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it; but that all other religions ought to be examined; or rather, because they are different from that which they prefume to be the only true religion, ought to be condemned at all adventures, without any farther inquiry: this, I fay, is fond partiality; because every religion, and every church, may, for ought that appears to any man that is not permitted to examine things impartially, fay the fame for themselves, and with as much reason: and if fo, then either every religion ought to permit itself to be examined; or elfe no man ought to examine his own religion, whatever it be; and confequently Jews, and Turks, and Heathens, and hereticks, ought all to continue as they are, and none of them to change; because they cannot reasonably change without examining both that religion which they leave, and that which they embrace instead of it.

2. Admitting this pretence were true, that they are the true church, and have the true religion, this is fo far from being a reason why they should not permit it to be examined, that, on the contrary, it is one of the best reasons in the world why they fhould allow it to be examined, and why they may fafely fuffer it to be fo. They should permit it to be tried, that men may, upon good reason, be fatisfied that it is the true religion. And they may fafely fuffer it to be done; because, if they be fure that the grounds of their religion be firm and good, I am fure they will be never the worse for being examined and looked into. But I appeal to every man's reafon, whether it be not an ill fign, that they are not fo fure that the grounds of their religion are folid and firm, and fuch as will abide the trial, that they are fo very loth to have them fearched into and examined? This cannot but tempt a wife man to fufpect, that their church is not founded upon a rock; and that they themselves know fomething that is amifs in their religion, which makes them fo loth to have it tried, and brought to the touch.

3. It is certain among all Chriftians, that the doctrine preached by the Apostles was the true faith of Chrift; and yet they never forbad the Chriftians to examine whether it was fo or not: nay, on the contrary, they frequently exhort them to try and examine their religion, and whether that doctrine which they had delivered to VOL.IV.

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them was the true faith of Christ. So St. Paul, 2 Cor.

xiii. 5. Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith prove your own felves. And again, I Theff.v. 21. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good; intimating to us, that, in order to the holding faft the profeffion of our faith, it is requifite to prove and try it. And fo likewife St. John, 1 epift. iv. 1. Beloved, believe not every fpirit, but try the Spirits, whether they are of God; becaufe many falfe prophets are gone out into the world. And he gives a very notable mark whereby we may know the fpirit of truth and the spirit of error. The fpirit of error carries on a worldly interest and design; and the doctrines of it tend to fecular power and greatness: v5. They are of the world; therefore fpeak they of the world, and the world heareth them. Acts xvii. 11. St. Luke commends it, as an argument of a more noble and generous fpirit in the Bereans, that they examined the doctrine which the Apostles preached, whether it were agreeable to the scriptures; and this without difparagement to their infallibility: Thefe (faith he) were more noble than thofe in Theffalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and fearched the fcriptures daily, whether thofe things were fo. They were ready to receive the word; but not blindly, and with an implicit faith; but ufing due care to examine the doctrines which they were taught, and to fee if they were agreeable to that divine revelation of the holy fcriptures which they had before received. It seems they were not willing to admit and fwallow contradictions in their faith. And we defire no more of the church of Rome, than, that they would encourage the people to fearch the fcriptures daily, and to examine whether their doctrines be according to them. We would be glad to hear the Pope and a general council commend to the people the fearching of the fcriptures, and to try their definitions of faith and decrees of worfhip by that rule, to fee whether what they have defined, and decreed to be believed and practifed, be agreeable to it; their worship of images, their folemn invocation of angels, and of the bleffed virgin, and the faints departed, the facrament under one kind only, the publick prayers and fervice of God in an unknown tongue, the frequent repetition of the propitia

tory

tory facrifice of Chrift's body and blood in the mass. Had the Bereans been at the council of Trent, and pleaded their right to fearch the fcriptures, whether thofe things were fo, I doubt they would have been thought very troublefome and impertinent, and would not have been praised by the Pope and council for their pains, as they are by St. Luke.

You fee then, upon the whole matter, that it is a very groundless and fufpicious pretence of the church of Rome, that because they are infallibly in the right, and theirs is the true religion, therefore their people must not be permitted to examine it. The doctrine of the Apoftles was undoubtedly the true faith of Chrift; and yet they not only permitted the people to examine it, but exhorted and encouraged them fo to do, and commended them for it: and any man that hath the spirit of a man, must abhor to fubmit to this flavery, not to be allowed to examine his religion, and to inquire freely into the grounds and reasons of it; and would break with any church in the world upon this fingle point; and would tell them plainly, If your religion be too good to be examined, I doubt it is too bad to be believed.

