ན* to affirm that popery was idolatry. sober judgment of every, rationaf By this means protestants became ex-man, whether catholics can be comclusive possessors of the immunities prehended in this definition of our of the constitution; and by this best dictionary writers of a blasoath they now maintain the sole phemer and idolater. In their pray? possession of civil office and power. ers to the blessed Virgin and the Is there then a man of common angels and saints, not the least irresense and candour who does not verent or impious term can be found feel convinced that this unchristian against the name or majesty of God, declaration originated in interested and they all solemnly and sincerely alice and revenge, and is conti- disclaim any, the least, intention of nued by selfish intolerance and illi- derogating from his honour, when berality? Can it be supposed that they pray before images. How then any man, divested of prejudice, and can they be guilty of a crime which éntértaining a sense of christian they abhor and detest? Mr. Chrisfeeling and benevolence, would pre- tiamus conceives he has made out a sume to call the God of charity to strong case against us, by quoting witness that he solemnly believed an address to the unspotted mother that all I the ancient fathers, those of our Saviour in these words:great luminaries of wisdom and Command thy Son, O happy palearning, that adorned the church of rent! who makest expiation for our Christ in all ages, previous to the wickedness, by thy authority as a rise of protestantism, were supersti- Mother, command thy Son!!"tious and abominable idolaters? From whence this extract is taken I should hope not. Then it is spe- the man of Antioch has not stated, cially required of protestants to re- to enable me to refer to the whole flect and consider on the conse- of the prayer, that I might come to quences which must follow, should a correct conclusion. An unbiassed they find themselves guilty of calling mind, however, will readily perGod to witness that they have borne ceive that the virgin Mother is not false testimony against their neigh supplicated to command her Son in bour, which is a breach of his com- his nature of GOD, but in his chamandments, as well as that of giv-racter of MAN, wherein he sitteth ing supreme honour to any other at the right hand of his Father, as than himself. But is it not blas-mediator between us sinners and the phemy and idolatry to invoke the divine justice. In this sense we pe. assistance of any created being, or tition the holy Mother to use her to pray to the mother of God, or to influence in our behalf, not with au St. Joseph, or to the holy apostles, tocratic authority, but the affecor to our guardian angel, or to tion of a tender parent; and really blessed St. Michael, and to beg of I am at a loss to conceive why we them to succour and defend, com- should not be allowed to storm, if fort and protect, direct and governI may be permitted the expression, us, &c? A blasphemer, according the whole host of heaven with our to Johnson and Walker, is a prayers, without being publicly wretch that speaks of God in im- stigmatized as idolaters by our less pious and irreverent terms;" and an importunate neighbours. In doing idolater, according to the same au- this we only follow the example of thorities, is one who pays divine the whole christian world for fifteen honours to images, one who wor- hundred years, from the birth of ships the creature INSTEAD of the Christ, and of all catholic nations Creator." Now I leave it to the since that period; and it is not a kittle singular, that even Christianus | to think of his own church, for Is presume he is a church of England man, but if not, what are we to think of the bench of bishops, who every session of parliament swear the invocation of saints is idolatrous, yet every year invoke their succour and protection? Upon the feast of St. Michael and all angels, Sept. 29, from the book of common prayer is read the following collect 66 was so sensible of its universality, that I cannot find he has dared to state the precise period when this corruption, as it is called, was first ushered into the church, although he has named the time when he imagines image worship was introduced. Dr. Fulk, in his rejoinder to Dr. Bristow, acknowledges that Sts. Ambrose, Augustin, and Jerom, held the practice to be lawful; and Mr. O everlasting God, who hast or Thorndike (In Epil. part 3, p. 358) | dained and constituted the services writes thus: It is confessed that of angels and men in a wonderful the lights both of the Greek and order, that as thy holy angels always Latin church, St. Bazil, St. Gre-do thee service in heaven, so by thy. gory Nazienzen, St. Gregory Nyssen, St. Ambrose, St. Jerom, St. Augustin, St. Chrysostom, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Cyril of Alexandria, Theodoret, St. Fulgentiue, St. Gre gory the great, St. Leo, and more, rather all after that have spoken to the saints, and desired their assist ance." appointment THEY may SUCCOUR and DEFEND US on EARTII," &c. Here then we have an admission from the church of England herself, that the angels, and consequently the saints who are upon the same parallel, have power, through God, to succour and defend I could also add the senti-us; and what more, was ever adments of this latter writer in favour vanced by the church of Rome on, of the practice of praying to the this subject? How then can that saints; but as Christianus objects practice, be idolatrous in the ope to individual opinion or private in- which is lawful in the other?terpretation, I shall content myself Truly, the reader will exclaim, it with his testimony that it was inva- is high time for our legislature, and riably maintained and practised by especially the bench of bishops, to the lights of both the Greek and weigh well