Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1801-1806, 1803-04-09

A LETTER TO THOMAS PAINE.


SI,
TN the Aurora of the I q ina. appeared let
i ter addreiIed to you by the pious and vene.
table patriot SAMUEL ADAMs.-Your anfSer,
which the fame paper preieuIed TO the public,
merited in my opinion, reply. For that reply
have tiil this time. wai,ed 10 vain. there
fore, take the liberty of uaufmit,irg to you. by
the fame public conveyance, a few thought, Oh
rhe nsoh prominent parts of yoar letter. This
liberty l am perioaded you win indulge in one
who wi.h pleafure, and with gratitude 10 the au-
thor, of,en reviews the inirinhc merit AID me
morable effects of yout writiags in favor of the
Independence Of the United States.
=. The books, you fay. that compois the
New Teaanent wete voted by yeas and nays.
60 be the xord Of God, as we nov vote Law,
by the popiih councils OF Nice and Lacdicea
about i4s year, ago. This vote may appear
authority enough to fome and NOT authority
enoogh 10 Others. IL is proper. However, ana,
every BODY IN 1uld know the fatt." You slfo
affirm tha, " Biihop Walton acknowledged thin
kei."
This. Sir, is IN extraordinary paragraph.
Bot the mild and forbesring fpirit Of the gofpel
snd the example Of its beoevolent suthor forbid
me to ufs the language, here. which to many, il
may feem TO merit. Far am | from charging
you with he bsfe crime o: intentioas! fslfehood.
ihaIi not af,ribe TO you. an ignorance OF &C.
cieGaRical hihory which would ne reproachtui
20 fchool boy proictiing to have read it. |
halI impute to insdvesteoee, o pIecipitaoce, or
70 nc ,ef, culpable caaf- aatement in this para
graph, which is abolu,ely fslie. The idea
which you mean 10 convey and impreis is l'o
your own words extracted from the Age OF Res-
fonl that {" there was 90 fpch book as the New
Teaaa,ept till more than 600 yesn after the
time thar Chria is faid to have. lived :" Or that
the origin Of thar book was nor believed to be
disioe before the council Of Nice OF Laodicea.
You we'll know. S,r. hat clsmsnes, lgnaiisls,
and Polycarp were cotmporary with the aponles
,heu,!eives. You well know that Juain, Iren-
eus, Thcophius, Mclito and Teriulianlived in
the fecsnd century i'm ned,A.ely fucceeding ,hole
who were the companions of the apofles. You
are not ignonn, that julius Africsnus, Ammo
Mus, Osigca, and Diony hus Of Alexandria liv-
ed and wrote before the year 900. And II,
when writing to Mr.. Adam,. you had called up
your h,Roricai kno ~ledge you would have been
perfectly convinced that by the writings of thsie
difinsuihed men collectively tsken, the fol-
Lowing proportions arc proved to be true /,
viz. from the tine Of the spotIes the bohks
which compoic the New -Tettameat, were q not
ell and alluded 20 with pecusiaf refpea ss b'ckss
iacred, divine aad iafailibie. They were col
leeted into dihintt volume publicly read and
expoundcd in religions aGembies commenta
Yies on then written and formal cataiogcss Of
them publifhed long before the cooneil'of Nice
or Lajdicea. In the year I7s Iclito expressly
diainyaiihes the Old rcfanens from the New.
Abour 70 years later this volume is, by ToTrui-
Ian, called {" the New Teasaent." And yet
unfortunately for you, through your real for In
E1cli,y ybs have 10 the Age Of Reafon, a6f,,ea,
sad in your letter TO Mr.. Adams, m,fsxstel
ths, no fuch book IS the New. TeRament EXIT.
ed till more than 600 years after the time Of
ChiH. Thefe propositions ~i,hous any hs9
tired, affirm to be true. Andit 10 proper that
every body fhould know the fstt.'
Bifhop Walton, you obfsrve, hss scknow-
ledgcd the truth of your afIsrtion. Permit me,
Sir. without impesching your verAcity, 20 cor
re1 ypss mifconccpsion of ,he meaning Of that
eminensly learned and pisss pfelsie, ~hele csc-'
dor 10 controveffy, is 4 m,A smixblc pattern to
inidels and to chriaians Hetells you that ~
boSks or patts compofe the New. TcRamens
That Rejecting fevcn land thoie the fhotiea) of
thofe psrs fone doubts wsre az fra entertain
ed and that the qseaicn concerning thefe
m;fbf be decided, IS all qdeaioos concerning
opinions msd be, by vote. But he tdh you
further land gives you authority for what he
fsys) that |" the other twenty pzrn were own
ed a. canoaicaI at all fipes. and BY all ehrik
tiaos" "I hold it," faith he, "to be GER
tain faA thar all the books of which the Ne~-
TeAament 10 comufed, were rryhss. aud mcA
Of them ,ee,ivsI by all chrieiaus, within a ie~
yelrs after bis DEATH" Is this what you call an
acknowledgment, that the books which ccm?ofc
the New Teasmcns, ~ete voted by yeas and
nay, to be the wore of God sbustItSe years
agos adm ~
And What IL your aE:'tion were literally
true What IL. no, only ievcu bot all the books
which csmpofe the New Teasacnt had been
ssto,liy declared, by vote Of TIE c,uncl Of
Laodicsa, to be tho word Of God! Would TINS