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and after the time of the crucifixion of Jesus the Jews were dreadfully
oppressed by the Romans, and were designedly driven to desperation, by
Florus with the express purpose of exciting a rebellion, and thus
prevent their accusing him of his crimes before the tribunal of Caesar.
Was it at all unnatural therefore for the Jews thus oppressed, and
reading in their sacred books, that they should be delivered from their
oppressors by the appearance of their great deliverer when their
sufferings were at the heighth; was it extraordinary that the Jews,
writhing under the lash of tyrannical conquerors, and considering their
then circumstances, to expect this deliverer at that time? And to
conclude, does it, after all, appear that this rumour prevailed in the
life time of Jesus, or not till about thirty years after his
crucifixion?

You add, "now this is a remarkable circumstance which distinguishes
Jesus from the founders of all other religions." This was no doubt a
slip of the memory, as so learned a man as Mr. Channing, no doubt knows
that the Mahometans, who are the most numerous sect of religionists now
in the world, affirm, that there was a very general expectation of
their victorious prophet Mahomet, about the time of his birth grounded
on tradition, and, as they say, originally on very many texts of the
Old Testament, which texts, with divers more from the New Testament,
are urged by the Mahometan Divines as to the same purpose: these texts,
and their irrelevancy are collected and shown by Father Maracci in his
first Dissertation prefixed to his edition of the Koran, printed at
Padua 1698. Collins, in his answer to the Bishop of Litchfield, and
Coventry, states this fact, and refers to "Addison's first state of
Mahometanism" p. 35. "Life of Mahomet" before four treatises concerning
the doctrine of the Mahometans, p. 9. Maracci's Appendix ad Prodromum
primum.p. 36-46.

In p. 18, you say, that the prophecies with regard to the Messiah,
"describe a deliverer of the human race very similar to say the least
to the character in which Jesus appeared." I must confess that after
reading again the prophecies collected in the third chapter of "The
Grounds of Christianity examined" this similarity still remains
invisible to me. I hope you will not be offended at my avowing that you
appear to me to be sensible of the difficulty of this affair of the
Messiahship, for you content yourself with adducing that characteristic
o