Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: TO THE READEfe. SOME few suggestions respecting the following Controversy are thought necessary in order to inform the reader how it was first introduced, the motives which led to it, and those which induced to its being published to the world'. We learn from the Rev. Mr. Kneeland, that having at different times been exercised in his mind with serious doubts respecting the authenticity of the Scriptures, and the system of Divine Revelation, recorded-ln- them, he was induced to solicit a correspondence with the Rev. Mr. Baixou on the subject. That, in order to render the controversy the more interesting, by calling into action the energies of mind, and by directing the correspondence to definite purposes, he assumed the character of a real opponent, determining to maintain the opposition, in all its forms, until reduced, by necessity, to yield to successful arguments directed against it. It was with great reluctance that the advocate for the christian religion, in this controversy, consented to undertake a work of this nature ; not, however, because he esteemed it unnecessary, or because he entertained any doubts with regard to the defensibility of revelation, but, as he contends, on account of the want of abilities and means to do the subject justice. His opponent, however, being a familiar acquaintance and friend, as well as a preacher in the same profession of faith with himself, having led him to believe that a labour of this kind was called for by the most sacred obligations of brother to brother, he was induced to render what assistance was in his power, without infringing too much on other important duties in which be was almost constantly engaged. When the controversy closed, Mr. Kneeland felt such an entire satisfaction in his own mind, that the objections which h...