Excerpt from A Short and Easy Method With the Deists: Wherein the Certainty of the Christian Religion Is Demonstrated by Infallible Proof; In a Letter to a Friend, to Which Are Added, a Letter From the Author to a Deist, Upon His Conversion by Reading His Book; And the Truth of Christianity Demonstrated

Now, Sir, that which you desire from me is some short topic of reason, if such can be found, whereby without running to authorities, and the intricate mazes of learning, which breed long disputes, and which these men of reason deny by wholesale, though they can give no reason for it, only suppose that authors have been trumped upon us, interpolated and corrupted, so that no stress can be laid upon them, though it cannot be shown wherein they are so cor rupted; which, in reason, ought to lie upon them to prove who allege it; otherwise it is not only a pre carious, but a guilty plea: and the more, that they refrain not to quote books on their side, for whose authority there are no better, or not so good grounds. However, you say, it makes your disputes endless, and they go away with noise and clamour, and a boast that there is nothing, at least nothing certain, to be said on the Christian side. Therefore you are desirous to find some one topic of reason, which should demonstrate the truth of the Christian religion, and, at the same time, distinguish it from the impostures of Mahomet, and the whole Pagan world: that our Deists may be brought to this test, and be obliged either to renounce their reason, and the common reason of mankind, or to submit to the clear proof, from reason, of the Christian religion; which must be such a proof as no imposture can pretend to, otherwise it cannot prove the Christian religion not to be an imposture. And, whether such a proof, one single proof, (to avoid confusion, ) is not to be found out, you desire to know from me.

And you say, that you cannot imagine but there must be such a proof, because every truth is in itself clear, and one and, therefore, that one reason for it, if it be the true reason, must be sufficient; and if sufficient, it is better than many: but multiplicity confounds especially to weak judgments.

Sir, you have imposed a hard task upon me: I wish I could perform it. For though every truth is one, yet our sight is so feeble that we cannot (always) come to it directly, but by many inferences, and laying of things together.

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