I am fenfible indeed that Conformity to the reformed Church of England has been, and is refused from

1756. Art. 50. pag. 398.) The laft Article of the Monthly Catalogue for April 1756, is, Reformation in Religion to a degenerate People, the great Means of national Profperity. Containing Motives for repealing the Teft, &c. and for reftoring the whole Chriftian Inftitution to it's PRISTINE PURITY. Unto which is added, A Friendly Epiftle to the Bishops and Minifters, &c. for plain Truth and found Peace with Protefiant Diffenters; and uniting them to her (the Church) in one Chriflian Communion.Upon which Occafion thefe Gentlemen thus express themselves." What the Author pleads for in "this Tract, is a general Reformation in Religion. What he "advances, however, principally relates to the two positive "Ordinances which Chrift appointed to be observed in his "Church; because the freeing of them from the Corruptions "and Abuses which have been introduced amongst us, he "thinks, would tend to compofe the most material of our religious Difputes, &c. upon the true Scripture Foundation. "In regard to the Lord's Supper, he looks upon the Test-Act, " and indeed with great Juftice, as a fcandalous Proftitu ❝tion of it, and urges briefly, what has often been repeated "upon this Head. As to the other Ordinance of Chrift's Ap

pointment, he advances fome Things against Infant"Baptism, and tells us, that the antient Practice of baptizing "adult Persons, muft neceffarily be a much greater Security "than Infant-fprinkling against Temptations, &c. As to the "friendly Epiftle, (first published in 1680) it is reprinted, "our Author fays, with a view to excite fome learned Prelate, "or other able Hand, to propose fomething more effectual for reforming the Errors of our established Church, if what is therein "mentioned as a Foundation for the general Union, &c. of "all Proteftants, &c. fhould not be thought in every respect fo "fuitable to the prefent State of Things, and the Circumftances of our Clergy, as might be defired."-Dr. Burton's De Fundamentalibus

P 2

from Motives profeffedly confcientious; that the Form of her Government, the Ufefulness of her Liturgy,

66

damentalibus Differtatio Theologica has given our Reviewers an Occafion to oblige the World with their Opinion upon this Subject: a Subject, which they think " may be difcuffed in a "The fundamental Doctrines of very narrow Compass." "Chriftianity, it should feem, can be no other than what are "exprefly required to be believed, in order to our obtaining "the Chriftian Salvation. Now of this kind we find nothing "in the whole New Testament but that single Article, that

as

Jefus is the Chrift, the Son of God. Whosoever shall confefs "that Jefus is the Son of God, fays the Apoftle John, God "dwelleth in him, and he in God. So that every one that affents "to this fundamental Truth, and fincerely endeavours to un"derstand the Revelation, and act according to it, must be a "true Chriftian, and entitled to all the Privileges of Chriftian "Communion. Thus though the Athanafian Doctrine of the "Trinity, according to our Author's Notion of Fundamentals, "may have a Place in the Catalogue, &c. as the primary "fundamental Doctrine, &c. yet this is a Doctrine which has ર little Pretence to be accounted a fundamental one, as any "Abfurdity that was ever formed in an ecclefiaftical Brain." (See Monthly Cat. for October 1756. p. 430.)-Mr. Strong's Obfervations on feveral important Points of Faith and Practice in the Church of England, &c. (See Art. 23. in Review for March 1756) are introduced to the Public in the following Manner. "In this Piece Mr. Strong gives us his Thoughts on a great "Variety of Subjects, with very little Order or Method. "His Manner of writing, however, though not the most "entertaining, may serve to divert the Reader; for though "his Stile is far from being either correct or elegant, yet a "certain Species of Drollery runs through the whole of his "Performance, which is not always difagreeable.-His great "Aim seems to be to expose the Abfurdities of the Athanafian "Creed, and to point out the bad Effects of established Arti

"cles

Liturgy, the Fitness of her Rites and Ceremonies, and the Propriety of her Ufages and Constitutions have

"cles of Faith, Creeds, &c. Many of his Reflections are very "just, and to the Point; they are often strangely introduced "indeed, and huddled together: but notwithstanding this, "his Peculiarities of thinking, &c. engage the Reader's At"tention, &c.—We shall not attempt to give a regular Ab"ftract, &c. but content ourselves with laying before our "Readers a few short Extracts, by which they will be enabled "to form fome Idea of the Work.-Our Author thinks it "highly probable, that the Athanafian Doctrine of the Trinity "is the Scarlet-coloured Beaft, full of Names of Blafphemies, "whereon the Woman fitteth mentioned in the Revelation.” The Reviewers hereupon transcribe certain Paffages from their Author's Interpretation of this myfterious Book, in which (but that we have these Gentlemens Word for it, he is in earneft) I should think Mr. Strong is happily exerting his Talent for Drollery in Imitation of the Manner of that truly humourous Pamphlet, entitled, A PROPER EXPLANATION OF THE OXFORD ALMANACK for the Year 1755. And I believe my Reader, when he has perused the Specimen produced in the Review, will be of the fame Opinion. That be however as it will, Mr. Strong favours the World with an Account of the established Clergy in Language, for the most part, plain and explicit enough. The following Paragraph is quoted by our Authors as an Inftance of the Manner in which he "treats the "Clergy," on whom, they tell us, "he makes feveral pretty. "fevere Reflections in the Course of his Performance. "He that will neither be reconciled to Bufinefs nor hard Labour, "may chufe (if he be able) for the Eafe of his Son, to qualify him

for a CLERGYMAN: whereby the Parent may be faid to invert "the Order of Nature, by turning an ACTIVE ANIMAL into a

