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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Book of Religions by John Hayward
+
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no
+restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under
+the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or
+online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+
+Title: The Book of Religions
+
+Author: John Hayward
+
+Release Date: October 24, 2009 [Ebook #30323]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOOK OF RELIGIONS***
+
+
+
+
+
+                          The Book of Religions
+
+                              Comprising The
+
+                 Views, Creeds, Sentiments, or Opinions,
+
+                                Of All The
+
+                  Principal Religious Sects In The World
+
+                             Particularly Of
+
+                       All Christian Denominations
+
+                                    In
+
+                            Europe and America
+
+                            To Which Are Added
+
+                     Church and Missionary Statistics
+
+                              Together With
+
+                          Biographical Sketches
+
+                             By John Hayward
+
+                    Author of "New England Gazetteer"
+
+                                 Boston:
+
+                        Albert Colby And Company.
+
+                          20 Washington Street.
+
+                                   1860
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+Preface.
+Index.
+Lutherans, Or, The Evangelical Lutheran Church.
+Calvinists.
+Hopkinsians.
+Arians.
+Socinians.
+Humanitarians.
+Sectarians.
+Church Government.
+Presbyterians.
+Cumberland Presbyterians.
+Episcopalians.
+   Historical Notice Of The Church In The United States.
+   Articles Of Religion.
+Cambridge And Saybrook Platforms.
+Moravians, Or United Brethren.
+Tunkers.
+Mennonites, Or Harmless Christians.
+Disciples Of Christ; Sometimes Called Campbellites, or Reformers.
+Friends, or Quakers.
+Shakers, Or The United Society Of Believers.
+Reformation.
+Reformed Churches.
+   Reformed Dutch Church.
+   Reformed German Church.
+Restorationists.
+Universalists.
+Roman Catholics.
+Bereans.
+Materialists.
+Arminians.
+Methodists, Or The Methodist Episcopal Church.
+Methodists, Or The Methodist Protestant Church.
+Protestants.
+Sabellians.
+Sandemanians.
+Antinomians.
+Pelagians.
+Pre-Adamites.
+Predestinarians.
+Orthodox Creeds.
+Andover Orthodox Creed.
+New Haven Orthodox Creed.
+Swedenborgians, Or, The New Jerusalem Church.
+Fighting Quakers.
+Harmonists.
+Dorrelites.
+Osgoodites.
+Rogerenes.
+Whippers.
+Wilkinsonians.
+Aquarians.
+Baxterians.
+Miller's Views on the Second Coming of Christ.
+Come-Outers.
+Jumpers.
+Baptists.
+Anabaptists.
+Free-Will Baptists.
+Seventh-Day Baptists, Or Sabbatarians,
+Six-Principle Baptists.
+Quaker Baptists, Or Keithians.
+Pedobaptists.
+Anti-Pedobaptists.
+Unitarians.
+Brownists.
+Puritans.
+Bourignonists.
+Jews.
+Indian Religions.
+Deists.
+Atheists.
+Pantheists.
+Mahometans.
+Simonians.
+Pagans.
+Satanians.
+Abelians, or Abelonians.
+Supralapsarians.
+Dancers.
+Epicureans.
+Skeptics.
+Wickliffites.
+Diggers.
+Zuinglians.
+Seekers.
+Wilhelminians.
+Non-Resistants.
+Southcotters.
+Family Of Love.
+Hutchinsonians.
+Mormonites, Or The Church Of The Latter-Day Saints.
+Daleites.
+Emancipators.
+Perfectionists.
+Waldenses.
+Allenites.
+Johnsonians.
+Donatists.
+Se-Baptists.
+Re-Anointers.
+Tao-Se, or Taou-Tsze.
+Quietists.
+Knipperdolings.
+Mendaeans, Mendaites, Mendai Ijahi, Or Disciples Of St. John, That Is, The
+Baptist.
+Muggletonians.
+Yezidees, Or Worshippers Of The Devil.
+Greek or Russian Church.
+Primitive Christians.
+Trinitarians.
+Millenarians.
+Whitefield Calvinistic Methodists.
+Nonjurors.
+Nonconformists.
+Christian Connection.
+Puseyites.
+Free Communion Baptists.
+Transcendentalists.
+Augsburg Confession Of Faith.
+Armenians.
+Primitive Methodists.
+Novatians.
+Nestorians.
+High-Churchmen.
+Ancient American Covenant Or Confession Of Faith.
+Statistics Of Churches.
+   Baptists.
+   Free-Will Baptists.
+   Seventh-Day Baptists.
+   Christian Connection.
+   Calvinistic Congregationalists.
+   Disciples Of Christ.
+   Episcopalians.
+   Friends.
+   Jews.
+   Lutherans.
+   Protestant Methodists.
+   Methodists.
+   Presbyterians.
+   Other Presbyterian Communities.
+   Reformed Dutch Church.
+   Roman Catholics.
+   Swedenborgians.
+   Unitarians.
+   Universalists.
+Missionary Statistics.
+   First Protestant Missions.
+   Moravian Missions.
+   London Missionary Society.
+   American Board Of Foreign Missions.
+   Presbyterian Board Of Foreign Missions.
+   English Baptist Missionary Society.
+   American Baptist Board Of Foreign Missions.
+   Free-Will Baptists.
+   Episcopal Missions.
+   Society For Propagating The Gospel Among The Indians And Others.
+   Wesleyan Or English Methodist Missionary Society.
+   Missions Of The Methodist Episcopal Church.
+   Seventh-Day Baptist Missionary Society.
+   French Protestant Missionary Society.
+   Netherlands Missionary Society.
+   Scottish Missionary Society.
+   German Missionary Society.
+   Church Of Scotland Missions.
+   Rhenish Missionary Society.
+   Missions Of The Roman Catholic Church.
+   Jews' Missionary Society.
+   Indians.
+Biographical Sketches of the Fathers of the Reformation, Founders of
+Sects, and of other Distinguished Individuals Mentioned in this Volume.
+   John Wickliffe.
+   Jerome of Prague.
+   John Huss.
+   John OEcolampadius.
+   Martin Luther.
+   Ulriucus Zuinglius.
+   Martin Bucer.
+   Philip Melancthon.
+   Peter Martyr.
+   Henry Bullinger.
+   John Knox.
+   John Calvin.
+   Jerome Zanchius.
+   Theodore Beza.
+   Leo X.
+   Justin.
+   Arius.
+   Athanasius.
+   Moses Maimonides.
+   John Agricola.
+   Michael Servetus.
+   Simonis Menno.
+   Francis Xavier.
+   Faustus Socinus.
+   Robert Brown.
+   James Arminius.
+   Francis Higginson.
+   Richard Baxter.
+   George Fox.
+   William Penn.
+   Benedict Spinoza.
+   Ann Lee.
+   John Glass.
+   George Keith.
+   Nicholas Louis, Count Zinzendorf.
+   William Courtney.
+   Richard Hooker.
+   Charles Chauncey.
+   Roger Williams.
+   John Clarke.
+   Ann Hutchinson.
+   Michael Molinos.
+   John Wesley.
+   George Whitefield.
+   Selina Huntingdon.
+   Robert Sandeman.
+   Samuel Hopkins.
+   Jonathan Mayhew.
+   Samuel Seabury.
+   Richard Clarke.
+   Joseph Priestly.
+   James Purves.
+   John Jebb.
+   John Gaspar Christian Lavater.
+   John Tillotson.
+   Isaac Newton.
+   Charles V.
+   Francis Bacon.
+   Matthew Hale.
+   Princess Elizabeth.
+   Robert Boyle.
+   John Locke.
+   Joseph Addison.
+   Isaac Watts.
+   Philip Doddridge.
+   John Murray.
+   Elhanan Winchester.
+   Saint Genevieve.
+   Gilbert Burnet.
+Theological Schools.
+Footnotes
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+A few years since, the Editor of the following pages published a volume of
+"Religious Creeds and Statistics;" and, as the work, although quite
+limited, met with general approbation, he has been induced to publish
+another of the same nature, but on a much larger plan, trusting that it
+will prove more useful, and more worthy of public favor.
+
+His design has been, to exhibit to his readers, with the utmost
+impartiality and perspicuity, and as briefly as their nature will permit,
+the views, creeds, sentiments, or opinions, of all the religious sects or
+denominations in the world, so far as utility seemed to require such an
+exhibition; but more especially to give the rise, progress, and
+peculiarities, of all the principal schemes or systems of religion which
+exist in the United States at the present day.
+
+The work is intended to serve as a manual for those who are desirous of
+acquiring, with as little trouble as possible, a correct knowledge of the
+tenets or systems of religious faith, presented for the consideration of
+mankind;--to enable them, almost at a glance, to compare one creed or
+system with another, and each with the holy Scriptures;--to settle the
+minds of those who have formed no definite opinions on religious
+subjects;--and to lead us all, by contrasting the sacred truths and sublime
+beauties of Christianity with the absurd notions of pagan idolaters, of
+skeptics, and of infidels, to set a just value on the doctrines of HIM WHO
+SPAKE AS NEVER MAN SPAKE.
+
+To accomplish this design, the Editor has obtained, from the most
+intelligent and candid among the living defenders of each denomination,
+full and explicit statements of their religious sentiments--such as they
+believe and teach. He is indebted to the friends of some new sects or
+parties in philosophy and religion, for an account of their respective
+views and opinions. With regard to anterior sects, he has noticed, from
+the best authorities, as large a number as is thought necessary for the
+comparison of ancient with modern creeds.
+
+The Church and Missionary Statistics are believed to be as accurate as can
+be constructed from materials which annually undergo greater or less
+changes.
+
+The Biographical Sketches are derived from the most authentic sources.
+While they convey useful knowledge in regard to the fathers and defenders
+of the various systems of religious faith, they may also stimulate our
+readers to the practice of those Christian virtues and graces which
+adorned the lives of many of them, and render their names immortal.
+
+A few only of the works from which valuable aid has been received, can be
+mentioned:--Mosheim and McLaine's Ecclesiastical History; Gregory and
+Ruter's Church History; Encyclopaedia Americana; Brown's Encyclopedia of
+Religious Knowledge; Adams's View of Religions, and History of the Jews;
+Benedict's History of all Religions; Evans's Sketches; Buck's and
+Henderson's Theological Dictionaries; Eliot's, Allen's, and Blake's
+Biographical Dictionaries; Davenport; Watson; Grant's Nestorians,
+Coleman's Christian Antiquities; Ratio Disciplinae; Haydn's Dictionary of
+Dates, &c.
+
+To clergymen and laymen of all denominations, who have assisted the Editor
+in presenting their various views with clearness and fairness; to the
+secretaries of the several missionary boards; to editors of religious
+journals, and to other persons who have kindly furnished documents for the
+Statistics and Biographical Sketches, he tenders acknowledgments of
+unfeigned gratitude.
+
+While the Editor assures the public that the whole has been prepared with
+much diligence and care, and with an entire freedom from sectarian zeal or
+party bias, he cannot but indulge the hope that his "Book of Religions"
+will prove acceptable and beneficial to the community, as imbodying a
+great variety of facts on a subject of deep concern, worthy of the
+exercise of our highest faculties, and requiring our most charitable
+conclusions.
+
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+Abelians, or Abelonians, 243
+
+Addison, Joseph, 417
+
+Agricola, John, 370
+
+Allenites, 280
+
+American Missions, 336
+
+Anabaptists, 190
+
+Ancient American Covenant, 308
+
+Andover Orthodox Creed, 138
+
+Antinomians, 128
+
+Anti-Pedobaptists, 196
+
+Apostles' Creed, 102
+
+Aquarians, 168
+
+Arians, 18
+
+Arius, 368
+
+Armenians, 303
+
+Arminians, 115
+
+Arminius, James, 373
+
+Assembly's Catechism, 141
+
+Athanasian Creed, 102
+
+Athanasius, 368
+
+Atheists, 217
+
+Augsburg Confession, 302
+
+Bacon, Francis, 407
+
+Baptists, 182, 311, 340
+  Quaker, 193
+
+Baptist Missions, English, 339
+
+Baxter, Richard, 376
+
+Baxterians, 169
+
+Bereans, 109
+
+Beza, Theodore, 366
+
+Bible Chronology, 175
+
+Biographical Sketches, 350
+
+Bishops, Episcopal, 314
+
+Bourignonists, 201
+
+Boyle, Robert, 412
+
+Brown, Robert, 373
+
+Brownists, 200
+
+Bucer, Martin, 360
+
+Bullinger, Henry, 363
+
+Burnet, Gilbert, 429
+
+Calvin, John, 365
+
+Calvinists, 11, 313
+
+Cambridge Platform, 48
+
+Campbellites, 58
+
+Charles V., 405
+
+Chauncey, Charles, 385
+
+Christian Connection, 295, 313
+
+Christianity, Progress of, 432
+
+Chronology, Bible, 175
+
+Church Government, 20
+
+Church Statistics, 311
+
+Clarke, John, 387
+
+Clarke, Richard, 399
+
+Come-Outers, 177
+
+Congregationalists, 20, 313
+
+Courtney, William, 384
+
+Creed, Andover, 138
+  Apostles', 102
+  Athanasian, 102
+  Augsburg, 302
+  New Haven, 142
+  Nicene, 105
+  Orthodox, 132
+
+Cumberland Presbyterians, 25
+
+Daleites, 272
+
+Dancers, 244
+
+Deists, 215
+
+Diggers, 246
+
+Disciples of Christ, 58, 314
+
+Disciples of St John, 284
+
+Dissenters. See _Puritans_.
+
+Doddridge, Philip, 420
+
+Donatists, 281
+
+Dorrelites, 164
+
+Dutch Reformed Church, 88
+
+Elizabeth, Princess, 411
+
+Emancipators, 272
+
+English Baptist Missions, 339
+
+---- Methodist Missions, 343
+
+Epicureans, 244
+
+Episcopalians, 26, 314, 341
+
+Essenes, 202
+
+Family of Love, 259
+
+Fighting Quakers, 162
+
+Fox, George, 377
+
+Free Communion Baptists, 300
+
+Free-Will Baptists, 190, 312, 341
+
+French Missions, 346
+
+Friends, or Quakers, 64, 319
+
+Genevieve, 162, 428
+
+German Missions, 346
+
+German Reformed Church, 90
+
+Glass, John, 383
+
+Glassites, 126
+
+Government, Church, 20
+
+Greek Church, 288
+
+Hale, Matthew, 408
+
+Harmless Christians, 57
+
+Harmonists, 163
+
+Hicksites, 74, 319
+
+High Churchmen, 308
+
+Higginson, Francis, 310, 374
+
+Hooker, Richard, 385
+
+Hopkins, Samuel, 397
+
+Hopkinsians, 13
+
+Humanitarians, 19
+
+Huntingdon, Lady Selina, 395
+
+Huss, John, 354
+
+Hutchinson, Ann, 389
+
+Hutchinsonians, 259
+
+Independents, 20
+
+Indian Missions, 342
+  Religions, 210
+  Statistics, 347
+
+Jebb, John, 401
+
+Jerome of Prague, 352
+
+Jews, 202, 319, 347
+
+Johnsonians, 280
+
+Jumpers, 181
+
+Justin Martyr, 368
+
+Keith, George, 383
+
+Keithians, 193
+
+Knipperdolings, 283
+
+Knox, John, 363
+
+Latter-Day Saints, 260
+
+Lavater, John G. C., 402
+
+Lee, Ann, 381
+
+Leo X., 367
+
+Locke, John 415
+
+London Missionary Society, 335
+
+Luther, Martin, 355
+
+Lutherans, 9, 320
+
+Mahometans, 220
+
+Maimonides, Moses, 203, 370
+
+Martyr, Peter, 362
+
+Materialists, 112
+
+Mayhew, Jonathan, 398
+
+Mendaeans, 284
+
+Melancthon, Philip, 361
+
+Mennonites, 57
+
+Menno, Simonis, 372
+
+Methodists, Episcopal, 117, 321
+  Protestant, 123, 321
+  Methodists, Primitive, 305
+  Methodists' Missions, 344
+  Views of Perfection, 274
+
+Miller's Views on the Second Coming of Christ, 170
+
+Millenarians, 292
+
+Missionary Statistics, 333
+
+Missions, American Foreign, 336
+
+Missions, Indian, 342
+
+Molinos, Michael, 389
+
+Moravians, 49, 333
+
+Mormonites, 260
+
+Muggletonians, 284
+
+Murray, John, 423
+
+N.
+
+Necessarians. See _Materialists_.
+
+Nestorians, 306
+
+Netherland Missions, 346
+
+New Haven Orthodox Creed, 142
+
+New Jerusalem Church, 150
+
+Newton, Isaac, 403
+
+Nicene Creed, 105
+
+Nonconformists, 294
+
+Nonjurors, 294
+
+Non-Resistants, 247
+
+Novatians, 305
+
+Oberlin Views of Sanctification, 278
+
+OEcolampadius, John, 355
+
+Orthodox Creeds, 132
+
+Osgoodites, 166
+
+Pantheists, 219
+
+Pagans, 234
+
+Pedobaptists, 193
+
+Pelagians, 130
+
+Penn, William, 378
+
+Perfectionists, 274
+
+Pharisees, 202
+
+Popes of Rome, 326
+
+Pre-Adamites, 131
+
+Predestinarians, 132
+
+Presbyterians, 22, 322
+  Cumberland, 25
+
+Presbyterian Missions, 338
+
+Priestley, Joseph, 400
+
+Primitive Christians, 290
+  Methodists, 305
+
+Princess Elizabeth, 411
+
+Progress of Christianity, 432
+
+Protestants, 125
+
+Protestant Methodists, 123, 321
+  Missions, 333
+
+Puritans, 200
+
+Purves, James, 401
+
+Puseyites, 299
+
+Quakers, or Friends, 64
+
+Quaker Baptists, 193
+
+Quietists, 283
+
+Ranters. See _Seekers_.
+
+Re-Anointers, 282
+
+Reformation, 85
+
+Reformed Churches, 88
+
+Reformed Dutch Church, 88, 324
+  German Church, 90
+
+Rhenish Missions, 347
+
+Restorationists, 91
+
+Rogerenes, 166
+
+Roman Catholics, 102, 324, 347
+
+Russian Church, 288
+
+Sabbatarians, 191
+
+Sabellians, 125
+
+Sadducees, 202
+
+Sanctification, Views on, 278
+
+Sandemanians, 126
+
+Sandeman, Robert, 396
+
+Satanians, 243
+
+Saybrook Platform, 48
+
+Seabury, Samuel, 33, 398
+
+Schools, Theological, 432
+
+Scottish Missions, 346, 347
+
+Se-Baptists, 281
+
+Sectarians, 20
+
+Seekers, 247
+
+Servetus, Michael, 371
+
+Seventh-Day Baptists, 191, 312, 345
+
+Shakers, 75
+
+Simonians, 233
+
+Six-Principle Baptists, 192
+
+Skeptics, 245
+
+Socinius, Faustus, 372
+
+Socinians, 19
+
+Southcotters, 255
+
+Spinoza, Benedict, 380
+
+Statistics of Churches, 311
+  of Missions, 333
+
+Succession of Bishops, 315
+
+Supralapsarians, 243
+
+Swedenborg, 150
+
+Swedenborgians, 150, 330
+
+Tao-Se, 282
+
+Taylor's (Dr.) Views, 142
+
+Theological Schools, 432
+
+Tillotson, John, 402
+
+Transcendentalists, 301
+
+Trinitarians, 290
+
+Tunkers, or Tumblers, 55
+
+Unitarians, 196, 331
+
+United Brethren, 49
+
+United Society of Believers, 75
+
+Universalists, 95, 331
+
+Waldenses, 279
+
+Water-Drinkers, 168
+
+Watts, Isaac, 418
+
+Wesley, John, 390
+
+Wesleyan Missions, 343
+
+Westminster Catechism, 141
+
+Whippers, 167
+
+Whitefield, George, 393
+
+Whitefield Methodists, 293
+
+Wickliffe, John, 350
+
+Wickliffites, 245
+
+Wilhelminians, 247
+
+Wilkinsonians, 167
+
+Williams, Roger, 386
+
+Winchester, Elhanan, 425
+
+Worshippers of the Devil, 285
+
+Xavier, Francis, 161, 372
+
+Yezidees, or Worshippers of the Devil, 285
+
+Zanchius, Jerome, 366
+
+Zinzendorf, Count, 383
+
+Zuinglius, Ulricus, 359
+
+Zuinglians, 246
+
+
+
+
+
+LUTHERANS, OR, THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.
+
+
+This denomination adheres to the opinions of Martin Luther, the celebrated
+reformer.
+
+The Lutherans, of all Protestants, are those who differ least from the
+Romish church, as they affirm that the body and blood of Christ are
+materially present in the sacrament of the Lord's supper, though in an
+incomprehensible manner: this they term _consubstantiation_. They likewise
+represent some rites and institutions, as the use of images in churches,
+the vestments of the clergy, the private confession of sins, the use of
+wafers in the administration of the Lord's supper, the form of exorcism in
+the celebration of baptism, and other ceremonies of the like nature, as
+tolerable, and some of them useful. The Lutherans maintain, with regard to
+the divine decrees, that they respect the salvation or misery of men in
+consequence of a previous knowledge of their sentiments and characters,
+and not as founded on the mere will of God. See _Augsburg Confession of
+Faith_.
+
+Towards the close of the last century, the Lutherans began to entertain a
+greater liberality of sentiment than they had before adopted, though in
+many places they persevered longer in despotic principles than other
+Protestant churches. Their public teachers now enjoy an unbounded liberty
+of dissenting from the decisions of those symbols of creeds which were
+once deemed almost infallible rules of faith and practice, and of
+declaring their dissent in the manner they judge most expedient.
+
+The capital articles which Luther maintained are as follow:--
+
+1. That the holy Scriptures are the only source whence we are to draw our
+religious sentiments, whether they relate to faith or practice. (See 2
+Tim. 3:15-17. Prov. 1:9. Isa. 8:20. Luke 1:4. John 5:39; 20:31. 1 Cor 4:6,
+&c.)
+
+2. That justification is the effect of faith, exclusive of good works, and
+that faith ought to produce good works, purely in obedience to God, and
+not in order to our justification. (See Gal. 2:21.)
+
+3. That no man is able to make satisfaction for his sins. (See Luke
+17:10.)
+
+In consequence of these leading articles, Luther rejected tradition,
+purgatory, penance, auricular confession, masses, invocation of saints,
+monastic vows, and other doctrines of the church of Rome.
+
+The external affairs of the Lutheran church are directed by three
+judicatories, viz., a vestry of the congregation, a district or special
+conference, and a general synod. The synod is composed of ministers, and
+an equal number of laymen, chosen as deputies by the vestries of their
+respective congregations. From this synod there is no appeal.
+
+The ministerium is composed of ministers only, and regulates the internal
+or spiritual concerns of the church, such as examining, licensing, and
+ordaining ministers, judging in controversies about doctrine, &c. The
+synod and ministerium meet annually.
+
+Confession and absolution, in a very simple form, are practised by the
+American Lutherans; also confirmation, by which baptismal vows are
+ratified, and the subjects become communicants. Their liturgies are simple
+and impressive, and the clergy are permitted to use extempore prayer. See
+_Statistics of Churches_.
+
+
+
+
+
+CALVINISTS.
+
+
+This denomination of Christians, of the Congregational order, are chiefly
+descendants of the English Puritans, who founded most of the early
+settlements in New England. They derive their name from John Calvin, an
+eminent reformer.
+
+The Calvinists are divided into three parties,--_High_, _Strict_, and
+_Moderate_. The _High_ Calvinists favor the Hopkinsian system. The
+_Moderate_ Calvinists embrace the leading features of Calvin's doctrine,
+but object to some parts, particularly to his views of the doctrines of
+predestination, and the extent of the design of Christ's death. While they
+hold to the election of grace, they do not believe that God has reprobated
+any of his creatures. They believe that the atonement is, in its nature,
+general, but in its application, particular; and that free salvation is to
+be preached to sinners indiscriminately. The doctrines of the _Strict_
+Calvinists are those of Calvin himself, as established at the synod of
+Dort, A. D. 1618, and are as follow, viz.:--
+
+1. They maintain that God hath chosen a certain number of the fallen race
+of Adam in Christ, before the foundation of the world, unto eternal glory,
+according to his immutable purpose, and of his free grace and love,
+without the least foresight of faith, good works, or any conditions
+performed by the creature; and that the rest of mankind he was pleased to
+pass by, and ordain to dishonor and wrath, for their sins, to the praise
+of his vindictive justice. (See Prov. 16:4. Rom. 9: from ver. 11 to end of
+chap.; 8:30. Eph. 1:4. Acts 13:48.)
+
+2. They maintain that, though the death of Christ be a most perfect
+sacrifice, and satisfaction for sins, of infinite value, abundantly
+sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole world,--and though, on this
+ground, the gospel is to be preached to all mankind indiscriminately, yet
+it was the will of God that Christ, by the blood of the cross, should
+efficaciously redeem all those, and those only, who were from eternity
+elected to salvation, and given to him by the Father. (See Ps. 33:11. John
+6:37; 10:11; 17:9.)
+
+3. They maintain that mankind are totally depraved, in consequence of the
+fall of the first man, who being their public head, his sin involved the
+corruption of all his posterity, and which corruption extends over the
+whole soul, and renders it unable to turn to God, or to do any thing truly
+good, and exposes it to his righteous displeasure, both in this world and
+that which is to come. (See Gen. 8:21. Ps. 14:2, 3. Rom. 3:10, 11, 12,
+&c.; 4:14; 5:19. Gal. 3:10. 2 Cor. 3:6, 7.)
+
+4. They maintain that all whom God hath predestinated unto life, he is
+pleased, in his appointed time, effectually to call, by his word and
+Spirit, out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature,
+to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. (See Eph. 1:19; 2:1, 5. Phil.
+2:13. Rom. 3:27. I Cor. 1:31, Titus 3:5.)
+
+5. Lastly, they maintain that those whom God has effectually called, and
+sanctified by his Spirit, shall never finally fall from a state of grace.
+They admit that true believers may fall partially, and would fall totally
+and finally, but for the mercy and faithfulness of God, who keepeth the
+feet of his saints; also, that he who bestoweth the grace of perseverance,
+bestoweth it by means of reading and hearing the word, meditation,
+exhortations, threatenings, and promises; but that none of these things
+imply the possibility of a believer's falling from a state of
+justification. (See Isa. 53:4, 5, 6; 54:10. Jer. 32:38, 40. Rom. 8:38, 39.
+John 4:14; 6:39; 10:28; 11:26. James 1:17. 1 Pet. 2:25.) See _Orthodox
+Creeds_, and _Hopkinsians_.
+
+
+
+
+
+HOPKINSIANS.
+
+
+This denomination of Christians derives its name from Samuel Hopkins, D.
+D., formerly pastor of the first Congregational church in Newport, R. I.
+
+The following is a summary of the distinguishing tenets of the
+Hopkinsians, together with a few of the reasons they bring forward in
+support of their sentiments:--
+
+
+    "1. That all true virtue, or real holiness, consists in
+    disinterested benevolence. The object of benevolence is universal
+    being, including God and all intelligent creatures. It wishes and
+    seeks the good of every individual, so far as is consistent with
+    the greatest good of the whole, which is comprised in the glory of
+    God and the perfection and happiness of his kingdom. The law of
+    God is the standard of all moral rectitude or holiness. This is
+    reduced into love to God, and our neighbor as ourselves; and
+    universal good-will comprehends all the love to God, our neighbor,
+    and ourselves, required in the divine law, and, therefore, must be
+    the whole of holy obedience. Let any serious person think what are
+    the particular branches of true piety; when he has viewed each one
+    by itself, he will find that disinterested friendly affection is
+    its distinguishing characteristic. For instance, all the holiness
+    in pious fear, which distinguishes it from the fear of the wicked,
+    consists in love. Again, holy gratitude is nothing but good-will
+    to God and our neighbor,--in which we ourselves are included,--and
+    correspondent affection, excited by a view of the good-will and
+    kindness of God. Universal good-will also implies the whole of the
+    duty we owe to our neighbor; for justice, truth, and faithfulness,
+    are comprised in universal benevolence; so are temperance and
+    chastity. For an undue indulgence of our appetites and passions is
+    contrary to benevolence, as tending to hurt ourselves or others,
+    and so, opposite to the general good, and the divine command, in
+    which all the crime of such indulgence consists. In short, all
+    virtue is nothing but benevolence acted out in its proper nature
+    and perfection; or love to God and our neighbor, made perfect in
+    all its genuine exercises and expressions.
+
+    "2. That all sin consists in selfishness. By this is meant an
+    interested, selfish affection, by which a person sets himself up
+    as supreme, and the only object of regard; and nothing is good or
+    lovely in his view, unless suited to promote his own private
+    interest. This self-love is, in its whole nature, and every degree
+    of it, enmity against God; it is not subject to the law of God,
+    and is the only affection that can oppose it. It is the foundation
+    of all spiritual blindness, and, therefore, the source of all the
+    open idolatry in the heathen world, and false religion under the
+    light of the gospel: all this is agreeable to that self-love which
+    opposes God's true character. Under the influence of this
+    principle, men depart from truth, it being itself the greatest
+    practical lie in nature, as it sets up that which is comparatively
+    nothing above universal existence. Self-love is the source of all
+    profaneness and impiety in the world, and of all pride and
+    ambition among men, which is nothing but selfishness, acted out in
+    this particular way. This is the foundation of all covetousness
+    and sensuality, as it blinds people's eyes, contracts their
+    hearts, and sinks them down, so that they look upon earthly
+    enjoyments as the greatest good. This is the source of all
+    falsehood, injustice, and oppression, as it excites mankind by
+    undue methods to invade the property of others. Self-love produces
+    all the violent passions--envy, wrath, clamor, and evil speaking;
+    and every thing contrary to the divine law is briefly comprehended
+    in this fruitful source of all iniquity--self-love.
+
+    "3. That there are no promises of regenerating grace made to the
+    doings of the unregenerate. For, as far as men act from self-love,
+    they act from a bad end; for those who have no true love to God,
+    really do no duty when they attend on the externals of religion.
+    And as the unregenerate act from a selfish principle, they do
+    nothing which is commanded; their impenitent doings are wholly
+    opposed to repentance and conversion, therefore not implied in the
+    command to repent, &c.: so far from this, they are altogether
+    disobedient to the command. Hence it appears that there are no
+    promises of salvation to the doings of the unregenerate.
+
+    "4. That the impotency of sinners, with respect to believing in
+    Christ, is not natural, but moral; for it is a plain dictate of
+    common sense, that natural impossibility excludes all blame. But
+    an unwilling mind is universally considered as a crime, and not as
+    an excuse, and is the very thing wherein our wickedness consists.
+    That the impotence of the sinner is owing to a disaffection of
+    heart, is evident from the promises of the gospel. When any object
+    of good is proposed and promised to us upon asking, it clearly
+    evinces that there can be no impotence in us, with respect to
+    obtaining it, besides the disapprobation of the will; and that
+    inability which consists in disinclination, never renders any
+    thing improperly the subject of precept or command.
+
+    "5. That, in order to faith in Christ, a sinner must approve, in
+    his heart, of the divine conduct, even though God should cast him
+    off forever; which, however, never implies love of misery, nor
+    hatred of happiness. For if the law is good, death is due to those
+    who have broken it. The Judge of all the earth cannot but do
+    right. It would bring everlasting reproach upon his government to
+    spare us, considered merely as in ourselves. When this is felt in
+    our hearts, and not till then, we shall be prepared to look to the
+    free grace of God, through the redemption which is in Christ, and
+    to exercise faith in his blood, 'who is set forth to be a
+    propitiation to declare God's righteousness, that he might be
+    just, and yet be the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus.'
+
+    "6. That the infinitely wise and holy God has exerted his
+    omnipotent power in such a manner as he purposed should be
+    followed with the existence and entrance of moral evil into the
+    system. For it must be admitted on all hands, that God has a
+    perfect knowledge, foresight, and view of all possible existences
+    and events. If that system and scene of operation, in which moral
+    evil should never have existed, were actually preferred in the
+    divine mind, certainly the Deity is infinitely disappointed in the
+    issue of his own operations. Nothing can be more dishonorable to
+    God than to imagine that the system which is actually formed by
+    the divine hand, and which was made for his pleasure and glory, is
+    yet not the fruit of wise contrivance and design.
+
+    "7. That the introduction of sin is, upon the whole, for the
+    general good. For the wisdom and power of the Deity are displayed
+    in carrying on designs of the greatest good; and the existence of
+    moral evil has, undoubtedly, occasioned a more full, perfect, and
+    glorious discovery of the infinite perfections of the divine
+    nature, than could otherwise have been made to the view of
+    creatures. If the extensive manifestations of the pure and holy
+    nature of God, and his infinite aversion to sin, and all his
+    inherent perfections, in their genuine fruits and effects, is
+    either itself the greatest good, or necessarily contains it, it
+    must necessarily follow that the introduction of sin is for the
+    greatest good.
+
+    "8. That repentance is before faith in Christ. By this is not
+    intended, that repentance is before a speculative belief of the
+    being and perfections of God, and of the person and character of
+    Christ; but only that true repentance is previous to a saving
+    faith in Christ, in which the believer is united to Christ, and
+    entitled to the benefits of his mediation and atonement. That
+    repentance is before faith in this sense, appears from several
+    considerations. 1. As repentance and faith respect different
+    objects, so they are distinct exercises of the heart; and
+    therefore one not only may, but must, be prior to the other. 2.
+    There may be genuine repentance of sin without faith in Christ,
+    but there cannot be true faith in Christ without repentance of
+    sin; and since repentance is necessary in order to faith in
+    Christ, it must necessarily be prior to faith in Christ. 3. John
+    the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, taught that repentance is
+    before faith. John cried, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at
+    hand;' intimating that true repentance was necessary in order to
+    embrace the gospel of the kingdom. Christ commanded, 'Repent ye,
+    and believe the gospel.' And Paul preached 'repentance toward God,
+    and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.'
+
+    "9. That, though men became sinners by Adam, according to a divine
+    constitution, yet they have, and are accountable for, no sins but
+    personal; for, 1. Adam's act, in eating the forbidden fruit, was
+    not the act of his posterity; therefore they did not sin at the
+    same time he did. 2. The sinfulness of that act could not be
+    _transferred_ to them afterwards, because the sinfulness of an act
+    can no more be transferred from one person to another than an act
+    itself. 3. Therefore Adam's act, in eating the forbidden fruit,
+    was not the _cause_ but only the _occasion_, of his posterity's
+    being sinners. God was pleased to make a constitution, that, if
+    Adam remained holy through his state of trial, his posterity
+    should, in consequence, be holy also; but if he sinned, his
+    posterity should, in consequence, be sinners likewise. Adam
+    sinned, and now God brings his posterity into the world sinners.
+    _By_ Adam's sin we are become sinners, not _for_ it; his sin being
+    only the _occasion_, not the _cause_, of our committing sins.
+
+    "10. That, though believers are justified _through_ Christ's
+    righteousness, yet his righteousness is not _transferred_ to them.
+    For, 1. Personal righteousness can no more be transferred from one
+    person to another, than personal sin. 2. If Christ's personal
+    righteousness were transferred to believers, they would be as
+    perfectly holy as Christ, and so stand in no need of forgiveness.
+    3. But believers are not conscious of having Christ's personal
+    righteousness, but feel and bewail much indwelling sin and
+    corruption. 4. The Scripture represents believers as receiving
+    only the _benefits_ of Christ's righteousness in justification, or
+    their being pardoned and accepted for Christ's righteousness'
+    sake; and this is the proper Scripture notion of imputation.
+    Jonathan's righteousness was imputed to Mephibosheth when David
+    showed kindness to him for his father Jonathan's sake."
+
+
+The Hopkinsians warmly contend for the doctrine of the divine decrees,
+that of particular election, total depravity, the special influences of
+the Spirit of God in regeneration, justification by faith alone, the final
+perseverance of the saints, and the consistency between entire freedom and
+absolute dependence, and, therefore, claim it as their just due, since the
+world will make distinctions, to be called HOPKINSIAN CALVINISTS.
+
+The statistics of this denomination are included with those of the
+_Calvinists_, near the close of this volume.
+
+
+
+
+
+ARIANS.
+
+
+The followers of Arius, a presbyter of the church of Alexandria, about A.
+D. 315, who held that the Son of God was totally and essentially distinct
+from the Father; that he was the first and noblest of those beings whom
+God had created, the instrument by whose subordinate operation he formed
+the universe, and, therefore, inferior to the Father, both in nature and
+dignity; also, that the Holy Ghost was not God, but created by the power
+of the Son. The Arians owned that the Son was the Word, but denied that
+Word to have been eternal. They held that Christ had nothing of man in him
+but the flesh, to which the Word was joined, which was the same as the
+soul in us.
+
+In modern times, the term _Arian_ is indiscriminately applied to those who
+consider Jesus simply subordinate to the Father. Some of them believe
+Christ to have been the creator of the world; but they all maintain that
+he existed previously to his incarnation, though, in his preexistent
+state, they assign him different degrees of dignity.
+
+(See Matt. 4:10; 19:17; 27:46. Mark 5:7; 13:32 John 4:23; 14:28; 20:17.
+Acts 4:24. 1 Cor. 1:4; 11:3; 15:24. Eph. 1:17; 4:6. Phil. 1:3, 4, &c.)
+
+
+
+
+
+SOCINIANS.
+
+
+A sect so called from Faustus Socinus, who died in Poland, in 1604. There
+were two who bore the name of Socinus,--uncle and nephew,--and both
+disseminated the same doctrine; but it is the nephew who is generally
+considered as the founder of this sect. They maintain that Jesus Christ
+was a mere man, who had no existence before he was conceived by the Virgin
+Mary; that the Holy Ghost is no distinct person; but that the Father is
+truly and properly God. They own that the name of God is given, in the
+holy Scriptures, to Jesus Christ, but contend that it is only a deputed
+title, which, however, invests him with a great authority over all created
+beings. They deny the doctrines of satisfaction and imputed righteousness,
+and say that Christ only preached the truth to mankind, set before them,
+in himself, an example of heroic virtue, and sealed his doctrines with his
+blood. Original sin, and absolute predestination, they esteem scholastic
+chimeras. Some of them likewise maintain the sleep of the soul, which,
+they say, becomes insensible at death, and is raised again, with the body,
+at the resurrection, when the good shall be established in the possession
+of eternal felicity, while the wicked shall be consigned to a fire that
+will not torment them eternally, but for a certain duration, proportioned
+to their demerits. (See Acts 2:22; 17:31. 1 Tim. 2:5.)
+
+
+
+
+
+HUMANITARIANS.
+
+
+The Humanitarians believe in the simple humanity of Christ, or that he was
+nothing more than a mere man, born according to the usual course of
+nature, and who lived and died according to the ordinary circumstances of
+mankind.
+
+
+
+
+
+SECTARIANS.
+
+
+This term is used among Christians to denote those who form separate
+communions, and do not associate with one another in religious worship and
+ceremonies. Thus we call Papists, Lutherans, Calvinists, different sects,
+not so much on account of their differences in opinion, as because they
+have established to themselves different fraternities, to which, in what
+regards public worship, they confine themselves; the several denominations
+above mentioned having no intercommunity with one another in sacred
+matters. High, Strict, and Moderate Calvinists, High Church and Low
+Church, we call only parties, because they have not formed separate
+communions. Great and known differences in opinion, when followed by no
+external breach in the society, are not considered constituting distinct
+sects, though their differences in opinion may give rise to mutual
+aversion.
+
+The Jewish, Christian, Mahometan, and Pagan world is divided into an
+almost innumerable variety of sects, each claiming to themselves the title
+of orthodox, and each charging their opponents with heresy.
+
+Where perfect religious liberty prevails, as in the United States, and
+where emigrants from all quarters of the globe resort in great numbers, it
+is not surprising that most of the Christian sects in foreign countries,
+with some of native origin, should be found in this part of the American
+continent.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHURCH GOVERNMENT.
+
+
+There are three modes of church government, viz., the _Episcopalian_, from
+the Latin word _episcopus_, signifying _bishop_; the _Presbyterian_, from
+the Greek word _presbuteros_, signifying _senior_, _elder_, or
+_presbyter_; and the Congregational or Independent mode. Under one of
+these forms, or by a mixture of their several peculiarities, every church
+in the Christian world is governed. The Episcopal form is the most
+extensive, as it embraces the Catholic, Greek, English, Methodist, and
+Moravian churches.
+
+Episcopalians have three orders in the ministry, viz., bishops, priests,
+and deacons; they all have liturgies, longer or shorter, which they either
+statedly or occasionally use. All Episcopalians believe in the existence
+and the necessity of an apostolic succession of bishops, by whom alone
+regular and valid ordinations can be performed.
+
+The Presbyterians believe that the authority of their ministers to preach
+the gospel and to administer the sacraments is derived from the Holy
+Ghost, by the imposition of the hands of the presbytery. They affirm,
+however, that there is no order in the church, as established by Christ
+and his apostles, superior to that of presbyters; that all ministers,
+being ambassadors of Christ, are equal by their commission; that
+_presbyter_ and _bishop_, though different words, are of the same import;
+and that prelacy was gradually established upon the primitive practice of
+making the _moderator_, or speaker of the presbytery, a permanent officer.
+
+The Congregationalists, or Independents, are so called from their
+maintaining that each congregation of Christians, which meets in one house
+for public worship, is a complete church, has sufficient power to act and
+perform every thing relating to religious government within itself, and is
+in no respect subject or accountable to other churches.
+
+Independents, or Congregationalists, generally ordain their ministers by a
+council of ministers called for the purpose: but still they hold that the
+essence of ordination lies in the voluntary choice and call of the people,
+and that public ordination is no other than a declaration of that call.
+
+
+
+
+
+PRESBYTERIANS.
+
+
+The first settlers of New England were driven away from Old England, in
+pursuit of religious liberty. They were required to conform to the
+established Protestant Episcopal church, in all her articles of belief,
+and modes of worship and discipline: their consciences forbade such
+conformity: their ministers were displaced: their property was tithed for
+the support of an ecclesiastical prelacy, which they renounced; and the
+only relief which they could find, was in abandoning their country for the
+new world.
+
+Most of the first settlers of New England were Congregationalists; and
+established the government of individuals by the male communicating
+members of the churches to which they belonged, and of congregations by
+sister congregations, met by representation in ecclesiastical councils. A
+part of the ministers and people of Connecticut, at a very early period of
+her history, were Presbyterians in their principles of church government.
+Being intermixed, however, with Congregational brethren, instead of
+establishing presbyteries in due form, they united with their
+fellow-Christians in adopting, in 1708, the Saybrook Platform, according
+to which the churches and pastors are consociated, so as virtually to be
+under Presbyterian government, under another name.
+
+The first Presbyterian churches duly organized in the United States, were
+the first Presbyterian church in Philadelphia, and the church at Snow
+Hill, in Maryland.
+
+The first presbytery in the United States was formed about 1794, by the
+voluntary association of several ministers, who had received Presbyterian
+orders in Europe, and who agreed to govern themselves agreeably to the
+Westminster Confession of Faith, Form of Government, Book of Discipline,
+and Directory for Worship. (See _Andover Orthodox Creed_.)
+
+The reason why the Presbyterians first settled in Pennsylvania, Maryland,
+and New Jersey, was undoubtedly this--that in these places they found
+toleration, and equal religious rights, while the Episcopacy was
+established by law in Virginia, Congregationalism in New England, and the
+Reformed Dutch church, with Episcopacy, in New York.
+
+The doctrines of the Presbyterian church are Calvinistic; and the only
+fundamental principle which distinguishes it from other Protestant
+churches is this--that God has authorized the government of his church by
+presbyters, or elders, who are chosen by the people, and ordained to
+office by predecessors in office, in virtue of the commission which Christ
+gave his apostles as ministers in the kingdom of God; and that, among all
+presbyters, there is an official parity, whatever disparity may exist in
+their talents or official employments.
+
+All the different congregations, under the care of the general assembly,
+are considered as the one Presbyterian church in the United States,
+meeting, for the sake of convenience and edification, in their several
+places of worship. Each particular congregation of baptized people,
+associated for godly living, and the worship of Almighty God, may become a
+Presbyterian church, by electing one or more elders, agreeably to the form
+prescribed in the book styled the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church,
+and having them ordained and installed as their session.
+
+They judge that to presbyteries the Lord Jesus has committed the spiritual
+government of each particular congregation, and not to the whole body of
+the communicants; and on this point they are distinguished from
+Independents and Congregationalists. If all were governors, they should
+not be able to distinguish the overseers or bishops from all the male and
+female communicants; nor could they apply the command, "Obey them that
+have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your
+souls, as they that must give account." (Heb. 13:17.) If all are rulers in
+the church who are communicants, they are at a loss for the meaning of the
+exhortation, "We beseech you, brethren, to know them that labor among you,
+_and are over you in the __ Lord_, and admonish you; and to esteem them
+very highly in love for their work's sake."
+
+If an aggrieved brother should tell the story of his wrongs to each
+individual communicant, he would not thereby tell it to the church
+judicially, so that cognizance could be taken of the affair. It is to the
+church, acting by her proper organs, and to her overseers, met as a
+judicatory, that he must bring his charge, if he would have discipline
+exercised in such a way as God empowered his church to exercise it.
+
+The general assembly is the highest judicatory in the Presbyterian church,
+and is constituted by an equal number of teaching and ruling elders,
+elected by each presbytery annually, and specially commissioned to
+deliberate, vote, and determine, in all matters which may come before that
+body. Each presbytery may send one bishop and one ruling elder to the
+assembly: each presbytery, having more than twelve ministers, may send two
+ministers and two ruling elders, and so, in the same proportion, for every
+twelve ministerial members.
+
+Every Presbyterian church elects its own pastor; but, to secure the whole
+church against insufficient, erroneous, or immoral men, it is provided
+that no church shall prosecute any call, without first obtaining leave
+from the presbytery under whose care that church may be; and that no
+licentiate, or bishop, shall receive any call, but through the hands of
+his own presbytery.
+
+Any member of the Presbyterian church may be the subject of its
+discipline; and every member, if he judges himself injured by any portion
+of the church, may, by appeal, or complaint, carry his cause up from the
+church session to the presbytery, from the presbytery to the synod, and
+from the synod to the general assembly, so as to obtain the decision of
+the whole church, met by representation in this high judicatory.
+
+Evangelical ministers of the gospel, of all denominations, are permitted,
+on the invitation of a pastor, or of the session of a vacant church, to
+preach in their pulpits; and any person known properly, or made known to a
+pastor or session, as a communicant in good, regular standing, in any
+truly Christian denomination of people, is, in most of their churches,
+affectionately invited to occasional communion. They wish to have
+Christian fellowship with all the redeemed of the Lord, who have been
+renewed by his Spirit; but, in ecclesiastical government and discipline,
+they ask and expect the cooeperation of none but Presbyterians. See
+_Statistics_.
+
+
+
+
+
+CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS.
+
+
+In the year 1800, a very great revival of religion took place within the
+bounds of the synod of Kentucky, in consequence of which, a greater number
+of new congregations were formed than it was possible to supply with
+regularly-educated ministers. To remedy this evil, it was resolved to
+license men to preach who were apt to teach, and sound in the faith,
+though they had not gone through any course of classical study. This took
+place at the Transylvania presbyter; but, as many of its members were
+dissatisfied with the proposed innovation, an appeal was made to the
+synod, which appointed a commission to examine into the circumstances of
+the case, the result of whose report was, a prohibition of the labors of
+uneducated ministers, which led the opposite party to form themselves into
+an independent presbytery, which took its name from the district of
+Cumberland, in which it was constituted.
+
+As to the doctrinal views, they occupy a kind of middle ground between
+Calvinists and Arminians. They reject the doctrine of eternal reprobation,
+and hold the universality of redemption, and that the Spirit of God
+operates on the world, or as coextensively as Christ has made the
+atonement, in such a manner as to leave all men inexcusable.
+
+The Cumberland Presbyterians have about 550 churches and ministers, and
+about 70,000 members. They have a college at Cumberland, Ky.
+
+
+
+
+
+EPISCOPALIANS.
+
+
+That form of Church polity, in which the ministry is divided into the
+three orders of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, each having powers and
+duties, distinct from the others, the Bishops being superior to the
+Priests and Deacons, and the immediate source of all their authority, is
+called EPISCOPACY, and those who adhere to this polity, are called
+EPISCOPALIANS.
+
+It is believed, by Episcopalians, that the Savior, when upon earth,
+established a Church, or Society, of which He was the Ruler and Head, and
+with which He promised to be, till the end of the world. They believe,
+that, during the forty days in which He remained upon earth, after His
+resurrection, "speaking" to His disciples "of the things pertaining to the
+kingdom of God," He gave them such directions for the government and
+management of this Society, or Church, as were necessary; which
+directions, they implicitly followed: and that, from their subsequent
+practice, these directions of the Savior, whatever they may have been, are
+to be ascertained.
+
+"That it was the design of our blessed Redeemer to continue a ministry in
+the Church, after His ascension, is a truth, for which we ask no better
+proof, than that furnished by the narratives of the Evangelists, and the
+practice of the Apostles. If, then, a ministry, divinely authorized, was
+to exist, it is equally evident, that it would assume some definite form.
+It would consist, either of a single grade of office, in which every
+person ordained would have an equal share in its functions and
+prerogatives; or, of two, three, or more grades, distinguished from each
+other by degrees of authority and peculiarities of duty." There must,
+also, exist, _somewhere_, the power of transmitting the ministry, by
+ordination. Among those, who suppose there is but one grade of office,
+this power is lodged in every minister. By Episcopalians, the power is
+confined to the highest order of the ministry,--the Bishops. It is evident,
+that the Savior could not have established both these different modes; and
+therefore both cannot possibly be correct. "To suppose, that He, who is
+the Fountain of all wisdom, could have been the Author of such inevitable
+disorder,--a kind of disorder which must ever keep the axe at the root of
+that _unity_ for which He prayed,--is not only an absurdity, but an opinion
+equally repudiated by all parties." "It is manifest," therefore, "that
+whatever may prove itself to be THE form of ministry, established and
+authorized by Jesus Christ, every other must be altogether void of such
+authority, and based simply on human appointment."
+
+That this Church, or Society, might endure, it must be provided with a
+well-arranged organization, or form of government, and consist of officers
+and members. No society can exist, without this; and the powers and duties
+of the officers should be well defined, and so adjusted, as to promote, in
+the best manner, the permanent good of the society. That this Society
+might endure forever, some provision must be made for the renewal of its
+officers, so that, when any were taken away, by death, their places might
+be supplied with suitable successors. That the Savior made all necessary
+provision for these purposes, there can be no doubt; and that the
+organization which He directed His Apostles to establish, was Episcopal,
+is easily susceptible of proof.
+
+Throughout the Bible, different orders in the ministry are recognized or
+referred to. Under the Jewish dispensation, (which, be it remembered, was
+established by God Himself,) there were the three orders of High Priest,
+Priests, and Levites. When the Savior was upon earth, He was the visible
+head of the Church,--the "Bishop and Shepherd of our souls,"--and the
+Apostles and seventy Disciples were the other two orders. After his
+ascension, the Apostles became the visible heads of the Church, the lower
+orders being Bishops, (called also Priests or Presbyters, and Elders,) and
+Deacons. When the Apostles were called hence, their successors did not
+assume the name or title of Apostle, but took that of Bishop, which
+thenceforth was applied exclusively to the highest order of the ministry,
+the other two orders being the Presbyters (Priests or Elders) and Deacons.
+Thus it has continued to the present day.
+
+It is worthy of remark, that "early writers have been careful to record
+the ecclesiastical genealogy or succession of the Bishops, in several of
+the principal Churches. Thus, we have catalogues of the Bishops of
+Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, &c.; though it does not appear that the
+Presbyters and Deacons of those Churches were honored with any similar
+notice." In like manner, catalogues of temporal Rulers are preserved, when
+the names of officers subordinate to them are suffered to pass into
+oblivion. It is easy to trace back the line of Bishops, by name, from our
+own day, up to the Apostles themselves.
+
+There is no ancient writer on ecclesiastical matters, who does not speak
+of the division of the ministry into different and distinct Orders, and of
+certain individuals as Bishops of particular Churches; or who mentions, as
+existing at the same time, and in the same Churches, any other persons by
+the same name of Bishops.
+
+But, it is to be observed, that it is not only necessary that a Church
+should preserve the true Order in the Ministry, but also that it retain
+the true faith. For a true faith and true Order are both necessary to
+constitute a Church. All the heretical sects of the ancient Church had the
+Apostolic Ministry; but, when they departed from the true faith, they were
+excluded from the communion of the Church. "The Arians, the Donatists, the
+Novatians, &c. &c., were all Episcopal in their Ministry, and in this
+respect differed in nothing from the Orthodox Catholic Church. Their grand
+error lay in the want of that union of Order _and_ Faith, which are
+essential to the being of a Church."
+
+An external commission, conveyed by Episcopal consecration or ordination,
+is considered necessary to constitute a lawful ministry; and it is
+therefore declared, by the Church, that "no man shall be accounted or
+taken to be a lawful Bishop, Priest, or Deacon, in this Church, or
+suffered to execute any of said functions," unless he has "had Episcopal
+consecration or ordination;" and the power of ordaining, or setting apart
+to the ministry, and of laying on hands upon others, is vested in the
+Bishops.
+
+The _ministry_ is of Divine appointment, and consists of three orders,
+only,--Bishop, Priest, and Deacon. The _government_ is of human regulation,
+and may be modified as circumstances require. Other officers may be
+appointed, and the manner in which ministers are invested with their
+jurisdiction may be varied. To use the language of the Episcopal Church in
+the United States, in the Preface to her Book of Common Prayer, "It is a
+most invaluable part of that blessed liberty, wherewith Christ hath made
+us free, that, in His worship, different forms and usages may, without
+offence, be allowed, provided the substance of the faith be kept entire;
+and that, in every Church, what cannot be clearly determined to belong to
+Doctrine, must be referred to Discipline; and therefore, by common consent
+and authority, may be altered, abridged, enlarged, amended, or otherwise
+disposed of, as may seem most convenient for the edification of the
+people, 'according to the various exigencies of times and occasions.' ...
+The particular Forms of Divine Worship, and the Rites and Ceremonies
+appointed to be used therein, being things in their own nature indifferent
+and alterable, and so acknowledged, it is but reasonable, that, upon
+weighty and important considerations, according to the various exigencies
+of times and occasions, such changes and alterations should be made
+therein, as to those, who are in places of authority should, from time to
+time, seem either necessary or expedient."
+
+In the Church of England, there are Archbishops, Deans, and various other
+officers and titles of office; but these are of local authority, and do
+not interfere with the three Divinely-appointed orders. To use the
+language of Hooker, "I may securely, therefore, conclude, that there are,
+at this day, in the Church of England, no other than the same degrees of
+ecclesiastical orders, namely, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, which had
+their beginning from Christ and His blessed Apostles themselves. As for
+Deans, Prebendaries, Parsons, Vicars, Curates, Archdeacons, and such like
+names, being not found in the Scriptures, we have been thereby, through
+some men's errors, thought to allow ecclesiastical degrees not known nor
+ever heard of in the better ages of former times. All these are in truth
+but titles of office," admitted "as the state of the Church doth need,
+degrees of order still remaining the same as they were from the
+beginning."
+
+Two hundred years ago, Hooker gave the following challenge, which has
+never yet been accepted:--"We require you to find but one Church upon the
+face of the whole earth that hath not been ordered by Episcopal regiment
+since the time that the blessed Apostles were here conversant." And
+though, says Bishop Doane, departures from it, since the time of which he
+spoke, have been but too frequent and too great, "Episcopal regiment" is
+still maintained as Christ's ordinance, for the perpetuation and
+government of his Church, and is received as such by eleven twelfths of
+the whole Christian world. For a period of fifteen hundred years after the
+Apostolic age, ordination by Presbyters was totally unknown, except in a
+few crooked cases, where the attempt was made, and followed by instant
+condemnation from the Church, and the declaration that they were utterly
+null and void. There was no ministry in existence, before the era of the
+Reformation, but that which had come down direct from the Apostles, that
+is, the Episcopal. This is admitted by nearly all the opponents of
+Episcopacy.
+
+The Episcopal Church in the United States, agrees with that of England, in
+doctrine, discipline, and worship, with some few unessential variations.
+Their Ritual, or Form of Worship, is the same, except that some few parts
+have been omitted for the sake of shortening the service, or for other
+reasons. Changes became necessary in the prayers for Rulers, in
+consequence of the independence of the United States.
+
+The different Episcopal parishes in each of the United States, (except in
+some of the newly-settled parts of the Country, where two or more States
+are united for this purpose,) are connected by a Constitution, which
+provides for a convention of the clergy and lay delegates from each parish
+in the State or Diocese. This Convention is held annually, and regulates
+the local concerns of its own Diocese, the Bishop of which, is the
+President of the Convention. The Conventions of the different Dioceses
+elect Deputies to a General Convention, which is held once in three years.
+Each Diocese may elect four Clergymen and four Laymen, as delegates, who,
+when assembled in General Convention, form what is called the "House of
+Clerical and Lay Deputies," each Order from a Diocese having one vote, and
+the concurrence of both being necessary to every act of the Convention.
+The Bishops form a separate House, with a right to originate measures for
+the concurrence of the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies, each House
+having a negative upon the other, as in the Congress of the United States.
+The whole Church is governed by Canons, framed by the General Convention.
+These Canons regulate the mode of elections of Bishops, declare the age
+and qualifications necessary for obtaining the orders of Deacon or Priest,
+the studies to be previously pursued, the examinations which each
+candidate is to undergo, and all other matters of permanent legislation.
+Deacon's orders cannot be conferred on any person under the age of
+twenty-one, nor those of Priest before that of twenty-four. A Bishop must
+be at least thirty years of age. Prejudices have prevailed against the
+Episcopal Church, and probably still exist in the minds of some persons,
+from an impression, that Episcopacy is not congenial with a republican
+form of government, and the civil institutions of our Country. But, that
+this is an erroneous opinion, will be evident, to any one who will
+carefully and impartially examine the subject. It will he seen, from what
+has been stated above, that its Constitution is founded on the
+representative principle, and is strikingly analogous to the form of
+government of the United States. "In the _permanent_ official stations of
+the Bishops and Clergy in her legislative bodies, our own Church," says
+Bishop Hobart, "resembles all other religious communities, whose clergy
+also are permanent legislators. But, in some respects, she is more
+conformed than they are to the organization of our civil governments. Of
+these, it is a characteristic, that legislative power is divided between
+two branches. And it is a peculiar character of our own Church, that her
+legislative power is thus divided. Again, a single responsible Executive
+characterizes our civil constitutions. The same feature marks our own
+Church, in the single Episcopal Executive in each Diocese, chosen, in the
+first instance, by the Clergy and representatives of the Laity. Nor are
+these the only points in which the Bishop of our Church may feel pleasure
+in asserting the free and republican constitution of our government; for,
+in our ecclesiastical judicatories, the representatives of the laity
+possess strict coordinate authority,--the power of voting as a separate
+body, and of annulling, by a majority of votes, the acts of the Bishops
+and Clergy."
+
+The doctrines of the Episcopal Church are contained in the Thirty-nine
+Articles of Religion, subjoined to this notice. See Book of Homilies, the
+Canons of the Church, Archbishop Potter's Discourse on Church Government,
+Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, Daubeny's Guide to the Church, Burton's
+Early English Church, the Church Dictionaries of Rev. Dr Hook and Rev. Mr.
+Staunton, Bishop Onderdonk's Episcopacy Examined and Reexamined, and other
+similar works.
+
+
+
+
+Historical Notice Of The Church In The United States.
+
+
+Though the greater proportion of the early emigrants to this Country were
+opposed to the form of religious worship established in the Mother
+Country, some of them were devoted adherents of that establishment, and
+Episcopal churches existed, of course, in several of the Colonies, at an
+early period, although, from the opposition made to them by the other
+emigrants, and from other causes, the number was not so considerable as
+might have been expected under different circumstances. At the
+commencement of the Revolutionary War, there were not more than eighty
+parochial clergymen North and East of Maryland; and these, with the
+exception of those in the towns of Boston and Newport, and the cities of
+New York and Philadelphia, derived the principal part of their support
+from England, through the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
+Foreign Parts," an old and venerable Institution, yet in existence, and
+still zealously engaged in spreading the Gospel to the utmost parts of the
+earth. In Maryland and Virginia, the members of the Church were much more
+numerous, than in the other parts of the Country, and the clergy were
+supported by a legal establishment.
+
+The distance of this from the Mother Country, and the consequent
+separation of the members of the Church from their parent stock, which
+rendered them dependent for the ministry upon emigrations from England, or
+obliged them to send candidates to that Country, for Holy Orders, operated
+as a serious obstacle to the increase of the Church here. All the clergy
+of this Country were attached to the diocese of the Bishop of London, who
+thus became the only bond of union between them; but his authority could
+not be effectually exerted, at such a distance, in those cases where it
+was most needed; and, for these and other reasons, several efforts were
+made by the clergy to obtain an American Episcopate. But the jealousy with
+which such a measure was regarded by other denominations, and the great
+opposition with which it consequently met, prevented the accomplishment of
+the design. When, however, the tie, which had thus bound the members of
+the Church together in one communion, had been severed, by the
+independence of the United States, it was necessary that some new bond of
+union should be adopted; and renewed efforts were made to procure an
+Episcopate.
+
+The clergy of the Church in Connecticut, at a meeting held in March, 1783,
+elected the Rev. Samuel Seabury, D. D., their Bishop, and sent him to
+England, with an application to the Archbishop of Canterbury for his
+consecration to that holy office. The English Bishops were unable to
+consecrate him, till an Act of Parliament, authorizing them so to do,
+could be passed; and he then made application to the Bishops of the Church
+in Scotland, who readily assented to the request, and he was consecrated
+by them, in Aberdeen, on the 14th of November, 1784. The Prelates, who
+were thus the instruments of first communicating the Episcopate to this
+Country, were, the Right Reverend Robert Kilgour, D. D., Bishop of
+Aberdeen, the Right Reverend Arthur Petrie, D. D., Bishop of Ross and
+Moray, and the Right Reverend John Skinner, D. D., Coadjutor Bishop of
+Aberdeen. Bishop Seabury returned to this Country, immediately after his
+consecration, and commenced his Episcopal duties without delay.
+
+A few clergymen of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, having held a
+meeting at Brunswick, N. J., on the 13th and 14th of May, 1784, for the
+purpose of consulting in what way to renew a Society for the support of
+widows and children of deceased clergymen, determined to procure a larger
+meeting on the 5th of the ensuing October, not only for the purpose of
+completing the object for which they had then assembled, but also to
+confer and agree on some general principles of a union of the Church
+throughout the States. At this latter meeting, a plan of ecclesiastical
+union was agreed upon, with great unanimity; and a recommendation to the
+several States, to send delegates to a general meeting, at Philadelphia,
+in September, 1785, was adopted.
+
+At the meeting, in Philadelphia, in September and October, 1785, there
+were present, deputies from seven of the thirteen States. This Convention
+framed an Ecclesiastical Constitution, recommended sundry alterations in
+the Book of Common Prayer, to adapt it to the local circumstances of the
+Country, now severed from the parent State, and also took some measures
+towards procuring the Episcopate from England. An Address was forwarded to
+the English Bishops, through his Excellency John Adams, then Minister to
+England, and afterwards President of the United States who zealously used
+his influence to promote the views of the Convention.
+
+Another Convention was held in Philadelphia, in June, 1786, at which, a
+Letter was read, from the Archbishops and Bishops of England, in answer to
+the Address forwarded from the preceding Convention; and another Address
+to the same Right Reverend Prelates, was adopted, to accompany the
+Ecclesiastical Constitution now finally agreed upon. This Convention then
+adjourned, to meet again whenever answers should be received from England.
+The next meeting was held at Wilmington, in Delaware, in October, 1786, at
+which, Letters from the English Prelates were read, and also an Act of
+Parliament, authorizing the consecration of Bishops for foreign places.
+Sundry further amendments and modifications of the Ecclesiastical
+Constitution, and Book of Common Prayer, were agreed upon, another Address
+to the English Prelates was adopted, and testimonials signed for three
+clergymen, who had been elected Bishops by their respective Dioceses. Two
+of these clergymen proceeded to England, in the course of the next month;
+and, after some further delays, all difficulties were finally removed, and
+the Rev. William White, D. D., of Philadelphia, and the Rev. Samuel
+Provoost, D. D., of New York, having been elected to the Bishoprics of
+Pennsylvania and New York, were consecrated to their high and holy office,
+on the fourth of February, A. D. 1787, in the chapel of the Archiepiscopal
+palace at Lambeth, by the Most Reverend John Moore, D. D., Archbishop of
+Canterbury, assisted by the Most Reverend William Markham, D. D.,
+Archbishop of York, the Right Reverend Charles Moss, D. D., Bishop of Bath
+and Wells, and the Right Reverend Charles Hinchliff, D. D., Bishop of
+Peterborough. The newly-consecrated Bishops returned to America, April 7,
+1787, and soon after, began the exercise of their Episcopal functions in
+their respective dioceses.
+
+Of these three original Bishops of the Church, Bishop Seabury discharged
+his Episcopal duties between nine and ten years, and died, February 25,
+1796. Bishop White continued to be as a patriarch of the Church for many
+years, his life having been prolonged to the age of 88, and the discharge
+of his Episcopal functions having continued forty-nine years. He died,
+July 17, 1836. Bishop Provoost died, September 6, 1815, in the
+twenty-ninth year of his Episcopate.
+
+The first triennial Convention of the Church was held in July and August,
+1789, and the sessions of this body continue to be regularly held every
+three years. Rev. James Madison, D. D., was consecrated Bishop of
+Virginia, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, September 19, 1790, and died
+March 6, 1812. Rev. Thomas John Claggett, D. D., of Maryland, was the
+first Bishop consecrated in the United States, having been elevated to
+that holy Order by the Right Reverend Bishops Provoost, Seabury, White,
+and Madison, in New York, September 17, 1792; since which time,
+thirty-three Bishops have been consecrated, making the whole number,
+thirty-eight, of whom twenty are now living. For the succession of
+Bishops, from the first establishment of the Church, to the present day,
+see _Statistics_.
+
+The last General Convention was held in New York, in October, 1841, at
+which time, there were present, twenty-one Bishops, and 79 clerical and 57
+lay members. The Bishops reported the consecration of 93 churches, the
+ordination of 355 clergymen, and the confirmation of 14,767 persons, in
+the years 1838 to 1841. The whole number of clergymen, at the present
+time, (1842,) is 1114. Other facts of interest, in relation to the Church
+in this Country, will be found among the Statistics of this volume; and
+for more full information, the reader is referred to "Swords's Pocket
+Almanack, Churchman's Register, and Ecclesiastical Calendar," a valuable
+little manual, published annually, and to the "Churchman's Almanack," also
+published annually; and for historical notices, reference may be made to
+Bishop White's "Memoirs of the Protestant Episcopal Church," Journals of
+the General, and State Conventions, Hawks's Ecclesiastical History of
+different States, and other similar works.
+
+
+
+
+Articles Of Religion.
+
+
+    _As established by the Bishops, the Clergy, and Laity of the
+    Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, in
+    Convention, on the twelfth Day of September, in the Year of our
+    Lord, one thousand eight hundred and one._
+
+
+"ARTICLE I. _Of Faith in the Holy Trinity._--There is but one living and
+true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite
+power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker and Preserver of all things, both
+visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three
+persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and
+the Holy Ghost.
+
+"ART. II. _Of the Word, or Son of God, which was made very Man._--The Son,
+which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father,
+the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man's
+nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that two
+whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were
+joined together in one person, never to be divided; whereof is one Christ,
+very God, and very Man; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and
+buried, to reconcile His Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for
+original guilt, but also for actual sins of men.
+
+"ART. III. _Of the going down of Christ into Hell._--As Christ died for us,
+and was buried, so also is it to be believed, that He went down into hell.
+
+"ART. IV. _Of the Resurrection of Christ._--Christ did truly rise again
+from death, and took again His body, with flesh, bones, and all things
+appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith He ascended into
+heaven, and there sitteth, until He return to judge all men at the last
+day.
+
+"ART. V. _Of the Holy Ghost._--The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father
+and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and
+the Son, very and eternal God.
+
+"ART. VI. _Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for __
+Salvation._--Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation;
+so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not
+to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the
+faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of
+the Holy Scripture we do understand those Canonical Books of the Old and
+New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.
+
+"_Of the Names and Number of the Canonical Books._--Genesis, Exodus,
+Leviticus, Numeri, Deuteronomium, Joshue, Judges, Ruth, The First Book of
+Samuel, The Second Book of Samuel, The First Book of Kings, The Second
+Book of Kings, The First Book of Chronicles, The Second Book of
+Chronicles, The First Book of Esdras, The Second Book of Esdras, The Book
+of Hester, The Book of Job, The Psalms, The Proverbs, Ecclesiastes or
+Preacher, Cantica or Songs of Solomon, Four Prophets the greater, Twelve
+Prophets the less.
+
+"And the other Books (as Hierome saith) the Church doth read for example
+of life, and instruction of manners, but yet doth it not apply them to
+establish any doctrine; such are these following:
+
+"The Third Book of Esdras, The Fourth Book of Esdras, The Book of Tobias,
+The Book of Judith, The Rest of the Book of Hester, The Book of Wisdom,
+Jesus the Son of Sirach, Baruch the Prophet, The Song of the Three
+Children, The Story of Susanna, Of Bel and the Dragon, The Prayer of
+Manasses, The First Book of Maccabees, The Second Book of Maccabees.
+
+"All the Books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do
+receive, and account them Canonical.
+
+"ART. VII. _Of the Old Testament._--The Old Testament is not contrary to
+the New; for both in the Old and New Testament, everlasting life is
+offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and
+man, being both God and Man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, which
+feign, that the old fathers did look only for transitory promises Although
+the law given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, do not
+bind Christian men, nor the civil precepts thereof ought of necessity to
+be received in any commonwealth; yet, notwithstanding, no Christian man
+whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called
+Moral.
+
+"ART. VIII. _Of the Creeds._--The Nicene Creed, and that which is commonly
+called the Apostles' Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed;
+for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture.
+
+"ART. IX. _Of Original or Birth-Sin._--Original sin standeth not in the
+following of Adam, (as the Pelagians do vainly talk,) but it is the fault
+and corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of
+the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original
+righteousness, and is, of his own nature, inclined to evil, so that the
+flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore, in every
+person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. And
+this infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are regenerated;
+whereby the lust of the flesh, called in Greek, _Phronema sarkos_, which
+some do expound the wisdom, some sensuality, some the affection, some the
+desire, of the flesh, is not subject to the law of God. And although there
+is no condemnation for them that believe and are baptized, yet the Apostle
+doth confess, that concupiscence and lust hath of itself the nature of
+sin.
+
+"ART. X. _Of Free Will._--The condition of man, after the fall of Adam, is
+such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength
+and good works, to faith, and calling upon God; wherefore we have no power
+to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God
+by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with
+us, when we have that good will.
+
+"ART. XI. _Of the Justification of Man._--We are accounted righteous before
+God, only for the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by faith, and
+not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by
+faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort, as
+more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.
+
+"ART. XII. _Of Good Works._--Albeit that good works, which are the fruits
+of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and
+endure the severity of God's judgment; yet are they pleasing and
+acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out, necessarily, of a true and
+lively faith, insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently
+known, as a tree discerned by the fruit.
+
+"ART. XIII. _Of Works before Justification._--Works done before the grace
+of Christ, and the inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God,
+forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they
+make men meet to receive grace, or (as the school authors say) deserve
+grace of congruity; yea, rather, for that they are not done as God hath
+willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the
+nature of sin.
+
+"ART. XIV. _Of Works of Supererogation._--Voluntary works, besides over and
+above God's commandments, which they call works of supererogation, cannot
+be taught without arrogancy and impiety; for by them men do declare, that
+they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that
+they do more for His sake than of bounden duty is required; whereas Christ
+saith plainly, When ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, We
+are unprofitable servants.
+
+"ART. XV. _Of Christ alone without Sin._--Christ, in the truth of our
+nature, was made like unto us in all things, sin only except, from which
+He was clearly void, both in His flesh and in His spirit. He came to be a
+Lamb without spot, who, by sacrifice of Himself once made, should take
+away the sins of the world; and sin (as Saint John saith) was not in Him.
+But all we the rest (although baptized and born again in Christ) yet
+offend in many things; and if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
+and the truth is not in us.
+
+"ART. XVI. _Of Sin after Baptism._--Not every deadly sin willingly
+committed after baptism, is sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable.
+Wherefore the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into
+sin after baptism. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart
+from grace given, and fall into sin, and by the grace of God (we may)
+arise again, and amend our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned,
+which say, they can no more sin as long as they live here, or deny the
+place of forgiveness to such as truly repent.
+
+"ART. XVII. _Of Predestination and Election._--Predestination to life is
+the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the foundations of the
+world were laid) He hath constantly decreed, by His counsel, secret to us,
+to deliver from curse and damnation those whom He hath chosen in Christ
+out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as
+vessels made to honor. Wherefore they, which be endued with so excellent a
+benefit of God, be called according to God's purpose by His Spirit working
+in due season: they, through grace, obey the calling: they be justified
+freely: they be made sons of God by adoption: they be made like the image
+of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, they walk religiously in good
+works; and at length, by God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity.
+
+"As the godly consideration of predestination, and our election in Christ,
+is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and
+such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying
+the works of the flesh and their earthly members, and drawing up their
+mind to high and heavenly things, as well because it doth greatly
+establish and confirm their faith of eternal salvation, to be enjoyed
+through Christ, as because it doth fervently kindle their love towards
+God; so, for curious and carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to
+have continually before their eyes the sentence of God's predestination,
+is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the devil doth thrust them either
+into desperation, or into wretchlessness of most unclean living, no less
+perilous than desperation.
+
+"Furthermore, we must receive God's promises in such wise as they be
+generally set forth to us in Holy Scripture and, in our doings, that will
+of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared unto us in the
+Word of God.
+
+"ART. XVIII. _Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by the Name of
+Christ._--They also are to be had accursed, that presume to say, That every
+man shall be saved by the law or sect which he professeth, so that he be
+diligent to frame his life according to that law, and the light of nature.
+For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ,
+whereby men must be saved.
+
+"ART. XIX. _Of the Church._--The visible Church of Christ is a congregation
+of faithful men, in the which the pure Word of God is preached, and the
+sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance, in all
+those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.
+
+"As the Church of Hierusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred, so also
+the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of
+ceremonies, but also in matters of faith.
+
+"ART. XX. _Of the Authority of the Church._--The Church hath power to
+decree rites or ceremonies, and authority in controversies of faith; and
+yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary
+to God's Word written; neither may it so expound one place of Scripture,
+that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore, although the Church be a
+witness and a keeper of Holy Writ, yet, as it ought not to decree any
+thing against the same, so besides the same ought it not to enforce any
+thing to be believed for necessity of salvation.
+
+"ART. XXI. _Of the Authority of General Councils._(1)
+
+"ART. XXII. _Of Purgatory._--The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory,
+pardons, worshipping, and adoration, as well of images as of reliques, and
+also invocation of saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded
+upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.
+
+"ART. XXIII. _Of Ministering in the Congregation._--It is not lawful for
+any man to take upon him the office of public preaching, or ministering
+the sacraments in the Congregation, before he be lawfully called, and sent
+to execute the same. And those we ought to judge lawfully called and sent,
+which be chosen and called to this work by men who have public authority
+given unto them in the Congregation, to call and send ministers into the
+Lord's vineyard.
+
+"ART. XXIV. _Of Speaking in the Congregation in such a Tongue as the
+People understandeth._--It is a thing plainly repugnant to the Word of God,
+and the custom of the primitive Church, to have public prayer in the
+Church, or to minister the sacraments, in a tongue not understanded of the
+people.
+
+"ART. XXV. _Of the Sacraments._--Sacraments ordained of Christ, be not only
+badges or tokens of Christian men's profession; but rather they be certain
+sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God's good will toward
+us, by the which He doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken,
+but also strengthen and confirm our faith in Him.
+
+"There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that
+is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord.
+
+"Those five commonly called sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation,
+Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for
+Sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have grown, partly of the corrupt
+fallowing of the Apostles, partly are states of life allowed by the
+Scriptures; but yet have not like nature of Sacraments with Baptism and
+the Lord's Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony
+ordained of God.
+
+"The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be
+carried about, but that we should duly use them. And in such only as
+worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or operation; but
+they that receive them unworthily purchase to themselves damnation, as
+Saint Paul saith.
+
+"ART. XXVI. _Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which hinders not the
+Effect of the Sacraments._--Although in the visible Church, the evil be
+ever mingled with the good, and sometime the evil have chief authority in
+the ministration of the Word and Sacraments; yet, forasmuch as they do not
+the same in their own name, but in Christ's, and do minister by his
+commission and authority, we may use their ministry, both in hearing the
+Word of God, and in receiving the Sacraments. Neither is the effect of
+Christ's ordinance taken away by their wickedness, nor the grace of God's
+gifts diminished from such as, by faith, and rightly, do receive the
+Sacraments ministered unto them, which be effectual, because of Christ's
+institution and promise, although they be ministered by evil men.
+
+"Nevertheless, it appertaineth to the discipline of the Church, that
+inquiry be made of evil ministers, and that they be accused by those that
+have knowledge of their offences; and finally, being found guilty, by just
+judgment, be deposed.
+
+"ART. XXVII. _Of Baptism._--Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and
+mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that
+be not christened; but it is also a sign of regeneration, or new birth,
+whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are
+grafted into the Church: the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of
+our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed
+and sealed: faith is confirmed, and grace increased by virtue of prayer
+unto God. The Baptism of young children is in any wise to be retained in
+the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ.
+
+"ART. XXVIII. _Of the Lord's Supper._--The Supper of the Lord is not only a
+sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to
+another; but rather it is a Sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death:
+insomuch that, to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith, receive the
+same, the Bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ; and
+likewise the Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ.
+
+"Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of bread and wine) in
+the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ; but it is repugnant
+to the plain words of Scripture, overthrowing the nature of a sacrament,
+and hath given occasion to many superstitions.
+
+"The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the Supper, only after a
+heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean, whereby the body of Christ is
+received and eaten in the Supper, is faith.
+
+"The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance
+reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.
+
+"ART. XXIX. _Of the Wicked, which eat not of the Body of Christ in the Use
+of the Lord's Supper._--The wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith,
+although they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as Saint
+Augustine saith) the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ; yet in
+nowise are they partakers of Christ; but rather, to their condemnation, do
+eat and drink the sign or sacrament of so great a thing.
+
+"ART. XXX. _Of Both Kinds._--The Cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the
+lay people; for both the parts of the Lord's Sacrament, by Christ's
+ordinance and commandment, ought to be ministered to all Christian men
+alike.
+
+"ART. XXXI. _Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross._--The
+offering of Christ once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation,
+and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and
+actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone.
+Wherefore the sacrifice of masses, in the which it was commonly said, that
+the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission
+of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits.
+
+"ART. XXXII. _Of the Marriage of Priests._--Bishops, Priests, and Deacons,
+are not commanded by God's law either to vow the estate of single life, or
+to abstain from marriage: therefore it is lawful for them, as for all
+other Christian men, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge
+the same to serve better to godliness.
+
+"ART. XXXIII. _Of excommunicate Persons, how they are to be avoided._--That
+person which, by open denunciation of the Church, is rightly cut off from
+the unity of the Church, and excommunicated, ought to be taken, of the
+whole multitude of the faithful, as a heathen and publican, until he be
+openly reconciled by penance, and received into the Church by a judge that
+hath authority thereunto.
+
+"ART. XXXIV. _Of the Traditions of the Church._--It is not necessary that
+traditions and ceremonies be in all places one, or utterly like; for at
+all times they have been divers, and may be changed according to the
+diversity of countries, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be
+ordained against God's Word. Whosoever, through his private judgment,
+willingly and purposely doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies of
+the Church, which be not repugnant to the Word of God, and be ordained and
+approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, (that other may
+fear to do the like,) as he that offendeth against the common order of the
+Church, and hurteth the authority of the magistrate, and woundeth the
+consciences of the weak brethren.
+
+"Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and
+abolish ceremonies or rites of the Church, ordained only by man's
+authority, so that all things be done to edifying.
+
+"ART. XXXV. _Of Homilies._--The second Book of Homilies, the several titles
+whereof we have joined, under this article, doth contain a godly and
+wholesome doctrine, and necessary for these times, as doth the former Book
+of Homilies, which were set forth in the time of Edward the Sixth; and
+therefore we judge them to be read in Churches by the Ministers,
+diligently and distinctly, that they may be understanded of the people.
+
+"_Of the Names of the Homilies._--1. Of the right Use of the Church. 2.
+Against Peril of Idolatry. 3. Of repairing and keeping clean of Churches.
+4. Of Good Works; first of Fasting. 5. Against Gluttony and Drunkenness.
+6. Against Excess of Apparel. 7. Of Prayer. 8. Of the Place and Time of
+Prayer. 9. That Common Prayers and Sacraments ought to be ministered in a
+known Tongue. 10. Of the reverent Estimation of God's Word. 11. Of
+Alms-doing. 12. Of the Nativity of Christ. 13. Of the Passion of Christ.
+14. Of the Resurrection of Christ. 15. Of the worthy receiving of the
+Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. 16. Of the Gifts of the Holy
+Ghost. 17. For the Rogation-Days. 18. Of the State of Matrimony. 19. Of
+Repentance. 20. Against Idleness. 21. Against Rebellion.
+
+"[This article is received in this Church, so far as it declares the Books
+of Homilies to be an explication of Christian doctrine, and instructive in
+piety and morals. But all references to the constitution and laws of
+England are considered as inapplicable to the circumstances of this
+Church, which also suspends the order for the reading of said Homilies in
+Churches, until a revision of them may be conveniently made, for the
+clearing of them, as well from obsolete words and phrases, as from the
+local references.]
+
+"ART. XXXVI. _Of Consecration of Bishops and Ministers._--The Book of
+Consecration of Bishops, and Ordering of Priests and Deacons, as set forth
+by the General Convention of this Church, in 1792, doth contain all things
+necessary to such consecration and ordering; neither hath it any thing
+that, of itself, is superstitious and ungodly: and, therefore, whosoever
+are consecrated or ordered according to said form, we decree all such to
+be rightly, orderly, and lawfully, consecrated and ordered.
+
+"ART. XXXVII. _Of the Power of the Civil Magistrates._--The power of the
+civil magistrate extendeth to all men, as well clergy as laity, in all
+things temporal; but hath no authority in things purely spiritual. And we
+hold it to be the duty of all men, who are professors of the Gospel, to
+pay respectful obedience to the civil authority, regularly and
+legitimately constituted.
+
+"ART. XXXVIII. _Of Christian Men's Goods which are not common._--The riches
+and goods of Christians are not common, as touching the right, title, and
+possession, of the same, as certain Anabaptists do falsely boast.
+Notwithstanding, every man ought, of such things as he possesseth,
+liberally to give alms to the poor, according to his ability.
+
+"ART. XXXIX. _Of a Christian Man's Oath._--As we confess that vain, and
+rash swearing is forbidden Christian men by our Lord Jesus Christ, and
+James his Apostle; so we judge that Christian religion doth not prohibit,
+but that a man may swear when the magistrate requireth, in a cause of
+faith and charity, so it be done according to the prophet's teaching, in
+justice, judgment, and truth."
+
+
+
+
+
+CAMBRIDGE AND SAYBROOK PLATFORMS.
+
+
+The Cambridge Platform of church government, and the Confession of Faith
+of the New England churches, adopted in 1680; the Saybrook Platform,
+adopted in 1708; and the Heads of Agreement, assented to by the
+Presbyterians and Congregationalists in England in 1690,--form a volume,
+and cannot, therefore, be inserted in this work.
+
+The form of church government, however, embraced in those Platforms, is
+essentially the same as that now in use by the Orthodox Congregationalists
+at the present day, and the Confession of Faith the same in substance to
+that we term the "Andover Orthodox Creed."
+
+
+
+
+
+MORAVIANS, OR UNITED BRETHREN.
+
+
+A name given to the followers of Nicholas Lewis, count of Zinzendorf, who,
+in the year 1721, settled at Bartholdorf, in Upper Lusatia. There he made
+proselytes of two or three Moravian families, and, having engaged them to
+leave their country, received them at Bartholdorf, in Germany. They were
+directed to build a house in a wood, about half a league from that
+village, where, in 1722, this people held their first meeting.
+
+This society increased so fast, that, in a few years, they had an
+orphan-house and other public buildings. An adjacent hill, called the
+Huth-Berg, gave the colonists occasion to call this dwelling-place
+Herrnhut, which may be interpreted _the guard_ or _protection of the
+Lord_. Hence this society are sometimes called _Herrnhuters_.
+
+The Moravians avoid discussions respecting the speculative truths of
+religion, and insist upon individual experience of the practical
+efficiency of the gospel in producing a real change of sentiment and
+conduct, as the only essentials in religion. They consider the
+manifestation of God in Christ as intended to be the most beneficial
+revelation of the Deity to the human race; and, in consequence, they make
+the life, merits, acts, words, sufferings, and death, of the Savior the
+principal theme of their doctrine, while they carefully avoid entering
+into any theoretical disquisitions on the mysterious essence of the
+Godhead, simply adhering to the words of Scripture. Admitting the sacred
+Scriptures as the only source of divine revelation, they nevertheless
+believe that the Spirit of God continues to lead those who believe in
+Christ into all further truth, not by revealing new doctrines, but by
+teaching those who sincerely desire to learn, daily, better to understand
+and apply the truths which the Scriptures contain. They believe that, to
+live agreeably to the gospel, it is essential to aim, in all things, to
+fulfil the will of God. Even in their temporal concerns, they endeavor to
+ascertain the will of God. They do not, indeed, expect some miraculous
+manifestation of his will, but only endeavor to test the purity of their
+purposes by the light of the divine word. Nothing of consequence is done
+by them, as a society, until such an examination has taken place; and, in
+cases of difficulty, the question is decided by lot, to avoid the undue
+preponderance of influential men, and in the humble hope that God will
+guide them right by its decision, where their limited understanding fails
+them. In former times, the marriages of the members of the society were,
+in some respects, regarded as a concern of the society, as it was part of
+their social agreement that none should take place without the approval of
+the elders; and the elders' consent or refusal was usually determined by
+lot. But this custom was at length abandoned; and nothing is now requisite
+to obtain the consent of the elders, but propriety of conduct in the
+parties. They consider none of their peculiar regulations essential, but
+all liable to be altered or abandoned, whenever it is found necessary, in
+order better to attain their great object--the promotion of piety.
+
+What characterizes the Moravians most, and holds them up to the attention
+of others, is their missionary zeal. In this they are superior to any
+other body of people in the world. "Their missionaries," as one observes,
+"are all of them volunteers; for it is an inviolable maxim with them to
+_persuade_ no man to engage in missions. They are all of one mind as to
+the doctrines they teach, and seldom make an attempt where there are not
+half a dozen of them in the mission. Their zeal is calm, steady,
+persevering. They would reform the world, but are careful how they quarrel
+with it. They carry their point by address, and the insinuations of
+modesty and mildness, which commend them to all men, and give offence to
+none. The habits of silence, quietness, and decent reserve, mark their
+character."
+
+The following is a sketch of the mode of life of the Moravians, or United
+Brethren, where they form separate communities, which, however, is not
+always the case; for, in many instances, societies belonging to the Unity
+are situated in larger and smaller cities and towns, intermingled with the
+rest of the inhabitants, in which cases their peculiar regulations are, of
+course, out of the question. In their separate communities, they do not
+allow the permanent residence of any persons as householders who are not
+members in full communion, and who have not signed the written instrument
+of brotherly agreement, upon which their constitution and discipline rest;
+but they freely admit of the temporary residence among them of such other
+persons as are willing to conform to their external regulations. According
+to these, all kinds of amusements considered dangerous to strict morality
+are forbidden, as balls, dancing, plays, gambling of any kind, and all
+promiscuous assemblies of youth of both sexes. These, however, are not
+debarred from forming, under proper advice and parental superintendence,
+that acquaintance which their future matrimonial connections may require.
+In the communities on the European continent, whither, to this day,
+numbers of young persons of both sexes resort, in order to become members
+of the society from motives of piety and a desire to prepare themselves to
+become missionaries among the heathen, and where, moreover, the
+difficulties of supporting a family greatly limit the number of marriages,
+a stricter attention to this point becomes necessary. On this account, the
+unmarried men and boys, not belonging to the families of the community,
+reside together, under the care of an elder of their own class, in a
+building called the _single brethren's house_, where usually divers trades
+and manufactures are carried on, for the benefit of the house or of the
+community, and which, at the same time, furnishes a cheap and convenient
+place for the board and lodging of those who are employed as journeymen,
+apprentices, or otherwise, in the families constituting the community.
+Particular daily opportunities of edification are there afforded them; and
+such a house is the place of resort where the young men and boys of the
+families spend their leisure time, it being a general rule, that every
+member of the society shall devote himself to some useful occupation. A
+similar house, under the guidance of a female superintendent, and under
+similar regulations, is called the _single sisters' house_, and is the
+common dwelling-place of all unmarried females, not members of any family,
+or not employed as servants in the families of the community. Even these
+regard the sisters' house as their principal place of association at
+leisure hours. Industrious habits are here inculcated in the same way. In
+the communities of the United Brethren in America, the facilities of
+supporting families, and the consequent early marriages, have superseded
+the necessity of single brethren's houses; but they all have sisters'
+houses of the above description, which afford a comfortable asylum to aged
+unmarried females, while they furnish an opportunity of attending to the
+further education and improvement of the female youth after they have left
+school. In the larger communities, similar houses afford the same
+advantages to such widows as desire to live retired, and are called
+_widows' houses_. The individuals residing in these establishments pay a
+small rent, by which, and by the sums paid for their board, the expenses
+of these houses are defrayed, assisted occasionally by the profits on the
+sale of ornamental needle-work, &c., on which some of the inmates subsist.
+The aged and needy are supported by the same means. Each division of sex
+and station just alluded to, viz., widows, single men and youths, single
+women and girls past the age of childhood, is placed under the special
+guidance of elders of their own description, whose province it is to
+assist them with good advice and admonition, and to attend, as much as may
+be, to the spiritual and temporal welfare of each individual. The children
+of each sex are under the immediate care of the superintendent of the
+single choirs, as these divisions are termed. Their instruction in
+religion, and in all the necessary branches of human knowledge, in good
+schools, carried on separately for each sex, is under the special
+superintendence of the stated minister of each community, and of the board
+of elders. Similar special elders are charged to attend to the spiritual
+welfare of the married people. All these elders, of both sexes, together
+with the stated minister, to whom the preaching of the gospel is chiefly
+committed, (although all other elders who may be qualified participate
+therein,) and with the persons to whom the economical concerns of the
+community are intrusted, form together the board of elders, in which rests
+the government of the community, with the concurrence of the committee
+elected by the inhabitants for all temporal concerns. This committee
+superintends the observance of all regulations, has charge of the police,
+and decides differences between individuals. Matters of a general nature
+are submitted to a meeting of the whole community, consisting either of
+all male members of age, or of an intermediate body elected by them.
+Public meetings are held every evening in the week. Some of these are
+devoted to the reading of the Scriptures, others to the communication of
+accounts from the missionary stations, and others to the singing of hymns
+or selected verses. On Sunday mornings, the church litany is publicly
+read, and sermons are delivered to the congregation, which, in many
+places, is the case likewise in the afternoon. In the evening, discourses
+are delivered, in which the texts for that day are explained and brought
+home to the particular circumstances of the community. Besides these
+regular means of edification, the festival days of the Christian church,
+such as Easter, Pentecost, Christmas, &c., are commemorated in a special
+manner, as well as some days of peculiar interest in the history of the
+society. A solemn church music constitutes a prominent feature of their
+means of edification, music in general being a favorite employment of the
+leisure of many. On particular occasions, and before the congregation
+meets to partake of the Lord's supper, they assemble expressly to listen
+to instrumental and vocal music, interspersed with hymns, in which the
+whole congregation joins, while they partake together of a cup of coffee,
+tea, or chocolate, and light cakes, in token of fellowship and brotherly
+union. This solemnity is called a _love-feast_, and is in imitation of the
+custom of the agapae in the primitive Christian churches. The Lord's supper
+is celebrated at stated intervals, generally by all communicant members
+together, under very solemn but simple rites.
