Ob'u


agahfi  the  2)o£irines  afferted.     491

Ohj,  The  DifHculcy,  as  it  is  abltraded  from  this
Controverfy,  is  propounded  by  {e)  Dr.  Sherlock  thus :
"  That  fince  all  Men  have  immortal  Souls,  and  muft
*'  be  happy  or  miferable  for  ever,  God  fliould  for  fo
*'  many  Ages  futfer  the  whole  World,  excepting  tlie
"  JewSy  to  live  in  Ignorance,  and  in  Pagan  Idolatry
"  and  Su perdition,  that  Chrift  came  fo  late  into  the
*'  World  to  reveal  the  true  God,  and  to  publifh  the
*'  Gofpel  to  them ;  and  that  fo  great  a  Part  of  the
*'  World  ftill  are  Pagans  and  Mahometans^  and  that  fo
^'little  a  Part  of  the  Chrifiian  World  retain  the  true
"  Faith  and  Worfhip  of  Clmfi.  This  is  ten  thourand
'*  times  a  greater  Difficulty  than  any  prefent  Evils  and
"  Calamities  ;  becaufe  the  Confequences  of  it  reach  to
'*  Eternity,"

Anfw.  "  But  then  the  whole  Difficulty  is  no  more
*'  than  this,  that  we  know  not  what  the  Condition  of
"  fuch  Men  is  in  the  other  World,  who  lived  in  invin-
"  cible  Ignorance  of  the  true  God,  and  of  our  Saviour
**  Jefus  Chris!  in  this ;  this  wc  confefs  we  do  not  know,
*'  but  believe  fo  well  of  God,  that  we  are  verily  per-
*•'  fuaded,  could  we  fee  what  their  State  will  be  in  an-
""  other  World,  we  fhould  fee  no  Reafon  to  quarrel
"  with  God,  only  becaufe  we  know  not  how  he  deals
*'  with  the  Ignorant  Heathens  in  the  other  World  •,  if
"  we  knew  how  God  dealt  with  thefe  Men,  and  knew
*'  that  he  dealt  hardly  by  them,  as  far  as  we  could
"  judge,  this  would  be  a  Difficulty  ;  but  what  Diffi-
"  culty  is  there  in  knowing  nothing  of  the  Marter  ?
"  For  if  vye  know  nothing  of  it,  we  can  judge  nothing
"  of  it.  Now  feeing  we  cannot  look  into  the  World
"  fo  come,  and  cannot  otherwife  know  any  thing  of
'-'•  the  future  State  of  l^nov'^nt  Heathens  but  by  Rsve-
*;*  ktion,  that  Scripture  which  contain  el  h  all  our  Reve-
*•'  ktions,  faying  nothing  of  it ;  it  follows  tlut  we  can
*'  judge  .nothing  of  it  certainly.
