should proceed to supply Mr. Bentham's deficiences, and to conclude his remarks, by adducing evidence to prove, not merely the agreement in the gospel taught by Jesus and Paul, but also the complete agreement in their general doctrines, sentiments, and even modes of thinking! JESUS. OBJECT OF WORSHIP, AND "And this is eternal life, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." -John xvii. 3. PAUL BY WHOM REVEALED. "For though there be that are called Gods, whether in heaven or on earth, to us there is but one God the Father, of whom are all things and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things and we by him."-1.Cor. viii. 5. -"I have shewed you and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ."-Acts xx. 20, 21. DOCTRINE OF REPENTANCE. "Now after that John was put in prison Jesus came into Gallilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at handrepent ye, and believe the gospel.”— Mark i. 14, 15. DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION. "For as the Father hath life in himself so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself, and hath given him authority to execute judgment because he is the son of man. Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth-they that have done good into the resurrection of life-and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of condemnation."-John v. 26, 29. "And the time of this ignorance God winketh at; but now commandeth he men every where to repent, because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead."—Acts xvii. 30, 31. CALL OF THE "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, BEGINNING at Jerusalem."-Luke xxiv. 47. GENTILES. "Then Paul and Barnabus waxed bold, and saw it was necessary the word of God should first have been spoken to you, but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo! we turn to the gentiles; for so hath the Lord commanded us, saying I have set thee to be a light of the gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the ends of the earth."-Acts xiii. 46, 47. UNION OF JEWS AND GENTILES INTO ONE BODY. "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, (in) and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."--John x. 16. "For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one, so also is Christ; for by one spirit are we all baptized into one body JESUS. AUTHORITY "All things are delivered to me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."-Mat. xi. 27.. PAUL whether we be Jews or Gentiles, (Paul describes Christ as exalted)"Far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but that which is to come. And hath put all things under his feet, and given him to be head over all things to the church."-Eph. i. 21, 22. EQUALITY OF CHRISTIAN MEMBERS. "Be not ye called Rabbi, for one is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren."-Mat. xxiii. 7, 8, 9. SPIRITUAL AMBITION AND "And he said unto them the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors, but it shall not be so with you."-Luke xxii. 25, 26. "For I say, through the grace of God given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think-but to think soberly accordingly as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ, and every one severally fellow members thereof."-Rom. xii. 3, 4. SELFISHNESS CONDEMNED. "For ye suffer fools gladly seeing ye yourselves are wise, for you suffer if a man bring you into bondageif a man devour you-if a man take of you-if a man exalt himself—if a man smite you on the face."1 Cor. xi. 19, 20. WHO FITTED TO RECEIVE CHRISTIANITY. "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father! Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes; even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight."-Mat. xi. 25. "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh; not many mighty; not many noble are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the mighty.”—1 Cor. i. 26. SPIRITUALITY OF THE "God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him IN SPIRIT and in truth."-John iv. 24. FORGIVENESS "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use CHRISTIAN RELIGION. "For we are the circumcision which worship God in the SPIRIT, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."-Phil. iii. 3. OF INJURIES. "Dearly beloved avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, as it is written, &c.: therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if you and persecute you."-Matt. he thirst, give him drink; for in so v. 44, 45. doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.-Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."— Rom. xii. 19 to 21. BENEVOLENCE. "But when thou makest a feast call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee, for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."-Luke xiv. 13, 14. LOVE, THE EVIDENCE "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."-John xiii. 35. "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not benevolence it profiteth me nothing.” 1 Cor. xiii. 3. OF CHRISTIAN UNION. "If there be, therefore, any consolation in Christ; if any comfort of love; if any fellowship of the spirit; if any tender compassion; fulfil ye my joy, by having the same disposition, the same love, the same mind."Phil. ii. 1, 2. Wakefield. NOTICES. THE following Subjects are appointed by the Church of God, denominated Freethinking Christians, for the instruction of the Public on the Sunday Mornings, at their Meeting-house, Crescent, Jewin Street, Aldersgate Street.