Popery condemned by scripture and the fathers - End Time Deception

scranuRE and the fathers. 211
*•
principle is not true, and therefore their con-
" elusion must be false *."
It must doubtless displease the R. exceedingly
to learn, that the scriptures are not in such
a mutilated state as he imagined. Should he,
however, still
retain his opinion, and write again
upon this subject, let him specify one lost book
which was divinely inspired, and ever admitted
into the canon of scripture ; that he may show
something else than mere vague assertion, in
opposition to the united testimony of learned
Protestants and Papists.
As a farther proof of the insufficiency of
scripture, he attempts to insinuate, that what
remains is in many places so corrupted, as to
render the original meaning totally uncertain f.
Various readings, it is true, have crept into the
inspired writings through the mistakes of transcribers
; but both Protestants and Papists, who
have spent the greatest part
of their lives in examining
and comparing the numerous manuscripts
which remain, have drawn a very different
conclusion from the R. Their extensive
researches have always terminated in a declaration,
that they never found any change which
could affect either the faith or practice of the
Christian. Let him show, from the writings of
the Fathers, that the scriptures ever exhibited
other doctrines of religion than at present ;
I 4
and
then,
* Hist. Crir. de vieux Test. p. i. c. iS. f P. 66.