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A Series of Letters in Defence of Divine Revelation by Hosea Ballou
page 30 of 342 (08%)
see the impropriety of such argument.--But:

3d. Allowing the resurrection of Jesus, the truth of divine
revelation, the honesty of the apostles of Jesus, are we to rely on
what they say respecting a future state? Answer, yes, most assuredly.
For here let reason ask, whether a divine revelation founded on the
resurrection of Jesus could have a more reasonable object, than the
bringing to light, life and immortality? Again let reason ask whether
the divine Being would endow Jesus and his apostles with the gift of
miracles, by which the divinity of their missions was proved to the
understanding of all who believed, and then suffer them to teach
things of a moral, a religious, or of an eternal nature which were not
true? By so doing, it would seem that God gave power to heal the sick
and to raise the dead for no other purpose than to gain the attention
of men to what was the mere guess work of men subject to error in the
things which they pretended to teach.

For myself I am perfectly satisfied that infinite goodness would never
do any thing so imperfectly. I am satisfied, being convinced of the
truth of the facts which you acknowledge, that the testimony of Jesus
and his apostles respecting this and the coming world, may be relied
on with the utmost confidence and safety. You intimate that Jesus said
but a little on the subject of a future state. I am entirely of your
opinion. And yet I am persuaded that he and his apostles have said as
much on the subject as is necessary for us to believe. They have given
sufficient proof that the design of our Creator is a design of eternal
goodness to our race of being. Jesus has brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel. The Christian is enabled to hope for
existence with God in an eternal state, and this is as much as our
present welfare requires. I have no doubt that many passages of
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