the nature and tendency Latin church. How presumptuous of this disgraceful oath, before they must it be then in English protest consent to the continuation of its ants to set up their modern belief, enactment. for interested purposes, not only against the untainted and unchange. able opinion of the primitive church in all ages, but also in opposition to their own authorized liturgy 1 42 The man of Antioch, among his Although the subject is not exhausted, yet I fear I have exhausted the patience of my readers. There i however, one point more on which I cannot refrain from touching, as it is considered by the man of Antioch a cleacher to his adversary. I mean that book which he says is the only one that is able to make us "wise unto salvation," which he tauntingly recommends to the perusal of the Roman catholic of Preston, and we may conclude, through him, to the rest of his brethren in faith. Now, as catholics have no objection whatever to rest their case on scripture, 3, 4. From these passages it is clear that the angels and saints, who are as angels in heaven, offer up their prayers to the throne of God for us, and are appointed by our Creator to protect and defend us from the temptations by which the devil seeks to entangle us in vice, and work our ruin. In this sense it was always understood by the holy apostles and fathers, and is held by the church of Rome at this day. as interpreted by the fathers of the church, I shall shew from a few passages of that sacred volume, that the practice of invoking saints and angels is not so unscriptural as Christianus represents it. First, then, was the patriarch Jacob guilty of idolatry and blasphemy, when he prayed the angel that delivered him from all evils, to bless the chil dren of Joseph? See Gen. xlviii. 16. Again, the royal prophet David teaches, that whosoever shall put The first who deprecated the inhis trust in God, angels shall defend vocation of saints and the veneration him, and keep him from harm of relics was a priest of Barcelona, "He shall give his angels charge named Vigilantius, about the close of over thee in all thy ways. They the fourth century. His erroneous shall bear thee up in their hands, positions were refuted by that learnlest thou dash thy foot against aed and eminent latin doctor, St. Jestone." Ps. xci. 11, 12: The prorom, who died in 426. Speaking phet Zachary, c. ii. v. 12, records of the honour paid to saints, he the prayer of an angel in behalf of says, "We do not adore the relics of the jews, in these words, “O Lord martyrs, but we honour them, "that of hosts, how long wilt thou not we may adore Him, whose martyrs have mercy on Jerusalem, on the they are. We honour the servants, cities of Juda, with whom thou hast that the respect, which is paid to been angry!" In the twelfth chap- them, may be reflected back upon ter of Tobias, and 12th verse, the the Lord. If the apostles and mar angel Raphael tells that holy man, tyrs, while living upon the earth, can When thou didst pray with tears pray for other men, how much more and bury the dead, and didst leave may they do it after their victories." thy dinner, and hide the dead by The great St. Augustin, who was coday in thy house, and by night bury temporary with St. Jerom, and dis them, I OFFERED THY PRAYER TO allowed by the most celebrated OUR LORD:" Our blessed Saviour writers among protestants to have assured his disciples that "there been "the greatest of all fathers, shall bejoy before the angels of God and the worthiest divine the church upon one sinner that doth penance," of God ever had since the apostles' from whence it is manifest that they time," in one part of his works (L. know our situation here on earth, de ver. vitet 59), says, "When our and take an interest in our spiritual souls contemplate any thing accordwelfare. St. John, in his revelations, ing to God, and ask either in heart says, "he saw an angel that stood or tongue, or voice, any thing to be before an altar, having a golden cen- grauted to them by the saints, the ser and there were given to him souls of the saints, to whom it is all many incenses, that he should give one to hear and to see,, and on the of the prayers of all saints upon the other side beholding, not the voices, altar of gold, which is before the but the words, obtain for them what throne of God. And the smoke of things are desired." And again, the incenses of the prayers of the (L 8 de Civs Deisel 22,) this saints ascended from the hand of the bright luminary of the church exangel before God." Rey, c. viii. v. pressly declares: We erect no ten ples, altars, nor sacrifices to the mar-How do we honour saints and tyrs, because not they, but their God angels ?""With an inferior hois our God; we honour their memo- nour, as the friends and creatures of ries as God's saints, &c. And God, not as gods, nor with God's howhoever heard the priest at the altar nour." Now will the gentleman of Anthat was built in God's honour, and | tioch dare to say that St. Jerom and the martyr's memories, over the mar- St. Augustin were blasphemers and tyrs' bodies, say, I offer unto thee idolaters, because they taught the Peter, or thee Paul, or Cyprian? | same doctrine which English and since he offers their memories to Irish protestants are compelled to God, who made them imen and mar swear they sincerely believe to be 1yrs, and advanced them into the so- idolatrous and superstitious, in or ciety of holy angels in celestial ho- der to qualify themselves for public nour; so at that solemnity we may situations? Will the Antiochian both give thanks to the true God for say that these illustrious doctors al their victories, and be encouraged tered and dispensed with the laws of to endeavour the attainment of such God, as he unblushingly accuses the crowns and lories as they have al- catholic church of doing, because she ready