+
+Easter morning is devoted to a solemnity of a peculiar kind. At sunrise,
+the congregation assembles in the graveyard; a service, accompanied by
+music, is celebrated, expressive of the joyful hopes of immortality and
+resurrection, and a solemn commemoration is made of all who have, in the
+course of the last year, departed this life from among them, and "gone
+home to the Lord"--an expression they often use to designate death.
+
+Considering the termination of the present life no evil, but the entrance
+upon an eternal state of bliss to the sincere disciples of Christ, they
+desire to divest this event of all its terrors. The decease of every
+individual is announced to the community by solemn music from a band of
+instruments. Outward appearances of mourning are discountenanced. The
+whole congregation follows the bier to the graveyard, (which is commonly
+laid out as a garden,) accompanied by a band, playing the tunes of
+well-known verses, which express the hopes of eternal life and
+resurrection; and the corpse is deposited in the simple grave during the
+funeral service. The preservation of the purity of the community is
+intrusted to the board of elders and its different members, who are to
+give instruction and admonition to those under their care, and make a
+discreet use of the established church discipline. In cases of immoral
+conduct, or flagrant disregard of the regulations of the society, this
+discipline is resorted to. If expostulations are not successful, offenders
+are for a time restrained from participating in the holy communion, or
+called before the committee. For pertinacious bad conduct, or flagrant
+excesses, the culpable individual is dismissed from the society. The
+ecclesiastical church officers, generally speaking, are the
+bishops,--through whom the regular succession of ordination, transmitted to
+the United Brethren through the ancient church of the Bohemian and
+Moravian Brethren, is preserved, and who alone are authorized to ordain
+ministers, but possess no authority in the government of the church,
+except such as they derive from some other office, being, most frequently,
+the presidents of some board of elders,--the civil seniors,--to whom, in
+subordination to the board of elders of the Unity, belongs the management
+of the external relations of the society,--the presbyters, or ordained
+stated ministers of the communities, and the deacons. The degree of deacon
+is the first bestowed upon young ministers and missionaries, by which they
+are authorized to administer the sacraments. Females, although elders
+among their own sex, are never ordained; nor have they a vote in the
+deliberations of the board of elders, which they attend for the sake of
+information only.
+
+The Moravians that first visited the United States, settled at Savannah,
+Ga., in 1735.
+
+
+
+
+
+TUNKERS.
+
+
+A denomination of Seventh-Day Baptists, which took its rise in the year
+1724. It was founded by a German, who, weary of the world, retired to an
+agreeable solitude, within sixty miles of Philadelphia, for the more free
+exercise of religious contemplation. Curiosity attracted followers, and
+his simple and engaging manners made them proselytes. They soon settled a
+little colony, called Ephrata, in allusion to the Hebrews, who used to
+sing psalms on the border of the River Euphrates. This denomination seem
+to have obtained their name from their baptizing their new converts by
+plunging. They are also called _Tumblers_, from the manner in which they
+perform baptism, which is by putting the person, while kneeling, head
+first under water, so as to resemble the motion of the body in the action
+of tumbling. They use the trine immersion, with laying on the hands and
+prayer, even when the person baptized is in the water. Their habit seems
+to be peculiar to themselves, consisting of a long tunic or coat, reaching
+down to their heels, with a sash or girdle round the waist, and a cap or
+hood hanging from the shoulders. They do not shave the head or beard.
+
+The men and women have separate habitations and distinct governments. For
+these purposes, they erected two large wooden buildings, one of which is
+occupied by the brethren, the other by the sisters, of the society; and in
+each of them there is a banqueting-room, and an apartment for public
+worship; for the brethren and sisters do not meet together even at their
+devotions.
+
+They used to live chiefly upon roots and other vegetables, the rules of
+their society not allowing them flesh, except upon particular occasions,
+when they hold what they call a love-feast; at which time, the brethren
+and sisters dine together in a large apartment, and eat mutton, but no
+other meat. In each of their little cells they have a bench fixed, to
+serve the purpose of a bed, and a small block of wood for a pillow. They
+allow of marriages, but consider celibacy as a virtue.
+
+The principal tenet of the Tunkers appears to be this--that future
+happiness is only to be obtained by penance and outward mortifications in
+this life, and that, as Jesus Christ, by his meritorious sufferings,
+became the Redeemer of mankind in general, so each individual of the human
+race, by a life of abstinence and restraint, may work out his own
+salvation. Nay, they go so far as to admit of works of supererogation, and
+declare that a man may do much more than he is in justice or equity
+obliged to do, and that his superabundant works may, therefore, be applied
+to the salvation of others.
+
+This denomination deny the eternity of future punishments, and believe
+that the dead have the gospel preached to them by our Savior, and that the
+souls of the just are employed to preach the gospel to those who have had
+no revelation in this life. They suppose the Jewish Sabbath, sabbatical
+year, and year of jubilee, are typical of certain periods after the
+general judgment, in which the souls of those who are not then admitted
+into happiness are purified from their corruption. If any, within those
+smaller periods, are so far humbled as to acknowledge the perfections of
+God, and to own Christ as their only Savior, they are received to
+felicity; while those who continue obstinate are reserved in torments,
+until the grand period, typified by the jubilee, arrives, in which all
+shall be made happy in the endless fruition of the Deity.
+
+They also deny the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity. They
+disclaim violence, even in cases of self-defence, and suffer themselves to
+be defrauded, or wronged, rather than go to law.
+
+Their church government and discipline are the same with other Baptists;
+except that every brother is allowed to speak in the congregation; and
+their best speaker is usually ordained to be the minister. They have
+deacons and deaconesses from among their ancient widows and exhorters, who
+are all licensed to use their gifts statedly.
+
+The Tunkers are not so rigid in their dress and manner of life as
+formerly; still they retain the faith of their fathers, and lead lives of
+great industry, frugality, and purity.
+
+
+
+
+
+MENNONITES, OR HARMLESS CHRISTIANS.
+
+
+The Mennonites derive their name from Menno Simons, an illustrious
+reformer. This people came to the United States from Holland, and first
+settled in Pennsylvania, where a large body of them now reside.
+
+It is a universal maxim of this denomination, that practical piety is the
+essence of religion, and that the surest mark of the true church is the
+sanctity of its members. They all unite in pleading for toleration in
+religion, and debar none from their assemblies who lead pious lives, and
+own the Scriptures for the word of God. They teach that infants are not
+the proper subjects of baptism; that ministers of the gospel ought to
+receive no salary; and that it is not lawful to swear, or wage war, upon
+any occasion. They also maintain that the terms _person_ and _Trinity_ are
+not to be used in speaking of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
+
+The Mennonites meet privately, and every one in the assembly has the
+liberty to speak, to expound the Scriptures, to pray, and sing.
+
+The Mennonites do not baptize by immersion, though they administer the
+ordinance to none but adult persons. Their common method is this: The
+person who is to be baptized, kneels; the minister holds his hands over
+him, into which the deacon pours water, and through which it runs on the
+crown of the kneeling person's head; after which follow imposition of
+hands and prayer.
+
+Mr. Van Beuning, the Dutch ambassador, speaking of these _Harmless
+Christians_, as they choose to call themselves, says, "The Mennonites are
+good people, and the most commodious to a state of any in the world;
+partly, because they do not aspire to places of dignity; partly, because
+they edify the community by the simplicity of their manners, and
+application to arts and industry; and partly, because we fear no rebellion
+from a sect who make it an article of their faith never to bear arms."
+
+
+
+
+
+DISCIPLES OF CHRIST; SOMETIMES CALLED CAMPBELLITES, OR REFORMERS.
+
+
+The rise of this society, if we only look back to the drawing of the lines
+of demarkation between it and other professors, is of recent origin. About
+the commencement of the present century, the Bible alone, without any
+human addition in the form of creeds or confessions of faith, began to be
+preached by many distinguished ministers of different denominations, both
+in Europe and America.
+
+With various success, and with many of the opinions of the various sects
+imperceptibly carried with them from the denominations to which they once
+belonged, did the advocates of the Bible cause plead for the union of
+Christians of every name, on the broad basis of the apostles' teaching.
+But it was not until the year 1823, that a restoration of the _original
+gospel_ and _order of things_ began to be advocated in a periodical,
+edited by Alexander Campbell, of Bethany, Virginia, entitled "The
+Christian Baptist."
+
+He and his father, Thomas Campbell, renounced the Presbyterian system, and
+were immersed, in the year 1812. They, and the congregations which they
+had formed, united with the Redstone Baptist association, protesting
+against all human creeds as bonds of union, and professing subjection to
+the Bible alone. This union took place in the year 1813. But, in pressing
+upon the attention of that society and the public the all-sufficiency of
+the _sacred_ Scriptures for every thing necessary to the perfection of
+Christian character,--whether in the private or social relations of life,
+in the church, or in the world,--they began to be opposed by a strong
+creed-party in that association. After some ten years debating and
+contending for the Bible alone, and the apostles' doctrine, Alexander
+Campbell, and the church to which he belonged, united with the Mahoning
+association, in the Western Reserve of Ohio; that association being more
+favorable to his views of reform.
+
+In his debates on the subject and action of baptism with Mr. Walker, a
+seceding minister, in the year 1820, and with Mr. M'Calla, a Presbyterian
+minister of Kentucky, in the year 1823, his views of reformation began to
+be developed, and were very generally received by the Baptist society, as
+far as these works were read.
+
+But in his "Christian Baptist," which began July 4, 1823 his views of the
+need of reformation were more fully exposed, and, as these gained ground
+by the pleading of various ministers of the Baptist denomination, a party
+in opposition began to exert itself, and to oppose the spread of what they
+were pleased to call heterodoxy. But not till after great numbers began to
+act upon these principles, was there any attempt towards separation. After
+the Mahoning association appointed Mr. Walter Scott an evangelist, in the
+year 1827, and when great numbers began to be immersed into Christ, under
+his labors, and new churches began to be erected by him and other laborers
+in the field, did the Baptist associations begin to declare non-fellowship
+with the brethren of the reformation. Thus by constraint, not of choice,
+they were obliged to form societies out of those communities that split,
+upon the ground of adherence to the apostles' doctrine. The distinguishing
+characteristics of their views and practices are the following:--
+
+They regard all the sects and parties of the Christian world as having, in
+greater or less degrees, departed from the simplicity of faith and manners
+of the first Christians, and as forming what the apostle Paul calls "the
+apostasy." This defection they attribute to the great varieties of
+speculation and metaphysical dogmatism of the countless creeds,
+formularies, liturgies, and books of discipline, adopted and inculcated as
+bonds of union and platforms of communion in all the parties which have
+sprung from the Lutheran reformation. The effect of these synodical
+covenants, conventional articles of belief, and rules of ecclesiastical
+polity, has been the introduction of a new nomenclature,--a human
+vocabulary of religious words, phrases, and technicalities, which has
+displaced the style of the living oracles, and affixed to the sacred
+diction ideas wholly unknown to the apostles of Christ.
+
+To remedy and obviate these aberrations, they propose to ascertain from
+the holy Scriptures, according to the commonly-received and
+well-established rules of interpretation, the ideas attached to the
+leading terms and sentences found in the holy Scriptures, and then to use
+the words of the Holy Spirit in the apostolic acceptation of them.
+
+By thus expressing the ideas communicated by the Holy Spirit, in the terms
+and phrases learned from the apostles, and by avoiding the artificial and
+technical language of scholastic theology, they propose to restore a pure
+speech to the household of faith; and, by accustoming the family of God to
+use the language and dialect of the heavenly Father, they expect to
+promote the sanctification of one another through the truth, and to
+terminate those discords and debates which have always originated from the
+words which man's wisdom teaches, and from a reverential regard and esteem
+for the style of the great masters of polemic divinity; believing that
+speaking the same things in the same style, is the only certain way to
+thinking the same things.
+
+They make a very marked difference between faith and opinion; between the
+testimony of God and the reasonings of men; the words of the Spirit and
+human inferences. Faith in the testimony of God, and obedience to the
+commandments of Jesus, are their bond of union, and not an agreement in
+any abstract views or opinions upon what is written or spoken by divine
+authority. Hence all the speculations, questions, debates of words, and
+abstract reasonings, found in human creeds, have no place in their
+religious fellowship. Regarding Calvinism and Arminianism, Trinitarianism
+and Unitarianism, and all the opposing theories of religious sectaries, as
+_extremes_ begotten by each other, they cautiously avoid them, as
+equidistant from the simplicity and practical tendency of the promises and
+precepts, of the doctrine and facts, of the exhortations and precedents,
+of the Christian institution.
+
+They look for unity of spirit and the bonds of peace in the practical
+acknowledgment of one faith, one Lord, one immersion, one hope, one body,
+one Spirit, one God and Father of all; not in unity of opinions, nor in
+unity of forms, ceremonies, or modes of worship.
+
+The holy Scriptures of both Testaments they regard as containing
+revelations from God, and as all necessary to make the man of God perfect,
+and accomplished for every good word and work; the New Testament, or the
+living oracles of Jesus Christ, they understand as containing the
+Christian religion; the testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they
+view as illustrating and proving the great proposition on which our
+religion rests, viz., _that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the
+only-begotten and well-beloved Son of God, and the only Savior of the
+world_; the Acts of the Apostles as a divinely-authorized narrative of the
+beginning and progress of the reign or kingdom of Jesus Christ, recording
+the full development of _the gospel_ by the Holy Spirit sent down from
+heaven, and the procedure of the apostles in setting up the church of
+Christ on earth; the Epistles as carrying out and applying the doctrine of
+the apostles to the practice of individuals and congregations, and as
+developing the tendencies of the gospel in the behavior of its professors;
+and all as forming a complete standard of Christian faith and morals,
+adapted to the interval between the ascension of Christ and his return
+with the kingdom which he has received from God; the Apocalypse, or
+Revelation of Jesus Christ to John, in Patmos, as a figurative and
+prospective view of all the fortunes of Christianity, from its date to the
+return of the Savior.
+
+Every one who sincerely believes the testimony which God gave of Jesus of
+Nazareth, saying, "_This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I delight_," or,
+in other words, believes what the evangelists and apostles have testified
+concerning him, from his conception to his coronation in heaven as Lord of
+all, and who is willing to obey him in every thing, they regard as a
+proper subject of immersion, and no one else. They consider immersion into
+the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, after a public, sincere, and
+intelligent confession of the faith in Jesus, as necessary to admission to
+the privileges of the kingdom of the Messiah, and as a solemn pledge, on
+the part of Heaven, of the actual remission of all past sins, and of
+adoption into the family of God.
+
+The Holy Spirit is promised only to those who believe and obey the Savior.
+No one is taught to expect the reception of that heavenly Monitor and
+Comforter, as a resident in his heart, till he obeys the gospel.
+
+Thus, while they proclaim faith and repentance, or faith and a change of
+heart, as preparatory to immersion, remission, and the Holy Spirit, they
+say to all penitents, or all those who believe and repent of their sins,
+as Peter said to the first audience addressed after the Holy Spirit was
+bestowed, after the glorification of Jesus, "Be immersed, every one of
+you, in the name of the Lord Jesus, for the remission of sins, and you
+shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." They teach sinners that God
+commands _all men_, every where, to reform, or to turn to God; that the
+Holy Spirit strives with them, so to do, by the apostles and prophets;
+that God beseeches them to be reconciled, through Jesus Christ; and that
+it is the duty of all men to believe the gospel, and turn to God.
+
+The immersed believers are congregated into societies, according to their
+propinquity to each other, and taught to meet every first day of the week,
+in honor and commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus, and to break the
+loaf, which commemorates the death of the Son of God, to read and hear the
+living oracles, to teach and admonish one another, to unite in all prayer
+and praise, to contribute to the necessities of saints, and to perfect
+holiness in the fear of the Lord.
+
+Every congregation chooses its own overseers and deacons, who preside over
+and administer the affairs of the congregations; and every church, either
+from itself, or in cooeperation with others, sends out, as opportunity
+offers, one or more evangelists, or proclaimers of the word, to preach the
+word, and to immerse those who believe, to gather congregations, and to
+extend the knowledge of salvation where it is necessary, as far as their
+means allow. But every church regards these evangelists as its servants;
+and, therefore, they have no control over any congregation, each
+congregation being subject to its own choice of presidents or elders, whom
+they have appointed. Perseverance in all the work of faith, labor of love,
+and patience of hope, is inculcated, by all the disciples, as essential to
+admission into the heavenly kingdom.
+
+Such are the prominent outlines of the faith and practices of those who
+wish to be known as the Disciples of Christ; but no society among them
+would agree to make the preceding items either a confession of faith or a
+standard of practice, but, for the information of those who wish an
+acquaintance with them, are willing to give, at any time, a reason for
+their faith, hope, and practice.
+
+
+
+
+
+FRIENDS, OR QUAKERS.
+
+
+This class of Christians arose in England about the middle of the 17th
+century. They were at first called _Seekers_, from their seeking the
+truth; and afterwards _Quakers_, for directing their enemies to tremble at
+the word of the Lord. They prefer the more endearing appellation of
+FRIENDS, which has been transmitted to them by their predecessors.
+
+George Fox was the first who publicly advocated their principles in
+England, and the celebrated William Penn in America.
+
+The following is a SUMMARY of the doctrines and discipline of the society
+of Friends, published in London in 1800, and sanctioned by the orthodox
+society of Friends in this country.
+
+DOCTRINE.--"We agree, with other professors of the Christian name, in the
+belief of one eternal God, the Creator and Preserver of the universe, and
+in Jesus Christ, his Son, the Messiah, and Mediator of the new covenant.
+
+"When we speak of the gracious display of the love of God to mankind, in
+the miraculous conception, birth, life, miracles, death, resurrection, and
+ascension, of our Savior, we prefer the use of such terms as we find in
+Scripture; and, contented with that knowledge which Divine Wisdom hath
+seen meet to reveal, we attempt not to explain those mysteries which
+remain under the veil; nevertheless, we acknowledge and assert the
+divinity of Christ, who is the wisdom and power of God unto salvation.
+
+"To Christ, alone, we give the title of the Word of God, and not to the
+Scriptures; although we highly esteem these sacred writings, in
+subordination to the Spirit, from which they were given forth; and we
+hold, with the apostle Paul, that they are able to make wise unto
+salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
+
+"We reverence those most excellent precepts which are recorded, in
+Scripture, to have been delivered by our great Lord; and we firmly believe
+that they are practicable, and binding on every Christian, and that, in
+the life to come, every man will be rewarded according to his works. And,
+further, it is our belief that, in order to enable mankind to put in
+practice these sacred precepts, many of which are contradictory to the
+unregenerate will of man, every man, coming into the world, is endued with
+a measure of the light, grace, or good spirit, of Christ, by which, as it
+is attended to, he is enabled to distinguish good from evil, and to
+correct the disorderly passions and corrupt propensities of his nature,
+which mere reason is altogether insufficient to overcome. For all that
+belongs to man is fallible, and within the reach of temptation; but this
+divine grace, which comes by Him who hath overcome the world, is, to those
+who humbly and sincerely seek it, an all-sufficient and present help in
+time of need. By this, the snares of the enemy are detected, his
+allurements avoided, and deliverance is experienced, through faith in its
+effectual operation; whereby the soul is translated out of the kingdom of
+darkness, and from under the power of Satan, into the marvellous light and
+kingdom of the Son of God.
+
+"Being thus persuaded that man, without the Spirit of Christ inwardly
+revealed, can do nothing to the glory of God, or to effect his own
+salvation, we think this influence especially necessary to the performance
+of the highest act of which the human mind is capable,--even the worship of
+the Father of lights and of spirits, in spirit and in truth; therefore we
+consider as obstruction to pure worship, all forms which divert the
+attention of the mind from the secret influence of this unction from the
+Holy One. Yet, although true worship is not confined to time and place, we
+think it incumbent on Christians to meet often together, in testimony of
+their dependence on the heavenly Father, and for a renewal of their
+spiritual strength: nevertheless, in the performance of worship, we dare
+not depend, for our acceptance with him, on a formal repetition of the
+words and experiences of others; but we believe it to be our duty to lay
+aside the activity of the imagination, and to wait in silence, to have a
+true sight of our condition bestowed upon us; believing even a single
+sight, arising from such a sense of our infirmities, and of the need we
+have of divine help, to be more acceptable to God than any performances,
+however specious, which originate in the will of man.
+
+"From what has been said respecting worship, it follows that the ministry
+we approve must have its origin from the same source; for that which is
+needful for man's own direction, and for his acceptance with God, must be
+eminently so to enable him to be helpful to others. Accordingly, we
+believe that the renewed assistance of the light and power of Christ is
+indispensably necessary for all true ministry, and that this holy
+influence is not at our command, or to be procured by study, but is the
+free gift of God to chosen and devoted servants. Hence arises our
+testimony against preaching for hire, in contradiction to Christ's
+positive command, 'Freely ye have received, freely give;' and hence our
+conscientious refusal to support such ministry by tithes or other means.
+
+"As we dare not encourage any ministry but that which we believe to spring
+from the influence of the Holy Spirit, so neither dare we attempt to
+restrain this influence to persons of any condition in life, or to the
+male sex alone; but, as male and female are one in Christ, we allow such
+of the female sex as we believe to be endued with a right qualification
+for the ministry, to exercise their gifts for the general edification of
+the church; and this liberty we esteem a peculiar mark of the gospel
+dispensation, as foretold by the prophet Joel, and noticed by the apostle
+Peter.
+
+"There are two ceremonies in use among most professors of the Christian
+name--water baptism, and what is termed the Lord's supper. The first of
+these is generally esteemed the essential means of initiation into the
+church of Christ, and the latter of maintaining communion with him. But,
+as we have been convinced that nothing short of his redeeming power,
+inwardly revealed, can set the soul free from the thraldom of sin, by this
+power alone we believe salvation to be effected. We hold that, as there is
+one Lord, and one faith, so his baptism is one, in nature and operation;
+that nothing short of it can make us living members of his mystical body;
+and that the baptism with water, administered by his forerunner John,
+belonged, as the latter confessed, to an inferior and decreasing
+dispensation.
+
+"With respect to the other rite, we believe that communion between Christ
+and his church is not maintained by that, nor any other external
+performance, but only by a real participation of his divine nature,
+through faith; that this is the supper alluded to in Revelation, 'Behold,
+I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the
+door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me;' and
+that, where the substance is attained, it is unnecessary to attend to the
+shadow, which doth not confer grace, and concerning which, opinions so
+different, and animosities so violent, have arisen.
+
+"Now, as we thus believe that the grace of God, which comes by Jesus
+Christ, is alone sufficient for salvation, we can neither admit that it is
+conferred on a few only, whilst others are left without it, nor, thus
+asserting its universality, can we limit its operation to a partial
+cleansing of the soul from sin, even in this life. We entertain worthier
+notions, both of the power and goodness of our heavenly Father, and
+believe that he doth vouchsafe to assist the obedient to experience a
+total surrender of the natural will to the guidance of his pure, unerring
+Spirit, through whose renewed assistance they are enabled to bring forth
+fruits unto holiness, and to stand perfect in their present rank.
+
+"There are not many of our tenets more generally known than our testimony
+against oaths, and against war. With respect to the former of these, we
+abide literally by Christ's positive injunction, delivered in his Sermon
+on the Mount, 'Swear not at all.' From the same sacred collection of the
+most excellent precepts of moral and religious duty, from the example of
+our Lord himself, and from the correspondent convictions of his Spirit in
+our hearts, we are confirmed in the belief that wars and fightings are, in
+their origin and effects, utterly repugnant to the gospel, which still
+breathes peace and good-will to men. We also are clearly of the judgment,
+that, if the benevolence of the gospel were generally prevalent in the
+minds of men, it would effectually prevent them from oppressing, much more
+enslaving, their brethren, (of whatever color or complexion,) for whom, as
+for themselves, Christ died; and would even influence their conduct in
+their treatment of the brute creation, which would no longer groan, the
+victims of their avarice, or of their false ideas of pleasure.
+
+"Some of our tenets have, in former times, as hath been shown, subjected
+our friends to much suffering from government, though to the salutary
+purposes of government our principles are a security. They inculcate
+submission to the laws in all cases wherein conscience is not violated.
+But we hold that, as Christ's kingdom is not of this world, it is not the
+business of the civil magistrate to interfere in matters of religion, but
+to maintain the external peace and good order of the community. We,
+therefore, think persecution, even in the smallest degree, unwarrantable.
+We are careful in requiring our members not to be concerned in illicit
+trade, nor in any manner to defraud the revenue.
+
+"It is well known that the society, from its first appearance, has disused
+those names of the months and days, which having been given in honor of
+the heroes or false gods of the heathen, originated in their flattery or
+superstition; and the custom of speaking to a single person in the plural
+number, as having arisen also from motives of adulation. Compliments,
+superfluity of apparel, and furniture, outward shows of rejoicing and
+mourning, and the observation of days and times, we esteem to be
+incompatible with the simplicity and sincerity of a Christian life; and
+public diversions, gaming, and other vain amusements of the world, we
+cannot but condemn. They are a waste of that time which is given us for
+nobler purposes, and divert the attention of the mind from the sober
+duties of life, and from the reproofs of instruction, by which we are
+guided to an everlasting inheritance.
+
+"To conclude: Although we have exhibited the several tenets which
+distinguish our religious society, as objects of our belief, yet we are
+sensible that a true and living faith is not produced in the mind of man
+by his own effort, but is the free gift of God in Christ Jesus, nourished
+and increased by the progressive operation of his Spirit in our hearts,
+and our proportionate obedience. Therefore, although, for the preservation
+of the testimonies given us to bear, and for the peace and good order of
+the society, we deem it necessary that those who are admitted into
+membership with us should be previously convinced of those doctrines which
+we esteem essential, yet we require no formal subscription to any
+articles, either as a condition of membership, or a qualification for the
+service of the church. We prefer the judging of men by their fruits, and
+depending on the aid of Him, who, by his prophet, hath promised to be 'a
+spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment.' Without this there is
+a danger of receiving numbers into outward communion, without any addition
+to that spiritual sheepfold, whereof our blessed Lord declared himself to
+be both the door and the shepherd; that is, such as know his voice, and
+follow him in the paths of obedience. (See Heb. 12:24. 1 Cor. 1:24. John
+1:1. 2 Pet. 1:21. 2 Tim. 3:15. Matt. 16:27. John 1:9-16, 33. 1 John 2:20,
+27. Heb. 10:25. Rom 8:26. Jer. 23:30-32. Matt 10:8. Joel 2:28, 29. Acts
+2:16, 17. Eph. 4:5. John 3:30. 2 Pet. 1:4. Rev. 3:20. Matt. 5:48. Eph.
+4:13. Col. 4:12. Matt. 5:34, 39, 44, &c.; 26:52, 53. Luke 22:51. John
+18:11. Eph. 2:8. John 7:17. Isa. 28:6. John 10:7, 11.)
+
+"DISCIPLINE.--The purposes which our discipline hath chiefly in view, are,
+the relief of the poor; the maintenance of good order; the support of the
+testimonies which we believe it is our duty to bear to the world; and the
+help and recovery of such as are overtaken in faults.
+
+"In the practice of discipline, we think it indispensable that the order
+recommended by Christ himself be invariably observed. 'If thy brother
+shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and
+him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother; but if he
+will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth
+of two or three witnesses, every word may be established; and if he shall
+neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church.'
+
+"To effect the salutary purposes of discipline, meetings were appointed,
+at an early period of the society, which, from the times of their being
+held, were called _quarterly meetings_. It was afterward found expedient
+to divide the districts of those meetings, and to meet more frequently;
+from whence arose _monthly meetings_, subordinate to those held quarterly.
+At length, in 1669, a _yearly meeting_ was established, to superintend,
+assist, and provide rules for the whole; previously to which, _general
+meetings_ had been occasionally held.
+
+"A monthly meeting is usually composed of several particular
+congregations, situated within a convenient distance from each other. Its
+business is to provide for the subsistence of the poor, and for the
+education of their offspring; to judge of the sincerity and fitness of
+persons appearing to be convinced of the religious principles of the
+society, and desiring to be admitted into membership; to excite due
+attention to the discharge of religious and moral duty; and to deal with
+disorderly members. Monthly meetings also grant to such of their members
+as remove into other monthly meetings, certificates of their membership
+and conduct, without which they cannot gain membership in such meetings.
+Each monthly meeting is required to appoint certain persons, under the
+name of _overseers_, who are to take care that the rules of our discipline
+be put in practice, and, when any case of complaint, or disorderly
+conduct, comes to their knowledge, to see that private admonition,
+agreeably to the gospel rule before mentioned, be given, previously to its
+being laid before the monthly meeting.
+
+"When a case is introduced, it is usual for a small committee to be
+appointed to visit the offender, to endeavor to convince him of his error,
+and to induce him to forsake and condemn it. If they succeed, the person
+is by minute declared to have made satisfaction for the offence; if not,
+he is disowned as a member of the society.
+
+"In disputes between individuals, it has long been the decided judgment of
+the society, that its members should not sue each other at law. It
+therefore enjoins all to end their differences by speedy and impartial
+arbitration, agreeably to rules laid down. If any refuse to adopt this
+mode, or, having adopted it, to submit to the award, it is the direction
+of the yearly meeting that such be disowned.
+
+"To monthly meetings, also, belongs the allowing of marriages; for our
+society hath always scrupled to acknowledge the exclusive authority of the
+priests in the solemnization of marriage. Those who intend to marry appear
+together, and propose their intention to the monthly meeting, and, if not
+attended by their parents and guardians, produce a written certificate of
+their consent, signed in the presence of witnesses. The meeting then
+appoints a committee to inquire whether they be clear of other engagements
+respecting marriage; and if, at a subsequent meeting, to which the parties
+also come and declare the continuance of their intention, no objections be
+reported, they have the meeting's consent to solemnize their intended
+marriage. This is done in a public meeting for worship, toward the close
+whereof the parties stand up, and solemnly take each other for husband and
+wife. A certificate of the proceedings is then publicly read, and signed
+by the parties, and afterward by the relations and others as witnesses. Of
+such marriage the monthly meeting keeps a record, as also of the births
+and burials of its members. A certificate of the date, of the name of the
+infant, and of its parents, signed by those present at the birth, is the
+subject of one of these last-mentioned records, and an order for the
+interment, countersigned by the grave-maker, of the other. The naming of
+children is without ceremony. Burials are also conducted in a simple
+manner. The body, followed by the relations and friends, is sometimes,
+previously to interment, carried to a meeting; and at the grave a pause is
+generally made; on both which occasions it frequently falls out, that one
+or more friends present have somewhat to express for the edification of
+those who attend; but no religious rite is considered as an essential part
+of burial.
+
+"Several monthly meetings compose a quarterly meeting. At the quarterly
+meeting are produced written answers from the monthly meetings, to certain
+queries respecting the conduct of their members, and the meetings' care
+over them. The accounts thus received are digested into one, which is sent
+also in the form of answers to queries, by representatives, to the yearly
+meeting. Appeals from the judgment of monthly meetings are brought to the
+quarterly meetings, whose business also it is to assist in any difficult
+case, or where remissness appears in the care of the monthly meetings over
+the individuals who compose them.
+
+"The yearly meeting has the general superintendence of the society in the
+country in which it is established; and therefore, as the accounts which
+it receives discover the state of inferior meetings, as particular
+exigencies require, or as the meeting is impressed with a sense of duty,
+it gives forth its advice, makes such regulations as appear to be
+requisite, or excites to the observance of those already made, and
+sometimes appoints committees to visit those quarterly meetings which
+appear to be in need of immediate advice. Appeals from the judgment of
+quarterly meetings are here finally determined; and a brotherly
+correspondence, by epistles, is maintained with other yearly meetings.
+
+"In this place it is proper to add that, as we believe women may be
+rightly called to the work of the ministry, we also think that to them
+belongs a share in the support of our Christian discipline, and that some
+parts of it, wherein their own sex is concerned, devolve on them with
+peculiar propriety; accordingly, they have monthly, quarterly, and yearly
+meetings of their own sex, held at the same time and in the same place
+with those of the men, but separately, and without the power of making
+rules; and it may be remarked that, during the persecutions, which, in the
+last century, occasioned the imprisonment of so many of the men, the care
+of the poor often fell on the women, and was by them satisfactorily
+administered.
+
+"In order that those who are in the situation of ministers may have the
+tender sympathy and counsel of those of either sex, who, by their
+experience in the work of religion, are qualified for that service, the
+monthly meetings are advised to select such, under the denomination of
+_elders_. These, and ministers approved by their monthly meetings, have
+meetings peculiar to themselves, called _meetings of ministers and
+elders_, in which they have an opportunity of exciting each other to a
+discharge of their several duties, and of extending advice to those who
+may appear to be weak, without any needless exposure. Such meetings are
+generally held in the compass of each monthly, quarterly, and yearly
+meeting. They are conducted by rules prescribed by the yearly meeting, and
+have no authority to make any alteration or addition to them. The members
+of them unite with their brethren in the meetings for discipline, and are
+equally accountable to the latter for their conduct.
+
+"Thus have we given a view of the foundation and establishment of our
+discipline; by which it will be seen that it is not, as hath been
+frequently insinuated, merely the work of modern times, but was the early
+care and concern of our pious predecessors. We cannot better close this
+short sketch of it, than by observing that, if the exercise of discipline
+should in some instances appear to press hard upon those, who, neglecting
+the monitions of divine counsel in their hearts, are also unwilling to be
+accountable to their brethren, yet, if that great, leading, and
+indispensable rule, enjoined by our Lord, be observed by those who
+undertake to be active in it,--'Whatsoever ye would that men should do to
+you, do ye even so to them,'--it will prevent the censure of the church
+from falling on any thing but that which really obstructs the progress of
+truth. Discipline will then promote, in an eminent degree, that love of
+our neighbor which is the mark of discipleship, and without which a
+profession of love to God, and to his cause, is a vain pretence. 'He,'
+said the beloved disciple, 'that loveth not his brother, whom he hath
+seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen? And this commandment
+have we from him, that he who loveth God, love his brother also.' "
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+The Friends are divided in sentiment; there are, in fact, two sects,
+denominated _Orthodox_ and _Hicksites_.
+
+Some opinion of Elias Hicks's sentiments, in regard to the Trinity, may be
+formed by an extract from one of his publications, (Sermons, vol. iv. pp.
+288, 289.)
+
+"He that laid down his life, and suffered his body to be crucified by the
+Jews, without the gates of Jerusalem, is Christ, the only Son of the most
+high God. But that the _outward person which suffered_ was properly the
+Son of God, we utterly deny. Flesh and blood cannot enter into heaven. By
+the analogy of reason, spirit cannot beget a material body, because the
+thing begotten must be of the same nature with its father. Spirit cannot
+beget any thing but spirit: it cannot beget flesh and blood. '_A body hast
+thou prepared me_,' said the Son: _then the Son was not the body_, though
+the body was the Son's."
+
+
+
+
+
+SHAKERS, OR THE UNITED SOCIETY OF BELIEVERS.
+
+
+The editor gives an account of the religious tenets, &c., of this society,
+in the precise words of his worthy friends and correspondents at Enfield,
+N. H.:--
+
+
+    "Respected Friend,
+
+    "Having received your circular, requesting information concerning
+    our society, we freely notice it, and are most willing to give you
+    any information respecting us.
+
+    "It appears your request extends sufficiently far to embrace an
+    exposition of our moral and religious tenets, our faith,
+    principles, and manner of life, our secular concerns, &c.
+
+    "We have seen several historical sketches of our society by
+    different writers; but it is very rare to find one free from
+    misrepresentations of some kind, which must be owing either to
+    ignorance or prejudice. Therefore, in our communications, we may
+    be somewhat particular on some points; in any of which, if there
+    be any thing found agreeable to your desires, you are welcome to
+    it; and, as it is presumed your publication is intended for
+    information, among other truths, we hope to see something relative
+    to us, different from most of the descriptions of former writers.
+
+    "In obtaining information of one society, you get a general
+    understanding of all; for we are of one heart and one mind. Our
+    faith is one, our practice is one.
+
+    "We are acknowledged and distinguished as a peculiar people,
+    singular from all others; which peculiarity arises wholly from
+    these two principles--our faith and manner of life, which comprise
+    our motives in separating from the course and practice of the
+    world, the manner in which our property is held, &c. &c.
+
+    "It is a fact acknowledged by all professed Christians, that there
+    are two creations, an old and a new; or, which is the same thing,
+    two kingdoms, the kingdom of this world, and the kingdom of
+    Christ. It is also a truth as frankly granted, that these two
+    creations, or kingdoms, are headed, the one by the first Adam,
+    denominated the _old man_, and the other by the second Adam,
+    Christ Jesus, denominated the _new man_--two different personages,
+    possessing very different spirits, and executing very different
+    works. As positive as the preceding declarations are, that there
+    exist two distinct creations, and which are headed by two distinct
+    characters, so positive are the following:--that the subjects of
+    each kingdom bear a strong resemblance to their respective king,
+    and plainly represent the particular kingdom they inhabit; for,
+    'As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the
+    image of the heavenly.' (1 Cor. 15:49.)
+
+    "Also that no person can have demands upon, and privileges in,
+    these two men and creations at one and the same time. We must
+    either hold to the old, and have nothing to do with the new, or we
+    must come out and forsake the old, and come into the new. We must
+    either put off the old man, Adam, and his works, which are well
+    known to be multiplying and supporting of an earthly kingdom,
+    which is the kingdom of this world, or we must put on the new man,
+    Christ Jesus, and his works, which are well known to be a life
+    without spot, chaste, virgin, and unstained by indulgences in any
+    of those things which a beloved worthy said constitutes the world.
+    (1 John 2:15, 16.) To these principles of faith we are strict, and
+    may be called rigid, adherents; equally tenacious in the practical
+    part of the new man, and in the same degree pointed against the
+    old.
+
+    "The second part of this subject of singularity in us consists in
+    the manner in which we hold our property, which, perhaps, is well
+    known to be in common, after the order of the primitive church in
+    the days of the apostles, in which state we have lived rising
+    forty years, 'of one heart and one soul;' not any of us saying
+    that 'aught of the things which he possessed was his own,' (Acts
+    4:32;) 'buying as though we possessed not,' (1 Cor. 7:30;) and
+    'having nothing, and yet possessing all things.' (2 Cor. 6:10.) In
+    consequence thereof, we are retired from the world, as not of that
+    kingdom; 'My kingdom is not of this world,' &c., (John 18:36;) by
+    which we enjoy a closer communion with our God, and by which we
+    follow the instruction of the Spirit, which saith, 'Come ye out
+    from among them, and be ye separate,' &c. (2 Cor. 6:17.)
+
+    "Our society contains three distinct families, comprising 233
+    souls; 103 males, and 130 females. The number of persons over 70
+    is 18; between 60 and 70, 21; between 21 and 60, 125; under 21,
+    63. The oldest person is 88. Deaths since the gathering of the
+    society, in 1792, 85.
+
+    "Our village is situated in the N. W. corner of the town, on the
+    western shore of _Mascomy Pond_, a pleasant sheet of water, of
+    nearly five miles in length, and half a mile average width. Our
+    village and home are pleasant to us, and are said to be so by
+    travellers. It is about ten miles S. E. from Dartmouth College,
+    forty N. W. from Concord, and one hundred from Boston.
+
+    "In all the families there are nearly thirty buildings, unadorned,
+    except with neatness, simplicity, and convenience, besides many
+    out-buildings. Among the buildings are one house of public
+    worship, one convenient school-house, three dwelling-houses, one
+    for each family, sufficiently large to accommodate us as places
+    for cooking, eating, sleeping, and retirement from labor, and
+    shops for the different branches of work. Our privilege for mills
+    is very small; consequently our machinery cannot be extensive. Yet
+    the little water that is running in small brooks, which can be
+    conveniently collected into artificial ponds, is improved, by
+    their emptying from one to another, and by the interspersion of
+    mills upon their discharging streams. We have three saw-mills, two
+    grist-mills, and some other machinery.
+
+    "As strangers, who many times wish to call, are frequently much
+    straitened and embarrassed by not knowing where to call, or what
+    to say, we should be pleased to have it particularly noticed, that
+    we have one building designated from the rest by the sign,
+    'Trustees' Office,' over the door, where strangers are received,
+    where our commercial business is transacted, and where civil
+    people wishing for information may freely obtain it, or be
+    directed where it can be obtained.
+
+    "In our occupation we are agriculturists and mechanics. The
+    products of the garden may be said to be as important as any;
+    which are principally seeds, herbs, &c., from which this section
+    of the country is chiefly supplied. Our manufactures are wooden
+    ware, such as tubs, pails, half-bushel and other measures, boxes,
+    &c.; also, whips, corn-brooms, leather, and various other
+    articles.
+
+    "We keep from 1200 to 1500 sheep, mostly Saxon and Merino, which
+    afford wool for our own wear, and is likewise a source of small
+    trade with us. We keep about eighty cows, which supply us with
+    milk for a dairy, for our own consumption only.
+
+    "The education of our youth and children has been a subject of
+    much conversation among many people. It has been reported, that
+    the children which we frequently take in and bring up with us, are
+    kept in ignorance, having no opportunity of improving their minds
+    by a literary education. But the weight of this censure is
+    gradually growing less, by the contrary proof to the hundreds of
+    visitors who flock into our school, and who are not at all sparing
+    of their high encomiums upon it. It is conducted partially on the
+    Lancasterian system, and is said to surpass any of the common
+    schools about us. Our school-room is furnished with books and
+    apparatus of a superior kind, which, we presume, is not equalled
+    by any school in the country, save the one among our people at
+    Canterbury, which, perhaps, is not in any respect inferior.
+
+    "In this society are two physicians. Each family has its
+    respective elders or ministers; among these and other individuals
+    of the society, are public speakers, whom you would denominate the
+    clergy.
+
+    "You see, from what we have here written, that we have taken up
+    many subjects, and several of them explicitly treated upon,
+    although short; from which, together with the pamphlet
+    accompanying this letter, we conclude you may be able to get
+    considerable of an understanding, and which you are at liberty to
+    call at your pleasure. But it is sincerely to be hoped, if you
+    publish any thing concerning us, you will be careful to preserve
+    the true ideas of our communications."
+
+
+From the pamphlet above mentioned we make the following extracts:--
+
+
+    "Faith And Principles Of The Society.
+
+    "1. A life of _innocence_ and _purity_, according to the example
+    of Jesus Christ and his first true followers; implying entire
+    abstinence from all sensual and carnal gratifications.
+
+    "2. LOVE.--'By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if
+    ye have love one to another. Love is the fulfilling of the law.'
+    This is our bond of union.
+
+    "3. PEACE.--'Follow peace with all men,' is a divine precept; hence
+    our abstinence from war and bloodshed, from all acts of violence
+    towards our fellow-men, from all the party contentions and
+    politics of the world, and from all the pursuits of pride and
+    worldly ambition. 'My kingdom (said Christ) is not of this world.'
+
+    "4. JUSTICE.--'Render to every man his due. Owe no man any thing,
+    but to love one another.' We are to be just and honest in all our
+    dealings with mankind, to discharge all just dues, duties, and
+    equitable claims, as seasonably and effectually as possible.
+
+    "5. HOLINESS.--'Without which no man shall see the Lord.' Which
+    signifies to be _consecrated_, or set apart from a common to a
+    sacred use. Hence arise all our doctrines and practical rules of
+    dedicating our persons, services, and property, to social and
+    sacred uses, having adopted the example of the first gospel
+    church, in establishing and supporting one _consecrated_ and
+    _united_ interest by the voluntary choice of every member, as a
+    sacred privilege, and not by any undue constraint or persuasion.
+
+    "6. GOODNESS.--Do good to all men, as far as opportunity and
+    ability may serve, by administering acts of charity and kindness,
+    and promoting light and truth among mankind. 'Whatsoever ye would
+    that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.'
+
+    "7. TRUTH.--This principle is opposed to falsehood, lying, deceit,
+    and hypocrisy, and implies fidelity, reality, good, earnest
+    sincerity, and punctuality in keeping vows and promises. These
+    principles are the genuine basis of our institution, planted by
+    its first founders, exhibited in all our public writings,
+    justified by Scripture and fair reason, and practically commended
+    as a system of morality and religion, adapted to the best interest
+    and happiness of man, both here and hereafter.
+
+    "Manner Of Admitting Members.
+
+    "1. All persons who unite with this society, in any degree, must
+    do it freely and voluntarily, according to their own faith and
+    unbiased judgment.
+
+    "2. In the testimony of the society, both public and private, no
+    flattery nor any undue influence is used, but the most plain and
+    explicit statements of its faith and principles are laid before
+    the inquirer, so that the whole ground may be comprehended, as far
+    as possible, by every candidate for admission.
+
+    "3. No considerations of property are ever made use of, by this
+    society, to induce any person to join it, nor to prevent any one
+    from leaving it; because it is our faith, that no act of devotion,
+    or service, that does not flow from the free and voluntary
+    emotions of the heart, can be acceptable to God, as an act of true
+    religion.
+
+    "4. No believing husband, or wife, is allowed, by the principles
+    of this society, to separate from an unbelieving partner, except
+    by mutual agreement, unless the conduct of the unbeliever be such
+    as to warrant a separation by the laws of God and man. Nor can any
+    husband, or wife, who has otherwise abandoned his or her partner,
+    be received into communion with the society.
+
+    "5. Any person becoming a member, must rectify all his wrongs,
+    and, as fast and as far as it is in his power, discharge all just
+    and legal claims, whether of creditors or filial heirs. Nor can
+    any person, not conforming to this rule, long remain in union with
+    the society. But the society is not responsible for the debts of
+    any individual, except by agreement because such responsibility
+    would involve a principle ruinous to the institution.
+
+    "6. No difference is to be made in the distribution of parental
+    estate among the heirs, whether they belong to the society or not;
+    but an equal partition must be made, as far as may be practicable,
+    and consistent with reason and justice.
+
+    "7. If an unbelieving wife separate from a believing husband, by
+    agreement, the husband must give her a just and reasonable share
+    of the property; and if they have children who have arrived to
+    years of understanding sufficient to judge for themselves, and who
+    choose to go with their mother, they are not to be disinherited on
+    that account. Though the character of this institution has been
+    much censured on this ground, yet we boldly assert that the rule
+    above stated has never, to our knowledge, been violated by this
+    society.
+
+    "8. Industry, temperance, and frugality, are prominent features of
+    this institution. No member who is able to labor, can be permitted
+    to live idly upon the labors of others. All are required to be
+    employed in some manual occupation, according to their several
+    abilities, when not engaged in other necessary duties."
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+    "The rules of government in the society are adapted to the
+    different orders of which it is composed. In all (as far as
+    respects adults) it is spiritual; its powers and authorities
+    growing out of the _mutual faith, love, and confidence_, of all
+    the members, and harmoniously concurring in the general form and
+    manner of government established by the first founders of the
+    society.
+
+    "The leading authority of the society is vested in a ministry,
+    generally consisting of four persons, including both sexes. These,
+    together with the elders and trustees, constitute the general
+    government of the society in all its branches, and, being
+    supported by the general union and approbation of the members, are
+    invested with power to appoint their successors and other
+    subordinate officers, as occasion may require; to counsel, advise,
+    and direct, in all matters, whether of a spiritual or temporal
+    nature; to superintend the concerns of the several families, and
+    establish all needful orders, rules, and regulations, for the
+    direction and protection of the several branches of the society;
+    but no rule can be made, nor any member assume a lead, contrary to
+    the original faith and known principles of the society. And
+    nothing which respects the government, order, and general
+    arrangement, of the society is considered as fully established
+    until it has received the general approbation of the society, or
+    of that branch thereof which it more immediately concerns.
+
+    "This community is divided into several different branches,
+    commonly called _families_. This division is generally made for
+    the sake of convenience, and is often rendered necessary on
+    account of local situation and occurrent circumstances; but the
+    proper division and arrangement of the community, without respect
+    to local situation, are into three classes, or progressive degrees
+    of order.
+
+    "Those children taken into the society are treated with care and
+    tenderness, receive a good school education, and, according to
+    their genius, are trained to industry and virtuous habits,
+    restrained from vice, and, at a suitable age, led into the
+    knowledge of the sacred Scriptures, and practically taught the
+    divine precepts contained in them, particularly those of Jesus
+    Christ and the apostles.
+
+    "During a period of more than forty years, since the permanent
+    establishment of this society at New Lebanon and Watervliet, there
+    never has been a legal claim entered by any person for the
+    recovery of property brought into the society but all claims of
+    that nature, if any have existed, have been amicably settled, to
+    the satisfaction of the parties concerned. Complaints and legal
+    prosecutions have not, hitherto, come from persons who brought
+    property into the institution, but from those who came destitute
+    of property, and who, generally speaking, have been no benefit to
+    the society in any way, but, on the contrary, after having enjoyed
+    its hospitality, and brought no small share of trouble upon the
+    people, have had the assurance to lay claim to wages which they
+    never earned, or property to which they never had any just or
+    legal claim.
+
+    "No person can be received into this order until he shall have
+    settled all just and legal claims, both of creditors and filial
+    heirs; so that whatever property he may possess, may be justly and
+    truly his own. Minors cannot be admitted as covenant members of
+    this order; yet they may be received under its immediate care and
+    protection. And when they shall have arrived at lawful age, if
+    they should choose to continue in the society, and sign the
+    covenant of the order, and support its principles, they are then
+    admitted to all the privileges of members. The members of this
+    order are all equally entitled to the benefits and privileges
+    thereof, without any difference made on account of what any one
+    may have contributed to the interest of the society. All are
+    equally entitled to their support and maintenance, and to every
+    necessary comfort, whether in health, sickness, or old age, so
+    long as they continue to maintain the principles, and conform to
+    the orders, rules, and regulations, of the institution. They,
+    therefore, give their property and services for the most valuable
+    of all temporal considerations--an ample security, during life, for
+    every needful support, if they continue faithful to their contract
+    and covenant, the nature of which they clearly understand before
+    they enter into it.
+
+    "We believe it will be generally granted that the history of the
+    world does not furnish a single instance of any religious
+    institution which has stood fifty years without a visible
+    declension of the principles of the institution, in the general
+    purity and integrity of its members. This has been generally
+    acknowledged by the devotees of such institutions and facts have
+    fully verified it. But we would appeal to the candid judgment of
+    those who have known this institution from the beginning, and have
+    had a fair opportunity of observing the progress of its
+    improvement, whether they have, in reality, found any declension,
+    either in the external order and regulations of the society, or in
+    the purity and integrity of its members, in the general practice
+    of the moral and Christian duties; and whether they have not, on
+    the contrary, discovered a visible and manifest increase in all
+    these respects. And hence they may judge for themselves, whether
+    the moral character of the society, and its progressive
+    improvement, can be ascribed to any other cause than the blessing,
+    protection, and government, of Divine Power and Wisdom."
+
+
+This denomination is also styled the _millennial church_. Although
+celibacy is enjoined by the Shakers upon their members, yet their numbers
+rather increase, by converts from the world.
+
+There are fifteen societies of Shakers in the United States, located in
+the following places:--Alfred, New Gloucester, and Poland, Me.; Canterbury
+and Enfield, N. H.; Shirley, Harvard, Tyringham, and Hancock, Mass.;
+Enfield, Conn.; Watervliet and New Lebanon, N. Y.; Union Village and
+Watervliet, Ohio; Pleasant Hill and South Union, Ky. The number of Shakers
+in the United States is about 6000.
+
+This sect of Christians arose at Manchester, in England; and ANN LEE has
+the credit of being its founder. They derive their name from their manner
+of worship, which is performed by singing, dancing, and clapping their
+hands in regular time, to a novel, but rather pleasant kind of music. This
+sect was persecuted in England, and came to America in 1774. They first
+settled in Watervliet, near Albany, N. Y. They have, or think they have,
+revelations from Heaven, or gifts from the Holy Spirit, which direct them
+in the choice of their leaders, and in other important concerns. Their
+dress and manners are similar to those of the society of Friends; hence
+they are often called _Shaking Quakers_. They display great skill and
+science in agriculture, horticulture, and the mechanic arts; and their
+honesty, industry, hospitality, and neatness, are proverbial. These people
+choose their locations with great taste and judgment. A _Shaker village_
+always presents a scene of beauty.
+
+We close this article with an extract from a speech of the Hon. John
+Breathitt, late governor of Kentucky.
+
+"Much has been urged against Shakerism, much has been said against their
+covenant; but, I repeat it, _that_ individual who is prepared to sign the
+church covenant, stands in an enviable situation: his situation is,
+indeed, an enviable one, who, devoted to God, is prepared to say of his
+property, 'Here it is, little or much; take it, and leave me unmolested to
+commune with my God. Indeed, I dedicate myself to what? not to a fanatical
+tenet; O, no! to a subject far beyond; to the worship of Almighty God, the
+great Creator and Governor of the universe. Under the influence of his
+love, I give my all: only let me worship according to my faith, and in a
+manner I believe acceptable to my God!'
+
+"I say again, the world cannot produce a parallel to the situation which
+such a man exhibits--resigned to the will of Heaven, free from all the
+feelings of earthly desire, and pursuing, quietly, the peaceful tenor of
+his way."
+
+
+
+
+
+REFORMATION.
+
+
+This term is used, by way of eminence, to denote that great change which
+took place in the Christian world, under the ministry of Luther, Calvin,
+Zuinglius, Melancthon, and others, who successfully opposed some of the
+doctrines, and many of the practices, of the Roman church. It commenced at
+Wittemberg, in Saxony, in 1517, and greatly weakened the Papal authority.
+
+It was from causes seemingly fortuitous, and from a source very
+inconsiderable, that all the mighty effects of the reformation flowed. Leo
+X., when raised to the Papal throne, in 1513, found the revenues of the
+church exhausted by the vast projects of his two ambitious predecessors.
+His own temper, naturally liberal and enterprising, rendered him incapable
+of severe and patient economy; and his schemes for aggrandizing the family
+of Medicis, his love of splendor, and his munificence in rewarding men of
+genius, involved him daily in new expenses, in order to provide a fund for
+which, he tried every device that the fertile invention of priests had
+fallen upon, to drain the credulous multitude of their wealth. Among
+others, he had recourse to a sale of indulgences.
+
+The Romish church believe that pious persons may do works of
+supererogation, that is to say, more good works than are necessary for
+their own salvation. All such works, according to their doctrine, are
+deposited, together with the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, in one
+inexhaustible treasury. The keys of this were committed to St. Peter, and
+to his successors the popes, who may open it at pleasure, and, by
+transferring a portion of this superabundant merit to any particular
+person for a sum of money, may convey to him either pardon for his own
+sins, or a release for any one, for whom he feels an interest, from the
+pains of purgatory. Such indulgences were offered as a recompense for
+those who engaged in the wars of the crusades against the Infidels. Since
+those times, the power of granting indulgences has been greatly abused in
+the church of Rome. Pope Leo X., finding that the sale of indulgences was
+likely to be lucrative, granted to Albert, elector of Mentz and archbishop
+of Magdeburg, the benefit of the indulgences of Saxony, and the
+neighboring parts, and farmed out those of other countries to the highest
+bidders; who, to make the best of their bargain, procured the ablest
+preachers to cry up the value of the commodity. The form of these
+indulgences was as follows.--"May our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon
+thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy passion. And I, by
+his authority, that of his blessed apostles, Peter and Paul and of the
+most holy pope, granted and committed to me in these parts, do absolve
+thee, first, from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they may
+have been incurred; then from all thy sins, transgressions, and excesses,
+how enormous soever they may be; even from such as are reserved for the
+cognizance of the holy see, and as far as the keys of the holy church
+extend. I remit to you all punishment which you deserve in purgatory on
+their account; and I restore you to the holy sacraments of the church, to
+the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence and purity which you
+possessed at baptism; so that, when you die, the gates of punishment shall
+be shut, and the gates of the paradise of delight shall be opened; and if
+you shall not die at present, this grace shall remain in full force when
+you are at the point of death. In the name of the Father, Son, and the
+Holy Ghost."
+
+According to a book, called the "Tax of the Sacred Roman Chancery," in
+which are the exact sums to be levied for the pardon of each particular
+sin, some of the fees are thus stated:--For simony, 10_s._ 6_d._; for
+sacrilege, 10_s._ 6_d._; for taking a false oath, 9_s._; for robbing,
+12_s._; for burning a neighbor's house, 12_s._; for defiling a virgin,
+9_s._; for murdering a layman, 7_s._ 6_d._; for keeping a concubine,
+10_s._ 6_d._; for laying violent hands on a clergyman, 10_s._ 6_d._
+
+The terms in which the retailers of these abominable licenses described
+their advantages to the purchasers, and the arguments with which they
+urged the necessity of obtaining them, were so extravagant that they
+appear almost incredible. "If any man," said they, "purchase letters of
+indulgence, his soul may rest secure with respect to its salvation. The
+souls confined in purgatory, for whose redemption indulgences are
+purchased, as soon as the money is paid, instantly escape from that place
+of torment, and ascend into heaven." They said that the efficacy of
+indulgences was so great, that the most heinous sins would be remitted and
+expiated by them, and the person be freed both from punishment and guilt:
+this was the unspeakable gift of God, in order to reconcile man to
+himself; the cross erected by the preachers of indulgences was equally
+efficacious with the cross of Christ. "Lo," said they, "the heavens are
+open; if you enter not now, when will you enter? For twelve pence you may
+redeem the soul of your father out of purgatory; and are you so ungrateful
+that you will not rescue the soul of your parent from torment? If you had
+but one coat, you ought to strip yourself of that instantly, and sell it,
+in order to purchase such benefit," &c.
+
+It was against these preachers of licentiousness, and their diabolical
+conduct, that Luther began first to declaim.
+
+
+
+
+
+REFORMED CHURCHES.
+
+
+The Reformed churches comprehend the whole Protestant churches in Europe
+and America, whether Lutheran, Calvinistic, Independent, Quaker, Baptist,
+or any other denomination who dissent from the church of Rome. The term
+_Reformed_ is now, however, more particularly employed to distinguish the
+Calvinists from the Lutherans.
+
+The Reformed churches in America are the two following:--
+
+
+
+
+Reformed Dutch Church.
+
+
+This is the oldest body of Presbyterians in America: it descended
+immediately from the church of Holland; and, for about a century from its
+commencement in this country, it hung in colonial dependence on the
+Classis of Amsterdam, and the Synod of North Holland, and was unable to
+ordain a minister, or perform any ecclesiastical function of the kind,
+without a reference to the parent country and mother church.
+
+The origin of this church will lead us back to the earliest history of the
+city and state of New York; for they were first settled by this people,
+and by them a foundation was laid for the first churches of this
+persuasion, the most distinguished of which were planted at New York,
+(then called New Amsterdam,) Flatbush, Esopus, and Albany. The church at
+New York was probably the oldest, and was founded at, or before, the year
+1639; this is the earliest period to which its records conduct us. The
+first minister was the Rev. Evarardus Bogardus. But when he came from
+Holland, does not appear. Next to him were two ministers by the name of
+Megapolensis, John and Samuel.
+
+The first place of worship built by the Dutch in the colony of New
+Netherlands, as it was then called, was erected in the fort at New York,
+in the year 1642. The second, it is believed, was a chapel built by
+Governor Stuyvesant, in what is now called the Bowery. In succession,
+churches of this denomination arose on Long Island, in Schenectady, on
+Staten Island, and in a number of towns on the Hudson River, and several,
+it is believed, in New Jersey. But the churches of New York, Albany, and
+Esopus, were the most important, and the ministers of these churches
+claimed and enjoyed a kind of episcopal dignity over the surrounding
+churches.
+
+The Dutch church was the established religion of the colony, until it
+surrendered to the British in 1664; after which its circumstances were
+materially changed. Not long after the colony passed into the hands of the
+British, an act was passed, which went to establish the Episcopal church
+as the predominant party; and for almost a century after, the Dutch and
+English Presbyterians, and all others in the colony, were forced to
+contribute to the support of that church.
+
+The first judicatory higher than a consistory, among this people, was a
+Coetus, formed in 1747. The object and powers of this assembly were merely
+those of advice and fraternal intercourse. It could not ordain ministers,
+nor judicially decide in ecclesiastical disputes, without the consent of
+the Classis of Amsterdam.
+
+The first regular Classis among the Dutch was formed in 1757. But the
+formation of this Classis involved this infant church in the most unhappy
+collisions, which sometimes threatened its very existence. These disputes
+continued for many years, by which two parties were raised in the church,
+one of which was for, and the other against, an ecclesiastical
+subordination to the judicatories of the mother church and country. These
+disputes, in which eminent men on both sides were concerned, besides
+disturbing their own peace and enjoyment, produced unfavorable impressions
+towards them among their brethren at home.
+
+In 1766, John H. Livingston, D. D., then a young man, went from New York
+to Holland, to prosecute his studies in the Dutch universities. By his
+representations, a favorable disposition was produced towards the American
+church in that country; and, on his return, in full convention of both
+parties, an amicable adjustment of their differences was made and a
+friendly correspondence was opened with the church in Holland, which was
+continued until the revolution of the country under Bonaparte.
+
+The Dutch church suffered much in the loss of its members, and in other
+respects, by persisting to maintain its service in the Dutch language
+after it had gone greatly into disuse. The solicitation for English
+preaching was long resisted, and Dr. Laidlie, a native of Scotland, was
+the first minister in the Dutch church in North America, who was expressly
+called to officiate in the English language.
+
+
+
+
+Reformed German Church.
+
+
+As the Dutch Reformed church in this country is an exact counterpart of
+the church of Holland, so the German Reformed is of the Reformed or
+Calvinistic church of Germany. The people of this persuasion were among
+the early settlers of Pennsylvania: here their churches were first formed;
+but they are now to be found in nearly all the states south and west of
+the one above named. The German Reformed churches in this country remained
+in a scattered and neglected state until 1746, when the Rev. Michael
+Schlatter, who was sent from Europe for the purpose, collected them
+together, and put their concerns in a more prosperous train. They have
+since increased to a numerous body, and are assuming an important stand
+among the American Presbyterians.
+
+This denomination is scattered over the Middle, Western, and Southern
+States, but is most numerous in the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. The
+population of this church in the United States is estimated at 300,000;
+180 ministers, 600 congregations, and 30,000 communicants.
+
+
+
+
+
+RESTORATIONISTS.
+
+
+The Restorationists are those who believe that all men will ultimately
+become holy and happy. They maintain that God created only to bless, and
+that, in pursuance of that purpose, he sent his Son to "be for salvation
+to the ends of the earth;" that Christ's kingdom is moral in its nature,
+and extends to moral beings in every state or mode of existence; that the
+probation of man is not confined to the present life, but extends through
+the mediatorial reign; and that, as Christ died for all, so, before he
+shall have delivered up the kingdom to the Father, all shall be brought to
+a participation of the knowledge and enjoyment of that truth which maketh
+free from the bondage of sin and death. They believe in a general
+resurrection and judgment, when those who have improved their probation in
+this life will be raised to more perfect felicity, and those who have
+misimproved their opportunities on earth will come forward to shame and
+condemnation, which will continue till they become truly penitent; that
+punishment itself is a mediatorial work, a discipline, perfectly
+consistent with mercy; that it is a means, employed by Christ to humble
+and subdue the stubborn will, and prepare the mind to receive a
+manifestation of the goodness of God, which leadeth the sinner to true
+repentance. (See Gen. 12:3; 22:18. Gal. 3:8. Isa. 45:22, 23. Phil. 2:10,
+11. Rev. 5:13. 1 Tim. 2:1-6. Col. 1:20. Eph. 1:7-11. Rom. 5:12-21; 8:20,
+21. 1 Cor. 15:24-28.)
+
+They contend that this doctrine is not only sustained by particular texts,
+but grows necessarily out of some of the first principles of divine
+revelation. They maintain that it is immediately connected with the
+perfections of the Deity; that God, being infinitely benevolent, must have
+desired the happiness of all his offspring; that his infinite wisdom would
+enable him to form a perfect plan, and his almighty power will secure its
+accomplishment. They contend that the mission of Christ is abortive on any
+other plan, and that nothing short of the "restitution of all things" can
+satisfy the ardent desires of every pious soul. On this system alone can
+they reconcile the attributes of justice and mercy, and secure to the
+Almighty a character worthy of our imitation.
+
+They insist that the words rendered _everlasting_, _eternal_, and
+_forever_, which are, in a few instances, applied to the misery of the
+wicked, do not prove that misery to be endless, because these terms are
+loose in their signification, and are frequently used in a limited sense;
+that the original terms, being often used in the plural number, clearly
+demonstrate that the period, though indefinite, is limited in its very
+nature. They maintain that the meaning of the term must always be sought
+in the subject to which it is applied, and that there is nothing in the
+nature of punishment which will justify an endless sense. They believe
+that the doctrine of the restoration is the most consonant to the
+perfections of the Deity, the most worthy of the character of Christ, and
+the only doctrine which will accord with pious and devout feelings, or
+harmonize with the Scriptures. They teach their followers that ardent love
+to God, active benevolence to man, and personal meekness and purity, are
+the natural results of these views.
+
+Though the Restorationists, as a separate sect, have arisen within a few
+years, their sentiments are by no means new. Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen,
+Didymus of Alexandria, Gregory Nyssen, and several others, among the
+Christian fathers of the first four centuries, it is said, believed and
+advocated the restoration of all fallen intelligences. A branch of the
+German Baptists, before the reformation, held this doctrine, and
+propagated it in Germany. Since the reformation, this doctrine has had
+numerous advocates; and some of them have been among the brightest
+ornaments of the church. Among the Europeans, we may mention the names of
+Jeremy White, of Trinity College, Dr. Burnet, Dr. Cheyne, Chevalier
+Ramsay, Dr. Hartley, Bishop Newton, Mr. Stonehouse, Mr. Petitpierre, Dr.
+Cogan, Mr. Lindsey, Dr. Priestley, Dr. Jebb, Mr. Relly, Mr. Kenrick, Mr.
+Belsham, Dr. Southworth, Smith, and many others. In fact, the restoration
+is the commonly-received doctrine among the English Unitarians at the
+present day. In Germany, a country which, for several centuries, has taken
+the lead in all theological reforms, the Orthodox have espoused this
+doctrine. The restoration was introduced into America about the middle of
+the eighteenth century, though it was not propagated much till about 1775
+or 1780, when John Murray and Elhanan Winchester became public advocates
+of this doctrine, and by their untiring labors extended it in every
+direction. From that time to the present, many men have been found, in all
+parts of our country, who have rejoiced in this belief. This doctrine
+found able advocates in the learned Dr. Chauncy, of Boston, Dr. Rush, of
+Philadelphia, and Dr. Smith, of New York: Mr. Foster, of New Hampshire,
+may also be mentioned as an advocate of the restoration.
+
+Most of the writers whose names are given above, did not belong to a sect
+which took the distinctive name of Restorationists. They were found in the
+ranks of the various sects into which the Christian world has been
+divided. And those who formed a distinct sect were more frequently
+denominated Universalists than Restorationists. In 1785, a convention was
+organized at Oxford, Massachusetts, under the auspices of Messrs.
+Winchester and Murray. And as all who had embraced universal salvation
+believed that the effects of sin and the means of grace extended into a
+future life, the terms _Restorationist_ and _Universalist_ were then used
+as synonymous; and those who formed that convention adopted the latter as
+their distinctive name.
+
+During the first twenty-five years, the members of the Universalist
+convention were believers in a future retribution. But, about the year
+1818, Hosea Ballou, now of Boston, advanced the doctrine that all
+retribution is confined to this world. That sentiment, at first, was
+founded upon the old Gnostic notion that all sin originates in the flesh,
+and that death frees the soul from all impurity. Subsequently, some of the
+advocates for the no-future punishment scheme adopted the doctrine of
+materialism, and hence maintained that the soul was mortal; that the whole
+man died a temporal death, and that the resurrection was the grand event
+which would introduce all men into heavenly felicity.
+
+Those who have since taken to themselves the name of Restorationists,
+viewed these innovations as corruptions of the gospel, and raised their
+voices against them. But a majority of the convention having espoused
+those sentiments, no reformation could be effected. The Restorationists,
+believing these errors to be increasing, and finding in the connection
+what appeared to them to be a want of engagedness in the cause of true
+piety, and in some instances an open opposition to the organization of
+churches, and finding that a spirit of levity and bitterness characterized
+the public labors of their brethren, and that practices were springing up
+totally repugnant to the principles of Congregationalism, resolved to obey
+the apostolic injunction, by coming out from among them, and forming an
+independent association. Accordingly a convention, consisting of Rev. Paul
+Dean, Rev. David Pickering, Rev. Charles Hudson, Rev. Adin Ballou, Rev.
+Lyman Maynard, Rev. Nathaniel Wright, Rev. Philemon R. Russell, and Rev.
+Seth Chandler, and several laymen, met at Mendon, Massachusetts, August
+17, 1831, and formed themselves into a distinct sect, and took the name of
+_Universal Restorationists_.
+
+The Restorationists are Congregationalists on the subject of church
+government.
+
+The difference between the Restorationists and Universalists relates
+principally to the subject of a future retribution. The Universalists
+believe that a full and perfect retribution takes place in this world,
+that our conduct here cannot affect our future condition, and that the
+moment man exists after death, he will be as pure and as happy as the
+angels. From these views the Restorationists dissent. They maintain that a
+just retribution does not take place in time; that the conscience of the
+sinner becomes callous, and does not increase in the severity of its
+reprovings with the increase of guilt; that men are invited to act with
+reference to a future life; that, if all are made perfectly happy at the
+commencement of the next state of existence, they are not rewarded
+according to their deeds; that, if death introduces them into heaven, they
+are saved by death, and not by Christ; and if they are made happy by being
+raised from the dead, they are saved by physical, and not by moral means,
+and made happy without their agency or consent; that such a sentiment
+weakens the motives to virtue, and gives force to the temptations of vice;
+that it is unreasonable in itself, and opposed to many passages of
+Scripture. (See Acts 24:25; 17:30, 31. Heb. 9:27, 28. Matt. 11:23, 24. 2
+Pet. 2:9. 2 Cor. 5:8-11. John 5:28, 29. Matt. 10:28. Luke 12:4, 5;
+16:19-31. 1 Pet. 3:18-20.)
+
+
+
+
+
+UNIVERSALISTS.
+
+
+The grand distinguishing characteristic of this class of Christians is
+their belief in the final holiness and happiness of the whole human
+family. Some of them believe that all punishment for sin is endured in the
+present state of existence, while others believe it extends into the
+future life; but all agree that it is administered in a spirit of
+kindness, is intended for the good of those who experience it, and that it
+will finally terminate, and be succeeded by a state of perfect and endless
+holiness and happiness.
+
+
+
+
+Doctrine.
+
+
+The following is the "Profession of Belief," adopted by the General
+Convention of Universalists in the United States, at the session holden in
+1803. It has never been altered, and it is perfectly satisfactory to the
+denomination.
+
+
+    "ART. I. We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New
+    Testaments contain a revelation of the character of God, and of
+    the duty, interest, and final destination, of mankind.
+
+    "ART. II. We believe that there is one God, whose nature is love;
+    revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of grace,
+    who will finally restore the whole family of mankind to holiness
+    and happiness.
+
+    "ART. III. We believe that holiness and true happiness are
+    inseparably connected, and that believers ought to be careful to
+    maintain order, and practise good works; for these things are good
+    and profitable unto men."
+
+
+
+
+History.
+
+
+Universalists claim that the salvation of all men was taught by Jesus
+Christ and his apostles. It was also taught and defended by several of the
+most eminent Christian fathers; such as Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, &c.
+In the third and fourth centuries, this doctrine prevailed extensively,
+and, for aught which appears to the contrary, was then accounted orthodox.
+It was at length condemned, however, by the fifth general council, A. D.
+553; after which, we find few traces of it through the dark ages, so
+called.
+
+It revived at the period of the reformation, and since that time has found
+many able and fearless advocates;--in Switzerland, Petitpierre and Lavater;
+in Germany, Seigvolk, Everhard, Steinbart, and Semler; in Scotland,
+Purves, Douglass, and T. S. Smith; in England, Coppin, Jeremy White, Dr.
+H. More, Dr. T. Burnet, Whiston, Hartley, Bishop Newton, Stonehouse,
+Barbauld, Lindsey, Priestley, Belsham, Carpenter, Relly, Vidler, Scarlett,
+and many others.
+
+At the present day, Universalism prevails more extensively than elsewhere
+in England, Germany, and the United States.
+
+In England, the Unitarian divines, generally, believe in the final
+salvation of all men. Dr. Lant Carpenter says, "Most of us, however,
+believe that a period will come to each individual, when punishment shall
+have done its work--when the awful sufferings with which the gospel
+threatens the impenitent and disobedient, will have humbled the stubborn,
+purified the polluted, and eradicated malignity, impiety, hypocrisy, and
+every evil disposition; that a period will come (which it may be the
+unspeakable bliss of those who enter the joy of their Lord to accelerate,
+which, at least, it will be their delight to anticipate,) when he who
+'must reign till he hath put _all enemies_ under his feet,' 'shall have
+put down all rule, and all authority, and power.' 'The LAST ENEMY, death,
+shall be DESTROYED.' 'Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is
+Lord, to the glory of God the Father,' 'who wills that all men should be
+saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth,'--that truth which
+sanctifies the heart,--that knowledge which is life eternal,--and God shall
+be ALL IN ALL."
+
+In Germany, nearly every theologian is a believer in the final salvation
+of all men. Speaking of Professor Tholuck, Professor Sears says, "The most
+painful disclosures remain yet to be made. This distinguished and
+excellent man, in common with the _great majority of the Evangelical
+divines_ of Germany, though he professes to have serious doubts, and is
+cautious in avowing the sentiment, believes that all men and fallen
+spirits will finally be saved." Mr. Dwight, in his recent publication,
+says, "The doctrine of the eternity of future punishments is almost
+universally rejected. I have seen but one person in Germany who believed
+it, and but one other whose mind was wavering on this subject."
+Universalism may, therefore, be considered the prevailing religion in
+Germany.
+
+In the United States, Universalism was little known until about the middle
+of the last century; and afterwards it found but few advocates during
+several years. Dr. George de Benneville, of Germantown, Penn., Rev.
+Richard Clarke, of Charleston, S. C., and Jonathan Mayhew, D. D., of
+Boston, were, perhaps, the only individuals who publicly preached the
+doctrine before the arrival of Rev. John Murray, in 1770. Mr. Murray
+labored almost alone until 1780, when Rev. Elhanan Winchester, a popular
+Baptist preacher, embraced Universalism, though on different principles.
+About ten years afterwards, Rev. Hosea Ballou embraced the same doctrine,
+but on principles different from those advocated by Mr. Murray or Mr.
+Winchester. To the efforts of these three men is to be attributed much of
+the success which attended the denomination in its infancy. Although they
+differed widely from each other in their views of punishment, yet they
+labored together in harmony and love, for the advancement of the cause
+which was dear to all their hearts. The seed which they sowed has since
+produced an abundant harvest.
+
+The ministry of the Universalist denomination in the United States,
+hitherto, has been provided for, not so much by the means of schools, as
+by the unaided, but irresistible influence of the gospel of Christ. This
+has furnished the denomination with its most successful preachers. It has
+turned them from other sects and doctrines, and brought them out from
+forests and fields, and from secular pursuits of almost every kind, and
+driven them, with inadequate literary preparation, to the work of
+disseminating the truth. This state of things has been unavoidable, and
+the effect of it is visible. It has made the ministry of the Universalist
+denomination very different from that of any other sect in the country;
+studious of the Scriptures, confident in the truth of their distinguishing
+doctrine, zealous, firm, industrious; depending more on the truths
+communicated for their success, than on the manner in which they are
+stated. It has had the effect, also, to give the ministry a polemic
+character--the natural result of unwavering faith in the doctrine believed,
+and of an introduction into the desk without scholastic training. But the
+attention of the denomination, in various parts of the country, has of
+late been turned to the education of the ministry; and conventions and
+associations have adopted resolves requiring candidates to pass
+examinations in certain branches of literature. The same motives have
+governed many in their effort to establish literary and theological
+institutions. The desire to have the ministry respectable for literary
+acquirements, is universal.
+
+A few years since, a small number separated from the denomination, and
+adopted the appellation of _Restorationists_. To prevent misapprehension,
+it may be repeated, that, although a few have thus seceded, yet a
+difference of opinion in regard to the duration of punishment has not
+disturbed the harmony of the denomination generally, nor is it regarded as
+sufficient cause for breach of fellowship, or alienation of heart and
+affection.
+
+The Universalists quote the following texts of Scripture, among others, in
+support of their sentiments:--Gen. 22:18. Ps. 22:27; 86:9. Isa. 25:6, 7, 8;
+45:23, 24. Jer. 31:33, 34. Lam. 3:31-33. John 12:32. Acts 3:31. Rom. 5:18,
+21; 8:33, 39; 11:25-36. 1 Cor. 15:22-28, and 51-57. 2 Cor. 5:18, 19. Gal.
+3:8. Eph. 1:9, 10. Phil. 2:9-11. Col. 1:19, 29. 1 Tim. 2:1-6. Heb. 8:10,
+11. Rev. 5:13; 21:3, 4.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+We copy the following from the _Trumpet and Universalist Magazine_ of June
+4, 1836. It is by the Rev. HOSEA BALLOU, of Boston, in answer to the
+question, "Who are Universalists?"
+
+"There seems to be an evident propriety in calling all who believe in the
+final holiness and happiness of all mankind, _Universalists_. There
+appears no good reason why those who believe in a limited punishment, in
+the future state, should have a less or a greater claim to be called
+Universalists, than those who entertain a hope that all sin and misery end
+when the functions of life cease in the mortal body. As they both agree in
+the belief that God is the Savior of all men, if this belief entitle one
+to the name of Universalist, of course it gives the other the same title.
+The Rev. John Murray was called a Universalist, and he called himself by
+this name, although he admitted there might be suffering hereafter, in
+consequence of blindness or unbelief. It is true, he did not allow that
+the sinner was punished for sin, either here or in the future world, in
+his own person, because he maintained that the whole penalty of the divine
+law, for the sin of the whole world, was suffered by the Lord Jesus, as
+the head of every man. He allowed, notwithstanding, that the natural
+consequences of sin would inevitably follow transgression, as we see is
+the case by every day's observation. So, likewise, was the Rev. Elhanan
+Winchester called a Universalist, and he called himself so, although his
+views respecting a state of retribution, and the sufferings to which the
+wicked in the world to come will be subjected, were widely different from
+those entertained by Mr. Murray. Mr. Winchester believed in a place of
+material fire and brimstone, where the wicked would endure a torment as
+intense as has been represented by those Christians who believe in endless
+misery. But, as he believed that all these sufferings will end, though
+they might continue for many thousand years, and that those miserable
+wretches will at last be subdued and reconciled to the divine government,
+and be happy, he was denominated a Universalist.
+
+"The Rev. Dr. Huntington is ranked a Universalist, equally with those who
+have been named; but he believed in no punishment hereafter, being
+Calvinistic in his views of the demerit of sin, and of the atonement made
+by Christ.
+
+"From the commencement of the denomination of Univeralists in this
+country, there has been a difference of opinion respecting the doctrine of
+rewards and punishments, among both the clergy and the laity belonging to
+the connection. But this difference was not considered, in those times, a
+good reason for a distinction of either name, denomination, or fellowship.
+All united in the cheering hope that, in the fulness of the dispensation
+of times, sin will be finished, transgression ended, and all moral
+intelligences reconciled to God, in true holiness and everlasting
+happiness. A view so grand and glorious, so full of comfort, of joy, and
+of peace, and so triumphant, was sufficiently powerful to draw together
+all who enjoyed it, and to hold them together as a denomination distinct
+from all those who hold the unmerciful doctrine of endless punishment.
+
+"When the General Convention of the New England States, professing the
+doctrine of universal salvation, appointed a committee to draft articles
+of faith and a constitution, by which it might be known and distinguished
+from other religious sects, care was taken to appoint on that committee
+brethren whose views differed respecting the subject of a future state of
+rewards and punishments. The worthy and fondly-remembered brother Walter
+Ferriss, who penned that instrument, was a believer in future rewards and
+punishments; but he so wrote that confession of faith as to comprehend the
+full belief of universal salvation, without making any distinction between
+the belief of future punishment, or no future punishment. And it is well
+remembered that this circumstance was, at the time of accepting the report
+of the committee, viewed as one of its excellences.
+
+"It seems improper to give so much weight to different opinions, which
+differ not in principle, but in circumstances only, as to constitute them
+walls of separation and disfellowship. If one believe that all misery ends
+with this mortal state, and another believe that it may continue twenty
+years after, and then come to an end, is there any real difference as to
+principle? All believe that our heavenly Father holds all times and
+seasons, and all events, in his own power, and that he worketh all things
+after the counsel of his own will. And, moreover, all believe that God
+will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
+truth. This constitutes us all Universalists, and calls on us to keep the
+unity of the spirit, and to walk in the bonds of peace."
+
+
+
+
+
+ROMAN CATHOLICS.
+
+
+The following Creeds and Rule of Faith contain the fundamental principles
+of the Latin or Roman church.
+
+Apostles' Creed.
+
+
+    "I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and
+    earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was
+    conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered
+    under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he
+    descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he
+    ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God the Father
+    almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the
+    dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic church; the
+    communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of
+    the body; and life everlasting. AMEN."
+
+
+It is doubtful who composed the above Creed. It was not in common use in
+the church until the end of the fifth century. See _King's History of the
+Apostles' Creed_.
+
+The Symbol, Or Creed Of St. Athanasius.
+
+
+    "Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that
+    he hold the Catholic faith;
+
+    "Which faith except every one do keep entire and inviolate,
+    without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
+
+    "Now, the Catholic faith is this--that we worship one God in
+    Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.
+
+    "Neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance.
+
+    "For one is the person of the Father, another of the Son, another
+    of the Holy Ghost.
+
+    "But the Godhead of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
+    Ghost, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.
+
+    "Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy
+    Ghost.
+
+    "The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Ghost
+    uncreated.
+
+    "The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the
+    Holy Ghost incomprehensible.
+
+    "The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal.
+
+    "And yet they are not three Eternals, but one Eternal.
+
+    "As also they are not three Uncreated, nor three
+    Incomprehensibles; but one Uncreated, and one Incomprehensible.
+
+    "In like manner, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the
+    Holy Ghost almighty.
+
+    "And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.
+
+    "So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God.
+
+    "And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
+
+    "So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy
+    Ghost is Lord.
+
+    "And yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord,
+
+    "For, as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge
+    every person by himself to be God and Lord,
+
+    "So we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there are
+    three Gods or three Lords.
+
+    "The Father is made of no one, neither created nor begotten.
+
+    "The Son is from the Father alone, not made, nor created, but
+    begotten.
+
+    "The Holy Ghost is from the Father and the Son, not made, nor
+    created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
+
+    "So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three
+    Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.
+
+    "And in this Trinity there is nothing before or after, nothing
+    greater or less; but the whole three Persons are co-eternal to one
+    another, and coequal.
+
+    "So that in all things, as has been already said above, the Unity
+    is to be worshipped in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity.
+
+    "He, therefore, that will be saved, must thus think of the
+    Trinity.
+
+    "Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation, that he
+    also believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
+
+    "Now, the right faith is, that we believe and confess that our
+    Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and Man.
+
+    "He is God of the substance of his Father, begotten before the
+    world; and he is Man of the substance of his mother, born in the
+    world.
+
+    "Perfect God and perfect Man; of a rational soul, and human flesh
+    subsisting.
+
+    "Equal to the Father according to his Godhead, and less than the
+    Father according to his Manhood.
+
+    "Who, although he be both God and Man, yet he is not two, but one
+    Christ.
+
+    "One, not by the conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by the
+    taking of the Manhood unto God.
+
+    "One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of
+    person.
+
+    "For as the rational soul and the flesh is one man, so God and Man
+    is one Christ.
+
+    "Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again
+    the third day from the dead.
+
+    "He ascended into heaven: he sitteth at the right hand of God the
+    Father almighty; thence he shall come to judge the living and
+    dead.
+
+    "At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and
+    shall give an account of their own works.
+
+    "And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and
+    they that have done evil into everlasting fire.
+
+    "This is the Catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully
+    and steadfastly, he cannot be saved.
+
+    "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As
+    it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, one God, world
+    without end. AMEN."
+
+
+This Creed is said to have been drawn up in the fourth century. "It
+obtained in France about A. D. 850, and was received in Spain and Germany
+about one hundred and eighty years later. We have clear proofs of its
+being sung alternately in the English churches in the tenth century. It
+was in common use in some parts of Italy in 960, and was received at Rome
+about A. D. 1014." This Creed is retained by the church of England, but
+the Protestant Episcopal churches in the United States have rejected it.
+
+The Nicene Creed.
+
+"Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, Factorem coeli et terrae,
+visibilium omnium et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum,
+Filium Dei unigenitum. Et ex Patre natum, ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo,
+Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum, non factum;
+consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos
+homines, et propter nostram salutem, descendit de coelis. Et incarnatus est
+de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine; ET HOMO FACTUS EST: crucifixus etiam
+pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus, et sepultus est. Et resurrexit tertia
+die, secundum Scripturas. Et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris.
+Et iterum venturus est cum gloria judicare vivos et mortuos: cujus regni
+non erit finis. Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et Vivificantem; qui ex
+Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et
+conglorificatur; qui locutus est per Prophetas. Et unam Sanctam,
+Catholicam, et Apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum Baptisma, in
+remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum. Et vitam
+venturi saeculi. Amen."
+
+
+    Translation.
+
+    "I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and
+    earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus
+    Christ, the only-begotten Son of God. And born of the Father,
+    before all ages. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God,
+    begotten, not made; consubstantial to the Father, by whom all
+    things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down
+    from heaven. And was incarnated by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin
+    Mary; AND HE WAS MADE MAN: was crucified also under Pontius
+    Pilate; he suffered, and was buried. And the third day he rose
+    again, according to the Scriptures. And he ascended into heaven.
+    Sits at the right hand of the Father. And he is to come again with
+    glory to judge the living and the dead; of whose kingdom there
+    shall be no end. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of
+    Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who, together with
+    the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified; who spoke by the
+    Prophets. And One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolical Church. I
+    confess one Baptism, for the remission of sins. And I look for the
+    resurrection of the dead; and the life of the world to come.
+    Amen."
+
+
+This Creed was adopted at Constantinople, A. D. 381. It is used in the
+Protestant Episcopal churches in England, and occasionally in those of the
+United States.
+
+The foregoing Creeds are copied from Catholic books.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+The Catholics, both in Europe and America, acknowledge the following Rule
+is "all that, and only that, belongs to Catholic belief, which is revealed
+in the word of God, and which is proposed by the Catholic church to all
+its members to be believed with divine faith."
+
+"Guided by this certain criterion," they say, "we profess to believe,
+
+1. "That Christ has established a church upon earth, and that this church
+is that which holds communion with the see of Rome, being one, holy,
+Catholic, and apostolical.
+
+2. "That we are obliged to hear this church; and, therefore, that she is
+infallible, by the guidance of Almighty God, in her decisions regarding
+faith.
+
+3. "That St. Peter, by divine commission, was appointed the head of this
+church, under Christ, its Founder; and that the pope, or bishop of Rome,
+as successor to St. Peter, has always been, and is, at present, by divine
+right, head of this church.
+
+4. "That the canon of the Old and New Testament, as proposed to us by this
+church, is the word of God; as also such traditions, belonging to faith
+and morals, which, being originally delivered by Christ to his apostles,
+have been preserved by constant succession.
+
+5. "That honor and veneration are due to the angels of God and his saints;
+that they offer up prayers to God for us; that it is good and profitable
+to have recourse to their intercession; and that the relics, or earthly
+remains, of God's particular servants, are to be held in respect.
+
+6. "That no sins ever were, or can be, remitted, unless by the mercy of
+God, through Jesus Christ; and, therefore, that man's justification is the
+work of divine grace.
+
+7. "That the good works which we do, receive their whole value from the
+grace of God; and that, by such works, we not only comply with the
+precepts of the divine law, but that we thereby likewise merit eternal
+life.
+
+8. "That, by works done in the spirit of penance, we can make satisfaction
+to God for the temporal punishment which often remains due, after our
+sins, by the divine goodness, have been forgiven us.
+
+9. "That Christ has left to his church a power of granting indulgences,
+that is, a relaxation from such temporal chastisement only, as remains due
+after the divine pardon of sin; and that the use of such indulgences is
+profitable to sinners.
+
+10. "That there is a purgatory, or middle state; and that the souls of
+imperfect Christians, therein detained, are helped by the prayers of the
+faithful.
+
+11. "That there are seven sacraments, all instituted by Christ--baptism,
+confirmation, eucharist, penance, extreme unction, holy order, matrimony.
+
+12. "That, in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist, there is truly,
+really, and substantially, the body and blood, together with the soul and
+divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ.
+
+13. "That, in this sacrament, there is, by the omnipotence of God, a
+conversion, or change, of the whole substance of the bread into the body
+of Christ, and of the whole substance of the wine into his blood, which
+change we call TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
+
+14. "That, under either kind, Christ is received whole and entire.
+
+15. "That, in the mass, or sacrifice of the altar, is offered to God a
+true, proper, and propitiatory, sacrifice for the living and the dead.
+
+16. "That, in the sacrament of penance, the sins we fall into after
+baptism are, by the divine mercy, forgiven us.
+
+"These are the great points of Catholic belief, by which we are
+distinguished from other Christian societies; and these, only, are the
+real and essential tenets of our religion. We admit, also, the other grand
+articles of revealed and natural religion, which the gospel and the light
+of reason have manifested to us. To these we submit, as men and as
+Christians, and to the former as obedient children of the Catholic
+church."
+
+
+
+
+
+BEREANS.
+
+
+The Bereans are a sect of Protestant dissenters from the church of
+Scotland, who take their title from, and profess to follow the example of,
+the ancient Bereans, in building their system of faith and practice upon
+the Scriptures alone, without regard to any human authority whatever. The
+Bereans first assembled, as a separate society of Christians, in the city
+of Edinburgh, in the autumn of 1773. Mr. Barclay, a Scotch clergyman, was
+the founder of this sect.
+
+The Bereans agree with the great majority of Christians respecting the
+doctrine of the Trinity, which they hold as a fundamental article; and
+they also agree, in a great measure, with the professed principles of our
+Orthodox churches, respecting predestination and election, though they
+allege that these doctrines are not consistently taught. But they differ
+from the majority of all sects of Christians in various other important
+particulars, such as,--
+
+1. Respecting our knowledge of the Deity. Upon this subject, they say the
+majority of professed Christians stumble at the very threshold of
+revelation; and, by admitting the doctrine of natural religion, natural
+conscience, natural notices, &c., not founded upon revelation, or derived
+from it by tradition, they give up the cause of Christianity at once to
+the infidels, who may justly argue, as Mr. Paine, in fact, does, in his
+"Age of Reason," that there is no occasion for any revelation or word of
+God, if man can discover his nature and perfections from his works alone.
+But this, the Bereans argue, is beyond the natural powers of human reason;
+and, therefore, our knowledge of God is from revelation alone; and,
+without revelation, man would never have entertained an idea of his
+existence.
+
+2. With regard to faith in Christ, and assurance of salvation through his
+merits, they differ from almost all other sects whatsoever. These they
+reckon inseparable, or rather the same, because (they say) "God hath
+expressly declared, He that believeth shall be saved; and, therefore, it
+is not only absurd, but impious, and, in a manner, calling God a liar, for
+a man to say, 'I believe the gospel, but have doubts, nevertheless, of my
+own salvation.' " With regard to the various distinctions and definitions
+that have been given of different kinds of faith, they argue that there is
+nothing incomprehensible or obscure in the meaning of this word, as used
+in Scripture; but that, as faith, when applied to human testimony,
+signifies neither more nor less than the mere simple belief of that
+testimony as true, upon the authority of the testifier, so, when applied
+to the testimony of God, it signifies precisely "the belief of his
+testimony, and resting upon his veracity alone, without any kind of
+collateral support from concurrence of any other evidence or testimony
+whatever." And they insist that, as this faith is the gift of God alone,
+so the person to whom it is given is as conscious of possessing it, as the
+being to whom God gives life is of being alive; and, therefore, he
+entertains no doubts, either of his faith, or his consequent salvation
+through the merits of Christ, who died and rose again for that purpose. In
+a word, they argue that the gospel would not be what it is held forth to
+be,--glad tidings of great joy,--if it did not bring full personal assurance
+of eternal salvation to the believer; which assurance, they insist, is the
+present infallible privilege and portion of every individual believer of
+the gospel.
+
+3. Consistently with the above definition of faith, they say that the sin
+against the Holy Ghost, which has alarmed and puzzled so many in all ages,
+is nothing else but unbelief; and that the expression, "it shall not be
+forgiven, neither in this world nor that which is to come," means only
+that a person dying in infidelity would not be forgiven, neither under the
+former dispensation by Moses, (the then present dispensation, kingdom, or
+government, of God,) nor under the gospel dispensation, which, in respect
+of the Mosaic, was a kind of future world, or kingdom to come.
