clufive. Thus he proves that Chrift is a DIVINE PERSON, and equal with the Father, without pretending to know, or attempting to investigate, the MODUS of his Divine Personality. In regard to the former, he firmly believes that the Scripture is full, explicit, peremptory; in reference to the latter, he confiders the facred Canon as entirely filent and, to difpute what Eternal Varacity afferts, because it is above the power of reason to comprehend; or to endeavour to difcover what God has not revealed of himfelf, he looks upon as ifrational, prefumptuous, and highly criminal. The fentiments and views of our Author, in this refpect, are well expreffed by another celebrated writer, who fays; I freely grant, that,

had I confulted my own reafon only, I could "not have discovered fome myfteries of the gofpel. Nevertheless, when I think on the grandeur of God; when I caft my eyes on that vast Ocean; when I confider that immense ALL; nothing aftonishes me, nothing ftumbles me,. nothing feems to me inadmiffable, how incomprehenfible foever it may be. When the fubject is Divine, I am ready to believe all, to admit all, to receive all; provided I be convinced that it is God his felf who speaks to me, or

any one on his part. After this I am no more aftonished that there are three diftinct Perfons ‹ in one Divine effence; one God, and yet a Father, a Son, and a Holy Ghoft.-Either religion must tell us nothing about God, or what it tells us must be beyond our capacities; and,

in difcovering even the borders of this immenfe Ocean, it must needs exhibit a vaft extent in ⚫ which our feeble eyes are loft. But what furprizes me, what ftumbles me, what frightens me, is to fee a diminutive creature, a contemptible man, a little ray of light glimmering ⚫ through a few feeble organs, controvert a point ' with the fupreme Being; oppose that Intelligence who fitteth at the helm of the world; queftion what he affirms, difpute what he determines, appeal from his decifions, and, even after God hath given evidence, reject all doc⚫trines that are beyond his capacity. Enter into

thy nothingnefs, mortal creature! What mad• nefs animates thee! How durft thou pretend• thou who art but a point, thou whofe effence is but an atom- to measure thyself with the • Supreme Being; with him who fills heaven and earth; with Him, whom heaven, the heaven of • heavens cannot contain! Canft thou by fearching find out God? Canft thou find out the Almighty to perfection? High as heaven, what canft thou do? • deeper than hell, what canft thou know § ?1

The great principle which the Author aims to establish in the following work, is; That the Deity of Jefus Chrift is effential to the Chriftian Religion. In pursuance of this defign he fhews, if Jefus the Son of God be not of the fame effence with his Father, That the Mahometan religion is preferable to Chriftianity, and Chrift inferior to Mahomet

A 3

M. SAURIN's Serm. Vol. I. p. 78, 79. Mr ROBINSON'S Tranflation,

Mahomet That the Sanhedrim 'did an act of juftice, in caufing Jefus to be put to death for blafphemy

6

*It may be proper here to obferve, That fome of the Socinians have not been ashamed to avow a confiderable degree of regard for the character and caufe of Mahomet. Witness their famous Address to AMETH BEN AMETH, ambaffador from the Emperor of Fez and Morocco, to CHARLES the Second, King of Great Britain. We, fay they to his Excellency, as your NEAREST FELLOW• CHAMPIONS for thofe truths,-[i. c. truths in which none but they agree with the Mahometans] We, who, with our Unitarian brethren, were in all ages exercised to defend with our pens the faith of one Supreme God, (without perfonalities, or pluralities) AS HE HATH RAISED YOUR MAHOMET TO DO THE SAME " with the fword, as a fcourge on thofe IDOLIZING CHRISTIANS; We do, FOR THE VINDICATION OF YOUR LAW-MAKER'S CLORY, ftrive to prove, that such faults and irregularities, [às are ⚫ found in the Koran] not cohering with the fashion of the rest of the Alcoran building, nor with the undoubted fayings of your Prophet, nor with the gospel of Chrift (whereof Mahomet would have himself to be but a preacher)—were foifted into the fcattered found after Mahomet's death, of which in truth the Alcoran was made up: it being otherwife impoffible that a man of THAT

6

papers

JUDGMENT, THAT HATH PROVED ITSELF IN OTHER

" THINGS SO CONSPICUOUSLY, fhould be guilty of fo many and frequent repugnancies, as are to be seen in those writings and laws We do, then, 'that are now adays given out under his name.