attained, still invoking his help teaches the same doctrine as these piby renewing their memory. Where - ous and fearned doctors did? Really fore all religious performances done the presumption and arrogance of there at the martyrs' solemnities are modern protestantism is unparallel ornantents to their memories, but ho ed; and I would recommend the sacrifices unto the dead, as unto Antioch gentleman, în return for hi gods......Wherefore, we heither advice to catholics or to read the worship our martyrs with God's bible for themselves, and no longer honour, nor offer sacrifice to them. to take their religion upon trust from From the above explications or wirose interest it is to deceive do so. | catholic practice of invoking saints and mislead them," to bear in reand honouring their relics in membrance the liberal and generous fifth age," the reader will discover acknowledgment of that eminent how widely disiaut from truth the protestant theologian, Mr. Thornassertions of Mr Christianus' are, dike, who, in his Just Weights and that the exercise of these religious Measures, says, says, "Let not those who rites was as much reprobated by the charge the pope to be antichrist, and church of Rome as they now are by the papists idolaters, lead the peothe charch of England, when St. Ar-ple by the nose to believe that they gustin visited this country, seeing it can prove their supposition WHEN has always been a custom with her to THEY CANNOT.” “Interest to deHe will further see that these ceive and mislead them!!!God! holy men, in defending the observ-of Heaven, what interest can a poor ance, considered themselves as main Taining the universally received opinion of the christian world, as taught by the apostles of Christ, and practised by the patriarchs and prophets of the old law, against the upstart in novations of a single dogmatizer. And by turning to the catechism now in use among catholics, he will find tholic clergy in this empire are seekthe very self-same principle taughting their own advantage, in the light in this as in that early period.-which Christianus insinuates, when catholic priest in England and Ires land have to deceive and mislead his flock, and teach them to be idola→ ters, when he has only to forsake this superstitious ways, and embrace protestantism, to travel in the road to preferment. If there are any protestants so foolish as to believe the ca their lives are one continued series of privation, prayer, and pain, they belong to that class which Mr. Thorndike observes, are "led by the nose" to believe things, which are capable of proof, and have no foundation whatever but in the groundless insinuations of unprincipled calumniators. What worldly interest could that truly heroic catholic priest have, who, according to the public papers, when called upon to administer the consolations of religion to a family in the last stage of typhus fever in Dublin, stretched himself on the floor of a moist and muddy hovel, to hear the confessions of its misera ble inhabitants, at the risk of his own life, by receiving the poison of their respiration, as they breathed their transgressions into his ear? Can Christianus produce so affecting a statement of disinterested devotion to clerical duties on the part of a protestant clergyman? Yet this Irish priest is one of those divines whom the gentleman of Antioch has been pleased to stigmatize as inter ested in deceiving others! When will protestants learn to be just and can did? In conclusion, this frontless defamer of his neighbours' character asserts, that "no argument can be adduced in favour of the image-worship of popery, which might not, with equal reason, be brought to support that of paganism; with this awful difference, that the idolatry of the latter arose from ignorance, that, of the former from a WILFUL perversion of the truth, unequivocally declared to them in the sacred word of God." The falsehood of this assertion has been already exposed; but what are we to think of its charity and liberality? Catholics are bere accused of being wilful idolaters, and consequently meriting the the eternal torments of hell. What If the man a horrible charge to make against innumerable millions of souls, who have believed in the doctrines of popery during the last eighteen hundred years of the world's existence. of Autioch will turn to that book from which he incorrectly says, "the church of England exclusively derives her faith," he will find it recorded in the 18th chapter of St. Luke, that the prayer of the arro gant and presumptuous pharisee,: who gave thanks to God that he was not like, the publican, an extortioner, unjust, or an adulte er, was rejected with indignation and reproof Let him then, and those who advocate the impious and uncharitable oath in, question, take care, lest, when they place themselves in the presence of their all-wise and inscrutable Judge, to swear that they only are true believers, and that all catholics ar idolaters, they experience the same fate as the proud pharisee. I have swelled this article to too great a length, but the subject was of so interesting a nature that it grew under my hauds. In my next I shall treat on the doctrine of transubstantiation, and I hope to convince my correspondent, A Churchman," if I have not already done it, that the "superstitious" doctrines, as they are called by protestants, which the church of Rome makes use of at this day, were not only known in the tenth century, but have been held in all ages from the foundation of christianity, and consequently that this church is not a new Romish Tridentine church, but the ancient catholic, apostolic church, teaching those truths which St. Paul exhorted us, through the Galatians, to hold fast, although he, or an angel from heaven, should preach to the contrary. WM, EUSEBIUS ANDREWS London, April 23, 1818. .b 9.B.E |