+
+4. The Bereans interpret a great part of the Old Testament prophecies,
+and, in particular, the whole of the Psalms, excepting such as are merely
+historical or laudatory, to be typical or prophetical of Jesus Christ, his
+sufferings, atonement, mediation, and kingdom; and they esteem it a gross
+perversion of these psalms and prophecies, to apply them to the
+experiences of private Christians. In proof of this, they not only urge
+the words of the apostle, that no prophecy is of any private
+interpretation, but they insist that the whole of the quotations from the
+ancient prophecies in the New Testament, and particularly those from the
+Psalms, are expressly applied to Christ. In this opinion, many other
+classes of Protestants agree with them.
+
+5. Of the absolute, all-superintending sovereignty of the Almighty, the
+Bereans entertain the highest idea, as well as of the uninterrupted
+exertion thereof over all his works, in heaven, earth, and hell, however
+unsearchable by his creatures. A God without election, they argue, or
+choice in all his works, is a God without existence, a mere idol, a
+nonentity. And to deny God's election, purpose, and express will, in all
+his works, is to make him inferior to ourselves.
+
+The Bereans consider infant baptism as a divine ordinance, instituted in
+the room of circumcision, and think it absurd to suppose that infants,
+who, all agree, are admissible to the kingdom of God in heaven, should,
+nevertheless, be incapable of being admitted into his visible church on
+earth.
+
+They commemorate the Lord's supper generally once a month; but, as the
+words of the institution fix no particular period, they sometimes
+celebrate it oftener, and sometimes at more distant periods, as it may
+suit their general convenience. They meet every Lord's day, for the
+purpose of preaching, praying, and exhorting to love and good works. With
+regard to admission and exclusion of members, their method is very simple:
+when any person, after hearing the Berean doctrines, professes his belief
+and assurance of the truths of the gospel, and desires to be admitted into
+their communion, he is cheerfully received, upon his profession, whatever
+may have been his former manner of life. But, if such a one should
+afterwards draw back from his good profession or practice, they first
+admonish him, and, if that has no effect, they leave him to himself. They
+do not think that they have any power to deliver a backsliding brother to
+Satan; that text, and other similar passages, such as, "Whatsoever ye
+shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven," &c., they consider as
+restricted to the apostles, and to the inspired testimony alone, and not
+to be extended to any church on earth, or any number of churches, or of
+Christians, whether decided by a majority of votes, or by unanimous
+voices. Neither do they think themselves authorized, as a Christian
+church, to inquire into each other's political opinions, any more than to
+examine into each other's notions of philosophy.
+
+They both recommend and practise, as a Christian duty, submission to
+lawful authority; but they do not think that a man, by becoming a
+Christian, or joining their society, is under any obligation, by the rules
+of the gospel, to renounce his right of private judgment upon matters of
+public or private importance. Upon all such subjects, they allow each
+other to think and act as each may see it his duty; and they require
+nothing more of the members, than a uniform and steady profession of the
+apostolic faith, and a suitable walk and conversation. (See Acts 17:11.
+Rom. 10:9.)
+
+The Berean doctrines have found converts in various parts of Europe and
+America.
+
+
+
+
+
+MATERIALISTS.
+
+
+Materialists are those who maintain that the soul of man is material, or
+that the principle of perception and thought is not a substance distinct
+from the body, but the result of corporeal organization. There are others
+called by this name who have maintained that there is nothing but matter
+in the universe.
+
+The followers of the late Dr. Priestley are considered as Materialists, or
+philosophical Necessarians. According to the doctor's writings, he
+believed,--
+
+1. That man is no more than what we now see of him; his being commenced at
+the time of his conception, or perhaps at an earlier period. The corporeal
+and mental faculties, inhering in the same substance, grow, ripen, and
+decay together; and whenever the system is dissolved, it continues in a
+state of dissolution, till it shall please that Almighty Being who called
+it into existence, to restore it to life again. For if the mental
+principle were, in its own nature, immaterial and immortal, all its
+peculiar faculties would be so too; whereas we see that every faculty of
+the mind, without exception, is liable to be impaired, and even to become
+wholly extinct, before death. Since, therefore, all the faculties of the
+mind, separately taken, appear to be mortal, the substance or principle,
+in which they exist, must be pronounced mortal too. Thus we might conclude
+that the body was mortal, from observing that all the separate senses and
+limbs were liable to decay and perish.
+
+This system gives a real value to the doctrine of the resurrection from
+the dead, which is peculiar to revelation; on which alone the sacred
+writers build all our hope of future life; and it explains the uniform
+language of the Scriptures, which speak of one day of judgment for all
+mankind, and represent all the rewards of virtue, and all the punishments
+of vice, as taking place at that awful day, and not before. In the
+Scriptures, the heathen are represented as without hope, and all mankind
+as perishing at death, if there be no resurrection of the dead.
+
+The apostle Paul asserts, in 1 Cor. 15:16, that "if the dead rise not,
+then is not Christ risen; and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain,
+ye are yet in your sins: then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ
+are perished." And again, verse 32, "If the dead rise not, let us eat and
+drink, for to-morrow we die." In the whole discourse, he does not even
+mention the doctrine of happiness or misery without the body.
+
+If we search the Scriptures for passages expressive of the state of man at
+death, we shall find such declarations as expressly exclude any trace of
+sense, thought, or enjoyment. (See Ps. 6:5. Job 14:7, &c.)
+
+2. That there is some fixed law of nature respecting the will, as well as
+the other powers of the mind, and every thing else in the constitution of
+nature; and consequently that it is never determined without some real or
+apparent cause foreign to itself, i. e., without some motive of choice; or
+that motives influence us in some definite and invariable manner, so that
+every volition, or choice, is constantly regulated and determined by what
+precedes it; and this constant determination of mind, according to the
+motives presented to it, is what is meant by its _necessary
+determination_. This being admitted to be fact, there will be a necessary
+connection between all things past, present, and to come, in the way of
+proper cause and effect, as much in the intellectual as in the natural
+world; so that, according to the established laws of nature, no event
+could have been otherwise than it _has been_, or _is to be_, and therefore
+all things past, present, and to come, are precisely what the Author of
+Nature really intended them to be, and has made provision for.
+
+To establish this conclusion, nothing is necessary but that throughout all
+nature the same consequences should invariably result from the same
+circumstances. For if this be admitted, it will necessarily follow that,
+at the commencement of any system, since the several parts of it, and
+their respective situations, were appointed by the Deity, the first change
+would take place according to a certain rule established by himself, the
+result of which would be a new situation; after which the same laws
+containing another change would succeed, according to the same rules, and
+so on forever; every new situation invariably leading to another, and
+every event, from the commencement to the termination of the system, being
+strictly connected, so that, unless the fundamental laws of the system
+were changed, it would be impossible that any event should have been
+otherwise than it was. In all these cases, the circumstances preceding any
+change are called the causes of that change; and, since a determinate
+event, or effect, constantly follows certain circumstances, or causes, the
+connection between cause and effect is concluded to be invariable, and
+therefore necessary.
+
+It is universally acknowledged that there can be no effect without an
+adequate cause. This is even the foundation on which the only proper
+argument for the being of a God rests. And the Necessarian asserts that
+if, in any given state of mind, with respect both to dispositions and
+motives, two different determinations, or volitions, be possible, it can
+be on no other principle, than that one of them should come under the
+description of an effect without a cause; just as if the beam of a balance
+might incline either way, though loaded with equal weights. And if any
+thing whatever--even a thought in the mind of man--could arise without an
+adequate cause, any thing else--the mind itself, or the whole
+universe--might likewise exist without an adequate cause.
+
+This scheme of philosophical necessity implies a chain of causes and
+effects established by infinite wisdom, and terminating in the greatest
+good of the whole universe; evils of all kinds, natural and moral, being
+admitted, as far as they contribute to that end, or are in the nature of
+things inseparable from it. Vice is productive, not of good, but of evil,
+to us, both here and hereafter, though good may result from it to the
+whole system; and, according to the fixed laws of nature, our present and
+future happiness necessarily depends on our cultivating good dispositions.
+
+
+
+
+
+ARMINIANS.
+
+
+Those persons who follow the doctrines of Arminius, who was pastor at
+Amsterdam, and afterwards professor of divinity at Leyden. Arminius had
+been educated in the opinions of Calvin; but, thinking the doctrine of
+that great man, with regard to free will, predestination, and grace, too
+severe, he began to express his doubts concerning them in the year 1591,
+and, upon further inquiry, adopted the sentiments of those whose religious
+system extends the love of the Supreme Being and the merits of Jesus
+Christ to all mankind.
+
+The distinguishing tenets of the Arminians may be comprised in the five
+following articles relative to predestination, universal redemption, the
+corruption of man, conversion, and perseverance, viz.:--
+
+
+    "1. That God determined to bestow pardon and present salvation on
+    all who repent and believe in Christ, and final salvation on all
+    who persevere to the end, and to inflict everlasting punishment on
+    those who should continue in their unbelief, and resist his divine
+    succors; so that election was conditional, and reprobation, in
+    like manner, the result of foreseen infidelity and persevering
+    wickedness, (See Ezek. 18:30-32. Acts 17:24-30. Matt. 23:37. Rom.
+    2:4, 5; 5:18. 1 Tim. 11:1-4. 2 Pet. 1:10; 3:9.)
+
+    "2. That Jesus Christ, by his sufferings and death, made an
+    atonement for the sins of all mankind in general, and of every
+    individual in particular; that, however, none but those who
+    believe in him can be partakers of divine benefits. (See John 2:2;
+    3:16, 17. Heb. 2:9. Isa. 50:19, 20. 1 Cor. 8:11.)
+
+    "3. That true faith cannot proceed from the exercise of our
+    natural faculties and powers, nor from the force and operation of
+    free will; since man, in consequence of his natural corruption, is
+    incapable either of thinking or doing any good thing; and that,
+    therefore, it is necessary, in order to his conversion and
+    salvation, that he be regenerated and renewed by the operation of
+    the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God through Jesus Christ.
+
+    "4. That this divine grace, or energy, of the Holy Ghost, begins
+    and perfects every thing that can be called good in man, and,
+    consequently, all good works are to be attributed to God alone;
+    that, nevertheless, this grace is offered to all, and does not
+    force men to act against their inclinations, but may be resisted,
+    and rendered ineffectual, by the perverse will of the impenitent
+    sinner. Some modern Arminians interpret this and the last article
+    with a greater latitude. (See Isa. 1:16. Deut. 10:16. Eph. 4:22.)
+
+    "5. That God gives to the truly faithful, who are regenerated by
+    his grace, the means of preserving themselves in this state."
+
+
+The first Armenians, indeed, had some doubt with respect to the closing
+part of the latter article; but their followers uniformly maintain, "that
+the regenerate may lose true, justifying faith, fall from a state of
+grace, and die in their sins." (See Heb. 6:4-6. 2 Pet. 2:20, 21. Luke
+21:35. 2 Pet. 3:17.)
+
+
+
+
+
+METHODISTS, OR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
+
+
+This denomination arose in England, in 1729, and derived their name from
+the exact regularity of their lives. In 1741, they divided into two
+parties, under George Whitefield and John Wesley. The former adopted the
+sentiments of Calvin, and the latter those of Arminius. The Arminian class
+compose the great body of Methodists in this country and in Great Britain.
+Both of those men were eminently distinguished for the variety and extent
+of their labors.
+
+The following are the articles of religion, as published in the "Doctrines
+and Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church:"--
+
+
+    "1. There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without
+    body or parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker
+    and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible. And in unity
+    of this Godhead, there are three persons, of one substance, power
+    and eternity--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
+
+    "2. The Son, who is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal
+    God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the
+    womb of the blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures,
+    that is to say, the Godhead and manhood, were joined together in
+    one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God
+    and very man, who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried,
+    to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for
+    original guilt, but also for the actual sins of men.
+
+    "3. Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his
+    body, with all things appertaining to the perfection of man's
+    nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth,
+    until he return to judge all men at the last day.
+
+    "4. The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of
+    one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son,
+    very and eternal God.
+
+    "5. The holy Scriptures contain all things necessary to salvation;
+    so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby,
+    is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an
+    article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to
+    salvation. By the name of the holy Scriptures, we do understand
+    those canonical books of the Old and New Testament, of whose
+    authority was never any doubt in the church. [Here follow the
+    names of the canonical books of the Scriptures.]
+
+    "6. The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for, both in the
+    Old and New Testament, everlasting life is offered to mankind by
+    Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both
+    God and man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, who feign that
+    the old fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although
+    the law given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites,
+    doth not bind Christians, nor ought the civil precepts thereof of
+    necessity to be received in any commonwealth, yet,
+    notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is free from the
+    obedience of the commandments which are called moral.
+
+    "7. Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam, (as the
+    Pelagians do vainly talk,) but it is the corruption of the nature
+    of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of
+    Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness,
+    and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that continually.
+
+    "8. The condition of man, after the fall of Adam, is such, that he
+    cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and
+    works, to faith, and calling upon God; wherefore we have no power
+    to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the
+    grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good
+    will, and working with us when we have that good will.
+
+    "9. We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of
+    our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own
+    works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by faith
+    only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.
+
+    "10. Although good works, which are the fruits of faith, and
+    follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure
+    the severity of God's judgments, yet are they pleasing and
+    acceptable to God in Christ, and spring out of a true and lively
+    faith, insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently
+    known, as a tree is discerned by its fruit.
+
+    "11. Voluntary works, being over and above God's commandments,
+    which are called works of supererogation, cannot be taught without
+    arrogancy and impiety. For by them men do declare that they do not
+    only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but they do
+    more for his sake than of bounden duty is required; whereas Christ
+    saith plainly, 'When ye have done all that is commanded you, say,
+    We are unprofitable servants.'
+
+    "12. Not every sin willingly committed after justification, is the
+    sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore, the grant
+    of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after
+    justification; after we have received the Holy Ghost, we may
+    depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and, by the grace of
+    God, rise again, and amend our lives. And, therefore, they are to
+    be condemned who say they can no more sin as long as they live
+    here, or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent.
+
+    "13. The visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful
+    men, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments
+    duly administered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those
+    things that of necessity are requisite to the same.
+
+    "14. The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, worshipping
+    and adoration as well of images as of relics, and also invocation
+    of saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no
+    warrant of Scripture, but repugnant to the word of God.
+
+    "15. It is a thing plainly repugnant to the word of God, and the
+    custom of the primitive church, to have public prayer in the
+    church, or to minister the sacraments, in a tongue not understood
+    by the people.
+
+    "16. Sacraments ordained of Christ are not only badges or tokens
+    of Christian men's profession, but rather they are certain signs
+    of grace, and God's good-will towards us, by the which he doth
+    work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also
+    strengthen and confirm, our faith in him.
+
+    "There are two sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord to the
+    gospel; that is to say, baptism and the supper of the Lord.
+
+    "Those five commonly called _sacraments_--that is to say,
+    confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction--are
+    not to be counted for sacraments of the gospel, being such as have
+    partly grown out of the _corrupt_ following of the apostles, and
+    partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have
+    not the like nature of baptism and the Lord's supper, because they
+    have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God.
+
+    "The sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or
+    to be carried about, but that we should duly use them. And in such
+    only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or
+    operation; but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to
+    themselves condemnation, as St. Paul saith. (1 Cor. 11:29.)
+
+    "17. Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of
+    difference, whereby Christians are distinguished from others that
+    are not baptized, but it is also a sign of regeneration, or the
+    new birth. The baptism of young children is to be retained in the
+    church.
+
+    "18. The supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that
+    Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but
+    rather is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death;
+    insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith,
+    receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the
+    body of Christ, and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking of
+    the blood of Christ.
+
+    "Transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of bread and
+    wine in the supper of our Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ, but
+    is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the
+    nature of a sacrament, and hath given occasion to many
+    superstitions.
+
+    "The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the supper,
+    only after a heavenly and scriptural manner. And the means whereby
+    the body of Christ is received and eaten in the supper, is faith.
+
+    "The sacrament of the Lord's supper was not by Christ's ordinance
+    reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.
+
+    "19. The cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the lay people;
+    for both the parts of the Lord's supper, by Christ's ordinance and
+    commandment, ought to be administered to all Christians alike.
+
+    "20. The offering of Christ, once made, is that perfect
+    redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of
+    the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other
+    satisfaction for sin but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifice of
+    masses, in the which it is commonly said that the priest doth
+    offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain
+    or guilt, is a blasphemous fable and dangerous deceit.
+
+    "21. The ministers of Christ were not commanded by God's law
+    either to vow the estate of single life, or to abstract from
+    marriage; therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other
+    Christians, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge
+    the same to serve best to godliness.
+
+    "22. It is not necessary that rites and ceremonies should in all
+    places be the same, or exactly alike; for they have been always
+    different, and may be changed according to the diversity of
+    countries, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be ordained
+    against God's word. Whosoever, through his private judgment,
+    willingly and purposely doth openly break the rites and ceremonies
+    of the church to which he belongs, which are not repugnant to the
+    word of God, and are ordained and approved by common authority,
+    ought to be rebuked openly, that others may fear to do the like,
+    as one that offendeth against the common order of the church, and
+    woundeth the consciences of weak brethren.
+
+    "Every particular church may ordain, change, and abolish, rites
+    and ceremonies, so that all things may be done to edification.
+
+    "23. The president, the congress, the general assemblies, the
+    governors, and the councils of state, _as the delegates of the
+    people_, are the rulers of the United States of America according
+    to the division of power made to them by the Constitution of the
+    United States, and by the constitutions of their respective
+    states. And the said states are a sovereign and independent
+    nation, and ought not to be subject to any foreign
+    jurisdiction.(2)
+
+    "24. The riches and goods of Christians are not common, as
+    touching the right, title, and possession, of the same, as some do
+    falsely boast. Notwithstanding every man ought, of such things as
+    he possesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according to
+    his ability.
+
+    "25. As we confess that vain and rash swearing is forbidden
+    Christian men by our Lord Jesus Christ and James his apostle, so
+    we judge that the Christian religion doth not prohibit but that a
+    man may swear when the magistrate requireth, in a cause of faith
+    and charity, so it be done according to the prophet's teaching, in
+    justice, judgment, and truth."
+
+
+
+
+
+METHODISTS, OR THE METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH.
+
+
+The Protestant Methodists adhere to the Wesleyan Methodist doctrines, but
+discard certain parts of the discipline, particularly those concerning
+episcopacy and the manner of constituting the general conference. They
+seceded from the _Methodist Episcopal Church_ in 1830, and formed a
+constitution and discipline of their own.
+
+The following preamble and articles precede the constitution:--
+
+
+    "We, the representatives of the associated Methodist churches, in
+    general convention assembled, acknowledging the Lord Jesus Christ
+    as the only HEAD of the church, and the word of God as the
+    sufficient rule of faith and practice, in all things pertaining to
+    godliness, and being fully persuaded that the representative form
+    of church government is the most scriptural, best suited to our
+    condition, and most congenial with our views and feelings as
+    fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and
+    whereas, a written constitution, establishing the form of
+    government, and securing to the ministers and members of the
+    church their rights and privileges, is the best safeguard of
+    Christian liberty. We, therefore, trusting in the protection of
+    Almighty God, and acting in the name and by the authority of our
+    constituents, do ordain and establish, and agree to be governed
+    by, the following elementary principles and constitution:--
+
+    "1. A Christian church is a society of believers in Jesus Christ,
+    and is a divine institution.
+
+    "2. Christ is the only Head of the church, and the word of God the
+    only rule of faith and conduct.
+
+    "3. No person who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, and obeys the
+    gospel of God our Savior, ought to be deprived of church
+    membership.
+
+    "4. Every man has an inalienable right to private judgment in
+    matters of religion, and an equal right to express his opinion in
+    any way which will not violate the laws of God, or the rights of
+    his fellow-men.
+
+    "5. Church trials should be conducted on gospel principles only;
+    and no minister or member should be excommunicated except for
+    immorality, the propagation of unchristian doctrines, or for the
+    neglect of duties enjoined by the word of God.
+
+    "6. The pastoral or ministerial office and duties are of divine
+    appointment, and all elders in the church of God are equal; but
+    ministers are forbidden to be lords over God's heritage, or to
+    have dominion over the faith of the saints.
+
+    "7. The church has a right to form and enforce such rules and
+    regulations only as are in accordance with the holy Scriptures,
+    and may be necessary or have a tendency to carry into effect the
+    great system of practical Christianity.
+
+    "8. Whatever power may be necessary to the formation of rules and
+    regulations, is inherent in the ministers and members of the
+    church; but so much of that power may be delegated, from time to
+    time, upon a plan of representation, as they may judge necessary
+    and proper.
+
+    "9. It is the duty of all ministers and members of the church, to
+    maintain godliness, and to oppose all moral evil.
+
+    "10. It is obligatory on ministers of the gospel to be faithful in
+    the discharge of their pastoral and ministerial duties, and it is
+    also obligatory on the members to esteem ministers highly for
+    their works' sake, and to render them a righteous compensation for
+    their labors.
+
+    "11. The church ought to secure to all her official bodies the
+    necessary authority for the purposes of good government; but she
+    has no right to create any distinct or independent sovereignties."
+
+
+We omit the constitution, as the preceding elementary principles
+sufficiently develop the peculiarities of this denomination.
+
+
+
+
+
+PROTESTANTS.
+
+
+A name first given, in Germany, to those who adhered to the doctrine of
+Luther; because, in 1529, they protested against a decree of the emperor
+Charles V., and the diet of Spires, declaring that they appealed to a
+general council. The same name has also been given to the Calvinists, and
+is now become a common denomination for all sects which differ from the
+church of Rome.
+
+
+
+
+
+SABELLIANS.
+
+
+A sect, in the third century, that embraced the opinions of Sabellius, a
+philosopher of Egypt, who openly taught that there is but one person in
+the Godhead.
+
+The Sabellians maintained that the Word and the Holy Spirit are only
+virtues, emanations, or functions of the Deity, and held that he who is in
+heaven is the Father of all things; that he descended into the Virgin,
+became a child, and was born of her as a Son; and that, having
+accomplished the mystery of our salvation, he diffused himself on the
+apostles in tongues of fire, and was then denominated the _Holy Ghost_.
+This they explained by resembling God to the sun; the illuminated virtue
+or quality of which was the Word, and its warming virtue the Holy Spirit.
+The Word, they taught, was darted, like a divine ray, to accomplish the
+work of redemption; and that, being re-ascended to heaven, the influences
+of the Father were communicated after a like manner to the apostles.
+
+
+
+
+
+SANDEMANIANS.
+
+
+So called from Mr. Robert Sandeman, a Scotchman, who published his
+sentiments in 1757. He afterwards came to America, and established
+societies at Boston, and other places in New England, and in Nova Scotia.
+
+This sect arose in Scotland about the year 1728, where it is distinguished
+at the present day by the name of _Glassites_, after its founder, Mr. John
+Glass, a minister of the established church.
+
+The Sandemanians consider that faith is neither more nor less than a
+simple assent to the divine testimony concerning Jesus Christ, delivered
+for the offences of men, and raised again for their justification, as
+recorded in the New Testament, They also maintain that the word _faith_,
+or belief, is constantly used by the apostles to signify what is denoted
+by it in common discourse, viz., a persuasion of the truth of any
+proposition, and that there is no difference between believing any common
+testimony and believing the apostolic testimony, except that which results
+from the testimony itself, and the divine authority on which it rests.
+
+They differ from other Christians in their weekly administration of the
+Lord's supper; their love-feasts, of which every member is not only
+allowed, but required, to partake, and which consist of their dining
+together at each other's houses in the interval between the morning and
+afternoon service; their kiss of charity, used on this occasion, at the
+admission of a new member, and at other times, when they deem it necessary
+and proper; their weekly collection, before the Lord's supper, for the
+support of the poor, and defraying other expenses; mutual exhortation;
+abstinence from blood and things strangled; washing each other's feet,
+when, as a deed of mercy, it might be an expression of love, the precept
+concerning which, as well as other precepts, they understand literally;
+community of goods, so far as that every one is to consider all that he
+has in his possession and power liable to the calls of the poor and the
+church; and the unlawfulness of laying up treasures upon earth, by setting
+them apart for any distant, future, or uncertain use. They allow of public
+and private diversions, so far as they are not connected with
+circumstances really sinful; but, apprehending a lot to be sacred,
+disapprove of lotteries, playing at cards, dice, &c.
+
+They maintain a plurality of elders, pastors, or bishops, in each church,
+and the necessity of the presence of two elders in every act of
+discipline, and at the administration of the Lord's supper.
+
+In the choice of these elders, want of learning and engagement in trade
+are no sufficient objections, if qualified according to the instructions
+given to Timothy and Titus; but second marriages disqualify for the
+office; and they are ordained by prayer and fasting, imposition of hands,
+and giving the right hand of fellowship.
+
+In their discipline they are strict and severe, and think themselves
+obliged to separate from communion and worship of all such religious
+societies as appear to them not to profess the simple truth for their only
+ground of hope, and who do not walk in obedience to it. (See John 13:14,
+15; 16:13. Acts 6:7. Rom. 3:27; 4:4, 5; 16:16. 1 Cor. 16:20. 2 Cor. 4:13.
+1 Pet. 1:22.)
+
+
+
+
+
+ANTINOMIANS.
+
+
+As we elsewhere give the sentiments of the ancient _Bereans_, _Pelagians_,
+and _Sabellians_, it is proper to notice those of Agricola, an eminent
+doctor in the Lutheran church, who flourished about the middle of the
+sixteenth century. The word _Antinomian_ is derived from two Greek words,
+signifying _against law_.
+
+It will be observed that the above names are used to denote sentiments or
+opinions, rather than sects or denominations.
+
+The principal doctrines of the Antinomians, together with a short specimen
+of the arguments made use of in their defence, are comprehended in the
+following summary:--
+
+
+    "1. That the law ought not to be proposed to the people as a rule
+    of manners, nor used in the church as a means of instruction; and
+    that the gospel alone is to be inculcated and explained, both in
+    the churches and in the schools of learning.
+
+    "For the Scriptures declare that Christ is not the lawgiver; as it
+    is said, 'The law was given by Moses; but grace and truth came by
+    Jesus Christ.' Therefore the ministers of the _gospel_ ought not
+    to teach the _law_. Christians are not ruled by the law, but by
+    the spirit of regeneration; according as it is said, 'Ye are not
+    under the law, but under grace.' Therefore the law ought not to be
+    taught in the church of Christ.
+
+    "2. That the justification of sinners is an immanent and eternal
+    act of God, not only preceding all acts of sin, but the existence
+    of the sinner himself.
+
+    "For nothing new can arise in God; on which account, he calls
+    things that are not, as though they were; and the apostle saith,
+    'Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
+    places, in Christ Jesus, before the foundation of the world.'
+    Besides, Christ was set up from everlasting, not only as the Head
+    of the church, but as the surety of his people; by virtue of which
+    engagement, the Father decreed never to impute unto them their
+    sins. (See 2 Cor. 5: 19.)
+
+    "3. That justification by faith is no more than a manifestation to
+    us of what was done before we had a being.
+
+    "For it is thus expressed, in Heb. 11:1: 'Now, faith is the
+    substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.'
+    We are justified only by Christ; but by faith we perceive it, and
+    by faith rejoice in it, as we apprehend it to be our own.
+
+    "4. That men ought not to doubt of their faith, nor question
+    whether they believe in Christ.
+
+    "For we are commanded to 'draw near in full assurance of faith.'
+    (Heb. 10:22.) 'He that believeth on the Son of God, hath the
+    witness in himself,' (2 John 5:10;) i. e., he has as much evidence
+    as can be desired.
+
+    "5. That God sees no sin in believers; and they are not bound to
+    confess sin, mourn for it, or pray that it may be forgiven.
+
+    "For God has declared, (Heb. 10:17,) 'Their sins and iniquities I
+    will remember no more.' And in Jer. 50:20, 'In those days, and in
+    that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought
+    for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they
+    shall not be found; for I will pardon them whom I reserve.'
+
+    "6. That God is not angry with the elect, nor doth he punish them
+    for their sins.
+
+    "For Christ has made ample satisfaction for their sins. See Isaiah
+    53:5, 'He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
+    our iniquities,' &c. And to inflict punishment once upon the
+    surety, and again upon the believer, is contrary to the justice of
+    God, as well as derogatory to the satisfaction of Christ.
+
+    "7. That by God's laying our iniquities upon Christ, he became as
+    completely sinful as we, and we as completely righteous as Christ.
+
+    "For Christ represents our persons to the Father; and we represent
+    the person of Christ to him. The loveliness of Christ is
+    transferred to us. On the other hand, all that is hateful in our
+    nature is put upon Christ, who was forsaken by the father for a
+    time. See 2 Cor. 5:21, 'He was made sin for us, who knew no sin;
+    that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.'
+
+    "8. That believers need not fear either their own sins or the sins
+    of others, since neither can do them any injury.
+
+    "See Rom. 8:33, 34, 'Who shall lay any thing to the charge of
+    God's elect?' &c. The apostle does not say that they never
+    transgress, but triumphs in the thought that no curse can be
+    executed against them.
+
+    "9. That the new covenant is not made properly with us, but with
+    Christ for us; and that this covenant is all of it a promise,
+    having no conditions for us to perform; for faith, repentance, and
+    obedience, are not conditions on our part, but Christ's; and he
+    repented, believed, and obeyed for us.
+
+    "For the covenant is so expressed, that the performance lies upon
+    the Deity himself. 'For this is the covenant that I will make with
+    the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord; I will put
+    my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I
+    will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.' Heb.
+    8:10.
+
+    "10. That sanctification is not a proper evidence of
+    justification.
+
+    "For those who endeavor to evidence their justification by their
+    sanctification, are looking to their own attainments, and not to
+    Christ's righteousness, for hopes of salvation."
+
+
+
+
+
+PELAGIANS.
+
+
+A denomination which arose in the fifth century, so called from Pelagius,
+a monk, who looked upon the doctrines which were commonly received,
+concerning the original corruption of human nature, and the necessity of
+divine grace to enlighten the understanding and purify the heart, as
+prejudicial to the progress of holiness and virtue, and tending to
+establish mankind in a presumptuous and fatal security. He maintained the
+following doctrines:--
+
+
+    "1. That the sins of our first parents were imputed to them only,
+    and not to their posterity; and that we derive no corruption from
+    their fall, but are born as pure and unspotted as Adam came out of
+    the forming hand of his Creator.
+
+    "2. That mankind, therefore, are capable of repentance and
+    amendment, and of arriving to the highest degrees of piety and
+    virtue, by the use of their natural faculties and powers. That,
+    indeed, external grace is necessary to excite their endeavors, but
+    that they have no need of the internal succors of the divine
+    Spirit.
+
+    "3. That Adam was, by nature, mortal, and, whether he had sinned
+    or not, would certainly have died.
+
+    "4. That the grace of God is given in proportion to our merits.
+
+    "5. That mankind may arrive at a state of perfection in this life.
+
+    "6. That the law qualified men for the kingdom of heaven, and was
+    founded upon equal promises with the gospel."
+
+
+
+
+
+PRE-ADAMITES.
+
+
+This denomination began about the middle of the sixteenth century. Their
+principal tenet is _that there must have been men before Adam_. One proof
+of this they bring from Rom. 5:12, 13, 14. The apostle says, "_Sin was in
+the world till the law_;" meaning the law given to Adam. But sin, it is
+evident, was not imputed, though it might have been committed, till the
+time of the pretended first man. "_For sin is not imputed when there is no
+law._"
+
+The election of the Jews, they say, is a consequence of the same system.
+It began at Adam, who is called their father or founder. God is also their
+Father, having espoused the Judaical church. The Gentiles are only adopted
+children, as being Pre-Adamites. Men (or Gentiles) are said to be made by
+the word of God. (Gen. 1:26, 27.) Adam, the founder of the Jewish nation,
+whose history alone Moses wrote, is introduced in the second chapter, as
+the workmanship of God's own hands, and as created apart from other men.
+
+They argue thus:--Cain, having killed his brother Abel, was afraid of being
+killed himself. By whom? He married--yet Adam had then no daughter. What
+wife could he get? He built a town--what architects, masons, carpenters,
+and workmen, did he employ? The answer to all these questions is in one
+word--Pre-Adamites.
+
+This reasoning is opposed by sundry texts of Scripture, (See Gen. 1:26;
+2:7; 3:20. Mark 10:6. I Cor. 15:45, 47.)
+
+
+
+
+
+PREDESTINARIANS.
+
+
+Are those who believe that God, for his own glory, hath foreordained
+whatsoever comes to pass. (See Matt. 25:34. Rom. 8:29, 30. Eph. 1:3, 6,
+11. 2 Tim. 1:9. 2 Thess. 11:13. 1 Pet. 1:1, 2. John 6:37; 17:2-24. Rev.
+13:8; 17:8. Dan. 4:35. 1 Thess. 5:19. Matt. 11:26. Exod. 4:21. Prov. 16:4.
+Acts 13:48.)
+
+
+
+
+
+ORTHODOX CREEDS.
+
+
+Orthodoxy literally signifies _correct opinions_. The word is generally
+used to denote those who are attached to the Trinitarian scheme of
+Christian doctrine.
+
+The following article is found in the "Spirit of the Pilgrims," vol. v.
+No. 1, and is supposed to have been written by the late Rev. BENJAMIN B.
+WISNER, D. D., pastor of the Old South church, Boston.
+
+The following summary contains the more material parts of the Orthodox
+faith. Those who embrace this system believe,--
+
+
+    "That, since the fall of Adam, men are, in their natural state,
+    altogether destitute of true holiness, and entirely depraved.
+
+    "That men, though thus depraved, are justly required to love God
+    with all the heart, and justly punishable for disobedience; or, in
+    other words, they are complete moral agents, proper subjects of
+    moral government, and truly accountable to God for their actions.
+
+    "That in the unspeakable wisdom and love of God was disclosed a
+    plan of redemption for sinful men.
+
+    "That, in the development of this plan, God saw fit to reveal so
+    much concerning the nature and the mode of the divine existence,
+    as that he is manifested to his creatures as the Father, the Son,
+    and the Holy Ghost; and that these three, each partaking of all
+    the attributes of the Deity, and being entitled to receive divine
+    worship and adoration, are the one living and true God.
+
+    "That the Son of God, laying aside the glory which he had with the
+    Father from everlasting, came down from heaven, took upon himself
+    man's nature, and by his humiliation, sufferings, and death, made
+    an atonement for the sins of the world.
+
+    "That, in consequence of this atonement, the offer of pardon and
+    eternal life was freely made to all; so that those who truly
+    repent of sin, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, will be
+    saved.
+
+    "That men are naturally so averse to God and holiness, that, if
+    left to themselves, they reject the offers of salvation, and
+    neither repent of sin nor truly believe in a Savior.
+
+    "That God, being moved with infinite love and compassion, sends
+    forth the Holy Spirit, according to his sovereign pleasure, by
+    whose beneficent energy an innumerable multitude of the human
+    family are renewed, sanctified, and prepared for heaven; while
+    others are suffered to pursue the course which they have freely
+    chosen, and in which they obstinately persevere till the day of
+    salvation is past.
+
+    "That God, in his providential dispensations, in the bestowment of
+    his saving mercy, and in his universal government, exhibits his
+    adorable perfections, in such a manner as will call forth the
+    admiration and love of all holy beings forever.
+
+    "That believers are justified by faith, through the efficacy of
+    the atonement, so that all claims of human merit, and all grounds
+    of boasting, are forever excluded.
+
+    "That the law of God is perpetually binding upon all moral beings,
+    and upon believers not less than other men, as a rule of life; and
+    that no repentance is genuine unless it bring forth fruits meet
+    for repentance, and no faith is saving unless it produce good
+    works.
+
+    "That those who have been renewed by the Spirit will be preserved
+    by the power of God, and advanced in holiness unto final
+    salvation. And,
+
+    "That Christ, as the great King of the universe, the Lord and
+    Proprietor of created beings, will judge the world at the last
+    day, when the righteous will be received to life eternal, and the
+    wicked will be consigned to endless punishment."
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+    "Since the reformation from Popery, those who profess to admit
+    these doctrines, and others necessarily connected with them, and
+    forming a part of the same system, have been denominated Orthodox,
+    while to those who openly reject them, or any considerable part of
+    them, this appellation has been denied.
+
+    "It is not to be inferred, however, that the Orthodox have been,
+    or are, entirely _unanimous_ on the subject of religion. In
+    matters comparatively unessential, and in their modes of stating,
+    explaining, and establishing essential truths, there has always
+    been more or less a diversity. Thus persons may disagree as to the
+    form of church government, or as to the mode of administering
+    ordinances, and yet have an equal claim to be entitled Orthodox.
+    Or persons may disagree in their interpretation of particular
+    passages of Scripture, and as to the manner in which these bear on
+    the doctrines of religion, without forfeiting their title to the
+    some honorable appellation. For instance, one person may regard a
+    particular passage as proof conclusive of the divinity of Christ,
+    while another may be in doubt respecting it, or may apply it
+    differently, and yet both be firm believers in the divinity of
+    Christ. Many passages which the old writers quoted as proof-texts,
+    have, in the progress of critical science, been differently
+    interpreted; and yet the evidence in support of the Orthodox
+    system, so far from being weakened in this way, has been
+    constantly gaining strength.
+
+    "Again: persons may disagree, to a certain extent, at least, in
+    their statements and explanations of the most essential doctrines,
+    and yet be properly and equally Orthodox. In illustration of this
+    remark, several examples will be given.
+
+    "All Orthodox Christians believe in the full inspiration of the
+    sacred Scriptures; or that the holy men, through whose
+    instrumentality the world originally received these Scriptures,
+    spake and wrote 'as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.' They
+    believe in this as a _fact_ of the utmost importance. But there
+    have been various modes of stating, explaining, and illustrating
+    this fact. Some, for instance, have spoken of two or three kinds
+    of inspiration; others have insisted that there can be but one
+    kind; while others have thought it better to state the subject in
+    general terms, without attempting very minutely to define or
+    explain them.
+
+    "All Orthodox Christians believe in the doctrine of the Trinity,
+    or that the one God exists in a threefold distinction, commonly
+    called persons,--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. They
+    believe this as a revealed fact, and as an essential part of the
+    Christian doctrine. But how differently has this fact been stated
+    by different individuals! What different explanations have been
+    put upon it! While not a few have preferred to leave the
+    subject--as God seems to have left it--altogether unexplained.
+
+    "All Orthodox Christians believe in the universality of God's
+    eternal purposes, in the certainty of their execution, and that
+    they are so executed as not to obstruct or impair the free agency
+    of man. But respecting the _manner_ of God's executing his
+    purposes,--whether by the instrumentality of motives, or by a
+    direct efficiency,--persons having equal claims to the appellation
+    of Orthodox, have not been agreed.
+
+    "All the Orthodox believe in the natural and entire depravity of
+    man; or that, in consequence of the sin of his first progenitors,
+    and previous to regeneration, every thing within him, going to
+    constitute moral character, is sinful. But how many theories have
+    been framed to account for the connection of our sin with that of
+    Adam! And how many explanations have been put upon the doctrine of
+    entire depravity! Some have made this depravity to extend to all
+    the powers of the soul; others have restricted it to our voluntary
+    exercises and actions; while others have confined it chiefly to a
+    moral taste, disposition, or instinct, which is regarded as back
+    of our voluntary exercises, and the source of them.
+
+    "All the Orthodox believe in the doctrine of atonement; but all do
+    not state or explain this important doctrine after the same
+    manner. Some suppose the atonement of Christ to consist wholly in
+    his obedience, others wholly in his sufferings, and others in both
+    his obedience and sufferings. Some hold that Christ suffered the
+    penalty of the law for sinners, and others that he only opened a
+    way in which, on condition of repentance, this penalty may be
+    remitted. Some think the atonement made only for the elect, while
+    others regard it as the propitiation for the sins of the whole
+    world.
+
+    "The doctrine of instantaneous regeneration by the special
+    operations of the Holy Spirit, is believed by all who have any
+    claim to be called Orthodox. But this doctrine, like the others
+    mentioned, is variously stated and explained. Some consider man as
+    entirely active in regeneration, others as entirely passive, and
+    others as not entirely the one or the other. Some believe there is
+    a holy principle implanted in regeneration, which ever afterwards
+    remains in the heart of the subject, while others believe the
+    change to consist in the commencement of holy exercises, which may
+    be subsequently interrupted, though not finally lost. As to the
+    manner in which the Spirit operates in regeneration, there is also
+    a difference of opinion; some holding that he changes the heart by
+    a direct efficiency, and others that this is done by the more
+    powerful presentation and impression of motives.
+
+    "Another doctrine of the Orthodox system is, that of justification
+    by faith in Christ. But this, also, has been differently stated
+    and explained. Some think the believer justified by Christ's
+    righteousness, others by the influence of his sufferings and
+    death, and others by the joint efficacy of both his obedience and
+    sufferings. Some believe justification to be the same as
+    forgiveness, while others regard it as implying, not only
+    forgiveness, but also a title to eternal life.
+
+    "It is evident, from the examples here given, that, although
+    Orthodoxy denotes a general system of important doctrines or facts
+    on the subject of religion, it is not to be inferred, either by
+    friends or foes, that Orthodox Christians are tied up to precisely
+    the same views of subjects, or that there exists no diversity of
+    sentiment among them. There is, and always has been, a diversity
+    of sentiment, in regard not only to modes and forms, but to the
+    statement, proofs, and explanations, of the most important
+    doctrines. Some of them, to be sure, are little more than verbal;
+    but others are _real_, are fitted to excite interest, and are
+    entitled to very serious consideration. Still, as they are all
+    held in avowed consistency with that great series of facts which
+    go to constitute the Orthodox system, they should not be regarded
+    as placing their advocates beyond the proper limits of Orthodoxy.
+    They constitute a wide field of important discussion, over which
+    those who agree in holding the Head,--in holding the great
+    doctrines of redemption by the blood of Christ, and of
+    sanctification by the Holy Spirit,--may freely and fraternally
+    traverse. Modes and forms, the interpretation of passages, and
+    explanations of particular doctrines, (so long as essential
+    doctrines are not discarded,) may be discussed without the
+    interruption of brotherly affection, and without the imputation
+    and reproach of heresy. One person may hold that all Scripture is
+    given by the inspiration of _suggestion_; and another that, while
+    some parts are the fruit of immediate suggestion, others may more
+    properly be attributed to the inspiration of _superintendence_;
+    and neither should charge the other with denying the inspiration
+    of the Scriptures, or with being a heretic, or an infidel. One
+    person may insist that the passage in 1 John 5:7, is authentic
+    Scripture, and strong proof of the doctrine of the Trinity; and
+    another may doubt this, or deny it altogether; and neither should
+    be charged with intentionally corrupting the Scriptures, or with
+    being a Unitarian. One person may hold that God executes his
+    immutable and eternal decrees by a direct efficiency, and another
+    that he does it by the intervention of motives, and yet one be no
+    more an Arminian than the other."
+
+
+
+
+
+ANDOVER ORTHODOX CREED.
+
+
+Every person appointed or elected a professor in the Theological
+Institution at Andover, in the state of Massachusetts, shall, on the day
+of his inauguration into office, publicly make and subscribe the following
+CREED and DECLARATION:--
+
+
+    Creed.
+
+    "I believe that there is one, and but one, living and true GOD;
+    that the word of GOD, contained in the Scriptures of the Old and
+    New Testament, is the only perfect rule of faith and practice;
+    that, agreeably to those Scriptures, GOD is a Spirit, infinite,
+    eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness,
+    justice, goodness, and truth; that in the Godhead are three
+    Persons, the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY GHOST; and that those
+    THREE are ONE GOD, the same in substance, equal in power and
+    glory; that God created man, after his own image, in knowledge,
+    righteousness, and holiness; that the glory of GOD is man's chief
+    end, and the enjoyment of GOD his supreme happiness; that this
+    enjoyment is derived solely from conformity of heart to the moral
+    character and will of GOD; that ADAM, the federal head and
+    representative of the human race, was placed in a state of
+    probation, and that, in consequence of his disobedience, all his
+    descendants were constituted sinners; that, by nature, every man
+    is personally depraved, destitute of holiness, unlike and opposed
+    to GOD; and that, previously to the renewing agency of the DIVINE
+    SPIRIT, all his moral actions are adverse to the character and
+    glory of GOD; that, being morally incapable of recovering the
+    image of his CREATOR, which was lost in ADAM, every man is justly
+    exposed to eternal damnation; so that, except a man be born again,
+    he cannot see the kingdom of GOD; that GOD, of his mere good
+    pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, and
+    that he entered into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of
+    this state of sin and misery by a REDEEMER; that the only REDEEMER
+    of the elect is the eternal SON of GOD, who, for this purpose,
+    became man, and continues to be GOD and man, in two distinct
+    natures, and one person, forever; that CHRIST, as our Redeemer,
+    executeth the office of a Prophet, Priest, and King; that,
+    agreeably to the covenant of redemption, the SON of GOD, and he
+    alone, by his sufferings and death, has made atonement for the
+    sins of all men; that repentance, faith, and holiness, are the
+    personal requisites in the gospel scheme of salvation; that the
+    righteousness of CHRIST is the only ground of a sinner's
+    justification; that this righteousness is received through faith;
+    and that this faith is the gift of GOD; so that our salvation is
+    wholly of grace; that no means whatever can change the heart of a
+    sinner, and make it holy; that regeneration and sanctification are
+    effects of the creating and renewing agency of the HOLY SPIRIT,
+    and that supreme love to GOD constitutes the essential difference
+    between saints and sinners; that, by convincing us of our sin and
+    misery, enlightening our minds, working faith in us, and renewing
+    our wills, the HOLY SPIRIT makes us partakers of the benefits of
+    redemption; and that the ordinary means by which these benefits
+    are communicated to us, are the word, sacraments, and prayer; that
+    repentance unto life, faith to feed upon CHRIST, love to GOD, and
+    new obedience, are the appropriate qualifications for the Lord's
+    supper; and that a Christian church ought to admit no person to
+    its holy communion, before he exhibit credible evidence of his
+    godly sincerity; that perseverance in holiness is the only method
+    of making our calling and election sure, and that the final
+    perseverance of saints, though it is the effect of the special
+    operation of GOD on their hearts, necessarily implies their own
+    watchful diligence; that they who are effectually called, do, in
+    this life, partake of justification, adoption, and sanctification,
+    and the several benefits which do either accompany or flow from
+    them; that the souls of believers are, at their death, made
+    perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; that
+    their bodies, being still united to CHRIST, will, at the
+    resurrection, be raised up to glory, and that the saints will be
+    made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of GOD, to all
+    eternity: but that the wicked will awake to shame and everlasting
+    contempt, and, with devils, be plunged into the lake that burneth
+    with fire and brimstone forever and ever. I moreover believe that
+    GOD, according to the counsel of his own will, and for his own
+    glory, hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, and that all
+    beings, actions, and events, both in the natural and moral world,
+    are under his providential direction; that GOD'S decrees perfectly
+    consist with human liberty, GOD'S universal agency with the agency
+    of man, and man's dependence with his accountability; that man has
+    understanding and corporeal strength to do all that GOD requires
+    of him; so that nothing but the sinner's aversion to holiness
+    prevents his salvation; that it is the prerogative of GOD to bring
+    good out of evil, and that he will cause the wrath and rage of
+    wicked men and devils to praise him; and that all the evil which
+    has existed, and will forever exist, in the moral system, will
+    eventually be made to promote a most important purpose, under the
+    wise and perfect administration of that ALMIGHTY BEING, who will
+    cause all things to work for his own glory, and thus fulfil all
+    his pleasure."
+
+    Declaration.
+
+    "And, furthermore, I do solemnly promise that I will open and
+    explain the Scriptures to my pupils with integrity and
+    faithfulness; that I will maintain and inculcate the Christian
+    faith, as expressed in the creed, by me now repeated, together
+    with all the other doctrines and duties of our holy religion, so
+    far as may appertain to my office, according to the best light GOD
+    shall give me, and in opposition, not only to Atheists and
+    Infidels, but to Jews, Papists, Mahometans, Arians, Pelagians,
+    Antinomians, Arminians, Socinians, Sabellians, Unitarians, and
+    Universalists, and to all heresies and errors, ancient and modern,
+    which may be opposed to the gospel of CHRIST, or hazardous to the
+    souls of men; that, by my instruction, counsel, and example, I
+    will endeavor to promote true piety and godliness; that I will
+    consult the good of this INSTITUTION, and the peace of the
+    churches of our Lord Jesus Christ on all occasions; and that I
+    will religiously conform to the constitution and laws of this
+    SEMINARY, and to the statutes of this foundation."
+
+
+The foregoing creed is considered a summary of what is commonly called the
+ASSEMBLY'S CATECHISM.
+
+The _Westminster Assembly_ met in London, in the reign of Charles I, A. D.
+1643. It was a synod of learned divines, assembled by order of parliament,
+for the purpose of settling the government, liturgy, and doctrine, of the
+church of England.
+
+
+
+
+
+NEW HAVEN ORTHODOX CREED.
+
+
+Considerable anxiety existed, a few years since, in regard to the
+Orthodoxy of the Rev. Dr. TAYLOR, professor of divinity at Yale College,
+at New Haven, in the state of Connecticut. The following letter from Dr.
+TAYLOR to the Rev. Dr. HAWES, of Hartford, contains a full exposition of
+the religious views of that distinguished theologian:--
+
+
+    YALE COLLEGE, _Feb. 1, 1832._
+
+    "Dear Brother:
+
+    "I thank you for yours of the 23d ult., in which you express your
+    approbation of my preaching during the protracted meetings at
+    Hartford. This expression of fraternal confidence is grateful to
+    me, not because I ever supposed that we differed in our views of
+    the great doctrines of the gospel, but because, for some reason or
+    other, an impression has been made, to some extent, _that I am
+    unsound in the faith_. This impression, I feel bound to say, in my
+    own view, is wholly groundless and unauthorized. You think,
+    however, that 'I owe it to myself, to the institution with which I
+    am connected, and to the Christian community, to make a frank and
+    full statement of my views of some of the leading doctrines of the
+    gospel, and that this cannot fail to relieve the minds of many,
+    who are now suspicious of my Orthodoxy.'
+
+    "Here I must be permitted to say, that the repeated and full
+    statements of my opinions, which I have already made to the
+    public, would seem to be sufficient to prevent or remove such
+    suspicions. The course you propose, however, may furnish
+    information to some who would desire it before they form an
+    opinion, as well as the means of correcting the misrepresentations
+    of others. I therefore readily comply with your request, and
+    submit to your disposal the following statement of my belief on
+    some of the leading doctrines of the gospel. I believe,--
+
+    "1. That there are three persons in one God,--the Father, the Son,
+    and the Holy Ghost.
+
+    "2. That the eternal purposes of God extend to all actual events,
+    sin not excepted; or that God foreordains whatsoever comes to
+    pass, and so executes these purposes, as to leave the free moral
+    agency of man unimpaired.
+
+    "3. That all mankind, in consequence of the fall of Adam, are born
+    destitute of holiness, and are by nature totally depraved; in
+    other words, that all men, from the commencement of moral agency,
+    do, without the interposition of divine grace, sin, and only sin,
+    in all their moral conduct.
+
+    "4. That an atonement for sin has been made for all mankind by the
+    Lord Jesus Christ; that this atonement was necessary to magnify
+    the law, and to vindicate and unfold the justice of God in the
+    pardon of sin; and that the sinner who believes in the Lord Jesus
+    Christ is freely justified on the ground of his atoning sacrifice,
+    and on that ground alone.
+
+    "5. That the change in regeneration is a _moral_ change,
+    consisting in a new, holy disposition, or governing purpose of the
+    heart, as a permanent principle of action; in which change, the
+    sinner transfers the _supreme_ affection of his heart from all
+    inferior objects to the living God, chooses him as the portion of
+    his soul, and his service and glory as his supreme good, and thus,
+    in respect to moral character, becomes a _new man_.
+
+    "6. That this moral change is never produced in the human heart by
+    _moral suasion_, i. e., by the mere influence of truth and
+    motives, as the Pelagians affirm, but is produced by the influence
+    of the Holy Spirit, operating on the mind through the truth, and
+    in perfect consistency with the nature of moral action, and laws
+    of moral agency.
+
+    "7. That all men (in the words of the article of your church) may
+    accept of the offers of salvation freely made to them in the
+    gospel, but that no one will do this, except he be drawn by the
+    Father.
+
+    "8. That the necessity of the influence of the Holy Spirit in
+    regeneration results solely from the voluntary perverseness of the
+    sinner's heart, or disinclination to serve God, which, while it
+    leaves him a complete moral agent, and without excuse for
+    neglecting his duty, suspends his actual salvation on the
+    sovereign will of God.
+
+    "9. That the renewing grace of God is _special_, in distinction
+    from that which is common, and is resisted by the sinful mind,
+    inasmuch as it is that which is designed to secure, and does
+    infallibly secure, the conversion of the sinner.
+
+    "10. That all who are renewed by the Holy Spirit are elected or
+    chosen of God from eternity, that they should be holy, not on
+    account of foreseen faith, or good works, but according to the
+    good pleasure of his will.
+
+    "11. That all who are renewed by the Holy Spirit, will, through
+    his continual influence, persevere in holiness to the end, and
+    obtain eternal life.
+
+    "Such is my faith in respect to some of the lending doctrines of
+    the gospel. These doctrines I preach; these I teach in the
+    theological department of this Seminary; these I have repeatedly
+    published to the world. With what truth or justice any regard me
+    as a 'teacher of theology, introducing heresy into our churches,'
+    the candid can judge.
+
+    "But it may be asked, whether, after all, there are not some
+    points on which I differ from my brethren generally, or, at least,
+    from some of them. I answer,--It would be strange if any two man
+    should be found to agree exactly in all the minute matters of
+    religious opinion. With respect, however, to what is properly
+    considered the Orthodox or Calvinistic SYSTEM of doctrines, as
+    including the great FACTS of Christianity, and as opposed to, and
+    distinguished from, the Unitarian, Pelagian, and Arminian
+    _systems_, I suppose there is between the Orthodox ministry and
+    myself an entire agreement. In respect to comparatively minor
+    points, and philosophical theories, and modes of defending the
+    Calvinistic system of doctrines, there has always been, as you are
+    aware, a diversity of opinion, with freedom of discussion, among
+    the Calvinists in this country, especially in New England, but
+    which has never impaired their fellowship or mutual confidence. To
+    these topics of difference, greater or less importance has been
+    attached by different individuals. In respect to some of these,
+    (and, in respect to them, I suppose myself to agree with a large
+    majority of our Calvinistic clergy,) I will now briefly but
+    frankly state what I do _not_, and what I do, believe.
+
+    "I do _not_ believe that the posterity of Adam are, in the proper
+    sense of the language, guilty of his sin; or that the ill desert
+    of that sin is truly theirs; or that they are punished for that
+    sin. But I do believe that, by the wise and holy constitution of
+    God, all mankind, in consequence of Adam's sin, become sinners by
+    their own act.
+
+    "I do _not_ believe that the nature of the human mind, which God
+    creates, is itself sinful; or that God punishes men for the nature
+    which he creates; or that sin pertains to any thing in the mind
+    which precedes all conscious mental exercise or action, and which
+    is neither a matter of consciousness nor of knowledge. But I do
+    believe that sin, universally, is no other than selfishness, or a
+    _preference_ of one's self to all others,--of some inferior good to
+    God; that this free, voluntary preference is a permanent principle
+    of action in all the unconverted; and that this is sin, and all
+    that in the Scriptures is meant by sin. I also believe that such
+    is the _nature_ of the human mind, that it becomes the occasion of
+    universal sin in men in all the appropriate circumstances of their
+    existence, and that, therefore, they are truly and properly said
+    to be sinners _by nature_.
+
+    "I do _not_ believe that sin can be proved to be the necessary
+    means of the greatest good, and that, as such, God prefers it, on
+    the whole, to holiness in its stead; or that a God of sincerity
+    and truth punishes his creatures for doing that which he, on the
+    whole, prefers they should do, and which, as the means of good, is
+    the best thing they can do. But I do believe that holiness, as the
+    means of good, may be better than sin; that it may be true that
+    God, all things considered, prefers holiness to sin in all
+    instances in which the latter takes place, and, therefore,
+    sincerely desires that all men should come to repentance, though,
+    for wise and good reasons, he _permits_, or does not prevent, the
+    existence of sin. I do _not_ believe that it can be proved that an
+    omnipotent God would be _unable_ to secure more good by means of
+    the perfect and universal obedience of his creatures, if they
+    would render it, than by means of their sin. But I do believe that
+    it may involve a dishonorable limitation of his power to suppose
+    that he could not do it.(3)
+
+    "I do _not_ believe that the grace of God can be truly said to be
+    _irresistible_, in the primary, proper import of this term. But I
+    do believe that, in all cases, it _may be_ resisted by man as a
+    free moral agent, and that, when it becomes effectual to
+    conversion, as it infallibly does in the case of all the elect, it
+    is _unresisted_.
+
+    "I do _not_ believe that the grace of God is necessary, as
+    Arminians and some others maintain, to render man an accountable
+    agent, and responsible for rejecting the offers of eternal life.
+    But I do believe that man would be such an agent, and thus
+    responsible, were no such grace afforded, and that otherwise
+    'grace would be no more grace.'
+
+    "I do _not_ believe that it is necessary that the sinner, in using
+    the means of regeneration, should commit sin in order to become
+    holy. But I do believe that, as a moral agent, he is qualified so
+    to use these means, i. e., the truth of God when present to his
+    mind, as to become holy at once; that he is authorized to believe
+    that, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, this _may be_ done;
+    and that, except in so doing, he cannot be truly and properly said
+    to _use_ the means of regeneration.
+
+    "I do _not_ believe that we are authorized to assure the sinner,
+    as Arminians do, and some others also, that the Holy Spirit is
+    always ready to convert him. But I do believe that we are
+    authorized to assure any sinner that it _may be true_ that the
+    Holy Spirit is now ready to convert him; 'that God PERADVENTURE
+    will now give him repentance;' and that thus, in view of the
+    possible intervention of divine influence, we remove what would
+    otherwise be a ground of fatal discouragement to the sinner, when
+    we exhort him to immediate repentance.
+
+    "I have dwelt the more on some of these particulars, because much
+    pains has been taken, by some individuals, to make the impression
+    that I have departed from the true faith respecting the influences
+    of the Holy Spirit, even denying his influences altogether. So far
+    is this from the fact, that, as you well know, no one attaches
+    higher importance to this doctrine than I do, preaches it more
+    decisively, or appreciates more highly its practical relations and
+    bearings. In my own view, the power of the gospel on the mind of
+    the sinner very much consists in the two great facts of his
+    complete moral agency as the basis of his obligation, of his
+    guilt, and of his duty;--and of his dependence on the sovereign
+    grace of God, resulting from his voluntary perverseness in sin.
+    Without the latter, we could, in my opinion, neither show the
+    Christian what thanks he owes his Deliverer from sin, nor awaken
+    the sinner to flee from the wrath to come. This doctrine seems to
+    be indispensable to destroy the presumptuous reliance of the
+    sinner on future repentance, as it shows him how fearfully he
+    provokes an offended God to withhold the grace on which all
+    depends. At the same time, one thing is indubitably certain, viz.,
+    that God never revealed the doctrine of the sinner's dependence on
+    his Spirit, to present the sinner from doing his duty at once. God
+    does not call sinners to instant compliance with the terms of
+    life, and then assure them that such compliance is utterly out of
+    the question, and to be wholly despaired of. The opposite
+    impression, however, is not uncommon; and it is an error not less
+    fatal to immediate repentance, than the fond hope of repenting
+    hereafter. Both are to be destroyed; and he who does not preach
+    the gospel in that manner which tends to destroy both, preaches it
+    but imperfectly.
+
+    "In the earlier revivals of this country, great prominence was
+    given, in the preaching, to the doctrine of dependence, in the
+    forms of regeneration, election, &c. This was what was to be
+    expected from the Calvinistic preachers of the time, in view of
+    the prevalence of Arminianism. In the more recent revivals,
+    however, a similar prominence seems to be given to moral agency,
+    in the forms of present obligation to duty, its present
+    practicability, &c. The preaching, thus distinguished in its more
+    prominent characteristics, has been undeniably owned and blessed
+    by the Spirit of God, although we are very apt to believe that
+    what is true of one kind of preaching at one time, must be true of
+    it at another. Now, I believe that both the doctrines of
+    dependence and moral accountability must be _admitted by the
+    public mind_, to secure upon that mind the full power of the
+    gospel. I also believe that greater or less _prominence_ should be
+    given to the one or the other of these doctrines, according to the
+    prevailing state of public opinion. When, at the earlier periods
+    alluded to, the doctrine of dependence was dwelt on chiefly, (I do
+    not suppose exclusively,) the public mind believed enough--I might
+    say too much--concerning the free moral agency of man, and had not
+    so well learned as since to pervert the doctrine of dependence to
+    justify the waiting attitude of a passive recipient. And, then,
+    both doctrines told with power on the mind and the conscience,
+    and, through God, were attended with great and happy results. But
+    the prominence given to the doctrine of dependence, in preaching,
+    was continued, until, if I mistake not, it so engrossed the public
+    attention, and so obscured or weakened the doctrine of
+    responsibility, that many fell into the opposite error of quietly
+    waiting for God's interposition. Hence, when this prevailing error
+    is again corrected by a more prominent exhibition of man's
+    responsibility, in the form of immediate obligation, &c., the
+    power of both doctrines is again combined on the public mind, and
+    we see the same or even greater results in revivals of religion.
+    Nor would it be strange if the latter kind of preaching should, in
+    its turn, prevail so exclusively and so long, that the practical
+    influence of the doctrine of dependence should be greatly
+    impaired, to be followed with another dearth of revivals and a
+    quiet reliance of sinful men on their own self-sufficiency. On
+    this subject, I have often, in view of the tendency of the human
+    mind to vacillate from one extreme to the other, expressed my
+    apprehensions. In some of my brethren, whom I love and respect, I
+    see what I esteem a _disproportioned_ estimate of the importance
+    of preaching dependence; in others, whom I equally respect, I see
+    what I regard as a _disproportioned_ estimate of the importance of
+    preaching moral responsibility. In regard to myself, I can say
+    that I have aimed, in this respect, rightly to divide the word of
+    truth, and that those discourses in which I have best succeeded in
+    bringing the two doctrines to bear, in their combined force, on
+    the mind, have been more blessed to the awakening and conversion
+    of sinners, than almost any others which I preach. When both
+    doctrines are wisely and truly presented, the sinner has no
+    resting-place. Ho cannot well avoid a sense of guilt while
+    proposing to remain in his sins, for he sees that he is a free
+    moral agent, under all the responsibilities of such an agent to
+    immediate duty. He cannot well presume on his resolution of future
+    repentance, for he sees that sovereign, injured grace may at once
+    abandon him to hopeless sin. He is thus shut up to the faith,--to
+    the immediate performance of his duty. In accordance with these
+    views, I aim, in my instructions to those who are preparing for
+    the ministry, to inculcate the importance of a consistent,
+    well-proportioned exhibition of the two great doctrines of the
+    sinner's dependence and responsibility, that, in this respect,
+    they may hold the minds of their hearers under the full influence
+    of that gospel which is the power of God to salvation.
+
+    "I have thus stated, more minutely, perhaps, than you anticipated,
+    my views and opinions. I could wish that they might be
+    satisfactory to all our Orthodox brethren. I have no doubt that
+    they will be to very many, and to some who have been alarmed by
+    groundless rumors concerning my unsoundness in the faith. With
+    respect to what I have called _leading doctrines_, I regard these
+    as among the cardinal truths of the Christian system. They are
+    truths to which I attach the highest importance, and in which my
+    faith is more and more confirmed, the more I examine the word of
+    God. To _some_ of those of which I have spoken as _comparatively
+    minor points_, I attach a high importance in their practical
+    bearings and doctrinal connections. They are points, however, in
+    regard to which there is more or less diversity of opinion among
+    the Orthodox; and, as it is not my intention nor my practice to
+    denounce others as heretics, merely because they differ from me in
+    these matters, so I should be pleased with the reciprocation of
+    the like catholicism on their part."
+
+
+
+
+
+SWEDENBORGIANS, OR, THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH.
+
+
+Emanuel Swedenborg, the father of this sect, was the son of a bishop of
+West Gothnia, in the kingdom of Sweden, whose name was Swedberg, a man of
+considerable learning and celebrity in his time. The son was born at
+Stockholm, January 29, 1688, and died in London, 1772. He enjoyed early
+the advantages of a liberal education, and, being naturally endowed with
+uncommon talents for the acquirement of learning, his progress in the
+sciences was rapid and extensive, and he soon distinguished himself by
+several publications in the Latin language, which gave proof of equal
+genius and erudition. It may reasonably be supposed that, under the care
+of his pious and reverend father, our author's religious instruction was
+not neglected. This, indeed, appears plain from the general tenor of his
+life and writings, which are marked with strong and lively characters of a
+mind deeply impressed with a sense of the divine Being, and of all the
+relative duties thence resulting. He was ennobled in the year 1719, by
+Queen Ulrica Eleonora, and named Swedenborg, from which time he took his
+seat with the nobles of the equestrian order, in the triennial assembly of
+the states.
+
+Baron Swedenborg had many eccentricities; but perhaps the most remarkable
+circumstance respecting him was his asserting that, during the
+uninterrupted period of twenty-seven years, he enjoyed open intercourse
+with the world of departed spirits, and during that time was instructed in
+the internal sense of the sacred Scriptures, hitherto undiscovered.
+
+_Articles of Faith, Of the New Church, signified by the New Jerusalem in
+the Revelation._
+
+"1. That JEHOVAH GOD, the Creator and Preserver of heaven and earth, is
+Love Itself and Wisdom Itself, or Good Itself and Truth Itself: That he is
+One both in Essence and in Person, in whom, nevertheless, is the Divine
+Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which are the Essential Divinity,
+the Divine Humanity, and the Divine Proceeding, answering to the soul, the
+body, and the operative energy, in man: And that the Lord and Savior Jesus
+Christ is that GOD.
+
+"2. That JEHOVAH GOD himself descended from heaven, as Divine Truth, which
+is the Word, and took upon him Human Nature for the purpose of removing
+from man the powers of hell, and restoring to order all things in the
+spiritual world, and all things in the church: That he removed from man
+the powers of hell, by combats against and victories over them; in which
+consisted the great work of Redemption: That by the same acts, which were
+his temptations, the last of which was the passion of the cross, he
+united, in his Humanity, Divine Truth to Divine Good, or Divine Wisdom to
+Divine Love, and so returned into his Divinity in which he was from
+eternity, together with, and in, his Glorified Humanity; whence he forever
+keeps the infernal powers in subjection to himself: And that all who
+believe in him, with the understanding, from the heart, and live
+accordingly, will be saved.
+
+"3. That the Sacred Scripture, or Word of GOD, is Divine Truth itself;
+containing a Spiritual Sense heretofore unknown, whence it is divinely
+inspired, and holy in every syllable; as well as a Literal Sense, which is
+the basis of its Spiritual Sense, and in which Divine Truth is in its
+fulness, its sanctity, and its power; thus that it is accommodated to the
+apprehension both of angels and men: That the spiritual and natural senses
+are united, by correspondences, like soul and body, every natural
+expression and image answering to, and including, a spiritual and divine
+idea: And thus that the Word is the medium of communication with heaven,
+and of conjunction with the Lord.
+
+"4. That the government of the Lord's Divine Love and Wisdom is the Divine
+Providence; which is universal, exercised according to certain fixed laws
+of Order, and extending to the minutest particulars of the life of all
+men, both of the good and of the evil: That in all its operations it has
+respect to what is infinite and eternal, and makes no account of things
+transitory, but as they are subservient to eternal ends; thus that it
+mainly consists, with man, in the connection of things temporal with
+things eternal; for that the continual aim of the Lord, by his Divine
+Providence, is to join man to himself and himself to man, that he may be
+able to give him the felicities of eternal life: And that the laws of
+permission are also laws of the Divine Providence; since evil cannot be
+prevented without destroying the nature of man as an accountable agent;
+and because, also, it cannot be removed unless it be known, and cannot be
+known unless it appear. Thus that no evil is permitted but to prevent a
+greater; and all is overruled, by the Lord's Divine Providence, for the
+greatest possible good.
+
+"5. That man is not life, but is only a recipient of life from the Lord,
+who, as he is Love Itself and Wisdom Itself, is also Life Itself; which
+life is communicated by influx to all in the spiritual world, whether
+belonging to heaven or to hell, and to all in the natural world; but is
+received differently by every one, according to his quality and consequent
+state of reception.
+
+"6. That man, during his abode in the world, is, as to his spirit, in the
+midst between heaven and hell, acted upon by influences from both, and
+thus is kept in a state of spiritual equilibrium between good and evil; in
+consequence of which he enjoys free will, or freedom of choice, in
+spiritual things as well as in natural, and possesses the capacity of
+either turning himself to the Lord and his kingdom, or turning himself
+away from the Lord, and connecting himself with the kingdom of darkness:
+And that, unless man had such freedom of choice, the Word would be of no
+use, the church would be a mere name, man would possess nothing by virtue
+of which he could be conjoined to the Lord, and the cause of evil would be
+chargeable on GOD himself.
+
+"7. That man at this day is born into evil of all kinds, or with
+tendencies towards it: That, therefore, in order to his entering the
+kingdom of heaven, he must be regenerated, or created anew; which great
+work is effected in a progressive manner, by the Lord alone, by charity
+and faith as mediums, during man's cooeperation: That, as all men are
+redeemed, all are capable of being regenerated, and, consequently saved,
+every one according to his state: And that the regenerate man is in
+communion with the angels of heaven, and the unregenerate with the spirits
+of hell: But that no one is condemned for hereditary evil, any further
+than as he makes it his own by actual life; whence all who die in infancy
+are saved, special means being provided by the Lord in the other life for
+that purpose.
+
+"8. That Repentance is the first beginning of the Church in man; and that
+it consists in a man's examining himself, both in regard to his deeds and
+his intentions, in knowing and acknowledging his sins, confessing them
+before the Lord, supplicating him for aid, and beginning a new life: That,
+to this end, all evils, whether of affection, of thought, or of life, are
+to be abhorred and shunned as sins against GOD, and because they proceed
+from infernal spirits, who in the aggregate are called the Devil and
+Satan; and that good affections, good thoughts, and good actions, are to
+be cherished and performed, because they are of GOD and from GOD: That
+these things are to be done by man as of himself; nevertheless, under the
+acknowledgment and belief, that it is from the Lord, operating in him and
+by him: That so far as man shuns evils as sins, so far they are removed,
+remitted, or forgiven; so far also he does good, not from himself, but
+from the Lord; and in the same degree he loves truth, has faith, and is a
+spiritual man: And that the Decalogue teaches what evils are sins.
+
+"9. That Charity, Faith, and Good Works, are unitedly necessary to man's
+salvation; since charity, without faith, is not spiritual, but natural;
+and faith, without charity, is not living, but dead; and both charity and
+faith, without good works, are merely mental and perishable things,
+because without use or fixedness: And that nothing of faith, of charity,
+or of good works, is of man; but that all is of the Lord, and all the
+merit is his alone.
+
+"10. That Baptism and the Holy Supper are sacraments of divine
+institution, and are to be permanently observed; Baptism being an external
+medium of introduction into the Church, and a sign representative of man's
+purification and regeneration; and the Holy Supper being an external
+medium to those who receive it worthily, of introduction, as to spirit,
+into heaven, and of conjunction with the Lord; of which also it is a sign
+and seal.
+
+"11. That, immediately after death, which is only a putting off of the
+material body, never to be resumed, man rises again in a spiritual or
+substantial body, in which he continues to live to eternity; in heaven, if
+his ruling affections, and hence his life, have been good; and in hell, if
+his ruling affections, and thence his life, have been evil.
+
+"12. That Now is the time of the Second Advent of the Lord which is a
+Coming, not in Person, but in the power and glory of his Holy Word: That
+it is attended, like his first Coming, with the restoration to order of
+all things in the spiritual world, where the wonderful divine operation,
+commonly expected under the name of the Last Judgment, has in consequence
+been performed; and with the preparing of the way for a New Church on the
+earth,--the first Christian Church having spiritually come to its end or
+consummation, through evils of life and errors of doctrine, as foretold by
+the Lord in the Gospels: And that this New or Second Christian Church,
+which will be the Crown of all Churches, and will stand forever, is what
+was representatively seen by John, when he beheld the holy city, New
+Jerusalem, descending from GOD out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned
+for her husband."
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+The leading theological works of Swedenborg are, the _Heavenly Arcana_, in
+twelve octavo volumes, giving an explanation of the books of Genesis and
+Exodus, being a key to what he calls the internal or spiritual sense of
+the sacred Scriptures. The next in importance is the _Apocalypse
+Explained_, in six octavo volumes, containing a full explanation of that
+book.
+
+From his last work, _The True Christian Religion_, we make the following
+extracts, to show some of his peculiar views and style of writing:--
+
+"Concerning the Spiritual World.
+
+"The spiritual world has been treated of in a particular work concerning
+HEAVEN AND HELL, in which many things of that world are described; and,
+because every man, after death, comes into that world, the state of men
+there is also described. Who does not know, or may not know, that man
+lives after death? both because he is born a man, created an image of God,
+and because the Lord teaches it in his word. But what life he is to live,
+has been hitherto unknown. It has been believed that then he would be a
+soul, of which they entertained no other idea than as of ether, or air;
+thus that it is breath, or spirit, such as man breathes out of his mouth
+when he dies, in which, nevertheless, his vitality resides; but that it is
+without sight, such as is of the eye, without hearing, such as is of the
+ear, and without speech, such as is of the mouth; when yet, man, after
+death, is equally a man, and such a man, that he does not know but that he
+is still in the former world. He walks, runs, and sits, as in the former
+world; he lies down, sleeps, and wakes up, as in the former world; he eats
+and drinks, as in the former world; he enjoys conjugial delight, as in the
+former world; in a word, he is a man as to all and every particular;
+whence it is manifest, that death is not an extinction, but a
+continuation, of life, and that it is only a transition.
+
+"That man is equally a man after death, although he does not then appear
+to the eyes of the material body, may be evident from the angels seen by
+Abraham, Hagar, Gideon, Daniel, and some of the prophets,--from the angels
+seen in the Lord's sepulchre, and afterwards, many times, by John,
+concerning whom in the Revelation,--and especially from the Lord himself,
+who showed that he was a man by the touch and by eating, and yet he became
+invisible to their eyes. Who can be so delirious, as not to acknowledge
+that, although he was invisible, he was still equally a man? The reason
+why they saw him was, because then the eyes of their spirit were opened;
+and, when these are opened, the things which are in the spiritual world
+appear as clearly as those which are in the natural world. The difference
+between a man in the natural world and a man in the spiritual world is,
+that the latter is clothed with a substantial body, but the former with a
+material body, in which, inwardly, is his substantial body; and a
+substantial man sees a substantial man as clearly as a material man sees a
+material man; but a substantial man cannot see a material man, nor a
+material man a substantial man, on account of the difference between
+material and substantial, which is such as may be described, but not in a
+few words.
+
+"From the things seen for so many years, I can relate the following: That
+there are lands in the spiritual world, as well as in the natural world,
+and that there are also plains, and valleys, and mountains, and hills, and
+likewise fountains and rivers; that there are paradises, gardens, groves,
+and woods; that there are cities, and in them palaces and houses; and also
+that there are writings and books; that there are employments and
+tradings; and that there are gold, silver, and precious stones; in a word,
+that there are all things whatsoever that are in the natural world; but
+those in heaven are immensely more perfect. But the difference is, that
+all things that are seen in the spiritual world are created in a moment by
+the Lord, as houses, paradises, food, and other things; and that they are
+created for correspondence with the interiors of the angels and spirits,
+which are their affections and thoughts thence; but that all things that
+are seen in the natural world exist and grow from seed.
+
+"Since it is so, and I have daily spoken there with the nations and people
+of this world,--thus not only with those who are in Europe, but also with
+those who are in Asia and in Africa, thus with those who are of various
+religions,--I shall add, as a conclusion to this work, a short description
+of the state of some of them. It is to be observed, that the state of
+every nation and people in general, as well as of each individual in
+particular, in the spiritual world, is according to the acknowledgment of
+God, and the worship of him; and that all who in heart acknowledge a God,
+and, after this time, those who acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ to be
+God, the Redeemer and Savior, are in heaven; and that those who do not
+acknowledge him are under heaven, and are there instructed; and that those
+who receive are raised up into heaven, and that those who do not receive
+are cast down into hell."
+
+Swedenborg says, "The Dutch are easily distinguished from others in the
+spiritual world, because they appear in garments like those which they
+wore in the natural world; with the distinction, that those appear in
+finer ones, who have received faith and spiritual life. The reason why
+they are clothed in the like garments is, because they remain constantly
+in the principles of their religion; and all in the spiritual world are
+clothed according to them; wherefore, those there who are in divine
+truths, have white garments, and of fine linen.
+
+"The cities in which the Dutch live are guarded in a singular manner: all
+the streets in them are covered with roofs, and there are gates in the
+streets, so that they may not be seen from the rocks and hills round
+about: this is done on account of their inherent prudence in concealing
+their designs, and not divulging their intentions; for such things, in the
+spiritual world, are drawn forth by inspection. When any one comes for the
+purpose of exploring their state, and is about to go out, he is led to the
+gates of the streets, which are shut, and thus is led back, and led to
+others, and this even to the highest degree of vexation, and then he is
+let out; this is done that he may not return. Wives, who affect dominion
+over their husbands, live at one side of the city, and do not meet their
+husbands, except when they are invited, which is done in a civil manner;
+and then they also lead them to houses, where consorts live without
+exercising dominion over each other, and show them how clean and elegant
+their houses are, and what enjoyment of life they have, and that they have
+these things from mutual and conjugal love. Those wives who attend to
+these things, and are affected by them, cease to exercise dominion, and
+live together with their husbands; and then they have a habitation
+assigned to them nearer to the middle, and are called angels: the reason
+is, because truly conjugal love is heavenly love, which is without
+dominion.
+
+"With respect to the English nation, the best of them are in the centre of
+all Christians, because they have interior intellectual light. This does
+not appear to any one in the natural world, but it appears conspicuously
+in the spiritual world. This light they derive from the liberty of
+speaking and writing, and thereby of thinking. With others, who are not in
+such liberty, that light, not having any outlet, is obstructed. That
+light, indeed, is not active of itself, but it is made active by others,
+especially by men of reputation and authority. As soon as any thing is
+said by them, that light shines forth.
+
+"For this reason, they have moderators appointed over them in the
+spiritual world; and priests are given to them, of high reputation and
+eminent talents, in whose opinions, from this their natural disposition,
+they acquiesce.
+
+"There are two great cities, like London, into which most of the English
+come after death: it has been given me to see the former city, and also to
+walk over it. The middle of that city is where the merchants meet in
+London, which is called the Exchange: there the moderators dwell. Above
+that middle is the east, below it is the west, on the right side is the
+south, on the left side is the north. In the eastern quarter, those dwell
+who have preeminently led a life of charity: there are magnificent
+palaces. In the southern quarter the wise dwell, with whom there are many
+splendid things. In the northern quarter, those dwell who have
+preeminently loved the liberty of speaking and writing. In the western
+quarter, those dwell who boast of justification by faith atone. On the
+right there, in this quarter, is the entrance into this city, and also a
+way out of it: those who live ill are sent out there. The ministers who
+are in the west, and teach that faith alone, dare not enter the city
+through the great streets, but through narrow alleys; since no other
+inhabitants are tolerated in the city itself, than those who are in the
+faith of charity. I have heard them complaining of the preachers from the
+west, that they compose their sermons with such art and eloquence, and
+introduce into them the strange doctrine of justification by faith, that
+they do not know whether good ought to be done or not. They preach faith
+as intrinsic good, and separate this from the good of charity, which they
+call meritorious, and thus not acceptable to God. But, when those who
+dwell in the eastern and southern quarters of the city hear such sermons,
+they go out of the temples; and the preachers afterwards are deprived of
+the priestly office."
+
+"Concerning the Popish Saints in the Spiritual World.
+
+"It is known that man has innate or hereditary evil from parents; but it
+is known to few in what that dwells, in its fulness: it dwells in the love
+of possessing the goods of all others, and in the love of ruling; for this
+latter love is such, that, as far as the reins are given to it, so far it
+bursts forth, until it burns with the desire of ruling over all, and, at
+length, wishes to be invoked and worshipped as a god. This love is the
+serpent, which deceived Eve and Adam; for it said to the woman, _God doth
+know, in the day that ye eat of the fruit of that tree, your eyes will be
+opened,_ AND THEN YE WILL BE AS GOD. (Gen. iii. 4, 5.) As far, therefore,
+as man, without restraint, rushes into this love, so far he averts himself
+from God, and turns to himself, and becomes a worshipper of himself; and
+then he can invoke God with a warm mouth from the love of self, but with a
+cold heart from contempt of God. And then, also, the divine things of the
+church may serve for means; but, because the end is dominion, the means
+are regarded no more than as they are subservient to it. Such a person, if
+he is exalted to the highest honors, is, in his own imagination, like
+Atlas bearing the terraqueous globe upon his shoulders, and like Phoebus,
+with his horses, carrying the sun around the world.
+
+"Since man hereditarily is such, therefore all who, by papal bulls, have
+been made saints, in the spiritual world are removed from the eyes of
+others, and concealed, and all intercourse with their worshippers is taken
+away from them; the reason is, lest that most pernicious root of evil
+should be excited in them, and they should be brought into such fantastic
+deliriums as there are with demons. Into such deliriums those come, who,
+while they live in the world, zealously aspire to be made saints after
+death, that they may be invoked.
+
+"Many of the Roman Catholic persuasion, especially the monks, when they
+come into the spiritual world, inquire for the saints, particularly the
+saint of their order; but they do not find them, at which they wonder; but
+afterwards they are instructed that they are mixed together, either with
+those who are in heaven, or with those who are in the earth below; and
+that, in either case, they know nothing of the worship and invocation of
+themselves, and that those who do know, and wish to be invoked, fall into
+deliriums, and talk foolishly. The worship of saints is such an
+abomination in heaven, that, if they only hear it, they are filled with
+horror; since, as far as worship is ascribed to any man, so far it is
+withheld from the Lord; for thus, he alone is not worshipped; and, if the
+Lord alone is not worshipped, a discrimination is made, which destroys
+communion, and the happiness of life flowing from it. That I might know
+what the Roman Catholic saints are, in order that I might make it known,
+as many as a hundred were brought forth from the earth below, who knew of
+their canonization. They ascended behind my back, and only a few before my
+face; and I spoke with one of them, who, they said, was Xavier. He, while
+he talked with me, was like a fool; yet he could tell, that, in his place,
+where he was shut up with others, he was not a fool, but that he becomes a
+fool as often as he thinks that he is a saint, and wishes to be invoked. A
+like murmur I heard from those who were behind my back. It is otherwise
+with the saints, so called, in heaven: these know nothing at all of what
+is done on earth; nor is it given them to speak with any of the Roman
+Catholic persuasion, who are in that superstition, lest any idea of that
+thing should enter into them.
+
+"From this their state, every one may conclude that invocations of them
+are only mockeries; and, moreover, I can assert, that they do not hear
+their invocations on earth, any more than their images do at the sides of
+the streets, nor any more than the walls of the temple, nor any more than
+the birds that build their nests in towers. It is said by their servants
+on earth, that the saints reign in heaven, together with the Lord Jesus
+Christ; but this is a figment and a falsehood; for they no more reign with
+the Lord, than a hostler with a king, a porter with a grandee, or a
+footman with a primate; for John the Baptist said, concerning the Lord,
+_that he was not worthy to unloose the latchet of his shoe_, (Mark 1:7.
+John 1:27.) What, then, are those who are such?
+
+"There appears, sometimes, to the people of Paris, who are in the
+spiritual world, in a society, a certain woman of a common stature, in
+shining raiment, and of a face, as it were, holy; and she says that she is
+GENEVIEVE; but, when any begin to adore her, then her face is immediately
+changed, and also her raiment, and she becomes like an ordinary woman, and
+reproves them for wishing to adore a woman, who, among her companions, is
+in no higher estimation than as a maid-servant, wondering that the men of
+the world should be captivated by such trifles.
+
+"To the above, I shall add this, which is most worthy of attention. Once,
+MARY, THE MOTHER OF THE LORD, passed by, and was seen overhead in white
+raiment; and then, stopping a while, she said that she was the mother of
+the Lord, and that he was indeed born of her; but that he, being made God,
+put off all the human from her, and that, therefore, she now adores him as
+her God; and that she is unwilling that any one should acknowledge him for
+her son, since in him all is divine."
+
+
+
+
+
+FIGHTING QUAKERS.
+
+
+The term _Fighting_ or _Wet_ Quaker is applied to those who retain the
+Quaker faith, but adopt the manners and costume, of other denominations.
+The celebrated Nathaniel Greene was one of this character, as were many of
+the people of Rhode Island, where religious liberty first erected its
+standard in America.
+
+"When the British army had possession of Philadelphia, a committee of
+three of the leading men of the society of Friends had permission to go to
+the head-quarters of General Washington, relative to some matters of
+inconvenience of some of their brethren, within Washington's command. The
+general listened to them with his usual courtesy and wisdom, but could not
+determine the business till the next day. In the mean time, he told them
+he would put them under the protection of an officer of their own society,
+and thereupon sent for General Nathaniel Greene; and when he arrived, in
+full uniform, he introduced 'the Friends' to each other. After a little
+silence, Friend James Pemberton turned slowly to General Greene, and said,
+'Dost thou profess to be one of our persuasion?' 'O, yes,' said the
+general; 'I was so educated.' The committee looked at each other, and upon
+the general's sword, when one of them said, 'May I ask General Greene what
+part of our land thou wast born and brought up in?' 'O, yes, yes,' replied
+Greene; 'I'm from RHODE ISLAND.' 'Oho,' rejoined more than one of them,
+'yes, yes, a RHODE ISLAND QUAKER! Yes, Friend Greene, we are satisfied
+with thy explanation, and will accept of thy kind offer.' Greene betrayed
+a momentary flush of disconcertion, at which, it was said, Washington's
+countenance half smiled at the _Rhode Island Quaker_!"
+
+
+
+
+
+HARMONISTS.
+
+
+Mr. George Rapp and other emigrants arrived from Germany, and settled in
+the interior of Pennsylvania, about the year 1805. They formed an economy
+on the primitive plan of having "all things in common." They appear to
+have prospered. In 1814 they sold their property in Pennsylvania and
+removed to Indiana, to form a new establishment, on an improved plan. They
+profess the Protestant religion, but admit of universal toleration. They
+cultivate the learned languages and professions, and maintain strict
+morals, with a due observation of the Sabbath. They keep watch by turns at
+night; and, after crying the hour, add, "A day is past, and a step made
+nearer our end. Our time runs away, and the joys of heaven are our
+reward." (See Acts 4:32.)
+
+
+
+
+
+DORRELITES.
+
+
+A sectary, by the name of Dorrel, appeared in Leyden, Mass., about fifty
+years ago, and made some proselytes. The following are some of his leading
+sentiments:--Jesus Christ is, as to substance, a spirit, and is God. He
+took a body, died, and never rose from the dead. None of the human race
+will ever rise from their graves. The resurrection, spoken of in
+Scripture, is only one from sin to spiritual life, which consists in
+perfect obedience to God. Written revelation is a type of the substance of
+the true revelation, which God makes to those whom he raises from
+spiritual death. The substance is God revealed in the soul. Those who have
+it are perfect, are incapable of sinning, and have nothing to do with the
+Bible. The eternal life, purchased by Christ, was an eternal succession of
+natural generation. Heaven is light, and hell is darkness. God has no
+wrath. There is no opposition between God and the devil, who have equal
+power in their respective worlds of light and darkness. Those who are
+raised are free from all civil laws; are not bound by the marriage
+covenant; and the perfect have a right to promiscuous intercourse. Neither
+prayer nor any other worship is necessary. There is no law but that of
+nature. There is no future judgment, nor any knowledge in the future
+state, of what is done in this world. God has no forethought, no knowledge
+of what passes in the dark world, which is hell, nor any knowledge of what
+has taken place, or will take place, in this world. Neither God nor the
+devil has any power to control man. There are two kinds of perfection--that
+of the head, and that of the members. The leader is perfect as the head;
+but none of his followers can be so, in this sense, so long as the leader
+continues. All covenants which God has heretofore entered into with man,
+are at an end, and a new covenant made with the leader, (Dorrel,) in which
+he has all power to direct, and all the blessings of which must be looked
+for through him. Neither Moses nor Christ wrought any miracles. I (says
+Dorrel) stand the same as Jesus Christ in all respects. My disciples stand
+in the same relation to me, as the disciples of Christ did to him. I am to
+be worshipped in the same manner as Christ was to be worshipped, as God
+united to human flesh. This sect was broken up in the following manner:--
+
+One of Dorrel's lectures was attended by Captain Ezekiel Foster, of
+Leyden, a man of good sense, of a strong, muscular frame, and a
+countenance which bespoke authority. When Dorrel came to the declaration
+of his extraordinary powers, he had no sooner uttered the words, "No arm
+can hurt my flesh," than Foster rose, indignant at the imposture he was
+practising on his deluded followers, and knocked down Dorrel with his
+fist. Dorrel, in great trepidation, and almost senseless, attempted to
+rise, when he received a second blow, at which he cried for mercy. Foster
+engaged to forbear, on condition that he would renounce his doctrines, but
+continued beating him. Soon a short parley ensued, when Dorrel consented,
+and did renounce his doctrines in the hearing of all his astonished
+followers. He further told them, that his object was to see what fools he
+could make of mankind. His followers, ashamed and chagrined at being made
+the dupes of such an unprincipled fellow, departed in peace to their
+homes. Dorrel promised his assailant, upon the penalty of his life never
+to attempt any similar imposition upon the people.
+
+
+
+
+
+OSGOODITES.
+
+
+These people profess to believe in one God, who is fully acquainted with
+all his own works; but they believe there are some things done by wicked
+agents, of which God has no knowledge. They reject the idea of Christ's
+divinity, and of any thing special in regeneration. They pretend to
+miraculous gifts, such as healing the sick, and praying down the judgments
+of God upon those who oppose them. They deny any thing peculiarly sacred
+in the Christian Sabbath, although they generally meet on that day for
+religious worship, but without much regard to order. They reject the
+ordinances of baptism and the Lord's supper. They are opposed to Bible
+societies, and other moral and religious institutions of the day,
+particularly to temperance societies.
+
+This sect arose about the year 1812, in the county of Merrimack, N. H.
+where a few societies exist. Jacob Osgood is their leader.
+
+
+
+
+
+ROGERENES.
+
+
+This is a sect calling themselves Seventh-Day Baptists, that arose in New
+England about the year 1674. John and James Rogers were their leaders.
+They were peculiar in their language, dress, and manners; they employed no
+physician, nor used any medicine: they paid no regard to the Christian
+Sabbath, and disturbed and abused those that did. It is said that a few of
+this people still remain. See the _Battle-Axe_, a work published by them a
+few years ago, at their printing establishment, at Groton, Conn.
+
+
+
+
+
+WHIPPERS.
+
+
+This denomination sprang up in Italy, in the thirteenth century, and was
+thence propagated through almost all the countries of Europe. The society
+that embraced this new discipline, ran in multitudes, composed of persons
+of both sexes, and all ranks and ages, through the public streets, with
+whips in their hands, lashing their naked bodies with the most astonishing
+severity, with a view to obtain the divine mercy for themselves and
+others, by their voluntary mortification and penance. This sect made their
+appearance anew in the fourteenth century, and taught, among other things,
+that flagellation was of equal virtue with baptism and other sacraments;
+that the forgiveness of all sins was to be obtained by it from God,
+without the merit of Jesus Christ; that the old law of Christ was soon to
+be abolished, and that a new law, enjoining the baptism of blood, to be
+administered by whipping, was to be substituted in its place.
+
+A new denomination of Whippers arose in the fifteenth century, who
+rejected the sacraments and every branch of external worship, and placed
+their only hopes of salvation in _faith_ and _flagellation_.
+
+
+
+
+
+WILKINSONIANS.
