I am not Divine good enough to refolve what Spirit Ibid. p.69. that was which prov'd fo catching among the ancient Prophets, that even the prophane Saul was taken by it. A brief,but clear Confu- Ibid. p. II. Ibid. p.14. Ibid. p. 14. The Divinity attributed to the Son and Holy Ghoft, is unfcriptural and Idolatrous. This one Fundamental falfe Principle, as well with Jews and Turks, as Heathens, has done more Mischief to Christianity than all our other Errors befides. For my part, I declare, I shall never more admire at the Abfurdity either of Papifts, Turks, or Heathens; be they as grofs as they will, I am fure they will never be able to exceed this Do&trine. To be fhort, Trinitarianifm is Polytheism, and Idolatry; if there be any fuch thing in Nature. Rev. 17. 5. And upon her Forehead was a Name written, Mystery, Babylon the great, the Mother of Harlots, and the Abominations of the Earth. And to what, I pray, in Popery can that Word Myftery there fo properly relate as to the Trinity? Brief Notes on the Creed of Athanafius. p. 7. Ibid. p. 7. A Belief in thefe Points [The Trinity and Incarnation] is in no degree Neceflary, much less necessary before all things. And now I appeal to all Men that have any Freedom of Judgment remaining; Whether this Creed is fit to be retain'd in any Chriftian, much less Proteftant, and Reform'd Church? Since it subverts the Foundation, not only of Chriftianity, but of all Religion, that is to fay, Reafon and Revelation. Many Doctrines are made neceffary An Account of the Growth to Salvation, which 'tis impoffible to of Deism, p. 17. Believe, becaufe They are in their Nature Abfurdities. To what end could an Unintelligible Do&trine be Reveal'd, not to Inftruct, but to Puzzle and Amuse? One of my Old Acquaintance always thought the Moral part of the Bible very good, but then He also thought that by the Strength of his own Reafon, he could have written as good a Moral himself. If You look over the State of Religion, as it standeth in Christendom, there is no Church whatsoever which will accept You as a Member of its Communion, but upon fome particular Terms of Belief, or Practice, which Chrift never appointed, and it may be fuch as an honeft and wife Chriftian cannot confent to. It looks like a Trick in All Churches to take away the 1. Ufe of Mens Reason, that they may render us Vaffals and Slaves to all their Dictates and Commands. But what greater Slavery than to force on Men a Belief of fuch things as are neceflary toSalvation, of which 'tis not poffible to form any Idea? Tho' I am fatisfy'd there is no fuch Thing as a Change of Bread into the Flesh of Chrift, yet I can form an Idea that fuch a thing may be; but I can frame to my felf no Idea of what your Church teacheth in the Sacrament, That the Body and Blood of Chrift are verily and indeed taken and receiv'd of the Faithful: And when I ask how can this be understood by a Proteftant, who believeth that there is no other Body but that of Bread? I am told that the Church means it in a Spiritual Senfe. Now I have try'd, and find it impoffible for Me to form to my self an Idea of a Body verily and indeed in a Spiritual Senfe. Your Church will require Me to believe other Ab. Ib. p. 25. furdities as bad as thefe; as that Kings and Bishops have a Divine Right to that Power which they exercise over Us; whereas with my own Eyes, I faw Our Great and Gracious King accept the Crown of England as the Gift of the People. And I fee as plainly that Bifhops are an Order of Men of their Own (not of Chrift's) making. I can find no Footfteps of any Jurifdi&tion given to lb. p. 26. the Twelve [ Apoftles I over the Seventy [ Difciples ] or indeed over any body elfe. Speaking of the Rules prefered by God himself for Sacri- The Author fices in the Old Teftament, ftiles them, "Strange and puz- of the Hiling Methods of Religious Ceremonies and Myfte- ftory of Rem ries, good for nothing but to confound and distract ligion. p. "the Minds of Men. 310. And his Definition of Creeds (of all Creeds, without b. p. 312. excepting even that