-The Business commences at Eleven o'Clock PRECISELY. April 4.-The Parables of Jesus. April 11.-Popular objections to the Doctrine of the Trinity. April 18.-The Analogy between natural and revealed Religion. April 25.—An Answer to the Question Why are you a Christian?" May 2.-An Answer to the Question Dissenter?"? "Why are you a May 9.-The Character of David explained and defended. May 16.-The insufficiency of Pulpit Preaching to produce religious knowledge and improvement. May 23.-Reason the sole Judge of Revelation. May 30.-The New Birth;'founded on the conversation of Jesus with Nichodemus. June 6.The meaning of preaching Christ crucified,' and inwhat sense it was a stumbling block' to the Jews, and 'foolishness' to the Greeks. June 13.-The folly and wickedness of attempting to silence the enemies of Christianity by penal laws. June 20.- Membership with the church of God indispensable to constitute the Christian character-with the nature and advantages of such membership. June 27-- Miracles a test of the divine mission of a Prophet or Teacher. THE FREETHINKING CHRISTIANS' QUARTERLY REGISTER. THE DOCTRINE OF THE FALL OF MAN By an Explanation of the Fifth Chapter of the Romans. ESSAY IV. HAVING shewn in our former papers that the three first chapters of Genesis contain nothing more than a simple narrative of the conduct of our first parents, and of the dealings of God with them in the infancy of their existence--and that the whole account, when properly explained, is perfectly consistent with the wisdom and benevolence of Deity, and suited to the nature and circumstances of the beings he had formed-we still adhere to the opinion stated in our last, that any use that might be made of this account by the apostle Paul, could not alter or change the import of the original; and that if there should be found any apparent difference between what we may denominate the text of Moses and the commentary of Paul, the cause must rest either on the want of perspicuity in the writer, or of perspicacity in ourselves, inasmuch as Paul does not, in his remarks on the subject, profess to speak from inspiration, but merely reasons from the record which we have already examined in the Old Testament. But that no possible doubt may remain, we purpose noticing those passages in the New Testament, which are supposed to teach a different doctrine; and feel VOL. II. NO. VII. confident that, to every candid mind, we shall make it appear evident, that the apostle Paul viewed the matter in the same light as we have done. It is a remarkable fact, that throughout the Old Testament this subject is never, either directly or indirectly, referred to, except in the three first chapters of Genesis. Even Jesus himself, who, it is said, came to repair the ruins of the fall, is perfectly silent on the subject; neither do any of the apostles, Paul excepted, ever, either directly or indirectly, refer to it, and he only in five places, which it is our object to show, give no support to the generally received doctrines of the fall of man; and make no reference to the sin of Adam, as the cause of man's iniquity (which, indeed, would but palliate his offences) but, on the contrary, every man's sins are there charged upon himself, and he is represented as the more responsible, inasmuch as he ought to have known and acted better. Nothing is said of our becoming mortal in consequence of Adam's transgression, nor any the most distant allusion made to what is called the first prophecy of the Messiah-the seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent, but both Jesus and Paul, instead of this, always refer the fulfilment of the promises of God to the seed of the man, that is, of Abraham; and the promise made to him, that in him, and in his seed, should "all the "families of the earth be blessed;" and Jesus, so far from laying claim to this title, as being the seed of the woman, who was to bruise the serpent's head, states himself to be of the seed of David, and his apostles always refer to him as such. Surely if Jesus had been this promised seed of the woman, either he or his apostles would have referred to this prophecy in support of his claim to be the Messiah; but, in spite of the absence of all authority, and of the declaration of God himself, men still persist in believing that man is a fallen creature, in consequence of the sin of Adam; some maintaining that it entailed upon him and his posterity-death temporal, death spiritual, and death eternal; whereas it is a curious fact and well worthy of attention, that although Adam, in his state of innocence and supposed moral perfection, yielded to the first temptation and sinned against his Creator, thereby involving, as it is said, all his posterity in misery and ruin; yet that after his fall-after his nature became depraved, his mind darkened, and his heart corrupted-we never read of any sin he was guilty of, though placed in more trying circumstances. The baneful consequences said to result from the sin of Adam, have appeared to others, professing, indeed, more rational views, so inconsistent with reason, and so de |