+
+
+The followers of Jemima Wilkinson, who was born in Cumberland, R. I. In
+1776, she asserted that she was taken sick, and actually died, and that
+her soul went to heaven. Soon after, her body was reanimated with the
+spirit and power of Christ, upon which she set up as a public teacher, and
+declared she had an immediate revelation for all she delivered, and was
+arrived to a state of absolute perfection. It is also said she pretended
+to foretell future events, to discern the secrets of the heart, and to
+have the power of healing diseases; and if any person who had made
+application to her was not healed, she attributed it to his want of faith.
+She asserted that those who refused to believe these exalted things
+concerning her, will be in the state of the unbelieving Jews, who rejected
+the counsel of God against themselves; and she told her hearers that was
+the eleventh hour, and the last call of mercy that ever should be granted
+them; for she heard an inquiry in heaven, saying, "Who will go and preach
+to a dying world?" or words to that import; and she said she answered,
+"Here am I--send me;" and that she left the realms of light and glory, and
+the company of the heavenly host, who are continually praising and
+worshipping God, in order to descend upon earth, and pass through many
+sufferings and trials for the happiness of mankind. She assumed the title
+of the _universal friend of mankind_.
+
+Jemima made some converts in Rhode Island and New York, and died in 1819.
+She is said to have been a very beautiful, but artful woman.
+
+
+
+
+
+AQUARIANS.
+
+
+WATER-DRINKERS, a branch of the _Encratites_, a sect in the second
+century, who abstained from marriage, wine, and animal food; who carried
+their aversion to wine so far, that they substituted water in the holy
+communion, though some refused it only in their _morning_ ceremonies. It
+is well known that the ancient Christians mingled water with their wine
+for sacred use, partly, perhaps, for economy, and partly from sobriety;
+but Cyprian gives a mystical reason--because the wine and water represent
+Christ and his people united.
+
+
+
+
+
+BAXTERIANS.
+
+
+The Baxterian strikes into a middle path between Arminianism and
+Calvinism, and thus endeavors to unite both schemes. With the Calvinist,
+he professes to believe that a certain number, determined upon in the
+divine councils, will be infallibly saved; and with the Arminian, he joins
+in rejecting the doctrine of reprobation, as absurd and impious;--admits
+that Christ, in a certain sense, died for all, and supposes that such a
+portion of grace is allotted to _every_ man, as renders it his own fault
+if he does not attain to eternal life.
+
+This conciliatory system was espoused by the famous Nonconformist, Richard
+Baxter, who was celebrated for the acuteness of his controversial talents,
+and the utility of his practical writings.
+
+Among Baxterians are ranked both Watts and Doddridge. Dr. Doddridge,
+indeed, has this striking remark--"That a Being who is said not to tempt
+any one, and even swears that he desires not the death of a sinner, should
+_irresistibly_ determine millions to the commission of every sinful action
+of their lives, and then, with all the pomp and pageantry of a universal
+judgment, condemn them to eternal misery, on account of these actions,
+that hereby he may promote the happiness of others who are, or shall be,
+irresistibly determined to virtue, in the like manner, is of all
+incredible things to me the most incredible!"
+
+In the scale of religious sentiment, Baxterianism seems to be, with
+respect to the subject of divine favor, what Arianism is with respect to
+the person of Christ. It appears to have been considered by some pious
+persons as a safe middle way between two extremes.
+
+
+
+
+
+MILLER'S VIEWS ON THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
+
+
+The following letter from Rev. WILLIAM MILLER to Rev. JOSHUA V. HIMES
+contains a synopsis of Mr. Miller's views on this interesting subject:--
+
+"Rev. J. V. Himes:
+
+"My dear brother: You have requested a synopsis of my views of the
+Christian faith. The following sketch will give you some idea of the
+religious opinions I have formed, by a careful study of the word of God:--
+
+"I believe all men, coming to years of discretion, do and will disobey
+God; and this is, in some measure, owing to corrupted nature by the sin of
+our parent. I believe God will not condemn us for any pollution in our
+father; but the soul that sinneth shall die. All pollution of which we may
+be partakers from the sins of our ancestors, in which we could have no
+agency, can and will be washed away in the blood and sacrifice of Jesus
+Christ, without our agency. But all sins committed by us as rational,
+intelligent agents, can only be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ,
+through our repentance and faith. I believe in the salvation of all men
+who receive the grace of God by repentance and faith in the mediation of
+Jesus Christ. I believe in the condemnation of all men who reject the
+gospel and mediation of Christ, and thereby lose the efficacy of the blood
+and righteousness of our Redeemer, as proffered to us in the gospel. I
+believe in practical godliness, as commanded us in the Scriptures, (which
+are our only rule of faith and practice,) and that they only will be
+entitled to heaven and future blessedness, who obey and keep the
+commandments of God, as given us in the Bible, which is the word of God. I
+believe in God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is a Spirit,
+omnipresent, omniscient, having all power, Creator, Preserver, and
+self-existent. As being holy, just, and beneficent, I believe in Jesus
+Christ, the Son of God, having a body in fashion and form like man, divine
+in his nature, human in his person, godlike in his character and power. He
+is a Savior for sinners, a Priest to God, a Mediator between God and man,
+and King in Zion. He will be all to his people, God with us forever. The
+spirit of the Most High is in him, the power of the Most High is given
+him, the people of the Most High are purchased by him, the glory of the
+Most High shall be with him, and the kingdom of the Most High is his on
+earth.
+
+"I believe the Bible is the revealed will of God to man, and all therein
+is necessary to be understood by Christians in the several ages and
+circumstances to which they may refer;--for instance, what may be
+understood to-day, might not have been necessary to have been understood a
+thousand years ago; for its object is to reveal things new and old, that
+the man of God may be thoroughly furnished for, and perfected in, every
+good word and work, for the age in which he lives. I believe it is
+revealed in the best possible manner for all people, in every age and
+under every circumstance, to understand, and that it is to be understood
+as literal as it can be and make good sense; and that in every case where
+the language is figurative, we must let the Bible explain its own figures.
+We are in no case allowed to speculate on the Scriptures, and suppose
+things which are not clearly expressed, nor reject things which are
+plainly taught. I believe all of the prophecies are revealed to try our
+faith, and to give us hope, without which we could have no reasonable
+hope. I believe that the Scriptures do reveal unto us, in plain language,
+that Jesus Christ will appear again on this earth; that he will come in
+the glory of God, in the clouds of heaven, with all his saints and angels;
+that he will raise the dead bodies of all his saints who have slept,
+change the bodies of all that are alive on the earth that are his, and
+both these living and raised saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in
+the air. There the saints will be judged and presented to the Father,
+without spot or wrinkle. Then the gospel kingdom will be given up to God
+the Father. Then will the Father give the bride to the Son Jesus Christ;
+and when the marriage takes place, the church will become the 'New
+Jerusalem,' the 'beloved city.' And while this is being done in the air,
+the earth will be cleansed by fire, the elements will melt with fervent
+heat, the works of men will be destroyed, the bodies of the wicked will be
+burned to ashes, the devil and all evil spirits, with the souls and
+spirits of those who have rejected the gospel, will be banished from the
+earth, shut up in the pit or place prepared for the devil and his angels,
+and will not be permitted to visit the earth again until a thousand years.
+This is the first resurrection, and first judgment. Then Christ and his
+people will come down from the heavens, or middle air, and live with his
+saints on the new earth in a new heaven, or dispensation, forever, even
+forever and ever. This will be the restitution of the right owners to the
+earth.
+
+"Then will the promise of God to his Son be accomplished--'I will give him
+the heathen for his inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for his
+possession.' Then 'the whole earth shall be full of his glory.' And then
+will the holy people take possession of their joint heirship with Christ,
+and his promise be verified, 'The meek shall inherit the earth,' and the
+kingdom of God will have come, and 'his will done in earth as in heaven.'
+After a thousand years shall have passed away, the saints will all be
+gathered and encamped in the beloved city. The sea, death, and hell, will
+give up their dead, which will rise up on the breadths of the earth, out
+of the city, a great company like the sand of the sea-shore. The devil
+will be let loose, to go out and deceive this wicked host. He will tell
+them of a battle against the saints, the beloved city; he will gather them
+in the battle around the camp of the saints. But there is no battle; the
+devil has deceived them. The saints will judge them; the justice of God
+will drive them from the earth into the lake of fire and brimstone, where
+they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. 'This is the
+second death.' After the second resurrection, second judgment, the
+righteous will then possess the earth forever.
+
+"I understand that the judgment day will be a thousand years long. The
+righteous are raised and judged in the commencement of that day, the
+wicked in the end of that day. I believe that the saints will be raised
+and judged about the year 1843, according to Moses' prophecy, Lev. ch. 26;
+Ezek. ch. 39; Daniel, ch. 2, 7, 8-12; Hos. 5:1-3; Rev., the whole book;
+and many other prophets have spoken of these things. Time will soon tell
+if I am right, and soon he that is righteous will be righteous still, and
+he that is filthy will be filthy still. I do most solemnly entreat mankind
+to make their peace with God, to be ready for these things. 'The end of
+all things is at hand.' I do ask my brethren in the gospel ministry to
+consider well what they say before they oppose these things. Say not in
+your hearts, 'My Lord delayeth his coming.' Let all do as they would wish
+they had if it does come, and none will say they have not done right if it
+does not come. I believe it will come; but if it should not come, then I
+will wait and look until it does come. Yet I must pray, 'Come, Lord Jesus,
+come quickly.'
+
+"This is a synopsis of my views. I give it as a matter of faith. I know of
+no scripture to contradict any view given in the above sketch. Men's
+theories may oppose. The ancients believed in a temporal and personal
+reign of Christ on earth. The moderns believe in a temporal, spiritual
+reign as a millennium. Both views are wrong; both are too gross and
+carnal. I believe in a glorious, immortal, and personal reign of Jesus
+Christ, with all his people, on the purified earth forever. I believe the
+millennium is between the two resurrections and two judgments, the
+righteous and the wicked, the just and the unjust. I hope the dear friends
+of Christ will lay by all prejudice, and look at and examine these three
+views by the only rule and standard, the BIBLE.
+
+"William Miller."
+
+A Bible Chronology, From Adam To Christ.
+
+By William Miller.
+
+No.   Names of            Age.   A. M.   B. C.   Reference.
+      Patriarchs,
+      &c.
+      Creation,                      1    4157   Gen. i., ii.
+ 2.   Adam                 130     130    4027   Gen. v. 3.
+ 3.   Enos                  90     325    3832   Gen. v. 6.
+ 4.   Cainan                70     395    3762   Gen. v. 9.
+ 5.   Mahalaleel            65     460    3697   Gen. v. 15.
+ 6.   Jared                162     622    3535   Gen. v. 18.
+ 7.   Enoch                 65     687    3470   Gen. v. 21.
+ 8.   Methuselah           187     874    3283   Gen. v. 25.
+ 9.   Lamech               182    1056    3101   Gen. v. 28.
+10.   Noah                 600    1656    2501   Gen. vii. 6.
+      The Flood              1    1657    2500   Gen. viii. 13.
+11.   Shem                   2    1659    2498   Gen. xi. 10.
+12.   Arphaxad              35    1694    2463   Gen. xi. 12.
+13.   Salah                 30    1724    2433   Gen. xi. 14.
+14.   Heber                 34    1758    2399   Gen. xi. 16.
+15.   Peleg                 30    1788    2369   Gen. xi. 18.
+16.   Reu                   32    1820    2337   Gen. xi. 20.
+17.   Serug                 30    1850    2307   Gen. xi. 22.
+18.   Nahor                 29    1879    2278   Gen. xi. 24.
+19.   Terah's life      205(4)    2084    2073   Gen. xi. 32.
+20.   Exode, &c.        430(5)    2514    1643   Exod. xii. 40, 41.
+21.   Wilderness            40    2554    1603   Josh. v. 6; xiv. 7.
+22.   Joshua             25(6)    2579    1578   Josh. xxiv. 29.
+ 1.   Elders and            18    2597    1560   See Josephus.
+      Anarchy,(7)
+ 2.   Under Cushan           8    2605    1552   Judges iii. 8.
+ 3.   Othniel               40    2645    1512   Judges iii.  11.
+ 4.   Eglon                 18    2663    1494   Judges iii. 14.
+ 5.   Ehud                  80    2743    1414   Judges iii. 30.
+ 6.   Jabin                 20    2763    1394   Judges  iv. 3.
+ 7.   Barak                 40    2803    1354   Judges v. 31.
+ 8.   Midianites             7    2810    1347   Judges vi. 1.
+ 9.   Gideon                40    2850    1307   Judges viii. 28.
+10.   Abimelech              3    2853    1304   Judges ix. 22.
+11.   Tola                  23    2876    1281   Judges x. 2.
+12.   Jair                  22    2898    1259   Judges x. 3.
+13.   Philistines           18    2916    1241   Judges x. 8.
+14.   Jephthah               6    2922    1235   Judges xii. 7.
+15.   Ibzan                  7    2929    1228   Judges xii. 9.
+16.   Elon                  10    2939    1218   Judges xii. 11.
+17.   Abdon                  8    2947    1210   Judges xii. 14.
+18.   Philistines           40    2987    1170   Judges xiii. 1.
+19.   Eli                40(8)    3027    1130   1 Sam. iv. 18.
+20.   Samuel,            24(9)    3051    1106   1 Sam. vii.  2-17.
+      prophet
+ 1.   Saul, King            40    3091    1066   Acts xiii. 21.
+ 2.   David                 40    3131    1026   2 Sam. v. 4.
+ 3.   Solomon               40    3171     986   1 Kings xi. 42.
+ 4.   Rehoboam              17    3188     969   2 Chron. xii. 13.
+ 5.   Abijam                 3    3191     966   1 Kings xv. 2.
+ 6.   Asa                   41    3232     925   1 Kings xv. 10.
+ 7.   Jehoshaphat           25    3257     900   1 Kings xxii. 42.
+ 8.   Jehoram                5    3262     895   2 Kings viii. 17.
+ 9.   Ahaziah                1    3263     894   2 Kings viii. 26.
+10.   Athaliah,              6    3269     888   2 Kings xi. 3, 4.
+      his mother
+11.   Joash                 40    3309     818   2 Kings xii. 1.
+12.   Amaziah               29    3338     819   2 Kings xiv. 2.
+      Interregnum(10)       11    3349     808   2 Kings xv. 1, 2.
+13.   Azariah               52    3401     756   2 Kings xv. 2.
+14.   Jotham                16    3417     740   2 Kings xv. 33.
+15.   Ahaz                  16    3433     724   2 Kings xvi. 2.
+16.   Hezekiah              29    3462     695   2 Kings xviii. 2.
+17.   Manasseh              55    3517     640   2 Kings xxi. 1.
+18.   Amon                   2    3519     638   2 Kings xxi. 19.
+19.   Josiah                31    3550     607   2 Kings xxii. 1.
+20.   Jehoahaz                    3550     607   2 Kings xxiii. 31.
+21.   Jehoiakim             11    3561     596   2 Kings xxiii. 36.
+      The 70 years of       70    3631     526   2 Chron. xxxvi.
+      Captivity began                            5-10.
+      Cyrus                  6    3637     520   Rollin i.  p. 354.
+      Cambyses               7    3644     513   Rollin i.  p. 366.
+      Darius                36    3680     477   Rollin ii. p. 9.
+      Hystaspes
+      Xerxes                13    3693     464   Rollin ii. p. 9.
+      Artaxerxes             7    3700     457   Ezra vii. 10-13.
+      Longimanus
+      Birth of             457    4157
+      Christ(11)
+      Add present         1840    5997
+      year, 1840
+      To 1843                3    6000
+
+Mr. Miller adduces the following texts of Scripture in support of his
+sentiments:--Rev. 22:20. Ps. 130:6. 1 Thess. 3:13. Ps. 50:4. Rev. 11:15.
+Isa. 2:19-21. John 5:28. 1 Thess. 4:17. 2 Thess. 1:5-7. 1 Cor. 15:52. Rev
+5:9. Dan. 7:9-14. Rev. 14:14-16. Matt. 26:64. Isa. 27:13. Matt. 24:29.
+Rev. 20:11. Isa. 66:15, 16. Mal. 4:1. Isa. 5:24. Rev. 19:18. Ezek.
+39:17-20. Dan. 2 35, 44. Isa. 17:13. Rev. 13:1-7; 20:10. Isa. 24:20, 23. 2
+Pet. 3:13. Rev. 19:8; 21:2. Heb. 4:9-11; 6:2, 3. Isa. 35:10; 65:17. Rev.
+20:6; 20:9. Zech. 8:5. Rev. 3:12; 5:10, 20:2, 3, 7; 21:1; 20:8, 9, 13.
+Rom. 7:5. 1 Pet. 4:6. Ps. 59:6-14. Jer. 4:12. Rev. 21:12, 27. Zech.
+14:9-11. 1 Cor. 6:2. Rev. 20:9, 14, 15. Mal. 4:2. Isa. 4:3-5. Hos. 13:14.
+Rom. 8:17. Rev. 21:23; 22:5. Jer. 31:12-14. Eph. 1:10. Tit. 2:13. Rev.
+4:11. Eph. 6:13. Heb. 10:36, 37.
+
+
+    The believers in Mr. Miller's theory are numerous, and converts to
+    his doctrines are increasing.
+
+    Mr. Miller was born at Hampton, N. Y., Feb. 15, 1782. He is a
+    farmer, of common school education, and possesses strong
+    intellectual and colloquial powers. He is a man of unexceptionable
+    character, is a member of the Baptist church, in good standing,
+    and has a license to preach the gospel. For the last fifteen
+    years, he has almost exclusively devoted himself to investigating
+    Scripture prophecies, and in promulgating his peculiar views of
+    them to the world.
+
+
+The Rev J. V. Himes and Rev. J. Litch, No. 14 Devonshire Street, Boston,
+publish the _Signs of the Times_, a weekly paper, devoted to Miller's
+views. They also publish Miller's works, and a variety of other books,
+embracing similar sentiments.
+
+
+
+
+
+COME-OUTERS.
+
+
+This is a term which has been applied to a considerable number of persons
+in various parts of the Northern States, principally in New England, who
+have recently _come out_ of the various religious denominations with which
+they were connected;--hence the name. They have not themselves assumed any
+distinctive name, not regarding themselves as a sect, as they have not
+formed, and do not contemplate forming, any religious organization. They
+have no creed, believing that every one should be left free to hold such
+_opinions_ on religious subjects as he pleases, without being held
+accountable for the same to any human authority. Hence, as might be
+expected, they hold a diversity of opinions on many points of belief upon
+which agreement is considered essential by the generality of professing
+Christians. Amongst other subjects upon which they differ is that of the
+authority of the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments, some among
+them holding the prevailing belief of their divine inspiration, whilst
+others regard them as mere human compositions, and subject them to the
+same rules of criticism as they do any other book, attaching to them no
+authority any further than they find evidence of their truth. They believe
+the commonly-received opinion of the plenary inspiration of the writers of
+those books to be unfounded, not claimed by the writers themselves, and
+therefore _unscriptural_, as well as unreasonable. Whilst, then, they
+believe the authors of the Gospels to have been fallible men, liable to
+err both in relation to matters of fact and opinion, they believe they
+find in their writings abundant evidence of their honesty. Therefore they
+consider their testimony satisfactory as regards the main facts there
+stated of the life of Jesus Christ, at least so far, that there can be no
+difficulty in deducing therefrom the great principles of the religion
+which he taught. They _all_ believe him to have been a divinely-inspired
+teacher, and his religion, therefore, to be a revelation of eternal truth.
+They regard him as the only authorized expositor of his own religion, and
+believe that to apply in practice its principles as promulgated by him,
+and as exemplified in his life, is all that is essential to constitute a
+Christian, according to his testimony, (Matt. 7:24,)--"_Whosoever heareth
+these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man
+which built his house upon a rock,_" &c. Hence they believe that to make
+it essential to Christianity to assent to all the opinions expressed by
+certain men, good men though they were, who wrote either before or after
+his time, involves a denial of the words of Christ. They believe that,
+according to his teachings, true religion consists in purity of heart,
+holiness of life, and not in opinions; that _Christianity, as it existed
+in the mind of Christ, is a life rather than a belief_.
+
+This class of persons agree in the opinion that _he only is a Christian
+who has the spirit of Christ_; that all such as these are members of his
+church, and that it is composed of none others; therefore that membership
+in the Christian church is not, and cannot, in the nature of things, be
+determined by any human authority. Hence they deem all attempts to render
+the church identical with any outward organizations as utterly futile, not
+warranted by Christ himself, and incompatible with its spiritual
+character. Having no organized society, they have no stations of authority
+or superiority, which they believe to be inconsistent with the Christian
+idea, (Matt. 23:8,)--"But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master,
+even Christ; and all ye are brethren." (Matt. 20:25, 26,)--"Ye know that
+the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are
+great exercise authority upon them. _But it shall not be so among you._"
+
+As might be inferred from the foregoing, they discard all outward
+ordinances as having no place in a spiritual religion the design of which
+is to purify the heart, and the extent of whose influence is to be
+estimated, by its legitimate effects in producing a life of practical
+righteousness, and not by any mere arbitrary sign, which cannot be
+regarded as a certain indication of the degree of spiritual life, and must
+consequently be inefficient and unnecessary.
+
+Their views of worship correspond, as they believe, with the spiritual
+nature of the religion they profess. They believe that true Christian
+worship is independent of time and place; that it has no connection with
+forms, and ceremonies, and external arrangements, any further than these
+are the exponents of a divine life; that it spontaneously arises from the
+pure in heart at all times and in all places: in short, they regard the
+terms _Christian worship_ and _Christian obedience_ as synonymous,
+believing that he gives the highest and only conclusive evidence of
+worshipping the Creator, who exhibits in his life the most perfect
+obedience to his will. These views they consider in perfect harmony with
+the teachings of Jesus, particularly in his memorable conversation with
+the woman of Samaria.
+
+They also agree in the belief that the religion of Christ asserts the
+equality of all men before God; that it confers upon no man, or class of
+men, a monopoly of Heaven's favors; neither does it give to a portion of
+his children any means of knowing his will not common to the race. They
+believe the laws of the soul are so plain that they may be easily
+comprehended by all who sincerely seek to know them, without the
+intervention of any human teacher or expounder. Hence they regard no
+teaching as authoritative but that of the Spirit of God, and reject all
+priesthoods but the universal priesthood which Christianity establishes.
+They believe that every one whose soul is imbued with a knowledge of the
+truth is qualified to be its minister, and it becomes his duty and his
+pleasure, by his every word and action, to preach it to the world. It
+follows, then, that, as Christ prepares and appoints his own ministers,
+and as they receive their commissions only from him, they are accountable
+to him alone for their exercise, and not to any human authority
+whatsoever. They therefore reject all human ordinations, appointments, or
+control, or any designation by man of an order of men to preach the
+gospel, as invasions of his rightful prerogative.
+
+Amongst the prevailing sins, against which they feel bound to bear
+testimony, are slavery and war; and it is alleged as the main reason why
+many of them have disconnected themselves from the professedly Christian
+denominations to which they belonged, that those bodies gave their
+sanction to those anti-Christian practices. They believe slaveholding to
+be sinful under all circumstances, and that, therefore, it should be
+immediately abandoned. They believe, not only that national wars are
+forbidden by Christianity, but that the taking of human life for any
+purpose, by governments or individuals, is incompatible with its spirit. A
+large proportion of them, also, consider all resort to punishment, as a
+penalty for crime, equally inconsistent with the law of love. Hence they
+deem it their duty to withhold their voluntary sanction or support from
+human governments, and all institutions which claim the right to exercise
+powers which they thus regard as unlawful.
+
+In various places, these persons hold meetings on the first day of the
+week, which are conducted consistently with their views of Christian
+freedom and equality. It is understood that the object of thus meeting
+together, is to promote their spiritual welfare. For this purpose, they
+encourage a free interchange of sentiment on religious subjects, without
+any restraint or formality. They have no prescribed exercises, but every
+one is left free to utter his thoughts as he may feel inclined; and even
+those who differ from them in opinion are not only at liberty, but are
+invited, to give expression to their thoughts. They believe this to be the
+only mode of holding religious meetings consistent with the genius of
+their religion, and for an example of like gatherings they refer to those
+of the primitive Christians. They meet on the _first day of the week_, not
+because they believe it incumbent to devote that portion of time more than
+any other to objects regarded as peculiarly religious,--for they regard all
+days as equally holy, and equally devoted to the service of the Lord,--but
+merely because they have become habituated to abstain from their ordinary
+occupations on that day, and it is, therefore, the most convenient time
+for them to assemble.
+
+The practical acknowledgment of the moral equality of the sexes is another
+distinguishing characteristic of these people. They regard woman as
+equally qualified to hold any station in society from which she is not
+excluded by her physical disability; and that she alone must decide for
+herself what position she shall occupy, or what duties in the community
+she shall perform; the control of woman never, as they conceive, having
+been delegated to man by the Creator. Therefore they consider her equal in
+all mental and intellectual pursuits. And when they associate together for
+religious and benevolent objects, they exercise the various duties
+pertaining to them indiscriminately.
+
+The number of persons who hold a similarity of opinions on these subjects
+cannot be known. It is, at present, comparatively small, but rapidly
+increasing.
+
+
+
+
+
+JUMPERS.
+
+
+Persons so called from the practice of jumping during the time allotted
+for religious worship. This singular practice began, it is said, in the
+western part of Wales, about the year 1760. It was soon after defended by
+Mr. William Williams, (the Welsh poet, as he is sometimes called,) in a
+pamphlet, which was patronized by the abettors of jumping in religious
+assemblies. Several of the more zealous itinerant preachers encouraged the
+people to cry out, "_Goganiant_," (the Welsh word for _glory_,) "Amen,"
+&c. &c., to put themselves in violent agitations, and, finally, to jump
+until they were quite exhausted, so as often to be obliged to fall down on
+the floor, or the field, where this kind of worship was held.
+
+
+
+
+
+BAPTISTS.
+
+
+This denomination of Christians holds that a personal profession of faith
+and an immersion in water are essential to baptism. There are several
+bodies of Baptists in the United States, which will be found under their
+different names. The _Regular_ or _Associated Baptists_ are, in sentiment,
+moderate Calvinists, and form the most numerous body of Baptists in this
+country.
+
+The Baptists being Independent, or Congregational, in their form of church
+government, their ecclesiastical assemblies disclaim all right to
+interfere with the concerns of individual churches. Their public meetings,
+by delegation from different churches, are held for the purpose of mutual
+advice and improvement, but not for the general government of the whole
+body.
+
+The following Declaration of Faith, with the Church Covenant, was recently
+published by the Baptist Convention of New Hampshire, and is believed to
+express, with little variation, the general sentiments of the Regular or
+Associated Baptists:--
+
+
+    "I. OF THE SCRIPTURES.--We believe the Holy Bible was written by
+    men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly
+    instruction; that it has God for its Author, salvation for its
+    end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter; that
+    it reveals the principles by which God will judge us, and
+    therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true
+    centre of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all
+    human conduct, creeds, and opinions, should be tried.
+
+    "II. OF THE TRUE GOD.--That there is one, and only one, true and
+    living God, whose name is JEHOVAH, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of
+    heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness; worthy of
+    all possible honor, confidence, and love; revealed under the
+    personal and relative distinctions of the Father, the Son, and the
+    Holy Ghost equal in every divine perfection, and executing
+    distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
+
+    "III. OF THE FALL OF MAN.--That man was created in a state of
+    holiness, under the law of his Maker, but by voluntary
+    transgression fell from that holy and happy state; in consequence
+    of which all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint, but
+    choice; being by nature utterly void of that holiness required by
+    the law of God, wholly given to the gratification of the world, of
+    Satan, and of their own sinful passions, and therefore under just
+    condemnation to eternal ruin, without defence or excuse.
+
+    "IV. OF THE WAY OF SALVATION.--That the salvation of sinners is
+    wholly of grace, through the mediatorial offices of the Son of
+    God, who took upon him our nature, yet without sin; honored the
+    law by his personal obedience, and made atonement for our sins by
+    his death; being risen from the dead, he is now enthroned in
+    heaven; and uniting in his wonderful person the tenderest
+    sympathies with divine perfections, is every way qualified to be a
+    suitable, a compassionate, and an all-sufficient Savior.
+
+    "V. OF JUSTIFICATION.--That the great gospel blessing which Christ,
+    of his fulness, bestows on such as believe in him, is
+    justification; that justification consists in the pardon of sin
+    and the promise of eternal life, on principles of righteousness;
+    that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of
+    righteousness which we have done, but solely through his own
+    redemption and righteousness; that it brings us into a state of
+    most blessed peace and favor with God, and secures every other
+    blessing needful for time and eternity.
+
+    "VI. OF THE FREENESS OF SALVATION.--That the blessings of salvation
+    are made free to all by the gospel; that it is the immediate duty
+    of all to accept them by a cordial and obedient faith; and that
+    nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth,
+    except his own voluntary refusal to submit to the Lord Jesus
+    Christ; which refusal will subject him to an aggravated
+    condemnation.
+
+    "VII. OF GRACE IN REGENERATION.--That, in order to be saved, we
+    must be regenerated, or born again; that regeneration consists in
+    giving a holy disposition to the mind, and is effected in a manner
+    above our comprehension or calculation, by the power of the Holy
+    Spirit, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; and
+    that its proper evidence is found in the holy fruit which we bring
+    forth to the glory of God.
+
+    "VIII. OF GOD'S PURPOSE OF GRACE.--That election is the gracious
+    purpose of God, according to which he regenerates, sanctifies, and
+    saves sinners; that, being perfectly consistent with the free
+    agency of man, it comprehends all the means in connection with the
+    end; that it is a most glorious display of God's sovereign
+    goodness, being infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable; that it
+    utterly excludes boasting, and promotes humility, prayer, praise,
+    trust in God, and active imitation of his free mercy; that it
+    encourages the use of means in the highest degree; that it is
+    ascertained by its effects in all who believe the gospel; is the
+    foundation of Christian assurance; and that to ascertain it with
+    regard to ourselves, demands and deserves our utmost diligence.
+
+    "IX. OF THE PERSEVERANCE OF SAINTS.--That such only are real
+    believers as endure unto the end; that their persevering
+    attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them
+    from superficial professors; that a special Providence watches
+    over their welfare; and they are kept by the power of God through
+    faith unto salvation.
+
+    "X. HARMONY OF THE LAW AND GOSPEL.--That the law of God is the
+    eternal and unchangeable rule of his moral government; that it is
+    holy, just, and good; and that the inability which the Scriptures
+    ascribe to fallen men to fulfil its precepts, arises entirely from
+    their love of sin; to deliver them from which, and to restore
+    them, through a Mediator, to unfeigned obedience to the holy law,
+    is one great end of the gospel, and of the means of grace
+    connected with the establishment of the visible church.
+
+    "XI. OF A GOSPEL CHURCH.--That a visible church of Christ is a
+    congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the
+    faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the ordinances of
+    Christ; governed by his laws; and exercising the gifts, rights,
+    and privileges, invested in them by his word; that its only proper
+    officers are bishops, or pastors, and deacons, whose
+    qualifications, claims, and duties, are defined in the Epistles to
+    Timothy and Titus.
+
+    "XII. OF BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S SUPPER.--That Christian baptism is
+    the immersion of a believer in water, in the name of the Father,
+    Son, and Spirit; to show forth, in a solemn and beautiful emblem,
+    our faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its
+    purifying power; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a
+    church relation, and, to the Lord's supper, in which the members
+    of the church, by the use of bread and wine, are to commemorate
+    together the dying love of Christ,--preceded always by solemn
+    self-examination.
+
+    "XIII. OF THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH.--That the first day of the week is
+    the Lord's day, or Christian Sabbath, and is to be kept sacred to
+    religious purposes, by abstaining from all secular labor and
+    recreations; by the devout observance of all the means of grace,
+    both private and public; and by preparation for that rest which
+    remaineth for the people of God.
+
+    "XIV. OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT.--That civil government is of divine
+    appointment, for the interests of good order of human society; and
+    that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored,
+    and obeyed, except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus
+    Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the Prince of
+    the kings of the earth.
+
+    "XV. OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED.--That there is a radical and
+    essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that
+    such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord
+    Jesus, and sanctified by the Spirit of our God, are truly
+    righteous in his esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence
+    and unbelief are in his sight wicked, and under the curse; and
+    this distinction holds among men both in and after death.
+
+    "XVI. OF THE WORLD TO COME.--That the end of this world is
+    approaching; that, at the last day, Christ will descend from
+    heaven, and raise the dead from the grave to final retribution;
+    that a solemn separation will then take place; that the wicked
+    will be adjudged to endless punishment, and the righteous to
+    endless joy; and that this judgment will fix forever the final
+    state of men, in heaven or hell, on principles of righteousness.
+
+    "CHURCH COVENANT.--having been, as we trust, brought by divine
+    grace to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ, and to give up ourselves
+    wholly to him, we do now solemnly and joyfully covenant with each
+    other, TO WALK TOGETHER IN HIM WITH BROTHERLY LOVE, to his glory
+    as our common Lord. We do, therefore, in his strength engage,
+
+    "That we will exercise a mutual care, as members one of another,
+    to promote the growth of the whole body in Christian knowledge,
+    holiness, and comfort; to the end that we may stand perfect and
+    complete in all the will of God.
+
+    "That, to promote and secure this object, we will uphold the
+    public worship of God and the ordinances of his house, and hold
+    constant communion with each other therein; that we will
+    cheerfully contribute of our property for the support of the poor,
+    and for the maintenance of a faithful ministry of the gospel among
+    us.
+
+    "That we will not omit closet and family religion at home, nor
+    allow ourselves in the too common neglect of the great duty of
+    religiously training up our children, and those under our care,
+    with a view to the service of Christ and the enjoyment of heaven.
+
+    "That we will walk circumspectly in the world, that we may win
+    their souls; remembering that God hath not given us the spirit of
+    fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind, that we are
+    the light of the world and the salt of the earth, and that a city
+    set on a hill cannot be hid.
+
+    "That we will frequently exhort, and, if occasion shall require,
+    admonish, one another, according to Matthew 18th, in the spirit of
+    meekness; considering ourselves, lest we also be tempted; and
+    that, as in baptism, we have been buried with Christ, and raised
+    again, so there is on us a special obligation henceforth, to walk
+    in newness of life.
+
+    "And may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our
+    Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of
+    the everlasting covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do
+    his will; working in us that which is well pleasing in his sight,
+    through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. AMEN."
+
+    (See Matt. 3:5, 6, 11, 13-16; 20:22, 23; 21:25; 28:19. Mark 1:4,
+    5, 8, 9, 10; 11:30; 16:15, 16. Luke 3:3, 7, 12, 16, 21; 7:29, 30;
+    12:50; 20:4. John 1:28, 31, 33; 3:22, 23; 4:1, 2. Acts 1:5,2 2;
+    2:38, 41; 8: 12, 13, 36-39; 9:18; 10:37, 47, 48; 13:24; 16:15, 33;
+    18:8, 25; 19:4, 5; 22:16. Rom. 6:3, 4. 1 Cor. 1: 13-17; 10:2;
+    12:13; 15:29. Gal. 3:27. Eph. 4:5. Col. 2:12. Heb. 6:2. 1 Pet.
+    3:31.)
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+    "This denomination claims an immediate descent from the apostles,
+    and asserts that the constitution of their churches is from the
+    authority of Jesus Christ himself, and his immediate successors.
+    Many others, indeed, deduce their origin as a sect from much later
+    times, and affirm that they first sprang up in Germany in the
+    sixteenth century. This denomination of Christians is
+    distinguished from others by their opinions respecting the mode
+    and subjects of baptism. Instead of administering the ordinance by
+    sprinkling or pouring water, they maintain that it ought to be
+    administered only by immersion: such, they insist, is the meaning
+    of the Greek word _baptizo_, to wash or dip, so that a command to
+    baptize is a command to immerse. They also defend their practice
+    from the phrase _buried with him in baptism_, from the first
+    administrators' repairing to rivers, and the practice of the
+    primitive church, after the apostles.
+
+    "With regard to the _subjects_ of baptism, this denomination
+    alleges that it ought not to be administered to children or
+    infants at all, nor to adults in general; but to those only who
+    profess repentance for sin and faith in Christ. Our Savior's
+    commission to his apostles, by which Christian baptism was
+    instituted, is to _go and teach all nations, baptizing them_, &c.,
+    that is, not to baptize all they meet with, but first to examine
+    and instruct them, and whoever will receive instruction, to
+    baptize in the _name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
+    Holy Ghost_. This construction of the passage is confirmed by
+    another passage--'_Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel
+    to every creature; he that believeth, and is baptized, shall be
+    saved._' To such persons, and to such only, this denomination
+    says, baptism was administered by the apostles and the immediate
+    disciples of Christ; for those who were baptized in primitive
+    times are described as repenting of their sins, and believing in
+    Christ. (See Acts 2:38, 8:37, and other passages of Scripture.)
+
+    "They further insist that all positive institutions depend
+    entirely upon the will and declaration of the institutor; and
+    that, therefore, reasoning by analogy from previous abrogated
+    rites is to be rejected, and the express commands of Christ
+    respecting the mode and subjects of baptism ought to be our only
+    rule.
+
+    "They observe that the meaning of the word _baptizo_ signifies
+    immersion or dipping only; that John baptized in Jordan; that he
+    chose a place where there was _much_ water; that Jesus came up
+    _out of_ the water; that Philip and the eunuch went down both
+    _into_ the water; that the terms _washing_, _purifying_, _burying
+    in baptism_, so often mentioned in Scripture, allude to this mode;
+    that immersion _only_ was the practice of the apostles and the
+    first Christians; and that it was only laid aside from the love of
+    novelty, and the coldness of our climate. These positions, they
+    think, are so clear from Scripture, and the history of the church,
+    that they stand in need of but little argument to support them."
+
+
+There are some interesting facts connected with the history of the
+Baptists in America. In 1631, the Rev. Roger Williams, who had been a
+clergyman of the church of England, but, disliking its formalities,
+seceded, and ranged himself with the Nonconformists, fled to America from
+the persecutions which then raged in England. The great principles of
+civil and religious liberty were not then understood in the western world,
+and, as Mr. Williams was a man of intrepid firmness in advocating those
+principles, we are not surprised at the excitement and opposition which
+his doctrines awakened. He settled first in Salem, New England, the
+magistracy of which condemned his opinions, and subsequently sentenced him
+to banishment. Under that cruel act of legislation, he was driven from his
+family, in the midst of winter, to seek for refuge among the wild Indians.
+After great sufferings, having conciliated the Indians, he commenced the
+formation of a colony, to which he gave the name of _Providence_, situate
+in Rhode Island, a name which it still bears.
+
+Thus he became the founder of a new order of things. Several of his
+friends afterwards joined him, and in that infant settlement he sustained
+the twofold character of minister and lawgiver. He formed a constitution
+on the broad principle of civil and religious liberty, and thus became the
+first ruler that recognized equal rights. Nearly a century and a half
+after that, when the Americans achieved their independence, thirteen of
+the states united in forming a government for themselves, and adopted that
+principle; thus America became, what the little colony of Providence had
+been before, a refuge for the persecuted for conscience sake. It has been
+well observed that the millions in both hemispheres who are now rejoicing
+in the triumph of liberal principles, should unite in erecting a monument
+to perpetuate the memory of ROGER WILLIAMS, the first governor who held
+liberty of conscience, as well as of person, to be the birthright of man.
+
+In the year 1639, Mr. Williams formed the _first_ Baptist church in
+America, at Providence. Throughout succeeding years, few changes,
+comparatively, were experienced in the movements of the Baptist
+denomination on this vast continent. Baptist churches multiplied
+exceedingly, until they assumed a leading attitude among the religious
+communities of America. They have amply provided for an efficient and
+learned ministry, and the extraordinary revivals with which they have been
+frequently favored, invest them with a moral strength and glory which
+cannot be contemplated but with astonishment and admiration.
+
+
+
+
+
+ANABAPTISTS.
+
+
+Those who maintain that baptism ought always to be performed by immersion.
+The word is compounded of _ana_ "new," and _baptistes_, "a Baptist,"
+signifying that those who have been baptized in their infancy, ought to be
+baptized _anew_. It is a word which has been indiscriminately applied to
+Christians of very different principles and practices. The English and
+Dutch Baptists do not consider the word as at all applicable to their
+sect, because those persons whom they baptize they consider as never
+having been baptized before, although they have undergone what they term
+the ceremony of sprinkling in their infancy.
+
+
+
+
+
+FREE-WILL BAPTISTS.
+
+
+The first church gathered, of this order, was in New Durham, N. H., in the
+year 1780, principally by the instrumentality of Elder Benjamin Randall,
+who then resided in that town. Soon after, several branches were collected
+which united with this church; and several preachers, of different
+persuasions, were brought to see the beauties of a _free salvation_, and
+united as fellow-laborers with Elder Randall.
+
+They believe that, by the death of Christ, salvation was provided for all
+men; that, through faith in Christ, and sanctification of the
+Spirit,--though by nature entirely sinners,--all men may, if they improve
+every means of grace in their power, become new creatures in this life,
+and, after death, enjoy eternal happiness; that all who, having actually
+sinned, die in an unrenewed state, will suffer eternal misery.
+
+Respecting the divine attributes of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they
+in substance agree with other Orthodox Christians. They hold the holy
+Scriptures to be their only rule of religious faith and practice, to the
+exclusion of all written creeds, covenants, rules of discipline, or
+articles of organization. They consider that elders and deacons are the
+officers of the church designed in the Scriptures, and maintain that
+piety, and a call to the work, are the essential qualifications of a
+minister, without regard to literary attainments.
+
+
+
+
+
+SEVENTH-DAY BAPTISTS, OR SABBATARIANS,
+
+
+Are those who keep the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath. They are to
+be found principally, if not wholly, among the Baptists. They object to
+the reasons which are generally alleged for keeping the first day, and
+assert that the change from the seventh to the first was effected by
+Constantine, on his conversion to Christianity, A. D. 321. The three
+following propositions contain a summary of their principles as to this
+article of the Sabbath, by which they stand distinguished:--
+
+1. That God hath required the seventh or last day of every week to be
+observed by mankind, universally, for the weekly Sabbath.
+
+2. That this command of God is perpetually binding on man till time shall
+be no more.
+
+3. That this sacred rest of the seventh-day Sabbath is not by divine
+authority changed from the seventh and last to the first day of the week,
+and that the Scripture doth nowhere require the observation of any other
+day of the week for the weekly Sabbath, but the seventh day only. They
+hold, in common with other Christians, the distinguishing doctrines of
+Christianity.
+
+
+
+
+
+SIX-PRINCIPLE BAPTISTS.
+
+
+This appellation is given to those who hold the imposition of hands,
+subsequent to baptism, and generally on the admission of candidates into
+the church, as an indispensable prerequisite for church membership and
+communion. They support their peculiar principle chiefly from Heb. 6:1,
+2--"Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go
+on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from
+dead works, and faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptism, and of
+laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal
+judgment," As these two verses contain six distinct propositions, one of
+which is the laying on of hands, these brethren have, from thence,
+acquired the name of _Six-Principle Baptists_, to distinguish them from
+others, whom they sometimes call _Five-Principle Baptists_. They have
+fourteen churches in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
+
+
+
+
+
+QUAKER BAPTISTS, OR KEITHIANS.
+
+
+A party from the society of Friends, in Pennsylvania, separated in the
+year 1691. It was headed by the famous GEORGE KEITH. They practised
+baptism, and received the Lord's supper, but retained the language, dress,
+and manners, of the Friends, or Quakers.
+
+
+
+
+
+PEDOBAPTISTS.
+
+
+Are those who practise the baptism of children, without regard to personal
+faith.
+
+Pedobaptists, in common with all others, claim for their practice an
+apostolical origin; and, although they differ much in theological
+opinions, in forms of church government, and modes of worship, yet they
+all adopt substantially the same mode of reasoning in their defence of
+pedobaptism. They say that the church, under both the old and new
+dispensations, has ever been the same, although under a different form;
+that infants, as well as parents, were admitted into the church under the
+earlier dispensations, the rite of circumcision being the sign of their
+introduction, into it; and that the Christian dispensation (as the Savior
+came not to destroy, but to fulfil, the law and the prophets) did not
+annul or abridge any of the privileges of the church that were possessed
+under the dispensations of former times. But as the right of children, who
+are bound to their parents by the strongest natural tie, to be solemnly
+and visibly dedicated to God, and to come within the pale and under the
+watch of the church, is a blessing and a privilege, we are entitled to ask
+for the passages in the New Testament which require its abandonment. We
+take it for granted, that children are to be publicly dedicated to God,
+now, as in former times, unless some positive directions can be shown to
+the contrary. It appearing, therefore, that children may be dedicated to
+God, by their parents, in some public and visible way, and there remaining
+no outward ceremony, under the Christian dispensation, suitable to that
+purpose, but baptism, we infer that baptism is designed to take the place
+of circumcision, and that children may be baptized. And these views are
+thought to be encouraged by the affectionate saying of Christ, "Suffer
+little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the
+kingdom of God." (Mark 10:14.)
+
+A second argument in favor of infant baptism is derived from the repeated
+accounts, in the Acts, of the baptism of whole families. The families
+referred to are those of Lydia, a seller of purple in the city of
+Thyatira, of the jailer, in the same city, and of Cornelius, the
+centurion, of Caesarea. Instances of this kind are not to be considered as
+conclusively proving the Scripture authority of infant baptism of
+themselves; but they form a presumptive argument, in its favor, of great
+weight.
+
+And, further, it may be shown, from ecclesiastical history, that the
+baptism of infants was practised in the time of the primitive Christians.
+This being the fact, the conclusion seems to follow irresistibly, that
+they received the practice from the apostles, and that it was, therefore,
+known and recognized by the Savior himself; and, if it were known and
+recognized by him, or even introduced, subsequently and solely, by those
+he commissioned, it must be received, in either case, as the will of
+Christ, and as a law of the Christian dispensation.
+
+Again, they say that the particular mode of baptism can not be determined
+from the meaning of the word _baptizo_, which may mean either to immerse
+or to lave, according to the particular connection in which it is found.
+(See Mark 7:4. Heb. 9:10.)
+
+None of the accounts of baptism, which are given in the New Testament,
+necessarily imply that it was performed by immersion. It is true the
+Savior and the eunuch, when they were baptized, went up out of, or rather
+_from_, the water, but the inference that they went _under_ the water,
+which is sometimes drawn from these expressions, does not appear to be
+sufficiently warranted.
+
+The circumstances attending the baptism of the jailer and his family are
+of such a nature as to render the opinion of its being performed by
+immersion improbable. The baptism was evidently performed at midnight, and
+within the limits of the prison,--a time and a situation evidently implying
+some other mode than plunging. Similar views will hold in respect to the
+baptism of the three thousand at the season of Pentecost.
+
+As, therefore, there are no passages of Scripture which positively require
+immersion, but various scriptural considerations against it, besides its
+being always inconvenient, and not unfrequently impracticable, the
+Pedobaptists have ever thought it fit and requisite, as a general rule, to
+practise baptism by sprinkling or laving.
+
+The Greek church, in all its branches,--whether in the frozen regions of
+Siberia, or in the torrid zone,--practise trine immersion. All Pedobaptists
+require of adults, who seek for baptism, a personal profession of their
+faith, and so far agree with the Baptists. They also, with the Baptists,
+allow immersion to be valid baptism; but, in opposition to them, the
+Baptists deny that any other mode of administering this rite is valid.
+(See Exod. 14:22. Isa. 44:3. Matt. 3:11; 19:13. Mark 7:4. Acts 2:39; 19:2,
+5. Rom. 4:11; 11:17. 1 Cor. 7:14; 10:2. Eph. chap. 2. Heb. 9:10, 13, 14.)
+
+The term _Pedobaptist_ is derived from two Greek words--_pais_, a child,
+and _baptismos_, baptism. This mode of baptism is practised by nearly the
+whole Christian world, except the Baptists and Friends.
+
+
+
+
+
+ANTI-PEDOBAPTISTS.
+
+
+A name given to those who object to the baptism of infants. The word is
+derived from the Greek words signifying _against_, _a child_, and _I
+baptize_.
+
+
+
+
+
+UNITARIANS.
+
+
+Those Christians who are usually designated by this name in the United
+States, and who are also called _Liberal Christians_, are mostly
+Congregationalists, and are found principally in New England.
+
+They acknowledge no other rule of faith and practice than the holy
+Scriptures, which they consider it the duty of every man to search for
+himself, prayerfully, and with the best exercise of his understanding.
+They reject all creeds of human device, as generally unjust to the truth
+of God and the mind of man, tending to produce exclusiveness, bigotry, and
+divisions, and at best of doubtful value. They regard, however, with favor
+the earliest creed on record, commonly called the Apostles', as
+approaching nearest to the simplicity of the gospel, and as imbodying the
+grand points of the Christian faith.
+
+They adopt the words of St. Paul, (1 Cor. 8:6,) "_To us there is but one
+God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus
+Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him._" They make great account
+of the doctrine of God's paternal character and government, and
+continually set it forward as the richest source of consolation, and the
+most powerful motive to repentance and improvement.
+
+Receiving and trusting in Christ as their Lord, Teacher, Mediator,
+Intercessor, Savior, they hold in less esteem than many other sects, nice
+theological questions and speculations concerning his precise rank, and
+the nature of his relation to God. They feel that by honoring him as _the
+Son of God_, they honor him as he desired to be honored; and that by
+obeying and imitating him, they in the best manner show their love.
+
+They believe that the Holy Ghost is not a distinct person in the Godhead,
+but that _power of God_, that _divine influence_, by which Christianity
+was established through miraculous aids, and by which its spirit is still
+shed abroad in the hearts of men.
+
+They advocate the most perfect toleration. They regard CHARITY as the
+crowning Christian grace,--the end of the commandment of God. They consider
+a pure and lofty morality as not only inseparable from true religion, but
+the most acceptable service that man can render to his Maker, and the only
+indubitable evidence of a believing heart.
+
+They believe that sin is its own punishment, and virtue its own rewarder;
+that the moral consequences of a man's good or evil conduct go with him
+into the future life, to afford him remorse or satisfaction; that God will
+be influenced in all his dealings with the soul by mercy and justice,
+punishing no more severely than the sinner deserves, and always for a
+benevolent end. Indeed, the greater part of the denomination are
+Restorationists.
+
+Unitarians consider that, besides the Bible, all the Ante-Nicene
+fathers--that is, all Christian writers for three centuries after the birth
+of Christ--give testimony in their favor, against the modern popular
+doctrine of the Trinity. As for _antiquity_, it is their belief that it is
+really on their side.
+
+In the _First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians_, which was written
+towards the close of the first century,--and the evidence for the
+genuineness of which is stronger than for that of any other of the
+productions attributed to the apostolical fathers,--the supremacy of the
+Father is asserted or implied throughout, and Jesus is spoken of in terms
+mostly borrowed from the Scriptures. He is once called the "sceptre of the
+majesty of God;" and this highly-figurative expression is the most exalted
+applied to him in the whole Epistle.
+
+Justin Martyr, the most distinguished of the ancient fathers of the
+church, who flourished in the former part of the second century, and whose
+writings (with the exception of those attributed to the _apostolic_
+fathers) are the earliest Christian records next to the New Testament,
+expressly says, "We worship God, the Maker of the universe, offering up to
+him prayers and thanks. But, assigning to Jesus, who came to teach us
+these things, and for this end was born, the '_second place_' after God,
+we not without reason honor him."
+
+The germ and origin of the doctrine of the Trinity, the Unitarians find in
+the speculations of those Christianized philosophers of the second
+century, whose minds were strongly tinctured with the Platonic philosophy,
+combined with the _emanation system_, as taught at Alexandria, and held by
+Philo. From this time they trace the gradual formation of the doctrine
+through successive ages down to Athanasius and Augustine; the former of
+whom, A. D. 362, was the first to insist upon the equality of the Holy
+Ghost with the Father and the Son; and the latter, about half a century
+afterwards, was the first to insist upon their numerical unity.
+
+In all ages of the church, there have been many learned and pious men who
+have rejected the Trinity as unscriptural and irrational. The first
+attempt, at the council of Nice, to establish and make universal the
+Trinitarian creed, caused disturbances and dissensions in the church,
+which continued for ages, and produced results the most deplorable to
+every benevolent mind which exalts _charity_ over faith.
+
+Soon after the reformation, the Unitarian faith was avowed by Martin
+Cellarius, who was then finishing his studies at Wittenberg, where Luther
+was professor. In 1546, the Unitarian opinions made a considerable
+movement in Italy, and several persons of learning and eminence were put
+to death. In 1553, Michael Servetus was burned for this heresy, at Geneva.
+The elder Socinus made his escape from this persecution, and spread his
+views throughout several countries of Europe, more particularly in Poland,
+where a large part of the Reformed clergy embraced them, and were
+separated, in 1565, from the communion of the Calvinists and Lutherans.
+
+In England, the number of Unitarians was considerable, according to
+Strype, as early as 1548; and in 1550, he represents the Unitarian
+doctrine as spreading so fast that the leading Churchmen were alarmed, and
+"thought it necessary to suppress its expression by rigid measures." These
+"rigid measures," such as imprisonment and burning, were successful for a
+time. But afterwards, the "heresy" gained new and able supporters, such as
+Biddle, Firmin, Dr. S. Clarke, Dr. Lardner, Whiston, Emlyn, Sir Isaac
+Newton, &c., and has been spreading to this day.
+
+In the north of Ireland, the Unitarians compose several presbyteries.
+There are also congregations of Unitarians in Dublin, and in other
+southern cities of the kingdom.
+
+In Scotland, there are chapels of this character in Edinburgh, Glasgow,
+and other principal places.
+
+In the United States, Unitarian opinions were not prevalent till towards
+the close of the last century. Since that time, however, they have
+advanced rapidly, and have been embraced by some of the wisest and best
+men in the land.
+
+Of late years, the Congregational Unitarians have generally abstained from
+controversy, in the United States. They have, however, published and
+circulated extensively a large number of tracts, of a doctrinal and
+practical character. They have at the present time assumed a _positive_
+condition, gained a strong and permanent hold amongst the Christian sects,
+and are manifesting new signs of vitality and usefulness.
+
+The following proof-texts are some of those upon which the Unitarians rest
+their belief in the inferiority of the Son to the Father:--John 8:17, 18.
+John 17:3. Acts 10:38 1 Tim. 2:5. 1 John 4:14. Rom. 8:34 1 Cor. 11:3. John
+10:29. John 14:28. Matt. 19:17. John 17:21. John 20:17. 1 Cor. 8:5, 6.
+John 10:25; 7:16, 17, 8:28; 5:19, 20; 8:49, 50. Matt. 20:23. John 6:38,
+57; 5:30. Mark 13:32. Luke 6:12. John 11:41, 42. Matt. 27:46. Acts
+2:22-24. Phil. 2:11. Col. 1:15. Rev. 3:14. Heb. 3:3. Matt. 12:18. Luke
+2:52.
+
+
+
+
+
+BROWNISTS.
+
+
+A denomination which sprung up in England towards the close of the
+sixteenth century. They derive their name from their leader, Robert Brown.
+
+This denomination did not differ in point of doctrine from the church of
+England, or from the other Puritans; but they apprehended, according to
+Scripture, that every church ought to be confined within the limits of a
+single congregation, and that the government should be democratical. They
+maintained the discipline of the church of England to be Popish and
+antichristian, and all her ordinances and sacraments invalid. Hence they
+forbade their people to join with them in prayer, in hearing the word, or
+in any part of public worship. They not only renounced communion with the
+church of England, but with all other churches, except such as were of the
+same model.
+
+
+
+
+
+PURITANS.
+
+
+This name was given to a party which appeared in England in the year 1565,
+who opposed the liturgy and ceremonies of the church of England.
+
+They acquired this denomination from their professed design to establish a
+purer form of worship and discipline.
+
+Those who were first styled _Puritans_ were Presbyterians, but the term
+was afterwards applied to others who differed from the church of England.
+
+Those who separated from the church of England were also styled
+_Dissenters_.
+
+
+
+
+
+BOURIGNONISTS.
+
+
+The followers of Antoinette Bourignon, a lady in France, who pretended to
+particular inspirations. She was born at Lisle, in 1616. At her birth, she
+was so deformed that it was debated some days in the family whether it was
+not proper to stifle her as a monster; but, her deformity diminishing, she
+was spared, and afterwards obtained such a degree of beauty, that she had
+her admirers. From her childhood to her old age she had an extraordinary
+turn of mind. She set up for a reformer, and published a great number of
+books, filled with very singular notions; the most remarkable of which are
+entitled "The Light of the World," and "The Testimony of Truth." In her
+confession of faith, she professes her belief in the Scriptures, the
+divinity and atonement of Christ. She believed, also, that man is
+perfectly free to resist or receive divine grace; that God is ever
+unchangeable love towards all his creatures, and does not inflict any
+arbitrary punishment, but that the evils they suffer are the natural
+consequence of sin; that religion consists not in outward forms of
+worship, nor systems of faith, but in an entire resignation to the will of
+God. She held many extravagant notions, among which, it is said, she
+asserted that Adam, before the fall, possessed the principles of both
+sexes, that, in an ecstasy, God represented Adam to her mind in his
+original state, as also the beauty of the first world, and how he had
+drawn from it the chaos; and that every thing was bright, transparent, and
+darted forth life and ineffable glory, with a number of other wild ideas.
+She dressed like a hermit, and travelled through France, Holland, England,
+and Scotland. She died at Franeker, in the province of Frise, October 30,
+1680.
+
+
+
+
+
+JEWS.
+
+
+A complete system of the religious doctrines of the Jews is contained in
+the five books of Moses, their great lawgiver, who was raised up to
+deliver them from their bondage in Egypt, and to conduct them to the
+possession of Canaan, the promised land.
+
+The principal sects among the Jews, in the time of our Savior, were the
+Pharisees, who placed religion in external ceremony; the Sadducees, who
+were remarkable for their incredulity; and the Essenes, who were
+distinguished by an austere sanctity.
+
+The Pharisees and Sadducees are frequently mentioned in the New Testament;
+and an acquaintance with their principles and practices serves to
+illustrate many passages in the sacred history. At present, the Jews have
+two sects--the Caraites, who admit no rule of religion but the law of
+Moses; and the Rabbinists, who add to the laws the tradition of the
+Talmud, a collection of the doctrines and morality of the Jews. The
+expectation of a Messiah is the distinguishing feature of their religious
+system. The word _Messiah_ signifies one anointed, or installed into an
+office by an unction.
+
+Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, in whom all the
+Jewish prophecies are accomplished. The Jews, infatuated with the idea of
+a temporal Messiah, who is to subdue the world, still wait for his
+appearance.
+
+The most remarkable periods in the history of the Jews are the call of
+Abraham, the giving of the law by Moses, their establishment in Canaan
+under Joshua, the building of the temple by Solomon, the division of the
+tribes, their captivity in Babylon, their return under Zerubbabel and the
+destruction of their city and temple by Titus, afterwards emperor, A. D.
+70.
+
+Maimonides, an illustrious rabbi, drew up for the Jews, in the eleventh
+century, a confession of faith, which all Jews admit. It is as follows:--
+
+
+    "1. I believe, with a true and perfect faith, that God is the
+    Creator, whose name be blessed, Governor, and Maker, of all
+    creatures, and that he hath wrought all things, worketh and shall
+    work forever.
+
+    "2. I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Creator, whose name
+    be blessed, is _one_, and that such a unity as in him can be found
+    in none other, and that he alone hath been our God, is, and
+    forever shall be.
+
+    "3. I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Creator, whose name
+    be blessed, is not corporeal, nor to be comprehended with any
+    bodily property, and that there is no bodily essence that can be
+    likened unto him.
+
+    "4. I believe, with a perfect faith, the Creator, whose name be
+    blessed, to be the first and the last, that nothing was before
+    him, and that he shall abide the last forever.
+
+    "5. I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Creator, whose name
+    be blessed, is to be worshipped, and none else.
+
+    "6. I believe, with a perfect faith, that all the words of the
+    prophets are true.
+
+    "7. I believe, with a perfect faith, the prophecies of Moses, our
+    master,-- may he rest in peace;--that he was the father and chief of
+    all wise men that lived before him, or ever shall live after him.
+
+    "8. I believe, with a perfect faith, that all the law which at
+    this day is found in our hands, was delivered by God himself to
+    our master, Moses. God's peace be with him.
+
+    "9. I believe, with a perfect faith, that the same law is never to
+    be changed, nor another to be given us of God, whose name be
+    blessed.
+
+    "10. I believe, with a perfect faith, that God, whose name be
+    blessed, understandeth all the works and thoughts of men, as it is
+    written in the prophets. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he
+    understandeth all their works.
+
+    "11. I believe, with a perfect faith, that God will recompense
+    good to them that keep his commandments, and will punish them who
+    transgress them.
+
+    "12. I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Messiah is yet to
+    come; and, although he retard his coming, yet I will wait for him
+    till he come.
+
+    "13. I believe, with a perfect faith, that the dead shall be
+    restored to life, when it shall seem fit unto God the Creator,
+    whose name be blessed, and memory celebrated, world without end.
+    AMEN."
+
+
+This people constitute one of the most singular and interesting portions
+of mankind. For about three thousand years, they have existed as a
+distinct nation; and, what is remarkable, by far the greatest part of this
+time they have been in bondage and captivity.
+
+The calling of Abraham, the father and founder of this nation; the
+legislation of Moses; the priesthood of Aaron: the Egyptian bondage; the
+conquest of Canaan, and the history of the Jews to the coming of the
+Messiah; their cruel and injurious treatment of this august and innocent
+personage,--are facts which the Scriptures disclose, and with which, it is
+presumed, every reader is well acquainted.
+
+For about eighteen hundred years, this wonderful people have maintained
+their peculiarities of religion, language, and domestic habits, among
+Pagans, Mahometans, and Christians, and have suffered a continued series
+of reproaches, privations, and miseries, which have excited the admiration
+and astonishment of all who have reflected on their condition.
+
+The siege and destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, the Roman general, was
+one of the most awful and distressing scenes that mortals ever witnessed;
+and the details, as given by Josephus, are enough to make humanity
+shudder. During the siege, which lasted nearly five months, upwards of
+eleven hundred thousand Jews perished. John and Simon, the two generals of
+the Hebrews, who were accounted the ringleaders of the rebellious nation,
+with seven hundred of the most beautiful and vigorous of the Jewish youth,
+were reserved to attend the victor's triumphal chariot. The number taken
+captive, during this fatal contest, amounted to ninety-seven thousand;
+many of whom were sent into Syria, and the other provinces, to be exposed
+in public theatres, to fight like gladiators, or to be devoured by wild
+beasts. The number of those destroyed in the whole war, of which the
+taking of the holy city was the bloody and tremendous consummation, is
+computed to have been one million, four hundred and sixty thousand.
+
+In addition to the terrors of the Roman sword, this devoted nation was
+exposed to famine, pestilence, and the implacable fury of contending
+parties among themselves, which all conspired together to make the siege
+of Jerusalem surpass, in horror, every account of any other siege in the
+records of the world.
+
+A small portion, indeed, of this wretched, ruined nation were permitted to
+remain, and establish themselves in Judea, who, by degrees, reorganized a
+regular system of government, which became the centre of Jewish
+operations, not only for those in Judea, but for such as were dispersed in
+other nations. But the yoke of foreign masters was so grievous and
+burdensome, that they were continually restless and impatient; and, in
+consequence of a general revolt under the emperor Adrian, in 134, they
+were a second time slaughtered in multitudes, and were driven to madness
+and despair. Bither, the place of their greatest strength, was compelled
+to surrender, and Barchochba, their leader, who pretended to be the
+Messiah, was slain, and five hundred and eighty thousand fell by the sword
+in battle, besides vast numbers who perished by famine, sickness, fire,
+and other calamities.
+
+Kings have enacted the severest laws against them, and employed the hand
+of executioners to ruin them. The seditious multitudes, by murders and
+massacres, have committed outrages against them, if possible, still more
+violent and tragical. Besides their common share in the sufferings of
+society, they have undergone a series of horrid and unutterable
+calamities, which no other description of men has ever experienced in any
+age, or in any country. Princes and people, Pagans, Mahometans, and
+Christians, disagreeing in so many things, have united in the design of
+exterminating this fugitive and wretched race, but have not succeeded.
+They have been banished, at different times, from France, Germany, Spain,
+Bohemia, Hungary, and England; and from some of these kingdoms they have
+been banished and recalled many times in succession.
+
+The Romans and Spaniards have probably done more than any other nations to
+oppress and destroy this people; and the inquisition has doomed multitudes
+of them to torture and death.
+
+At different times, they were accused of poisoning wells, rivers, and
+reservoirs of water, and, before any proof of these strange and malicious
+charges was produced, the populace in many parts of Germany, Italy, and
+France, have fallen upon them with merciless and murderous severity. At
+one time, the German emperor found it necessary to issue an edict for
+their banishment, to save them from the rage of his exasperated and
+unrestrained subjects.
+
+As the Jews have generally been the _bankers_ and _brokers_ of the people
+among whom they have resided, and have made a show of much wealth, this
+has tempted their avaricious adversaries to impose upon them enormous
+taxes and ruinous fines.
+
+Muley Archy, a prince of one of the Barbary states, by seizing the
+property of a rich Jew, was enabled to dispossess his brother of the
+throne of Morocco.
+
+The English parliament of Northumberland, in 1188, for the support of a
+projected war, assessed the Jews with 60,000 pounds, while only 70,000
+were assessed upon the Christians; which proves either that the Jews were
+immensely rich, or that the parliament was extremely tyrannical.
+
+The English king John was unmercifully severe upon this afflicted people.
+In 1210, regardless of the costly freedom he had sold them, he subjected
+them all, as a body, to a fine of 60,000 marks. The ransom required by
+this same unfeeling king, of a rich Jew of Bristol, was 10,000 marks of
+silver; and on his refusing to pay this ruinous fine, he ordered one of
+his teeth to be extracted every day; to which the unhappy man submitted
+seven days, and on the eighth day he agreed to satisfy the king's
+rapacity. Isaac of Norwich was, not long after, compelled to pay a similar
+fine. But the king, not satisfied with these vast sums extorted from these
+injured Israelites, in the end confiscated all their property, and
+expelled them from the kingdom.
+
+About the beginning of the 16th century, the Jews in Persia were subjected
+to a tax of two millions of gold. Long would be the catalogue of injuries
+of this kind, which this outcast and hated nation has sustained. Numerous
+are the cases in which those who have become deeply in debt to them for
+borrowed money, have procured their banishment, and the confiscation of
+their property, as the readiest way to cancel their demands; and, as they
+have ever been addicted to usurious practices, they have, by this means,
+furnished plausible pretexts to their foes to fleece and destroy them.
+
+The fraternal disposition of this people led them to seek the society of
+each other; and, notwithstanding the wideness of their dispersion, in
+process of time, they, by uniting under different leaders, formed two
+communities of considerable extent, known by the name of the eastern and
+western Jews. The western Jews inhabited Egypt, Judea, Italy, and other
+parts of the Roman empire; the eastern Jews settled in Babylon, Chaldea,
+Persia, &c. The head of the western division was known by the name of the
+patriarch, while he who presided over the eastern Jews, was called the
+prince of the captivity. The office of patriarch was abolished, by
+imperial laws, about 429, from which time the western Jews were solely
+under the rule of the chiefs of their synagogues, whom they called
+primates. But the princes of the captivity had a longer and more splendid
+sway. They resided at Babylon, or Bagdad, and exercised an extensive
+authority over their brethren, as far down as the 12th century. About this
+period, a Jewish historian asserts that he found, at Bagdad, the prince of
+the captivity, lineally descended from David, and permitted, by the
+caliph, to exercise the rights of sovereignty over the Jews from Syria to
+Indostan.
+
+The existence of a succession of these imaginary potentates, from the
+destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, the Jews have ever been strenuous
+in maintaining, partly to aggrandize their nation, and partly to deprive
+Christians of the benefit of an argument furnished by the prophecy of
+Jacob, concerning the termination of the Jewish polity and independence,
+soon after the coming of the Messiah.
+
+Notwithstanding the world, in general, has shown a spirit of hostility and
+contempt for the remnant of Israel, yet they have found a few, in every
+age, who, either from motives of policy or justice, have treated them with
+kindness and respect. The first Mahometan caliphs, a number of the Roman
+pontiffs, and some of the Asiatic and European sovereigns, have shown them
+friendship and protection. Don Solomon, a learned and illustrious Jew of
+Portugal, in the 12th century, was raised to the highest military command
+in that kingdom. Casimir the Great, of Poland, in the 14th century,
+received the Jews as refugees into his kingdom, and granted them extensive
+privileges; and from that time to the present, they have been more
+numerous in that country than in any other in Europe.
+
+For many centuries, this persecuted race found a favorite asylum in
+Holland, and, by their dexterity and success in commerce, became very
+affluent.
+
+Cromwell, seeing the benefit which the Netherlands had derived from this
+money-making and money-lending community, was very desirous to recall them
+to England, from which they had been exiled about three hundred and fifty
+years. The celebrated Manasses Ben Israel had many interviews with the
+Protector; and so high were the expectations of the Israelites, from the
+clemency and authority of this illustrious statesman, that they began to
+look up to him as the promised Messiah. And, although Cromwell's friendly
+proposals, as to their recall, were overruled by the bigoted and
+intolerant policy of the times, yet, from that period, they have found
+favor and protection in England, and have been much more numerous and
+prosperous there than formerly.
+
+In France and the United States, the Jews are admitted to equal rights
+with all other citizens, which cannot be said of any other nations in
+Christendom. In the United States, they have acquired this freedom, of
+course, with all other citizens of this free country. In France, they were
+admitted to it by Bonaparte; and afterwards, in 1807, by his directions,
+they convened a Grand Sanhedrim, consisting, according to ancient custom,
+of 70 members, exclusive of the president. The number and distinction of
+the spectators of this Sanhedrim greatly added to the solemnity of the
+scene. This venerable assembly passed and agreed to various articles
+respecting the Mosaic worship, and their civil and ecclesiastical
+concerns.
+
+The extreme aversion of the Jews to every thing which bears the Christian
+name, and their obstinate attachment to their ancient religion, have, in
+former years, discouraged all attempts to convert them to the Christian
+faith. And not only has their conversion been neglected, but for many
+centuries they have been persecuted, plundered, and destroyed, by those
+who have called themselves Christians; they have not been permitted to
+enter their churches as worshippers, nor their dwellings as guests, nor
+reside in their territories, where Pagans and Mahometans have found an
+unmolested abode. While we, then, blame the blindness and incredulity of
+the descendants of Abraham, let us lament the folly and unkindness of the
+professed disciples of the mild and compassionate Redeemer. But a
+different spirit is now prevailing in many parts of Christendom, and a new
+era, as to the tribes of Israel, seems about to burst upon the world.
+Societies are formed in Europe and America for their benefit, and a
+disposition is said to be increasing, among the Jews, favorable to that
+Messiah and that religion which they have so long hated and rejected.
+
+The history of this people certainly forms a striking evidence of the
+truth of divine revelation. They are a living and perpetual miracle,
+continuing to subsist as a distinct and peculiar race for upwards of three
+thousand years, intermixed among almost all the nations of the world,
+flowing forward in a full and continued stream, like the waters of the
+Rhone, without mixing with the waves of the expansive lake through which
+the passage lies to the ocean of eternity.
+
+
+
+
+
+INDIAN RELIGIONS.
+
+
+    "Lo, the poor Indian! whose untutored mind
+    Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind;
+    His soul proud science never taught to stray
+    Far as the solar walk, or milky way;
+    Yet simple nature to his hope has given,
+    Behind the cloud-topped hill, an humbler heaven--
+    Some safer world in depth of woods embraced,
+    Some happier island in the watery waste,
+    Where slaves once more their native land behold,
+    No fiends torment, no Christians thirst for gold.
+    To be, contents his natural desire;
+    He asks no angel's wing, no seraph's fire;
+    But thinks, admitted to that equal sky,
+    His faithful dog will bear him company."--POPE.
+
+
+The natives of CANADA have an idea of the Supreme Being; and they all, in
+general, agree in looking upon him as the First Spirit, and the Governor
+and the Creator of the world. It is said that almost all the nations of
+the Algonquin language give this Sovereign Being the appellation of the
+Great Hare. Some, again, call him Michabou, and others Atahocan. Most of
+them hold the opinion that he was born upon the waters, together with his
+whole court, entirely composed of four-footed animals, like himself; that
+he formed the earth of a grain of sand, which he took from the bottom of
+the ocean; and that he created man of the bodies of the dead animals.
+There are, likewise, some who mention a god of the waters, who opposed the
+designs of the Great Hare, or, at least, refused to be assisting to him.
+This god is, according to some, the Great Tiger. They have a third, called
+Matcomek, whom they invoke in the winter season.
+
+The Agreskoui of the Hurons, and the Agreskouse of the Iroquois, is, in
+the opinion of these nations, the Sovereign Being, and the god of war.
+These Indians do not give the same original to mankind with the
+Algonquins; they do not ascend so high as the first creation. According to
+them, there were, in the beginning, six men in the world; and, if you ask
+them who placed them there, they answer you, they do not know.
+
+The gods of the Indians have bodies, and live much in the same manner as
+themselves, but without any of those inconveniences to which they are
+subject. The word _spirit_, among them, signifies only a being of a more
+excellent nature than others.
+
+According to the Iroquois, in the third generation there came a deluge, in
+which not a soul was saved; so that, in order to repeople the earth, it
+was necessary to change beasts into men.
+
+Beside the First Being, or the Great Spirit, they hold an infinite number
+of genii, or inferior spirits, both good and evil, who have each their
+peculiar form of worship.
+
+They ascribe to these beings a kind of immensity and omnipresence, and
+constantly invoke them as the guardians of mankind. But they never address
+themselves to the evil genii, except to beg of them to do them no hurt.
+
+They believe in the immortality of the soul, and say that the region of
+their everlasting abode lies so far westward, that the souls are several
+months in arriving at it, and have vast difficulties to surmount. The
+happiness which they hope to enjoy is not believed to be the recompense of
+virtue only; but to have been a good hunter, brave in war, &c., are the
+merits which entitle them to this paradise, which they, and the other
+American natives, figure as a delightful country, blessed with perpetual
+spring, whose forests abound with game, whose rivers swarm with fish,
+where famine is never felt, and uninterrupted plenty shall be enjoyed
+without labor or toil.
+
+The natives of NEW ENGLAND believed not only a plurality of gods, who made
+and governed the several nations of the world, but they made deities of
+every thing they imagined to be great, powerful, beneficial, or hurtful to
+mankind. Yet they conceived an Almighty Being, who dwells in the
+south-west regions of the heavens, to be superior to all the rest. This
+Almighty Being they called Kichtan, who at first, according to their
+tradition, made a man and woman out of a stone, but, upon some dislike,
+destroyed them again; and then made another couple out of a tree, from
+whom descended all the nations of the earth; but how they came to be
+scattered and dispersed into countries so remote from one another, they
+cannot tell. They believed their Supreme God to be a good being, and paid
+a sort of acknowledgment to him for plenty, victory, and other benefits.
+
+But there is another power, which they called _Hobamocko_, (the devil,) of
+whom they stood in greater awe, and worshipped merely from a principle of
+fear.
+
+The immortality of the soul was universally believed among them. When good
+men die, they said, their souls go to Kichtan, where they meet their
+friends, and enjoy all manner of pleasures; when wicked men die, they go
+to Kichtan also, but are commanded to walk away, and wander about in
+restless discontent and darkness forever.
+
+After the coming of the white people, the Indians in NEW JERSEY, who once
+held a plurality of deities, supposed there were only three, because they
+saw people of three kinds of complexion, viz., English, negroes, and
+themselves.
+
+It was a notion generally prevailing among them, that the same God who
+made them did not make us, but that they were created after the white
+people; and it is probable they supposed their God gained some special
+skill by seeing the white people made, and so made them better; for it is
+certain they considered themselves and their methods of living, which they
+said their God expressly prescribed for them, vastly preferable to the
+white people and their methods.
+
+With regard to a future state of existence, many of them imagined that the
+Chichung, i. e., the shadow, or what survives the body, will, at death, go
+southward, to some unknown, but curious place,--will enjoy some kind of
+happiness, such as hunting, feasting, dancing, or the like; and what they
+suppose will contribute much to their happiness in the next state, is,
+that they shall never be weary of these entertainments.
+
+Those who have any notion about rewards and sufferings in a future state,
+seem to imagine that most will be happy, and that in the delightful
+fields, chasing the game, or reposing themselves with their families; but
+the poor, frozen sinners cannot stir one step towards that sunny region.
+Nevertheless, their misery has an end; it is longer or shorter, according
+to the degree of their guilt; and, after its expiation, they are permitted
+to become inhabitants of the Indian paradise.
+
+The Indians of VIRGINIA gave the names of _Okee_, _Quioccos_, or _Kiwasa_,
+to the idol which they worshipped. These names might possibly be so many
+epithets, which they varied according to the several functions they
+ascribed to this deity, or the different notions they might form to
+themselves of it in their religious exercises and common discourses.
+Moreover, they were of opinion that this idol is not one sole being, but
+that there were many more of the same nature, besides the tutelary gods.
+They gave the general name of Quioccos to all these genii, or beings, so
+that the name of Kiwasa might be particularly applied to the idol in
+question.
+
+These savages consecrated chapels and oratories to this deity, in which
+the idol was often represented under a variety of shapes. They even kept
+some of these in the most retired parts of their houses, to whom they
+communicated their affairs, and consulted them upon occasion. In this
+case, they made use of them in the quality of tutelary gods, from whom
+they supposed they received blessings on their families.
+
+The sacerdotal vestment of their priests was like a woman's petticoat
+plaited, which they put about their necks, and tied over the right
+shoulder; but they always kept one arm out, to use it as occasion
+required. This cloak was made round at bottom, and descended no lower than
+the middle of the thigh; it was made of soft, well-dressed skins, with the
+hair outwards.
+
+These priests shaved their heads close, the crown excepted, where they
+left only a little tuft, that reached from the top of the forehead to the
+nape of the neck, and even on the top of the forehead. They here left a
+border of hair, which, whether it was owing to nature, or the stiffness
+contracted by the fat and colors with which they daubed themselves,
+bristled up, and came forward like the corner of a square cap.
+
+The natives of Virginia had a great veneration for their priests; and the
+latter endeavored to procure it, by daubing themselves all over in a very
+frightful manner, dressing themselves in a very odd habit, and tricking up
+their hair after a very whimsical manner. Every thing they said was
+considered as an oracle, and made a strong impression on the minds of the
+people; they often withdrew from society, and lived in woods or in huts,
+far removed from any habitation. They were difficult of access, and did
+not give themselves any trouble about provisions, because care was always
+taken to set food for them near their habitations. They were always
+addressed in cases of great necessity. They also acted in the quality of
+physicians, because of the great knowledge they were supposed to have of
+nature. In fine, peace or war was determined by their voice; nor was any
+thing of importance undertaken without first consulting them.
+
+They had not any stated times nor fixed days, on which they celebrated
+their festivals, but they regulated them only by the different seasons of
+the year; as, for instance, they celebrated one day at the arrival of
+their wild birds, another upon the return of the hunting season, and for
+the maturity of their fruits; but the greatest festival of all was at
+harvest time. They then spent several days in diverting themselves, and
+enjoyed most of their amusements, such as martial dances and heroic songs.
+
+After their return from war, or escaping some danger, they lighted fires,
+and made merry about them, each having his gourd-bottle, or his little
+bell, in his hand. Men, women, and children, often danced in a confused
+manner about these fires. Their devotions, in general, consisted only of
+acclamations of joy, mixed with dances and songs, except in seasons of
+sorrow and affliction, when they were changed into howlings. The priests
+presided at this solemnity, dressed in their sacerdotal ornaments, part of
+which were the gourd-bottle, the petticoat above mentioned, and the
+serpents' or weasels' skins, the tails of which were dexterously tied upon
+their heads like a tiara, or triple crown. These priests began the song,
+and always opened the religious exercise, to which they often added
+incantations, part of the mysteries of which were comprehended in the
+songs. The noise, the gestures, the wry faces, in a word, every thing,
+contributed to render these incantations terrible.
+
+
+
+
+
+DEISTS.
+
+
+The Deists believe in a God, but reject a written revelation from him.
+They are extravagant in their encomiums on natural religion, though they
+differ much respecting its nature, extent, obligation, and importance. Dr.
+Clarke, in his treatise on Deism, divides them into four classes,
+according to the number of articles comprised in their creed.
+
+The first are such as pretend to believe the existence of in eternal,
+infinite, independent, intelligent Being, and who, to avoid the name of
+Epicurean Atheists, teach also that this Supreme Being made the world;
+though, at the same time, they agree with the Epicureans in this--that they
+fancy God does not at all concern himself in the government of the world,
+nor has any regard to, or care of, what is done therein.
+
+The second sort of Deists are those who believe not only the being, but
+also the providence, of God, with respect to the _natural_ world, but who,
+not allowing any difference between moral good and evil, deny that God
+takes any notice of the morally good or evil actions of men; these things
+depending, as they imagine, on the arbitrary constitution of human laws.
+
+A third sort of Deists there are, who, having right apprehensions
+concerning the natural attributes of God and his all-governing providence,
+and some notion of his moral perfections also, yet, being prejudiced
+against the notion of the immortality of the soul, believe that men perish
+entirely at death, and that one generation shall perpetually succeed
+another, without any further restoration or renovation of things.
+
+A fourth and last sort of Deist are such as believe the existence of a
+Supreme Being, together with his providence in the government of the
+world; also all the obligations of natural religion, but so far only as
+these things are discoverable by the light of nature alone, without
+believing any divine revelation.
+
+These, the learned author observes, are the only true Deists; but, as
+their principles would naturally lead them to embrace the Christian
+revelation, he concludes there is now no consistent scheme of Deism in the
+world. Dr. Clarke then adds, "The heathen philosophers--those few of them
+who taught and lived up to the obligations of natural religion--had,
+indeed, a consistent scheme of Deism, as far as it went. But the case is
+not so now; the same scheme is not any longer consistent with its own
+principles; it does not now lead men to embrace revelation, as it then
+taught them to hope for it. Deists in our days, who reject revelation when
+offered to them, are not such men as Socrates and Cicero were; but, under
+pretence of Deism, it is plain they are generally ridiculers of all that
+is truly excellent in natural religion itself. Their trivial and vain
+cavils; their mocking and ridiculing without and before examination; their
+directing the whole stress of objections against particular customs, or
+particular and perhaps uncertain opinions or explications of opinions,
+without at all considering the main body of religion; their loose, vain,
+and frothy discourses; and, above all, their vicious and immoral
+lives,--show, plainly and undeniably, that they are not real Deists, but
+mere Atheists, and, consequently, not capable to judge of the truth of
+Christianity."
+
+Dr. Paley observes, "Of what a revelation discloses to mankind, one, and
+only one, question can be properly asked.--Was it of importance to mankind
+to know or to be better assured of? In this question, when we turn our
+thoughts to the great Christian doctrine of a resurrection from the dead
+and a future judgment, no doubt can be possibly entertained. He who gives
+me riches or honors does nothing; he who even gives me health, does little
+in comparison with that which lays before me just grounds for expecting a
+restoration to life, and a day of account and retribution, which thing
+Christianity hath done for millions."
+
+
+
+
+
+ATHEISTS.
+
+
+The Atheists are those who deny the existence of God; this is called
+_speculative_ Atheism. Professing to believe in God, and yet acting
+contrary to this belief, is called _practical_ Atheism. Absurd and
+irrational as Atheism is, it has had its votaries and martyrs. In the
+seventeenth century, Spinosa was its noted defender. Lucilio Venini, a
+native of Naples also publicly taught Atheism in France; and, being
+convicted of it at Toulouse, was condemned and executed in 1619. It has
+been questioned, however, whether any man ever seriously adopted such a
+principle.
+
+Archbishop Tillotson says, "I appeal to any man of reason, whether any
+thing can be more unreasonable than obstinately to impute an effect to
+chance, which carries in the very face of it all the arguments and
+characters of a wise design and contrivance. Was ever any considerable
+work in which there were required a great variety of parts, and a regular
+and orderly disposition of those parts, done by chance? Will chance fit
+means to ends, and that in ten thousand instances, and not fail in any
+one? How often might a man, after he had jumbled a set of letters in a
+bag, fling them out upon the ground, before they would fall into an exact
+poem! yea, or so much as make a good discourse in prose! And may not a
+little book be as easily made by chance as the great volume of the world?
+How long might a man be in sprinkling colors upon canvass with a careless
+hand, before they would happen to make the exact picture of a man! And is
+a man easier made by chance than his picture? How long might twenty
+thousand blind men, who should be sent out from several remote parts of
+England, wander up and down before they would all meet upon Salisbury
+Plain, and fall into rank and file in the exact order of an army! And yet
+this is much more easy to be imagined than how the innumerable blind parts
+of matter should rendezvous themselves into a world. A man that sees Henry
+the Seventh's chapel at Westminster, might with as good reason maintain
+(yea, with much better, considering the vast difference betwixt that
+little structure and the huge fabric of the world) that it was never
+contrived or built, by any means, but that the stones did by chance grow
+into those curious figures into which they seem to have been cut and
+graven; and that, upon a time, (as tales usually begin,) the materials of
+that building--the stone, mortar, timber, iron, lead, and glass--happily met
+together, and very fortunately ranged themselves into that delicate order
+in which we see them now, so close compacted, that it must be a very great
+chance that parts them again. What would the world think of a man that
+should advance such an opinion as this, and write a book for it? If they
+would do him right, they ought to look upon him as mad; but yet with a
+little more reason than any man can have to say that the world was made by
+chance, or that the first men grew up out of the earth as plants do now.
+For can any thing be more ridiculous, and against all reason, than to
+ascribe the production of men to the first fruitfulness of the earth,
+without so much as one instance and experiment, in any age or history, to
+countenance so monstrous a supposition? The thing is, at first sight, so
+gross and palpable, that no discourse about it can make it more apparent.
+And yet these shameful beggars of principles give this precarious account
+of the original of things; assume to themselves to be the men of reason,
+the great wits of the world, the only cautious and wary persons, that hate
+to be imposed upon, that must have convincing evidence for every thing,
+and can admit of nothing without a clear demonstration of it."
+
+Lord Bacon remarks, that "A _little_ philosophy inclineth a man's mind to
+Atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion;
+for, while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may
+rest in them, and go no farther; but when it beholdeth _the chain_ of them
+confederated and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and
+Deity."
+
+
+
+
+
+PANTHEISTS.
+
+
+Abner Kneeland's "Philosophical Creed," as he terms it, is probably a good
+definition of the views of those who consider the universe as an immense
+animal,
+
+
+    "Whose body nature is, and God the soul."
+
+
+Mr. Kneeland says, "I believe in the existence of a universe of suns and
+planets, among which there is one sun belonging to our planetary system,
+and that other suns, being more remote, are called stars; but that they
+are indeed suns to other planetary systems. I believe that the whole
+universe is NATURE, and that the word NATURE embraces the whole universe,
+and that God and Nature, so far as we can attach any rational idea to
+either, are perfectly synonymous terms. Hence I am not an Atheist, but a
+PANTHEIST; that is, instead of believing there is no God, I believe that,
+in the abstract, all is God; and that all power that is, is in God, and
+that there is no power except that which proceeds from God. I believe that
+there can be no will or intelligence where there is no sense, and no sense
+where there are no organs of sense; and hence sense, will, and
+intelligence, is the effect, and not the cause, of organization. I believe
+in all that logically results from those premises, whether good, bad, or
+indifferent. Hence I believe that God is all in all; and that it is in God
+we live, move, and have our being; and that the whole duty of man consists
+in living as long as he can, and in promoting as much happiness as he can
+while he lives."
+
+
+
+
+
+MAHOMETANS.
+
+
+Mahometanism is a scheme of religion formed and propagated by _Mahomet_,
+who was born at Mecca, A. D. 569, and died at Medina, in 632.
+
+His system is a compound of Paganism, Judaism, and Christianity; and the
+Koran, which is their Bible, is held in great reverence. It is replete
+with absurd representations, and is supposed to have been written by a
+Jew. The most eloquent passage is allowed to be the following, where God
+is introduced, bidding the waters of the deluge to cease:--"Earth, swallow
+up the waters; heaven, draw up those thou hast poured out; immediately the
+waters retreated, the command of God was obeyed, the ark rested on the
+mountains, and these words were heard--'Woe to the wicked!' "
+
+This religion is still professed and adhered to by the Turks and Persians,
+and by several nations in Asia and Africa. The best statistical writers
+estimate the number of Mahometans in the world at about one hundred and
+forty millions.
+
+Mahomet descended from an honorable tribe, and from the noblest family of
+that tribe; yet his original lot was poverty. By his good conduct, he
+obtained the hand of a widow of wealth and respectability, and was soon
+raised to an equality with the richest people in Mecca.
+
+Soon after his marriage, he formed the scheme of establishing a new
+religion, or, as he expressed it, of replanting the only true and ancient
+one professed by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and all the prophets,
+by destroying the gross idolatry into which most of his countrymen had
+fallen, and weeding out the corruptions and superstitions which the later
+Jews and Christians had, as he thought, introduced into their religion,
+and reducing it to its original purity, which consisted chiefly in the
+worship of one God.
+
+The Mahometans divide their religion into two general parts, faith and
+practice, of which the first is divided into six distinct branches--belief
+in God, in his angels, in his Scriptures, in his prophets, in the
+resurrection and final judgment, and in God's absolute decrees. The points
+relating to practice are, prayer, with washings, alms, fasting, pilgrimage
+to Mecca, and circumcision.
+
+They believe that both Mahomet and those among his followers who are
+reckoned orthodox, had, and continue to have, just and true notions of
+God, and that his attributes appear so plain from the Koran itself, and
+all the Mahometan divines, that it would be loss of time to refute those
+who suppose the God of Mahomet to be different from the true God, and only
+a fictitious deity, or idol of his own creation.
+
+They believe that the existence of angels, and their purity, are
+absolutely required to be believed in the Koran; and he is reckoned an
+infidel who denies there are such beings, or hates any of them, or asserts
+any distinction of sexes among them. They believe them to have pure and
+subtile bodies, created of fire; that they neither eat, drink, nor
+propagate their species; that they have various forms and offices, some
+adoring God in different postures, others singing praises to him, or
+interceding for mankind. They hold that some of them are employed in
+writing down the actions of men, others in carrying the throne of God, and
+other services.
+
+As to the Scriptures, the Mahometans are taught by the Koran, that God, in
+divers ages of the world, gave revelations of his will in writing to
+several prophets, the whole and every one of which it is absolutely
+necessary for a good Moslem to believe. The number of these sacred books
+were, according to them, one hundred and four; of which ten were given to
+Adam, fifty to Seth, thirty to Edris or Enoch, ten to Abraham, and the
+other four, being the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the Koran,
+were successively delivered to Moses, David, Jesus, and Mahomet; which
+last being the seal of the prophets, those revelations are now closed, and
+no more are to be expected. All these divine books, except the four last,
+they agree now to be entirely lost, and their contents unknown, though the
+Sabians have several books which they attribute to some of the
+antediluvian prophets. And of those four, the Pentateuch, Psalms, and
+Gospel, they say, have undergone so many alterations and corruptions,
+that, though there may possibly be some part of the true word of God
+therein, yet no credit is to be given to the present copies in the hands
+of the Jews and Christians.
+
+They believe that the number of the prophets which have been from time to
+time sent by God into the world, amounts to no less than 224,000,
+according to one Mahometan tradition; or to 124,000, according to another;
+among whom 313 were apostles, sent with special commissions to reclaim
+mankind from infidelity and superstition; and six of them brought new laws
+or dispensations, which successively abrogated the preceding: these were
+Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mahomet. All the prophets in
+general the Mahometans believe to have been freed from great sins and
+errors of consequence, and professors of one and the same religion, that
+is, Islamism, notwithstanding the different laws and institutions which
+they observed. They allow of degrees among them, and hold some of them to
+be more excellent and honorable than others. The first place they give to
+the revealers and establishes of new dispensations, and the next to the
+apostles.
+
+They believe in a general resurrection and a future judgment.
+
+The time of the resurrection the Mahometans allow to be a perfect secret
+to all but God alone; the angel Gabriel himself acknowledging his
+ignorance in this point, when Mahomet asked him about it. However, they
+say the approach of that day may be known from certain signs which are to
+precede it.