call'd the Apoftles) is, That they are in very Deed, the Spiritual Revenges of Diffenting Parties one upon another.. God told Adam, that if He did eat He fhould die; Afgil's the Devil told Eve, that they might eat and not die, Argument. And these were the first Words fpoken to Man by God p. 36. or the Devil; upon the Truth or Falfhood whereof, the very Beings of them both were to depend for ever: for which ever of them could maintain the Truth of his Word against the Other, He muft have been God, and the other the Devil. And therefore God having turn'd the Lye upon the Devil, He is from thence call'd a Liar from the Beginning, and the Father of it, and will never be believ'd again for ever. God could not have difpens'd with his Word, without complementing the Devil with his Godhead. L1 What m What is it that You do, or would believe of Chrift, Ibid. p. 82. or in Chrift? Anfw. Why, We believe him for our Saviour. Save you! from what? Why, from our Sins. Why, what hurt will Sin do you? Why, it will Kill Ibid p. 97. Ibid. p. 98. us. How do you know? Why, the Law of God faith fo. In the Day thou eateft thereof thou shalt Die. Why, but then will not this Saviour fave You from this Law, and from this Death? No, he'll fave us from Sin. Why, then it seems You have got a Pardon for Horfe-ftealing, with a Non-Obftante to be Hang'd. Do but fee now what Jeft You have made of Your Faith. And yet I defy the Order of Priesthood to form a better Creed than this, without admitting the Truth of my Argument, that this long Poffeffion of Death over Man is a Poffeffion against Right. Behold ye Defifers and Wonder! Wonder at what? Wonder to fee Paradife loft with the Tree of Life in the midft of it! Wonder and Curfe at Adam for an Ori ginal Fact, who in the length of one Day never fo much as thought to put forth his Hand for him, and us, and pull and Eat, and Live for ever. Wonder at, and Damn your felves for Fools of the laft Impreffion, that in the space of 1700 Years, never fo much as thought to put forth Our Hands every one for himself, and Seal and Execute the Covenant of Eternal Life, and Live for ever. To be even with the World at once, He that wonders at my Faith, I wonder at his Unbelief. And ftare at Me as long as You will, I am fure that neither my Phyficians, Sins, nor Misfortunes, can make Me fo unlikely to be Tranflated, as my Redeemer was to be Hang'd. Mr. Clendon's Treatife Ded. p. 9. Ibid. p. 42. I do think the Queen's Majefty with refpe&t to her Three Kingdoms, to be a moft appofite Emblem of the Perfonal Triplicity in the Divine Unity. She is in each refpect a Particular Perfon, and yet in every refpe&t, fhe is One and the fame particular Royal Effence. The Doubt is what is meant by Thofe Words [of St. Peter] the Son of God. Many would have it imply the Divine Nature in him, but that will appear to be a great Miftake, and could never be intended. When St. John came to end his Days at Ephefus, he found the Church there in great Disturbance notwithstanding all Paul had done, and Plato's was preffing hard to be taken in for the Second Perfon in the Scripture Trinity, the Son of God. The Good Evangelift was not skill'd in their Philosophy, and fo was not a Match for them. The The Father, the Son, or aó, as you call him. St. John fhould on the fudden, in the very fame Chap- Ibid. p. 44. ter of his Epiftle, Chime in with a Doctrine fo Incon- Ibid. p. 45. fiftent with his Own, as this of the ois. When St. John came home to Ephefus He doubtlefs Ibid. p. 46 found their angry Divifions not Leffen'd but Improv'd. Philofophy had at that time fet up bare-fac'd against Revelation, and the 6 ftood fair for the Divine Filiation. For a Man to be the Son of God was Inphilofophic and Nonfenfe, like muft beget its like, and the Son of God must be God, as he is the Son of God. But this New Sonfhip that Philofophy would thus introduce, had fo ftartled the Afiatic Brethren, because of the Neceffary ill Confequence which muft be, viz. Another God, that they apply'd to St. John (being the furviving Apoftle, and