is a real element of truth in the former to
which the latter has not done justice; that Bentley presses Collins's
arguments beyond their logical conclusion; that Collins is not what
Bentley would have him to be--a mere Materialist--an Atheist in
disguise; that Bentley's insinuation, that looseness of living is the
cause of his looseness of belief, is ungenerous, and requires proof
which Bentley has not given: that the bitter abuse which he heaps upon
his adversary as 'a wretched gleaner of weeds,' 'a pert teacher of his
betters,' 'an unsociable animal,' 'an obstinate and intractable wretch,'
and much more to the same effect, is unworthy of a Christian clergyman,
and calculated to damage rather than do service to the cause which he
has at heart.

Collins himself was not put to silence. Besides other writings of minor
importance, he published in 1724 the most weighty of all his works, a
'Discourse on the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion.' The
object of this book is to show that Christianity is entirely founded on
the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies, and then to prove that
these prophecies were fulfilled not in a literal, but only in a typical
or secondary sense. Novelty, he argues, is a weighty reproach against
any religious institution; the truth of Christianity must depend upon
the old dispensation; it is founded on Judaism. Jesus makes claim to
obedience only so far as He is the Messias of the Old Testament; the
fundamental article of Christianity is that Jesus of Nazareth is the
Jewish Messiah, and this can only be known out of the Old Testament. In
fact, the Old Testament is the _only_ canon of Christians; for the New
Testament is not a law book for the ruling of the Church. The Apostles
rest their proof of Christianity only on the Old Testament. If this
proof is valid, Christianity is strong and built upon its true grounds;
if weak, Christianity is false. For no miracles, no authority of the New
Testament can prove its truth; miracles can only be a proof so far as
they are comprehended in and exactly consonant with the prophecies
concerning the Messias. It is only in this sense that Jesus appeals to
His miracles. Christianity, in a word, is simply the allegorical sense
of the Old Testament, and therefore may be rightly called 'Mystical
Judaism.'

As all this bore the appearance of explaining away Christianity
altogether, or at least of making it rest upon the most shadowy and
unsubstantial