+
+After the examination is past, and every one's work weighed in a just
+balance, they say that mutual retaliation will follow, according to which
+every creature will take vengeance one of another, or have satisfaction
+made them for the injuries which they have suffered. And, since there will
+then be no other way of returning like for like, the manner of giving this
+satisfaction will be by taking away a proportional part of the good works
+of him who offered the injury, and adding it to those of him who suffered
+it; which being done, if the angels (by whose ministry this is to be
+performed) say, "_Lord we have given to every one his due, and there
+remaineth of this person's good works so much as equalleth the weight of
+an ant,_" God will, of his mercy, cause it to be doubled unto him, that he
+may be admitted into paradise; but if, on the contrary, his good works be
+exhausted, and there remain evil works only, and there be any who have not
+yet received satisfaction from him, God will order that an equal weight of
+their sins be added unto his, that he may be punished for them in their
+stead, and he will be sent to hell laden with both. This will be the
+method of God's dealing with mankind. As to brutes, after they shall have
+likewise taken vengeance of one another, he will command them to be
+changed into dust; wicked men being reserved to more grievous punishment,
+so that they shall cry out, on hearing this sentence passed on the brutes,
+"_Would to God that we were dust also!_"
+
+The trials being over, and the assembly dissolved, the Manometans hold
+that those who are to be admitted into paradise will take the right hand
+way, and those who are destined into hell-fire will take the left; but
+both of them must first pass the bridge called in Arabic _al Sirat_,
+which, they say, is laid over the midst of hell, and described to be finer
+than a hair, and sharper than the edge of a sword; so that it seems very
+difficult to conceive how any one shall be able to stand upon it; for
+which reason most of the sect of the Motazalites reject it as a fable;
+though the orthodox think it a sufficient proof of the truth of this
+article, that it was seriously affirmed by him who never asserted a
+falsehood, meaning their prophet, who, to add to the difficulty of the
+passage, has likewise declared that this bridge is beset on each side with
+briers and hooked thorns, which will, however, be no impediment to the
+good; for they shall pass with wonderful ease and swiftness, like
+lightning, or the wind, Mahomet, and his Moslems leading the way; whereas
+the wicked, what with the slipperiness and extreme narrowness of the path,
+the entangling of the thorns, and the extinction of the light which
+directed the former to paradise, will soon miss their footing, and fall
+down headlong into hell, which is gaping beneath them.
+
+As to the punishment of the wicked, the Mahometans are taught that hell is
+divided into seven stories or apartments, one below another, designed for
+the reception of as many distinct classes of the damned.
+
+The first, which they call _Jehenan_, they say, will be the receptacle of
+those who acknowledged one God, that is, the wicked Mahometans; who, after
+having been punished according to their demerits, will at length be
+released; the second, named _Ladha_, they assign to the Jews; the third,
+named _al Hotama_, to the Christians; the fourth, named _al Sair_, to the
+Sabians; the fifth; named _Sakar_, to the Magians; the sixth, named _al
+Jahin_, to the idolaters; and the seventh, which is the lowest and worst
+of all, and is called _al Howyat_, to the hypocrites, or those who
+outwardly professed some religion, but in their hearts were of none. Over
+each of these apartments they believe there will be set a guard of angels,
+nineteen in number; to whom the damned will confess the just judgment of
+God, and beg them to intercede with him for some alleviation of their
+pain, or that they may be delivered by being annihilated.
+
+Mahomet has, in his Koran and traditions, been very exact in describing
+the various torments of hell, which, according to him, the wicked will
+suffer, both from intense heat and excessive cold. The degrees of these
+pains will also vary in proportion to the crimes of the sufferer, and the
+apartment he is condemned to; and he who is punished the most lightly of
+all will be shod with shoes of fire, the fervor of which will cause his
+skull to boil like a caldron. The condition of these unhappy wretches, as
+the same prophet teaches, cannot be properly called either _life_ or
+_death_; and their misery will be greatly increased by their despair of
+being ever delivered from that place, since, according to that frequent
+expression in the Koran, _they must remain therein forever_. It must be
+remarked, however, that the infidels alone will be liable to eternity of
+damnation; for the Moslems, or those who have embraced the true religion,
+and have been guilty of heinous sins, will be delivered thence after they
+shall have expiated their crimes by their sufferings. The time which these
+believers shall be detained there, according to a tradition handed down
+from their prophet, will not be less than nine hundred years, nor more
+than seven thousand. And, as to the manner of their delivery, they say
+that they shall be distinguished by the marks of prostration on those
+parts of their bodies with which they used to touch the ground in prayer,
+and over which the fire will therefore have no power; and that, being
+known by this characteristic, they will be released by the mercy of God,
+at the intercession of Mahomet and the blessed whereupon those who shall
+have been dead will be restored to life, as has been said; and those whose
+bodies shall have contracted any sootiness or filth, from the flames and
+smoke of hell, will be immersed in one of the rivers of paradise, called
+the _River of Life_, which will wash them whiter than pearls.
+
+The righteous, as the Mahometans are taught to believe, having surmounted
+the difficulties, and passed the sharp bridge above mentioned, before they
+enter paradise, will be refreshed by drinking at the _Pond_ of their
+prophet, who describes it to be an exact square, of a month's journey in
+compass; its water, which is supplied by two pipes from al Cawthay, one of
+the rivers of paradise, being whiter than milk or silver, and more
+odoriferous than musk, with as many cups set round it as there are stars
+in the firmament; of which water whoever drinks will thirst no more
+forever. This is the first taste which the blessed will have of their
+future and now near-approaching felicity.
+
+Though paradise be so very frequently mentioned in the Koran, yet it is a
+dispute among the Mahometans, whether it be already created, or to be
+created hereafter; the Motazalites and some other sectaries asserting that
+there is not at present any such place in nature, and that the paradise
+which the righteous will inhabit in the next life will be different from
+that from which Adam was expelled. However, the orthodox profess the
+contrary, maintaining that it was created even before the world, and
+describe it from their prophet's traditions in the following manner:--
+
+They say it is situated in the seventh heaven, and next under the throne
+of God; and, to express the amenity of the place, tell us that the earth
+of it is of the finest wheat-flour, or of the purest mask, or, as others
+will have it, of saffron; that its stones are pearls and jacinths, the
+walls of its building enriched with gold and silver, and that the trunks
+of all its trees are of gold; among which the most remarkable is the tree
+called _tuba_, or the tree of happiness. Concerning this tree, they fable
+that it stands in the palace of Mahomet though a branch of it will reach
+to the house of every true believer; that it will be laden with
+pomegranates, grapes, dates, and other fruits of surprising bigness, and
+of tastes unknown to mortals; so that, if a man desire to eat of any
+particular kind of fruit, it will immediately be presented him; or, if he
+choose flesh, birds ready dressed will be set before him, according to his
+wish. They add that the boughs of this tree will spontaneously bend down
+to the hand of the person who would gather of its fruits, and that it will
+supply the blessed not only with food, but also with silken garments, and
+beasts to ride on ready saddled and bridled, and adorned with rich
+trappings, which will burst forth from its fruits; and that this tree is
+so large, that a person mounted on the fleetest horse, would not be able
+to gallop from one end of its shade to the other in one hundred years.
+
+As plenty of water is one of the greatest additions to the pleasantness of
+any place, the Koran often speaks of the rivers of paradise as a principal
+ornament thereof: some of these rivers, they say, flow with water, some
+with milk, some with wine, and others with honey; all taking their rise
+from the root of the tree tuba.
+
+But all these glories will be eclipsed by the resplendent and ravishing
+girls of paradise, called, from their large black eyes, _Hur al oyun_, the
+enjoyment of whose company will be a principal felicity of the faithful.
+These, they say, are created, not of clay, as mortal women are, but of
+pure musk; being, as their prophet often affirms in his Koran, free from
+all natural impurities, of the strictest modesty, and secluded from public
+view in pavilions of hollow pearls, so large that, as some traditions have
+it, one of them will be no less than sixty miles square.
+
+The name which the Mahometans usually give to this happy mansion is _al
+Jannat_, or "the Garden;" and sometimes they call it the "Garden of
+Paradise," the "Garden of Eden," the "Garden of Abode," the "Garden of
+Pleasure," and the like; by which several appellations some understand so
+many different gardens, or at least places of different degrees of
+felicity, (for they reckon no less than one hundred such in all,) the very
+meanest whereof will afford its inhabitants so many pleasures and
+delights, that one would conclude they must even sink under them, had not
+Mahomet declared that, in order to qualify the blessed for a full
+enjoyment of them, God will give to every one the abilities of one hundred
+men.
+
+The orthodox doctrine is, that whatever hath or shall come to pass in this
+world, whether it be good or whether it be bad, proceedeth entirely from
+the divine will, and is irrevocably fixed and recorded from all eternity
+in the preserved table; God having secretly predetermined not only the
+adverse and prosperous fortune of every person in this world, in the most
+minute particulars, but also his faith or infidelity, his obedience or
+disobedience, and consequently his everlasting happiness or misery after
+death; which fate or predestination it is not possible by any foresight or
+wisdom to avoid.
+
+The pilgrimage to Mecca is so necessary a point of practice, that,
+according to a tradition of Mahomet, he who dies without performing it,
+may as well die a Jew or a Christian; and the same is expressly commanded
+in the Koran.
+
+What is principally reverenced in Mecca, and gives sanctity to the whole,
+is a square stone building, called the _Caaba_. Before the time of
+Mahomet, this temple was a place of worship for the idolatrous Arabs, and
+is said to have contained no less than three hundred and sixty different
+images, equalling in number the days of the Arabian year. They were all
+destroyed by Mahomet, who sanctified the Caaba, and appointed it to be the
+chief place of worship for all true believers. The Mussulmen pay so great
+a veneration to it, that they believe a single sight of its sacred walls,
+without any particular act of devotion, is as meritorious in the sight of
+God as the most careful discharge of one's duty, for the space of a whole
+year, in any other temple.
+
+The Mahometans have an established priesthood and a numerous body of
+clergymen: their spiritual head, in Turkey, whose power is not inferior to
+the Roman Pontiff, or the Grecian Patriarch, is denominated the _Mufti_,
+and is regarded as the oracle of sanctity and wisdom. Their houses of
+worship are denominated mosques, many of which are very magnificent, and
+very richly endowed. The revenues of some of the royal mosques are said to
+amount to the enormous sum of 60,000 pounds sterling. In the city of Fez,
+the capital of the emperor of Morocco, there are near one thousand
+mosques, fifty of which are built in a most magnificent style, supported
+by marble pillars. The circumference of the grand mosque is near a mile
+and a half, in which near a thousand lamps are lighted every night. The
+Mahometan priests, who perform the rites of their public worship, are
+called _Imams_; and they have a set of ministers called _Sheiks_, who
+preach every _Friday_, the Mahometan Sabbath, much in the manner of
+Christian preachers. They seldom touch upon points of controversy in their
+discourses, but preach upon moral duties, upon the dogmas and ceremonies
+of their religion, and declaim against vice, luxury, and corruption of
+manners.
+
+The rapid success which attended the propagation of this new religion was
+owing to causes that are plain and evident, and must remove, or rather
+prevent, our surprise, when they are attentively considered. The terror of
+Mahomet's arms, and the repeated victories which were gained by him and
+his successors, were, no doubt, the irresistible arguments that persuaded
+such multitudes to embrace his religion, and submit to his dominion.
+Besides, his law was artfully and marvellously adapted to the corrupt
+nature of man, and, in a most particular manner, to the manners and
+opinions of the Eastern nations, and the vices to which they were
+naturally addicted; for the articles of faith which it proposed were few
+in number, and extremely simple; and the duties it required were neither
+many nor difficult, nor such as were incompatible with the empire of
+appetites and passions. It is to be observed, further, that the gross
+ignorance under which the Arabians, Syrians, Persians, and the greatest
+part, of the Eastern nations, labored at this time, rendered many an easy
+prey to the artifice and eloquence of this bold adventurer. To these
+causes of the progress of Mahometanism we may add the bitter dissensions
+and cruel animosities that reigned among the Christian sects--dissensions
+that filled a great part of the East with carnage, assassinations, and
+such detestable enormities as rendered the very name of Christianity
+odious to many. Other causes of the sudden progress of that religion will
+naturally occur to such as consider attentively its spirit and genius, and
+the state of the world at this time.
+
+To show the subtlety of Mahomet's mind, and the extreme ignorance of his
+followers, we give the story of that impostor's night journey from Mecca
+to Jerusalem, and from thence to heaven.
+
+The story, as related in the Koran, and believed by the Mahometans, is
+this: "At night, as he lay in his bed, with his best beloved wife Ayesha,
+he heard a knocking at his door; upon which, arising, he found there the
+angel Gabriel, with seventy pair of wings, expanded from his sides, whiter
+than snow, and clearer than crystal, and the beast Alborak standing by
+him; which, they say, is the beast on which the prophets used to ride,
+when they were carried from one place to another, upon the execution of
+any divine command. Mahomet describes it to be a beast as white as milk,
+and of a mixed nature, between an ass and a mule, and also of a size
+between both; but of such extraordinary swiftness as to equal even
+lightning itself.
+
+"As soon as Mahomet appeared at the door, the angel Gabriel kindly
+embraced him, saluted him in the name of God, and told him that he was
+sent to bring him unto God, into heaven, where he should see strange
+mysteries, which were not lawful to be seen by any other man. He prayed
+him, then, to get upon Alborak; but the beast, having lain idle and
+unemployed from the time of Christ to Mahomet, was grown so mettlesome and
+skittish, that he would not stand still for Mahomet to mount him, till at
+length he was forced to bribe him to it by promising him a place in
+paradise. When he was firmly seated on him, the angel Gabriel led the way,
+with the bridle of the beast in his hand, and carried the prophet from
+Mecca to Jerusalem in the twinkling of an eye. On his coming thither, all
+the departed prophets and saints appeared at the gate of the temple to
+salute him, and, thence attending him into the chief oratory, desired him
+to pray for them, and then withdrew. After this, Mahomet went out of the
+temple with the angel Gabriel, and found a ladder of light, ready fixed
+for them, which they immediately ascended, leaving Alborak tied to a rock
+till their return.
+
+"On their arrival at the first heaven, the angel knocked at the gate; and,
+informing the porter who he was, and that he had brought Mahomet, the
+friend of God, he was immediately admitted. This first heaven, he tells
+us, was all of pure silver; from whence he saw the stars hanging from it
+by chains of gold, each as big as Mount Noho, near Mecca, in Arabia. On
+his entrance, he met a decrepit old man, who, it seems, was our first
+father, Adam; and, as he advanced, he saw a multitude of angels in all
+manner of shapes--in the shape of birds, beasts, and men. We must not
+forget to observe that Adam had the piety immediately to embrace the
+prophet, giving God thanks for so great a son, and then recommended
+himself to his prayers. From this first heaven he tells us that he
+ascended into the second, which was at the distance of five hundred years'
+journey above it, and this he makes to be the distance of every one of the
+seven heavens, each above the other. Here the gates being opened to him as
+before, at his entrance he met Noah, who, rejoicing much at the sight of
+him, recommended himself to his prayers. This heaven was all of pure gold,
+and there were twice as many angels in it as in the former; for he tells
+us that the number of angels in every heaven increased as he advanced.
+From this second heaven he ascended into the third, which was made of
+precious stones, where he met Abraham, who also recommended himself to his
+prayers; Joseph, the son of Jacob, did the same in the fourth heaven,
+which was all of emerald; Moses in the fifth, which was all of adamant;
+and John the Baptist in the sixth, which was all of carbuncle; whence he
+ascended into the seventh, which was of divine light; and here he found
+Jesus Christ. However, it is observed that here he alters his style; for
+he does not say that Jesus Christ recommended himself to his prayers, but
+that he recommended himself to the prayers of Jesus Christ.
+
+"The angel Gabriel, having brought him thus far, told him that he was not
+permitted to attend him any farther, and therefore directed him to ascend
+the rest of the way to the throne of God by himself. This he performed
+with great difficulty, passing through rough and dangerous places, till he
+came where he heard a voice saying unto him, 'O Mahomet, salute thy
+Creator;' whence ascending higher, he came into a place where he saw a
+vast expansion of light, so exceedingly bright, that his eyes could not
+bear it. This, it seems, was the habitation of the Almighty, where his
+throne was placed; on the right side of which, he says, God's name and his
+own were written in these Arabic words: 'La ellah ellallah Mahomet reful
+ollah;' that is, 'THERE IS NO GOD BUT GOD, AND MAHOMET IS HIS PROPHET,'
+which is at this day the creed of the Mahometans. Being approached to the
+divine presence, he tells us that God entered into a familiar converse
+with him, revealed to him many hidden mysteries, made him understand the
+whole of his law, gave him many things in charge concerning his
+instructing men in the knowledge of it, and, in conclusion, bestowed on
+him several privileges above the rest of mankind. He then returned, and
+found the angel Gabriel waiting for him in the place where he left him.
+The angel led him back along the seven heavens, through which he had
+brought him, and set him again upon the beast Alborak, which stood tied to
+the rock near Jerusalem. Then he conducted him back to Mecca, in the same
+manner as he brought him thence; and all this within the space of the
+tenth part of one night."
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+Dr. Joseph White thus concludes one of his discourses on Mahometanism:
+"What raises Christ and his religion far above all the fictions of
+Mahomet, is that awful alternative of hopes and fears, that looking-for of
+judgment, which our Christian faith sets before us. At that day, when
+time, the great arbiter of truth and falsehood, shall bring to pass the
+accomplishment of the ages, and the Son of God shall make his enemies his
+footstool,--then shall the deluded followers of the great Impostor,
+disappointed of the expected intercession of their prophet, stand
+trembling and dismayed at the approach of the glorified Messiah. Then
+shall they say, 'Yonder cometh in the clouds that Jesus whose religion we
+labored to destroy; whose temples we profaned; whose servants and
+followers we cruelly oppressed! Behold, he cometh, but no longer the
+humble son of Mary; no longer a mere mortal prophet, the equal of Abraham,
+and of Moses, as that deceiver taught us, but the everlasting Son of the
+everlasting Father; the Judge of mankind; the Sovereign of angels; the
+Lord of all things, both in earth and in heaven!' "
+
+
+
+
+
+SIMONIANS.
+
+
+An infidel sect, organized in France, some years since, whose fundamental
+principle is, that religion is to perfect the social condition of man;
+therefore Christianity is no longer suitable for society, because it
+separates the Christian from other men, and leads him to live for another
+world. The world requires a religion that shall be of this world, and,
+consequently, a God of this world. They reject whatever they suppose to
+have been derived from the philosophy of the East; they consider the Deity
+neither as spirit nor matter, but as including the whole universe, and are
+thus plainly Pantheists; and they regard evil as nothing more than an
+indication of the progress which mankind are doomed make, in order to be
+freed from it; in itself, they maintain it is nothing. Its members are
+principally of the higher ranks, and display, not without success, the
+greatest activity in spreading the venom of their infidel principles. They
+occupy, in Paris, the largest and most handsomely fitted halls, where they
+meet in great numbers.
+
+What is very curious in the history of the Simonians is, that they were,
+at first, merely philosophers, and not at all the founders of a religion.
+They spoke of science and industry, but not of religious doctrines. All at
+once, however, it seemed to occur to them to teach a religion. Then their
+school became a church, and their association a sect. It is evident that,
+with them, religion was not originally the end of their institution, but
+has been employed by them as the means of collecting a greater number of
+hearers.
+
+
+
+
+
+PAGANS.
+
+
+A general term, applied to heathen idolaters, who worship false gods, and
+are not acquainted either with the doctrines of the Old Testament or the
+Christian dispensation. The worship of the Grand Lama is of the most
+extensive and splendid character among the Pagan idolaters. This extends
+all over Thibet and Mongolia, is almost universal in Bucharia and several
+provinces of Tartary; it has followers in Cashmere, and is the predominant
+religion of China.
+
+The Grand Lama is a name given to the sovereign pontiff, or high priest,
+of the Thibetian Tartars, who resides at Patoli, a vast palace on a
+mountain, near the banks of Burhampooter, about seven miles from Lahassa.
+The foot of this mountain is inhabited by twenty thousand Lamas, or
+priests, who have their separate apartments round about the mountain, and,
+according to their respective quality, are placed nearer or at a greater
+distance from the sovereign pontiff. He is not only the sovereign pontiff,
+the vicegerent of the Deity on earth, but the more remote Tartars are said
+to absolutely regard him as the Deity himself, and call him _God, the
+everlasting Father of heaven_. They believe him to be immortal, and
+endowed with all knowledge and virtue. Every year they come up, from
+different parts, to worship, and make rich offerings at his shrine. Even
+the emperor of China, who is a Manchou Tartar, does not fail in
+acknowledgments to him, in his religious capacity, and actually
+entertains, at a great expense, in the palace of Pekin, an inferior Lama,
+deputed as his nuncio from Thibet. The Grand Lama, it has been said, is
+never to be seen but in a secret place of his palace, amidst a great
+number of lamps, sitting cross-legged upon a cushion, and decked all over
+with gold and precious stones; where, at a distance, the people prostrate
+themselves before him, it being not lawful for any so much as to kiss his
+feet. He returns not the least sign of respect, nor ever speaks, even to
+the greatest princes, but only lays his hand upon their heads; and they
+are fully persuaded they receive from thence a full forgiveness of all
+their sins.
+
+The magnificence and number of the ancient heathen temples almost exceed
+calculation or belief. At one time, there were no less than 424 temples in
+the city of Rome, The temple of Diana, at Ephesus, was accounted one of
+the seven wonders of the world. It was 425 feet in length, 220 in breadth,
+and was adorned with 100 columns 60 feet high; and, as each column is said
+to have contained 150 tons of marble,--as the stupendous edifice, outside
+and in, was adorned with gold, and a profusion of ornaments,--how immense
+must have been the whole expense of its erection!
+
+At the present day, many of the pagan nations go to immense expense in the
+support of their religious worship. It is stated, in the Indo-Chinese
+Gleaner, a paper published by the missionaries in China, that there are,
+in that empire, 1056 temples dedicated to Confucius, where above 60,000
+animals are annually offered. The followers of Confucius form one of the
+smallest of the three leading sects among the Chinese.
+
+Mr. Ward, a distinguished missionary, was present at the worship of the
+goddess Doorga, at Calcutta, in 1806. After describing the greatness of
+the assembly, the profusion of the offerings, and the many strange
+peculiarities of the worship, he observes, "The whole produced on my mind
+sensations of the greatest honor. The dress of the singers, their indecent
+gestures, the abominable nature of the songs, the horrid din of their
+miserable drum, the lateness of the hour, the darkness of the place, with
+the reflection that I was standing in an idol temple, and that this
+immense multitude of rational and immortal creatures, capable of superior
+joys, were, in the very act of worship, perpetrating a crime of high
+treason against the God of heaven, while they themselves believed they
+were performing an act of merit,--excited ideas and feelings in my mind
+which time can never obliterate."
+
+The vast empire of China, misnamed the _Celestial Empire_, is given up to
+the vilest idolatry. Idols are encountered at every step, not merely in
+the temples, but in the houses, and even in the vessels, where a part of
+the forecastle is consecrated to them, as the most honorable place. The
+idol is dressed and adorned with a splendor proportioned to the wealth of
+the captain of the vessel, and daily receives an offering, composed of
+flesh and fruits, together with the smoke of perfumes. Besides this
+regular service, the captain makes a solemn sacrifice to his wooden deity,
+on all important occasions; as, for instance, in passing from one river
+into another, or in time of tempest, or when the sails flap idly in a
+calm. The Chinese have likewise a practice of deifying their dead
+ancestors, and of prostrating themselves before the monumental tablets
+which are erected to their memory. Yet they appear to have no real
+veneration for any of their idols; nor do they hesitate to profane the
+temples, by smoking their pipes, and taking refreshments, and even by
+gambling, within the consecrated precincts. The priests are shameless
+impostors. They practise the mountebank sciences of astrology, divination,
+necromancy, and animal magnetism, and keep for sale a liquid, which, they
+pretend, will confer immortality on those who drink it.
+
+Tortures of various kinds, burning, and burying alive, are considered
+religious duties among the pagans.
+
+The festival of Juggernaut is annually held on the sea-coast of Orissa,
+where there is a celebrated temple, and an idol of the god. The idol is a
+carved block of wood, with a frightful visage, painted black, and a
+distended mouth of a bloody color. He is dressed in gorgeous apparel, and
+his appellation is one of the numerous names of Vishnu, the preserving
+power of the universe, according to the theology of the Bramins. On
+festival days, the throne of the idol is placed upon a stupendous movable
+tower, about sixty feet in height, resting on wheels, which indent the
+ground deeply, as they turn slowly under the ponderous machine. He is
+accompanied by two other idols, his brother Balaram, and his sister
+Shubudra, of a white and yellow color, each on a separate tower, and
+sitting on thrones of nearly an equal height. Attached to the principal
+tower are six ropes, of the length and size of a ship's cable, by which
+the people draw it along. The priests and attendants are stationed around
+the throne, on the car, and occasionally address the worshippers in
+libidinous songs and gestures. Both the walls of the temple and sides of
+the car are covered with the most indecent emblems, in large and durable
+sculpture. Obscenity and blood are the characteristics of the idol's
+worship. As the tower moves along, devotees, throwing themselves under the
+wheels, are crushed to death; and such acts are hailed with the
+acclamations of the multitude, as the most acceptable sacrifices. A body
+of prostitutes are maintained in the temple, for the use of the
+worshippers; and various other systematic indecencies, which will not
+admit of description, form a part of the service. A number of sacred bulls
+are kept in the place, which are generally fed with vegetables from the
+hands of the pilgrims, but, from the scarcity of the vegetation, are
+commonly seen walking about, and eating the fresh ordure of the
+worshipping crowds. In the temple, also, is preserved a bone of Krishna,
+which is considered as a most venerable and precious relic, and which few
+persons are allowed to see.
+
+The following is an account of the burning of a Gentoo woman, on the
+funeral pile of her deceased husband:--"We found," says M. Stavorinus, "the
+body of the deceased lying upon a couch, covered with a piece of white
+cotton, and strewed with betel leaves. The woman, who was to be the
+victim, sat upon the couch, with her face turned to that of the deceased.
+She was richly adorned, and held a little green branch in her right hand,
+with which she drove away the flies from the body. She seemed like one
+buried in the most profound meditation, yet betrayed no signs of fear.
+Many of her relations attended upon her, who, at stated intervals, struck
+up various kinds of music.
+
+"The pile was made by driving green bamboo stakes into the earth, between
+which was first laid fire-wood, very dry and combustible; upon this was
+put a quantity of dry straw, or reeds, besmeared with grease: this was
+done alternately, till the pile was five feet in height; and the whole was
+then strewed with rosin, finely powdered. A white cotton sheet, which had
+been washed in the Ganges, was then spread over the pile, and the whole
+was ready for the reception of the victim.
+
+"The widow was now admonished, by a priest, that it was time to begin the
+rites. She was then surrounded by women, who offered her betel, and
+besought her to supplicate favors for them when she joined her husband in
+the presence of Ram, or their highest god, and, above all, that she would
+salute their deceased friends whom she might meet in the celestial
+mansions.
+
+"In the mean time, the body of the husband was taken and washed in the
+river. The woman was also led to the Ganges for ablution, where she
+divested herself of all her ornaments. Her head was covered with a piece
+of silk, and a cloth was tied round her body, in which the priests put
+some parched rice.
+
+"She then took a farewell of her friends, and was conducted by two of her
+female relations to the pile. When she came to it, she scattered flowers
+and parched rice upon the spectators, and put some into the mouth of the
+corpse. Two priests next led her three times round it, while she threw
+rice among the bystanders, who gathered it up with great eagerness. The
+last time she went round, she placed a little earthen burning lamp to each
+of the four corners of the pile, then laid herself down on the right side,
+next to the body, which she embraced with both her arms; a piece of white
+cotton was spread over them both; they were bound together with two easy
+bandages, and a quantity of fire-wood, straw, and rosin, was laid upon
+them. In the last place, her nearest relations, to whom, on the banks of
+the river, she had given her nose-jewels, came with a burning torch, and
+set the straw on fire, and in a moment the whole was in a flame. The noise
+of the drums, and the shouts of the spectators, were such that the shrieks
+of the unfortunate woman, if she uttered any, could not have been heard."
+
+Instances are related of women eighty years of age, or upwards, perishing
+in this manner. One case is mentioned, by Mr. Ward, of a Bramin who had
+married upwards of a hundred wives, thirty-seven of whom were burnt with
+him. The pile was kept burning for _three days_, and when one or more of
+them arrived, they threw themselves into the _blazing fire_.
+
+The Pagans worship an immense variety of idols, both animate and
+inanimate, and very frequently make to themselves gods of objects that are
+contemptible even among brutes. In Hindoo, the _monkey_ is a celebrated
+god. A few years since, the rajah of Nudeeya expended $50,000 in
+celebrating the marriage of a pair of those mischievous creatures, with
+all the parade and solemnity of a Hindoo wedding.
+
+A Bramin of superior understanding gave Mr. Ward the following _confession
+of faith_, as the present belief of the philosophical Hindoos, concerning
+the nature of God, viz.:--"God is invisible, independent, ever-living,
+glorious, uncorrupt, all-wise, the ever-blessed, the almighty; his
+perfections are indescribable and past finding out; he rules over all,
+supports all, destroys all, and remains after the destruction of all;
+there is none like him; he is silence; he is free from passion, from
+birth, &c., and from increase and decrease, from fatigue, the need of
+refreshment, &c. He possesses the power of infinite diminution and
+lightness, and is the soul of all.
+
+"He created, and then entered into, all things, in which he exists in two
+ways, untouched by matter, and receiving the fruits of practice. He now
+assumes visible forms for the sake of engaging the minds of mankind. The
+different gods are parts of God, though his essence remains undiminished,
+as rays of light leave the sun his undiminished splendor. He created the
+gods to perform those things in the government of the world, of which man
+was incapable. Some gods are parts of other gods, and there are deities of
+still inferior powers. If it be asked why God himself does not govern the
+world, the answer is, that it might subject him to exposure, and he
+chooses to be concealed: he therefore governs by the gods, who are
+emanations from the one God, possessing a portion of his power: he who
+worships the gods as the one God, substantially worships God. The gods are
+helpful to men in all human affairs, but they are not friendly to those
+who seek final absorption, being jealous lest, instead of attaining
+absorption, they should become gods, and rival them.
+
+"Religious ceremonies procure a fund of merit to the performer, which
+raises him in every future birth, and at length advances him to heaven,
+where he enjoys happiness for a limited period, or carries him towards
+final absorption. A person may sink to earth again by crimes committed in
+heaven. The joys of heaven arise only from the gratification of the
+senses. A person raised to heaven is considered as a god.
+
+"When the following lines of Pope were read to a learned Bramin, he
+started from his seat, begged a copy of them, and declared the author must
+have been a Hindoo:--
+
+
+    "All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
+    Whose body Nature is, and God the soul; ...
+    Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze,
+    Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees,
+    Lives through all life, extends through all extent,
+    Spreads undivided, operates unspent."
+
+
+"Such are the best views of the best of men among the Hindoos. Such a
+mixture of truth and error, of sense and folly, do they believe and
+teach."
+
+According to the best accounts that can be obtained from missionaries and
+others, the number of Pagans, in different countries, exceeds half the
+population of the globe.
+
+Considerable attempts have been made, of late years, for the enlightening
+of the heathen; and there is every reason to believe good has been done.
+From the aspect of Scripture prophecy, we are led to expect that the
+kingdoms of the heathen at large shall be brought to the light of the
+gospel. (Matt. 24:14, Isa. 60, Ps. 22:28, 29; 2:7, 8.) It has been much
+disputed whether it be possible that the heathen should be saved without
+the knowledge of the gospel; some have absolutely denied it, upon the
+authority of those texts which universally require faith in Christ; but to
+this it is answered, that those texts regard only such to whom the gospel
+comes, and are capable of understanding the contents of it. "The truth,"
+says Dr. Doddridge, "seems to be this--that none of the heathen will be
+condemned for not believing the gospel, but they are liable to
+condemnation for the breach of God's natural law: nevertheless, if there
+be any of them in whom there is a prevailing love to the Divine Being,
+there seems reason to believe that, for the _sake_ of Christ, though to
+them unknown, they may be accepted by God; and so much the rather, as the
+ancient Jews, and even the apostles, during the time of our Savior's abode
+on earth, seem to have had but little notion of those doctrines, which
+those who deny the salvability of the heathen are most apt to imagine."
+(Rom. 2:10-22, Acts 10:34, 35. Matt. 8:11, 12.) Grove, Watts, Saurin, and
+the immortal Newton, favor the same opinion; the latter of whom thus
+observes: "If we suppose a heathen brought to a sense of his misery; to a
+conviction that he cannot be happy without the favor of the great Lord of
+the world; to a feeling of guilt, and desire of mercy; and that, though he
+has no explicit knowledge of a Savior, he directs the cry of his heart to
+the unknown Supreme, to have mercy upon him,--who will prove that such
+views and desires can arise in the heart of a sinner, without the energy
+of that Spirit which Jesus is exalted to bestow? Who will take upon him to
+say that his blood has not sufficient efficacy to redeem to God a sinner
+who is thus disposed, though he have never heard of his name? Or who has a
+warrant to affirm that the supposition I have made is in the nature of
+things impossible to be realized?"
+
+"That there exist beings, one or many, powerful above the human race, is a
+proposition," says Lord Kaimes, "universally admitted as true in all ages
+and among all nations. I boldly call it _universal_, notwithstanding what
+is reported of some gross savages; for reports that contradict what is
+acknowledged to be general among men, require able vouchers. Among many
+savage tribes there are no words but for objects of external sense: is it
+surprising that such people are incapable of expressing their religious
+perceptions, or any perception of internal sense? The conviction that men
+have of superior powers, in every country where there are words to express
+it, is so well vouched, that, in fair reasoning, it ought to be taken for
+granted among the few tribes where language is deficient." The same
+ingenious author shows, with great strength of reasoning, that the
+operations of nature and the government of this world, which to us loudly
+proclaim the existence of a Deity, are not sufficient to account for the
+universal belief of superior beings among savage tribes. He is, therefore,
+of opinion that this universality of conviction can spring only from the
+image of Deity stamped upon the mind of every human being, the ignorant
+equally with the learned. This, he thinks, may be termed the _sense of
+Deity_.
+
+
+
+
+
+SATANIANS.
+
+
+A branch of the Messalians, who appeared about the year 390. It is said,
+among other things, that they believed the devil to be extremely powerful,
+and that it was much wiser to respect and adore than to curse him.
+
+
+
+
+
+ABELIANS, OR ABELONIANS.
+
+
+A sect which arose in the diocese of Hippo, in Africa, in the fifth
+century. They regulated marriage after the example of Abel, who, they
+pretended, was married, but lived in a state of continence: they therefore
+allowed each man to marry one woman, but enjoined them to live in the same
+state. To keep up the sect, when a man and woman entered into this
+society, they adopted a boy and a girl, who were to inherit their goods,
+and to marry upon the same terms of not having children, but of adopting
+two of different sexes.
+
+
+
+
+
+SUPRALAPSARIANS.
+
+
+Persons who hold that God, without any regard to the good or evil works of
+men, has resolved, by an eternal decree, _supra lapsum_, antecedently to
+any knowledge of the fall of Adam, and independently of it, to save some
+and reject others; or, in other words, that God intended to glorify his
+justice in the condemnation of some, as well as his mercy in the salvation
+of others, and, for that purpose, decreed that Adam should necessarily
+fall.
+
+
+
+
+
+DANCERS.
+
+
+A sect which sprung up, about 1373, in Flanders, and places about. It was
+their custom all of a sudden to fall a-dancing, and, holding each other's
+hands, to continue thereat, till, being suffocated with the extraordinary
+violence, they fell down breathless together. During these intervals of
+vehement agitation, they pretended to be favored with wonderful visions.
+Like the Whippers, they roved from place to place, begging their victuals,
+holding their secret assemblies, and treating the priesthood and worship
+of the church with the utmost contempt.
+
+
+
+
+
+EPICUREANS.
+
+
+The disciples of Epicurus, who flourished about A. M. 3700. This sect
+maintained that the world was formed not by God, nor with any design, but
+by the fortuitous concourse of atoms. They denied that God governs the
+world, or in the least condescends to interfere with creatures below; they
+denied the immortality of the soul, and the existence of angels; they
+maintained that happiness consisted in pleasure; but some of them placed
+this pleasure in the tranquillity and joy of the mind, arising from the
+practice of moral virtue, and which is thought by some to have been the
+true principle of Epicurus: others understood him in the gross sense, and
+placed all their happiness in corporeal pleasure. When Paul was at Athens,
+he had conferences with the Epicurean philosophers. (Acts 17:18) The word
+_Epicurean_ is used, at present, for an indolent, effeminate, and
+voluptuous person, who only consults his private and particular pleasure.
+
+
+
+
+
+SKEPTICS.
+
+
+The word _Skeptic_ properly signifies considerative and inquisitive, or
+one who is always weighing reasons on one side or the other, without ever
+deciding between them. The word is applied to an ancient sect of
+philosophers founded by Pyrrho, who denied the real existence of all
+qualities in bodies, except those which are essential to primary atoms,
+and referred every thing else to the perceptions of the mind produced by
+external objects; in other words, to appearance and opinion. In modern
+times, the word has been applied to Deists, or those who doubt of the
+truth and authenticity of the sacred Scriptures.
+
+
+
+
+
+WICKLIFFITES.
+
+
+The followers of the famous John Wickliffe, called "the first reformer,"
+who was born in Yorkshire, in the year 1324. He attacked the jurisdiction
+of the pope and the bishops. He was for this twice summoned to a council
+at Lambeth, to give an account of his doctrines, but, being countenanced
+by the duke of Lancaster, was both times dismissed without condemnation.
+Wickliffe, therefore, continued to spread his new principles, as usual,
+adding to them doctrines still more alarming; by which he drew after him a
+great number of disciples. Upon this, William Courtney, archbishop of
+Canterbury, called another council in 1382, which condemned 24
+propositions of Wickliffe and his disciples, and obtained a declaration of
+Richard II. against all who should preach them; but while these
+proceedings were agitating, Wickliffe died at Lutterworth, leaving many
+works behind him for the establishment of his doctrines. He was buried in
+his own church, at Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, where his bones were
+suffered to rest in peace till the year 1428, when, by an order from the
+pope, they were taken up and burnt. Wickliffe was doubtless a very
+extraordinary man, considering the times in which he lived. He discovered
+the absurdities and impositions of the church of Rome, and had the honesty
+and resolution to promulgate his opinions, which a little more support
+would probably have enabled him to establish: they were evidently the
+foundation of the subsequent reformation.
+
+
+
+
+
+DIGGERS.
+
+
+A denomination which sprung up in Germany, in the fifteenth century; so
+called because they dug their assemblies under ground, in caves and
+forests. They derided the church, its ministers, and sacraments.
+
+
+
+
+
+ZUINGLIANS.
+
+
+A branch of the Reformers, so called from Zuinglius, a noted divine of
+Switzerland. His chief difference from Luther was concerning the
+eucharist. He maintained that the bread and wine were only
+_significations_ of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, whereas Luther
+believed in _consubstantiation_.
+
+
+
+
+
+SEEKERS.
+
+
+A denomination which arose in the year 1645. They derived their name from
+their maintaining that the true church ministry, Scripture, and
+ordinances, were lost, for which they were seeking. They taught that the
+Scriptures were uncertain; that present miracles were necessary to faith;
+that our ministry is without authority; and that our worship and
+ordinances are unnecessary or vain.
+
+
+
+
+
+WILHELMINIANS.
+
+
+A denomination in the 13th century, so called from Wilhelmina, a Bohemian
+woman, who resided in the territory of Milan. She persuaded a large number
+that the Holy Ghost was become incarnate in her person, for the salvation
+of a great part of mankind. According to her doctrines, none were saved by
+the blood of Jesus but true and pious Christians, while the Jews,
+Saracens, and unworthy Christians, were to obtain salvation through the
+Holy Spirit which dwelt in her, and that, in consequence thereof, all
+which happened in Christ during his appearance upon earth in the human
+nature, was to be exactly renewed in her person, or rather in that of the
+Holy Ghost, which was united to her.
+
+
+
+
+
+NON-RESISTANTS.
+
+
+This is a name assumed by those who believe in the inviolability of human
+life, and whose motto is, RESIST NOT EVIL,--that is, by the use of carnal
+weapons or brute force. They cannot properly be called a religious sect,
+in the common acceptation of that term, and they repudiate the title; for
+they differ very widely among themselves in their religious speculations,
+and have no forms, ordinances, creed, church, or community. Some of them
+belong to almost every religious persuasion, while others refuse to be
+connected with any denomination, and to be called by any sectarian name.
+Like the friends of negro emancipation, or of total abstinence from all
+intoxicating substances, their eyes are fastened upon a common object, and
+their hearts united together by a common principle; and whatever calls for
+the violation of that principle, or for the sacrifice of that object, they
+feel in duty bound to reject.
+
+In the autumn of 1838, an association was formed in Boston, called the
+"NEW ENGLAND NON-RESISTANCE SOCIETY," the principles of which are
+comprehensively imbodied in the second article of its constitution, as
+follows:--
+
+"The members of this society agree in opinion that no man, or body of men,
+however constituted, or by whatever name called, have the right to take
+the life of man as a penalty for transgression; that no one, who professes
+to have the Spirit of Christ, can consistently sue a man at law for
+redress of injuries, or thrust any evil-doer into prison, or fill any
+office in which he would come under obligation to execute penal
+enactments, or take any part in the military service, or acknowledge
+allegiance to any human government, or justify any man in fighting in
+defence of property, liberty, life, or religion; that he cannot engage in
+or countenance any plot or effort to revolutionize, or change, by physical
+violence, any government, however corrupt or oppressive; that he will obey
+'the powers that be,' except in those cases in which they bid him violate
+his conscience--and then, rather than to resist, he will meekly submit to
+the penalty of disobedience; and that, while he will cheerfully endure all
+things for Christ's sake, without cherishing even the desire to inflict
+injury upon his persecutors, yet he will be bold and uncompromising for
+God, in bearing his testimony against sin, in high places and in low
+places, until righteousness and peace shall reign in all the earth, and
+there shall be none to molest or make afraid."
+
+On the same occasion, a DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS was adopted, in which
+the views of Non-Resistants are set forth in the following positive and
+argumentative form:--
+
+"We cannot acknowledge allegiance to any human government; neither can we
+oppose any such government by a resort to physical force. We recognize but
+one KING and LAWGIVER, one JUDGE and RULER of mankind. We are bound by the
+laws of a kingdom which is not of this world; the subjects of which are
+forbidden to fight; in which MERCY and TRUTH are met together, and
+RIGHTEOUSNESS and PEACE have kissed each other; which has no state lines,
+no national partitions, no geographical boundaries; in which there is no
+distinction of rank, or division of caste, or inequality of sex; the
+officers of which are PEACE, its exactors RIGHTEOUSNESS, its walls
+SALVATION, and its gates PRAISE; and which is destined to break in pieces
+and consume all other kingdoms.
+
+"Our country is the world, our countrymen are all mankind. We love the
+land of our nativity only as we love all other lands. The interests,
+rights, liberties of American citizens, are no more dear to us than are
+those of the whole human race. Hence we can allow no appeal to patriotism,
+to revenge any national insult or injury. The PRINCE OF PEACE, under whose
+stainless banner we rally, came not to destroy, but to save, even the
+worst of enemies. He has left us an example, that we should follow his
+steps. GOD COMMENDETH HIS LOVE TOWARD US, IN THAT, WHILE WE WERE YET
+SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US.
+
+"We conceive that, if a nation has no right to defend itself against
+foreign enemies, or to punish its invaders, no individual possesses that
+right in his own case. The unit cannot be of greater importance than the
+aggregate. If one man may take life, to obtain or defend his rights, the
+same license must necessarily be granted to communities, states, and
+nations. If _he_ may use a dagger or a pistol, _they_ may employ cannon,
+bomb-shells, land and naval forces. The means of self-preservation must be
+in proportion to the magnitude of interests at stake, and the number of
+lives exposed to destruction. But if a rapacious and bloodthirsty
+soldiery, thronging these shores from abroad, with intent to commit rapine
+and destroy life, may not be resisted by the people or magistracy, then
+ought no resistance to be offered to domestic troublers of the public
+peace, or of private security. No obligations can rest upon Americans to
+regard foreigners as more sacred in their persons than themselves, or to
+give them a monopoly of wrong-doing with impunity.
+
+"The dogma, that all the governments of the world are approvingly ordained
+of God, and that THE POWERS THAT BE, in the United States, in Russia, in
+Turkey, are in accordance with his will, is not less absurd than impious.
+It makes the impartial Author of human freedom and equality unequal and
+tyrannical. It cannot be affirmed that THE POWERS THAT BE, in any nation,
+are actuated by the spirit, or guided by the example, of Christ, in the
+treatment of enemies; therefore they cannot be agreeable to the will of
+God; and, therefore, their overthrow, by a spiritual regeneration of their
+subjects, is inevitable.
+
+"We register our testimony, not only against all wars, whether offensive
+or defensive, but all preparations for war; against every naval ship,
+every arsenal, every fortification; against the militia system and a
+standing army; against all military chieftains and soldiers; against all
+monuments commemorative of victory over a foreign foe, all trophies won in
+battle, all celebrations in honor of military or naval exploits; against
+all appropriations for the defence of a nation by force and arms, on the
+part of any legislative body; against every edict of government requiring
+of its subjects military service. Hence we deem it unlawful to bear arms,
+or to hold a military office.
+
+"As every human government is upheld by physical strength, and its laws
+are enforced virtually at the point of the bayonet, we cannot hold any
+office which imposes upon its incumbent the obligation to compel men to do
+right, on pain of imprisonment or death. We therefore voluntarily exclude
+ourselves from every legislative and judicial body, and repudiate all
+human politics, worldly honors, and stations of authority. If _we_ cannot
+occupy a seat in the legislature, or on the bench, neither can we elect
+_others_ to act as our substitutes in any such capacity.
+
+"It follows that we cannot sue any man at law, to compel him by force to
+restore any thing which he may have wrongfully taken from us or others;
+but, if he has seized our coat, we shall surrender up our cloak rather
+than subject him to punishment.
+
+"We believe that the penal code of the old covenant, AN EYE FOR AN EYE,
+AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH, has been abrogated by JESUS CHRIST; and that,
+under the new covenant, the forgiveness, instead of the punishment, of
+enemies has been enjoined upon all his disciples, in all cases whatsoever.
+To extort money from enemies, or set them upon a pillory, or cast them
+into prison or hang them upon a gallows, is obviously not to forgive, but
+to take retribution. VENGEANCE IS MINE--I WILL REPAY, SAITH THE LORD.
+
+"The history of mankind is crowded with evidences proving that physical
+coercion is not adapted to moral regeneration; that the sinful
+dispositions of man can be subdued only by love; that evil can be
+exterminated from the earth only by goodness; that it is not safe to rely
+upon an arm of flesh, upon man, whose breath is in his nostrils, to
+preserve us from harm; that there is great security in being gentle,
+harmless, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy; that it is only the meek
+who shall inherit the earth, for the violent, who resort to the sword, are
+destined to perish with the sword. Hence, as a measure of sound policy,--of
+safety to property, life, and liberty,--of public quietude and private
+enjoyment,--as well as on the ground of allegiance to HIM who is KING OF
+KINGS and LORD OF LORDS,--we cordially adopt the non-resistance principle;
+being confident that it provides for all possible consequences, will
+insure all things needful to us, is armed with omnipotent power, and must
+ultimately triumph over every assailing force.
+
+"We advocate no Jacobinical doctrines. The spirit of Jacobinism is the
+spirit of retaliation, violence, and murder. It neither fears God nor
+regards man. _We_ would be filled with the Spirit of CHRIST. If we abide
+by our principles, it is impossible for us to be disorderly, or plot
+treason, or participate in any evil work: we shall submit to every
+ordinance of man, FOR THE LORD'S SAKE; obey all the requirements of
+government, except such as we deem contrary to the commands of the gospel;
+and in no case resist the operation of law, except by meekly submitting to
+the penalty of disobedience.
+
+"But while we shall adhere to the doctrine of non-resistance and passive
+submission to enemies, we purpose, in a moral and spiritual sense, to
+speak and act boldly in the cause of GOD; to assail iniquity in high
+places and in low places; to apply our principles to all existing civil,
+political, legal, and ecclesiastical institutions; and to hasten the time
+when the kingdoms of this world will have become the kingdoms of our LORD
+and of his CHRIST, and he shall reign forever.
+
+"It appears to us a self-evident truth, that whatever the gospel is
+designed to destroy at any period of the world, being contrary to it,
+ought now to be abandoned. If, then, the time is predicted, when swords
+shall be beaten into ploughshares, and spears into pruning-hooks, and men
+shall not learn the art of war any more, it follows that all who
+manufacture, sell, or wield those deadly weapons, do thus array themselves
+against the peaceful dominion of the SON OF GOD on earth."
+
+Having thus frankly stated their principles and purposes, they proceed to
+specify the measures they propose to adopt, in carrying their object into
+effect, as follows:--
+
+"We expect to prevail through THE FOOLISHNESS OF PREACHING, striving to
+commend ourselves unto every man's conscience, in the sight of GOD. From
+the press, we shall promulgate our sentiments as widely as practicable. We
+shall endeavor to secure the cooeperation of all persons, of whatever name
+or sect. The triumphant progress of the cause of TEMPERANCE and of
+ABOLITION in our land, through the instrumentality of benevolent and
+voluntary associations, encourages us to combine our own means and efforts
+for the promotion of a still greater cause. Hence we shall employ
+lecturers, circulate tracts and publications, form societies, and petition
+our state and national governments, in relation to the subject of
+UNIVERSAL PEACE. It will be our leading object to devise ways and means
+for effecting a radical change in the views, feelings and practices of
+society, respecting the sinfulness of war and the treatment of enemies.
+
+"In entering upon the great work before us, we are not unmindful that, in
+its prosecution, we may be called to test our sincerity, even as in a
+fiery ordeal. It may subject us to insult, outrage, suffering, yea, even
+death itself. We anticipate no small amount of misconception,
+misrepresentation, calumny. Tumults may arise against us. The ungodly and
+violent, the proud and Pharisaical, the ambitious and tyrannical,
+principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places, may
+combine to crush us. So they treated the MESSIAH, whose example we are
+humbly striving to imitate. If we suffer with him, we know that we shall
+reign with him. We shall not be afraid of their terror, neither be
+troubled. Our confidence is in the LORD ALMIGHTY, not in man.
+
+"Having withdrawn from human protection, what can sustain us but that
+faith which overcomes the world? We shall not think it strange concerning
+the fiery trial which is to try us, as though some strange thing had
+happened unto us, but rejoice, inasmuch as we are partakers of CHRIST'S
+sufferings. Wherefore we commit the keeping of our souls to GOD, in
+well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. FOR EVERY ONE THAT FORSAKES
+HOUSES, OR BRETHREN, OR SISTERS, OR FATHER, OR MOTHER, OR WIFE, OR
+CHILDREN, OR LANDS FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, SHALL RECEIVE A HUNDRED FOLD, AND
+SHALL INHERIT EVERLASTING LIFE."
+
+For entertaining these sentiments, they say that they "have been
+stigmatized as no human government men," and ranked among disorganizers
+and anarchists. But they believe that the gospel requires men to suppress
+every angry emotion, to forgive every injury, to revenge none; and they
+ask, "Shall we forgive as individuals, and retaliate as communities? Shall
+we turn the other cheek as individuals, and plunge a dagger into the heart
+of our enemy as nations? We might as well be sober as individuals, and
+drunk as nations. We might as well be merciful as individuals, and rob as
+patriots." They believe that the forgiveness of enemies, whether foreign
+or domestic, is the essence, the chief virtue, the soul of the gospel;
+that we should preach our Savior's peace, even if it brings us to our
+Savior's cross; that Christians should not punish, either to amend those
+who trespass against them, or to comfort themselves; for they do not amend
+others by fines and imprisonments, nor do they need any better comfort
+than that of their Savior, who, on the cross, not only prayed, but
+apologized for his murderers; that, if the gospel is right in prescribing
+pardon, the law is wrong in inflicting punishment; that, if a Christian
+reigns, he reigns by love, not by force; that he cannot smile with frowns,
+forgive with punishment, love with hatred, bless with the sword, do good
+with evil, be humble with pride, love God and serve Mammon; that moral
+power would govern men altogether cheaper and better than physical; that
+the destruction of every kingdom that has heretofore existed, proves that
+men will not, cannot be governed by physical force; that the refusal of
+our Savior to govern, when he had the power of miracles, was his greatest
+miracle; and that his obedience, forgiveness, sufferings, and death,
+established the constitution of a government, in which peace on earth and
+good-will to men will be maintained by the God of peace, the Prince of
+peace, and the Spirit of peace. They believe that, when Jesus referred his
+hearers to the law of retaliation, which law constituted the great
+fundamental principle in the Jewish civil government, and when, in express
+terms, he repealed that law, he laid the axe at the root of that
+government, and virtually repealed or abrogated the whole of it; for of
+what force can any civil government be, which cannot enforce its laws by
+inflicting evil upon its violators? When Jesus took from the Jewish civil
+ruler the right to inflict punishment, he declared the only civil
+government, which God had ever instituted, and recognized as of any
+rightful authority, to be null and void forever. They think it will be
+admitted, by all who receive the plain declarations of Scripture as truth,
+that no man, as an individual, has the right to render evil for evil, or
+to enforce even his lawful claims, by his fist, the club, or the sword.
+But if a man has no such right as an individual, he has none as a member
+of a family, or as the inhabitant of a town, county, state, or nation;
+hence he cannot delegate any such right to others, called legislators,
+magistrates, judges, sheriffs, &c. If no man has the right to retaliate
+with the fist, or club, or sword, it is equally and immutably true that he
+has no right to render evil for evil, by using laws, or magistrates, or
+judges, or sheriffs, as the clubs, or swords, or the instruments of such
+retaliation. When men "resist evil," either by the use of the club, or of
+human law, the principle upon which they act is the same in both cases;
+the only difference is in the instruments employed.
+
+
+
+
+
+SOUTHCOTTERS.
+
+
+Dr. Evans gives the following account of the religious views and opinions
+of Joanna Southcott, who made considerable noise in England, towards the
+close of the last century:--
+
+"The mission of this prophetess commenced in the year 1792, and the number
+of people who have joined with her from that period to the present time,
+as believing her to be divinely inspired, was considerable. It was
+asserted that she was the instrument, under the direction of Christ, to
+announce the establishment of his kingdom on earth, as a fulfilment of all
+the promises in the Scriptures, and of that prayer which he himself gave
+to his followers; and more particularly of the promise made to the woman
+in the fall, through which the human race is to be redeemed from all the
+effects of it in the end. We are taught by the communication of the Spirit
+of truth to her, that the seven days of the creation were types of the two
+periods in which the reign of Satan and of Christ are to be proved and
+contrasted. Satan was conditionally to have his reign tried for six
+thousand years, shadowed by the six days in which the Lord worked, as his
+Spirit has striven with man while under the powers of darkness; but
+Satan's reign is to be shortened, for the sake of the elect, as declared
+in the gospel; and Satan is to have a further trial at the expiration of
+the thousand years, for a time equal to the number of the days shortened.
+At the close of the seven thousand years, the judgment is to take place,
+and the whole human race will collectively bring forward the testimony of
+the evil they suffered under the reign of Satan, and of the good they
+enjoyed under the spiritual reign of Christ. These two testimonies will be
+evidence, before the whole creation of God, that the pride of Satan was
+the cause of his rebellion in heaven, and that he was the root of evil
+upon earth; and, consequently, when those two great proofs have been
+brought forward, that part of the human race that has fallen under his
+power, to be tormented by being in the society of Satan and his angels,
+will revolt from him in that great day, will mourn that they have been
+deluded, will repent, and the Savior of all will hold out his hand to them
+in mercy, and will then prepare a new earth for them to work
+righteousness, and prepare them ultimately to join his saints, who have
+fought the good fight in this world, while under the reign of Satan.
+
+"The mission of Joanna is to be accomplished by a perfect obedience to the
+Spirit that directs her, and so to be made to claim the promise of
+'bruising the head of the serpent;' and which promise was made to the
+woman on her casting the blame upon Satan, whom she unwittingly obeyed,
+and thus man became dead to the knowledge of the good; and so he blamed
+his Creator for giving him the woman, who was pronounced his helpmate for
+good. To fulfil the attribute of justice, Christ took upon himself that
+blame, and assumed his humanity, to suffer on the cross for it, that he
+might justly bring the cross upon Satan, and rid him from the earth, and
+then complete the creation of man, so as to be after his own image. It is
+declared that 'the seed of the woman' are those who in faith shall join
+with her in claiming the promise made in the fall; and they are to
+subscribe with their hands unto the Lord that they do thus join with her,
+praying for the destruction of the powers of darkness, and for the
+establishment of the kingdom of Christ. Those who thus come forward in
+this spiritual war, are to have the seal of the Lord's protection; and if
+they remain faithful soldiers, death and hell shall not have power over
+them; and these are to make up the sealed number of one hundred and
+forty-four thousand, to stand with the Lamb on Mount Sion. The fall of
+Satan's kingdom will be a second deluge over the earth; so that, from his
+having brought the human race under his power, a great part of them will
+fall with him; for the Lord will pluck out of his kingdom all that offend
+and do wickedly. The voice which announces the coming of the Messiah is
+accompanied with judgments, and the nations must be shaken and brought low
+before they will lay these things to heart. When all these things are
+accomplished, then the desire of nations will come in glory, so that
+'every eye shall see him,' and he will give his kingdom to his saints.
+
+"It is represented that in the Bible is recorded every event by which the
+Deity will work the ultimate happiness of the human race, but that the
+great plan is, for the most part, represented by types and shadows, and
+otherwise so wrapped up in mysteries, as to be inscrutable to human
+wisdom. As the Lord pronounced that man should become dead to knowledge if
+he ate the forbidden fruit, so the Lord must prove his words true. He
+therefore selected a peculiar people as depositaries of the records of
+that knowledge; and he appeared among them, and they proved themselves
+dead to every knowledge of him, by crucifying him. He will, in like
+manner, put the wild olive to the same test; and the result will be, that
+he will be now crucified in the spirit.
+
+"The mission of Joanna began in 1792, at which time she had prophecies
+given her, showing how the whole was to be accomplished. Among other
+things, the Lord said he should visit the surrounding nations with various
+calamities for fifteen years, as a warning to _this_ land; and that then
+he should bring about events here which should more clearly manifest the
+truth of her mission, by judgment and otherwise; so that this should be
+the happy nation to be the first redeemed from its troubles, and be the
+instrument for awakening the rest of the world to a sense of what is
+coming upon all, and for destroying _the Beast_, and those who worship his
+image.
+
+"Joanna Southcott died of a protracted illness. It Was given out that she
+was to be the mother of a _Second Shiloh_. Presents were accordingly made
+her for the _Babe_, especially a superb cradle, with a Hebrew inscription
+in poetry. But she expired, and no child appeared on the occasion. A stone
+placed over her remains in the New Burial-ground, Mary-le-bone, has this
+mystic inscription:--
+
+
+    In Memory Of
+    Joanna Southcott.
+    Who departed this life December 27th, 1814,
+    Aged 60 years.
+
+    While, through all thy wondrous days,
+    Heaven and earth enraptured gaze,--
+    While vain sages think they know
+    Secrets thou alone canst show,--
+    Time alone will tell what hour
+    Thou'lt appear in greater power."
+
+
+
+
+
+FAMILY OF LOVE.
+
+
+A sect that arose in Holland, in the sixteenth century, founded by Henry
+Nicholas, a Westphalian. He maintained that he had a commission from
+Heaven to teach men that the essence of religion consisted in the feelings
+of divine love; that all other theological tenets, whether they related to
+objects of faith or modes of worship, were of no sort of moment, and,
+consequently, that it was a matter of the most perfect indifference what
+opinions Christians entertained concerning the divine nature, provided
+their hearts burned with the pure and sacred flame of piety and love.
+
+
+
+
+
+HUTCHINSONIANS.
+
+
+Hutchinsonians, the followers of John Hutchinson, born in Yorkshire, 1674,
+and who, in the early part of his life, served the duke of Somerset in the
+capacity of steward. The Hebrew Scriptures, he says, comprise a perfect
+system of natural philosophy, theology, and religion. In opposition to Dr.
+Woodward's "Natural History of the Earth," Mr. Hutchinson, in 1724,
+published the first part of his curious book, called "Moses' Principia."
+Its second part was presented to the public in 1727, which contains, as he
+apprehends, the principles of the Scripture philosophy, which are a plenum
+and the air. So high an opinion did he entertain of the Hebrew language,
+that he thought the Almighty must have employed it to communicate every
+species of knowledge, and that, accordingly, every species of knowledge is
+to be found in the Old Testament. Of his mode of philosophizing, the
+following specimen is brought forward to the reader's attention:--"The air,
+he supposes, exists in three conditions,--fire, light, and spirit;--the two
+latter are the finer and grosser parts of the air in motion; from the
+earth to the sun, the air is finer and finer, till it becomes pure light
+near the confines of the sun, and fire in the orb of the sun, or solar
+focus. From the earth towards the circumference of this system, in which
+he includes the fixed stars, the air becomes grosser and grosser, till it
+becomes stagnant, in which condition it is at the utmost verge of this
+system, from whence, in his opinion, the expression of _outer darkness_,
+and _blackness of darkness_, used in the New Testament, seems to be
+taken."
+
+The followers of Mr. Hutchinson are numerous, and among others the Rev.
+Mr. Romaine, Lord Duncan Forbes, of Culloden, and the late amiable Dr.
+Horne, bishop of Norwich.
+
+
+
+
+
+MORMONITES, OR THE CHURCH OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
+
+
+In a little work entitled _Religious Creeds and Statistics_, published in
+1836, we gave some account of the origin and faith of the Mormonites, or
+_Latter-Day Saints_, as they prefer being called. Since that time, we have
+received an additional stock of the publications of this people, and are
+now enabled to tell their story in their own words.
+
+In a letter dated Nauvoo, Illinois, March 1, 1842, Prophet Joseph Smith
+says:--
+
+
+    "On the evening of the 21st of September, A. D. 1823, while I was
+    praying unto God, and endeavoring to exercise faith in the
+    precious promises of Scripture, on a sudden a light like that of
+    day, only of a far purer and more glorious appearance and
+    brightness, burst into the room; indeed, the first sight was as
+    though the house was filled with consuming fire; the appearance
+    produced a shock that affected the whole body In a moment, a
+    personage stood before me surrounded with a glory yet greater than
+    that with which I was already surrounded. This messenger
+    proclaimed himself to be an angel of God, sent to bring the joyful
+    tidings, that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was
+    at hand to be fulfilled; that the preparatory work for the second
+    coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was
+    at hand for the gospel, in all its fulness, to be preached, in
+    power, unto all nations, that a people might be prepared for the
+    millennial reign.
+
+    "I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument in the hands
+    of God to bring about some of his purposes in this glorious
+    dispensation.
+
+    "I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this
+    country, and shown who they were, and from whence they came; a
+    brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilization, laws,
+    governments, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the
+    blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people,
+    was made known unto me. I was also told where there were deposited
+    some plates, on which was engraven an abridgment of the records of
+    the ancient prophets that had existed on this continent. The angel
+    appeared to me three times the same night, and unfolded the same
+    things. After having received many visits from the angels of God,
+    unfolding the majesty and glory of the events that should
+    transpire in the last days, on the morning of the 22d of
+    September, A. D 1827, the angel of the Lord delivered the records
+    into my hands.
+
+    "These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of
+    gold; each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long, and
+    not quite so thick as common tin. They were filled with
+    engravings, in Egyptian characters, and bound together in a
+    volume, as the leaves of a book, with three rings running through
+    the whole. The volume was something near six inches in thickness,
+    a part of which was sealed. The characters on the unsealed part
+    were small, and beautifully engraved. The whole book exhibited
+    many marks of antiquity in its construction, and much skill in the
+    art of engraving. With the records was found a curious instrument,
+    which the ancients called 'Urim and Thummim,' which consisted of
+    two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a
+    breastplate.
+
+    "Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the
+    record, by the gift and power of God.
+
+    "In this important and interesting book the history of ancient
+    America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that
+    came from the tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages, to
+    the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era. We are
+    informed by these records that America, in ancient times, has been
+    inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called
+    Jaredites, and came directly from the tower of Babel. The second
+    race came directly from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred
+    years before Christ. They were principally Israelites, of the
+    descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time
+    that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the
+    inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second
+    race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The
+    remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country. This book
+    also tells us that our Savior made his appearance upon this
+    continent after his resurrection, that he planted the gospel here
+    in all its fulness, and richness, and power, and blessing; that
+    they had apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists;
+    the same order, the same priesthood, the same ordinances, gifts,
+    powers, and blessing, as were enjoyed on the eastern continent;
+    that the people were cut off in consequence of their
+    transgressions; that the last of their prophets who existed among
+    them was commanded to write an abridgment of their prophecies,
+    history, &c., and to hide it up in the earth, and that it should
+    come forth, and be united with the Bible, for the accomplishment
+    of the purposes of God in the last days. For a more particular
+    account, I would refer to the Book of Mormon, which can be
+    purchased at Nauvoo, or from any of our travelling elders.
+
+    "As soon as the news of this discovery was made known, false
+    reports, misrepresentation, and slander flew, as on the wings of
+    the wind, in every direction; the house was frequently beset by
+    mobs and evil-designing persons; several times I was shot at, and
+    very narrowly escaped, and every device was made use of to get the
+    plates away from me; but the power and blessing of God attended
+    me, and several began to believe my testimony.
+
+    "On the 6th of April, 1830, the 'Church of Jesus Christ of
+    Latter-Day Saints' was first organized in the town of Manchester,
+    Ontario county, state of New York. Some few were called and
+    ordained by the spirit of revelation and prophecy, and began to
+    preach as the Spirit gave them utterance; and though weak, yet
+    were they strengthened by the power of God, and many were brought
+    to repentance, were immersed in the water, and were filled with
+    the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. They saw visions and
+    prophesied: devils were cast out, and the sick healed by the
+    laying on of hands. From that time, the work rolled forth with
+    astonishing rapidity, and churches were soon formed in the states
+    of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri.
+    In the last-named state, a considerable settlement was formed in
+    Jackson county; numbers joined the church, and we were increasing
+    rapidly; we made large purchases of land, our farms teemed with
+    plenty, and peace and happiness were enjoyed in our domestic
+    circle and throughout our neighborhood; but we could not associate
+    with our neighbors, who were many of them of the basest of men."
+
+
+After giving an account of their removal from Jackson to Clay, and from
+Clay to Caldwell and Davies counties, Missouri, with a relation of their
+persecutions and consequent distresses, the prophet proceeds:--
+
+
+    "We arrived in the state of Illinois in 1839, where we found a
+    hospitable people and a friendly home; a people who were willing
+    to be governed by the principles of law and humanity. We have
+    commenced to build a city, called 'Nauvoo,' in Hancock county. We
+    number from six to eight thousand here, besides vast numbers in
+    the county around, and in almost every county of the state. We
+    have a city charter granted us, and a charter for a legion, the
+    troops of which now number fifteen hundred. We have also a charter
+    for a university, for an agricultural and manufacturing society,
+    have our own laws and administrators, and possess all the
+    privileges that other free and enlightened citizens enjoy.
+
+    "Persecution has not stopped the progress of truth, but has only
+    added fuel to the flame; it has spread with increasing rapidity.
+    Proud of the cause which they have espoused, and conscious of
+    their innocence, and of the truth of their system, amidst calumny
+    and reproach have the elders of this church gone forth, and
+    planted the gospel in almost every state in the Union; it has
+    penetrated our cities, it has spread over our villages, and has
+    caused thousands of our intelligent, noble, and patriotic citizens
+    to obey its divine mandates, and be governed by its sacred truths.
+    It has also spread into England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. In
+    the year 1839, where a few of our missionaries were sent, over
+    five thousand joined the standard of truth. There are numbers now
+    joining in every land.
+
+    "Our missionaries are going forth to different nations; and in
+    Germany, Palestine, New Holland, the East Indies, and other
+    places, the standard of truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand
+    can stop the work from progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs
+    may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the
+    truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it
+    has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every
+    country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall
+    be accomplished, and the great Jehovah shall say, 'The work is
+    done!'
+
+
+"We believe in God, the eternal Father, and in his Son Jesus Christ, and
+in the Holy Ghost.
+
+"We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for
+Adam's transgression.
+
+"We believe that, through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be
+saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.
+
+"We believe that these ordinances are, 1. faith in the Lord Jesus Christ;
+2. repentance; 3. baptism, by immersion, for the remission of sins; 4.
+laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
+
+"We believe that a man must be called of God by 'prophecy, and by laying
+on of hands,' by those who are in authority to preach the gospel, and
+administer in the ordinances thereof.
+
+"We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive church,
+viz., apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, &c.
+
+"We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions,
+healing, interpretation of tongues, &c.
+
+"We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated
+correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
+
+"We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we
+believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining
+to the kingdom of God.
+
+"We believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and in the restoration of
+the ten tribes; that Zion will be built upon this continent; that Christ
+will reign personally upon the earth; and that the earth will be renewed
+and receive its paradisaic glory.
+
+"We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the
+dictates of our conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them
+worship how, where, or what, they may.
+
+"We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and
+magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
+
+"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent virtuous, and in
+doing good to _all men_. Indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition
+of Paul,--we 'believe all things, we hope all things;'--we have endured many
+things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is any thing
+virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these
+things."
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+From the _Gospel Reflector_, a volume edited by B. Winchester, presiding
+elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Philadelphia, we
+extract the following.
+
+
+    "History Of The Ancients Of America, And Also Of The Book Of
+    Mormon.
+
+    "Six hundred years B. C, according to the Book of Mormon, Lehi,
+    who was a righteous man, was forewarned of the destruction of
+    Jerusalem and the Babylonish captivity, who was commanded by the
+    Lord, took his family and fled into the wilderness. He pitched his
+    tent in the wilderness, near the Red Sea, and sent back his sons
+    to Jerusalem, who persuaded one Ishmael and his family to
+    accompany them to their father Lehi. The Lord promised to lead
+    them to a choice land above all lands; therefore they set out on
+    their journey for this land. After a long and tedious journey,
+    they came to the great waters, or the ocean. Nephi, the son of
+    Lehi, who was also a prophet, and their pilot, or leader, in the
+    wilderness, was commanded and instructed to build a ship
+    sufficiently large to transport them over the sea. This work was
+    accomplished in eight years from the time they left Jerusalem.
+    They set sail, and in a proper time they landed, as we infer from
+    their record, somewhere on the western coast of South America.
+    They immediately commenced tilling the earth, and erecting
+    mansions for dwelling-places.
+
+    "Lehi had six sons, Laman, Lemuel, Nephi, Sam, Jacob, and Joseph.
+    Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, rebelled against God, and
+    would not keep his commandments; for this they were cursed. Their
+    posterity, in process of time, became a powerful nation, but
+    extremely wicked; and their chief occupations were hunting,
+    plundering, and roving about from place to place. In the Book of
+    Mormon, they are called Lamanites. The other sons of Lehi were
+    obedient to the commands of God. Their posterity, also, in the
+    course of time, became a great nation, and were called Nephites.
+    To them God committed his divine oracles, (the holy priesthood,)
+    and they had prophets and inspired men among them. They also kept
+    a record of their prophecies and revelations, and the proceedings
+    of their nation. When they left Jerusalem, they brought with them
+    the law of Moses, and the writings of the former prophets, down to
+    the days of Jeremiah. This accounts for the quotations from Isaiah
+    and others, which are found in the Book of Mormon.
+
+    "The Nephites tilled the land, built cities, and erected temples
+    for places of worship; but the Lamanites lived a more indolent
+    life, although, in some instances, they built cities. The Nephites
+    were at times faithful to God; at other times they were
+    indifferent, and would not be faithful. They frequently had long
+    and tedious wars with the Lamanites, and were often driven before
+    them. They were constantly emigrating to the north. At length they
+    commenced settlements in the region of country not far from the
+    Isthmus of Darien; and, while in those parts, they advanced
+    further in science and arts than at any time previous, and built
+    more spacious cities and buildings than they did before.
+
+    "Six hundred and thirty odd years from the time Lehi left
+    Jerusalem, Christ, after his resurrection, appeared unto many of
+    the Nephites, and established his church, chose disciples, and
+    sent them throughout the land to preach his gospel, thus
+    fulfilling the saying, 'Other sheep I have, which are not of this
+    fold; them I must go and bring also.'
+
+    "Individuals of the Lamanites, at times, were obedient to the
+    faith. The Nephites, after Christ's appearance, were faithful for
+    many years; but, in the third or fourth century, iniquity began to
+    abound, and their love began to wax cold. Some dissented, and
+    raised up churches for the sake of gain; and thus they were
+    troubled with the spirit of pride and haughtiness. God commanded
+    Mormon, who lived in the fourth century, to preach repentance to
+    them, and foretell their destruction if they would not repent. The
+    Lord, foreseeing that they would not repent, commanded Mormon to
+    collect the writings of his forefathers,--their revelations and
+    prophecies, &c.,--and make an abridgment of them, and engrave them
+    upon new plates, (their manner of keeping records was to engrave
+    them on metallic plates.) But in consequence of their wars, and
+    their flight to the north, to escape the Lamanites, he did not
+    live to finish this work; and, when the final destruction of the
+    Nephites drew near, he gave the records to his son Moroni, who
+    lived to see their final extermination, or destruction, by the
+    hands of the Lamanites, and they, with his father, left to moulder
+    on the plain.
+
+    "Thus a powerful nation, whose fathers were the favorites of
+    Heaven, were cut off, and their names have faded into oblivion!
+
+    "The Indians of America are the descendants of the Lamanites, and,
+    according to predictions that are in the Book of Mormon, they will
+    yet lay down their weapons of war, and be converted unto the Lord.
+
+    "Moroni finished compiling and abridging the records of his
+    fathers, which he engraved upon new plates, for that purpose, to
+    use his own words, as follows:--'And now, behold, we have written
+    this record, according to our knowledge, in the characters which
+    are called among us _the reformed Egyptian_; being handed down and
+    altered by us, according to our manner of speech. And, if our
+    plates had been sufficiently large, we should have written in
+    Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and, if we
+    could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no
+    imperfection in our record. But the Lord knoweth the things which
+    we have written, and also that none other people knoweth our
+    language; therefore he hath prepared means for the interpretation
+    thereof.'
+
+    "He also engraved on them an account, called the 'Book of Ether'
+    of a people who left the old world, and came to this continent at
+    the time the language was confounded at Babel, which was a partial
+    fulfilment of the saying, 'So the Lord scattered them abroad from
+    thence upon the face of all the earth.' (Gen. 11:8.)
+
+    "Moroni was then commanded to deposit this record in the earth,
+    together with the _Urim and Thummim_, or, as the Nephites would
+    have said, _Interpreters_, which were instruments to assist in the
+    work of the translation, with a promise from the Lord that it
+    should be brought to light by means of a Gentile nation that
+    should possess the land, and be published to the world, and go
+    forth to the Lamanites, and be one of the instruments in the hands
+    of God for their conversion. It remained safe in the place where
+    it was deposited, till it was brought to light by the
+    administration of angels, and translated by the gift and power of
+    God."
+
+
+The Mormon Bible contains five hundred and eighty-eight duodecimo pages,
+and purports to have been written at different times, and by the different
+authors, whose names the parts respectively bear. The following are the
+names of the different books, in the order in which they occur:--
+
+
+    1. First Book of Nephi.
+
+    2. Second Book of Nephi.
+
+    3. Book of Jacob, brother of Nephi.
+
+    4. Book of Enos, son of Jacob.
+
+    5. Book of Jarom, son of Enos.
+
+    6. Book of Omni, son of Jarom.
+
+    7. Words of Mormon.
+
+    8. Book of Mosiah.
+
+    9. Book of Alma.
+
+    10. Book of Helaman.
+
+    11. Book of Nephi, son of Nephi, son of Helaman.
+
+    12. Book of Nephi, son of Nephi, one of the disciples of Christ.
+
+    13. Book of Mormon.
+
+    14. Book of Ether.
+
+    15. Book of Moroni.
+
+
+Two new books have recently been published,--the Prophecies of Enoch, in
+the _Morning and Evening Star_, and the Book of Abraham, in the _Times and
+Seasons_.
+
+The Mormons seem to think that revelations from Heaven and miracles
+wrought, are as necessary now, and as important to the salvation of the
+present generation, as they were to any generation in any preceding age or
+period.
+
+In a volume entitled "Doctrine and Covenants," are a great number of
+revelations, purporting to be from Jesus Christ to Smith and his
+coadjutors. The following extracts from a revelation given on the 22d and
+23d of September, 1832, convey, it is believed, a fair specimen of the
+whole. We copy _verbatim_.
+
+
+    "Verily, verily, I say unto you, It is expedient that every man
+    who goes forth to proclaim mine everlasting gospel, that, inasmuch
+    as they have families, and receive moneys by gift, that they
+    should send it unto them, or make use of it for their benefit, as
+    the Lord shall direct them; for thus it seemeth me good. And let
+    all those who have not families, who receive moneys, send it up
+    unto the bishop in Zion, or unto the bishop in Ohio, that it may
+    be consecrated for the bringing forth of the revelations, and the
+    printing thereof, and for establishing Zion.
+
+    "And if any man shall give unto any of you a coat, or a suit, take
+    the old and cast it unto the poor, and go your way rejoicing. And
+    if any man among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take with
+    him he that is weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that
+    he may become strong also.
+
+    "And the bishop, also, should travel round about and among all the
+    churches, searching after the poor, to administer to their wants
+    by humbling the rich and the proud; he should, also, employ an
+    agent to take charge and to do his secular business, as he shall
+    direct; nevertheless, let the bishop go unto the city of New York,
+    and also to the city of Albany, and also to the city of Boston,
+    and warn the people of those cities with the sound of the gospel,
+    with a loud voice, of the desolation and utter abolishment which
+    awaits them if they do reject these things; for if they do reject
+    these things, the hour of their judgment is nigh, and their house
+    shall be left unto them desolate. Let him trust in me, and he
+    shall not be confounded, and a hair of his head shall not fall to
+    the ground unnoticed.
+
+    "And verily I say unto you, the rest of my servants, Go ye forth,
+    as your circumstances shall permit, in your several callings, unto
+    the great and notable cities and villages, reproving the world, in
+    righteousness, of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, setting
+    forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in
+    the last days; for with you, saith the Lord Almighty, I will rend
+    their kingdoms; I will not only shake the earth, but the starry
+    heavens shall tremble; for I the Lord have put forth my hand to
+    exert the powers of heaven: ye cannot see it now; yet a little
+    while and ye shall see it, and know that I am, and that I will
+    come and reign with my people. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
+    and the end. Amen."
+
+
+Joseph Smith is the son of a farmer, and was born in Sharon, Vermont, 23d
+December, 1805. His father removed to the state of New York about the year
+1815, and resided in Palmyra, and afterwards in Manchester.
+
+Smith has many enemies, and his doctrines are warmly opposed; still, it
+must be acknowledged that, by his talents, or the magic influence his
+scheme of religion has on the minds of men, or by a union of both, he has
+acquired an imposing station in the world. He is styled _Prophet and High
+Priest of Jesus Christ, President of the Council of the Church of the
+Latter-Day Saints,_ and _Lieutenant-General of the Nauvoo Legion_. He
+sends his elders, bishops, priests, and teachers, by scores, into all
+lands, and more than _seventy-five thousand people_ bow, with willing
+subjection, to his mandates.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+Nauvoo, Illinois, formerly Commerce, is situated on the east side of the
+Mississippi River, at the head of Des Moines Rapids, about two hundred and
+ten miles (by the river) above St. Louis, thirteen hundred and fifty miles
+above New Orleans, and about three hundred miles below Dubuque, in Iowa.
+It comprises two miles square of fertile land. The city of Nauvoo, which
+was incorporated in 1841, is delightfully located, on rising ground, near
+the bank of the river. It contains many handsome buildings of brick and
+stone, among which are the Nauvoo House, a large stone building for the
+accommodation of travellers, and the Mormon Temple, likewise of stone,
+measuring on the ground one hundred by one hundred and twenty feet,
+exclusive of the wings of the building. This place has one of the best
+landings on the river, and its trade is considerable. The number of
+inhabitants, at the present time, is about eight thousand, chiefly
+Mormons. _Nauvoo_ is said to signify, THE CITY OF GOD.
+
+
+
+
+
+DALEITES.
+
+
+The followers of David Dale, a very industrious manufacturer, a most
+benevolent Christian, and the humble pastor of an Independent congregation
+at Glasgow. At first, he formed a connection with the _Glassites_, in many
+of whose opinions he concurred, but was disgusted by their narrow and
+worldly spirit: he therefore separated from them, chiefly on the ground of
+preferring practical to speculative religion, and Christian charity to
+severity of church discipline. As he grew rich by industry, he devoted all
+his property to doing good, and ranks high among the philanthropists of
+his age. He was founder of the celebrated institution of New Lanark, now
+under Mr. Robert Owen, his son-in-law. The Daleites now form the second
+class of Independents in Scotland.
+
+
+
+
+
+EMANCIPATORS.
+
+
+This body of Christians was formed in Kentucky, in 1805, by the
+association of a number of ministers and churches of the Baptist
+denomination. They differ in no respect from the regular Baptists, except
+in the decided stand they have taken against slavery, in every branch of
+it, both in principle and practice, as being a sinful and abominable
+system, fraught with peculiar evils and miseries, which every good man
+ought to abandon and bear his testimony against. Their desires and
+endeavors are, to effect, as soon as it can be done, and in the most
+prudent and advantageous manner, both to the slaves and to their owners,
+the general and complete emancipation of this numerous race of enslaved,
+ignorant, and degraded beings, who are now, by the laws and customs of the
+land, exposed to hereditary and perpetual bondage. (See Exod. 3:7, 9;
+10:3; 6:2; 21:2, 16. Levit. 19:18. Deut. 15:12, 18; 23:15; 24:7. Job 6:14;
+29:11. Ps. 12:5; 103:6. Prov. 16:8; 22:16. Eccl. 4:1; 5:8. Isa. 1:16;
+33:15; 58:6. Jer. 5:26; 21:12; 22:13; 34:10, 11, 17; 50:33, 34. Ezek.
+18:5, 9; 22:29; 27:13. Dan. 4:27. Joel 3:3, 6. Mal. 2:10. Matt. 5:7; 7:12.
+Luke 4:18; 6:36. Rom. 12:9. 1 Cor. 7:23. Gal. 5:13. Col. 4:1. 1 Tim. 1:10.
+Heb. 13:3. James 2:13; 5:4. 2 Pet. 2:2. 1 John 4:20. Rev. 18:11, 13.)
+
+The Emancipators say to Christians of all denominations in the United
+States, in the words of an eloquent philanthropist, "Banish from your land
+the remains of slavery. Be consistent with your congressional declaration
+of rights. Remember, there never was, nor will be, a period when justice
+should not be done. Do what is just, and leave the event with God. Justice
+is the pillar that upholds the whole fabric of human society, and mercy is
+the genial ray which cheers and warms the habitations of men. The
+perfection of our social character consists in properly tempering the two
+with one another; in holding that middle course which admits of our being
+just without being rigid, and allows us to be generous without being
+unjust. May all the citizens of America be found in the performance of
+such social duties as will secure them peace and happiness in this world,
+and in the world to come life everlasting!"
+
+
+
+
+
+PERFECTIONISTS.
+
+
+A modern sect in New England, who believe that every individual action is
+either wholly sinful or wholly righteous, and that every being in the
+universe, at any given time, is either entirely holy or entirely wicked.
+Consequently, they unblushingly maintain that they themselves are free
+from sin. In support of this doctrine, they say that Christ dwells in and
+controls believers, and thus secures their perfect holiness; that the body
+of Christ, which is the church, is nourished and guided by the life and
+wisdom of its Head. Hence they condemn the greatest portion of the
+religion in the world named Christianity, as the work of Antichrist. "All
+the essential features of Judaism," they say, "and of its successor,
+Popery, may be distinctly traced in nearly every form of Protestantism;
+and although we rejoice in the blessings which the reformation has given
+us, we regard it as rightly named the _reformation_, it being an
+improvement of Antichrist, not a restoration of Christianity." This last
+opinion, which has some foundation in truth, has been long held, variously
+modified, in different parts of the Christian world.
+
+An unsuccessful attempt was made to propagate the views of this sect
+through the medium of a paper published at New Haven, Conn., entitled the
+_Perfectionist_.
+
+Methodists' Views Of Perfection.
+
+"The highest perfection which man can attain, while the soul dwells in the
+body, does not exclude ignorance, and error, and a thousand other
+infirmities. Now, from wrong judgments, wrong words and actions will often
+necessarily flow; and in some cases, wrong affections, also, may spring
+from the same source. I may judge wrong of you; I may think more or less
+highly of you than I ought to think; and this mistake in my judgment may
+not only occasion something wrong in my behavior, but it may have a still
+deeper effect; it may occasion something wrong in my affection. From a
+wrong apprehension, I may love and esteem you either more or less than I
+ought. Nor can I be freed from a liableness to such a mistake while I
+remain in a corruptible body. A thousand infirmities, in consequence of
+this, will attend my spirit, till it returns to God, who gave it; and, in
+numberless instances, it comes short of doing the will of God, as Adam did
+in paradise. Hence the best of men may say from the heart,
+
+
+    "Every moment, Lord, I need
+      The merit of thy death,"
+
+
+for innumerable violations of the Adamic, as well as the angelic law. It
+is well, therefore, for us, that we are not now under these, but under the
+law of love. "Love is [now] the fulfilling of the law," which is given to
+fallen man. This is now, with respect to us, "the perfect law." But even
+against this, through the present weakness of our understanding, we are
+continually liable to transgress. Therefore every man living needs the
+blood of atonement; or he could not stand before God.
+
+"What is, then, the perfection of which man is capable while he dwells in
+a corruptible body? It is the complying with that kind command, 'My son,
+give me thy heart.' It is the 'loving the Lord his God with all his heart,
+and with all his soul, and with all his mind.' This is the sum of
+Christian perfection: it is all comprised in that one word, _love_. The
+first branch of it is the love of God; and, as he that loves God loves his
+brother also, it is inseparably connected with the second, 'Thou shalt
+love thy neighbor as thyself;' thou shalt love every man as thy own soul,
+as Christ loved us. 'On these two commandments hang all the law and the
+prophets:' these contain the whole of Christian perfection.
+
+"Another view of this is given us in those words of the great apostle,
+'Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.' For, although
+this immediately and directly refers to the humility of our Lord, yet it
+may be taken in a far more extensive sense, so as to include the whole
+disposition of his mind, all his affections, all his tempers, both toward
+God and man. Now, it is certain that, as there was no evil affection in
+him, so no good affection or temper was wanting; so that 'whatsoever
+things are holy, whatsoever things are lovely,' are all included in 'the
+mind that was in Christ Jesus.'
+
+"St. Paul, when writing to the Galatians, places perfection in yet another
+view. It is the one undivided _fruit of the Spirit_, which he describes
+thus: 'The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
+gentleness, goodness, fidelity, [so the word should be translated here,]
+meekness, temperance.' What a glorious constellation of grace is here!
+Now, suppose all these things to be knit together in one, to be united
+together in the soul of a believer,--this is Christian perfection.
+
+How To Be Sought.
+
+"'But what is that faith whereby we are sanctified, saved from sin, and
+perfected in love?' It is a divine evidence and conviction, first, that
+God hath promised it in the holy Scripture. Till we are thoroughly
+satisfied of this, there is no moving one step farther. And one would
+imagine there needed not one word more to satisfy a reasonable man of this
+than the ancient promise, 'Then will I circumcise thy heart, and the heart
+of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
+soul, and with all thy mind.' How clearly does this express the being
+perfected in love!--how strongly imply the being saved from all sin! For as
+long as love takes up the whole heart, what room is there for sin therein?
+
+"It is a divine evidence and conviction, secondly, that what God hath
+promised he is able to perform. Admitting, therefore, that 'with men it is
+impossible' 'to bring a clean thing out of an unclean,' to purify the
+heart from all sin, and to fill it with all holiness,--yet this creates no
+difficulty in the case, seeing 'with God all things are possible.' And
+surely no one ever imagined it was possible to any power less than that of
+the Almighty! But if God speaks, it shall be done. God saith, 'Let there
+be light; and there [is] light.'
+
+"It is, thirdly, a divine evidence and conviction that he is able and
+willing to do it now. And why not? Is not a moment to him the same as a
+thousand years? He cannot want more time to accomplish whatever is his
+will. And he cannot want to stay for any more _worthiness_ or _fitness_ in
+the persons he is pleased to honor. We may, therefore, boldly say, at any
+point of time, 'Now is the day of salvation!' 'To-day, if ye will hear his
+voice, harden not your hearts.' 'Behold, all things are now ready; come
+unto the marriage.'
+
+"To this confidence that God is both able and willing to sanctify us now,
+there needs to be added one thing more--a divine evidence and conviction
+that he doeth it. In that hour it is done: God says to the inmost soul,
+'According to thy faith be it unto thee.' Then the soul is pure from every
+spot of sin; it is clean 'from all unrighteousness.' The believer then
+experiences the deep meaning of those solemn words, 'If we walk in the
+light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
+blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.'
+
+" 'But does God work this great work in the soul gradually, or
+instantaneously?' Perhaps it may be gradually wrought in some: I mean, in
+this sense, they do not advert to the particular moment wherein sin ceases
+to be. But it is infinitely desirable, were it the will of God, that it
+should be done instantaneously; that the Lord should destroy sin 'by the
+breath of his mouth,' in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. And so he
+generally does--a plain fact, of which there is evidence enough to satisfy
+any unprejudiced person. _Thou_, therefore, look for it every moment."--See
+_Wesley's Sermons_, vols. i. and ii.
+
+Oberlin Views Of Sanctification.
+
+In the fall of 1836, during an interesting revival of religion in Oberlin,
+Ohio, the minds of many became deeply interested in the inquiry, "Can we
+live holy lives? and, if we can, how?" At first, fears were entertained
+that some would run into the errors of the Perfectionists; but, finally,
+after much prayer and investigation, they adopted the following views of
+sanctification:--
+
+
+    "1. That entire obedience to the moral law constitutes entire
+    sanctification or holiness.
+
+    "2. That all moral agents are able to render this obedience.
+
+    "3. That because all moral agents are able to render this
+    obedience, they are bound to do so.
+
+    "4. That sufficient grace for the actual attainment of this state
+    is abundantly in the gospel, and that nothing prevents any
+    Christian from making this attainment in this life, but a neglect
+    to avail himself of the proffered grace of Christ.
+
+    "5. That all are bound to aim at and pray for this attainment in
+    this life, and that aiming at this state is indispensable to
+    Christian character.
+
+    "6. That obedience to the moral law, or a state of entire
+    sanctification, is in such a sense attainable, as to make it an
+    object of rational pursuit, with the _expectation of attaining
+    it_.
+
+    "7. That the philosophy of the mind, the commandments of God, the
+    promises and provisions of the gospel, and the attainments of Paul
+    and many others, should be presented, to induce men to aim at a
+    state of entire sanctification, with the expectation of attaining
+    it."
+
+
+Since these views were embraced at Oberlin, they have been extensively
+circulated by many books and pamphlets, and a paper, entitled the _Oberlin
+Evangelist_. By many Christians and ministers of different denominations
+these views have been received; but by others they are opposed.
+
+
+
+
+
+WALDENSES.
+
+
+Many authors of note make the antiquity of this denomination coeval with
+the apostolic age. The following is an extract from their confession of
+faith, which is said to have been copied out of certain manuscripts,
+bearing date nearly four hundred years before the time of Luther:--
+
+
+    "1. That the Scriptures teach that there is one God, almighty,
+    all-wise, and all-good, who made all things by his goodness; for
+    he formed Adam in his own image and likeness; but that, by the
+    envy of the devil, sin entered into the world; and that we are
+    sinners in and by Adam.
+
+    "2. That Christ was promised to our fathers, who received the law;
+    that so knowing, by the law, their unrighteousness and
+    insufficiency, they might desire the coming of Christ, to satisfy
+    for their sins, and accomplish the law by himself.
+
+    "3. That Christ was born in the time appointed by God the Father;
+    that is to say, in the time when all iniquity abounded, that he
+    might show us grace and mercy, as being faithful; that Christ is
+    our life, truth, peace, and righteousness, as also our pastor,
+    advocate, and priest, who died for the salvation of all who
+    believe, and is risen for our justification; that there is no
+    mediator and advocate with God the Father, save Jesus Christ;
+    that, after this life, there are only two places, the one for the
+    saved, and the other for the damned; that the feasts, the vigils
+    of saints, the water which they call holy, as also to abstain from
+    flesh on certain days, and the like, but especially the masses,
+    are the inventions of men, and ought to be rejected; that the
+    sacraments are signs of the holy thing, visible forms of the
+    invisible grace; and that it is good for the faithful to use those
+    signs, or visible forms, but that they are not essential to
+    salvation; that there are no other sacraments but baptism and the
+    Lord's supper; that we ought to honor the secular powers, by
+    subjection, ready obedience, and paying of tribute."
