want of wisdom in the Legislator in first enacting such an imperfect law, and then in letting it continue thus imperfect from age to age, and at last thinking to make it absolutely perfect by adding some merely positive and arbitrary precepts?’ And again, ’Revelation either bids or forbids men to use their reason in judging of all religious matters; if the former, then it only declares that to be our duty which was so, independent of and antecedent to revelation; if the latter, then it does not deal with men as rational creatures.  Everyone is of this opinion who says we are not to read Scripture with freedom of assenting or dissenting, just as we judge it agrees or disagrees with the light of nature and reason of things.’  Coming more definitely to the way in which we are to treat the written word, he writes:  ’Admit all for Scripture that tends to the honour of God, and nothing which does not.’  Finally, he sums up by declaring in yet plainer words the absolute identity of Christianity with natural religion.  ’God never intended mankind should be without a religion, or could ordain an imperfect religion; there must have been from the beginning a religion most perfect, which mankind at all times were capable of knowing; Christianity is this perfect, original religion.’

In this book Deism reaches its climax.  The sensation which it created was greater than even Toland or Collins had raised.  No less than one hundred and fifteen answers appeared, one of the most remarkable of which was Conybeare’s ’Defence of Revealed Religion against “Christianity as old as the Creation."’ Avoiding the scurrility and personality which characterised and marred most of the works written on both sides of the question, Conybeare discusses in calm and dignified, but at the same time luminous and impressive language, the important question which Tindal had raised.  Doing full justice to the element of truth which Tindal’s work contained, he unravels the complications in which it is involved, shows that the author had confused two distinct meanings of the phrase ‘natural reason’ or ‘natural religion,’ viz. (1) that which is founded on the nature and reason of things, and (2) that which is discoverable by man’s natural power of mind, and distinguishes between that which is perfect in its kind and that which is absolutely perfect.  This powerful work is but little known in the present day.  But it was highly appreciated by Conybeare’s contemporaries, and the German historian of English Deism hardly knows how to find language strong enough to express his admiration of its excellence.[155]

But Tindal had the honour of calling forth a still stronger adversary than Conybeare.  Butler’s ‘Analogy’ deals with the arguments of ‘Christianity as old as the Creation’ more than with those of any other book; but as this was not avowedly its object, and as it covered a far wider ground than Tindal did, embracing in fact the whole range of the Deistical controversy, it will be better to postpone the consideration of this masterpiece until the sequel.