immediately into mortal bodies, so soon as the foetus is

     formed. To accomplish the barbarous, partial decree of

     predestination and reprobation, God abandoned all nations to

     darkness, idolatry, and superstition, without any saving

     knowledge or salutary graces; unless it was one particular

     nation, whom he chose as his peculiar people. This chosen

     nation was, however, the most stupid, ungrateful, rebellious

     and persidious of all nations. After God had thus kept the far

     greater part of all the human species, during near 4000 years,

     in a reprobate state, he changed all of a sudden, and took a

     fancy for other nations beside the J/EWS\. Then he sent his

     only begotten Son to the world, under a human form, to appease

     his wrath, satisfy his vindictive justice, and die for the

     pardon of sin. Very few nations, however, have heard of this

     gospel; and all the rest, though left in invincible ignorance,

     are damned without exception, or any possibility of remission.

     The greatest part of those who have heard of it, have changed

     only some speculative notions about God, and some external

     forms in worship: For, in other respects, the bulk of

     Christians have continued as corrupt as the rest of mankind in

     their morals; yea, so much the more perverse and criminal, that

     their lights were greater. Unless it be a very small select

     number, all other Christians, like the pagans, will be for ever

     damned; the great sacrifice offered up for them will become

     void and of no effect; God will take delight for ever, in their

     torments and blasphemies; and though he can, by one 

     change their hearts, yet they will remain for ever unconverted

     and unconvertible, because he will be for ever unappeasable and

     irreconcileable. It is true, that all this makes God odious, a

     hater of souls, rather than a lover of them; a cruel,

     vindictive tyrant, an impotent or a wrathful daemon, rather

     than an all-powerful, beneficent father of spirits: Yet all

     this is a mystery. He has secret reasons for his conduct, that

     are impenetrable; and though he appears unjust and barbarous,

     yet we must believe the contrary, because what is injustice,

     crime, cruelty, and the blackest malice in us, is in him

     justice, mercy, and sovereign goodness." Thus the incredulous

     free-thinkers, the judaizing Christians, and the fatalistic

     doctors have disfigured and dishonoured the sublime mysteries

     of our holy faith; thus they have confounded the nature of good

     and evil; transformed the most monstrous passions into divine

     attributes, and surpassed the pagans in blasphemy, by ascribing

     to the eternal nature, as perfections, what makes the most

     horrid crimes amongst men. The grosser pagans contented

     themselves with divinizing lust, incest, and adultery; but the

     predestinarian doctors have divinized cruelty, wrath, fury,

     vengeance, and all the blackest vices.
See the Chevalier R/AMSAY'S\ <Philosophical principles of natural
and revealed religion>, Part II, p. 401.

     The same author asserts, in other places, that the 
and  schemes serve very little to mend the matter: And
having thus thrown himself out of all received sects of
Christianity, he is obliged to advance a system of his own, which is