+
+
+
+
+
+ALLENITES.
+
+
+The disciples of Henry Allen, of Nova Scotia, who began to propagate his
+doctrines in that country about the year 1778, and died in 1783, during
+which interval he made many proselytes, and at his death left a
+considerable party behind him, though now much declined. He published
+several treatises and sermons, in which he declares that the souls of all
+the human race are emanations, or rather parts, of the one great Spirit;
+that they were all present in Eden, and were actually in the first
+transgression. He supposes that our first parents, in innocency, were pure
+spirits, and that the material world was not then made; but that, in
+consequence of the fall, that mankind might not sink into utter
+destruction, this world was produced, and men clothed with material
+bodies; and that all the human race will, in their turn, be invested with
+such bodies, and in them enjoy a state of probation for immortal
+happiness.
+
+
+
+
+
+JOHNSONIANS.
+
+
+The followers of Mr. John Johnson, many years Baptist minister at
+Liverpool, in the last century, of whose followers there are still several
+congregations in different parts of England. He denied that faith was a
+duty, or even action of the soul, and defined it "an active principle"
+conferred by grace; and denied also the duty of ministers to exhort the
+unconverted, or preach any _moral duties_ whatever.
+
+Though Mr. Johnson entertained high Supralapsarian notions on the divine
+decrees, he admitted the universality of the death of Christ. On the
+doctrine of the Trinity, his followers are said to have embraced the
+indwelling scheme, with Calvinistic views of justification and the
+atonement.
+
+
+
+
+
+DONATISTS.
+
+
+A denomination which arose in the fourth century. They derived their name
+from Donatus, bishop of Numidia. They maintained that their community was
+alone to be considered as the true church, and avoided all communication
+with other churches, from an apprehension of contracting their impurity
+and corruption. Hence they pronounced the sacred rites and institutions
+void of all virtue and efficacy among those Christians who were not
+precisely of their sentiments, and not only rebaptized those who came over
+to their party from other churches, but, with respect to those who had
+been ordained ministers of the gospel, they either deprived them of their
+office, or obliged them to be ordained the second time.
+
+
+
+
+
+SE-BAPTISTS.
+
+
+A sect of small note, which was formed in England about the beginning of
+the seventeenth century, by one John Smith, who maintained that it was
+lawful for every one to baptize himself. There is at this day an
+inconsiderable sect in Russia who are known by this name, and who perform
+the rite upon themselves, from an idea that no one is left on earth
+sufficiently holy to administer it aright.
+
+
+
+
+
+RE-ANOINTERS.
+
+
+A sect in Russia, which sprang up about the year 1770. They do not
+rebaptize those who join them from the Greek church, but insist on the
+necessity of their having the mystery of the chrism or unction again
+administered to them. They are very numerous in Moscow.
+
+
+
+
+
+TAO-SE, OR TAOU-TSZE.
+
+
+The name of a famous sect among the Chinese, who owe their rise to
+_Laou-tsze Lao Kian_, or _Laokium_, a philosopher, who lived, if we may
+credit his disciples, about five hundred years before Christ. He professed
+to restore the religion of _Tao_, (_Taou_,) or Reason. Some of his
+writings are still extant, and are full of maxims and sentiments of virtue
+and morality. Among others, this sentence is often repeated in them:
+"_Tao_ hath produced one, one hath produced two, two have produced three,
+and three have produced all things."
+
+The morality of this philosopher and his disciples is not unlike that of
+the Epicureans, consisting in a tranquillity of mind, free from all
+vehement desires and passions. But as this tranquillity would be disturbed
+by thoughts of death, they boast of a liquor that has the power of
+rendering them immortal. They are addicted to chemistry, alchemy, and
+magic, and are persuaded that, by the assistance of demons, whom they
+invoke, they can obtain all that they desire. The hope of avoiding death
+prevailed upon a great number of mandarins to study this diabolical art,
+and certain credulous and superstitious emperors brought it greatly into
+vogue.
+
+The doctrine of this sect, concerning the formation of the world,
+according to Dr. Milne, much resembles that of the Epicureans. If they do
+not maintain the eternity of matter, on the other hand, they do not deny
+it; but, in analogy with the favorite science of alchemy, they represent
+the first pair as drawn out of the boiling mouth of an "immense crucible,"
+by a celestial being. The Platonic notion of an _anima mundi_, or soul of
+the world, is very common; and hence it is that the heavens are considered
+the body of this imaginary being, the wind its breath, the lights of
+heaven as proceeding from its eyes, the watery fluids as its spittle and
+tears.
+
+
+
+
+
+QUIETISTS.
+
+
+The disciples of Michael de Molinos, a Spanish priest, who flourished in
+the seventeenth century, and wrote a book called "The Spiritual Guide."
+They argue thus:--"The apostle tells us, that 'the Spirit makes
+intercession for,' or _in_ 'us.' Now, if the Spirit pray in us, we must
+resign ourselves to his impulses, by remaining in a state of absolute
+rest, or quietude, till we attain the perfection of the unitive life"--a
+life of union with, and, as it should seem, of absorption in, the Deity.
+
+
+
+
+
+KNIPPERDOLINGS.
+
+
+A denomination in the sixteenth century, so called from Bertrand
+Knipperdoling, who taught that the righteous, before the day of judgment,
+shall have a monarchy on earth, and the wicked be destroyed; that men are
+not justified by their faith in Christ Jesus; that there is no original
+sin; that infants ought not to be baptized, and immersion is the only mode
+of baptism; that every one has authority to preach, and administer the
+sacraments; that men are not obliged to pay respect to magistrates; that
+all things ought to be in common; and that it is lawful to marry many
+wives.
+
+
+
+
+
+MENDAEANS, MENDAITES, MENDAI IJAHI, OR DISCIPLES OF ST. JOHN, THAT IS, THE
+BAPTIST.
+
+
+From twenty to twenty-five thousand families of this sect still remain,
+chiefly in the neighborhood of Bassora, a city between Arabia and Persia,
+on the extremity of the desert of Irac. They are sometimes called
+_Christians of St. John_--a name which they probably received from the
+Turks, and to which they contentedly submit for the sake of the toleration
+it affords them; but they are better known in ecclesiastical history as
+_Hemero_ (or every day) _Baptists_, from their frequent washings.
+
+
+
+
+
+MUGGLETONIANS.
+
+
+The followers of Ludovic Muggleton, a journeyman tailor, who, with his
+companion Reeves, set up for great prophets, in the time of Cromwell. They
+pretended to absolve or condemn whom they pleased, and gave out that they
+were the two last witnesses spoken of in the Revelation, who were to
+appear previous to the final destruction of the world. They affirmed that
+there was no devil at all without the body of man or woman; that the devil
+is man's spirit of unclean reason and cursed imagination; that the
+ministry in this world, whether prophetical or ministerial, is all a lie,
+and abomination to the Lord; with a variety of other vain and inconsistent
+tenets.
+
+Muggleton died in 1697, and on his gravestone is this inscription:--
+
+
+    "Whilst mausoleums and large inscriptions give
+    Might, splendor, and, past death, make potents live,
+    It is enough briefly to write thy name:
+    Succeeding times by that will read thy fame;
+    Thy deeds, thy acts, around the world resound;
+    No foreign soil where Muggleton's not found."
+
+
+The raven plume of oblivion hath long ago waved over this prophet's grave.
+
+
+
+
+
+YEZIDEES, OR WORSHIPPERS OF THE DEVIL.
+
+
+From a very interesting work recently published by Asahel Grant, M. D., a
+medical missionary to the Nestorians, we copy the following account:--
+
+"The passage of the Tigris transferred me from Mesopotamia into Assyria,
+and I stood upon the ruins of Nineveh, 'that great city,' where the
+prophet Jonah proclaimed the dread message of Jehovah to so many repenting
+thousands whose deep humiliation averted for a time the impending ruin.
+But when her proud monarchs had scourged idolatrous Israel and carried the
+ten tribes into captivity, and raised their hands against Judah and the
+holy city, the inspired strains of the eloquent Nahum, clothed in terrible
+sublimity as they were, met their full accomplishment in the utter
+desolation of one of the largest cities on which the sun ever shone.
+'Nineveh is laid waste! who will bemoan her? She is empty, and void, and
+waste; her nobles dwell in the dust; her people are scattered upon the
+mountains, and no man gathereth them.'
+
+"Where her gorgeous palaces once resounded to the strains of music and the
+shouts of revelry, a few black tents of the wandering Arab and Turkoman
+are now scattered among the shapeless mounds of earth and rubbish,--the
+ruins of the city,--as if in mockery of her departed glory; while their
+tenants were engaged in the fitting employment of weaving 'sackcloth of
+hair,' as if for the mourning attire of the world's great emporium, whose
+'merchants' were multiplied above the stars of heaven. The largest mound,
+from which very ancient relics and inscriptions are dug, is now crowned
+with the Moslem village of Neby Yunas, or the prophet Jonah, where his
+remains are said to be interred, and over which has been reared, as his
+mausoleum, a temple of Islam.
+
+"Soon after leaving the ruins of Nineveh, we came in sight of two villages
+of the Yezidees, the reputed worshippers of the devil. Large and luxuriant
+olive-groves, with their rich green foliage, and fruit just ripening in
+the autumnal sun, imparted such a cheerful aspect to the scene as soon
+dispelled whatever of pensive melancholy had gathered around me, while
+treading upon the dust of departed greatness. Several white sepulchres of
+Yezidee sheiks attracted attention as I approached the villages. They were
+in the form of fluted cones or pyramids, standing upon quadrangular bases,
+and rising to the height of some twenty feet or more. We became the guests
+of one of the chief Yezidees of Baa-sheka, whose dwelling, like others in
+the place, was a rude stone structure, with a flat terrace roof. Coarse
+felt carpets were spread for our seats in the open court, and a formal
+welcome was given us; but it was evidently not a very cordial one. My
+Turkish cavass understood the reason, and at once removed it. Our host had
+mistaken me for a Mahometan towards whom the Yezidees cherish a settled
+aversion. As soon as I was introduced to him as a Christian, and he had
+satisfied himself that this was my true character, his whole deportment
+was changed. He at once gave me a new and cordial welcome, and set about
+supplying our wants with new alacrity. He seemed to feel that he had
+exchanged a Moslem foe for a Christian friend, and I became quite
+satisfied of the truth of what I had often heard,--that the Yezidees are
+friendly towards the professors of Christianity.
+
+"They are said to cherish a high regard for the Christian religion, of
+which clearly they have some corrupt remains. They practise the rite of
+baptism, make the sign of the cross, so emblematical of Christianity in
+the East, put off their shoes, and kiss the threshold when they enter a
+Christian church; and it is said that they often speak of wine as the
+blood of Christ, hold the cup with both hands, after the sacramental
+manner of the East, when drinking it, and, if a drop chance to fall on the
+ground, they gather it up with religious care.
+
+"They believe in one supreme God, and, in some sense at least, in Christ
+as a Savior. They have also a remnant of Sabianism, or the religion of the
+ancient fire-worshippers. They bow in adoration before the rising sun, and
+kiss his first rays when they strike on a wall or other object near them;
+and they will not blow out a candle with their breath, or spit in the
+fire, lest they should defile that sacred element.
+
+"Circumcision and the passover, or a sacrificial festival allied to the
+passover in time and circumstance, seem also to identify them with the
+Jews; and, altogether, they certainly present a most singular chapter in
+the history of man.
+
+"That they are really the worshippers of the devil can only be true, if at
+all, in a modified sense, though it is true that they pay him so much
+deference as to refuse to speak of him disrespectfully, (perhaps for fear
+of his vengeance;) and, instead of pronouncing his name, they call him the
+'lord of the evening,' or 'prince of darkness;' also, Sheik Maazen, or
+Exalted Chief. Some of them say that Satan was a fallen angel, with whom
+God was angry; but he will at some future day be restored to favor, and
+there is no reason why they should treat him with disrespect.
+
+"The Christians of Mesopotamia report that the Yezidees make votive
+offerings to the devil, by throwing money and jewels into a certain deep
+pit in the mountains of Sinjar, where a large portion of them reside; and
+it is said that when that district, which has long been independent, was
+subjugated by the Turks, the pacha compelled the Yezidee priest to
+disclose the place, and then plundered it of a large treasure, the
+offerings of centuries. The Yezidees here call themselves Daseni, probably
+from the ancient name of the district, Dasen, which was a Christian
+bishopric in early times. Their chief place of concourse, the religious
+temple of the Yezidees, is said to have once been a Christian church or
+convent. The late Mr. Rich speaks of the Yezidees as 'lively, brave,
+hospitable, and good-humored,' and adds that, 'under the British
+government, much might be made of them.'
+
+"The precise number of the Yezidees it is difficult to estimate, so little
+is known of them; but it is probable that we must reckon them by tens of
+thousands, instead of the larger computations which have been made by some
+travellers, who have received their information merely from report. Still
+they are sufficiently numerous to form an important object of attention to
+the Christian church; and I trust, as we learn more about them, sympathy,
+prayer, and effort, will be enlisted in their behalf. It will be a scene
+of no ordinary interest when the voice of prayer and praise to God shall
+ascend from hearts now devoted to the service of the prince of darkness,
+'the worshippers of the devil'! May that day be hastened on!"
+
+
+
+
+
+GREEK OR RUSSIAN CHURCH.
+
+
+The Greek church separated from the Latin or Romish church about A. D.
+1054. It is under the jurisdiction of the patriarchs or bishops of
+Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The Greek or Russian
+church is very extensive. Its jurisdiction embraces more territory than
+that of the Roman see. The population of this church is estimated at about
+forty millions.
+
+The following are some of the chief tenets held by the Greek or Russian
+church:--They disown the authority of the pope, and deny that the church of
+Rome is the true catholic church. They do not baptize their children till
+they are three, four, five, six, ten, nay, sometimes eighteen years of
+age: baptism is performed by trine immersion. They insist that the
+sacrament of the Lord's supper ought to be administered in both kinds, and
+they give the sacrament to children immediately after baptism. They grant
+no indulgences, nor do they lay any claim to the character of
+infallibility, like the church of Rome. They deny that there is any such
+place as purgatory; notwithstanding, they pray for the dead, that God
+would have mercy on them at the general judgment. They practise the
+invocation of saints; though, they say, they do not invoke them as
+deities, but as intercessors with God. They exclude confirmation, extreme
+unction, and matrimony out of the seven sacraments. They deny auricular
+confession to be a divine precept, and say it is only a positive
+injunction of the church. They pay no religious homage to the eucharist.
+They administer the communion in both kinds to the laity, both in sickness
+and in health, though they have never applied themselves to their
+confessors, because they are persuaded that a lively faith is all which is
+requisite for the worthy receiving of the Lord's supper. They maintain
+that the Holy Ghost proceeds only from the Father, and not from the Son.
+They believe in predestination. They admit of no images in relief or
+embossed work, but use paintings and sculptures in copper or silver. They
+approve of the marriage of priests, provided they enter into that state
+before their admission into holy orders. They condemn all fourth
+marriages. They observe a number of holy days, and keep four fasts in the
+year more solemn than the rest, of which the fast in Lent, before Easter,
+is the chief. They believe the doctrine of consubstantiation, or the union
+of the body of Christ with the sacramental bread.
+
+The Russians adhere to the doctrine and ceremonies of the Greek church,
+though they are now independent of the patriarch of Constantinople. The
+church service is contained in twenty-four volumes, folio, in the
+Sclavonian language, which is not well understood by the common people.
+
+
+
+
+
+PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS.
+
+
+A new sect, professing to be an association of Christians to promote the
+revival and spread of primitive Christianity, has recently sprung up at
+Bradford, in England. Its originators, or founders, are a Mr. Barker and a
+Mr. Trother, who have recently been expelled from the ministry of the New
+Connection of Methodists, by the annual assembly or conference of the
+members of that body, for some difference of opinion on doctrinal points
+between them and the conference.
+
+
+
+
+
+TRINITARIANS.
+
+
+By this term we are to understand those who believe that there are three
+distinct, persons in the Godhead, the FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT, the
+same in substance, equal in power and dignity, and that these _three_ are
+_one_. Hence it is said they believe in a _triune_ God. (See Deut. 6:4. 2
+Kings 19:15. Ps. 19:1; 83:18; 139:7. Isa. 6:3, 9; 9:6; 11:3; 14:5, 23, 25.
+Jer. 17:10; 23:6. Ezek. 8:1, 3. Matt. 3:16, 17; 9:6; 18:20; 23:19. Luke
+1:76; 24:25. John 1:1; 2:1; 5:19, 23; 10:30; 16:10, 15. Acts 5:4; 28:23,
+25. Rom. 1:5; 9:5; 14:12, 19. 1 Cor. 2:10; 8:6. 2 Cor. 13:14. Phil. 2:5,
+6, 7, &c.; 3:21. Heb. 1:3, 6, 10, 11, 12; 9:14; 13:8. 1 John 5:7, 20. Rev.
+1:4, 5, 6, 8; 3:14; 5:13, &c.) The Unitarians believe that there is but
+one person in the Godhead, and that this person is the Father; and they
+insist that the Trinitarian distinction of persons is contradictory and
+absurd.
+
+The _unity_ of God is a doctrine which both parties consider the
+foundation of all true religion.
+
+Although the doctrine of the Trinity is ostensibly the main subject of
+dispute between Trinitarians and Unitarians, yet it is in reality
+respecting the character of Christ. Those who believe in his proper deity
+very easily dispose of all the other difficulties in the Trinitarian
+system; while anti-Trinitarians find more fault with this doctrine than
+any other in the Trinitarian creed; and the grand obstacle to their
+reception of the Trinitarian faith is removed, when they can admit that
+Jesus Christ is God, as well as man; so that the burden of labor, on both
+sides, is either to prove or disprove the proper deity of the Son of God.
+
+In proof of this doctrine, the Trinitarians urge many declarations of the
+Scripture, which, in their opinion, admit of no consistent explanation
+upon the Unitarian scheme; they there find that offices are assigned to
+Christ, and to the Holy Spirit, which none but God can perform;
+particularly the creation of the world, and the grand decisions of the day
+of judgment. As they read the Scriptures, the attributes of _omnipotence_,
+_omniscience_, _omnipresence_, _unchangeableness_, and _eternity_, are
+ascribed to Jesus Christ; and they infer that a being to whom all these
+perfections are ascribed must be truly God, coequal and coeternal with the
+Father.
+
+The Unitarians, on the other hand, contend that some of these passages are
+interpolations, and that the others are either mistranslated or
+misunderstood. The passage in John, in particular, respecting the _three_
+that bear record, &c., has been set aside by such high authority, that
+they consider it unfair to introduce it in the controversy.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+The excellent and learned Stillingfleet, in the preface to his Vindication
+of the Doctrine of the Trinity, says, "Since both sides yield that the
+matter they dispute about is above their reach, the wisest course they can
+take is, to assert and defend _what is revealed_, and not to be
+_peremptory_ and quarrelsome about that which is acknowledged to be above
+our comprehension; I mean as to the _manner_ how the _three persons_
+partake of the _divine nature_."
+
+
+
+
+
+MILLENARIANS.
+
+
+The Millenarians are those who believe that Christ will reign personally
+on earth for a thousand years; and their name, taken from the Latin
+_mille_, a thousand, has a direct allusion to the duration of the
+spiritual empire.
+
+The doctrine of the millennium, or a future paradisaical state of the
+earth, it is said, is not of Christian, but of Jewish origin. The
+tradition is attributed to Elijah, which fixes the duration of the world,
+in its present imperfect condition, to six thousand years, and announces
+the approach of a Sabbath of a thousand years of universal peace and
+plenty, to be ushered in by the glorious advent of the Messiah. This idea
+may be traced in the Epistle of Barnabas, and in the opinions of Papias,
+who knew of no written testimony in its behalf. It was adopted by the
+author of the Revelation, by Justin Martyr, by Irenaeus, and by a long
+succession of the fathers. As the theory is animating and consolatory,
+when it is divested of cabalistic numbers and allegorical decorations, it
+will no doubt always retain a number of adherents.
+
+However the Millenarians may differ among themselves respecting the nature
+of this great event, it is agreed, on all hands, that such a revolution
+will be effected in the latter days, by which vice and its attendant
+misery shall be banished from the earth; thus completely forgetting all
+those dissensions and animosities by which the religious world hath been
+agitated, and terminating the grand drama of Providence with universal
+felicity. We are not unmindful of the prophetic language of Isaiah,
+(49:22, 23,) together with a sublime passage from the book of the
+Revelation, (11:15,) with which the canon of Scripture concludes--"Thus
+saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and
+set up my standard to the people. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers,
+and their queens thy nursing mothers, [they shall become good themselves,
+and be the protectors of religion and liberty,] and thou shalt know that I
+am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. And the
+seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The
+kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his
+Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." (See Matt 13:29, 30; 27:32.
+Luke 17:29, 30. Acts 3:21. Heb. 1:12. Phil. 3:9, 11. 2 Pet. 3:13. Rev.
+20:1-6, and chaps. 21, 22. Apoc. chap. 21. Ezek. chap. 36.)
+
+
+
+
+
+WHITEFIELD CALVINISTIC METHODISTS.
+
+
+The _Tabernacle_ or _Lady Huntingdon Connection_, formed by Whitefield, is
+so called from the name given to several places of worship, in London,
+Bristol, &c. In some of the chapels in this Connection, the service of the
+church of England is read; in others, the worship is conducted much in the
+same way as among the Congregationalists; while, in all, the system of
+supply is more or less kept up, consisting in the employment, for a month
+or six weeks, of ministers from different parts of the country, who either
+take the whole duty, or assist the resident minister. Some of the
+congregations consist of several thousand hearers; and, by the blessing of
+God on the rousing and faithful sermons which are usually delivered to
+them, very extensive good is effected in the way of conversion. Most of
+the ministers now employed as supplies in this Connection are of the
+Congregational order, to which, of late years, there appears to be a
+gradual approximation; and it is not improbable that ere long both bodies
+will coalesce. The number of chapels belonging to this body, at the
+present time, is about sixty, in all of which the liturgy of the church of
+England is read, and most of her forms scrupulously kept up. The
+ministers, who used formerly to supply at different chapels in the course
+of the year, are now become more stationary, and have assumed more of the
+pastoral character. They have a respectable college at Cheshunt, in
+Hertfordshire.
+
+The Calvinistic Methodists in Wales are very numerous.--See _Biographical
+Sketches_ of Whitefield, Wesley, and Lady Huntingdon.
+
+
+
+
+
+NONJURORS.
+
+
+Those who refused to take the oaths to government, and who were, in
+consequence, under certain incapacities, and liable to certain severe
+penalties. The members of the Episcopal church of Scotland have long been
+denominated Nonjurors; but perhaps they are now called so improperly, as
+the ground of their difference from the established church is more on
+account of ecclesiastical than political principles.
+
+
+
+
+
+NONCONFORMISTS.
+
+
+Those who refuse to join the established church. Nonconformists in England
+may be considered of three sorts:--1. Such as absent themselves from divine
+worship in the established church through total irreligion, and attend the
+service of no other persuasion.--2. Such as absent themselves on the plea
+of conscience; as, Presbyterians, Independents, Baptists, &c.--3. Internal
+Nonconformists, or unprincipled clergymen, who applaud and propagate
+doctrines quite inconsistent with several of those articles they promised
+on oath to defend. The word is generally used in reference to those
+ministers who were ejected from their livings by the Act of Uniformity, in
+1662. The number of these was about two thousand. However some affect to
+treat these men with indifference, and suppose that their consciences were
+more tender than they need be, it must be remembered that they were men of
+as extensive learning, great abilities, and pious conduct, as ever
+appeared.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHRISTIAN CONNECTION.
+
+
+This denomination, among themselves, are generally called simply
+_Christians_. This they do merely to denote their character as the
+followers of Christ; but, when applied to them collectively, it
+necessarily becomes the name of a denomination. They are sometimes, by
+their opposers, called _Christ-ians_; but this pronunciation of the word
+they universally reject as very improper.
+
+The Christians began to associate and to form a distinct people about the
+beginning of the nineteenth century, so that they may be said to have
+existed but about forty years. They seem to have sprung up almost
+simultaneously in different and remote parts of the country, without any
+interchange of sentiments, concert of action, or even knowledge of each
+other's views or movements, till after a public stand had been taken in
+several parts of the country.
+
+The first branch arose in Virginia and North Carolina, and consisted of
+seceders from the Methodists. At first, there were about one thousand
+communicants.
+
+The northern branch of this denomination sprung up in New England. It
+commenced by the formation of several new churches, under the
+administration of a few ministers who had separated themselves from the
+Baptists, who were soon joined by several other ministers, and nearly
+whole churches, from the same denomination.
+
+The western branch arose in Kentucky, and was composed of seceders from
+the Presbyterians. Some of their ministers were men of strong and
+well-cultivated minds, who urged forward the reform they had undertaken,
+till they have spread over most of the Western States.
+
+In all these different sections, their leading purpose, at first, appears
+to have been, not so much to establish any peculiar or distinctive
+doctrine, as to assert for individuals and churches more liberty and
+independence in relation to matters of faith and practice; to shake off
+the authority of human creeds, and the shackles of prescribed modes and
+forms; to make the Bible their only guide, claiming for every man the
+right to judge for himself what is its doctrine, and what are its
+requirements; and in practice to follow more strictly the simplicity of
+the apostles and primitive Christians.
+
+This class of believers recognize no individual as a leader or founder,
+and no man claims this high eminence, although several persons were
+instrumental in giving rise and progress to the society. They point all to
+Christ as the Leader and Founder, and professedly labor to bring all to
+the first principles of original, apostolic Christianity.
+
+Seceding, as the first ministers did, from different denominations, they
+necessarily brought with them some of the peculiarities of faith and usage
+in which they had been educated. But the two prominent sentiments that led
+them out, both kept them together, by rendering them tolerant toward each
+other, and gradually brought them to be very similar both in faith and
+practice. These two sentiments were, that the Scriptures _only_ should be
+consulted as a rule of faith and duty, and that all Christians should
+enjoy universal toleration. Hence scarcely any churches have written
+creeds, although nearly all record their principles of action. Very few
+are Trinitarians, though nearly all believe in the preexistence and proper
+Sonship of Christ. Perhaps not any believe in or practise sprinkling, but
+almost all practise immersion; from which circumstance many, though very
+improperly, call them Christian Baptists.
+
+Perfect uniformity does not exist among all the members of this community,
+although the approximation to it is far greater than many have supposed it
+ever could be without a written creed. But there are several important
+points in which they generally agree fully; and these are regarded as
+sufficient to secure Christian character, Christian fellowship, and
+concert of action. Some of these points are the following:--That the
+Scriptures, including the Old and New Testament, were given by inspiration
+of God, and are sufficient to teach what men should believe, and what they
+should practise. That every man has a right to study the Scriptures, and
+to exercise his own judgment with regard to their true import and meaning.
+That there is one God, perfect and infinite. That Jesus Christ is the Son
+of God in the highest possible sense, and that salvation is found in him
+alone. That all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God,
+therefore are polluted and guilty. That no transgressor can find pardon
+but by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. That the Holy Spirit reproves
+all sinners, and comforts all Christians. That whoever has sinned has also
+a way of salvation set before him. That pardon and eternal salvation are
+found alone through regeneration. That none are proper subjects of church
+membership, or the ordinances except the regenerated. That God calls men
+to the ministry, and no others are his true ministers. That perseverance
+to the end is the only condition on our part that can secure our eternal
+happiness. That revivals of religion are of the first importance, and
+should be labored for continually. That every believer should be immersed,
+and become a public member of some visible church. That every church
+should continue to observe the Lord's supper. That there will be a
+resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust; and that, at
+the day of judgment, the righteous and the wicked will be separated, and
+pass, the righteous into everlasting life, and the wicked into eternal
+damnation.
+
+On all the above points, there is but very little difference of opinion or
+practice throughout the whole body.
+
+Candidates for baptism and church membership are required to give the
+reason of their hope, by a relation of their Christian experience; and
+persons coming from other churches are expected to furnish satisfactory
+testimonials of their Christian character.
+
+Their communions are always open and free for all Christians of every
+denomination; but no unconverted or immoral person is invited to the
+Lord's table.
+
+Each church is so far independent as to have a right to transact all its
+internal affairs without foreign interference. Every church makes choice
+of its own minister, agrees on its own principles of action, and
+administers its own discipline, as they understand the New Testament; but
+the imposition of hands is invariably administered by ordained ministers.
+
+The connection between the several churches, and between the ministers, is
+kept up by means of associations called _conferences_, each of which is
+generally composed of the ministers and churches within a certain
+district. These hold annual sessions, at which the ministers meet in
+person, and the churches by delegates. The churches and ministers are
+generally thus associated; but, if any choose not to do so, the fraternal
+bonds are not thereby impaired.
+
+Very few of their ministers are thoroughly educated men; but they are
+generally well acquainted with the Bible, and many of them good
+sermonizers and powerful preachers. All the important means by which pure
+Christianity may be advanced are fast gaining favor both in the ministry
+and the churches.
+
+Within the last few years, there has been a very rapid spread, and great
+increase; while all has been settling upon a firm and consistent basis.
+While many are engaged calling sinners to repentance, the churches are set
+in order, and thus mightily the word of God grows and prevails.
+
+
+
+
+
+PUSEYITES.
+
+
+This school of theology, which has become famous both in England and
+abroad, had its origin at Oxford, about A. D. 1838. Some distinguished
+members of the university thought that the church of England was in an
+alarming position, and that irreligious principles and false doctrines had
+been admitted into the measures of the government of the country on a
+large scale. To check the progress of these supposed errors and
+mischievous practices, they published a series of "Tracts for the Times,"
+on such subjects as the _constitution of the church; the authority of its
+ministers; refutations of the errors of Romanism, and how to oppose it_,
+&c. &c.
+
+The Puseyites strenuously assert the _apostolical succession_; in other
+words, that the clergy derive their power from the apostles, through
+_episcopal_ ordination.
+
+In regard to _church polity_, they maintain that the church is an empire
+and government of its own,--a government appointed by God,--and that its
+laws, as they are to be found in the Book of Common Prayer, ought to be
+implicitly obeyed. They deprecate the neglect of the _daily service_, the
+desecration of festivals, and the scanty administration of the eucharist.
+
+With respect to _sacraments_, the Puseyites hold that they are not
+subjects of discussion, or for speculation; but "high, mysterious, awful
+Christian privileges--to be _felt_, reverenced, embraced, realized, acted."
+
+With respect to _church authority_, they hold that human tradition has no
+place in revelation; that no individuals, since the apostles, can be
+regarded as expositors of the will of Christ; that the _unanimous witness_
+of Christendom, as to the teaching of the apostles, is the only and the
+fully-sufficient guaranty of the whole revealed faith, and that we do
+possess historically such a guaranty in the remains of the primitive
+church.
+
+The Puseyites inculcate the necessity of dispensing religious truth with
+caution and reverence, not throwing it promiscuously before minds ill
+suited to receive it.
+
+A characteristic feature of the Oxford school of theology, is its
+opposition to what is called the "popular religionism of the day." The
+masters of the school grieve that men are sent from the seat of their
+education with the belief that they are to _think_, not _read_; _judge_,
+rather than _learn_; and look to their own minds for truth, rather than to
+some permanent external standard.
+
+At the head of this school are Dr. Pusey, Regius professor of Hebrew, and
+canon of Christ Church, Rev. J. Keble, professor of poetry, Rev. J. H.
+Newman, Rev. J. Williams, and Rev. W. Sewall, professor of moral
+philosophy.
+
+
+
+
+
+FREE COMMUNION BAPTISTS.
+
+
+This denomination of Christians dissent from the regular Baptists on the
+point that immersion is a prerequisite to the privileges of a church
+relation, and permit Christians of all denominations, in regular church
+standing, to partake with them at the Lord's table.
+
+The Rev. Robert Hall, of England, one of the most learned and eloquent
+Baptist ministers of the age, was an unflinching opposer of the practice
+of "close communion," which he denounced as "unchristian and unnatural."
+In a tract written in defence of his views on this subject, he remarks,
+"It is too much to expect an enlightened public will be eager to enroll
+themselves among the members of a sect which displays much of the
+intolerance of Popery, without any portion of its splendor, and
+prescribes, as the pledge of conversion, the renunciation of the whole
+Christian world."
+
+In reference to the mode of baptism, Mr. Hall says, "I would not myself
+baptize in any other way than by immersion, because I look upon immersion
+as the ancient mode; that it best represents the meaning of the original
+term employed, and the substantial import of this institution; and because
+I should think it right to guard against the spirit of innovation, which,
+in positive rites, is always dangerous and progressive; _but I should not
+think myself authorized to rebaptize any one who has been sprinkled in
+adult age_."
+
+This class of Baptists are found chiefly in the western and northern parts
+of the state of New York. They number between forty and fifty churches and
+ministers.
+
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCENDENTALISTS.
+
+
+TRANSCENDENT and TRANSCENDENTAL are technical terms in philosophy.
+According to their etymology, (from _transcendere_,) they signify that
+which goes beyond a certain limit; in philosophy, that which goes beyond,
+or transcends, the circle of experience, or of what is perceptible by the
+senses. Properly speaking, all philosophy is in this sense transcendental,
+because all philosophical investigations rise above the sensual, even if
+they start from that which is perceptible by the senses. But philosophical
+inquiries are to be distinguished according as they proceed from
+experience, or from principles and ideas not derived from that source. The
+latter sort are called, in a narrower sense, _pure_, or _transcendental_.
+The school of Kant makes a still further distinction: it gives the name of
+_transcendental_ to that which does not, indeed, originate from
+experience, but yet is connected with it, because it contains the grounds
+of the possibility of experience; but the term _transcendent_ it applies
+to that which cannot be connected with experience, but transcends the
+limit of possible experience and of philosophizing.
+
+As applied in this country, especially when used as a term of reproach,
+Transcendentalism would designate a system which builds on feeling, rather
+than on reason, and relies more on the imagination than on the judgment.
+In the main, however, the Transcendentalists are persons who hold that man
+has the power to perceive intuitively truths which transcend the reach of
+the senses; but they divide, some taking the unction of Sentimentalism,
+and others of Mysticism.
+
+
+
+
+
+AUGSBURG CONFESSION OF FAITH.
+
+
+The first Protestant Confession was that presented, in 1530, to the diet
+of Augsburg, by the suggestion and under the direction of John, elector of
+Saxony. This wise and prudent prince, with the view of having the
+principal grounds on which the Protestants had separated from the Romish
+communion distinctly submitted to that assembly, intrusted the duty of
+preparing a summary of them to the divines of Wittemberg. Nor was that
+task a difficult one; for the Reformed doctrines had already been digested
+into seventeen articles, which had been proposed at the conferences both
+at Sultzbach and Smalcald, as the confession of faith to be adopted by the
+Protestant confederates. These, accordingly, were delivered to the elector
+by Luther, and served as the basis of the celebrated Augsburg Confession,
+written "by the elegant and accurate pen of Melancthon"--a work which has
+been admired by many even of its enemies, for its perspicuity, piety, and
+erudition. It contains twenty-eight chapters, the leading topics of which
+are, the true and essential divinity of Christ; his substitution and
+vicarious sacrifice; original sin; human inability; the necessity,
+freedom, and efficacy of divine grace; consubstantiation; and particularly
+justification by faith, to establish the truth and importance of which was
+one of its chief objects. The last seven articles condemn and confute the
+Popish tenets of communion in one kind, clerical celibacy, private masses,
+auricular confession, legendary traditions, monastic vows, and the
+exorbitant power of the church. This Confession is silent on the doctrine
+of predestination. This is the universal standard of orthodox doctrine
+among those who profess to be Lutherans, in which no authoritative
+alteration has ever been made.
+
+
+
+
+
+ARMENIANS.
+
+
+The chief point of separation between the Armenians on the one side, and
+the Greeks and the Papists on the other, is, that, while the latter
+believe in two natures and one person of Christ, the former believe that
+the humanity and divinity of Christ were so united as to form but _one
+nature_; and hence they are called _Monophysites_, signifying _single
+nature_.
+
+Another point on which they are charged with heresy by the Papists is,
+that they adhere to the notion that the Spirit proceeds from the Father
+only; and in this the Greeks join them, though the Papists say that he
+proceeds from the Father and the Son. In other respects, the Greeks and
+Armenians have very nearly the same religious opinions, though they differ
+somewhat in their forms and modes of worship. For instance, the Greeks
+make the sign of the cross with three fingers, in token of their belief in
+the doctrine of the Trinity, while the Armenians use two fingers, and the
+Jacobites, one.
+
+The Armenians hold to seven sacraments, like the Latins although baptism,
+confirmation, and extreme unction, are all performed at the same time; and
+the forms of prayer for confirmation and extreme unction are perfectly
+intermingled, which leads one to suppose that, in fact, the latter
+sacrament does not exist among them, except in name, and that this they
+have borrowed from the Papists.
+
+Infants are baptized both by triple immersion and pouring water three
+times upon the head; the former being done, as their books assert, in
+reference to Christ's having been three days in the grave, and probably
+suggested by the phrase _buried with him in baptism_.
+
+The latter ceremony they derive from the tradition that, when Christ was
+baptized, he stood in the midst of Jordan, and John poured water from his
+hand three times upon his head. In all their pictures of this scene, such
+is the representation of the mode of our Savior's baptism. Converted Jews,
+or Mahometans, though adults, are baptized in the same manner.
+
+The Armenians acknowledge sprinkling as a lawful mode of baptism; for they
+receive from other churches those that have merely been sprinkled, without
+rebaptizing them.
+
+They believe firmly in transubstantiation, and worship the consecrated
+elements as God.
+
+Unleavened bread is used in the sacrament, and the broken pieces of bread
+are dipped in undiluted wine, and thus given to the people.
+
+The latter, however, do not handle it, but receive it into their mouths
+from the hands of the priest. They suppose it has in itself a sanctifying
+and saving power. The Greeks, in this sacrament, use leavened bread, and
+wine mixed with water.
+
+The Armenians discard the Popish doctrine of purgatory but yet, most
+inconsistently, they pray for the dead.
+
+They hold to confession of sins to the priests, who impose penances and
+grant absolution, though without money, and they give no indulgences.
+
+They pray through the mediation of the virgin Mary, and other saints. The
+belief that Mary was always a virgin, is a point of very high importance
+with them; and they consider the thought of her having given birth to
+children after the birth of Christ, as in the highest degree derogatory to
+her character, and impious.
+
+They regard baptism and regeneration as the same thing and have no
+conception of any spiritual change; and they know little of any other
+terms of salvation than penance, the Lord's supper, fasting, and good
+works in general.
+
+The Armenians are strictly Trinitarians in their views, holding firmly to
+the supreme divinity of Christ, and the doctrine of atonement for sin;
+though their views on the latter subject, as well as in regard to faith
+and repentance, are somewhat obscure. They say that Christ died to atone
+for original sin, and that actual sin is to be washed away by
+penances,--which, in their view, is repentance. Penances are prescribed by
+the priests, and sometimes consist in an offering of money to the church,
+a pilgrimage, or more commonly in repeating certain prayers, or reading
+the whole book of Psalms a specified number of times. Faith in Christ
+seems to mean but little more than believing in the mystery of
+transubstantiation.--See _Coleman's Christian Antiquities_.
+
+
+
+
+
+PRIMITIVE METHODISTS.
+
+
+This sect forms a party in England, which seceded from the Wesleyans in
+1817. They differ from the Wesleyans chiefly in church government, by
+admitting lay representation. They are said to increase rapidly. Their
+present number is about seventy thousand.
+
+
+
+
+
+NOVATIANS.
+
+
+An heretical sect in the early church, which derives its name from
+Novatian, an heresiarch of the third century, who was ordained a priest of
+the church of Rome, and afterwards got himself clandestinely consecrated
+bishop of Rome, by three weak men, upon whom he had imposed, and one of
+whom afterwards did penance for his concern in the business. He was never
+acknowledged bishop of Rome, but was condemned and excommunicated. He
+still, however taught his doctrine, and became the head of the party that
+bore his name. He denied, in opposition to the opinion of the church, that
+those who had been guilty of idolatry could be again received by the
+church.
+
+
+
+
+
+NESTORIANS.
+
+
+The branch of the Christian church known by this name is so called from
+Nestorius, a patriarch of Constantinople, who was born in Germanica, a
+city of Syria, in the latter part of the fourth century. He was educated
+and baptized at Antioch, and, soon after his baptism, withdrew to a
+monastery in the vicinity of that city. His great reputation for
+eloquence, and the regularity of his life, induced the emperor Theodosius
+to select him for the see of Constantinople; and he was consecrated bishop
+of that church A. D. 429. He became a violent persecutor of heretics; but,
+because he favored the doctrine of his friend Anastasius, that "the virgin
+Mary cannot with propriety be called the mother of God," he was
+anathematized by Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, who, in his turn, was
+anathematized by Nestorius. In the council of Ephesus, A. D. 431, (the
+third General Council of the church,) at which Cyril presided, and at
+which Nestorius was not present, he was judged and condemned without being
+heard, and deprived of his see. He then retired to his monastery, in
+Antioch, and was afterwards banished to Petra, in Arabia, and thence to
+Oasis, in Egypt, where he died, about A. D. 435 or 439.
+
+The decision of the council of Ephesus caused many difficulties in the
+church; and the friends of Nestorius carried his doctrines through all the
+Oriental provinces, and established numerous congregations, professing an
+invincible opposition to the decrees of the Ephesian council. Nestorianism
+spread rapidly over the East, and was embraced by a large number of the
+oriental bishops. Barsumas, bishop of Nisibis, labored with great zeal and
+activity to procure for the Nestorians a solid and permanent footing in
+Persia; and his success was so remarkable that his fame extended
+throughout the East. He established a school at Nisibis, which became very
+famous, and from which issued those Nestorian doctors who, in that and the
+following centuries, spread abroad their tenets through Egypt, Syria,
+Arabia, India, Tartary, and China.
+
+The Nestorian church is Episcopal in its government, like all the other
+Oriental churches. Its doctrines, also, are, in general, the same with
+those of those churches, and they receive and repeat, in their public
+worship, the Nicene creed. Their _distinguishing_ doctrines appear to be,
+their believing that Mary was not the mother of Jesus Christ, _as God_,
+but only _as man_, and that there are, consequently, _two persons_, as
+well as _two natures_, in the Son of God. This notion was looked upon in
+the earlier ages of the church as a most momentous error; but it has in
+later times been considered more as an error of words than of doctrine;
+and that the error of Nestorius was in the words he employed to express
+his meaning, rather than in the doctrine itself. While the Nestorians
+believe that Christ had _two natures_ and _two persons_, they say "that
+these natures and persons are so closely and intimately united that they
+have but one _aspect_." "Now, the word _barsopa_, by which they express
+this _aspect_, is precisely of the same signification with the Greek word
+{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}, which signifies _a person_; and hence it is evident that they
+attached to the word _aspect_ the same idea that we attach to the word
+_person_, and that they understood, by the word _person_, precisely what
+we understand by the term _nature_."
+
+The Nestorians, of all the Christian churches of the East, have been the
+most careful and successful in avoiding a multitude of superstitious
+opinions and practices, which have infected the Romish and many Eastern
+churches.
+
+Our readers are referred to an interesting volume recently published by
+Asahel Grant, M. D., in which is contained strong evidence that the
+Nestorians and the "Lost Tribes" are one people.
+
+
+
+
+
+HIGH-CHURCHMEN.
+
+
+A term first given to the Nonjurors, who refused to acknowledge William
+III. as their lawful king, and who had very proud notions of church power;
+but it is now commonly used in a more extensive signification, and is
+applied to all those who, though far from being Nonjurors, yet form high
+conceptions of the authority and jurisdiction of the church.
+
+
+
+
+
+ANCIENT AMERICAN COVENANT OR CONFESSION OF FAITH.
+
+
+_Copy of the first Covenant, or Confession of Faith, of the First Church
+in Salem, Massachusetts._
+
+The first ordination to the pastoral office, and the first complete
+organization and erection of a Protestant church, in North America, took
+place in that town, in the year 1629.
+
+
+    The First Covenant, Or Confession Of Faith, Of The First Church In
+    Salem.
+
+    "We covenant with our Lord, and one with another, and we do bind
+    ourselves, in the presence of God, to walk together in all his
+    ways, according as he is pleased to reveal himself unto us in his
+    blessed word of truth; and do explicitly, in the name and fear of
+    God, profess and protest to walk as followeth, through the power
+    and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ:--
+
+    "We avouch the Lord to be our God, and ourselves to be his people,
+    in the truth and simplicity of our spirits.
+
+    "We give ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the word of his
+    grace, for the teaching, ruling, and sanctifying of us in matters
+    of worship and conversation, resolving to cleave unto him alone
+    for life and glory, and to reject all contrary ways, canons, and
+    constitutions of men, in his worship.
+
+    "We promise to walk with our brethren, with all watchfulness and
+    tenderness, avoiding jealousies and suspicions, backbitings,
+    censurings, provokings, secret risings of spirit against them;
+    but, in all offences, to follow the rule of our Lord Jesus, and to
+    bear and forbear, give and forgive, as he hath taught us.
+
+    "In public or private, we will willingly do nothing to the offence
+    of the church, but will be willing to take advice for ourselves
+    and ours, as occasion shall be presented.
+
+    "We will not, in the congregation, be forward, either to show our
+    own gifts and parts in speaking or scrupling, or there discover
+    the weakness or failings of our brethren; but attend an orderly
+    call thereunto, knowing how much the Lord may be dishonored, and
+    his gospel, and the profession of it, slighted by our distempers
+    and weaknesses in public.
+
+    "We bind ourselves to study the advancement of the gospel in all
+    truth and peace, both in regard to those that are within or
+    without; no way slighting our sister churches, but using their
+    counsel, as need shall be; not laying a stumbling-block before
+    any, no, not the Indians, whose good we desire to promote; and so
+    to converse, as we may avoid the very appearance of evil.
+
+    "We do hereby promise to carry ourselves in all lawful obedience
+    to those that are over us, in church or commonwealth, knowing how
+    well pleasing it will be to the Lord, that they should have
+    encouragement in their places, by our not grieving their spirits
+    through our irregularities.
+
+    "We resolve to approve ourselves to the Lord in our particular
+    callings, shunning idleness, as the bane of any state; nor will we
+    deal hardly or oppressingly with any, wherein we are the Lord's
+    stewards.
+
+    "Promising, also, unto our best ability, to teach our children and
+    servants the knowledge of God, and of his will, that they may
+    serve him also; and all this, not by any strength of our own, but
+    by the Lord Christ, whose blood we desire may sprinkle this our
+    covenant, made in his name"
+
+
+"The above is a covenant," says a learned divine, "to which all good
+Christians, of every denomination, to the end of time, will be able to
+subscribe their names,--written in a style of touching simplicity, which
+has seldom been equalled, and containing sentiments which are felt to be
+eloquent by every amiable and pious heart,--and should form the bond to
+unite the whole church on earth, as they will unite the church of the
+redeemed in heaven. This Covenant might well be adopted by all
+Congregational and Protestant churches; and it will forever constitute the
+glory, perpetuate the fame, and render precious the memory, of FRANCIS
+HIGGINSON, the first minister of Salem."(12)
+
+
+
+
+
+STATISTICS OF CHURCHES.
+
+
+
+
+Baptists.
+
+
+The following table, from the Baptist Register of 1842, exhibits the
+statistics of the Regular or Associated Baptists in a perspicuous light:--
+
+Churches, Ministers, &c.
+
+States.             Churches.   Ministers.   Baptized.   Members.
+Maine                     261          181        2249      26490
+New Hampshire             104           77        1042       9557
+Vermont                   134           94         784      10950
+Massachusetts             209          179        2355      25092
+Rhode Island               32           25         348       5196
+Connecticut                98           92         559      11266
+New York                  814          697        7533      82200
+New Jersey(13)             55           53         961       6716
+Pennsylvania              252          181        2370      20983
+Delaware                    9            8                    326
+Maryland                   27           18         661       1710
+Virginia                  477          238        3086      57390
+North Carolina            448          193        1543      26169
+South Carolina            367          192        1434      34092
+Georgia                   651          276        1043      44022
+Alabama                   503          250         908      25084
+Mississippi               150           64         615       6050
+Louisiana(14)              15            9                    288
+Arkansas                   43           21         105        798
+Tennessee                 666          444         938      30879
+Kentucky                  627          300        5842      47325
+Ohio                      502          284        3594      22333
+Indiana                   437          229        1794      18198
+Illinois                  351          250        1227      11408
+Missouri                  282          161         817      11010
+Michigan                  130           82         668       6276
+Iowa                       14            9          10        382
+Wisconsin                  15            9          58        385
+British Provinces         225          125        4414      37127
+Total                    7898         4741       46958     573702
+
+PUBLICATIONS.--QUARTERLY: _Christian Review_, Boston, Mass.--MONTHLY:
+_Missionary Magazine_, Boston, Mass.; _Sabbath School Treasury_, Boston,
+Mass.; _Mother's Monthly Journal_, Utica, N. Y.; _Sabbath School Gleaner_,
+Philadelphia, Pa.; _Baptist Memorial_, N. Y.; _Michigan Christian Herald_,
+Detroit, Mich.--SEMI-MONTHLY: _The Register_, Montreal, Ca.; _Baptist
+Library_, Lexington, N. Y.--WEEKLY: _Zion's Advocate_, Portland, Me.; _N.
+H. Baptist Register_, Concord, N. H.; _Vermont Telegraph_, Brandon, Vt.;
+_Vermont Baptist Journal_, Middlebury, Vt.; _Christian Watchman_, Boston,
+Mass.; _Christian Reflector_, Boston, Mass.; _Christian Secretary_,
+Hartford, Ct.; _N. Y. Baptist Register_, Utica, N. Y.; _Baptist Advocate_,
+New York, N. Y.; _Baptist Record_, Philadelphia, Pa.; _Religious Herald_,
+Richmond, Va.; _The Truth_, Morristown, Pa.; _Christian Index_, Penfield,
+Ga.; _Banner and Pioneer_, Louisville, Ky.; _Cross and Journal_, Columbus,
+Ohio; _Christian Messenger_, Halifax, N. S.
+
+
+
+
+Free-Will Baptists.
+
+
+This denomination of Baptists have in their connection nine hundred and
+eighty-one churches, six hundred and forty-seven ordained ministers, one
+hundred and seventy-two licensed preachers, forty-seven thousand two
+hundred and seventeen communicants, eighty-seven quarterly and fourteen
+yearly meetings. Of this number of members, thirty-five thousand two
+hundred and eighty-seven reside in New England and New York. They are most
+numerous in Maine and New Hampshire.
+
+PUBLICATIONS, &c.--There are two periodicals published by this denomination
+at Dover, N. H.: the _Morning Star_, a weekly paper, and the _Sabbath
+School Repository_, published monthly; also the _Christian Soldier_,
+Providence, R. I., once in two weeks.
+
+The Free-Will Baptists have several benevolent institutions in Maine, and
+flourishing seminaries of learning at Parsonsfield, Me., Strafford, N. H.,
+Smithfield, R. I., and at Clinton and Varysburgh, N. Y.
+
+These people do not believe in the doctrine of election and reprobation,
+as taught by Calvin, and invite to the Lord's table all evangelical
+Christians in good standing in their churches.
+
+
+
+
+Seventh-Day Baptists.
+
+
+This people have in the United States about forty-eight churches,
+thirty-four elders, twenty licentiates, and five thousand communicants.
+They reside principally in Rhode Island and New York; but have a few
+churches in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, &c. They are divided into three
+associations, and meet by delegation annually in general conference. Their
+government, however, is Independent. They have a general _Missionary
+Society_, a _Society for the Promotion of Christianity among the Jews_, a
+_Tract_ and an _Education Society_. Their principal institution of
+learning is at DE RUYTER, N. Y., and is in a flourishing state, having
+several teachers, and about two hundred scholars. They are close
+communionists.
+
+
+
+
+Christian Connection.
+
+
+This denomination of Christians are found in almost every state in the
+Union, and in Canada. In 1841, there were in America forty-one
+conferences, five hundred and ninety-one churches, five hundred and
+ninety-three ordained preachers, one hundred and eighty-nine unordained
+preachers, and about thirty thousand church members.
+
+PUBLICATIONS.--This connection has three religious periodicals, viz. The
+_Christian Palladium_, Union Mills, N. Y.; _Christian Journal_, Exeter, N.
+H.; and the _Christian Messenger_, Jacksonville, Illinois.
+
+
+
+
+Calvinistic Congregationalists.
+
+
+So late as the year 1700, eighty years after the landing of the Pilgrims,
+there were, in all the New England States then settled, but one Episcopal
+church, no Methodist church, and, with the exception of Rhode Island, not
+more than half a dozen Baptist churches. At that time, however, there were
+one hundred and twenty Congregational churches, composed of emigrants from
+Europe and their descendants, and thirty others composed of converted
+Indians. The great mass of the descendants of the early settlers of New
+England are Congregationalists, maintaining, substantially, the same views
+of church order and religious faith which their venerated ancestry
+sacrificed home, and country, and life, to maintain and perpetuate.
+
+The present number of Congregational churches in New England is about
+fifteen hundred; and in the Middle and Western States there are about
+fourteen hundred and fifty; although the mode of church government adopted
+by some of them is, in some degree, modified by the "Plan of Union" with
+Presbyterians. These churches contain, as nearly as can be ascertained,
+about one hundred and ninety-four thousand communicants.
+
+Recently, symptoms of dissatisfaction with the "Plan of Union" have
+extensively developed themselves, particularly in New York, Ohio,
+Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa; and the probability now is, that
+a pure Congregational mode of church government will soon be generally
+adopted by the descendants of New-England Congregationalists, who are
+scattered over the great West.
+
+These Congregational churches are more particularly denominated _Orthodox_
+than any other churches in the United States, and adhere to the doctrines
+of Calvin or Hopkins.
+
+PUBLICATIONS.--The Orthodox Congregationalists publish a great number of
+periodicals, the principal of which are the _Boston Recorder_, the _New
+England Puritan_, Boston, Mass.; the _Christian Mirror_, Portland, Me.;
+the _Congregational Journal_, Concord, N. H.; the _Vermont Chronicle_,
+Windsor, Vt.; the _Congregational Observer_, Hartford, Ct.; and several in
+the Western States, which are sustained partly by Congregationalists and
+partly by Presbyterians.
+
+
+
+
+Disciples Of Christ.
+
+
+The largest number of this denomination is found in the region of country
+around where its doctrines were first propagated. There are, however,
+societies of this class of Christians in other parts of the country, some
+adopting, and others rejecting, its views on baptism. The total number in
+the United States is about one hundred and fifty thousand.
+
+PUBLICATIONS. The Disciples of Christ publish a periodical, the
+_Millennial Harbinger_, at Bethany, Va., (edited by CAMPBELL, the founder
+of the sect,) and another, the _Evangelist_, at Carthage, Ohio.
+
+
+
+
+Episcopalians.
+
+
+We have already given, in the historical account of the Episcopal Church,
+in this Country, a few brief notices of its condition; and we now present
+the following additional statistics.
+
+List Of Bishops.
+
+It being the essential principle of Episcopacy, that legitimate church
+authority is not originated by voluntary associations of men, but is of
+Divine origin, derived from Christ, and transmitted through an unbroken
+succession of Bishops, who trace their appointment to Him, we here give a
+list of the names of persons who constitute such succession.
+
+ORDER OF EPISCOPAL SUCCESSION.
+A. D.
+
+      JESUS CHRIST.
+      44. St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome.
+      66. Linus.
+      81. Anacletus.
+      91. Clement.
+      102. Euarestus.
+      111. Alexander.
+      121. Sixtus I.
+      130. Telesphorus.
+      141. Hyginus.
+      144. Pius.
+      159. Anicetus.
+      168. Soter.
+      176. Eleutherius.
+      193. Victor.
+      201. Zephyrinus.
+      218. Callistus.
+      224. Urbanus.
+      232. Pontianus.
+      238. Anterus.
+      238. Fabianus.
+      252. Cornelius.
+      254. Lucius.
+      255. Stephanus.
+      258. Sixtus II.
+      265. Dionysius.
+      270. Felix I.
+      275. Eutychianus
+      283. Caius.
+      296. Marcellinus.
+      304. Marcellus.
+      309. Eusebius.
+      311. Miltiades.
+      314. Sylvester.
+      336. Marcus.
+      337. Julius.
+      352. Liberius.
+      356. Felix II.
+      366. Damasus.
+      385. Siricius.
+      398. Anastasius I.
+      402. Innocent.
+      417. Zosimus.
+      419. Boniface I.
+      423. Celestine.
+      434. Sixtus III.
+      443. Leo (the Great.)
+      464. Hilary.
+      468. Simplicius.
+      483. Felix III.
+      492. Gelasius.
+      496. Anastasius II.
+      498. Symmachus
+      514. Hormisdas.
+      524. John I.
+      526. Felix IV.
+      530. Boniface II.
+      532. John II.
+      535. Agapetus.
+      537. Silverius.
+      540. Virgilius.
+      555. Pelagius I.
+      560. John III.
+      574. Benedictus.
+      578. Pelagius II.
+      596. Gregory (the Great.)
+      596. Augustine, Missionary Bishop to England.
+      611. Laurentius.
+      619. Melitus.
+      624. Justus.
+      628. Honorius.
+      656. Adeodatus.
+      668. Theodore.
+      692. Brithwald.
+      731. Tatwyn, or Cadwyn.
+      735. Egbright.
+      736. Nothelmus.
+      742. Cuthbert.
+      759. Bregwin.
+      762. Lambert.
+      793. Atheland.
+      806. Wulfred.
+      830. Theologild.
+      830. Syred.
+      831. Ceolnoth.
+      871. Athelredus.
+      889. Plegmund.
+      915. Athelme.
+      924. Wolfhelme.
+      934. Odo Severus.
+      957. Elfin.
+      958. Brithelme.
+      959. Dunstan.
+      988. Ethelgarus.
+      989. Siricius.
+      994. Alfricus.
+      1006. AElfeagus.
+      1013. Livingus, or Elstan.
+      1020. Agelnoth.
+      1038. Eadsius, or Eadsinus.
+      1050. Robert Gemiticensis.
+      1052. Stigand.
+      1070. Lanfranc.
+      1093. Anselme.
+      1114. Rodolph, or Raphe.
+      1122. William Corbel, or Corbois.
+      1138. Theobald.
+      1162. Thomas a Becket.
+      1173. Richard.
+      1184. Baldwin.
+      1191. Reginald Fitz Joceline.
+      1193. Hubert Walter.
+      1207. Stephen Langton.
+      1229. Richard Weatherhead.
+      1235. Edmund.
+      1244. Boniface III.
+      1272. Robert Kilwarby.
+      1278. John Peckam.
+      1294. Robert Winchelsey.
+      1313. Walter Raynolds.
+      1327. Simon Mepham.
+      1333. John Stratford.
+      1349. Thomas Bradwardin.
+      1349. Simon Islippe.
+      1366. Simon Langham.
+      1368. William Wittlesey.
+      1375. Simon Sudbury.
+      1381. William Courtney.
+      1396. Thomas Arundel.
+      1414. Henry Chichley.
+      1443. John Stafford.
+      1452. John Kemp.
+      1454. Thomas Bourchier.
+      1486. John Morton.
+      1501. Henry Deane.
+      1504. William Warham.
+      1521. John Longland.
+      1533. THOMAS CRANMER.(15)
+      1536. Robert Parfew.
+      1537. John Hodgskins.
+      1559. Matthew Parker.
+      1559. Edmund Grindal.
+      1577. John Whitgift.
+      1597. Richard Bancroft.
+      1609. George Abbott.
+      1617. George Monteigne
+      1621. William Laud.
+      1634. Matthew Wren.
+      1660. Gilbert Sheldon.
+      1674. Henry Compton.
+      1677. William Sancroft.
+      1685. Jonathan Trelawney.
+      1715. John Potter.
+      1737. Thomas Herring.
+      1749. Frederick Cornwallis.
+      1775. John Moore.
+      1793. Charles Manners Sutton.
+      1813. William Howley, (_now living._)
+      1775. John Moore.
+      1787. WILLIAM WHITE.
+      1811. Alexander V. Griswold.
+
+LIST OF BISHOPS OF THE CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Those with an asterisk (*) are deceased.
+
+      *1784. Samuel Seabury, D. D., Connecticut, died, 1796.
+      *1787. William White, D. D., Pennsylvania, died, 1836.
+      *1787. Samuel Provoost, D. D., New York, died, 1815.
+      *1790. James Madison, D. D., Virginia, died, 1812.
+      *1792. Thomas John Claggett, D. D., Maryland, died, 1816.
+      *1795. Robert Smith, D. D., South Carolina, died, 1801.
+      *1797. Edward Bass, D. D., Massachusetts, died, 1803.
+      *1797. Abraham Jarvis, D. D., Connecticut, died, 1813.
+      *1801. Benjamin Moore, D. D., New York, died, 1816.
+      *1804. Samuel Parker, D. D., Massachusetts, died, 1804.
+      *1811. John Henry Hobart, D. D., New York, died, 1830.
+      1811. Alexander Viets Griswold, D. D., Massachusetts.
+      *1812. Theodore Dehon, D. D., South Carolina, died, 1817.
+      *1814. Richard Channing Moore, D. D., Virginia, died, 1841.
+      *1814. James Kemp, D. D., Maryland, died, 1827.
+      *1815. John Croes, D. D., Now Jersey, died, 1832.
+      *1818. Nathaniel Bowen, D. D., South Carolina, died, 1839.
+      1819. Philander Chase, D. D., Illinois.
+      1819. Thomas Church Brownell, D. D., LL. D., Connecticut.
+      *1823. John Stark Ravenscroft, D. D., North Carolina, died, 1830.
+      1827. Henry Ustick Onderdonk, D. D., Pennsylvania.
+      1829. William Meade, D. D., Virginia.
+      *1830. William Murray Stone, D. D., Maryland, died, 1838.
+      1830. Benjamin Tredwell Onderdonk, D. D., New York.
+      1831. Levi Silliman Ives, D. D., LL. D., North Carolina.
+      1832. John Henry Hopkins, D. D., Vermont.
+      1832. Benjamin Bosworth Smith, D. D., Kentucky.
+      1832. Charles Pettit McIlvaine, D. D., Ohio.
+      1832. George Washington Doane, D. D., LL. D., New Jersey.
+      1834. James Hervey Otey, D. D., Tennessee.
+      1835. Jackson Kemper, D. D., Missionary Bishop, for Wisconsin Iowa,
+      and the Indian territory North of Lat. 36-1/2 deg..
+      1836. Samuel Allen McCoskry, D. D., Michigan.
+      1838. Leonidas Polk, D. D., Louisiana.
+      1839. William Heathcote De Lancey, D. D., Western New York.
+      1840. Christopher Edwards Gadsden, D. D., South Carolina.
+      1840. William Rollinson Whittingham, D. D., Maryland.
+      1841. Stephen Elliott, jun., D. D., Georgia.
+      1841. Alfred Lee, D. D., Delaware.
+
+The following table contains the statistics of this church in the United
+States:--
+
+States.               Dioceses.   Bishops.   Clergy.
+Maine                         1                    7
+New Hampshire                 1                   10
+Vermont                       1          1        24
+Massachusetts                 1          1        49
+Rhode Island                  1                   20
+Connecticut                   1          1        92
+New York                      1          1       196
+Western New York              1          1       101
+New Jersey                    1          1        42
+Pennsylvania                  1          1       107
+Delaware                      1          1        10
+Maryland                      1          1        81
+Virginia                      1          1        94
+North Carolina                1          1        30
+South Carolina                1          1        47
+Georgia                       1          1        16
+Louisiana, Alabama            1          1        18
+Mississippi,                  1          1        23
+Tennessee, Arkansas
+Kentucky                      1          1        21
+Ohio                          1          1        58
+Illinois                      1          1         9
+Michigan                      1          1        19
+Indiana, Missouri,            1          1        44
+Iowa, Wisconsin
+Florida                       1                    4
+Totals                       30         20      1114
+
+The Dioceses of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, are
+under the charge of the same Bishop. Indiana and Missouri are under the
+charge of the Missionary Bishop for Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Indian
+territory North of Lat. 36-1/2 deg.. Alabama is under the charge of the Bishop
+of Louisiana. Mississippi and Arkansas are under the charge of the Bishop
+of Tennessee.
+
+In the British American Provinces and Islands, there are six dioceses,
+containing six Bishops, and 454 other clergymen.
+
+There are numerous local Societies for religious purposes, in every
+Diocese.
+
+PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS.--WEEKLY: The _Churchman_, New York; _Gospel
+Messenger_, Utica; _Gospel Messenger and Southern Episcopal Register_,
+Charleston, S. C.; _Episcopal Recorder_, Philadelphia; _Southern
+Churchman_, Alexandria, D. C.; _Christian Witness_, Boston; _Western
+Episcopal Observer_, Cincinnati, Ohio; _Banner of the Cross_,
+Philadelphia; _Practical Christian and Church Chronicle_, New Haven,
+Ct.--MONTHLY: _Journal of Christian Education_, New York; _Children's
+Magazine_, New York; _Spirit of Missions_, New York; _Church Record_,
+Flushing, N. Y.
+
+
+
+
+Friends.
+
+
+The Friends are found in most of the states in the Union, and some in the
+British Provinces. They are most numerous in Pennsylvania, a state first
+settled by them, under their worthy head and father, in this country,
+WILLIAM PENN, in 1682.
+
+In England and Ireland, they number about fifty thousand; and in America,
+about two hundred thousand, and are divided into four hundred and fifty
+congregations. About half are Orthodox, and the other half Hicksites, or
+followers of ELIAS HICKS, who died at Jericho, N. Y. in 1830, aged 76.
+
+
+
+
+Jews.
+
+
+The number of Jews in the United States is estimated at about four
+thousand. They have synagogues in Newport, R. I., the cities of New York,
+Philadelphia, Charleston, S. C., and in other parts of the country. Their
+mode of worship is exceedingly interesting. With regard to the number of
+this people in the world, Blackwood's Magazine says:--
+
+"The statistics of the Jewish population are among the most singular
+circumstances of this most singular of all people. Under all their
+calamities and dispersions, they seem to have remained at nearly the same
+amount as in the days of David and Solomon--never much more in prosperity,
+never much less after ages of suffering. Nothing like this has occurred in
+the history of any other race; Europe in general having doubled its
+population within the last hundred years, and England nearly tripled hers
+within the last half century; the proportion of America being still more
+rapid, and the world crowding in a constantly-increasing ratio. Yet the
+Jews seem to stand still in this vast and general movement. The population
+of Judea, in its most palmy days, probably did not exceed, if it reached,
+four millions. The numbers who entered Palestine from the wilderness, were
+evidently not much more than three; and their census, according to the
+German statists, who are generally considered to be exact, is now nearly
+the same as that of the people under Moses--about three millions."
+
+On the above, Judge Noah, of New York, a learned Jew, remarks:--
+
+"We apprehend there is some error in the above statistics, and that the
+number of Jews throughout the world may be estimated at nearer six
+millions than three. There are more than a million in Poland and Russia;
+in all Asia, there are full two millions; half a million in Austria; in
+the Barbary States and Africa, a million; in all Europe, two millions and
+a half. We do not think, during the most splendid periods of Jewish
+history, that they ever exceeded four millions; but then their colonies
+and countries held tributary in Europe and Asia, amounted to many millions
+more. For example, at one period all Spain paid tribute to King Solomon;
+and all Spain and Portugal, at this day, are descendants of the Jews and
+Moors; and there are many thousands of Jews, in both those countries, now
+adhering in secret to the ancient faith of their fathers, while outwardly
+professing the Catholic religion. All the familiar Spanish and Portuguese
+names--Lopez, Mendez, Carvalho, Fonseca, Rodrigues, Peirara, Azavedo,
+Montefiores, &c. &c.--are of Jewish origin. Their numbers, therefore, will
+never be accurately known until the restoration, when thousands who, from
+convenience and pride, and some from apprehension, conceal their religion,
+will be most eager to avow it when their nation takes rank among the
+governments of the earth."
+
+
+
+
+Lutherans.
+
+
+The government of the Lutherans is somewhat singular. Where it is
+established by law, the supreme head of the state is also supreme head of
+the church. They have bishops, but no diocesan episcopacy, except in
+Denmark and Sweden. These are called _superintendents_ in Germany, and
+_presidents_ in the United States. There is but _one_ archbishop, and he
+is the primate of Sweden.
+
+They have in the United States about one thousand churches, four hundred
+ministers, seventy thousand communing members, and about one hundred and
+forty thousand which do not commune.
+
+EDUCATION, &c.--They have a college, located at Gettysburg, Pa., and
+several academies in different parts of the country; also four theological
+seminaries, located at Gettysburg, Pa.; Columbus, Ohio; Lexington, S. C.;
+Hartwich, N. Y., a fifth is contemplated in Indiana. Their different
+education societies support about eighty beneficiaries, preparing for the
+ministry, at an expense of one hundred dollars each, annually. The
+_Lutheran Observer_ is published weekly, at Baltimore.
+
+The Lutherans are one of the most numerous sects of Christians in the
+world. The whole number in Europe is estimated at twenty-seven millions,
+embracing seventeen reigning sovereigns. This estimate, of course,
+includes the Moravians.
+
+
+
+
+Protestant Methodists.
+
+
+This infant church is rapidly increasing, especially in the middle States.
+Its population in the United States exceeds one hundred and fifty
+thousand.
+
+This class of Christians have twenty-one annual conferences in as many
+states; nearly four hundred travelling, and a large number of unstationed
+ministers. They have a general conference, which meets once in four years,
+consisting of two delegates from every thousand communicants, one a
+minister, the other a layman: this is their legislative body. The number
+of communicants is about sixty-five thousand.
+
+PUBLICATIONS. The Protestant Methodists support four religious papers:--the
+_Olive Branch_, Boston, Mass.; the _New York Luminary_, New York, the
+_Methodist Protestant_, Baltimore, Md., and the _Western Recorder_,
+Zanesville, Ohio.
+
+
+
+
+Methodists.
+
+
+The population of all denominations of Methodists in the United States
+exceeds three millions.
+
+PUBLICATIONS.--The _Christian Advocate and Journal_, New York city; _Zion's
+Herald and Wesleyan Journal_, Boston, Mass.; _Northern Advocate_, Auburn,
+N. Y.; _Christian Repository_, Philadelphia, Pa.; _Richmond Christian
+Advocate_, Richmond, Va.; _Southern Christian Advocate_, Charleston, S.
+C.; _South-Western Christian Advocate_, Nashville, Tenn.; _Pittsburg
+Christian Advocate_, Pittsburg, Pa.; _Western Christian Advocate_, and the
+_Christian Apologist_, a German paper, Cincinnati, Ohio.
+
+There is also published by this denomination, the _Methodist Quarterly
+Review_, New York city; _Ladies' Repository_, (monthly,) Cincinnati, Ohio;
+_Guide to Christian Perfection_, (monthly,) Boston, Mass., _Sunday School
+Advocate_, (semi-monthly,) New York city; _Sabbath School Messenger_,
+(semi-monthly,) Boston, Mass. The Methodists have ten colleges, and thirty
+academies.
+
+In the Methodist church in Canada, are two weekly newspapers viz.,
+_Christian Guardian_, Toronto, U. C.; _The Wesleyan_, Montreal, L. C.
+
+From the "Minutes of the Annual Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal
+Church, for the Year 1840," we copy the following table:--
+
+Conferences, Ministers, &c.
+
+Conferences.   Whites.   Colored.   Indians.   Total Com.   Trav. Prs.
+Troy            24,488         78                  24,566          144
+New England     22,319        235                  22,554          157
+New             20,084                             20,084          151
+Hampshire
+Pittsburg       35,276        474                  35,750          136
+Maine           22,359                             22,359          145
+Black River     15,908         27                  15,935           96
+Erie            17,860         50                  17,910          107
+Oneida          22,909         65                  22,974          142
+Michigan        11,308         12         87       11,407           74
+Rock River       6,519         21         45        6,585           75
+Genesee         27,931         50                  27,981          162
+North Ohio      23,594         91        213       23,898           95
+Ohio            53,621        662                  54,283          168
+Illinois        24,607         80                  24,687          103
+Missouri        12,386      1,224        382       13,992           66
+Kentucky        30,679      6,321                  37,000          114
+Tennessee       21,675      4,405                  26,080           95
+Indiana         52,208        407                  52,615          156
+Memphis         12,497      1,995                  14,492           69
+Arkansas         4,228        725      1,524        6,479           41
+Holston         25,902      2,420                  28,322           68
+Mississippi      8,433      4,178         67       12,678           81
+North           15,983      4,480                  20,463           61
+Carolina
+Texas            1,623        230                   1,853           19
+Alabama         19,491      5,821                  25,312           87
+South           26,945     30,481                  57,426          102
+Carolina
+Virginia        21,841      3,086                  24,927           94
+Georgia         28,868      9,989                  38,857          127
+Baltimore       42,789     13,904                  56,693          182
+Philadelphia    35,094      8,778                  43,872          128
+New Jersey      22,733        542                  23,275          108
+New York        36,284        405                  36,689          215
+Liberia                       922                     922           19
+Mission
+Total, 1840    748,442    102,158      2,318      852,918        3,587
+Total, 1842    796,495    107,251      2,617      906,363        3,846
+
+
+
+
+Presbyterians.
+
+
+The Protestant faith was introduced into Scotland about 1527; and about
+1592 Andrew Melville effected the introduction of the Presbyterian form of
+church polity. This form, through much persecution, and even bloodshed,
+has been maintained ever since. Its creed is Calvinistic. This church has
+nearly a thousand ministers, and about one million five hundred thousand
+church members. It is the established religion of Scotland, sustained by
+law. There are also several bodies of dissenting Presbyterians in
+Scotland.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+Presbyterianism was first introduced into England by those Christians who
+returned from Frankfort, after the death of Queen Mary. For a time, it
+flourished, but at length lapsed into Socinianism. There are, however, a
+few churches in England still pure, which are in fellowship with the
+Scotch Presbyterians.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+This denomination began its organized existence in America about the year
+1700, and is the offspring of the church of Scotland. Its first ministers
+were Rev. Francis McKemie, and the Rev. John Hampton, who labored in
+Virginia.
+
+The first church of this order was organized in Philadelphia, 1703, the
+first presbytery, 1704, and the first synod in 1716. Since that time, they
+have steadily increased, and their number in 1840 was ninety-six
+presbyteries, twelve hundred and thirty-two ministers, eighteen hundred
+and twenty-three churches, and one hundred and fifty-two thousand four
+hundred and fifty-one communicants.
+
+The Presbyterians are found chiefly in the Middle, Western, and Southern
+States. The number of people attached to this form of church government in
+the United States, is supposed to exceed two millions.
+
+EDUCATION.--Within the bounds of the church there are thirteen theological
+seminaries, three of which are under the care of the General Assembly.
+They have a board of education, which has about four hundred young men in
+training for the ministry.
+
+The Calvinistic publications announce their sentiments.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+In 1837, a division arose in the Presbyterian church, into Old and New
+Schools, in consequence of variant views of doctrine and discipline. The
+friends of the New School were exscinded, or cut off, from the old church,
+but still claim to be the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church.
+Unfortunately, the difficulty is not settled; we cannot, therefore, give
+the strength of the parties.
+
+
+
+
+Other Presbyterian Communities.
+
+
+The Associate Presbyterians have about one hundred ministers, one hundred
+and ninety congregations, and twenty thousand communicants. They are
+principally found south and west of the Hudson River.
+
+The Reformed Presbyterians, or Covenanters, are located principally in
+Ohio. They have about thirty ministers, fifty congregations, and four
+thousand communicants.
+
+The Associate Reformed have about one hundred and twenty-five ministers,
+more than two hundred congregations, and about fifteen thousand
+communicants. They are located principally in Pennsylvania.
+
+
+
+
+Reformed Dutch Church.
+
+
+This church comprises one general synod, and two particular synods; one at
+New York, and another at Albany. The two synods comprise eighteen classes,
+about two hundred ministers, two hundred churches, twenty-seven thousand
+communicants, and a population of about one hundred and thirty thousand.
+This denomination of Christians is found almost entirely in the first
+settlements in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
+
+The _Christian Intelligencer_, published at New York, advocates the
+principles of this church.
+
+
+
+
+Roman Catholics.
+
+
+This denomination is spread over every section of the United States and
+the British Provinces. They form, it is stated, more than three fourths of
+the population of the Canadas. They are also found in large numbers in the
+Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. In this Union, they are most
+numerous in the Middle States; but in consequence of the great influx of
+this people into North America, and their frequent change of location, it
+is utterly impossible to state their numbers, in each state, with any
+degree of accuracy. Their number in the United States is variously stated
+from five hundred thousand to one million five hundred thousand. Their
+number, probably, is not less than eight hundred thousand, nor more than
+one million two hundred thousand. The population of Canada, in 1840, was
+at least one million.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+The first Roman Catholics that came to this country were from England,
+under Lord Baltimore, a Catholic nobleman, in 1634. They settled the state
+of Maryland; and, much to their honor, while some of the Protestant
+provinces were persecuting all those who differed from them on religious
+subjects, the Catholic Marylanders protected all sects that were moral and
+civil in their deportment.
+
+We copy from the "Metropolitan Catholic Almanac and Laity's Directory for
+1841" the following statistical table:--
+
+STATISTICS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES
+
+Diocese.       Churches   Clergymen   Clergymen   Eccl.   Clerical
+               and        in the      otherwise   Inst.   Students.
+               Chapels.   Ministry.   employed.
+Baltimore            68          38          31       4          52
+Richmond              7           6           1       0           0
+Philadelphia         91          57           2       1          22
+New York             64          65           1       1          14
+Boston               30          31           0       0           0
+Detroit              25          17           1       0           0
+Cincinnati           38          34           2       1
+Vincennes            27          25           5       1           9
+Du Buque              5           8           0       0           0
+St Louis             56          50          23       2          30
+Bardstown            40          26          25       1
+Nashville             1           6           0       1           2
+New Orleans          38          39          11       1           9
+Natchez               1           2
+Mobile                7          12           7
+Charleston           14          20           0       4           6
+Total               512         436         109      17         144
+
+Diocese.       Literary     Young Men   Female      Female    Pupils in
+               Inst. for    in          Religious   Academ.   Female
+               young Men.   College.    Inst.                 Academ.
+Baltimore               5         633           5         9         530
+Richmond                0           0           0         3         100
+Philadelphia            2          60           0         1          30
+New York                1                       0         2         120
+Boston                  1          60           1         1
+Detroit                 1                       1         1
+Cincinnati              1                       2         2          70
+Vincennes               1          50           1         1          50
+Du Buque                1                       0         1
+St Louis                3         320          10        10         640
+Bardstown               3         300           3        10         528
+Nashville               1                       0         0           0
+New Orleans             1         100           4         4         526
+Natchez                                                   0           0
+Mobile                  2          70           2         2          60
+Charleston              1                       2         2         128
+Total                  24        1593          31        49        2782
+
+The sacred college of cardinals has fifty-seven members. The total number
+is seventy.
+
+There are twelve patriarchs in the Christian world. The archbishops and
+bishops amount to six hundred and seventy-one. The vicars apostolic in
+different countries are fifty-seven in number, besides whom there are
+thirty-eight coadjutor-bishops, making the grand total of the Catholic
+episcopacy amount to seven hundred and sixty-six bishops.
+
+CATHOLIC PERIODICALS.--The _United States Catholic Miscellany_, published
+weekly in Charleston, S. C.; the _Catholic Telegraph_, published weekly in
+Cincinnati, Ohio; the _Catholic Herald_, published weekly in Philadelphia;
+the _Catholic Advocate_, published weekly in Bardstown, Ky.; _Der
+Wahrheit's Freund_, (German paper,) published weekly in Cincinnati, Ohio;
+the _New York Catholic Register_, published weekly in the city of New
+York; _Ordo divini Officii recitandi_, _Missaeque celebrandae, juxta
+Rubricas Breviarii ac Missalis Romani_, published annually in Baltimore;
+the _Young Catholic's Magazine_, enlarged series, published on the first
+of each month, in New York.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+At the time of the reformation, 1517, papal power, or the power of the
+pope of Rome, had acquired so great a spiritual dominion over the minds
+and consciences of men, that all Europe submitted to it with implicit
+obedience. At the present day, the Roman Catholic religion prevails, more
+or less, in every country in Christendom. Its population is stated to
+exceed eighty millions. It is the established religion of Austria, France,
+Portugal, and Spain, and of thirteen other states in Europe.
+
+Popes of Rome.(16) A. D.
+
+      33. St. Peter, martyred.
+      66. St. Linus, martyred.
+      67. St. Clement, abdicated.
+      77. St. Cletus, martyred.
+      83. St. Anaclitus.
+      96. St. Evaristus, coadjutor to the former, martyred.
+      108. St. Alexander I., martyred.
+      117. St. Sixtus I., martyred.
+      127. Telesphorus, martyred.
+      138. Hygenus, martyred. The first called _pope_.
+      142. Pius I., martyred.
+      150. Anicetus, martyred.
+      162. Soter.
+      171. Eleutherius, martyred.
+      185. Victor I., martyred.
+      197. Zephyrinus, martyred.
+      217. Calixtus I., martyred.
+      222. Urban I., martyred.
+      230. Pontianus, martyred.
+      235. Anterus, martyred.
+      236. Fabian, martyred.
+      236. Novatianus, antipope.
+      250. Cornelius, beheaded.
+      252. Lucius I., martyred.
+      254. Stephen I., martyred.
+      257. Sixtus II., coadjutor to the former, martyred.
+      259. Dionysius.
+      269. Felix I.
+      274. Eutychianus.
+      283. Caius.
+      295. Marcellinus, martyred.
+      304. Marcellus I., martyred.
+      310. Eusebius, martyred.
+      310. Melchiades, coadjutor to the former.
+      314. Sylvester.
+      336. Marcus.
+      337. Julius I.
+      352. Liberius, banished.
+      356. Felix II., antipope.
+      358. Liberius, again, abdicated.
+      358. Felix became legal pope but was killed by Liberius.
+      359. Liberius, again.
+      366. Damasius.
+      385. Siricius.
+      399. Anastasius.
+      401. Innocent I.
+      417. Zosimus.
+      418. Boniface I.
+      422. Celestinus I.
+      432. Sixtus III.
+      440. Leo I., the Great.
+      461. Hilary.
+      468. Simplicius.
+      483.  Felix III.
+      492.  Gelasius.
+      496.  Anastasius II.
+      498.  Symmachus.
+      514.  Hormisdas.
+      523.  John I., died in prison at Ravenna.
+      526.  Felix IV.
+      530.  Boniface II.
+      533.  John II.
+      535.  Agapetus.
+      536.  Sylvester; he was made prisoner by the antipope Vigilius, who
+      enjoyed the papacy.
+      538.  Vigilius, banished, and restored.
+      555.  Pelagius I.
+      560.  John III.
+      574.  Benedict I.
+      578.  Pelagius II.
+      590.  Gregory the Great.
+      604.  Sabiamus.
+      606.  Boniface III.
+      608.  Boniface IV.
+      615.  Deusdedit.
+      618.  Boniface V.
+      624.  Honorius I.
+      640.  Severinus.
+      640.  John IV.
+      642.  Theodorus.
+      649.  Martin I., starved to death.
+      654,  Eugenius I.
+      657.  Vitalianus.
+      672.  Adeodatus.
+      676.  Donus.
+      679.  Agatho.
+      682.  Leo II.
+      684.  Benedict II.
+      685.  John V.
+      686.  Conon.
+      686.  Theodore and Pascan, antipopes.
+      687.  Sergius.
+      701.  John VI.
+      705.  John VII.
+      708.  Sisinnius.
+      708.  Constantine.
+      715.  Gregory II.
+      731.  Gregory III.
+      741.  Zacharias.
+      752.  Stephen II., governed only four days.
+      752.  Stephen III.
+      757.  Paul I.
+      768.  Stephen IV.
+      792.  Adrian I.
+      795.  Leo III.
+      816.  Stephen V.
+      817.  Paschal I.
+      824.  Eugenius II.
+      827.  Valentinus.
+      828.  Gregory IV.
+      844.  Sergius II.
+      847.  Leo IV.
+      855.  Benedict III.
+      858.  Nicholas I.
+      867.  Adrian II.
+      872.  John VIII.
+      882.  Martin II.
+      883.  Adrian III.
+      885.  Stephen VI.
+      891.  Formosus.
+      896.  Boniface VI.
+      897.  Romanus, antipope.
+      897.  Stephen VII.
+      898.  Theodorus II., governed twenty-two days.
+      898.  John IX.
+      900.  Benedict IV.
+      904.  Leo V., killed by Christiphilus.
+      905.  Sergius III.
+      913.  Anastasius III.
+      914.  Laudo.
+      915.  John X., was stifled.
+      928. Leo VI.
+      929. Stephen VIII.
+      931. John XI.
+      936. Leo VII.
+      939. Stephen IX.
+      943. Martin III.
+      946. Agapetus II.
+      956. John XII.
+      963. Leo VIII., turned out.
+      964. Benedict V., banished.
+      964. Leo VIII.
+      965. Benedict V., again.
+      965. John XIII.
+      972. Benedict VI.
+      974. Domus.
+      975. Benedict VII.
+      975. Boniface VII.
+      984. John XIV.
+      985. John XV., died before consecration.
+      986. John XVI.
+      996. Gregory V.
+      999. Silvester II.
+      1003. John XVI.
+      1004. John XVII.
+      1009. Sergius VI.
+      1012. Benedict VIII.
+      1024. John XVIII.
+      1033. Benedict IX., deposed.
+      1045. Gregory VI.
+      1046. Clement II.
+      1047. Benedict IX., again, abdicated.
+      1048. Damasius II.
+      1049. Leo IX.
+      1055. Victor II.
+      1057. Stephen X.
+      1058. Nicholas II.
+      1061. Alexander II.
+      1073. Gregory VII.
+      1086. Victor III., poisoned
+      1088. Urban II.
+      1099. Paschal II.
+      1118. Gelasius II.
+      1119. Calixtus II.
+      1124. Honorius II.
+      1130. Innocent II.
+      1143. Caelestine II.
+      1144. Lucius II.
+      1145. Eugenius III.
+      1153. Anastasius IV., a short time.
+      1154. Adrian IV., choked by a fly as he was drinking.
+      1159. Alexander III.
+      1181. Lucius III.
+      1185. Urban III.
+      1187. Gregory VIII.
+      1187. Clement III.
+      1191. Caelestine III.
+      1198. Innocent III.
+      1216. Honorius III.
+      1227. Gregory IX.
+      1241. Caelestine IV.
+      1243. Innocent IV.
+      1254. Alexander IV.
+      1261. Urban IV.
+      1265. Clement IV.
+      1271. Gregory X.
+      1276. Innocent V.
+      1276. Adrian V.
+      1276. Vicedominus, died the next day.
+      1276. John XIX., killed by the fall of his chamber at Viterbium.
+      1277. Nicholas III.
+      1281. Martin IV.
+      1285. Honorius IV.
+      1288. Nicholas IV.
+      1294. Caelestine V.
+      1294. Boniface VIII.
+      1303. Benedict XI.
+      1305. Clement V.
+      1316. John XX.
+      1334. Benedict XII.
+      1342. Clement VI.
+      1352. Innocent VI.
+      1362. Urban V.
+      1370. Gregory XI.
+      1378. Urban VI.
+      1389. Boniface IX.
+      1404. Innocent VII.
+      1406. Gregory XII., deposed.
+      1409. Alexander V.
+      1410. John XXI.
+      1417. Martin V.
+      1431. Eugenius IV.
+      1455. Calixtus III.
+      1458. Pius II.
+      1464. Paul II.
+      1476. Sixtus IV.
+      1484. Innocent VIII.
+      1492. Alexander VI.
+      1503. Pius III.
+      1503. Julius II.
+      1513. Leo X.
+      1522. Adrian VI.
+      1523. Clement VII.
+      1534. Paul III.
+      1550. Julius III.
+      1555. Marcellus II.
+      1555. Paul IV.
+      1559. Pius IV.
+      1566. Pius V.
+      1572. Gregory XIII.
+      1585. Sixtus V.
+      1590. Urban VII.
+      1590. Gregory XIV.
+      1591. Innocent IX.
+      1592. Clement VIII.
+      1605. Leo XI.
+      1605. Paul V.
+      1621. Gregory XV.
+      1623. Urban VIII.
+      1644. Innocent X.
+      1655. Alexander VII.
+      1667. Clement IX.
+      1670. Clement X.
+      1676. Innocent XI.
+      1689. Alexander VIII.
+      1691. Innocent XII.
+      1700. Clement XI.
+      1721. Innocent XIII.
+      1724. Benedict XIII.
+      1730. Clement XII.
+      1740. Benedict XIV.
+      1758. Clement XIII.
+      1769. Clement XIV., poisoned.
+      1775. Pius VI., February 14.
+      1800. Cardinal Chiaramonte. elected at Venice, as Pius VII., March
+      13.
+      1823. Annibal della Genga, Leo XII., Sept. 28.
+      1831. Cardinal Mauro Capellari, as Gregory XVI., Feb. 2.
+
+The title of _pope_ was originally given to all bishops. It was first
+adopted by Hygenus, A. D. 138; and Pope Boniface III. procured Phocas,
+emperor of the East, to confine it to the prelates of Rome, 606. By the
+connivance of Phocas, also, the pope's supremacy over the Christian church
+was established. The custom of kissing the pope's toe was introduced in
+708. The first sovereign act of the popes of Rome was by Adrian I., who
+caused money to be coined with his name, 780. Servius II. was the first
+pope who changed his name, on his election, in 844. The first pope who
+kept an army was Leo IX., 1054. Gregory VII. obliged Henry IV., emperor of
+Germany, to stand three days, in the depth of winter, barefooted, at his
+castle gate, to implore his pardon 1077. The pope's authority was firmly
+fixed in England 1079. Appeals from English tribunals to the pope were
+introduced 1154. Henry II. of England held the stirrup for Pope Alexander
+III. to mount his horse, 1161, and also for Becket, 1170. "When Louis,
+king of France, and Henry II. of England, met Pope Alexander III. at the
+castle of Torci, on the Loire, they both dismounted to receive him, and,
+holding each of them one of the reins of his bridle, walked on foot by his
+side, and conducted him in that submissive manner into the castle." Pope
+Adrian IV. was the only Englishman that ever obtained the tiara. His
+arrogance was such, that he obliged Frederick I. to prostrate himself
+before him, kiss his foot, hold his stirrup, and lead the white palfrey on
+which he rode. Celestine III. kicked the emperor Henry VI.'s crown off his
+head while kneeling, to show his prerogative of making and unmaking kings,
+1191. The pope collected the tenths of the whole kingdom of England, 1226.
+Appeals to Rome from England were abolished 1533. The words "Lord Pope"
+were struck out of all English books 1541. The papal authority declined
+about 1600. Kissing the pope's toe, and other ceremonies, were abolished
+by Clement XIV., 1773. The pope became destitute of all political
+influence in Europe, 1787. Pius VI. was burnt in effigy at Paris, 1791. He
+made submission to the French republic, 1796, was expelled from Rome, and
+deposed, February 22, 1798, and died at Valence, August 19, 1799. Pius
+VII. was elected in exile, March 13, 1800; he crowned Napoleon, December
+2, 1804; was dethroned May 13, 1809; remained a prisoner at Fontainebleau
+till Napoleon's overthrow; and was restored May 24, 1814.
+
+
+
+
+Swedenborgians.
+
+
+Believers in the doctrines of Swedenborg are found in all the states in
+the Union. In Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York,
+Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Ohio, are eight ordaining ministers,
+ten priests and teaching ministers, fifteen licentiates, and between
+thirty and forty societies. There are between two and three hundred towns
+or places in the United States where the doctrines of the New Jerusalem
+church are received by some portion of the people.
+
+The number of Swedenborgians in the United States is about five thousand.
+The societies of this class of Christians in England are more numerous
+than in the United States. In Sweden they are quite numerous.
+
+PERIODICALS.--The _New Jerusalem Magazine_ is issued monthly at Boston,
+Mass.; the _Precursor_ is issued monthly at Cincinnati, Ohio; the _New
+Churchman_ is issued quarterly at Philadelphia.
+
+
+
+
+Unitarians.
