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The Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Addison
The Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Addison Author:Joseph Addison Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SECTION IX. I, The lives of primitive Christians, another means of bringing learned pagans into their religion. II. The change and reformation of their manner... more »s. III. This looked upon as supernatural by the learned pagans; IV. And strengthened the accounts given of our Saviour's life and history. V. The Jewish prophecies of our Saviour, an argument for the heathensr belief: VI. Pursued: VII. Pursued. THERE was one other means enjoyed by the learned pagans of the first three centuries, for satisfying them in the truth of our Saviour's history, which I might have flung under one of the foregoing heads ; but as it is so shining a particular, and does so much honour to our religion, I shall make a distinct article of it, and only consider it with regard to the subject I am upon: I mean the lives and manners of those holy men, who believed in Christ during the first ages of Christianity. I should be thought to advance a paradox, should I affirm that there were more Christians in the world during those times of persecution, than there are at present in these, which we call the flourishing times of Christianity. But this will be found an indisputable truth, if we form our calculation upon the opinions which prevailed in those days, that every one who lives in the habitual practice of any voluntary sin, actually cuts himself off from the benefits and profession of Christianity, and, whatever he may call himself, is in reality no Christian, nor ought to be esteemed as such. II. In the times we are now surveying, the Christian religion showed its full force and efficacyon the minds of men, and by many examples demonstrated what great and generous souls it was capable of producing. It exalted and refined its proselytes to a very high degree of perfection, and set them far- above the ...« less