii. 21. compared with Heb. vi. 4. and ch. x. 26-31. Befides it would be wifeft, and fafeft, and beft for their parents and minifters themselves, not only because God hath no where required it, and confequently no law of his can be broken; but also because they would not be in quite fo much danger of having a terrible account to render before God for this, as the doctor fears they will for their education.

But to proceed the doctor in many parts of thofe anfwers, as well as in the following words, feems not only to contradict himfelf, but the common principles of his party alfo; and has given us a moft fubftantial reason, why neither baptifm, nor any thing elfe inftead of it, fhould ever be adminiftered to infants, because he fays, It will by no means follow from hence, that this rite affects the eternal ftate of the child; or that, if it did affect it, there must be fuch an extraordinary communication of the fpirit to it, as you fuppofe. You allow,

6

in exprefs terms, that there is no act of the child at all, and that it believes nothing. How this confifts with its having a perfect faith wrought in its mind at once, is not poffible for me to conceive.' The purport of this third letter, and the manner, in which thofe fentences are introduced, feems to evince, that the doctor allows the negatives; and therefore I fhall be glad to know for what ends, and upon what grounds, he would pretend to baptize a child. It cannot be to confer grace, or thereby to infufe that purenefs and perfection, with which the kirk of Scotland imagines a child is clad in baptifm, for this fudden and irrefiftable agency of the fpirit, by which the moft finished conviction becomes theirs;' as by the baptismal ceremony they commence true believers at once, and are made heirs of heaven, and millions actually faved upon. the strength of the mere ceremony;' and what elfe this infidel writer fays about the fpirit's agency, the doctor warmly oppofes, and calls 9 a scheme fo apparently contrary to fact; and in theory fo wild [as no man can easily] believe, it could be feriously propofed by any man, who enjoyed the use of his reafon : or that [his author ] meant any thing by it, unless it were to expofe Chriftianity.' And he confidently afferts, that the fcripture teaches nothing of this kind, and is extremely forry that any form of baptifm in the chriftian world, justifies fuch inferences, and fuch a manner of Speaking. It cannot be, because the child is a believer, and federally holy, as it derives faith from its parents; becaufe, as he pleads and urgeth the Infidel's own words, he feems alfo with him to allow, that it believes nothing; or if he thinks it does, I am fure he can give no proof of it. It cannot be to deliver the infant from eternal damnation, becaufe he fays, This rite will by no means affect the eternal ftate of the child. But he must know, that these have been fome of the common pretences of his party, who have often afferted, that infants dying unbaptized are damned, that there are fuch in hell a Span long and that God cuts them off, as men deftroy young foxes; becaufe from their ravenous nature, they are affured that they will become hurtful, if fuffered to grow up. Such horrid things as thefe have been urged by fome, and have appeared in print formerly; but I believe the minifters of his denomination, as well as others, are grown more moderate

8 Christianity not founded, &c. p. 9. and 69. 9 Second Let

ter, p. 49.