+
+
+Of this denomination, there are about three hundred churches and
+congregations in the United States, and near that number of ministers. In
+the city of Boston it is one of the most numerous and influential classes
+of Christians, having eighteen societies, most of which are large and
+flourishing. In the Middle, Southern, and Western States their
+congregations are fewer, but gradually multiplying.
+
+PERIODICALS.--The _Christian Examiner_, the _Monthly Miscellany_, and the
+_Christian Register_, are published in Boston, Mass.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+A favorite project of Christian philanthropy with the Unitarians has been
+the "ministry to the poor" in large cities and towns. They have
+established such an institution in Boston, New York, Cincinnati,
+Louisville, Providence, and elsewhere. In Boston, three large and
+commodious chapels have been erected, and three ministers constantly
+employed, by the aid of funds obtained from individual donors and annual
+subscriptions from associations in the several churches of the
+denomination.
+
+
+
+
+Universalists.
+
+
+There are, in the United States and Territories, one United States
+Convention, one United States Universalist Historical Society, twelve
+State Conventions, fifty-nine Associations, eight hundred and seventy-five
+societies, five hundred and fifty meeting-houses, and five hundred and
+forty preachers. Besides these, there are twenty-one periodicals published
+by the order, and twenty new books have been published within the year,
+besides reprints. There are also five schools in the patronage of the
+denomination. There is an Educational Association in Maine, a Sunday
+School Association in Massachusetts, a Publishing Association in
+Pennsylvania, a public library of fifteen hundred volumes in Ohio, and two
+Book Associations in Indiana and Illinois.
+
+By adding the numbers of societies, etc., in the British Provinces, to
+those in the United States, there are, at present, the grand total of one
+General Convention, twelve State Conventions, fifty-five Associations,
+eight hundred and ninety-five societies, five hundred and fifty-six
+meeting-houses, and five hundred and forty-six preachers.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+PERIODICALS.--_Gospel Banner and Christian Pilot_, Augusta, Me.; EASTERN
+ROSE-BUD, Portland, Me.; _Universalist and Family Visitor_,
+Contoocookville, N. H.; _Universalist Watchman_, Montpelier, Vt.; _Trumpet
+and Universalist Magazine_, Boston, Mass.; _Christian Freeman and Family
+Visitor_, Boston, Mass.; _Universalist and Ladies Repository_, Boston,
+Mass.; _Light of Zion, and Sabbath School Contributor_, Boston, Mass.;
+_Star and Palladium_, Lowell, Mass.; _Gospel Messenger_, Providence, R.
+I.; _Universalist_, Middletown, Ct.; _New York Christian Messenger_, New
+York city; _Universalist Union_, New York city; _Evangelical Magazine and
+Gospel Advocate_, Utica, N. Y.; _Western Luminary_, Rochester, N. Y.; _The
+Nazarene_, Philadelphia, Pa.; _Christian Warrior_, Richmond, Va.;
+_Southern Universalist_, Columbus, Ga.; _Star in the West_, Cincinnati,
+Ohio; _Christian Teacher_, Lafayette, Ind.; _Better Covenant_, Rockford,
+Ill.
+
+
+
+
+
+MISSIONARY STATISTICS.
+
+
+We have been much assisted in our missionary statistics by the kindness of
+the secretaries of the several Missionary Boards, and by permission of the
+proprietor, Mr. F. Rand, for the use of his valuable Missionary Chart,
+prepared with great care, in 1840, by the Reverend Messrs. Jefferson
+Hascall and Daniel Wise.
+
+Those of the Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists, and Episcopalians,
+are brought down to 1841, and are quite accurate; but the efforts of some
+of the other denominations in this great and glorious cause are not fully
+stated, as some of the items have not been reported.
+
+
+
+
+First Protestant Missions.
+
+
+The first Protestant mission on record was undertaken in 1559, by Michael,
+who was sent into Lapland by Gustavus Vasa, king of Sweden.
+
+John Eliot commenced the first mission to the Indians at _Nonantum_, now
+Newton, Massachusetts, in 1646. This mission gave rise to a society in
+England for the propagation of the gospel in New England, and to the
+formation of several other missionary stations; so that, in 1696, there
+were thirty Indian churches in New England.
+
+In 1705, Messrs. Ziegenbalg and Plutcho, under the auspices of Frederick
+IV., king of Denmark, commenced a mission at Tranquebar, in South
+Hindoostan, which was very successful. Its fruits continue to the present
+time.
+
+In 1728, a mission was begun by Schultze, at Madras, under the patronage
+of the Christian Knowledge Society. In the following thirty-three years,
+fourteen hundred and seventy converts united with the church.
+
+
+
+
+Moravian Missions.
+
+
+The Moravians trace their origin to the ninth century, when the king of
+Moravia united with the Greek church.
+
+WEST INDIAN MISSION.--The Moravians commenced their mission on the Island
+of St. Thomas in 1732. Its commencement was occasioned by a conversation
+between a negro, named Anthony, and some servants of Count Zinzendorf. The
+negro said he had a sister at St. Thomas, who was deeply anxious to be
+instructed about religion. This remark was repeated to one of "the
+_brethren_," named Leonard Dober. He determined to visit St. Thomas,
+"even," as he said, "if he were obliged to sell himself for a slave to
+effect his purpose." Dober went; and though, for a time, little good was
+effected, yet, in 1736, the Lord poured out his spirit, and many of the
+slaves were awakened. There are now two stations on this island.
+
+In 1734, they began their mission on the Island of St. Croix. It was soon
+abandoned, but was reestablished in 1740. In 1754, missions were commenced
+on the Islands of St. Jan and Jamaica; in 1756, at Antigua; in 1765, at
+Barbadoes; in 1777, at St. Christopher's; and at Tobago in 1790.
+
+GREENLAND MISSION.--This was commenced in 1733, at New Herrnhut, or
+Lusatia, by Matthew and Christian Stach, when the congregation of the
+brethren at home amounted to but six hundred members. They persevered
+through cold, hunger, and discouragement, though for five years they had
+no conversions. Greenland is _now_ a Christian country.
+
+NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN MISSIONS.--These were begun in Georgia, 1735, among
+the Creeks, at the instigation of Count Zinzendorf. It was followed by
+numerous other stations, many of which have since become extinct.
+
+SOUTH AMERICAN MISSIONS.--Surinam, a Dutch settlement in Guiana, was the
+scene of their first operations here, about 1735 or 1738. They began on
+the invitation of a planter. Several other settlements were attempted, but
+were subsequently abandoned, for various causes. In 1767, they commenced a
+prosperous station at Paramaribo.
+
+LABRADOR MISSIONS.--Supposing that a natural affinity subsisted between
+this people and the Greenlanders, the brethren commenced their labors here
+in 1752. This attempt failed; but, in 1770, a settlement was effected at
+Nain, by the agency of Messrs. Haven, Drachart, and Jensen.
+
+SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.--George Schmidt was the father of this mission. He
+commenced it in 1737; but it was afterwards abandoned for about fifty
+years, until, in 1792, a permanent settlement was effected at Gnadenthal,
+one hundred and thirty-five miles east of Cape Town.
+
+NOTE.--The brethren have also had missions, at different periods, in
+Asiatic Russia, Egypt, Persia, Lapland, Guinea, Algiers, Ceylon and the
+Nicobar Islands; all of which, for various causes, have been abandoned.
+
+Summary.
+
+In the year 1840, the Moravians had, in the afore-mentioned places and in
+South Africa, forty-seven stations and out-stations, one hundred and
+ninety-seven missionaries and assistants, seventeen thousand seven hundred
+and three communicants, and fifty-seven thousand two hundred and
+fifty-five souls under their care.
+
+
+
+
+London Missionary Society.
+
+
+The extensive and splendid missions of this board originated with the Rev.
+David Bogue, while on a visit to London. From his suggestions, the society
+was formed, in 1795, by several ministers of various denominations.
+
+SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.--The society commenced their labors among these isles by
+sending out thirty-six missionaries, in 1796, who arrived safely, and
+commenced their duties at Otaheite, Tongataboo, and St. Christina, in
+March, 1797. Subsequently, they spread their influence over nearly all the
+islands of the Pacific Ocean. These missions have been eminently
+successful.
+
+NEW SOUTH WALES.--This mission was begun by the labors of Mr. Threlkeld, in
+1826, in Bahtabee, on Lake Macquaire.
+
+SOUTH AFRICAN MISSIONS.--The success of the missions in the islands of the
+Pacific and South Seas, turned their attention to this dark land. Dr.
+Vanderkemp, who was their first laborer, began his labors on the River
+Keis Kamma, in Caffraria, in 1799. In 1801, he removed to Graff Reinet,
+and preached to the Hottentots in that vicinity. These missions afterwards
+spread very widely among the Caffres and Hottentots.
+
+EAST INDIAN MISSIONS.--The society's missions in this most interesting
+quarter of the globe were commenced at Calcutta and Chinsura, by the Rev.
+Mr. Forsyth, in 1798. Subsequently, their stations spread over Northern
+and Peninsular India, India beyond the Ganges, into China, Siam, and some
+of the Asiatic Isles.
+
+GUIANA AND WEST INDIES.--At the request of a pious Dutch planter, Mr. Wray
+was sent to Demerara, in Guiana, in 1807. This was the beginning of the
+society's operations in South America.
+
+OTHER MISSIONS.--Beside these, are the European and Mediterranean islands
+missions, which, though of recent date, are promising in their aspects.
+
+EDUCATION.--This society has several presses distributed over the vast
+field occupied by their agents, by means of which millions of pages are
+annually scattered among the people. They publish tracts parts of the
+Scriptures, &c. &c. They have also upwards of four hundred native
+assistants, which are not mentioned in the following summary.
+
+Summary.
+
+From the best accounts we can obtain, this society had, in 1840, in Asia,
+the South Sea Islands, Africa, Guiana, and in Europe, about five hundred
+and fifty missionary stations and out-stations, one hundred and sixty-four
+missionaries, five thousand communicants, and about twenty-five thousand
+scholars.
+
+
+
+
+American Board Of Foreign Missions.
+
+
+MISSIONS IN ASIA.--The news of the success of English missionary
+enterprise, seconded by the zeal and influence of S. J. Mills, originated
+the germ of the invaluable labors of this board, which was organized in
+1810. Their first missions were in Asia. Bombay was the scene of their
+first labors, in the year 1813, and Messrs. Nott, Newell, and Hall, their
+first missionaries. From Bombay they extended their influence to Ceylon,
+in 1816; to China, and South-eastern Asia, and to Siam, in 1830.
+
+MEDITERRANEAN MISSIONS.--These missions were begun by sending out Messrs.
+Parsons and Fisk on a voyage of research. The first station occupied was
+Beyroot, in Syria, in 1823. To this, stations at Malta, in Greece, at
+Constantinople, &c., have been added.
+
+MISSIONS AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.--A special providence marked the
+commencement of these missions. Two boys, named Obookiah and Hopu, were,
+at their own request, brought to America. This gave rise to a train of
+interesting circumstances, which led to the commencement of the mission,
+in 1820, by Messrs. Bingham, Thurston, and others. Vast success has
+attended this mission, especially of late.
+
+NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN MISSIONS.--These were commenced in 1816, among the
+Cherokees, by the Rev. C. Kingsbury. The Choctaws, the Chickasaws, the
+Osages, and other tribes, have since shared the labors of the board. The
+late unhappy removal of the Cherokee nation has done much towards the
+prostration of missionary success among that interesting but
+deeply-injured tribe.
+
+MISSIONS IN AFRICA.--The efforts of the board in this quarter of the globe
+are of recent date. Only seven years have elapsed since their
+commencement. Some native towns on the western coast, and a numerous
+aboriginal tribe called the Zulus, on the south-east shore, are the chief
+objects of their labors at present. This field is considered very
+promising, and it is confidently believed that its occupation will be one
+effectual aid in the great work of regenerating that darkened, enslaved,
+and degraded continent.
+
+In 1841, this board had missions to the Zulus in South Africa, the Grebos
+in West Africa, to Greece, to Turkey, Syria, the Nestorians of Persia, the
+Independent Nestorians, the Persian Mahometans, to the Mahrattas in
+Western India, to Madras and Madura in Southern India, to Ceylon, Siam,
+China Singapore, Borneo, and to the Sandwich Islands.
+
+They have missions to the Cherokee Indians, the Choctaws, Pawnees, to the
+Oregon Indians, the Sioux, Ojibwas, Stockbridge Indians, New York Indians,
+and to the Abenaquis.
+
+Summary Of Foreign Missions.
+
+The number of missions in this department is seventeen; of stations,
+sixty-one; of ordained missionaries, one hundred and eleven, five of whom
+are also physicians; of physicians, seven; of teachers, eight; of secular
+superintendents, two; of printers, eleven; of bookbinders, one; of female
+helpers, married and unmarried, one hundred and thirty-nine;--making a
+total of laborers beyond sea from this country of two hundred and eighty.
+To these add four native preachers, and one hundred and thirty-five other
+native helpers, and the number of laborers who are employed and supported
+by the board in the missions beyond sea, is four hundred and nineteen.
+
+Summary Of Indian Missions.
+
+Among the Indian nations, there are twenty-five stations; twenty-five
+missionaries, two of whom are physicians; two other physicians, five
+teachers; ten other male, and fifty-nine female, assistant missionaries;
+three native preachers; and three other native assistants;--total, one
+hundred and seven.
+
+General Summary.
+
+The number of the missions in 1841 was twenty-six; stations, eighty-five;
+and ordained missionaries, one hundred and thirty-six, ten of whom were
+physicians. There were nine physicians not preachers, thirteen teachers,
+twelve printers and bookbinders, and twelve other male and one hundred and
+ninety-eight female assistant missionaries. The whole number of laborers
+from this country was three hundred and eighty-one, or sixteen more than
+were reported in 1840. To these we must add seven native preachers, and
+one hundred and thirty-eight native helpers, which made the whole number
+five hundred and twenty-six, thirty-nine more than in 1840. Nine ordained
+missionaries, three male and seventeen female assistant missionaries, have
+been sent forth during the year.
+
+The number of mission churches was fifty-nine, containing nineteen
+thousand eight hundred and forty-two members, of whom four thousand three
+hundred and fifty were received the year before.
+
+There were fifteen printing establishments, twenty-nine presses, five
+type-founderies, and fifty founts of type in the native languages. The
+printing for the year was about fifty million pages; the amount of
+printing from the beginning is about two hundred and ninety million pages.
+Twenty-four thousand copies of the _Missionary Herald_ are now published
+monthly, and sixty-five thousand copies of the _Day-spring_, a monthly
+paper, are also issued.
+
+Seven of the thirty-four boarding-schools have received the name of
+seminaries, and these contain four hundred and ninety-nine boys; the other
+twenty-seven contain two hundred and fifty three boys and three hundred
+and seventy-eight girls;--making a total of boarding scholars of one
+thousand one hundred and thirty. The number of free schools was four
+hundred and ninety, containing about twenty-three thousand pupils.
+
+The receipts have been two hundred and thirty-five thousand one hundred
+and eighty-nine dollars, and the expenditures two hundred and sixty eight
+thousand, nine hundred and fifteen dollars.
+
+
+
+
+Presbyterian Board Of Foreign Missions.
+
+
+Until within a few years, this body of Christians united with the American
+board in their operations among the heathen. A distinct society, under the
+name of the _Western Foreign Missionary Society_, was formed in 1831, by
+the synod of Pittsburg, which was merged into the present board in 1837.
+
+Three of the missions of the board were begun by this society, namely, the
+Western Africa, the Hindoostan, and Iowa and Sac missions.
+
+This board is intending to reenforce its missions, and to occupy several
+new stations, as soon as the requisite arrangements can be made. Its main
+efforts will be directed towards Hindoostan, where it has now two presses
+in active cooeperation with its missionaries. This denomination of
+Christians have the following missions:--Iowa and Sac Indians; Chippewa and
+Ottawa Indians; Texas; Western Africa, _Kroos_; Chinese, _Singapore_;
+Siam; Northern India, _Lodiana_, Allahabad, Furrukhabad.
+
+Summary.
+
+This church has now under her care in the foreign field, fifty-seven
+laborers sent from her own bosom, twenty-three of whom are ministers of
+the gospel; besides eight native assistants, some of them men of learning,
+all of them hopefully pious, and in different stages of preparation and
+trial for the missionary work among their own benighted people. Through
+the mission stations occupied by these brethren, the church is brought in
+direct contact with five different heathen nations, containing two thirds
+of the whole human race. Annual expenditure about sixty-five thousand
+dollars.
+
+The Presbyterian Domestic Board of Missions employs or aids two hundred
+and sixty missionaries and agents, who have under their charge about
+twenty thousand communicants, and twenty thousand Sabbath school scholars.
+Annual disbursements about thirty-five thousand dollars.
+
+
+
+
+English Baptist Missionary Society.
+
+
+EAST INDIES.--A mission was commenced at Serampore in 1793. The English
+Baptists were just awakening to a sense of their responsibility for the
+conversion of the world, when Dr. Thomas arrived in London, to solicit
+missionary aid for Hindoostan. The society took him under their patronage,
+and sent him back in company with Dr. Cary. After laboring successfully in
+various places, in 1800 Dr. Cary removed to Serampore, which thenceforward
+became a central station.
+
+WEST INDIAN MISSIONS.--In 1814, a mulatto preacher, named Baker, requested
+this society to send a missionary to Jamaica. In compliance with this
+request, Mr. I. Rowe was sent out, who, after laboring with pleasing
+success, died; and, in 1815, the society sent out Mr. Compere and
+assistants, who established a mission in Kingston. This was the origin of
+the Baptist missions in the West Indies.
+
+SOUTH AMERICAN MISSION.--On a representation to the society, that much good
+might be done among the negro population and the Indians in and around
+Honduras, in the Bay of Mexico, the society, in 1822, sent out Mr. J.
+Bourne, who succeeded in establishing a church and congregation.
+
+SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.--In 1831, Rev. W. Davies was sent to Graham's Town,
+at the urgent solicitation of some Baptists, resident at that place.
+
+Summary.
+
+This society have, in Asia, the Asiatic Islands, West Indies, South
+America, and South Africa, one hundred and twenty-nine stations and
+out-stations, one hundred and thirty-four missionaries and assistants,
+twenty-two thousand four hundred and eighty-eight communicants, and
+seventeen thousand seven hundred and thirty-five scholars. This statement
+does not contain the full amount of their labors to the present year.
+
+
+
+
+American Baptist Board Of Foreign Missions.
+
+
+MISSIONS IN ASIA.--Rev. A. Judson may be said to be the father of Baptist
+missions in this country, and, indeed, of the missionary labors of this
+society. It was his conversion to the principles of the Baptists, while a
+missionary of the American board in India, that roused them to action. He
+commenced his labors under discouraging circumstances, at Rangoon, in the
+Burman empire, 1813. Since then, the operations of this board have become
+very extensive, embracing immense portions of the Burman empire, Siam, &c.
+Asia is their principal mission field, and they have laid sure foundations
+for the evangelization of many parts of that benighted clime.
+
+INDIAN MISSIONS.--An impression, made, no doubt, by divine influence, of
+the importance of missions to this people, led, in 1817, to the
+appointment of J. M. Peck and J. E. Welch to be missionaries to the North
+American Indians. J. M. Peck commenced their first Indian mission among
+the Cherokees in 1818. Many tribes are now embraced by the labors of the
+board, and although the progress of truth has been slow among the "red
+men," yet the board have cause to rejoice over their Indian missions.
+
+AFRICAN MISSION.--This mission was commenced by the offer of L. Cary and C.
+Teage, colored men, to become the messengers of the churches in this work.
+They commenced their duties, in 1821, at Liberia, where the board
+continues its efforts for the redemption of Africa, with some success,
+chiefly among the Bassas.
+
+EUROPEAN MISSIONS.--These missions were commenced in 1832. Professor Chase
+was sent to explore the kingdom of France, and the Rev. J. C. Rostan
+commenced a course of evangelical demonstrations at Paris; since which,
+Germany and Greece have shared the attention of the board. These are
+missions of the first importance.
+
+General Summary.
+
+This board have missions as follow:--In North America, to the Ojibwas, near
+Lake Superior; the Ottawas, in Michigan; Oneidas, in New York; Otoes, near
+the junction of Missouri and Platte Rivers; Shawanoes, including the
+Delawares, Putawatomies, and Western Ottawas, in the Indian Territory;
+Cherokees, Creeks, and Choctaws, in the Indian Territory. In Europe, they
+have missions to France, Germany, Denmark, and Greece;--to the Bassas, in
+West Africa;--in Asia, to Burmah and the Karens; to Siam and China,
+Arracan, Asam, and to the Teloogoos.
+
+The number of Indian missions is eight; stations and out-stations,
+sixteen; missionaries and assistant missionaries, twenty-eight; native
+assistants, ten; churches, sixteen; baptisms reported the last year, two
+hundred and seventy-one; present number of church members, one thousand
+three hundred and twenty-four; schools, seven; scholars, one hundred and
+ninety-two.
+
+The number of European missions is three; stations and out-stations,
+twenty; missionaries and assistant missionaries, seven; native preachers
+and assistants, twenty-three; churches, twenty-seven; baptisms the past
+year, one hundred and eighty-seven; church members, five hundred and
+fifty-eight.
+
+In the mission to West Africa there are two stations, five missionaries
+and assistant missionaries, one native assistant, two churches of
+twenty-five members, and two schools containing eighty-five scholars.
+
+The number of the Asiatic missions is eight, stations and out-stations,
+sixty-two; missionaries and assistant missionaries, fifty-nine; native
+assistants, seventy-seven; churches, thirty-two; baptisms the past year,
+three hundred and seventeen; church members, one thousand eight hundred
+and two; schools, thirty-five, scholars, five hundred and sixty.
+
+Grand total, twenty missions, one hundred stations and out-stations,
+ninety-nine missionaries and assistant missionaries, one hundred and
+eleven native preachers and assistants, seventy-seven churches, seven
+hundred and eighty baptisms the past year, more than three thousand seven
+hundred members of mission churches, forty-four schools, and eight hundred
+and seventy-seven scholars.
+
+The annual expenditure of the board is about eighty thousand dollars.
+
+
+
+
+Free-Will Baptists.
+
+
+This flourishing class of Christians have not, until recently, directed
+their efforts to a foreign field. They now occupy one station in Orissa,
+where they have two missionaries with their ladies. Two other missionaries
+are about being located, for which purpose funds are now provided.
+
+
+
+
+Episcopal Missions.
+
+
+The Church of England has been actively engaged in missionary operations
+since the year 1698, when the "Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge"
+was formed. In 1701, the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
+Foreign Parts" was instituted. The "Church Missionary Society" was
+established in 1800. These societies are still in active and vigorous
+operation. They have missions in every quarter of the globe, and their
+annual expenditures, for the propagation of the Gospel, amount to about
+one million three hundred and seventeen thousand three hundred and
+fifty-six dollars.
+
+The Episcopal Church in the United States established a _Domestic and
+Foreign Missionary Society_ in 1820; and the General Convention of 1835
+resolved, That the Church itself was the missionary society and that every
+member of the Church, by baptism, was, of course, bound to support her
+missions. The missionary field was declared to be THE WORLD, _domestic
+missions_ being those established within the territory of the United
+States, and _foreign missions_ those without that territory. At each
+triennial meeting of the General Convention, a Board of Missions,
+consisting of about one hundred members, is selected from the different
+dioceses. This Board has the general supervision of all the missionary
+operations of the Church; and meets annually, or oftener, if necessary.
+
+There are two standing committees of this Board,--the _Committee for
+Domestic Missions_ and the _Committee for Foreign Missions_, to whom,
+during the recess of the Board, the care and management of the missions is
+confided. This Society now has under its charge one hundred and forty-five
+domestic, and twelve foreign stations, employing eighty-five domestic and
+eleven foreign missionaries, and also eighteen teachers and assistants in
+the foreign stations.
+
+The expenditures of this Board, for the year 1841, were sixty-one thousand
+five hundred and eighty-six dollars and thirty-seven cents. This Society
+has missionary stations in Athens, Crete, Constantinople, China, (Maca,)
+Cape Palmas and other stations in Western Africa, and in Texas.
+
+
+
+
+Society For Propagating The Gospel Among The Indians And Others.
+
+
+This society derived its origin among the Puritans, in England, in 1648.
+The charter under which it now acts was granted by the legislature of
+Massachusetts, in 1687. Its list of past and present members in 1840,
+comprised one hundred and twenty-five names of the most eminent divines,
+jurists, and laymen in Massachusetts, in which state the operations of the
+society are chiefly confined. The funds of this society, in 1840, amounted
+to thirty-six thousand three hundred and eighty-seven dollars, the income
+of which is annually expended for the "propagation of the gospel" among
+the needy and destitute.
+
+In conformity with the spirit and design of this ancient and venerable
+society, all measures in any degree of a party or sectarian character, are
+scrupulously avoided.
+
+
+
+
+Wesleyan Or English Methodist Missionary Society.
+
+
+Scarcely had Mr. Wesley raised the standard of Methodism in England,
+before he turned his attention to the wants of other lands. America
+presenting a vast field for missionary labor, he sent over Richard
+Boardman and Joseph Pilmore, in 1769. These were the first Methodist
+missionaries. From their labors the Methodist Episcopal church in the
+United States gradually came into being. Dr. Coke was preeminently useful
+in establishing missions in various places This society was organized in
+1817.
+
+WEST INDIES.--A peculiar providence marked the commencement of this
+mission. Dr. Coke, with three preachers, was proceeding to Nova Scotia, in
+September, 1786, but was driven, by stress of weather, to Antigua. Finding
+a number of serious persons there, he preached Jesus to them, and by his
+labors laid the foundation for extensive missions.
+
+BRITISH NORTH AMERICA.--About 1779, several Methodist emigrants were the
+means of awakening many souls. Among these was Mr. Black, who, after
+laboring for some time with zeal and success, was appointed the
+superintendent of the mission in British North America. This mission
+embraces Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada, Newfoundland, and Honduras.
+
+MISSIONS IN ASIA.--The plan of establishing missions in Asia originated
+with Dr. Coke; and, in 1813, he sailed, with Messrs. Harvard, Clough,
+Ault, Erskine, Squance, and Lynch, for Ceylon. Unfortunately, he died on
+the passage. The brethren, after many trials, reached Ceylon, and
+commenced their labors at Jaffna, Batticaloa, and Matura. From Ceylon, the
+society directed its attention to continental India, where their labors
+have become very extensive.
+
+MISSIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA.--These missions were begun in 1816, by Rev.
+Barnabas Shaw, among the Namaquas, a tribe of Hottentots. These missions
+have subsequently spread over large portions of this benighted land.
+
+MISSIONS IN THE SOUTH SEAS.--These missions include the Friendly Isles, New
+Zealand, New South Wales, &c. They were commenced at the latter place, in
+1815, by Mr. Leigh, who began his duties and labors at Sydney, with
+favorable auspices and good success.
+
+MISSIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN.--These were commenced in Gibraltar, in 1804,
+by Mr. McMullen, who died a few days after beginning his labors. The
+mission was then suspended until 1808, when Mr. William Griffith was
+appointed to its charge. Besides this mission, the Methodists have
+stations at Malta, Alexandria, and Zanto.
+
+MISSIONS IN EUROPE.--These missions embrace the labors of the society in
+Sweden, France, Germany, Ireland, and the Norman and Shetland Isles.
+Notwithstanding many obstacles, arising from intolerance, ignorance, or
+superstition, the good work progresses at these missions.
+
+Summary.
+
+In 1840, this society had, in the West Indies, fifty missionary stations;
+in British North America, eighty-four stations; in Asia, twenty-two,; in
+the South Seas, twenty-five; in Africa, thirty-one; and in Europe,
+forty-two stations. In all these countries the society had two hundred and
+fifty-four stations, six hundred and twenty-three missionaries and
+teachers, seventy-two thousand seven hundred and twenty-four communicants,
+and fifty-six thousand five hundred and twenty-two scholars.
+
+
+
+
+Missions Of The Methodist Episcopal Church.
+
+
+I. FOREIGN MISSIONS.
+
+1. _The Liberia Mission_ was commenced in 1833, by the Rev. M. B. Cox,
+who, in a few short months after, was called to his eternal reward. His
+dying language was, "Though a thousand fall, Africa must not be given up."
+Five other missionaries have fallen in the same field. The Liberia mission
+now includes an annual conference of seventeen preachers, all colored,
+except the superintendent and the two brethren recently sent out. It has a
+membership of nearly one thousand, of whom one hundred and fifty are
+_natives_. There are thirteen day schools, in which from five hundred to
+six hundred children are instructed, (of whom about forty are natives,
+preparing for future usefulness,) fourteen churches, eight mission-houses,
+three school-houses, one academy, (a stone building,) and one
+printing-office. Total of missionaries, male and female, twenty-four.
+
+2. _The Oregon Mission._--This mission was commenced by Rev. Messrs. Jason
+and Daniel Lee, and now numbers twenty-one missionaries, including
+preachers, teachers, physicians, farmers, mechanics, &c. The greater part
+of these were sent out in 1840, making, with their wives and children,
+about fifty souls--the largest missionary expedition going, at one time,
+from this country. They are now laying the foundations of their future
+work.
+
+3. _The Texas Mission_ was commenced by Rev. Dr. Ruter, assisted by two
+young preachers, who accompanied him to that country in 1837. An annual
+conference was established in this mission field in 1840, which now
+includes three regular presiding elders' districts, and eighteen stations
+and circuits. It numbers twenty-three travelling preachers, thirty-six
+local preachers, (i. e., lay preachers, who support themselves, and preach
+as they have opportunity) and two thousand seven hundred and ninety-five
+members. There is a college at Rutersville.
+
+II. DOMESTIC MISSIONS.
+
+1. _German Missions._--The first German mission was established in
+Cincinnati, in 1835, by Rev. William Nast. There are now seventeen German
+missions, containing about one thousand members, in the states of Ohio,
+Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and New York. A
+German paper is published at Cincinnati, called _The Christian Apologist_,
+having eleven hundred subscribers.
+
+2. _Indian Missions._--There are eighteen missions, and one manual labor
+school, among the Indians located within the bounds of Rock River,
+Michigan, Holston, Missouri, Mississippi, and Arkansas conferences. These
+now include two thousand six hundred and seventeen native church members.
+
+3. _Missions among the Slaves._--There are forty-seven of these missions in
+successful operation, including twelve thousand three hundred and
+ninety-three in church fellowship.
+
+4. _Missions in Destitute Portions of the Country._--There are one hundred
+and eight domestic missions of this kind, which embrace twenty-three
+thousand nine hundred and fifty-eight church members.
+
+Aggregate.
+
+Foreign missions--sixty-three missionaries, four thousand three hundred and
+seventeen church members.--Domestic missions--one hundred and seventy-eight
+missionaries, forty-one thousand church members.--Total--two hundred and
+forty-one missionaries, forty-five thousand three hundred and seventeen
+church members.
+
+The whole amount of missionary money collected for the year ending April
+20, 1842, is one hundred and five thousand two hundred and eighty-one
+dollars; expended, one hundred and forty-nine thousand and sixty-five
+dollars.
+
+
+
+
+Seventh-Day Baptist Missionary Society.
+
+
+The operations of this society are confined to the occasional assistance
+of destitute churches at home. It employs six agents and missionaries. Its
+receipts for 1838 were one hundred and eighty-six dollars.
+
+The Seventh-Day Baptists have also a _Society for the Promotion of
+Christianity among the_ JEWS, at home and abroad. It was organized in
+1838.
+
+
+
+
+French Protestant Missionary Society.
+
+
+This society was formed in 1822, at the house of S. V. S. Wilder Esq., an
+American merchant, then residing in Paris. It has a seminary for the
+preparation of students. In 1829, it sent out three missionaries to their
+first field of labor, among the French emigrants of South Africa, and
+among the surrounding tribes. It had, in 1839, in South Africa, seven
+stations, twelve missionaries, about one hundred converts, and five
+hundred scholars.
+
+
+
+
+Netherlands Missionary Society.
+
+
+The principal labors of this society are expended in Dutch India and in
+Siam. In Dutch India they have eighteen missionaries, at thirteen
+stations. Of the success of this society, little is known in this country.
+
+
+
+
+Scottish Missionary Society.
+
+
+This society was established, in 1796, by the members of the Episcopal
+church in Edinburgh. It has had missions in Tartary, Asia, and the West
+Indies. Some of them are still sustained.
+
+
+
+
+German Missionary Society.
+
+
+This society was preceded in its formation by the Missionary Seminary at
+Basle, in 1816. In 1821, the Missionary Society was formed by the various
+pastors and churches of the surrounding country, under the encouragement
+of Dr. Steinkopff. The scene of their first labors was among the German
+colonies in Asiatic Russia, in 1822, when seven missionaries were sent to
+prepare the way of the Lord in that important field. Others followed, and
+their mission was beginning to promise great results, when, in 1837, by a
+_ukase_ from the emperor of the Russias, they were required to abandon
+their work.
+
+In 1828, they commenced a mission at Liberia. Death became their opponent
+here, and seven of their missionaries died through the sickliness of the
+climate. Two missionaries are still laboring in that field.
+
+They have seven missionaries in Hindoostan, who occupy two
+stations,--Mangalore and Dharwar. They expect to establish another,
+shortly, at Hoobly, for which five missionaries have been sent out. There
+are several schools, and one seminary, connected with these stations.
+
+
+
+
+Church Of Scotland Missions.
+
+
+These missions appear to be of recent date. Most of their labor is
+expended on Asia.
+
+Calcutta, Bombay, Poonah, and Madras, are their principal stations. Their
+missionaries devote a large portion of their efforts to the promotion of
+education.
+
+
+
+
+Rhenish Missionary Society.
+
+
+The successes of the London Missionary Society inspired the pious
+inhabitants of the valley of the Rhine with an ardent wish to imitate
+their zeal. Under this impulse, a society was formed, in 1828, at Barmen,
+on the Rhine, by a union of the previously-formed societies of Barmen,
+Elberfield, Cologne, and Wesel.
+
+Messrs. Gottlieb, Leipold, Zahn and Wurmb, were among their earliest
+missionaries. Wurmb was formerly a soldier. He fought in the battle of
+Leipsic as lieutenant, and obtained two medals of honor. He next studied
+medicine, and gained a diploma; and when he became a subject of religious
+influence, he laid all his honors and learning at the foot of the cross.
+He began his labors at Wupperthal, in South Africa, in which country are
+several missionaries, and four stations.
+
+
+
+
+Missions Of The Roman Catholic Church.
+
+
+We regret that it is not in our power to record the missionary efforts of
+the Roman Catholics. Suffice it to say that their missions extend to all
+countries, and that they are ardent in their zeal, indefatigable in their
+labors, and unsparing in their expenditures, in the propagation of the
+doctrines of this ancient church.
+
+
+
+
+Jews' Missionary Society.
+
+
+This association was formed in England, in 1808. It is patronized chiefly
+by ministers and members of the established church. It has forty-nine
+missionaries and agents, who occupy twenty-three stations in Asia and
+Europe. Of these missionaries, twenty-four are Jewish converts. Its
+receipts in 1839 were upwards of eighty thousand dollars. Three or four
+thousand Jews have been converted, by this and other instrumentalities,
+within a few years.
+
+In England, there is an institution for the purpose of receiving Jewish
+converts, and teaching them a trade. A considerable number have enjoyed
+its privileges.
+
+
+
+
+Indians.
+
+
+As great efforts are making, by almost all classes of Christians to spread
+the benign influence of the gospel among the red men on our borders, it
+may not be amiss to state their locations, numbers, &c. &c.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+Mr. McCoy, in his valuable "Annual Register of Indian Affairs," published
+at Shawanoe, in the Indian Territory, makes many important statements
+respecting this highly-interesting people.
+
+He says that the number of Indians north of Mexico may be fairly estimated
+at one million eight hundred thousand. He estimates the population of the
+tribes east and west of the Mississippi as follows:--
+
+Tribes East Of Mississippi River.
+
+Indians in New England and New York       4,715
+Indians from New York, at Green Bay         725
+Wyandots, in Ohio and Michigan              623
+Miamies                                   1,200
+Winnebagoes                               4,591
+Chippewas                                 6,793
+Ottawas and Chippewas of Lake Michigan    5,300
+Chippewas, Ottawas, and Putawatomies      8,000
+Putawatomies                              1,400
+Menominees                                4,200
+Creeks                                   23,668
+Cherokees                                10,000
+Chickasaws                                5,429
+Choctaws                                  3,500
+Seminoles                                 2,420
+Appalachicolas                              340
+Total                                    81,904
+
+Tribes West Of Mississippi River.
+
+Sioux                                                27,500
+Iowas                                                 1,200
+Sauks of Missouri                                       500
+Sauks and Foxes                                       6,400
+Assinaboines                                          8,000
+Crees                                                 3,000
+Camanches                                             7,000
+Crows                                                 4,500
+Arrepahas, Kiawas, &c.                                1,400
+Caddoes                                                 800
+Snake and other tribes within the Rocky Mountains    20,000
+Gros-ventres                                          3,000
+Arrekaras                                             3,000
+Cheyennes                                             2,000
+Minatarees                                            1,500
+Mandans                                               1,500
+Black Feet                                           30,000
+Tribes west of Rocky Mountains                       80,000
+Total                                               201,300
+
+The above tribes, although within the territory of the United States, are
+not within what is commonly called the Indian Territory.
+
+Mr. McCoy states the names and numbers of the indigenous and emigrant
+tribes within the Indian Territory, so called, as follow:--
+
+Indigenous Tribes.
+
+Osage                 5,510
+Kauzau, or Kansas     1,684
+Otoe and Missouria    1,600
+Omaha                 1,400
+Pawnee               10,000
+Puncah                  800
+Quapau                  450
+Total                21,444
+
+Emigrant Tribes.
+
+Choctaw                         15,000
+Cherokee                         4,000
+Creek                            3,600
+Seneca and Shawanoo of Neosho      462
+Wea                                225
+Piankasha                          119
+Peoria and Kaskaskias              135
+Ottawa                              81
+Shawanoe of Kauzau River           764
+Delaware                           856
+Kickapoo                           603
+Putawatomie                        444
+Emigrant                        26,289
+Indigenous                      21,444
+Total                           47,733
+
+Among the population of the emigrant tribes are included thirteen hundred
+and fifty negro slaves.
+
+Mr. McCoy estimates that, of the one million eight hundred thousand
+Indians in North America, about seventy thousand may be classed with
+civilized man, having in greater or less degrees advanced towards
+civilization.
+
+                  -------------------------------------
+
+By the Indian Territory is meant the country within the following limits,
+viz.: Beginning on Red River, on the Mexican boundary, and as far west of
+the state of Arkansas as the country is habitable; thence down Red River,
+eastwardly, along the Mexican boundary to Arkansas; thence northwardly,
+along the line of Arkansas, to the state of Missouri; thence north, along
+its western line, to Missouri River; thence up Missouri River to Puncah
+River; thence westerly as far as the country is habitable; thence
+southwardly to the place of beginning.
+
+
+
+
+
+BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE FATHERS OF THE REFORMATION, FOUNDERS OF
+SECTS, AND OF OTHER DISTINGUISHED INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED IN THIS VOLUME.
+
+
+
+
+John Wickliffe.
+
+
+A celebrated doctor, professor of divinity at Oxford, and deservedly
+considered as the forerunner of Luther in the reformation. He was born at
+Wickliffe, in Yorkshire, about 1324, and educated at Queen's College, and
+afterwards at Merton, and in 1361 raised to the mastership of Baliol
+College. In 1365, he was made, by the scholars, head of Canterbury Hall,
+just founded at Oxford by Archbishop Islip; but his elevation was opposed
+by the monks, and Langham, the next primate; and the pope, to whom the
+dispute was referred, displaced him and his secular associates. Thus
+disgraced by violence, he retired to his living at Lutterworth, in
+Leicestershire, meditating revenge against the authors of his unjust
+privation. In the works of Marsilius of Padua, and other bold writers, he
+found ample room to indulge his opposition; and, well aware of the
+popularity of attacking a foreign power, which overawed the throne, and
+submitted the industry and the revenues of the kingdom to its own
+avaricious views, he loudly inveighed against the errors and the
+encroachments of the Romish church. His writings alarmed the clergy, and a
+council was assembled at Lambeth, by Archbishop Sudbury, 1377, and
+Wickliffe summoned to give an account of his doctrines. He appeared before
+it, accompanied by the duke of Lancaster, then in power; and he made so
+able a defence, that he was dismissed without condemnation. His acquittal,
+however, displeased the pope, Gregory XI., who directed his emissaries to
+seize the offending heretic, or, if he were protected by the great and
+powerful of the kingdom, to cite him to Rome, to answer in person before
+the sovereign pontiff. In consequence of this, a second council assembled
+at Lambeth, and the nineteen propositions, which the pope had declared
+heretical, were so ably vindicated by the eloquence of the undaunted
+reformer, that his judges, afraid of offending the nobles, or of exciting
+a commotion among the people, who loudly supported the cause of their
+champion, permitted him to depart in safety, and enjoined on him silence
+in matters of religion and of controversy. Undismayed by the power of his
+enemies, Wickliffe continued to preach his doctrines, which were now more
+universally spread; and a third council, therefore, assembled, under
+Courtnay, the primate, 1382, and twenty-four propositions of the reformer
+were condemned as heretical, and fourteen as erroneous. The severity of
+the church was, at the suggestion of the pope, and the concurrence of the
+weak Richard II., directed with effect against the supporters of the new
+heresy; but, while some of his followers suffered punishment for their
+adherence to his principles, Wickliffe unhappily died at Lutterworth,
+1384, at a time when nothing was wanting to emancipate the English nation
+from the tyranny of Rome, but the boldness, perseverance, and eloquence,
+of a popular leader. Of the several works which he wrote, his Trialogus is
+almost the only one which has been printed. The noble struggle which
+Wickliffe had made against the gigantic power of Rome was almost forgotten
+after his death, till Martin Luther arose to follow his steps, and to
+establish his doctrines on a foundation which will last till Christianity
+is no more. The memory of Wickliffe was branded with ignominy by the
+impotent Papists, and by the order of the council of Constance, whose
+cruelties towards John Huss and Jerome of Prague are so well known, the
+illustrious reformer was declared to have died an obstinate heretic; and
+his bones were therefore dug up from holy ground, and contemptuously
+burnt.
+
+
+
+
+Jerome of Prague.
+
+
+The celebrated lay reformer was born at Prague, about the year 1370. Very
+little is extant relative to the early part of his life; but he was very
+eager in the pursuit of knowledge, and spent his youth in the universities
+of Prague, Paris, Heidelberg, Cologne, and Oxford. At the latter
+university, he became acquainted with the works of Wickliffe, translated
+them into his native language, professed himself, on his return to Prague,
+to be an open favorer of him, and attached himself to the Reformed in
+Bohemia, over whom Huss presided. Before the council of Constance, Jerome
+was cited on the 17th of April, 1415, when Huss was confined at that
+place. On his arrival, he found that he could not render any assistance to
+Huss, and therefore thought it prudent to retire; and, on behalf of Huss,
+he wrote to the emperor. At Kirsaw, Jerome was seized by an officer of the
+duke of Sulzbach, who immediately wrote to the council concerning him, and
+they directed him to send his prisoner to Constance. On his arrival at
+that place, he was immediately brought before the council, accused of his
+attachment to Protestant principles, and was remanded from the assembly
+into a dungeon. As he was there sitting, ruminating on his approaching
+fate, he heard a voice calling out in these words:--"Fear not, Jerome, to
+die in the cause of that truth which, during thy life, thou hast
+defended." It was the voice of Madderwitz, who had contributed to the
+comfort of Huss; but, in consequence of it, Jerome was conveyed to a
+strong tower, and exposed to torture and want.
+
+This suffering brought on him a dangerous illness, and attempts were then
+made to induce him to retract his principles; but he remained immovable.
+Unhappily, however, for his subsequent peace of mind, he was at length
+induced to retract, and acknowledged the errors of Wickliffe and Huss,
+assented to the condemnation of the latter, and declared himself a firm
+believer in the church of Rome. But the conscience of Jerome would not
+allow him to suffer that retraction to remain; and he accordingly
+recanted, and demanded a second trial.
+
+Accordingly, in the month of May, 1416, Jerome was again called before the
+council, and charged with his adherence to the errors of Wickliffe, his
+having had a picture of him in his chamber, his denial of
+transubstantiation, with other matters of a similar description. On these
+articles he answered with equal spirit. Through the whole oration he
+manifested an amazing strength of memory. His voice was sweet, distinct,
+and full. Firm and intrepid, he stood before the council; collected in
+himself, and not only despising, but seeming even desirous of death.
+
+His speech did not, however, excite pity; and he was delivered over to the
+civil power for martyrdom. When surrounded by blazing fagots, he cried
+out, "O Lord God, have mercy upon me!" and a little afterwards, "Thou
+knowest how I have loved thy truth." With cheerful countenance he met his
+fate; and, observing the executioner about to set fire to the wood behind
+his back, he cried out, "Bring thy torch hither: perform thy office before
+my face. Had I feared death, I might have avoided it." As the wood began
+to blaze, he sang a hymn, which the violence of the flames did not
+interrupt.
+
+Jerome was, unquestionably, an excellent man. His Christianity must have
+been sincere, thus to have supported him; and the uniform tenor of his
+virtuous life corroborated the truth of that opinion. His temper was mild
+and affable, and the relations of life he supported with great piety and
+benevolence. He was a light set upon a hill; and though for a few moments
+it was obscured and darkened, yet it again burst forth, and continued to
+shine with splendor and advantage.
+
+
+
+
+John Huss.
+
+
+A famous divine and martyr, born in Bohemia, 1376, and educated at Prague,
+where he took his degrees, and entered into the ministry. The writings of
+Wickliffe converted him from the superstitions of Rome, and, with eloquent
+zeal, he began to preach against the power and influence of the pope. His
+efforts proved successful; the Papal authority began to be slighted in
+Bohemia; but the archbishop of Prague issued two mandates against the
+heresies of Wickliffe, and the labors of Huss and his followers; and this
+exertion of power was soon seconded by a bull from Rome, for the
+suppression of all tenets offensive to the holy see. Huss exclaimed
+against these proceedings, and, though summoned to Rome to answer for his
+conduct, he, supported by the favor of Wenceslaus, king of Bohemia,
+disregarded the pope's authority, and was excommunicated; and, soon after,
+his friends and adherents were included in the same interdict. After
+causing, by his opposition to the Papal decrees, various tumults in Prague
+and Bohemia, Huss was prevailed upon to appear at the council of
+Constance, to give an account of his doctrines. The emperor Sigismund
+granted him his protection, and insured security to his person; but when,
+soon after, he reached Constance, 1414, he was seized as a heretic, and
+imprisoned, and, after a confinement of severe hardships for six months,
+he was condemned without a hearing; and, when he refused to recant his
+errors, he was tumultuously sentenced to be burnt. The emperor indeed
+complained of the contempt shown to his authority, and of the perfidy used
+towards the delinquent, but all in vain. Huss was inhumanly dragged to
+execution; he was stripped of his sacerdotal habit, deprived of his
+degrees, and, with a paper crown on his head, with pictures of devils
+round, and the inscription of "Heresiarch," he was burned alive, July,
+1415. He endured his torments with uncommon fortitude and truly Christian
+resignation. His ashes were collected, and then sprinkled in the Rhine.
+
+
+
+
+John OEcolampadius.
+
+
+An eminent German reformer, born, in 1482, at Weinsberg in Franconia. He
+was converted to the Protestant faith by reading the works of Luther;
+became professor of theology at Basle; embraced the opinions of Zuinglius
+respecting the sacrament; contributed much to the progress of
+ecclesiastical reform, and died in 1531.
+
+OEcolampadius was of a meek and quiet disposition; in the undertaking of
+any business he was very circumspect; nor was there any thing more
+pleasing to him, than to spend his time in reading and commenting. His
+publications are numerous, consisting chiefly of annotations on the holy
+Scriptures.
+
+
+
+
+Martin Luther.
+
+
+The celebrated reformer was born at Isleben, in Saxony, 10th November,
+1483. His parents wished him to devote himself to the labors of the bar,
+but an extraordinary accident diverted his purpose. As he walked one day
+in the fields with a fellow-student, he was struck down by lightning, and
+his companion killed by his side; and this had such effect upon his mind
+that, without consulting his friends, he retired from the world, into the
+order of the Augustines. In this seclusion he found by accident a Latin
+Bible, which he never before had seen, and in perusing it he was
+astonished at the little knowledge of Scripture and of Christianity which
+the clergy then imparted to the people. From the convent of Erfurt he was
+removed to Wittemberg University; and here he read lectures on philosophy,
+for three years, to numerous and applauding audiences. The completion of
+St. Peter's Church at Rome at this time required extraordinary sums, and
+the pope, Leo X., to fill his coffers with greater facility, published
+general indulgences for the forgiveness of sins to such as would
+contribute to the pious work. The Dominicans were intrusted with the
+selling of these indulgences in Germany, and in paying their money the
+good friar Tetzel informed the superstitious people that they might
+release themselves not only from past, but also future sins. This pious
+imposition did not escape the discerning eye of Luther; he published, in
+1517, a thesis, containing ninety-five propositions on indulgences, and
+challenged opposition. Tetzel was not silent on the occasion; but while
+he, with the voice of authority, called his opponent a damnable heretic,
+and whilst he burnt the thesis with all possible ignominy, Luther asserted
+boldly the inefficacy of indulgences, and regarded penitence and works of
+mercy and charity alone capable of forming a reconciliation with Heaven.
+Though attacked by numbers, Luther had the satisfaction to see his
+sentiments embraced with eagerness by the body of the people; and, when
+summoned by the pope to appear at Rome to answer for his conduct, he had
+the firmness to refuse, though he, at the same time, in the most
+submissive manner, exculpated himself, and deprecated the resentment of
+the supreme pontiff. Maximilian, the emperor, was anxious to support the
+cause of Rome; but Luther happily found a protector and friend in the
+elector of Saxony, and, upon an assurance of personal safety, he did not
+refuse to appear at Augsburg before the Papal legate, Cajetan. The
+conference ended by the refusal of Luther to submit implicitly to the
+pleasure of the Papal see. The pope, however, finding that violence could
+not destroy the obstinacy of Luther, had recourse to milder means, and his
+agent Miltitius was employed to visit the reformer, to argue with him, and
+to offer terms of reconciliation. Luther was struck with the civilities
+and the temper of the Papal missionary; but, instead of making submission,
+he was roused to greater opposition by the exhortations of the Bohemians,
+and the able support of Melancthon, Carolostadius, and other learned men.
+In 1519, he was engaged in a personal controversy at Leipsic with Eccius,
+divinity professor at Ingolstadt; but it tended only to sow greater enmity
+and deeper variance between the disputants. The same year, his book
+against indulgences was censured by the divines of Louvaine and Cologne;
+but Luther disregarded their opinions, and appealed for protection to the
+new emperor, Charles V. Though he had written, at the suggestion of
+Miltitius, a letter to the pope, not indeed of submission, but rather of
+exculpation, in language bold and energetic, he was in 1520 formally
+condemned by a bull from Rome, which, after enumerating forty-one of his
+heretical opinions, denounces against him the vengeance of the church, and
+excommunication, if within sixty days he did not make a due submission.
+This violent conduct Luther answered by "The Captivity of Babylon," a book
+in which he inveighed bitterly against the abuses of Rome; and then,
+calling the students of Wittemberg together, he flung into the fire the
+offensive decree, which he called the _execrable bull of Antichrist_. In
+1521, he was summoned to appear before the emperor at the diet of Worms,
+with a promise of protection; and, though his friends dissuaded him, and
+told him that, as his opponents had burned his writings, so they would
+treat him after the manner of Huss, he declared, with fearless voice, "If
+I knew there were as many devils at Worms as tiles on the houses, I would
+go." At Worms he was required by Eccius to retract his opinions; but he
+declared that, except what he advanced could be proved contrary to
+Scripture, he neither could nor would recant. His obstinacy proved
+offensive to the emperor; but, as he had promised him his protection, he
+permitted him to depart. Charles, nevertheless, published his edict
+against him and his adherents, and placed him under the ban of the empire.
+Luther, however, remained secure under the protection of the elector, who
+had thus effected his deliverance, and in the castle of Wittemberg, which
+he denominated his _hermitage_ and his _Palmos_, he held a secret
+correspondence with his friends, or composed books in defence of his
+opinions. At the end of ten months, when the emperor was departed for
+Flanders, he again appeared publicly at Wittemberg, and had the
+satisfaction to find that, instead of being checked, his doctrines had
+gained ground, and were universally embraced through Germany. In 1522, he
+published, in conjunction with Melancthon, a Latin translation of the New
+Testament; and the work was read with avidity by the German nation. In
+1524, he had to contend with Erasmus, a man who had apparently adopted his
+sentiments, though he had not the manliness to acknowledge them; and he
+now found in him an able antagonist enlisted in defence of the pope. In
+1524, Luther threw aside the monastic habit; and the next year he married
+Catherine de Bore, a nun who had escaped from a convent; and though he was
+ridiculed by his enemies, and censured for taking a young wife, he
+defended his conduct by scriptural texts, and again set at nought the
+authority of Rome and the cavils of her advocates. In 1525, the emperor
+called a diet at Spires, in consequence of the war with the Turks, as well
+as the troubled state of Germany in consequence of religious disputes; and
+in the sitting of the next year he proposed that the edict of Worms should
+be duly enforced, the Catholic religion supported, and heretics punished.
+The new doctrines, though thus openly attacked by the head of the empire,
+were ably defended by the electors of Saxony and Brandenburg, the
+landgrave of Hesse, the prince of Anhalt, and others; and in another diet,
+held again at Spires, these dissentient princes protested against the
+measures of the empire, and were consequently called _Protestants_. In the
+midst of the confusion of Germany, a confession of faith was drawn up by
+Melancthon, the mildest and most moderate of Luther's followers, and, as
+it was presented to the emperor at Augsburg, it has been called the
+_Augsburg Confession_. Thus the opposition raised against the mighty
+empire of spiritual Rome by an obscure monk, was supported by intelligent
+princes and powerful nations, and Luther, now regarded as the champion of
+the faith through Germany, had nothing to apprehend from his persecutors,
+but had only to labor earnestly to confirm what had been so happily
+established. His German translation of the Bible appeared in 1535, and was
+received with grateful raptures by the Germans. He died at Isleben, 18th
+February, 1546, aged 63. This illustrious man, engaged, as Atterbury has
+observed, against the united forces of the Papal world, stood the shock
+with bravery and success. He was a man of high endowments of mind, and
+great virtues. He had a vast understanding, which raised him to a pitch of
+learning unknown in the age in which he lived. His works, collected after
+his death, appeared at Wittemberg, in seven volumes, folio.
+
+
+
+
+Ulriucus Zuinglius.
+
+
+A zealous reformer, born at Wildehausen, in Switzerland, 1487. He studied
+the learned languages at Basle and Berne, and applied himself to
+philosophy at Vienna, and took his degree of doctor of divinity, at Basle,
+1505. For ten years he acquired popularity as public preacher at Glaris,
+and in 1516 he was invited to Zurich to undertake the office of minister.
+The tenets of Luther, which were now propagated in Germany, encouraged the
+Swiss preacher to oppose the sale of indulgences, and to regard them as
+impositions from the court of Rome upon the superstitious credulity of the
+people. Undaunted in the publication of his opinions, he continued to
+increase the number of his adherents, and in 1523 he assembled the senate
+and the clergy of Zurich, and presented before them in sixty-seven
+propositions the minute articles of his faith. Though opposed by the
+bishop of Constance, his doctrines were adopted by the full senate, and he
+was exhorted to preach the word of God, whilst all pastors were forbidden
+to teach any thing but what could be proved by the gospel. Another synod
+still more powerfully favored the cause of Zuinglius and of truth; images
+and relics were removed from churches, processions were forbidden, and the
+greater part of the outward worship and ceremonies of the church of Rome
+was abolished. While, however, successful in the establishment of his
+doctrines in the canton of Zurich, Zuinglius met with violent opposition
+in the other members of the Swiss confederacy, and, after the fruitless
+conferences of Baden between OEcolampadius on the part of Zurich, and of
+Eckius on the part of the Catholics, both sides had recourse to arms. In
+one of the first encounters, the great champion of the reformation was
+slain, 11th October, 1531. As a leader, Zuinglius displayed great
+firmness, deep learning, and astonishing presence of mind. Though he
+opposed the doctrines of the Romish church, he greatly differed from the
+German reformer, and each, unhappily, paid little respect to the opinions
+of the other. His followers continued to increase; and in bearing his name
+they maintained doctrines on original sin, and on grace, which were
+rejected by the other seceders from the jurisdiction of Rome. According to
+Zuinglius, salvation was extended not only to infants, who died before
+baptism, but to heathens of a virtuous and moral life. Some alterations
+were afterwards introduced by Calvin, by Beza, and others; but whilst the
+proselytes to these new opinions acquired the name of _Calvinists_ in
+France, and in other parts of Europe, the Zuinglians, who firmly adhered
+to the tenets of their founder, assumed the appellation of
+_Sacramentarians_. The works of Zuinglius, as a controversialist, were
+respectable, chiefly written in German, and were comprehended in four
+volumes, folio.
+
+
+
+
+Martin Bucer.
+
+
+A Dominican, born in Alsace, in 1491, who early embraced the tenets of
+Luther. He afterwards inclined more to the opinions of Zuinglius, and, in
+his zeal for the reformation, attempted in vain to reconcile these two
+powerful leaders. For twenty years, his eloquence was exerted at Strasburg
+to establish the Protestant cause; but the turbulence of the times, and
+his opposition to the views of the Catholics at Augsburg, rendered him
+unpopular, so that he received with pleasure the invitations of Cranmer to
+settle in England. He was received with gratitude by the nation. Edward
+VI. treated him with great kindness, and he was appointed theological
+professor at Cambridge, in 1549, where he died two years after. Five years
+after, the persecutions of Mary were extended to his remains, which were
+ignominiously burned; but the insult was repaired by the good sense of
+Elizabeth. In learning, judgment, and moderation, Bucer was inferior to
+none of the great reformers, and, with Melancthon, he may be considered as
+the best calculated to restore and maintain unanimity among contending
+churches and opposite sects. His writings, in Latin and German, were very
+numerous, and all on theological subjects.
+
+
+
+
+Philip Melancthon.
+
+
+A celebrated reformer, born 16th February, 1497, at Bretten, in the
+Palatinate of the Rhine. His father's name was Schwartserdt, which
+signifies _black earth_; but the word was changed, according to the
+affectation of the times, by his friend Reuchlin, into Melancthon, which,
+in Greek, expresses the same meaning. He studied at Bretten, Pfortsheim,
+and Heidelberg, and with such success that, at thirteen, he wrote a comedy
+of some merit. He left Heidelberg in 1512, because he was refused a degree
+on account of his youth, and then passed to Tubingen, where he resided for
+six years, and gave public lectures on Virgil, Terence, and other
+classics. In 1518, by the recommendation of his friend Reuchlin, he was
+appointed, by the elector of Saxony, Greek professor at Wittemberg; and
+here began that intimacy with Luther, which contributed so much to the
+progress of the reformation. He was, in 1527, appointed by his patron, the
+duke, to visit the churches of the electorate, and afterwards he was
+employed in the arduous labors of preparing those articles of faith which
+have received the name of the Augsburg Confession, because presented to
+the emperor at the diet of that city. In the disputes which he maintained
+in those days of controversial enmity, he displayed great candor and
+mildness, which his friend Luther attributed more to a spirit of timidity,
+than to the meekness of the Christian character. His moderation, as well
+as his learning, was so universally acknowledged, that he received a
+liberal invitation from Francis I. to come to France, to settle the
+disputes of the Protestants; but through the interference of the duke of
+Saxony, the offer was declined, as likewise a similar invitation from the
+king of England. He was engaged in the various conferences which took
+place on religious subjects at Frankfort, Reinspurg, Worms, Spires, and
+Ratisbon, and every where evinced the deepest learning, the most peaceable
+temper, and the strongest moderation. The character of the times, and not
+inclination, rendered him a controversialist, and his answer to his mother
+displayed the great and the good man. When asked by the aged woman, who
+repeated before him her prayers in a simple but pious manner, what she
+must believe in this great confusion of creeds; he replied, "Go on,
+mother, to believe and pray as you have done, and never trouble yourself
+about controversies." He died at Wittemberg, 19th April, 1560, and was
+buried by the side of his friend Luther, in the church of the castle.
+Among the reasons which, on his death-bed, he assigned for considering
+dissolution as happiness, he said that it delivered him from theological
+persecutions. His works were very numerous, and, as they were written in
+the midst of controversy and ecclesiastical avocations, they were not
+always so correct in language, as they proved useful in advancing the
+reformation. A chronological catalogue of these was published in 1582, and
+they appeared altogether in four volumes, folio, at Wittemberg, 1601.
+
+
+
+
+Peter Martyr.
+
+
+A celebrated reformer and theologian, whose real name was Vermigli, was
+born, in 1500, at Florence. He was originally an Augustine monk, and
+became an eminent preacher, and prior of St. Fridian's, at Lucca. Having,
+however, embraced the Protestant doctrines, he found it necessary to quit
+his native country. After having been for some time professor of divinity
+at Strasburg, he was invited to England, and appointed professor of
+theology at Oxford. He left England on the accession of Mary, and died in
+1561, theological professor at Zurich. He wrote several works, of great
+erudition, among which are Commentaries upon parts of the Scriptures. His
+personal character is said to have been extremely amiable.
+
+
+
+
+Henry Bullinger.
+
+
+One of the early reformers, born in the canton of Zurich at Baumgarten, in
+1504. The works of Melancthon converted him to Protestantism, and he
+became closely connected with Zuinglius, to whom he succeeded as pastor of
+Zurich. He was one of the authors of the Helvetic Confession, and assisted
+Calvin in drawing up the formulary of 1549. Bullinger was a moderate and
+conscientious man; and it is much to his honor that, on the ground of its
+being inconsistent with Christianity for any one to hire himself out to
+slaughter those who had never injured him, he successfully opposed a
+treaty for supplying France with a body of Swiss mercenaries. He died in
+1575. His printed works form ten folio volumes.
+
+
+
+
+John Knox.
+
+
+The great champion of the Scottish reformation was born, in 1505, at
+Gifford, in East Lothian, and was educated at Haddington and St. Andrews.
+After he was created master of arts, he taught philosophy, most probably
+as a regent in one of the colleges of the university. His class became
+celebrated, and he was considered as equalling, if not excelling, his
+master in the subtilties of the dialectic art. About the same time,
+although he had no interest but what was procured by his own merit, he was
+advanced to clerical orders, and ordained a priest before he reached the
+age fixed by the canons of the church. At this time, the fathers of the
+Christian church, Jerome and Augustine, attracted his particular
+attention. By the writings of the former, he was led to the Scriptures as
+the only pure fountain of divine truth, and instructed in the utility of
+studying them in the original languages. In the works of the latter he
+found religious sentiments very opposite to those taught in the Romish
+church, who, while she retained his name as a saint in her calendar, had
+banished his doctrine as heretical from her pulpits. From this time he
+renounced the study of scholastic theology; and, although not yet
+completely emancipated from superstition, his mind was fitted for
+improving the means which Providence had given for leading him to a fuller
+and more comprehensive view of the system of evangelical religion. It was
+about the year 1535, when this favorable change commenced; but it does not
+appear that he professed himself a Protestant before the year 1542. He was
+converted from the Romish faith by Wishart, and became a zealous preacher
+of the new doctrines. Having been compelled to take shelter in the castle
+of St. Andrews, he fell into the hands of the French in July, 1547, and
+was carried with the garrison to France, where he remained a captive on
+board of the galleys till 1549. Subsequent to his liberation, he was for a
+short time chaplain to Edward VI., after which he visited Geneva and
+Frankfort, and, in 1555, returned to his native country. After having for
+twelve months labored actively and successfully to strengthen the
+Protestant cause in Scotland, he revisited Geneva, where he remained till
+1559. During his residence in Geneva, he published his "First Blast of the
+Trumpet against the monstrous Government of Women"--a treatise which was
+levelled against Mary of England, but which gave serious offence to
+Elizabeth. From April, 1559, when he once more and finally set foot on
+Scottish earth, till his decease, which took place November 24, 1572, the
+reformed church was triumphant, and he was one of its most prominent,
+admired, and honored leaders.
+
+When his body was laid in the grave, the regent of Scotland emphatically
+pronounced his eulogium, in the well-known words, "There lies he who never
+feared the face of man."
+
+Knox has been styled the intrepid reformer; and that character he
+unquestionably deserves. In personal intrepidity and popular eloquence he
+resembled Luther. His doctrinal sentiments were those of Calvin; and, like
+Zuinglius, he felt an attachment to the principles of religious liberty.
+He effected much in the great work of the reformation; but his manners
+were so severe, and his temper so acrid, that whilst he may be equally
+respected with Luther and Melancthon, he is not equally beloved. Knox was,
+however, known and beloved by the principal persons among the reformed in
+France, Switzerland, and Germany; and the affectionate veneration in which
+his memory was held in Scotland after his death, evinced that the
+influence he possessed among his countrymen, during his life, was not
+constrained, but founded on the high opinion which they entertained.
+Banatyne has thus drawn his character, and it is unquestionably entitled
+to consideration:--"In this manner," says he, "departed this man of God;
+the light of Scotland, the comfort of the church within the same, the
+mirror of godliness, and pattern and example to all true ministers, in
+purity of life, soundness of doctrine, and boldness in reproving of
+wickedness; one that cared not for the favor of men, how great soever they
+were."
+
+
+
+
+John Calvin.
+
+
+A celebrated reformer, born at Noyon, in Picardy, 10th July, 1509. His
+family name was _Cauvin_, which he Latinized into _Calvinus_. He was first
+intended for the church, and, subsequently, for the profession of civil
+law. Having embraced the principles of Protestantism, he was under the
+necessity of quitting France; and he settled at Basle, where he published
+his celebrated "Institutions of the Christian Religion." After having
+visited Italy, he was returning by the way of Geneva, in 1536, when Farel
+and other reformers induced him to take up his abode in that city. He was
+chosen one of the ministers of the gospel, and professor of divinity. A
+dispute with the city authorities soon compelled him to leave Geneva, and
+he withdrew to Strasburg; whence he was recalled in 1541. From the time of
+his recall, he possessed almost absolute power at Geneva; and he exerted
+himself vigorously in establishing the Presbyterian form of church
+government. The reformer, who so loudly exclaimed against the tyranny of
+Rome, directed the whole torrent of his persecution against Servetus, a
+physician, who had in an ambiguous style written upon the Trinity; and his
+vengeance was not appeased till the unfortunate heretic had expired in the
+flames. He died May 26, 1564; and, though he had long enjoyed a high
+reputation and exercised an unbounded authority, he left only three
+hundred crowns to his heirs, including his library, the books of which
+sold afterwards at a great price. The works of Calvin were printed in
+twelve volumes, folio, Geneva, and in nine, Amsterdam, in 1667.
+
+
+
+
+Jerome Zanchius.
+
+
+A native of Alzano, who entered in the congregation of the Lateran canons.
+He embraced the tenets of the Protestants by the conversation of Peter
+Martyr, who was of the same establishment; and, afraid of persecution, he
+retired, 1553, to Strasburg, where he taught divinity and the philosophy
+of Aristotle. He quitted Strasburg, in 1563, for Chiavene, and, in 1568,
+removed to Heidelberg, where he was appointed professor of theology, and
+where he died 19th November, 1590, aged eighty-four. He was author of
+"Commentaries on St. Paul's Epistles," and other works, published together
+at Geneva, in eight volumes, folio, 1613. In his character he was a man of
+moderation, learned, benevolent, and pious.
+
+
+
+
+Theodore Beza.
+
+
+one of the most eminent of the reformers, was born at Vezelai, in the
+Nivernois, in 1519, and was originally a Catholic, and intended for the
+law. At the age of twenty, he gained an unenviable reputation by the
+composition of Latin poetry which was at once elegant and licentious, and
+which, some years afterwards, he published under the title of "Juvenile
+Poems." Though not in orders, he possessed benefices of considerable
+value. These, however, he abandoned in 1548, and retired to Geneva, where
+he publicly abjured Popery. To this he was induced by his having
+meditated, during illness, upon the doctrines which he had heard from his
+Protestant tutor, Melchior Wolmar; and perhaps also, in some measure, by
+his attachment to a lady, whom he carried with him to Geneva, and married.
+He now accepted the Greek professorship at Lausanne, which he held for ten
+years. It was while he was thus occupied that he produced his tragedy of
+"Abraham's Sacrifice," his version of the New Testament, and his hateful
+defence of the right of the magistrate to punish heretics. In 1559, he
+removed to Geneva, and became the colleague of Calvin, through whom he was
+appointed rector of the academy, and theological professor. Two years
+after this, he took a prominent part in the conference at Poissy, and was
+present at the battle of Dreux. He returned to Geneva in 1563, succeeded
+Calvin in his offices and influence, and was thenceforward considered as
+the head of the Calvinistic church. After an exceedingly active life, he
+died on the 13th of October, 1605.
+
+
+
+
+Leo X.
+
+
+Pope JOHN DE MEDICI, the son of the illustrious Lorenzo, was born in 1475,
+at Florence, and was nominated a cardinal in his thirteenth year. In 1505,
+he was made governor of Perugia; was intrusted with the command of the
+Papal army in 1511; and was made prisoner, in the following year, at the
+battle of Ravenna. He attained the Papal crown in 1513, on the death of
+Julius II. He died in 1521. Leo was one of the most munificent patrons of
+learning and of the arts; but he was prodigal, and on some occasions
+grossly violated the principles of justice. To his shameless sale of
+indulgences, to raise money to complete St. Peter's Church at Rome, and
+other extravagances, the world is indebted for the reformation of the
+church by Luther and others.
+
+
+
+
+Justin.
+
+
+Surnamed the MARTYR, one of the fathers of the church, was born at
+Neapolis, anciently Sichem, in Palestine, and was a philosopher of the
+Platonic school. He is believed to have preached the gospel in Italy, Asia
+Minor, and Egypt. He was beheaded at Rome, in 165. Of his works, the
+principal are two Apologies for the Christians.
+
+
+
+
+Arius.
+
+
+Founder of the sect of the Arians, was an African by birth. Disappointment
+made him a sectary. He propagated the opinion that the Word was not a
+divine person; and the heresy, though condemned by various councils,
+gained followers, and excited schisms in the Roman empire. The Nicene
+creed was drawn up to combat his errors. He was a violent enemy of
+Athanasius. He died at Alexandria, 386.
+
+
+
+
+Athanasius.
+
+
+The celebrated patriarch of Alexandria was born in that city about 296. At
+the council of Nice, though then but a deacon of Alexandria, his
+reputation for skill in controversy gained him an honorable place in the
+council, and with signal ability he exposed the sophistry of those who
+pleaded on the side of Arius. Six months after, he was appointed the
+successor of Alexander. Notwithstanding the influence of the emperor, who
+had recalled Arius from banishment, and, upon a plausible confession of
+his faith, in which he affected to be Orthodox in his sentiments, directed
+that he should be received by the Alexandrian church, Athanasius refused
+to admit him to communion, and exposed his prevarication. The Arians upon
+this exerted themselves to raise tumults at Alexandria, and to injure the
+character of Athanasius with the emperor, who was prevailed upon by
+falsehoods to pronounce against him a sentence of banishment. In the
+beginning of the reign of Constantius, he was recalled to his happy
+people, but was again disturbed and deposed through the influence of the
+Arians. Accusations were also sent against him and other bishops from the
+east to the west; but they were acquitted by Pope Julius in full council.
+Athanasius was restored a second time to his see, upon the death of the
+Arian bishop, who had been placed in it. Arianism, however, being in favor
+at court, he was condemned by a council convened at Arles, and by another
+at Milan, and was a third time obliged to fly into the deserts. His
+enemies pursued him even here, and set a price upon his head. In this
+situation, Athanasius composed writings full of eloquence to strengthen
+the faith of believers, and expose the falsehood of his enemies. He
+returned with the other bishops whom Julian the Apostate recalled from
+banishment, and, in A. D. 362, held a council at Alexandria, where the
+belief of a consubstantial Trinity was openly professed. Many now were
+recovered from Arianism, and brought to subscribe the Nicene creed. But
+his peace was again interrupted by the complaints of the heathen, whose
+temples the zeal of Athanasius kept always empty. He was again obliged to
+fly to save his life. The accession of Jovian brought him back. During the
+reign of Jovian, also, Athanasius held another council, which declared its
+adherence to the Nicene faith; and with the exception of a short
+retirement under Valens, he was permitted to sit down in quiet and govern
+his affectionate church of Alexandria, until his death, in 373. Of the
+forty-six years of his official life, he spent twenty in banishment.
+
+Athanasius (says the Encyclopedia Americana) is one of the greatest men of
+whom the church can boast. His deep mind, his noble heart, his invincible
+courage, his living faith, his unbounded benevolence, sincere humility,
+lofty eloquence, and strictly virtuous life, gained the honor and love of
+all. In all his writings, his style is distinguished for clearness and
+moderation.
+
+
+
+
+Moses Maimonides.
+
+
+Moses son of Maimon, commonly called Moses Egypticus, because physician to
+the sultan of Egypt, was a Jewish rabbi, born at Cordova, in Spain, 1131.
+He opened a school in Egypt, and as his skill, not only in languages, but
+in all branches of science and of philosophy, was very great, his
+instructions were attended by numerous and respectable pupils. Thus
+eminently distinguished as a scholar, as a physician, and also as a
+divine, so as to be called inferior only to the legislator Moses, he
+beheld with indifference, and even contempt, the fables and traditions of
+his countrymen, and applied all the powers of learning, and the vast
+resources of his mind, in the cause of truth, virtue, and philosophy. Some
+of his works were written in Arabic, but are extant now in Hebrew only.
+The most famous of these are his Commentaries on the Misna; Jad, a
+complete pandect of the Jewish law; More Nevochim, a valuable work,
+explaining the difficult passages, phrases, parables, and allegories, in
+Scripture, and several other works. This great and learned man died in
+Egypt at the age of seventy, and was buried with his nation in the land of
+Upper Galilee. His death was mourned for three whole days by Jews and
+Egyptians, and the year in which he died, in respect of his great virtues
+and learning, was called Lamentum Lamentabile.
+
+
+
+
+John Agricola.
+
+
+A German divine, born at Isleb. He was the friend and the disciple of
+Luther, but afterwards violently opposed him, and became the head of the
+Antinomians, a sect which regarded faith as the whole of the duties of
+man. He was also engaged in a dispute with Melancthon; but, with the most
+laudable motives, he endeavored to effect a reconciliation between the
+Catholics and Protestants. He died at Berlin, 1566, aged seventy-four.
+
+
+
+
+Michael Servetus.
+
+
+A native of Villanuova, in Arragon, son of a notary. He studied the law at
+Toulouse, but afterwards applied to medicine at Paris, and took there his
+doctor's degree. The boldness and pertinacity of his opinions created him
+enemies, and he left the capital to settle at Lyons, but afterwards he
+retired to Charlieu. On the invitation of the archbishop of Vienne, in
+Dauphiny, he was prevailed upon to fix his residence there, and he might
+have lived in peace and respected, had he been satisfied to seek celebrity
+in medical pursuits alone. Eager to publish his Arian opinions on
+religion, he sent three questions to Calvin on the Divinity of Christ, on
+Regeneration, and on the Necessity of Baptism, and, when answered with
+civility, he reflected on the sentiments of his correspondent with
+arrogant harshness. This produced a quarrel, and ended in the most
+implacable hatred, so that Calvin, bent on revenge, obtained, by secret
+means, copies of a work in which his antagonist was engaged, and caused
+him to be accused before the archbishop as a dangerous man. Servetus
+escaped from prison; but, on his way to Italy, he had the imprudence to
+pass in disguise through Geneva, where he was recognized by Calvin, and
+immediately seized by the magistrate as an impious heretic. Forty
+heretical errors were proved against him by his accusers; but Servetus
+refused to renounce them, and the magistrates, at last yielding to the
+loud representations of the ministers of Basle, Berne, and Zurich, and
+especially of Calvin, who demanded the punishment of a profane heretic,
+ordered the unhappy man to be burnt. On the 27th October, 1553, the
+wretched Servetus was conducted to the stake, and, as the wind prevented
+the flames from fully reaching his body, two long hours elapsed before he
+was freed from his miseries. This cruel treatment deservedly called down
+the general odium on the head of Calvin, who ably defended his conduct and
+that of the magistrates. Servetus published various works against the
+Trinity, which were burnt in disgrace at Geneva, and other places.
+
+
+
+
+Simonis Menno.
+
+
+An ecclesiastic of Friesland, embraced the tenets of the Anabaptists, and,
+after being again baptized by Ubbo Philippi, became a powerful leader of
+his sect. He denied that Jesus Christ received a human shape from his
+mother, the virgin Mary; and while he maintained the necessity of again
+baptizing adults, he inveighed against the custom of infant baptism, which
+he regarded as Popish innovation. His eloquence and his learning were so
+much admired, that he gained a great number of followers in Westphalia,
+Guelderland, Holland, and Brabant; but, though a price was set on his
+head, he had the good fortune to escape his persecutors. He was, in his
+opinions, more moderate than the rest of the Anabaptists. His followers
+are still to be found in the Low Countries, under the name of
+_Mennonites_, divided into two distinct sects. He died at Oldeslo, between
+Lubec and Hamburg, 1565. His works were published at Amsterdam, 1681.
+
+
+
+
+Francis Xavier.
+
+
+Denominated the _Apostle of the Indies_, was born, in 1506, at the castle
+of Xavier, in Navarre; studied at Paris; became one of the first and most
+zealous disciples of Ignatius Loyola; was sent to the East by John III. of
+Portugal, to propagate the gospel; performed his mission in Hindoostan,
+the Moluccas, and Japan; and was on the point of landing in China, when he
+died, 1552.
+
+
+
+
+Faustus Socinus.
+
+
+He who from whom the Socinians derive their name, was born, in 1539, at
+Sienna, and was for a considerable period in the service of the grand duke
+of Tuscany; after which he went to study theology, at Basle. The result of
+his studies was the adoption of those anti-Trinitarian doctrines, which
+his uncle Lelio Socinus is believed also to have professed. Faustus
+settled in Poland, gained many followers, endured much persecution, and
+died in 1604.
+
+
+
+
+Robert Brown.
+
+
+Educated at Cambridge, and was a man of good parts and some learning. He
+began to inveigh openly against the ceremonies of the church, at Norwich,
+in 1580; but, being much opposed by the bishops, he, with his
+congregation, left England, and settled at Middleburgh, in Zealand, where
+they obtained leave to worship God in their own way, and form a church
+according to their own model. They soon, however, began to differ among
+themselves, so that Brown, growing weary of his office, returned to
+England in 1589, renounced his principles of separation, and was preferred
+to the rectory of a church in Northamptonshire. He died in prison in 1630.
+The revolt of Brown was attended with the dissolution of the church at
+Middleburgh; but the seeds of Brownism which he had sown in England were
+so far from being destroyed, that Sir Walter Raleigh, in a speech in 1592,
+computes no less than twenty thousand of this sect.
+
+
+
+
+James Arminius.
+
+
+A native of Oude-water, in Holland, 1560, founder of the sect of the
+Arminians. As he lost his father early, he was supported at the university
+of Utrecht, and of Marpurg, by the liberality of his friends; but when he
+returned home, in the midst of the ravages caused by the Spanish arms,
+instead of being received by his mother, he found that she, as well as her
+daughters, and all her family, had been sacrificed to the wantonness of
+the ferocious enemy. His distress was for a while inconsolable; but the
+thirst after distinction called him to the newly-founded university of
+Leyden, where his industry acquired him the protection of the magistrates
+of Amsterdam, at whose expense he travelled to Geneva and Italy, to hear
+the lectures of Theodore Beza and James Zabarella. On his return to
+Holland, he was ordained minister of Amsterdam, 1588. As professor of
+divinity at Leyden, to which office he was called 1603, he distinguished
+himself by three valuable orations on the object of theology, on the
+author and end of it, and on the certainty of it; and he afterwards
+explained the prophet Jonah. In his public and private life, Arminius has
+been admired for his moderation; and though many gross insinuations have
+been thrown against him, yet his memory has been fully vindicated by the
+ablest pens, and he seemed entitled to the motto which he assumed,--_A good
+conscience is a paradise._ A life of perpetual labor and vexation of mind
+at last brought on a sickness of which he died, October 19, 1619. His
+writings were all on controversial and theological subjects, and were
+published in one volume, quarto, Frankfort, 1661.
+
+
+
+
+Francis Higginson.
+
+
+First minister of Salem, Massachusetts, after receiving his education at
+Emanuel College, in Cambridge, became the minister of a church at
+Leicester, in England. While his popular talents filled his church with
+attentive hearers, such was the divine blessing upon his labors, that a
+deep attention to religious subjects was excited among his people.
+Becoming at length a conscientious Nonconformist to the rites of the
+English church, some of which he thought not only were unsupported by
+Scripture, but corrupted the purity of Christian worship and discipline,
+he was excluded from the parish church, and became obnoxious to the High
+Commission Court. One day two messengers came to his house, and with loud
+knocks cried out, "Where is Mr. Higginson? We must speak with Mr.
+Higginson!" His wife ran to his chamber, and entreated him to conceal
+himself; but he replied, that he should acquiesce in the will of God. He
+went down, and, as the messengers entered the hall, they presented him
+with some papers, saying, in a rough manner, "Sir, we came from London,
+and our business is to convey you to London, as you may see by those
+papers." "I thought so," exclaimed Mrs. Higginson, weeping; but a woman's
+tears could have but little effect upon hard-hearted pursuivants. Mr.
+Higginson opened the packet to read the form of his arrest, but, instead
+of an order from Bishop Laud for his seizure, he found a copy of the
+charter of Massachusetts, and letters from the governor and company,
+inviting him to embark with them for New England. The sudden transition of
+feeling from despondence to joy, may be better imagined than described.
+
+Having sought advice and implored the divine direction, he resolved to
+accept the invitation. In his farewell sermon, preached before a vast
+assembly, he declared his persuasion, that England would be chastised by
+war, and that Leicester would have more than an ordinary share of
+sufferings. It was not long before his prediction was verified. It is not
+meant that he claimed the power of foretelling future events, but he could
+reason with considerable accuracy from cause to effect, knowing that
+iniquity is generally followed by its punishment; and he lived in an age
+when it was usual for ministers to speak with more confidence, and
+authority, and efficacy, than at present. He sailed from Gravesend, April
+25, 1629, accompanied by Mr. Skelton, whose principles accorded with his
+own. When he came to the Land's End, he called his children and the other
+passengers on deck to take the last view of their native country; and he
+now exclaimed, "Farewell, England! farewell, the church of God in England,
+and all the Christian friends there! We do not go to America as
+separatists from the church of England, though we cannot but separate from
+its corruptions." He then concluded with a fervent prayer for the king,
+church, and state, in England. He arrived at Cape Ann, June 27, 1629, and,
+having spent the next day there, which was Sunday, on the 29th he entered
+the harbor of Salem. July the 20th was observed as a day of fasting by the
+appointment of Governor Endicott, and the church then made choice of Mr.
+Higginson to be their teacher, and Mr. Skelton their pastor.
+
+Thus auspicious was the commencement of the settlement of Naumkeag, or
+Salem; but the scene was soon changed. During the first winter, about one
+hundred persons died, and Mr. Higginson was soon seized with a hectic,
+which terminated his days in August, 1630, aged forty-two. In his last
+sickness, he was reminded of his benevolent exertions in the service of
+the Lord Jesus Christ. To consoling suggestions of this kind he replied,
+"I have been an unprofitable servant, and all my desire is to win Christ,
+and be found in him, not having my own righteousness."
+
+
+
+
+Richard Baxter.
+
+
+A Nonconformist, born at Rowton, Shropshire, 12th November, 1615. He
+compensated for the deficiencies of a neglected education by unusual
+application, and was appointed master of Dudley free-school by the
+interest of Mr. Richard Foley, of Stourbridge, and soon after admitted
+into orders by the bishop of Winchester. His scruples were raised by the
+oath which was proposed by the convention at that time sitting, and he was
+among the number of those who showed their dislike to an unqualified
+submission "to archbishops, bishops, et cetera," as they knew not what the
+_et cetera_ comprehended. In 1640, he was invited to be minister at
+Kidderminster; but the civil war, which broke out soon after, exposed him
+to persecution, as he espoused the cause of the parliament. He retired to
+Coventry, and continued his ministerial labors till the success of the
+republicans recalled him to his favorite flock at Kidderminster. The
+usurpation of Cromwell gave him great offence, and he even presumed to
+argue in private with the tyrant on the nature and illegality of his
+power; but in the only sermon which he preached before him, he wisely
+confined his subject to the dissensions which existed in the kingdom on
+religious matters. He was in London after Cromwell's death, and preached
+before parliament the day before the king's return was voted, and likewise
+before the lord mayor for Monk's successes. Charles II. made him one of
+his chaplains, and Chancellor Clarendon offered him the bishopric of
+Hereford, which he declined. He was, however, soon involved in the general
+persecution of the Nonconformists. His paraphrase on the New Testament
+drew upon him, in 1685, the vengeance of Jeffreys, and he was condemned to
+be imprisoned for two years, from which punishment, six months after, he
+was discharged by the interference of Lord Powis with King James. He died
+December 8th, 1691, and was interred in Christ Church.
+
+
+
+
+George Fox.
+
+
+The founder of the society of Friends, or Quakers, was born, in 1624, at
+Drayton, in Leicestershire, and was the son of a weaver, a pious and
+virtuous man, who gave him a religious education. Being apprenticed to a
+grazier, he was employed in keeping sheep--an occupation, the silence and
+solitude of which were well calculated to nurse his naturally enthusiastic
+feelings. When he was about nineteen, he believed himself to have received
+a divine command to forsake all, renounce society, and dedicate his
+existence to the service of religion. For five years, he accordingly led a
+wandering life, fasting, praying, and living secluded; but it was not till
+about 1648 that he began to preach his doctrines. Manchester was the place
+where he first promulgated them. Thenceforth he pursued his career with
+untirable zeal and activity, in spite of frequent imprisonment and brutal
+usage. It was at Derby that his followers were first denominated
+_Quakers_, either from their tremulous mode of speaking, or from their
+calling on their hearers to "tremble at the name of the Lord." The labors
+of Fox were crowned with considerable success; and, in 1669, he extended
+the sphere of them to America, where he spent two years. He also twice
+visited the continent. He died in 1690. His writings were collected in
+three volumes, folio. Whatever may be thought of the tenets of Fox there
+can be no doubt that he was sincere in them, and that he was a man of
+strict temperance, humility, moderation, and piety.
+
+
+
+
+William Penn.
+
+
+The founder of Pennsylvania, born in London, 1644, From a private school
+at Chigwell, Essex, he entered, in 1660, as a gentleman commoner at Christ
+Church, Oxford; but, as he withdrew from the national forms of worship
+with other students, who, like himself, had listened to the preaching of
+Thomas Loe, a Quaker of eminence, who was fined for Non-conformity, and,
+the next year, as he pertinaciously adhered to his opinions, he was
+expelled from the college. His father sent him to France, and, on his
+return, he entered at Lincoln's Inn, as a law student. In 1666, he was
+sent to manage an estate in Ireland, and, during his residence there, he
+renewed his acquaintance with Loe, and showed such partiality to the
+Quakers, that he was, in those days of persecution, taken up at a meeting
+at Cork, and imprisoned by the mayor, who at last restored him to liberty
+at the request of Lord Orrery. His return to England produced a violent
+altercation with his father, who wished him to abandon those singular
+habits so offensive to decorum and established forms; and, when he refused
+to appear uncovered before him and before the king, he a second time
+dismissed him from his protection and favor. In 1668, he first appeared as
+a preacher and as an author among the Quakers; and, in consequence of some
+controversial dispute, he was sent to the Tower, where he remained in
+confinement for seven months. The passing of the conventicle act soon
+after again sent him to prison in Newgate, from which he was released by
+the interest of his father, who about this time was reconciled to him, and
+left him, on his decease some time after, a valuable estate of about
+fifteen hundred pounds per annum. In 1672, he married Gulielma Maria
+Springett, a lady of principles similar to his own, and then fixed his
+residence at Rickmansworth, where he employed himself zealously in
+promoting the cause of the Friends by his preaching, as well as by his
+writings. In 1677, he went, with George Fox and Robert Barclay, to the
+continent on a religious excursion; and, after visiting Amsterdam and the
+other chief towns of Holland, they proceeded to the court of Princess
+Elizabeth, the granddaughter of James I., at Herwerden or Herford, where
+they were received with great kindness and hospitality. Soon after his
+return to England, Charles II. granted him, in consideration of the
+services of his father, and for a debt due to him from the crown, a
+province of North America, then called New Netherlands, but now making the
+state of Pennsylvania. In consequence of this acquisition, he invited,
+under the royal patent, settlers from all parts of the kingdom, and drew
+up, in twenty-four articles, the fundamental constitution of his new
+province, in which he held out a greater degree of religious liberty than
+had at that time appeared in the Christian world. A colony of people,
+chiefly of his persuasion, soon flocked to share his fortunes; the lands
+of the country were cleared and improved, and a town was built, which, on
+the principle of brotherly love, received the name of _Philadelphia_. In
+1682, Penn visited the province, and confirmed that good understanding
+which he had recommended with the natives; and, after two years'
+residence, and with the satisfaction of witnessing and promoting the
+prosperity of the colonists, he returned to England. Soon after, Charles
+died, and the acquaintance which Penn had with the new monarch was
+honorably used to protect the people of his persuasion. At the revolution
+however, he was suspected of treasonable correspondence with the exiled
+prince, and therefore exposed to molestation and persecution. In 1694, he
+lost his wife; but, though severely afflicted by the event, he in about
+two years married again, and afterwards employed himself in travelling in
+Ireland, and over England, in disseminating, as a preacher, the doctrines
+of his sect. He visited, in 1699, his province with his wife and family,
+and returned to England in 1701. The suspicion with which he had been
+regarded under William's government, ceased at the accession of Queen
+Anne, and the unyielding advocate of Quakerism was permitted to live with
+greater freedom, and to fear persecution less. In 1710, he removed to
+Rushcomb, near Twyford, Berks, where he spent the rest of his life. Three
+repeated attacks of an apoplexy at last came to weaken his faculties and
+his constitution, and, after nearly losing all recollection of his former
+friends and associates, he expired, 30th July, 1718, and was buried at
+Jordan, near Beaconsfield, Bucks. The character of Penn is truly amiable,
+benevolent, and humane; his labors were exerted for the good of mankind,
+and, with the strictest consistency of moral conduct and religious
+opinion, he endured persecution and malice with resignation; and, guided
+by the approbation of a pure conscience, he showed himself indefatigable
+in the fulfilling of what he considered as the law of God, and the clear
+demonstration of the truth of the gospel. The long prosperity of
+Pennsylvania, and of his favorite city, Philadelphia, furnishes the best
+evidence of his wisdom as a legislator.
+
+
+
+
+Benedict Spinoza.
+
+
+An atheistical writer, son of a Portuguese Jew, born at Amsterdam, 1638.
+He studied medicine and theology; but his religion was so loose, and his
+inquiries for the reason of every thing which he was to believe, became so
+offensive to the rabbies, that he was thrust out of the synagogue. In
+consequence of this, he became a Christian, and was baptized; but his
+conversion was insincere, and though, during his life, he did not openly
+profess himself an atheist, his posthumous works plainly proved him such.
+He died, of a consumption, at the Hague, February, 1677, aged forty-five.
+He is the founder of a regular system of atheism, and by his hypothesis he
+wished to establish that there is but one substance in nature, which is
+endowed with infinite attributes, with extension and thought; that all
+spirits are modifications of that substance; and that God, the necessary
+and most perfect being, is the cause of all things that exist, but does
+not differ from them. These monstrous doctrines, though not new, were thus
+built into a regular system by this extraordinary man, who is said in
+other respects to have been of a good moral character in private life,
+benevolent, friendly, and charitable. His conduct was marked by no
+licentiousness or irregularity; but he retired from the tumults of
+Amsterdam to a more peaceful residence at the Hague, where curiosity led
+princes, philosophers, and learned men, to see and to converse with this
+bold assertor of atheism.
+
+
+
+
+Ann Lee.
+
+
+Born in the town of Manchester, in England, in 1736. Her father, John Lee,
+though not in affluent circumstances, was an honest and industrious man.