If it be faid, that the allowing of this liberty is the way to make people perpetually doubting and unfettled; I do utterly deny this; and do, on the contrary, with good reafon affirm, that it is apt to have the contrary effect; there being in reason no better way to establish any man in the belief of any thing, than to let him fee, that there are very good grounds and reafons for what he believes; which no man can ever fee, that is not permitted to examine whether there be fuch reasons or not. So that, befides the reasonableness of the thing, it is of great benefit and advantage tous; and that upon these accounts.

1. To arm us against feducers. He that hath examined his religion, and tried the grounds of it, is most able to maintain them, and make them good against all affaults that may be made upon us, to move us from our ftedfaftness: whereas he that hath not examined, and confequently does not understand the reafons of his religion, is liable to be toffed to and fro, and to be carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the fleight of men, and the cunning craftiness of thofe that lie in wait to de

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ceive. For when he is attempted, he will either defend his religion or not. If he undertake the defence of it, before he hath examined the grounds of it, he makes himfelf an eafy prey to every crafty man that will fet upon him; he expofeth at once himfelf to danger, and his religion to difgrace. If he decline the defence of it, he must be forced to take fanctuary in that ignorant and obftinate principle, That because he is of an infallible church, and fure that he is in the right, therefore he never did nor will examine whether he be fo or not. But how is he, or can he be fure, that he is in the right, if he have no other reafon for it, but his confidence, and his being wifer in his own conceit, than feven men that can render a reafon? It is a fhameful thing in a wife man, who is able to give a good reason of all other actions and parts of his life, to be able to fay nothing for his religion, which concerns him more than all the rest.

2. To examine and understand the grounds of our religion, will be a good means (by the affiftance of God's grace) to keep us conftant to it, even under the fiery trial. When it comes to this, that a man muft fuffer for his religion, he had need to be well established in the belief of it; which no man can fo well be, as he that in fome measure understands the grounds and reasons of his belief. A man would be very well affured of the truth and goodness of that for which he would lay down his life; otherwife he dies as a fool dies, he knows not for what. A man would be loth to fet fuch a feal to a blank, I mean, to that which he hath no fufficient ground and reafon to believe to be true; which whether he hath or not, no man that hath not examined the grounds of his religion can be well affured of. This St. Peter prefcribes as the best preparative for fuffering for righteoufnefs fake, 1 Pet. iii. 14, 15. But if ye fuffer for righteousness fake, happy are ye and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but fanctify the Lord God in your hearts; (that is, make him the great object of your dread and trust): and be ready always to give an answer to every man that afketh you a reafon of the hope that is in you.

II. The holding fast the profession of our faith without wavering, doth not imply, that men fhould obftinately refuse to hear any reafon against that religion which they

have embraced, and think to be the true religion. As men should examine before they chufe, fo after they have chofen, they should be ready to be better informed, if better reafon can be offered. No man ought to think himself so infallible, as to be privileged from hearing reason, and from having his doctrines and dictates tried by that test.

Our blessed Saviour himself, the most infallible perfon that ever was in the world, and who declared the truth which he had heard of God; yet he offered himself and his doctrine to this trial: John viii. 46. Which of you convinceth me of fin? that is, of falfhood and error = and if I fpeak the truth, why do ye not believe me? He was fure he spake the truth; and yet for all that, if they could convince him of error and mistake, he was ready to hear any reason they could bring to that purpose. Though a man be never fo fure that he is in the true religion, and never fo refolved to continue conftant and ftedfast in it; yet reafon is always to be heard when it is fairly offered. And as we ought always to be ready to give an answer to thofe who afk a reafon of the hope and faith that is in us, fo ought we likewife to be ready to hear the reasons which others do fairly offer against our opinion and perfuafion in religion, and to debate the matter with them; that if we be in the right, and they in the wrong, we may rectify their mistake, and inftruct them in meeknefs, if God peradventure may give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth.

We are not only to examine our religion before we peremptorily fix upon it, but after we are, as we think upon the best reafon, established and fettled in it. Though we ought not to doubt and waver in our religion upon every flight and trifling objection that can be brought against it; yet we ought always to have an ear open to hear reafon, and confider any thing of weight and moment that can be offered to us about it. For it is a great difparagement to truth, and argues a distrust of the goodness of our caufe and religion, to be afraid to hear what can be faid against it; as if truth were fo weak, that in every conflict it were in danger to be baffled and run down, and go by the worft; and as if the reasons that could be brought against it, were too hard for it,

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