the Difciple of Our Saviour's Bofom) that He would interpofe with his Authority, and write-fomewhat to fettle the Difputes among them. He, Good Man, notwithstanding his Great Age, for. the Peace of the Church, undertakes to Write; and feems to begin his Gofpel, where He left off in his Epiftle, purfuing his Argumentation against the particular Divinity of the a. The Gofpel of the Twelve Apoftles, and other Ibid. p. Writings of thofe Holy Men, were moft of them either rejected as fpurious, or Supprefs'd, or otherwife Apocryphated. And thofe few only were allow'd of as Canonical, which were of fuch Notoriety, that they could not be conceal'd, and which remain to Us at this Day. This was one Neceffary Piece of Artifice they [i. e. the Primitive Chriftians] us'd. God himself, nor any of his Attributes are Myste- Chriftianries to us for want of an adequate Idea: no not Eternity. ty not Myfterious. p. 20. As far as any Church allows of Myfteries, fo far it is Anti-Chriftian, and may with a great deal of Justice, p. 107. though little Honour, claim Kindred with the Scarlet Whore. For to fpeak freely, Contradiction and Mystery are p. 134. but two emphatick ways of faying nothing. Contradiction expreffes nothing by a couple of Ideas that deftroy one another, and Myftery expreffes nothing by Words that have no Ideas at all. It will not be amifs to lay down a fhort Parallel of p. 156. the ancient Heathen and new-coin'd Chriftian Myfteries, And I fhall endeavour fo to do it as to make it evident they were one in Nature, however different in their Subjects. When the Scriptures fpeak of one God, they mean thereby one Supreme God the Father only. The Sermor and Elless ཀ The Moderns call'd thefe Three Divine Persons but of Mr.Whi- one God, and fo introduced at leaft a new, and unfcripfion.p.213. tural, and inaccurate, if not a false way of speaking in P. 215. p. 412. The unrea the Church. Errata. Page 123. Line 23, 24. To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghoft, read in the Holy Ghost, and Dele Three Perfons and One God. But what Creeds and Articles of Faith can be profonableness duc'd that are not doubtful and difputable? That of making which goes under the Name of the Apostles not exor impofing cepted. It being neither of undoubted Authority, nor Creeds. p. indifputable, or unambiguous Senfe in fome Articles 14, 15. thereof; tho' it be generally receiv'd by Christians as Prieftcraft venerable for its Antiquity, and profefs'd, or rather in perfecti- faid by all, even those who understand not what they on. p. 9. fay when they recite it. The moft abfurd, and blafphemous Doctrine of Pasfive-Obedience. An Account of the Growth of Deifm, p. 25. If thofe Writings which they (the Clergy) call Holy Scriptures are of their fide, gy) call Holy Scriptures are of their fide, I make no doubt but they are of their own inventing. And if Jefus Chrift their Patron laid the Foundation of thofe Powers which both Papift and Proteftant Clergy claim to themfelves, I think the Old Romans did him right in punishing him with the Death of a Slave. The Church and Clergy abus’d. Rights of the Chriftian Church, p. 108. Ib. p. 47. Among Chriftians one no more than another can be reckon'd a Prieft. And the Clerk has as good a Title to the Priesthood as the Parfon. Not only an independent Power of Excommunication, but of Ordination in the Clergy is inconfiftent with the Magiftrate's Right to protect the Commonwealth. The Scriptures no where make the receiving the 1b. p. 104 Lord's Supper from a Prieft neceffary; nay, not one Inftance of the Laity's receiving it fo can be produc'd from thence. Ib. p. 237. I. p. 240. It can belong only to the People to appoint their own Ecclefiaftical Officers. 'Tis an inherent, fundamental Right of all Communities. None pretend to impose a Conductor or Director on another in Temporal Affairs, but every one is left to manage 'em as he thinks beft for his own Intereft, as being prefum'd to understand it better than another; and therefore is to chufe his own Lawyer, Physician, Brewer, |