You lay great stress upon the comforts derived from believing Christianity true. But ought men to be encouraged to lean and build their hopes on what may perhaps when examined turn out to be a broken reed? The expiring Indian dies in peace-holding a cow's tail in his hand. If he was in his full health, and vigour of understanding, would you think It charitable to let that man remain uninformed of his delusion in trusting to such a staff of comfort? Would you not endeavour to enlighten him, and make him ashamed of his superstition? I know you would, and you would do him a kindness deserving his gratitude. To conclude, the Christian religion is either a divine and solid foundation of morals, hope, and consolation, or it is not. If it is, there is no reason in the world to fear, that it can be undermined, or hurt in the least. To believe so would be I conceive to doubt the Providence of God. For it cannot be supposed, that a religion really given by the Almighty and All wise can be undermined by a wretched mortal, a child of dust and infirmity; the supposition is monstrous, and therefore no examination of its claims ought to be deprecated, or frowned at by those who think it "founded on adamant," for no man shrinks at having that examined which he is positively confident of being able to prove. 2. If this foundation be not divine and solid it ought I conceive to be undermined, and abandoned. For willfully, and knowingly to suffer confiding men to be duped, or allured into building their hopes and consolation upon a delusion, is in my opinion to maltreat, and to despise them. And to suffer them to be imposed upon is both unbrotherly and dishonest. And to advocate, or to insinuate a defense of an unsound foundation upon the principle of pious frauds, viz. because it is supposed by its defenders to be useful, you will no doubt agree with me is both absurd, and immoral. For in the long run truth is more useful than error, "nothing (says Lord Bacon) is so pernicious as deified error." And it must not be supposed, or insinuated, that the good God has made it necessary, that the morals, comfort, and consolation of his rational creatures should be founded on, or be supported by a mistake and a delusion; for it would be virtually to deny his Providence. In fine, Christianity come to us as from God, and says to us, "He that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not, shall be damned." Therefore, he that receives such extraordinary claims without examination, is "in my opinion, a wittol; and he who suffers himself to be compelled to swallow such pretensions without the severest scrutiny, according to my notions of things, has no claims to be considered as a man of common sense.