Vegetable; for the young lively Plant is nourished and fupported "by it's indulgent Parents, till it takes a fufficient Root in the Col"lege or Parish; and then, like other Vegetables, fucks a Part of " all

P 3

have been called in question by many, who after all differ almost as much from one another as they do

"all the circumjacent Juices. And as one Plant never thrives un❝ der another of the same kind, so a CURATE can but just live "under the RECTOR; *****.-(The immediately following Sentences, if I understand them, are, to fay no worse, too coarfe and indelicate to be inferted in a Volume of Divinity.)—" The WHOLE CARE of every Parish, PARTICULARLY

in what relates to FAITH, MORALS, and DECENCY, is de❝volved upon the Parish Officers; by virtue of a particular Charge « in Form, delivered to them yearly, &c. &c. Now, if Truth "may be allowed to take Place of Good-manners, this is to BIND "HEAVY BURDENS, AND GRIEVOUS TO BE BORN, AND "LAY THEM ON MENS SHOULDERS, BUT THEY THEM

SELVES WILL NOT MOVE THEM WITH ONE OF THEIR

"FINGERS. Only thus far it differs from our blessed Saviour's "Charge, that under the present Establishment, the Church"wardens pay both for the Burden, and the binding it on; which " is an Impofition not charged on the Pharifees of ald. The superior Clergy thus freed, a Reftor, or even a Bishop, may either refide, "or remove to any Place, where his Fancy or Genius leads him; only with this Refraint, that, like other exotic Plants, he is al“ways to be POTTED UP, in the Gravity of a Gown-MAN.”I will only now beg my Reader's patient Attention to what our Reviewers have remarked upon Farmer Fothergill's MoDEST Enquiry, how far the Thirty-nine Articles, &c. and the Creed afcribed to St. Athanafius, are confiftent with, and fupported by each other; and how far they are also confiftent with the Declarations of Jefus Chrift, and the Doctrine of his Apostles. "From the Opinion we had conceived (fay thefe Gentlemen). "of this honest Farmer, on the Perufal of his Free Thoughts, &c. "we were not a little defirous of seeing this his second Pro«duction, &c. and in Juftice to him, we must acknow«ledge, that it has fully answered our Expectation; he has

in this, as well as in his former Piece, given ftrong Proofs

<< of

do from us. The Objections that have been raised upon all and every of thefe Heads, have been often

"of a clear Head and a good Heart, and fhewn an honest Ab"horrence of every Species of Tyranny, both civil and eccle"fiaftical. The Obfervations he makes upon the Athanafian "Creed are pertinent and fenfible; he points out the Abfur"dities and Contradictions of it with great Clearness, and in "fuch a Manner that, we will venture to fay, it's foundest Ad"vocates cannot defend it against him, to the Satisfaction of "the candid and impartial Enquirer. It is indeed astonishing "that in a Land of fo much Knowledge and Learning, this

66

Creed, fo big with Abfurdities, fhould be retained in our "eftablished Church. Is it to be conceived that all our Clergy, ' or, indeed, that any confiderable Part of them, believe the "Doctrines contained in this Creed? To fuppofe it, would "be entertaining an Opinion highly injurious to their Underftandings. What, then, muft we think of their Supineness, "or Acquiefcence, with regard to this Matter?-But let us "hear what this fenfible Peafant fays. The Continuance, fays he, "of SUCH Doctrines in the Church, must convince the Enemies of "Revelation, that Chriftians cannot poffibly be fincere, fince they pretend to believe what is altogether incredible; and embrace as myfterious Articles of Faith fuch abfurd and contradictory Propafitions as thefe, that the Son is co-eternal with the Father, &c. 66 yet that he was begotten by the Father, &c. &c. &c.-It is ob"vious indeed, to the moft fuperficial Obfervation, that the "Continuance of fuch Doctrines in our Church, and of a "Worfhip founded upon them, is attended with the moft "pernicious Confequences; nay, with your Leave, Mr. "Romaine, we will venture to affirm, that it is much more "prejudicial to the Intereft of Religion, than the united "Efforts of Scepticism and Infidelity; which, at the same time, "it tends more to promote, than any other Caufe, perhaps, "that can poffibly be affigned.-But to return to our Author: "Mr. Fothergill fhews, by a Variety of Texts of Scripture,