W. When thou askest me to allow thee to explain, I want thee to understand, that thy explanation is not mine. Thou mayest not explain for me; for possibly thy wisdom may wholly destroy what those, in whom thou believest, have sought to establish. What thou sayest is thy own, and what is thy own, thou shouldst not impute to another. Thou callest us infidels; but we never seek to destroy another’s property, as thou hast proposed by thy offer to explain what thou, perchance, hast no authority for doing. Hast thou read the prohibition? C. What prohibition? W. Whosoever addeth unto the sayings of the prophecy of this book, God will add unto him the plagues which are written in this book; and whosoever taketh away the sayings, God will take away his part out of the book of life. What is thy explanation but adding or diminishing the record of another? C. It is all infidelity to talk as thou dost. W. Thou sayest, then, that the words of the Bible are infidelity? C. No; but when thou deniest the instrumentalities of revelation, thou savorest the cause of infidelity. W. What instrumentalities does revelation require to reveal itself? C. It requires an explanation. W. Is the explanation a revelation? C. It is an explanation of dark passages in the Bible. W. Well, is an explanation of dark passages in the Bible, a revelation from God? C. No; but it is essential to mind, in order to be saved. W. Is that essential to mind which does not agree with itself, and contradicts what is revealed? C. A correct explanation is consistent, and does not contradict itself, or the Bible. W. But hast thou not contradicted the Bible, and dost thou not recommend an explanation which expressly takes away the whole force of a divine prohibition? C. No; it gives it a different meaning, that is all. W. True; and that is what thou art forbidden to do. C. I will not submit my judgment to the control of infidels. I see that thou wilt persist to aid infidelity. W. Thou wilt see what thou hast not yet seen, if thou wilt listen to the voice which requires obedience. Thou wilt see thyself as thou never wilt desire to see again. C. How so? I am not ashamed of the cross of Christ. W. Thou wilt not obey. C. I will obey what is just and reasonable, and wouldst thou have me do more? W. Is the Bible just and reasonable? C. Truly. W. But thou wilt not obey that. C. Then, I am not a Christian. W. Well, hast thou said. But wilt thou not revile, and wilt thou abide by the instruction of the Bible? C. I trust my all in that blessed book. When I gave my heart to God, I resolved to live for his glory. W. And is it for the glory of God to revile thy brother, and deny what revelation and thy vows unto the Lord have made incumbent upon thee to perform? C. It is not. But who has reviled? Who has denied his vows and revelation?