See the

' endeavour to clear by whom, and in what time, fuch alterations 'were made in the first fetting out of the Alcoran.' whole Addrefs in LESLIE's Socinian Controversy Difc. Pref. P. 3-13. Thus careful were thefe Gentlemen to purge the Koran of every thing fuppofititious; and thus tender of its Author's honour!

Another Socinian writer reprefents Mahomet, as having 'no other defign but to restore the belief of the unity of God; which, fays he, at that time, was extirpated among the eastern Chriftians, by the 'doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation,'—And informs us, 'That Mahome meant not his religion should be esteemed a new religion; but only the reftitution of the true intent of the Christian Religion

-That

blafphemy-That He and his apostles have led us into a complicated and pernicious error-That there is no agreement between the Old and the New Teftament-And, that neither the ancient Jewish, nor the Chriftian Religion, is attended with fufficient criteria to diftinguish it from impofture. In proving that these are the neceffary confequences of the Socinian and Arian fyftems, and in answering the principal objections of his opponents; he discovers fuch fertility of invention, originality of thought, and strength of reasoning powers, as comparatively few enjoy. The generality of writers on this very interesting subject, do little more than collect and retail the thoughts of others, which they exprefs in a different style and method. Not fo Dr ABBADIE. For the reader of this masterly performance, if not poffeffed of uncommon penetration, is entertained with ideas entirely new, as well as with arguments irrefragably strong, in every Section, and in almost every Chapter: fo that, if he love the adorable JESUS and "rejoice in his Highnefs," he finds himself inftructed, amazed, delighted.

' —That the Mahometan learned men call themselves, the true dif· ciples of the Meffias, or Chrift; intimating thereby, that Chrif tians are apoftates from the MOST ESSENTIAL PARTS of the doc• trine of the Meffias-That Mahometanism has prevailed fo greatly, · not by force and the sword, but by that one truth, in the Alcoran, the unity of God;' that is, as well in Perfon, as in Effence. And then he reprefents the Tartars' as acting more rationally, in embracing what he calls, the more plaufible fect of Mahomet, than 'they would have done, in receiving the Chriftian faith of the · Trinity, Incarnation, &c.' In LESLIE, as above, p. 28.

.

The

Though the book be exceedingly scarce, and, at this time, very little known in England; the abilities of the Writer and the merit of the Treatife have received the moft honourable teftimonies from various pens. Abbe HoUTEVILLE, for inftance, when speaking of our Author's work, on the truth of the Chriftian Religion; of which elaborate performance this is generally reckoned the third volume, fays; The most shining of thofe treatifes in defence of the Chriftian Religion, which were published by the Proteftants, is that written by Mr ABBADIE. 'favourable reception it met with; the praises it received, almoft without example, immediately after its publication; and the univerfal approbation it ftill meets with, render it unneceffary for me to join my commendations, which would add fo little to the merit of fo great an author. In the first part he combats the Atheists, the Deifts in the fecond, and the Socinians in the third.'-VOLTAIRE alfo, who cannot be fufpected of a predilection for ABBADIE, on account of his writing in defence of revealed truth; informs us, that he was celebrated for his Trea⚫tife on the Chriftian Religion †.'—And the Rev. Mr VENN thus recommends the work; It is a book in the highest form for reputation, in all the Proteftant countries abroad; a book, ⚫ in

Article ABBADIE, New and Gen. Biograph. Dia. Note.

+ Age of Law Is XIV, Vol. II, p. 274.