+Her mother was esteemed as a very pious woman. As was common with the
+laboring classes of people in England at that period, their children,
+instead of being sent to school, were brought up to work from early
+childhood. By this means, Ann, though quite illiterate, acquired a habit
+of industry, and was early distinguished for her activity, faithfulness,
+neatness, and good economy in her temporal employments.
+
+From early childhood she was the subject of religious impressions and
+divine manifestations. These continued, in a greater or less degree, as
+she advanced in years; so that, at times, she was strongly impressed with
+a sense of the great depravity of human nature, and of the lost state of
+mankind by reason of sin. But losing her mother at an early age, and
+finding no person to assist her in the pursuit of a life of holiness, and
+being urged by the solicitations of her relations and friends, she was
+married to Abraham Stanley, by whom she had four children, who all died in
+infancy. But the convictions of her youth often returned upon her with
+great force, which at length brought her under excessive tribulation of
+soul. In this situation, she sought earnestly for deliverance from the
+bondage of sin.
+
+While under these exercises of mind, she became acquainted with a society
+of people associated under the ministration of James Wardly, who, with
+Jane, his wife, had been greatly favored with divine manifestations
+concerning the second appearing of Christ, which they foresaw was near at
+hand. Ann readily embraced their testimony, and united herself to the
+society in the month of September, 1758.
+
+In this society, Ann found that strength and protection against the
+powerful influences of evil, which, for the time being, were answerable to
+her faith; and, by her faithful obedience, she by degrees attained to the
+full knowledge and experience in spiritual things which they had found.
+But as she still found in herself the remains of the propensities of
+fallen nature, she could not rest satisfied short of full salvation; she
+therefore sought earnestly, day and night, in the most fervent prayers and
+cries to God, to find complete deliverance from a sinful nature, and to
+know more perfectly the way of full redemption and final salvation.
+
+After passing through many scenes of tribulation and suffering, she
+received a full answer to her prayers and desires to God. She then came
+forward, and, with extraordinary power and energy of spirit, testified
+that she had received, through the Spirit of Christ, a full revelation of
+the fallen nature of man, and of the only means of redemption, which were
+comprised in his precepts and living example while on earth. The
+astonishing power of God which accompanied her testimony of this
+revelation to the society, was too awakening and convincing to leave a
+doubt on the minds of the society of its divine authority. When,
+therefore, Ann had thus manifested to the society the revelation of light
+which she had received, she was received and acknowledged as their leader
+and spiritual _Mother in Christ_. This was the only name of distinction by
+which she was known in the society. The term _Elect Lady_ was given to her
+by her enemies. Ann, with a number of her followers, visited America in
+1774, and formed the first society of Shakers in this country, at
+Watervliet, N. Y., where she died in 1784.
+
+
+
+
+John Glass.
+
+
+Scotch divine, born at Dundee, 1698, and educated at Aberdeen. Upon his
+publication of a pamphlet on the inconsistency of a civil establishment
+with Christianity, he was deposed from his church, near Dundee, and then
+became the founder of a new sect, called the _Glassites_ in Scotland, and
+_Sandemanians_ in England. As the discipline of his sect was very
+rigorous, few embraced his tenets, and the name is scarce known now.
+
+
+
+
+George Keith.
+
+
+A Quaker, born at Aberdeen, and was well educated. He came, in 1682, to
+East Jersey, where he was surveyor-general. In 1689, he taught a school in
+Philadelphia. After various exertions, writing and travelling for the
+propagation of the sentiments of his sect, he at first seceded, and at
+length entirely deserted the society. In England, he became an
+Episcopalian, and was consecrated as an Episcopal missionary, and in that
+capacity officiated for a short time in New York and Boston. Returning to
+England in 1706, he was a rector at Edburton, in Sussex, where he died.
+His publications were numerous, but almost exclusively controversial.
+
+
+
+
+Nicholas Louis, Count Zinzendorf.
+
+
+The patron of the sect of the Moravians, was born at Dresden, in May,
+1700. He studied at Halle and Utrecht. About the year 1721, he purchased
+the lordship of Bertholdsdorf, in Lusatia. Some poor Christians, the
+followers of John Huss, obtained leave, in 1722, to settle on his estate.
+They soon made converts. Such was the origin of the village of Herrnhut.
+Their noble patron soon after joined them.
+
+From this period Count Zinzendorf devoted himself to the business of
+instructing his fellow-men by his writings and by preaching. He travelled
+through Germany, and in Denmark became acquainted with the Danish missions
+in the East Indies and Greenland. About 1732, he engaged earnestly in the
+promotion of missions by his Moravian brethren, whose numbers at Herrnhut
+were then about five hundred. So successful were these missions, that in a
+few years four thousand negroes were baptized in the West Indies, and the
+converts in Greenland amounted to seven hundred and eighty-four.
+
+In 1737, he visited London, and, in 1741, came to America, and preached at
+Germantown and Bethlehem. February 11, 1742, he ordained at Oly, in
+Pennsylvania, the missionaries Rauch and Buettner, and Rauch baptized
+three Indians from Shekomeco, east of the Hudson, "the firstlings of the
+Indians." He soon, with his daughter, Benigna, and several brethren and
+sisters, visited various tribes of Indians. At Shekomeco he established
+the first Indian Moravian congregation in North America. In 1743, he
+returned to Europe. He died at Herrnhut, in 1760, and his coffin was
+carried to the grave by thirty-two preachers and missionaries, whom he had
+reared, and some of whom had toiled in Holland, England, Ireland, North
+America, and Greenland. What monarch was ever honored by a funeral like
+this?
+
+
+
+
+William Courtney.
+
+
+Archbishop of Canterbury, the fourth son of Hugh Courtney, earl of
+Devonshire, by Margaret, granddaughter of Edward I. He was educated at
+Oxford, and, though possessed of abilities, owed his elevation in the
+church to the consequence of his family. When twenty-eight, he was made
+bishop of Hereford, and afterwards translated to London, where he summoned
+before him the great Wickliffe, in St. Paul's Cathedral, 1377. The bold
+reformer was on this occasion attended by his friends John of Gaunt and
+Lord Percy, who, in supporting his tenets, treated the prelate with such
+asperity, that a tumult was excited among the citizens of London. Courtney
+was made chancellor, 1381, and afterwards raised to the see of Canterbury.
+He was a violent persecutor of the Wickliffites, and condemned their
+tenets in a synod. He died at Maidstone, 1396, aged 55.
+
+
+
+
+Richard Hooker.
+
+
+An eminent divine of the church of England, was born in 1553, at
+Heavitree, near Exeter, and, under the patronage of Bishop Jewel, was
+educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he was distinguished for
+his piety and exemplary conduct. An unhappy marriage, which he contracted
+before he was thirty, with a scold who had neither beauty, money, nor
+manners, lost him his college fellowship, and was a fertile source of
+annoyance to him. In 1585, he was made master of the Temple; but, weary of
+disputes with the afternoon lecturer,--a violent Presbyterian,--and longing
+for rural retirement, he relinquished this preferment, and obtained the
+rectory of Bishop's Bourne, in Kent, at which he resided till his decease,
+in 1600. His great work is the treatise on "Ecclesiastical Polity;" of
+which Pope Clement VIII. said, "There are in it such seeds of eternity as
+will continue till the last fire shall devour all learning."
+
+
+
+
+Charles Chauncey.
+
+
+Second president of Harvard College, born in England, in 1589. He received
+his grammar education at Westminster, and took the degree of M. D. at the
+university of Cambridge. He emigrated to New England in 1638, and, after
+serving for a number of years in the ministry at Scituate, was appointed,
+in 1654, president of Harvard College. In this office he remained till his
+death, in 1671, performing all its duties with industrious fidelity. He
+was eminent as a physician, and was of opinion that there ought to be no
+distinction between physic and divinity.
+
+
+
+
+Roger Williams.
+
+
+The founder of the Providence Plantations, born in Wales, in 1599, and was
+educated at Oxford. Being a dissenter, he came to America, in the hope of
+enjoying in freedom his religious opinions. He arrived at Hull, February
+5, 1631, and was established at Salem, Massachusetts, as colleague with
+Mr. Skelton. His peculiar notions soon subjected him to the severest
+censure. He maintained that the magistrates were bound to grant toleration
+to all sects of Christians, and in his actions and words avowed the
+liberality of his principles. After the death of Mr. Skelton, he was sole
+minister of Salem. Continuing to avow his opinions, which were considered
+not only heretical, but seditious, he was summoned before the General
+Court, to answer to numerous charges. He, however, refused to retract any
+of his opinions, and was accordingly banished, 1635. He first repaired to
+Seekonk: but, being informed that that territory was within the
+jurisdiction of Plymouth, he proceeded to Mooshausic, where, with others,
+in 1636, he began a plantation. The land was honestly purchased of the
+Indians; and the town, in acknowledgment of the kindness of Heaven, was
+called Providence. Mr. Williams's benevolence was not confined to his
+civilized brethren; he learned the language of the Indians, travelled
+among them, won the entire confidence of their chiefs, and was often the
+means of saving from injury the colony that had driven him from its
+protection. In 1643, he was sent to England, as agent for both
+settlements, and in September, 1644, returned with a patent for the
+territory, with permission for the inhabitants to institute a government
+for themselves. In 1651, he was again sent to England, in the capacity of
+agent, and returned in 1654, when he was chosen president of the
+government. Benedict Arnold succeeded him in 1657. He died in April, 1683,
+aged eighty-four. Mr. Williams was consistent in his religious doctrines,
+and set a bright example of that toleration which he demanded from others.
+His mind was strong and well cultivated; and he read the Scriptures in the
+originals. After his banishment from Massachusetts, he maintained a
+correspondence with some of its principal men, and ever entertained for
+them the highest affection and respect. In his writings, he evinces his
+power at argument. In 1672, he held a public dispute with the most eminent
+Quaker preachers, of which he has published an account. He also published
+a "Key to the Indian Language," octavo, 1643; an answer to Mr. Cotton's
+letters, concerning the power of the magistrate in matters of religion,
+with other letters and discourses.
+
+
+
+
+John Clarke.
+
+
+A distinguished Baptist minister, and one of the first founders of Rhode
+Island, was a physician in London, before he came to this country. Soon
+after the first settlement of Massachusetts, he was driven from that
+colony with a number of others; and March 7, 1638, they formed themselves
+into a body politic, and purchased Aquetneck of the Indian sachems,
+calling it the Isle of Rhodes, or Rhode Island. The settlement commenced
+at Pocasset, or Portsmouth. The Indian deed is dated March 24, 1638. Mr.
+Clarke was soon employed as a preacher; and, in 1644, he formed a church
+at Newport, and became its pastor. This was the second Baptist church
+which was established in America.
+
+In 1649, he was an assistant and treasurer of Rhode Island colony. In
+1651, he went to visit one of his brethren at Lynn, near Boston, and he
+preached on Sunday, July 20; but, before he had completed the services of
+the forenoon, he was seized, with his friends, by an officer of the
+government. In the afternoon, he was compelled to attend the parish
+meeting, at the close of which he spoke a few words. He was tried before
+the Court of Assistants, and fined twenty pounds; in case of failure in
+the payment of which sum he was to be whipped. In passing the sentence,
+Judge Endicott observed, "You secretly insinuate things into those who are
+weak, which you cannot maintain before our ministers; you may try and
+dispute with them." Mr. Clarke accordingly wrote from prison, proposing a
+dispute upon the principles which he professed. He represented his
+principles to be, that Jesus Christ had the sole right of prescribing any
+laws respecting the worship of God which it was necessary to obey; that
+baptism, or dipping in water, was an ordinance to be administered only to
+those who gave some evidence of repentance towards God and faith in Jesus
+Christ; that such visible believers only constituted the church; that each
+of them had a right to speak in the congregation, according as the Lord
+had given him talents, either to make inquiries for his own instruction,
+or to prophesy for the edification of others, and that at all times and in
+all places they ought to reprove folly and open their lips to justify
+wisdom; and that no servant of Jesus Christ had any authority to restrain
+any fellow-servant in his worship, where injury was not offered to others.
+No dispute, however, occurred, and Mr. Clarke, his friends paying his fine
+without his consent, was soon released from prison, and directed to leave
+the colony. His companion Obadiah Holmes shared a severer fate; for, on
+declining to pay his fine of thirty pounds, which his friends offered to
+do for him, he was publicly whipped in Boston.
+
+Mr. Clarke died at Newport, April 20, 1676, aged about 66 years, resigning
+his soul to his merciful Redeemer, through faith in whose name he enjoyed
+the hope of a resurrection to eternal life.
+
+His life was so pure, that he was never accused of any vice, to leave a
+blot on his memory. His noble sentiments respecting religious toleration
+did not, indeed, accord with the sentiments of the age in which he lived,
+and exposed him to trouble; but at the present time they are almost
+universally embraced. His exertions to promote the civil prosperity of
+Rhode Island must endear his name to those who are now enjoying the fruits
+of his labors. He possessed the singular honor of contributing much
+towards establishing the first government upon the earth, which gave equal
+liberty, civil and religious, to all men living under it.
+
+
+
+
+Ann Hutchinson.
+
+
+A woman who occasioned much difficulty in New England, soon after its
+first settlement, came from Lincolnshire to Boston, 1635, and was the wife
+of one of the representatives of Boston. The members of Mr. Cotton's
+church used to meet every week to repeat his sermons, and discourse on
+doctrines. She set up meetings for women, and soon had a numerous
+audience. After repeating the sermons of Mr. Cotton, she added reflections
+of her own; she advocated her own sentiments, and warped the discourses of
+her minister to coincide with them. She soon threw the whole colony into a
+flame. The progress of her sentiments occasioned the synod of 1637, the
+first synod in America. This convention of ministers condemned eighty-two
+erroneous opinions, then propagated in the country. Mrs. Hutchinson, after
+this sentence of her opinions, was herself called before the court in
+November of the same year, and, being convicted of traducing the
+ministers, and advancing errors, was banished the colony. She went with
+her husband to Rhode Island. In the year 1642, after her husband's death,
+she removed into the Dutch country beyond New Haven; and the next year,
+she, her son Francis, and most of her family of sixteen persons, were
+killed by the Indians.
+
+
+
+
+Michael Molinos.
+
+
+Founder of the ancient sect of Quietists, was a Spaniard, of a rich and
+honorable family. He entered into priest's orders young, but would accept
+no preferment in the church. He possessed great talents, and was ardently
+pious, without any of the austerities of the Romish religious orders. He
+went to Rome, where, in 1675, he published his "Spiritual Guide," which
+gave him universal reputation. The Jesuits and Dominicans, envious at his
+success, charged him with heresy, and at last succeeded in getting him
+condemned by the Inquisition. He died of torment in their dungeons, a few
+years after.
+
+
+
+
+John Wesley.
+
+
+The great founder of Methodism was born at Epworth, in England, in 1703.
+In 1714, he was placed at the Charter House; and two years after he was
+elected to Christ Church, Oxford. In 1725, he was ordained deacon, and the
+next year became fellow and tutor of Lincoln College.
+
+Wesley's character, says his biographer, is itself a study. He equalled
+Luther in energy and courage, and Melancthon in learning and prudence. All
+the excellences of both the Wittemberg reformers were combined, if not
+transcended, in his individual character.
+
+He possessed, in an eminent degree, the power of comprehending at once the
+general outlines and the details of plans, the aggregate and the
+integrants. It is this power which forms the philosophical genius in
+science; it is indispensable to the successful commander and the great
+statesman. It is illustrated in the whole economical system of Methodism--a
+system which, while it fixes itself to the smallest localities with the
+utmost detail and tenacity, is sufficiently general in its provisions to
+reach the ends of the world, and still maintain its unity of spirit and
+discipline.
+
+No man knew better than Wesley the importance of small things. His whole
+financial system was based on weekly penny collections. It was a rule of
+his preachers never to omit a single preaching appointment, except when
+the "risk of limb or life" required. He was the first to apply extensively
+the plan of tract distribution. He wrote, printed, and scattered over the
+kingdom, placards on almost every topic of morals and religion. In
+addition to the usual means of grace, he introduced the band meeting, the
+class meeting, the prayer meeting, the love feast, and the watch night.
+Not content with his itinerant laborers, he called into use the less
+available powers of his people by establishing the new departments of
+local preachers, exhorters, and leaders. It was, in fine, by gathering
+together fragments, by combining minutiae, that he formed that stupendous
+system of spiritual means which is rapidly evangelizing the world.
+
+It was not only in the theoretical construction of plans that he excelled;
+he was, if possible, still more distinguished by practical energy. The
+variety and number of his labors would be absolutely incredible with less
+authentic evidence than that which corroborates them. He was perpetually
+travelling and preaching, studying and writing, translating and abridging,
+superintending his societies, and applying his great plans. He travelled
+usually _five thousand_ miles a year, preaching twice and thrice a day,
+commencing at five o'clock in the morning. In the midst of all this
+travelling and preaching, he carried with him the meditative and studious
+habits of the philosopher. No department of human inquiry was omitted by
+him. "History, poetry, and philosophy," said he, "I read on horseback."
+
+Like Luther, he knew the importance of the press; he kept it teeming with
+his publications. His itinerant preachers were good agents for their
+circulation. "Carry them with you through every round," he would say;
+"exert yourselves in this; be not ashamed, be not weary, leave no stone
+unturned." His works, including abridgments and translations, amounted to
+about two hundred volumes. These comprise treatises on almost every
+subject of divinity, poetry, music, history,--natural, moral, metaphysical,
+and political philosophy. He wrote, as he preached, _ad populum_; and his
+works have given to his people, especially in Great Britain, an elevated
+tone of intelligence as well as of piety. He may, indeed, be considered
+the leader in those exertions which are now being made for the popular
+diffusion of knowledge.
+
+Differing from the usual character of men who are given to various
+exertions and many plans, he was accurate and profound. He was an adept in
+classical literature and the use of the classical tongues; his writings
+are adorned with their finest passages. He was familiar with a number of
+modern languages; his own style is one of the best examples of strength
+and perspicuity among English writers. He was ready on every subject of
+learning and general literature. As a logician, he was considered by his
+enemies, as well as his friends, to be unrivalled.
+
+He was but little addicted to those exhilarations and contrarieties of
+frame which characterize imaginative minds. His temperament was warm, but
+not fiery. His intellect never appears inflamed, but was a glowing, serene
+radiance. His immense labors were accomplished, not by the impulses of
+restless enthusiasm, but by the cool calculations of his plans, and the
+steady self-possession with which he pursued them. "Though always in
+haste," he said, "I am never in a hurry." He was as economical with his
+time as a miser could be with his gold; rising at four o'clock in the
+morning, and allotting to every hour its appropriate work. "Leisure and I
+have taken leave of each other," said he. And yet such was the happy
+arrangement of his employments, that, amidst a multiplicity that would
+distract an ordinary man, he declares that "there are few persons who
+spend so many hours secluded from all company as myself." "The wonder of
+his character," said Robert Hall, "is the self-control by which he
+preserved himself calm, while he kept all in excitement around him. He was
+the last man to be infected by fanaticism. His writings abound in
+statements of preternatural circumstances; but it must be remembered that
+his faults in these respects were those of his age, while his virtues were
+peculiarly his own."
+
+Though of a feeble constitution, the regularity of his habits, sustained
+through a life of great exertions and vicissitudes, produced a vigor and
+equanimity which are seldom the accompaniments of a laborious mind or of a
+distracted life. "I do not remember," he says, "to have felt lowness of
+spirits one quarter of an hour since I was born." "Ten thousand cares are
+no more weight to my mind than ten thousand hairs are to my head." "I have
+never lost a night's sleep in my life." "His face was remarkably fine, his
+complexion fresh to the last week of his life, and his eye quick, keen,
+and active." He ceased not his labors till death. After the eightieth year
+of his age, he visited Holland twice. At the end of his eighty-second, he
+says, "I am never tired (such is the goodness of God) either with writing,
+preaching, or travelling." He preached under trees which he had planted
+himself, at Kingswood. He outlived most of his first disciples and
+preachers, and stood up, mighty in intellect and labors, among the second
+and third generations of his people. In his later years persecution had
+subsided; he was every where received as a patriarch, and sometimes
+excited, by his arrival in towns and cities, an interest "such as the
+presence of the king himself would produce." He attracted the largest
+assemblies, perhaps, which were ever congregated for religious
+instruction, being estimated sometimes at more than _thirty thousand_!
+Great intellectually, morally, and physically, he at length died, in the
+eighty-eighth year of his age and sixty-fifth of his ministry,
+unquestionably one of the most extraordinary men of any age.
+
+Nearly one hundred and forty thousand members, upward of five hundred
+itinerant, and more than one thousand local preachers, were connected with
+him when he died.
+
+
+
+
+George Whitefield.
+
+
+One of the founders of the sect of the Methodists, born at Gloucester,
+where his mother kept the Bell inn, 1714. From the Crypt school of his
+native town, he entered as servitor at Pembroke College, Oxford, and was
+ordained at the proper age by Benson, bishop of Gloucester. Enthusiasm and
+the love of singularity now influenced his conduct, and in his eagerness
+to obtain popularity, he preached not only in prisons, but in the open
+fields, and by a strong persuasive eloquence, multitudes regarded him as a
+man of superior sanctity. In 1738, he went to America, to increase the
+number of his converts; but, after laboring for some time as the friend
+and the associate of the Wesleys, he at last was engaged with them in a
+serious dispute, which produced a separation. While he zealously asserted
+the doctrine of absolute election and final perseverance, agreeably to the
+notions of Calvin, his opponents regarded his opinion as unsupported by
+Scripture, and therefore inadmissible; and in consequence of this arose
+the two sects of the Calvinistic and the Arminian Methodists. Secure in
+the good opinion of a great number of adherents, and in the patronage of
+Lady Huntingdon, to whom he was chaplain, he continued his labors, and
+built two Tabernacles in the city and in Tottenham Court Road for the
+commodious reception of his followers. He died at Newburyport,
+Massachusetts, while on a visit to his churches in America, and had the
+satisfaction to know that his adherents were numerous on both continents.
+
+At Newburyport, the Hon. WILLIAM BARTLETT has erected an elegant marble
+monument, on which is the following inscription:--
+
+
+    "This Cenotaph is erected, with affectionate veneration, to the
+    memory of the Rev. GEORGE WHITEFIELD, born at Gloucester, England,
+    December 16, 1714; educated at Oxford University; ordained 1736.
+    In a ministry of thirty-four years, he crossed the Atlantic
+    thirteen times, and preached more than eighteen thousand sermons.
+    As a soldier of the cross, humble, devoted, ardent, he put on the
+    whole armor of God; preferring the honor of Christ to his own
+    interest, repose, reputation, and life. As a Christian orator, his
+    deep piety, disinterested zeal, and vivid imagination, gave
+    unexampled energy to his look, utterance, and action. Bold,
+    fervent, pungent, and popular in his eloquence, no other
+    uninspired man ever preached to so large assemblies, or enforced
+    the simple truths of the gospel by motives so persuasive and
+    awful, and with an influence so powerful on the hearts of his
+    hearers. He died of asthma, September 30, 1770, suddenly
+    exchanging his life of unparalleled labors for his eternal rest."
+
+
+During Mr. Whitefield's visit to Philadelphia, he preached often in the
+evening from the gallery of the court-house in Market Street. So loud was
+his voice at that time, that it was distinctly heard on the Jersey shore,
+and so distinct was his speech, that every word he said was understood at
+Market Street wharf, a distance of upwards of four hundred feet from the
+court-house. All the intermediate space was crowded with his hearers. Mr.
+Whitefield was truly remarkable for his uncommon eloquence and fervent
+zeal. His eloquence was indeed very great, and of the truest kind. He was
+utterly devoid of all affectation; the importance of his subject, and the
+regard due to his hearers, engrossed all his concern. Every accent of his
+voice spoke to the ear, every feature of his face, every motion of his
+hands, and every gesture, spoke to the eye; so that the most dissipated
+and thoughtless found their attention arrested, and the dullest and most
+ignorant could not but understand. He appeared to be devoid of the spirit
+of sectarianism; his only object seemed to be to "preach Christ and him
+crucified."
+
+The following anecdote respecting his manner of preaching will serve to
+illustrate this part of his character. One day, while preaching from the
+balcony of the court-house, in Philadelphia, he cried out, "Father
+Abraham, who have you got in heaven; any _Episcopalians_?" "No!" "Any
+_Presbyterians_?" "No!" "Any _Baptists_?" "No!" "Have you any _Methodists_
+there?" "No!" "Have you any _Independents_ or _Seceders_?" "No! No!" "Why,
+who have you, then?" "We don't know those names here; all that are here
+are _Christians_--believers in Christ--men who have overcome by the blood of
+the Lamb, and the word of his testimony!" "O, is this the case? then God
+help me--God help us all--to forget party names, and to become Christians in
+deed and in truth."
+
+
+
+
+Selina Huntingdon.
+
+
+Countess, second daughter of Washington, earl Ferrers, born 1707, and
+married Lord Huntingdon, by whom she had four sons and three daughters.
+From habits of gayety and scenes of dissipation, she became all at once,
+after a serious illness, grave, reserved, and melancholy. Her thoughts
+were wholly absorbed by religion, and she employed the ample resources
+which she possessed in disseminating her principles by the popular arts of
+Whitefield, Romaine, and others. Not only her house in Park Street was
+thrown open for the frequent assembling of these pious reformers, but
+chapels were built in various parts of the kingdom, and a college erected
+in Wales for the education of young persons in the future labors of the
+ministry. After many acts of extensive charity, and with the best
+intentions, this enthusiastic lady died in 1791.
+
+
+
+
+Robert Sandeman.
+
+
+The founder of the sect called _Sandemanians_, born at Perth, in Scotland,
+about the year 1718, and was educated at St. Andrews. Instead of entering
+into the church, for which he was intended, he became a linen
+manufacturer, and afterwards turned preacher. He came to America in
+October, 1764, and from Boston he went to Danbury, Connecticut. In that
+town he gathered a church the following year. He afterwards established
+several societies in New England. Individuals are still found who adhere
+to his peculiarities, and are known by the name of his sect. He wrote an
+answer to Hervey's "Theron and Aspasio," said to be a work of talent, but
+exhibiting great asperity.
+
+The following is copied from the monument of Mr. Sandeman, in the
+burying-ground at Danbury:--
+
+
+    "Here lies, until the resurrection, the body of ROBERT SANDEMAN, a
+    native of Perth, North Britain, who, in the face of continual
+    opposition from all sorts of men, long boldly contended for the
+    ancient faith, that the bare word of Jesus Christ, without a deed
+    or thought on the part of man, is sufficient to present the chief
+    of sinners spotless before God. To declare this blessed truth, as
+    testified in the holy Scriptures, he left his country, he left his
+    friends, and, after much patient suffering, finished his labors at
+    Danbury, April 2, 1771, AE. 53 years.
+
+    Deigned Christ to come so nigh to us,
+      As not to count it shame
+    To call us brethren, should we blush
+      At aught that bears his name?
+    Nay, let us boast in his reproach,
+      And glory in his cross;
+    When he appears, one smile from him
+      Would far o'erpay our loss."
+
+
+
+
+Samuel Hopkins.
+
+
+An American divine, who, in his sermons and tracts, has made several
+additions to the sentiments first advanced by the celebrated Jonathan
+Edwards, late president of New Jersey College. Dr. Hopkins was born at
+Waterbury, in Connecticut, 1721, and graduated at Yale College, in 1741.
+Soon after, he engaged in theological studies, at Northampton,
+Massachusetts, under the superintendence of Jonathan Edwards, and, in
+1743, was ordained at Housatonic, now Great Barrington, Massachusetts,
+where he continued till he removed to Newport, Rhode Island, in
+consequence of the diminution of his congregation, and his want of
+support. When he had resided some time in this place, the people became
+dissatisfied with his sentiments, and resolved, at a meeting, to intimate
+to him their disinclination to his continuance among them. On the ensuing
+Sabbath, he preached his farewell discourse, which was so interesting and
+impressive that they besought him to remain, which he did till his death,
+in 1803. He was a pious and zealous man, of considerable talents, and
+almost incredible powers of application. He is said to have been sometimes
+engaged during eighteen hours in his studies. His doctrinal views are
+contained in his "System of Divinity," published in a second edition at
+Boston, in 1811, in two volumes, octavo.
+
+
+
+
+Jonathan Mayhew.
+
+
+A divine of Boston, was born in Martha's Vineyard, in 1720 and educated at
+Harvard College. In 1747, he was ordained pastor of the West Church, in
+Boston, and continued in this station the remainder of his life. He
+possessed a mind of great acuteness and energy, and in his principles was
+a determined republican. He had no little influence in producing the
+American revolution. His sermons and controversial tracts obtained for him
+a high reputation; and many of them were republished several times in
+England. He died in 1766.
+
+
+
+
+Samuel Seabury.
+
+
+First bishop of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States, was
+born in 1728, and graduated at Yale College in 1751. After finishing his
+classical education, he went to Scotland with the view of studying
+medicine; but soon, having turned his attention to theology, he altered
+his purpose and took orders in London, 1753. Returning to America, he
+officiated, first at Brunswick, New Jersey, then at Jamaica, Long Island,
+next at West Chester, New York, and lastly at New London, Connecticut,
+where he remained, as rector of the parish in that city, during the
+remainder of his life. As much as he was esteemed by his parishioners, his
+influence was extended among his brethren throughout the state.
+Consequently, when the Episcopal church was organized in that diocese, he
+was elected bishop. He went immediately to England, in order to obtain
+consecration; but, meeting with some unexpected obstacles, he repaired to
+Scotland. Here he was able to accomplish the object of his mission. He was
+consecrated at Aberdeen, November 14, 1784. As soon as he was able to
+reach home, he resumed his duties as parish minister at New London, in
+connection with his episcopal functions for the diocese. Bishop Seabury
+had a vigorous and well-cultivated mind, and acquired a reputation
+corresponding with his high station. Three volumes of his sermons have
+been published.
+
+The following is the inscription on Bishop Seabury's monument at New
+London, Connecticut:--
+
+
+    "Here lyeth the body of SAMUEL SEABURY, D. D., Bishop of
+    Connecticut and Rhode Island, who departed from this transitory
+    scene February 25th, Anno Domini 1796, in the 68th year of his
+    age, and the 12th of his episcopal consecration.
+
+    "Ingenious without pride, learned without pedantry, good without
+    severity, he was duly qualified to discharge the duties of the
+    Christian and the Bishop. In the pulpit he enforced religion; in
+    his conduct he exemplified it. The poor he assisted with his
+    charity; the ignorant he blessed with his instruction. The friend
+    of men, he ever designed their good; the enemy of vice, he ever
+    opposed it. Christian, dost thou aspire to happiness? Seabury has
+    shown the way that leads to it."
+
+
+
+
+Richard Clarke.
+
+
+A clergyman of the Episcopal church, who maintained for many years a high
+reputation in South Carolina. He was a native of England, and soon after
+his arrival in Charleston was appointed rector of St. Philip's Church in
+that city. Here he was greatly admired as a popular preacher, and highly
+respected as an exemplary, amiable, benevolent, and liberal man. He
+returned to England in 1759, and was soon afterwards appointed a stated
+preacher in one of the principal churches in London. In this station, his
+eloquence and piety attracted a large share of public attention. His
+publications, chiefly on theological subjects, were numerous, amounting to
+six or seven octavo volumes. He lived to a late period in the eighteenth
+century, universally beloved and respected.
+
+
+
+
+Joseph Priestly.
+
+
+An English philosopher and dissenting divine, born at Fieldheald,
+Yorkshire, 1733. He was educated at Daventry, under Dr. Ashworth, for the
+ministry among the dissenters, and at the proper age he took care of a
+congregation at Needham Market, Suffolk, and afterwards at Nantwich,
+Cheshire. He became, in 1761, professor of belles lettres in the
+Warrington Academy, and after seven years' residence there he removed to
+Leeds, and two years after accepted the office of librarian and
+philosophical companion to the earl of Shelburne. In this retreat, the
+philosopher devoted himself laboriously to metaphysical and theological
+studies, and published various works; and when, at last, he separated from
+his noble patron, he retired with an annual pension of one hundred and
+fifty pounds, to settle at Birmingham, as pastor to a Unitarian
+congregation, in 1780. While here usefully employed in advancing the cause
+of philosophy, and too often engaged in theological disputes, he became
+the victim of popular fury; and the conduct of some of his neighbors in
+celebrating the anniversary of the French revolution, in 1791, with more
+intemperance than became Englishmen and loyal subjects, excited a dreadful
+riot. Not only the meeting-houses were destroyed on this melancholy
+occasion, but, among others, Dr. Priestley's house, library, manuscripts,
+and philosophical apparatus, were totally consumed; and, though he
+recovered a compensation by suing the county, he quitted this scene of
+prejudice and unpopularity. After residing some time at London and
+Hackney, where he preached to the congregation over which his friend Price
+once presided, he determined to quit his native country, and seek a more
+peaceful retreat in America, where some of his family were already
+settled. He left England in 1794, and fixed his residence at
+Northumberland, in Pennsylvania, where he died in 1804. His writings were
+very numerous, and he long attracted the public notice, not only by
+discoveries in philosophy, but by the boldness of his theological
+opinions. Had he confined his studies merely to philosophical pursuits,
+his name would have descended to posterity with greater lustre; but he who
+attempts innovations in government and religion, for singularity, and to
+excite popular prejudices, must be little entitled to the applauses of the
+world.
+
+
+
+
+James Purves.
+
+
+A learned Arian preacher, born at a little village of Berwickshire, in
+1734. His father was only a keeper of cattle, and intended James for the
+same profession. He, meanwhile, having obtained the loan of some books on
+mathematics, made himself master of geometry and trigonometry, and
+afterwards taught these sciences, with other branches of mathematics, and
+assisted some public authors in compiling mathematical works, which have
+been well received. He joined a party of the ancient Cameronians, and in
+1769, at one of their general meetings, was called to be a pastor among
+them. To qualify himself for this office, he studied the Greek and Hebrew
+languages, and compiled a Hebrew grammar, which is still in manuscript.
+These acquisitions led him into the study of the Arian controversy, when
+finally he adopted the opinions of Arius, and afterwards became preacher
+to a small Arian congregation in Edinburgh, where he also kept a school
+and a book-shop, for many years before he died.
+
+
+
+
+John Jebb.
+
+
+Bishop of Limerick, born September 27, 1775, and died December 9, 1833,
+aged 58. He was educated at the university of Dublin, where he gained a
+high reputation as a scholar. He was greatly esteemed as a man of a most
+amiable and gentle spirit; had the reputation of an accomplished orator
+and a learned and able theologian; and as a clergyman and a bishop he was
+truly exemplary. His original publications are not numerous, but are of
+high merit.
+
+
+
+
+John Gaspar Christian Lavater.
+
+
+A celebrated writer, born at Zurich, 1741. He was pastor of the church of
+St Peter's at Zurich, and as a minister he acquired great reputation both
+by his eloquent discourses and his exemplary life. He was wounded by a
+French soldier when Zurich was taken by storm under Massena in 1799, and
+died there in consequence of it, 12th January, 1801. He acquired deserved
+celebrity as a physiognomist, and his writings on the subject, possessing
+great merit, ingenious remarks, and truly original ideas, have been
+translated into all the languages of Europe. His Christian piety was of
+the highest order.
+
+
+
+
+John Tillotson.
+
+
+An eminent prelate, was born in 1630, at Sowerby, in Yorkshire, and was
+educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge. In 1691, after fruitless attempts to
+avoid the honor, he accepted, with unfeigned reluctance, the see of
+Canterbury, which was become vacant by the deprivation of Sancroft. This
+promotion, however, he did not long survive, as his decease took place in
+1694.
+
+In his domestic relations, friendships, and the whole commerce of
+business, he was easy and humble, frank and open, tender-hearted and
+bountiful, to such an extent, that, while he was in a private station, he
+laid aside two tenths of his income for charitable uses. He despised
+wealth but as it furnished him for charity, in which he was judicious as
+well as liberal. His affability and candor, as well as abilities in his
+profession, made him frequently consulted in points relating both to
+practice and opinion. His love for the real philosophy of nature, and his
+conviction that the study of it is the most solid support of religion,
+induced him, not many years after the establishment of the Royal Society,
+to desire to be admitted into that assembly of the greatest men of the
+age; into which he was accordingly elected on the 25th of January, 1672.
+His kindness towards the dissenters was attended with the consequence
+intended by him, of reconciling many of them to the communion of the
+established church, and almost all of them to a greater esteem of it than
+they had before entertained.
+
+He died poor, the copy-right of his Posthumous Sermons (which, however,
+sold for two thousand five hundred guineas) being all that his family
+inherited. His works form three folio volumes.
+
+
+
+
+Isaac Newton.
+
+
+A most celebrated English philosopher and mathematician, and one of the
+greatest geniuses that ever appeared in the world, descended from an
+ancient family in Lincolnshire, where he was born in the year 1642. His
+powers of mind were wonderfully comprehensive and penetrating. Fontenelle
+says of him, "that in learning mathematics, he did not study Euclid, who
+seemed to him too plain and simple, and unworthy of taking up his time. He
+understood him almost before he read him: a cast of his eye on the
+contents of the theorems of that great mathematician, seemed to be
+sufficient to make him master of them." Several of his works mark a
+profundity of thought and reflection that has astonished the most learned
+men. He was highly esteemed by the university of Cambridge, and was twice
+chosen to represent that place in parliament. He was also greatly favored
+by Queen Anne, and by George I. The princess of Wales, afterwards queen
+consort of England, who had a turn for philosophical inquiries, used
+frequently to propose questions to him. This princess had a great regard
+for him, and often declared that she thought herself happy to live at the
+same time as he did, and to have the pleasure and advantage of his
+conversation.
+
+This eminent philosopher was remarkable for being of a very meek
+disposition and a great lover of peace. He would rather have chosen to
+remain in obscurity, than to have the serenity of his days disturbed by
+those storms and disputes, which genius and learning often draw upon those
+who are eminent for them. We find him reflecting on the controversy
+respecting his optic lectures (in which he had been almost unavoidably
+engaged) in the following terms:--"I blamed my own imprudence, for parting
+with so real a blessing as my quiet, to run after a shadow."
+
+The amiable quality of modesty stands very conspicuous in the character of
+this great man's mind and manners. He never spoke, either of himself or
+others, in such a manner as to give the most malicious censurers the least
+occasion even to suspect him of vanity. He was candid and affable; and he
+did not assume any airs of superiority over those with whom he associated.
+He never thought either his merit or his reputation sufficient to excuse
+him from any of the common offices of social life. Though he was firmly
+attached to the church of England, he was averse to the persecution of the
+Nonconformists. He judged of men by their conduct; and the true
+schismatics, in his opinion, were the vicious and the wicked. This
+liberality of sentiment did not spring from the want of religion; for he
+was thoroughly persuaded of the truth of revelation; and amidst the great
+variety of books which he had constantly before him, that which he loved
+the best, and studied with the greatest application, was the Bible. He
+was, indeed, a truly pious man; and his discoveries concerning the frame
+and system of the universe, were applied by him to demonstrate the being
+of a God, and to illustrate his power and wisdom. He also wrote an
+excellent discourse, to prove that the remarkable prophecy of Daniel's
+weeks was an express prediction of the coming of the Messiah, and that it
+was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
+
+The testimony of the pious and learned Dr. Doddridge to the most
+interesting part of this great man's character, cannot be omitted on the
+present occasion. "According to the best information," says he, "whether
+public or private, I could ever obtain, his firm faith in the divine
+revelation discovered itself in the most genuine fruits of substantial
+virtue and piety, and consequently gives us the justest reason to conclude
+that he is now rejoicing in the happy effects of it, infinitely more than
+in all the applause which his philosophical works have procured him,
+though they have commanded a fame lasting as the world."
+
+He departed this life in the eighty-fifth year of his age, and, in his
+principles and conduct through life, has left a strong and comfortable
+evidence that the highest intellectual powers harmonize with religion and
+virtue, and that there is nothing in Christianity but what will abide the
+scrutiny of the soundest and most enlarged understanding.
+
+How great and satisfactory a confirmation is it to the sincere, humble
+Christian, and what an insurmountable barrier does it present to the
+infidel, to perceive, in the list of Christian believers, the exalted and
+venerable name of Newton! a man who must be acknowledged to be an ornament
+of human nature, when we consider the wide compass of his abilities, the
+great extent of his learning and knowledge, and the piety, integrity, and
+beneficence, of his life. This eminent character firmly adhered to the
+belief of Christianity, after the most diligent and exact researches into
+the life of its Founder, the authenticity of its records, the completion
+of its prophecies, the sublimity of its doctrines, the purity of its
+precepts, and the arguments of its adversaries.
+
+
+
+
+Charles V.
+
+
+Emperor of Germany, king of Spain, and lord of the Netherlands, born at
+Ghent, in the year 1500.
+
+He is said to have fought sixty battles, in most of which he was
+victorious, to have obtained six triumphs, conquered four kingdoms, and to
+have added eight principalities to his dominions--an almost unparalleled
+instance of worldly prosperity and the greatness of human glory.
+
+But all these fruits of his ambition, and all the honors which attended
+him, could not yield true and solid satisfaction. Reflecting on the evils
+and miseries which he had occasioned, and convinced of the emptiness of
+earthly magnificence, he became disgusted with the splendor that
+surrounded him, and thought it his duty to withdraw from it, and spend the
+rest of his days in religious retirement. Accordingly, he voluntarily
+resigned all his dominions to his brother and son; and, after taking an
+affectionate and last farewell of the latter, and a numerous retinue of
+princes and nobility who respectfully attended him, he repaired to his
+chosen retreat, which was situated in Spain, in a vale of no great extent,
+watered by a small brook, and surrounded with rising grounds covered with
+lofty trees.
+
+A deep sense of his frail condition and great imperfections appears to
+have impressed his mind in this extraordinary resolution, and through the
+remainder of his life. As soon as he landed in Spain, he fell prostrate on
+the ground, and considering himself now as dead to the world, he kissed
+the earth, and said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked I
+now return to thee, thou common mother of mankind!"
+
+In this humble retreat, he spent his time in religious exercises and
+innocent employments, and buried here, in solitude and silence, his
+grandeur and his ambition, together with all those vast projects, which,
+for near half a century, had alarmed and agitated Europe, and filled every
+kingdom in it, by turns, with the terror of his arms, and the dread of
+being subjected to his power. Far from taking any part in the political
+transactions of the world, he restrained his curiosity even from any
+inquiry concerning them, and seemed to view the busy scene he had
+abandoned with an elevation and indifference of mind which arose from his
+thorough experience of its vanity, as well as from the pleasing reflection
+of having disengaged himself from its cares and temptations.
+
+Here he enjoyed more complete contentment than all his grandeur had ever
+yielded him; as a full proof of which he has left this short but
+comprehensive testimony:--"I have tasted more satisfaction in my solitude,
+in one day, than in all the triumphs of my former reign. The sincere
+study, profession, and practice, of the Christian religion have in them
+such joys and sweetness as are seldom found in courts and grandeur."
+
+
+
+
+Francis Bacon.
+
+
+Baron of Verulam, viscount St. Albans, and lord high chancellor of
+England, born in the year 1561. He was one of the most remarkable men of
+whom any age or country can boast; and his writings furnish incontestable
+proofs that his knowledge, wisdom, and benevolence, were very
+extraordinary. Lord Bacon died in 1626.
+
+That this illustrious character was deeply influenced by a truly humble
+and religious spirit, is manifest from the following prayer, which was
+found amongst his papers, in his own hand-writing:--
+
+
+    "Most gracious Lord God, my merciful Father; my creator, my
+    Redeemer, my Comforter! thou soundest and searchest the depths and
+    secrets of all hearts; thou acknowledgest the upright; thou
+    judgest the hypocrite; vanity and crooked ways cannot be hid from
+    thee.
+
+    "Remember, O Lord, how thy servant has walked before thee;
+    remember what I have first sought, and what has been principal in
+    my intentions. I have loved thy assemblies; I have mourned for the
+    divisions of thy church; I have delighted in the brightness of thy
+    sanctuary; I have ever prayed unto thee, that the vine which thy
+    right hand hath planted in this nation, might have the former and
+    the latter rain, and that it might stretch its branches to the
+    seas and to the floods. The state and bread of the poor and
+    oppressed have been precious in my eyes; I have hated all cruelty
+    and hardness of heart; I have, though a despised weed, endeavored
+    to procure the good of all men. If any have been my enemies, I
+    thought not of them, neither has the sun gone down upon my
+    displeasure; but I have been as a dove, free from superfluity of
+    maliciousness. Thy creatures have been my books, but thy
+    Scriptures much more so. I have sought thee in the courts, the
+    fields, and the gardens; but I have found thee in thy temples.
+
+    "O Lord, my strength! I have, from my youth, met with thee in all
+    my ways; in thy fatherly compassions, in thy merciful
+    chastisements, and in thy most visible providences. As thy favors
+    have increased upon me, so have thy corrections; as my worldly
+    blessings were exalted, so secret darts from thee have pierced me;
+    and when I have ascended before men, I have descended in
+    humiliation before thee. And now, when I have been thinking most
+    of peace and honor, thy hand is heavy upon me, and has humbled me
+    according to thy former loving-kindness, keeping me still in thy
+    fatherly school, not as a bastard, but as a child. Just are thy
+    judgments upon me for my sins, which are more in number than the
+    sands of the sea, but which have no proportion to thy mercies.
+    Besides my innumerable sins, I confess before thee, that I am a
+    debtor to thee for the gracious talent of thy gifts and graces;
+    which I have neither put into a napkin nor placed, as I ought,
+    with exchangers, where it might have made best profit; but I have
+    misspent it in things for which I was least fit: so I may truly
+    say, my soul hath been a stranger in the course of my pilgrimage.
+    Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for my Savior's sake, and receive me
+    into thy bosom, or guide me into thy ways."
+
+
+
+
+Matthew Hale.
+
+
+Lord chief justice of England, born in Gloucestershire, in the year 1609,
+and, by the care of a wise and religious father, had great attention paid
+to his education.
+
+In his youth, he was fond of company, and fell into many levities and
+extravagances. But this propensity and conduct were corrected by a
+circumstance that made a considerable impression on his mind during the
+rest of his life. Being one day in company with other young men, one of
+the party, through excess of wine, fell down, apparently dead, at their
+feet. Young Hale was so affected on this occasion, that he immediately
+retired to another room, and, shutting the door, fell on his knees, and
+prayed earnestly to God that his friend might be restored to life, and
+that he himself might be pardoned for having given countenance to so much
+excess. At the same time, he made a solemn vow that he would never again
+keep company in that manner, nor "drink a health" while he lived. His
+friend recovered, and Hale religiously observed his vow. After this event,
+there was an entire change in his disposition; he forsook all dissipated
+company, and was careful to divide his time between the duties of religion
+and the studies of his profession.
+
+He became remarkable for his solid and grave deportment, his inflexible
+regard to justice, and a religious tenderness of spirit, which appear to
+have accompanied him through life. His retired meditations on religious
+subjects manifest a pious and humble frame of mind, and a solemnity well
+adapted to excite kindred emotions in the breast of the reader.
+
+"True religion," says he, "teaches the soul a high veneration for Almighty
+God, a sincere and upright walking, as in the presence of the invisible,
+all-seeing God. It makes a man truly love, honor, and obey him, and
+therefore careful to know what his will is. It renders the heart highly
+thankful to him, as his Creator, Redeemer, and Benefactor. It makes a man
+entirely depend on him, seek him for guidance, direction, and protection,
+and submit to his will with patience and resignation of soul. It gives the
+law, not only to his words and actions, but to his very thoughts and
+purposes; so that he dares not entertain any which are unbecoming the
+presence of that God by whom all our thoughts are legible. It crushes all
+pride and haughtiness, both in a man's heart and carriage, and gives him
+an humble state of mind before God and men. It regulates the passions, and
+brings them into due moderation. It gives a man a right estimate of this
+present world, and sets his heart and hopes above it; so that he never
+loves it more than it deserves. It makes the wealth and the glory of this
+world,--high places and great preferments,--of but little consequence to
+him; so that he is neither covetous, nor ambitious, nor over-solicitous,
+concerning the advantages of them. It makes him value the love of God and
+the peace of his own conscience above all the wealth and honor in the
+world, and to be very diligent in preserving them. He performs all his
+duties to God with sincerity and humility; and, whilst he lives on earth,
+his conversation, his hope, his treasures, are in heaven; and he endeavors
+to walk suitably to such a hope."
+
+"They who truly fear God, have a secret guidance from a higher wisdom than
+what is barely human, namely, the Spirit of truth and goodness; which does
+really, though secretly, prevent and direct them. Any man that sincerely
+and truly fears Almighty God, and calls and relies upon him for his
+direction, has it as really as a son has the counsel and direction of his
+father; and though the voice be not audible, nor discernible by sense, yet
+it is equally as real as if a man heard a voice, saying, 'This is the way;
+walk in it.' "
+
+"Though this secret direction of Almighty God is principally seen in
+matters relating to the good of the soul, yet, even in the concerns of
+this life, a good man fearing God, and begging his direction, will very
+often, if not at all times, find it. I can call my own experience to
+witness, that even in the temporal affairs of my whole life, I have never
+been disappointed of the best direction, when I have, in humility and
+sincerity, implored it.
+
+"The observance of the secret admonition of this Spirit of God in the
+heart, is an effectual means to cleanse and sanctify us; and the more it
+is attended to, the more it will be conversant with our souls, for our
+instruction. In the midst of difficulties, it will be our counsellor; in
+the midst of temptations, it will be our strength, and grace sufficient
+for us; in the midst of troubles, it will be our light and our comforter."
+
+Chief Justice Hale died on the twenty-fifth of December, 1676.
+
+
+
+
+Princess Elizabeth.
+
+
+Princess of the Rhine, born in the year 1620. She was the eldest daughter
+of Frederick V., elector palatine and king of Bohemia, by Anne, daughter
+of James I., king of England. This excellent princess possessed only a
+small territory; but she governed it with great judgment and attention to
+the happiness of her subjects. She made it a rule to hear, one day in the
+week, all such causes as were brought before her. On these occasions, her
+wisdom, justice, and moderation, were very conspicuous. She frequently
+remitted forfeitures, in cases where the parties were poor, or in any
+respect worthy of favor. It was remarkable that she often introduced
+religious considerations as motives to persuade the contending parties to
+harmony and peace. She was greatly beloved and respected by her subjects,
+and also by many persons of learning and virtue not resident in her
+dominions; for she patronized men of this character, whatever might be
+their country or religious profession.
+
+In the year 1677, the famous William Penn paid her a visit, and was
+treated by her with great respect. The following account of her is taken
+from his works:--
+
+
+    "The meekness and humility of the princess appeared to me
+    extraordinary: she did not consider the quality, but the merit, of
+    the people she entertained. Did she hear of a retired man, seeking
+    after the knowledge of a better world, she was sure to set him
+    down in the catalogue of her charity, if he wanted it. I have
+    casually seen, I believe, fifty tokens of her benevolence, sealed
+    and directed to the several poor subjects of her bounty, whose
+    distance prevented them from being personally known to her. Thus,
+    though she kept no sumptuous table in her own court, she spread
+    the tables of the poor in their solitary cells; breaking bread to
+    virtuous pilgrims, according to their wants and her ability.
+
+    "She was abstemious in her living, and in apparel void of all vain
+    ornaments. I must needs say, that her mind had a noble prospect:
+    her eye was to a better and more lasting inheritance, than can be
+    found below. This made her not overrate the honors of her station,
+    or the learning of the schools, of which she was an excellent
+    judge. Being once at Hamburgh, a religious person, whom she went
+    to see for religion's sake, remarked to her, that 'it was too
+    great an honor for him, that a visitant of her quality, who was
+    allied to so many great kings and princes of this world, should
+    come under his roof:' to whom she humbly replied, 'If they were
+    religious, as well as great, it would be an honor indeed; but if
+    you knew what that greatness was, as well as I do, you would value
+    it less.'
+
+    "After a religious meeting which we had in her chamber, she was
+    much affected, and said, 'It is a hard thing to be faithful to
+    what one knows. O, the way is strait! I am afraid I am not weighty
+    enough in my spirit to walk in it.'
+
+    "She once withdrew, on purpose to give her servants, who were
+    religiously disposed, the liberty of discoursing with us that they
+    might the more freely put what questions of conscience they
+    desired to be satisfied in. Sometimes she suffered both them and
+    the poorest persons of her town to sit by her in her own chamber,
+    where we had two meetings. I cannot forget her last words, when I
+    took my leave of her:--'Let me desire you to remember me, though I
+    live at so great a distance, and you should never see me more. I
+    thank you for this good time. Be assured that, though my condition
+    subjects me to divers temptations, yet my soul has strong desires
+    after the best things.'
+
+    "She lived till the age of sixty years, and then departed at her
+    house in Herwerden, in the year 1680, as much lamented as she had
+    been beloved by her people. To her real worth I do, with a
+    religious gratitude, dedicate this memorial."
+
+
+
+
+Robert Boyle.
+
+
+An eminent philosopher, and a truly good man, was the son of Richard, earl
+of Cork, and was born at Lismore, in Ireland, in the year 1627. At Eton
+School, where he was educated, he soon discovered a force of understanding
+which promised great things, and a disposition to improve it to the
+utmost. During his education, and before he was ten years old, he was much
+afflicted with an ague, which considerably depressed his spirits; and, to
+divert his attention, he was persuaded to read Amadis de Gaul, and other
+romantic books. But this kind of reading, he says in his memoirs, produced
+such restlessness in him, that he was obliged to apply himself to
+mathematical studies, in order to fix and settle the volatility of his
+fancy. He died in the sixty-fifth year of his age.
+
+He was a man of great learning, and his stock of knowledge was immense.
+The celebrated Dr. Boerhaave has passed the following eulogium upon
+him:--"Boyle was the ornament of his age and country. Which of his writings
+shall I commend? All of them. To him we owe the secrets of fire, air,
+water, animals, vegetables, fossils; so that from his works may be deduced
+the whole system of natural knowledge."
+
+He was treated with particular kindness and respect by Charles II., as
+well as by the two great ministers Southampton and Clarendon. By the
+latter he was solicited to enter into orders; for his distinguished
+learning and unblemished reputation induced Lord Clarendon to think that
+so very respectable a personage would do great honor to the clergy. Boyle
+considered the proposal with due attention. He reflected that, in his
+present situation of life, whatever he wrote with respect to religion,
+would have greater weight, as coming from a layman; for he well knew that
+the irreligious fortified themselves against all that the clergy could
+offer, by supposing and saying that it was their trade, and that they were
+paid for it. He considered, likewise, that, in point of fortune and
+character, he needed no accessions; and, indeed, his desire for these was
+always very limited. But Bishop Burnet, to whom Boyle had communicated
+memorandums concerning his life, tells us that what had the greatest
+weight in determining his judgment, was, "the not feeling within himself
+any motion or tendency of mind which he could safely esteem a call from
+the Holy Spirit, and so not venturing to take holy orders, lest he should
+be found to have lied unto it."
+
+Bishop Burnet, who was Boyle's particular friend, and who, during an
+acquaintance of twenty-nine years, had spent many happy hours in
+conversation with him, gives a full account of his genuine piety and
+virtue, and of his zeal for the Christian religion. "This zeal," he says,
+"was unmixed with narrow notions, or a bigoted heat in favor of a
+particular sect; it was that spirit which is the ornament of a true
+Christian." Burnet mentions, as a proof of this, his noble foundation for
+lectures in defence of the gospel, against infidels of all sorts; the
+effects of which have been very conspicuous, in the many volumes of
+excellent discourses, which have been published in consequence of that
+laudable and pious design.
+
+The great object of his philosophical pursuits was to promote the cause of
+religion, and to discountenance atheism and infidelity. His intimate
+friend Bishop Burnet makes the following observations on this point:--"It
+appeared to those who conversed with him on his inquiries into nature,
+that his main design (on which as he had his own eye constantly fixed, so
+he took care to put others often in mind of it) was to raise in himself
+and others more exalted sentiments of the greatness and glory, the wisdom
+and goodness, of God. This design was so deeply impressed on his mind,
+that he concludes the article of his will, which relates to the Royal
+Society, in these words:--'I wish them a happy success in their attempts to
+discover the true nature of the works of God; and I pray that they, and
+all searchers into physical truths, may cordially refer their attainments
+to the glory of the great Author of nature, and to the comfort of
+mankind.' "
+
+On another occasion, the same person speaks of him thus--"He had the most
+profound veneration for the great God of heaven and earth that I ever
+observed in any man. The very name of God was never mentioned by him
+without a pause and observable stop in his discourse." So brightly did the
+example of this great and good man shine, through his whole course, that
+Bishop Burnet, on reviewing it, in a moment of pious exultation thus
+expressed himself:--"I might challenge the whole tribe of libertines to
+come and view the usefulness, as well as the excellence, of the Christian
+religion, in a life that was entirely dedicated to it."
+
+
+
+
+John Locke.
+
+
+A very celebrated philosopher, and one of the greatest men that England
+ever produced, born in the year 1632. He was well educated; and, applying
+himself with vigor to his studies, his mind became enlarged, and stored
+with much useful knowledge. He went abroad as secretary to the English
+ambassador at several of the German courts, and afterwards had the offer
+of being made envoy at the court of the emperor, or of any other that he
+chose; but he declined the proposal, on account of the infirm state of his
+health. He was a commissioner of trade and plantations, in which station
+he very honorably distinguished himself. Notwithstanding his public
+employments, he found leisure to write much for the benefit of mankind.
+His "Essay on Human Understanding," his "Discourses on Government," and
+his "Letters on Toleration," are justly held in the highest esteem.
+
+This enlightened man and profound reasoner was most firmly attached to the
+Christian religion. His zeal to promote it appeared, first, in his middle
+age, by publishing a discourse to demonstrate the reasonableness of
+believing Jesus to be the promised Messiah; and, afterwards, in the latter
+part of his life, by a Commentary on several of the Epistles of the
+apostle Paul. The sacred Scriptures are every where mentioned by him with
+the greatest reverence; and he exhorts Christians "to betake themselves in
+earnest to the study of the way to salvation, in those holy writings,
+wherein God has revealed it from heaven, and proposed it to the world;
+seeking our religion where we are sure it is in truth to be found,
+comparing spiritual things with spiritual."
+
+In a letter written the year before his death, to one who asked this
+question, "What is the shortest and surest way for a young man to attain
+the true knowledge of the Christian religion?" he says, "Let him study the
+holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament: therein are contained the
+words of eternal life. It has God for its author; salvation for its end;
+and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter." This advice was
+conformable to his own practice. "For fourteen or fifteen years, he
+applied himself in an especial manner to the study of the Scriptures, and
+employed the last years of his life hardly in any thing else. He was never
+weary of admiring the great views of that sacred book, and the just
+relation of all its parts: he every day made discoveries in it that gave
+him fresh cause of admiration."
+
+The consolation which he derived from divine revelation is forcibly
+expressed in these words:--"I gratefully receive and rejoice in the light
+of revelation, which has set me at rest in many things, the manner whereof
+my poor reason can by no means make out to me."
+
+After he had diligently employed a great part of his life in a variety of
+occupations, he chose a pleasing retirement for the remainder of his days.
+This leisure appears to have been productive of solid improvement, by
+enabling him to look calmly over the scenes of past life; to form a proper
+estimate of its enjoyments, and to dedicate himself more fully to the
+cause of piety and virtue.
+
+About two months before his death, in 1704, he wrote a letter to his
+friend Anthony Collins, and left this direction upon it:--"To be delivered
+to him after my decease." It concludes with the following remarkable
+words:--
+
+
+    "May you live long and happy, in the enjoyment of health, freedom,
+    content, and all those blessings which Providence has bestowed on
+    you, and to which your virtue entitles you. You loved me living,
+    and will preserve my memory when I am dead. All the use to be made
+    of it is, that this life is a scene of vanity, which soon passes
+    away, and affords no solid satisfaction, but in the consciousness
+    of doing well, and in the hopes of another life. This is what I
+    can say upon experience; and what you will find to be true, when
+    you come to make up the account. Adieu!"
+
+
+
+
+Joseph Addison.
+
+
+A celebrated English writer, born at Milston, in Wiltshire, in the year
+1672. About the age of fifteen, he was entered at Queen's College, Oxford,
+where, by his fine parts and great application, he made a surprising
+proficiency in classical learning. Before he left the university, he was
+warmly solicited to enter into orders; and he once resolved to do so; but
+his great modesty, and an uncommonly delicate sense of the importance of
+the sacred function, made him afterwards alter his resolution. He was
+highly respected by many of the greatest and the most learned of his
+contemporaries. He travelled into Italy, where he made many useful
+observations, and prepared materials for some of his literary works. On
+his return to England, he was chosen one of the lords commissioners for
+trade. In 1709, he was appointed secretary to the lord lieutenant of
+Ireland, and, in 1717, was advanced to the high office of secretary of
+state. He died in 1729.
+
+His writings have been of great use to the world, and his "Evidences of
+the Christian Religion" not the least so. Dr. Johnson, in delineating his
+character as a writer, gives the following amiable picture of him:--"He
+employed wit on the side of virtue and religion. He not only made the
+proper use of wit himself, but taught it to others; and, from his time, it
+has been generally subservient to the cause of reason and truth. He has
+dissipated the prejudice that had long connected cheerfulness with vice,
+and easiness of manners with laxity of principles. He has restored virtue
+to its dignity, and taught innocence not to be ashamed. This is an
+elevation of literary character above all Greek, above all Roman fame. As
+a teacher of wisdom, he may be confidently followed. His religion has
+nothing in it enthusiastic or superstitious; he appears neither weakly
+credulous nor wantonly skeptical; his morality is neither dangerously lax
+nor impracticably rigid. All the enchantment of fancy, and all the cogency
+of argument, are employed to recommend to the reader his real interest--the
+care of pleasing the Author of his being."
+
+Of his integrity in discharging the duties of his office, there is a
+striking proof recorded. When he was secretary in Ireland, he had
+materially promoted the interest of an individual, who offered him, in
+return, a bank note of three hundred pounds, and a diamond ring of the
+same value. These he strenuously refused to accept, and wrote to the
+person as follows:--"And now, sir, believe me, when I assure you I never
+did, nor ever will, on any pretence whatsoever, take more than the stated
+and customary fees of my office. I might keep the contrary practice
+concealed from the world, were I capable of it, but I could not from
+myself; and I hope I shall always fear the reproaches of my own heart more
+than those of all mankind."
+
+A mind conscious of its own uprightness, and humbly trusting in the
+goodness of God, has the best ground to look forward with complacency
+towards another life. The following lines of Addison are sweetly
+expressive of the peace and pleasure which he enjoyed in contemplating his
+future existence:--"The prospect of a future state is the secret comfort
+and refreshment of my soul. It is that which makes nature look cheerful
+about me; it doubles all my pleasures, and supports me under all my
+afflictions. I can look at disappointments and misfortunes, pain and
+sickness, death itself, with indifference, so long as I keep in view the
+pleasures of eternity, and the state of being in which there will be no
+fears nor apprehensions, pains nor sorrows."
+
+
+
+
+Isaac Watts.
+
+
+A learned and eminent dissenting minister, born at Southampton, in the
+year 1674, of parents who were distinguished by their piety and virtue. He
+died in 1748. He possessed an uncommon genius, of which he gave early
+proofs. He received a very liberal education, which was rendered highly
+beneficial to him by his own unwearied efforts to improve himself. After
+the most serious deliberation, he determined to devote his life to the
+ministry, of the importance of which office he had a deep and awful sense.
+He labored very diligently to promote the instruction and happiness of the
+people under his care, to whom, by his Christian conduct and amiable
+disposition, he greatly endeared himself.
+
+Soon after he had undertaken the pastoral office, his health sustained a
+severe shock by a painful and dangerous illness, from which he recovered
+very slowly. But, in the year 1712, he was afflicted with a violent fever,
+that entirely broke his constitution, and left such weakness upon his
+nerves, as continued with him, in some measure, to his dying day. For four
+years he was wholly prevented from discharging the public offices of his
+station. Though this long interval of sickness was, no doubt, very trying
+to his active mind, yet it proved ultimately a blessing to him; for it
+drew upon him the particular notice of Sir Thomas Abney, a very pious and
+worthy man, who, from motives of friendship, invited him into his family,
+in which he continued to the end of his life, and, for the long space of
+thirty-six years, was treated with uniform kindness, attention, and
+respect.
+
+This excellent man was, by his natural temper, quick of resentment; but,
+by his established and habitual practice, he was gentle, modest, and
+inoffensive. His tenderness appeared in his attention to children and to
+the poor. To the poor, while he lived in the family of his friend, he
+allowed the third part of his annual revenue; and for children, he
+condescended to lay aside the scholar, the philosopher, and the wit, to
+write little poems of devotion, and systems of instruction, adapted to
+their wants and capacities, from the dawn of reason, through its
+gradations of advance in the morning of life. Few men have left behind
+them such purity of character, or such monuments of laborious piety. He
+has provided instruction for all ages, from those who are lisping their
+first lessons, to the enlightened readers of Malebranche and Locke. His
+"Improvement of the Mind" is a work in the highest degree useful and
+pleasing. Whatever he took in hand was, by his incessant solicitude for
+souls, converted to theology. As piety predominated in his mind, it is
+diffused over his works. Under his direction, it may be truly said that
+philosophy is subservient to evangelical instruction: it is difficult to
+read a page without learning, or at least wishing to be better.
+
+The virtue of this good man eminently appeared in the happy state of his
+mind under great pains and weakness of body, and in the improvement which
+he derived from them. Of those seasons of affliction, he says, with a
+truly elevated mind and thankful heart, "I am not afraid to let the world
+know that, amidst the sinkings of life and nature, Christianity and the
+gospel were my support. Amidst all the violence of my distemper, and the
+tiresome months of it, I thank God I never lost sight of reason or
+religion, though sometimes I had much difficulty to preserve the machine
+of animal nature in such order as regularly to exercise either the man or
+the Christian."
+
+The sweet peace of conscience he enjoyed under these trying circumstances,
+and the rational and Christian foundation of his hope and trust in the
+divine goodness, are beautifully and justly expressed by him, in the
+following lines:--
+
+
+    "Yet, gracious God, amid these storms of nature,
+    Thine eyes behold a sweet and sacred calm
+    Reign through the realms of conscience; all within
+    Lies peaceful, all composed. 'Tis wondrous grace
+    Keeps off thy terrors from this humble bosom;
+    Though stained with sins and follies, yet serene
+    In penitential peace and cheerful hope,
+    Sprinkled and guarded with atoning blood,
+    Thy vital smiles, amidst this desolation,
+    Like heavenly sunbeams hid behind the clouds,
+    Break out in happy moments, with bright radiance
+    Cleaving the gloom; the fair, celestial light,
+    Softens and gilds the horrors of the storm,
+    And richest cordials to the heart conveys."
+
+
+
+
+Philip Doddridge.
+
+
+Born in London, in the year 1702. His parents, who were persons of great
+worth, brought him up in an early knowledge of religion; but he had the
+misfortune to lose them before he was fourteen years old. This
+circumstance excited in his mind very serious reflections, which, however,
+were not wholly of a gloomy nature; for he expressed a devout, and even a
+cheerful trust in the protection of the God of mercies, the universal
+Parent of mankind.
+
+He diligently improved his time, and was anxious to be daily advancing in
+knowledge, piety, virtue, and usefulness. He possessed strong powers of
+mind, and, by unwearied application, acquired a large fund of sound and
+elegant learning. His publications, which are chiefly on religious
+subjects, have been eminently useful to the world. By his literary
+acquisitions, his amiable disposition, and his desire to imbue the young
+mind with knowledge and virtue, he was qualified, in a peculiar manner, to
+become the instructor of youth; and for many years he superintended a very
+respectable academy. As the pastor of a congregation, he manifested a
+sincere and zealous regard for the happiness of the people under his care,
+by whom he was greatly honored and beloved.
+
+He possessed many virtues; but the prime and leading feature of his soul
+was devotion. He was very solicitous to preserve and cultivate an habitual
+sense of the Supreme Being, to maintain and increase the ardor of religion
+in his heart, and to prepare himself, by devout exercises, for the
+important labors of his station. Nor was it to his secret retirements that
+his piety was limited; it was manifested in every part of the day, and
+appeared in his usual intercourse with men. In the little vacancies of
+time which occur to the busiest of mankind, he was frequently lifting up
+his soul to God. When he lectured on philosophy, history, anatomy, or
+other subjects not immediately theological, he would endeavor to graft
+some religious instructions upon them, that he might raise the minds of
+his pupils to devotion, as well as to knowledge; and, in his visits to his
+people, the Christian friend and minister were united.
+
+The piety of Dr. Doddridge was accompanied with the warmest benevolence to
+his fellow-creatures. No one could more strongly feel that the love of God
+was to be united with love to man. Nor was this a principle that rested in
+kind wishes and pathetic feelings for the happiness of others, but it was
+manifested in the most active exertions for their welfare. No scheme of
+doing good was ever suggested to him into which he did not enter with
+ardor. But the generosity of his mind was most displayed when any plans of
+propagating religion, and of spreading the gospel among those who were
+strangers to it, were proposed. In every thing of this kind he was always
+ready to take the lead, and was ardent in endeavoring to inspire his
+friends with the same spirit.
+
+He was of a weak and delicate bodily constitution; and a severe cold which
+he caught about the forty-eighth year of his age, brought on a consumption
+of the lungs. The nearer he approached to his dissolution, the more
+plainly was observed his continual improvement in a spiritual and heavenly
+temper. Indeed, he seemed to have risen above the world, and to be daily
+breathing after immortality. This disposition of his mind was ardently
+expressed in several of his letters, and is manifest from his will, which
+was made at this time, and is prefaced in the following language:--"Whereas
+it is customary, on these occasions, to begin with commending the soul
+into the hands of God, through Christ, I do it; not in mere form, but with
+sincerity and joy; esteeming it my greatest happiness, that I am taught
+and encouraged to do it, by that glorious gospel, which, having most
+assuredly believed, I have spent my life in preaching to others; and which
+I esteem an infinitely greater treasure than all my little worldly store,
+or possessions ten thousand times greater than mine."
+
+A short time before his death, he had been induced to try the mild air of
+the south; but change of climate did not produce the desired effect, and
+Dr. Doddridge continued gradually to weaken, till death put a period to
+his afflictions. In his last hours, he preserved the same calmness, vigor,
+and joy of mind, which he had felt and expressed through the whole of his
+illness. The only pain he had in the thought of dying, was the fear of
+that grief and distress which his wife would suffer from his removal. To
+his children, his congregation, and his friends in general, he desired to
+be remembered in the most affectionate manner; nor did he, in the
+effusions of his pious benevolence, forget the family where he lodged, or
+his own servant. Many devout sentiments and aspirations were uttered by
+him; but the heart of his wife was too much affected with his approaching
+change to be able to recollect them distinctly. Though he died in a
+foreign land, and, in a certain sense, among strangers, his decease was
+embalmed with many tears. His age was 49 years.
+
+
+
+
+John Murray.
+
+
+A distinguished preacher of Universalism in the United States, born in
+Alton, county of Hampshire, England, on the 10th of December, 1741.
+
+When he had attained his eleventh year, the family removed to Ireland, in
+the vicinity of Cork. While here, he was converted to Methodism, and
+gained the attention of John Wesley, by whom he was appointed a
+class-leader. He was very earnest and devout in his religious exercises,
+and was regarded by his brethren as a valuable accession to their church.
+About this time his father died, and he shortly after left Ireland for
+England. He took up his residence in London, and was gradually led into
+gay society. The secret monitor, however, frequently reproached him, and
+finally brought him back again to the services of the sanctuary, and
+quickened the flame of religious devotion. At this time his prejudices
+against Universalism were very strong; his soul "kindled with indignation"
+against them. But, shortly after his marriage to a very amiable young lady
+of London, he was induced to visit Mr. Relly's chapel, the preacher of
+universal salvation; and, notwithstanding he had been so filled with wrath
+against Mr. Relly, that, as he subsequently said, he thought it would have
+been doing both God and man service to kill him, yet he was moved to
+tenderness by his preaching and subsequently became an attendant on his
+ministry. Rich were the consolations enjoyed by him and his amiable wife
+in their new faith. But great sorrows awaited him; she sickened and died;
+and the death-scene is described by himself, in his autobiography, with
+thrilling effect. He would gladly have accompanied her to the
+spirit-world. He was now alone; he felt himself a solitary being; he had
+no taste for the joys of life; his mind dwelt only on death and eternity;
+he was unfitted for society; and in this state of mind, Providence seems
+to have directed his thoughts to America. He resolved to embark; and, in
+the month of September, 1770, he landed upon the shores of New Jersey.
+Here he became at once acquainted with a philanthropic landholder, by the
+name of Thomas Potter, who, in the belief that God would send him a
+preacher, had erected a meeting-house, and who insisted that Murray was
+the man whom God had sent. In this house Murray commenced his labors as a
+preacher; and from this time, he is to be contemplated as the public
+advocate of Universalism, on the system of Relly. He soon visited the city
+of New York, and various other cities and towns in the Middle States,
+preaching the gospel whithersoever he went. His first visit to Boston was
+made in October, 1773, and his second in September, 1774. It was during
+this second visit that he was stoned in the pulpit of Rev. Mr. Croswell,
+in School Street. About this time he visited Gloucester, Massachusetts,
+which was afterwards his residence for many years. In 1775, he was
+appointed by General Washington chaplain to the Rhode Island troops, in
+the army then lying around Boston. He soon, however, returned to his
+charge in Gloucester, where he remained, making frequent visits to
+different parts of the United States, until October, 1793, when he was
+ordained pastor of the First Universalist Society in Boston, which had
+purchased the house of worship formerly occupied by the society of Dr.
+Samuel Mather. His labors were not confined to this society, however; in
+one respect he was a minister at large; he continued his itinerant habits,
+more or less, until October, 1809, when he was stricken with the palsy. He
+lived nearly six years after this affliction, and expired on the third day
+of September, 1815. He was buried in the Granary burying-ground, where his
+remains were suffered to lie unhonored until 1837, when they were removed
+to Mount Auburn, and a monument was erected to his memory. The monument is
+a beautiful fluted column, surmounted by an urn. It is encircled by a
+belt, or tablet, on which two inscriptions are placed; on one side--
+
+
+    "JOHN MURRAY, Preacher of the Gospel; born in Alton, England,
+    December 10, 1741; died in Boston, September 3, 1815; reentombed
+    beneath this stone, June 8, 1837."
+
+
+On the opposite side--
+
+
+    "Erected at the recommendation of the United States General
+    Convention of Universalists."
+
+
+
+
+Elhanan Winchester.
+
+
+A distinguished advocate of Universalism, born in Brookline,
+Massachusetts, September 30, 1751. In his nineteenth year, he was
+converted, under the preaching of the Baptists; and it was by his labors
+that the present Baptist society in Newton was originally gathered. In the
+autumn of 1774, he made a journey to the Southern States. Early in 1778,
+he first saw Siegvolk's "Everlasting Gospel," a work which originally
+appeared in Holland, but which had been translated and published by the
+Mennonites of Pennsylvania. It made a very deep impression upon his mind.
+In 1779, he came back to New England, his convictions of the truth of
+Universalism increasing upon him daily. He set out on his return to South
+Carolina in the autumn of 1780, and arrived at Philadelphia on the 7th of
+October. Here he intended to remain but a few days; but God evidently had
+a great work for him to do in this place. Even his enemies acknowledged
+that his "manner of preaching was popular, his address very fascinating,
+and his appearance dignified and commanding." The Baptist church in that
+city invited him to tarry and preach to them, and he at length consented.
+About this time he read "Stonehouse on Universal Restitution," which
+served to confirm him greatly in his belief of that doctrine.
+Notwithstanding his great popularity, a discontent began to show itself in
+certain members of the church. He foresaw that a storm was rising, and he
+determined to prepare for it; not (to use his words) "by denying what I
+had said, but by more fully examining, and determining for myself, whether
+the sentiment was according to Scripture, or not. If I found it was not, I
+was determined to retract; but if it was, to hold it fast, let the
+consequences be what they might." Such was his truly Christian resolution.
+He avowed his belief in the final happiness of all men.
+
+A majority of the church were in his favor; but, being a man of remarkably
+peaceful disposition, he did not urge them to press their claims to the
+meeting-house; but they retired to the hall of the university, where they
+held their meetings for about four years, until they purchased a place for
+themselves. During the rest of his life, he is to be viewed as the public
+advocate of universal restitution. There were several eminent men who
+adhered to him, and among others, Dr. Redman, and the celebrated Dr.
+Benjamin Rush, who remained his correspondent when he was in Europe. Added
+to all his other troubles, his domestic afflictions were very great. At
+the age of thirty-two, he had buried four wives. The fifth was a desperate
+fury, who gave him great trouble as long as he lived. After preaching
+about six years in Philadelphia, he was seized with an irresistible
+impulse to visit England. No persuasions could divert him from the
+purpose; and in September, 1787, he arrived, almost penniless, and a total
+stranger, in the great metropolis of the British empire. He preached in
+different parts of London, and, by his fervid eloquence and earnest
+defence of the restoration, he soon gathered a congregation, who took for
+him the chapel in Parliament Court, in which he held his meetings until
+his departure for America. He spent six years and a half in this country,
+laboring assiduously to bring men to the knowledge of the truth; and a
+deep and wide impression was made by his labors. In consequence of the ill
+treatment he experienced from his wife, he was obliged to leave her; and
+he quitted England privately, and came home, filling the friends whom he
+had left behind with amazement, being ignorant at first what had befallen
+him. He arrived in Boston in July, 1794. Various were the speculations in
+this country in regard to his return. But he commenced at once his labors
+as a preacher, travelling in several of the states,--visited his former
+friends in Philadelphia, where he was joined by his wife, who had come
+home to America, and whom he freely forgave. It became evident, about this
+time, that his health was greatly impaired; and an increasing asthma
+foretold a fatal termination. He came to Hartford, Connecticut, in
+October, 1796, and raised a congregation, to which he preached until he
+could preach no more. In April, 1797, he delivered a sermon, under a
+strong presentiment that it was his last, from St. Paul's farewell address
+to the elders of the Ephesian church. He never entered the desk again. He
+contemplated his death with serenity and joy. On the morning of his
+decease, he commenced singing the hymn with several of his
+friends,--"Farewell, my friends in Christ below," but his voice soon
+faltered, and the torpor of death fell on him. His friends became
+disconcerted, and ceased to sing; but he revived a little, and encouraged
+them to go on, joining in the first line of each verse, until his voice
+was actually "lost in death." This was on the 18th of April, 1797, in the
+47th year of his age. His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Strong,
+of Hartford, who bore a frank testimony to Mr. Winchester's excellent
+character, and his final constancy in the doctrine he had preached.
+
+The following is the inscription on the stone erected to his memory:--
+
+
+    "The General Convention of the Universal Churches, in Memory of
+    their dear departed Brother, the REV. ELHANAN WINCHESTER, erected
+    this Monumental Stone.
+
+    He died April 18th, 1797, aged 46 years.
+
+    Twas thine to preach, with animated zeal,
+      The glories of the resurrection morn,
+    When sin, death, hell, the power of Christ shall feel,
+      And light, life, immortality, be born."
+
+
+
+
+Saint Genevieve.
+
+
+Born at Nanterre, about five miles from Paris, in the year 423, about the
+time of Pharamond, the first king of France. St. Germain, bishop of
+Auxerre, observing in her, when yet very young, a particular disposition
+to sanctity, advised her to take a vow of perpetual virginity, which she
+accordingly did in the presence of the bishop of Paris. After the death of
+her parents, she went to Paris. The city was about to be deserted, when
+Attila, with his Huns, broke into France; but Genevieve assured the
+inhabitants of complete security, if they would seek it by fervent
+prayers. Attila took his course from Champaigne to Orleans, returned
+thence into Champaigne, without touching Paris, and was defeated in 451.
+By this event, Genevieve's reputation was established. In a time of
+famine, she went along the River Seine, from city to city, and soon
+returned with twelve large vessels loaded with grain, which she
+distributed gratuitously among the sufferers. This increased her
+authority, and she was highly honored by Merovaeus and Chilperic. Nothing,
+however, contributed more to her reputation for sanctity, than the
+circumstance, that, from her fifteenth to her fiftieth year, she ate
+nothing but barley-bread, except that she took some beans every two or
+three weeks, and, after her fiftieth year, some fish and milk. In 460, she
+built a church over the graves of St. Dionysius Rusticus and Eleutherius,
+near the village of Chasteville, where Dagobert afterwards founded the
+abbey of St. Denys. She died in 499 or 501, and her body was placed in the
+subterraneous chapel which St. Denys had consecrated to the apostles Paul
+and Peter. Clovis, by her request, built a church over it, which was
+afterwards called by her name, as was also the abbey that was founded
+there. Another church, consecrated to this saint, was built adjoining to
+the church of Notre Dame. Her relics are preserved in the former. The
+church celebrates the third of January, the day on which she died, in
+honor of her.
+
+
+
+
+Gilbert Burnet.
+
+
+Bishop of Salisbury, was born at Edinburgh, in the year 1643. He was
+carefully educated by his father; and, having a strong constitution and a
+prodigious memory, he applied himself closely to study, and acquired a
+great portion of learning and knowledge, which he seemed to have ready for
+all occasions. He travelled through France, Italy, and Holland, where he
+formed connections with many of the greatest persons of his time, by whom
+he was much respected for his talents and virtues. At Amsterdam, he became
+acquainted with the leading men of the different persuasions tolerated in
+the United Provinces--Calvinists, Arminians, Lutherans, Anabaptists,
+Brownists, Roman Catholics, and Unitarians; amongst each of which, he used
+frequently to declare, he met with men of such unfeigned piety and virtue,
+that he became strongly fixed in a principle of universal charity, and an
+invincible abhorrence of all severities on account of religious opinions.
+
+The following sentiments, which he solemnly uttered towards the conclusion
+of his days, are very expressive of the nature and power of true religion,
+and of its influence upon his own mind:--
+
+"I recommend," he observes, "to all sorts of men, in the most serious
+manner, the study and practice of religion, as that which is the most
+important of all things, and which is both the light of the world, and the
+salt of the earth.
+
+"Nothing so opens our faculties, and composes and directs the whole man,
+as an inward sense of God; of his authority over us; of the laws he has
+set us; of his eye ever upon us; of his hearing our prayers, assisting our
+endeavors, watching over our concerns; of his being to judge, and reward
+or punish, us in another state, according to what we have done in this.
+Nothing will give us such a detestation of sin, and such a sense of the
+goodness of God, and of our obligations to holiness, as a right
+understanding and firm belief of the Christian religion.
+
+"By living according to the rules of religion, a man becomes the wisest,
+the best, and the happiest creature that he is capable of being. Honest
+industry, the employing of time well, a constant sobriety, an undefiled
+purity and chastity, with continued serenity, are the best preservatives,
+too, of life and health; so that, take a man as an individual, religion is
+his guard, his perfection, his beauty, and his glory. This will make him a
+light in the world, shining brightly, and enlightening many round about
+him.
+
+"Thus religion, if truly received and sincerely adhered to, would prove
+the greatest of all blessings to a nation. But by religion I understand
+something more than receiving particular doctrines, though ever so true,
+or professing them, and engaging to support them, even with zeal and
+eagerness. What signify the best doctrines, if men do not live suitably to
+them; if they have not a due influence upon their thoughts and their
+lives? Men of bad lives, with sound opinions, are self-condemned, and lie
+under a highly-aggravated guilt.
+
+"By religion I do not mean an outward compliance with forms and customs,
+in going to church, to prayers, to sermons, and to sacraments, with an
+external show of devotion; or, which is more, with some inward forced good
+thoughts, in which many satisfy themselves, while these have no visible
+effect on their lives, nor any inward force to control and rectify their
+appetites, passions, and secret designs. These customary performances, how
+good and useful soever when understood and rightly directed, are of little
+value when men rest on them, and think, because they do them, they have
+acquitted themselves of their duty, though they still continue proud,
+covetous, full of deceit, envy, and malice. Even secret prayers, the most
+effectual means, are designed for a higher end; which is, to possess our
+minds with such a constant and present sense of divine truths, as may make
+these live in us, and govern us, and draw down such assistance, as to
+exalt and sanctify our natures.
+
+"So that, by religion, I mean such a sense of divine truth as enters into
+a man, and becomes the spring of a new nature within him; reforming his
+thoughts and designs; purifying his heart; sanctifying and governing his
+whole deportment, his words as well as his actions; convincing him that it
+is not enough not to be scandalously vicious, or to be innocent in his
+conversation, but that he must be entirely, uniformly, and constantly,
+pure and virtuous, animated with zeal to be still better and better, more
+eminently good and exemplary.
+
+"This is true religion, which is the perfection of human nature, and the
+joy and delight of every one that feels it active and strong within him.
+It is true, this is not arrived at all at once, and it will have an
+unhappy alloy, hanging long even about a good man; but, as those ill
+mixtures are the perpetual grief of his soul, so that it is his chief care
+to watch over and to mortify them, he will be in a continual progress,
+still gaining ground upon himself; and as he attains to a degree of
+purity, he will find a noble flame of life and joy growing up in him. Of
+this I write with a greater concern and emotion, because I have felt it to
+be the true, and, indeed, the only joy which runs through a man's heart
+and life. It is this which has been, for many years, my greatest support.
+I rejoice daily in it. I feel from it the earnest of that supreme joy
+which I want and long for; and I am sure there is nothing else which can
+afford any true and complete happiness."
+
+This eminent scholar, Christian, and divine, departed this life on the
+seventeenth of March, 1714.
+
+
+
+
+
+THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS.
+
+
+Name.          Place.         Denom.     Open.   Prof.   Stud.   Total.
+Bangor         Bangor,        Cong.       1816       3      43      139
+Theol.         Me.
+Seminary
+New Hampt.     N.             Baptist     1828       2      36       75
+Theo. Inst.    Hampt.,
+               N. H.
+Gilmanton      Gilmanton      Cong.       1835       3      26       21
+Theol. Sem.    do.
+Theological    Andover,       Cong.       1808       5     142      785
+Seminary.      Mass.
+Divinity       Cambridge,     Cong.       1816       2      27      191
+Sch. Harv.     do.            Unit.
+Univ.
+Theological    Newton,        Baptist     1825       3      33      137
+Institution    do.
+Theol. Dep.    N. Haven,      Cong.       1822       3      61      245
+Yale College   Ct.
+Theol. Inst.   E.             Cong.       1834       3      29       37
+of Conn.       Windsor,
+               do.
+Theol. Inst.   New York,      Prot.       1817       5      74      186
+Epis. Church   N. Y.          Epis.
+New York       do. do.        Presbyt.    1836       4     129
+Theol. Sem.
+Theol. Sem.    Auburn,        Presbyt.    1821       4      71      344
+of Auburn      do.
+Hamilton       Hamilton,      Baptist     1820       4      27      124
+Lit. and Th.   do.
+Inst.
+Hartwick       Hartwick,      Lutheran    1816       2       3
+Seminary       do.
+Theol. Sem.    Newburgh,      Ass.        1836       3      11
+As. Ref. Ch.   do.            Ref. Ch.
+Th. Sem.       N. Br'wick     Dutch       1784       3      36      179
+Dutch Ref.     N. J.          Ref.
+Ch.
+Theol. Sem.    Princeton,     Presbyt.    1812       5     113      714
+Pr. Ch. U.     do.
+S.
+Sem. Luth.     Gettysburg,    Evang.      1826       3      26      130
+Ch. U.         Pa.            L.
+States
+German         York, do.      G. Ref.     1825       2      20
+Reformed                      Ch.
+West. Theol.   Alleghany      Presbyt.    1828       2      31      175
+Seminary       T. do.
+Theological    Canonsburg,    Asso.                  2      22       47
+School         do.            Ch.
+Theological    Pittsburg,     Asso.       1828       1      19
+Seminary       do.            Ref.
+Mercersburg    Mercersburg,
+Theol. Sem.    do.
+Epis. Theol.   Fairfax Co.,   Prot.       1822       4      43      126
+School of      Va.            Epis.
+Va.
+Union Theol.   Pr. Ed. Co.,   Presbyt.    1824       3      20      175
+Seminary       do.
+Virginia       Richmond,      Baptist     1832       3      67
+Baptist        do.
+Seminary
+Southern       Columbia, S.   Presbyt.    1831       3      18       62
+Theol.         C.
+Seminary
+Theological    Lexington,     Lutheran    1835       2      10       20
+Seminary       do.
+Furman         High Hills,    Baptist                2      30       30
+Theol.         do.
+Seminary
+Lit. and       Eaton, Ga.     Baptist     1834              10
+Theol.
+Seminary
+South-West.    Maryville,     Presbyt.    1821       2      24       90
+Theol. Sem.    Ten.
+Lane           Cincinnati,    Presbyt.    1829       3      61       43
+Seminary       Ohio.
+Theol. Dep,    Gambier, do.   Prot.       1828       3      10
+Ken. College                  Epis.
+Theol. Dep.    Hudson, do.    Presbyt.               3      14        6
+Wes. Res.
+Col.
+Theological    Columbus,      Lutheran
+School         do.
+Granville      Granville,     Baptist     1832       2       8
+Theol. Dep.    do.
+Oberlin        Oberlin, do.   Presbyt.    1834       4      58
+Theol. Dep.
+Indiana        S. Hanover,    Presbyt.               2      10
+Theol.         In.
+Seminary
+Alton Theol.   Upper Alton,   Baptist     1835
+Seminary       Il.
+Carlinville    Carlinville,   Presbyt.    1838
+Theol. Sem.    do.
+Theol. Dep.    N. Palmyra,    Presbyt.               1
+Marion Col.    Mo.
+
+For a notice of the Roman Catholic seminaries, see page 325.
+
+Progress Of Christianity.
+
+M. LAFFON DE LADEBAT, of France, computes the number of Christians, in
+each century, since the Christian era, as follows:--
+
+1st century       500,000
+2d              2,000,000
+3d              5,000,000
+4th            10,000,000
+5th            15,000,000
+6th            30,000,000
+7th            25,000,000
+8th            30,000,000
+9th            40,000,000
+10th           50,000,000
+11th           60,000,000
+12th           70,000,000
+13th           75,000,000
+14th           80,000,000
+15th          100,000,000
+16th          125,000,000
+17th          155,000,000
+18th          200,000,000
+
+Since the commencement of the nineteenth century, the number of Christians
+has increased, with great rapidity, in all parts of the world.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES
+
+
+    1 The 21st of the former Articles is omitted, because it is partly of
+      a local and civil nature, and is provided for, as to the remaining
+      parts of it, in other Articles.
+
+    2 "As far as it respects civil affairs, we believe it the duty of
+      Christians, and especially all Christian ministers, to be subject to
+      the supreme authority of the country where they may reside, and to
+      use all laudable means to enjoin obedience to the powers that be;
+      and therefore it is expected that all our preachers and people, who
+      may be under the British or any other government, will behave
+      themselves as peaceable and orderly subjects."
+
+    3 "The question is, not whether God, all things considered, has
+      purposed the existence of sin rather than to prevent it; but for
+      what _reason_ has he purposed it? Some affirm this _reason_ to be,
+      _that sin is the necessary means of the greatest good_. Now, what I
+      claim, and all that I claim, is, that _no one can prove this to be
+      the reason_ why God has purposed the existence of sin, and that some
+      other may be _the true reason_, without affirming what the true
+      reason is."
+
+    4 The Exode did not begin until Terah's death; then Abraham left
+      Haran, and the Exode began, as is clearly proved by Acts 7:4.
+
+    5 Exode in Egypt from Abraham to wilderness state.
+
+    6 Joshua was a young man when he came out of Egypt, (Exod. 33:11;)
+      could not have been more than 45 years old then; 85 when he entered
+      Canaan, and 110 when he died, leaves 25 years.
+
+    7 Judges begin. See Judges 2:7-15.
+
+    8 This ends the Judges,--448 years. Acts 13:20; also, chap. 8.
+
+    9 Samuel could not have been more than 38 when Eli died. Then, Israel
+      was lamenting the loss of the ark more than 20 years. Samuel judged
+      Israel some years after, and became old, and his sons judged Israel.
+      He must have been 62 or 63 when Saul was made king.
+
+   10 See 2 Kings, chapters 14 and 15.
+
+   11 See Ferguson's Astronomy; also, Prideaux's Connection.
+
+   12 See BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
+
+   13 17 churches, 16 ministers, and 2236 members, in this state, are
+      included in the New York Association.
+
+   14 9 churches, 7 ministers, and 526 members, in this state, are
+      included in the Mississippi Association.
+
+   15 Archbishop Cranmer was the first in this succession, at and after
+      the Reformation; and Bishop White was the connecting link between
+      the English and American successions.
+
+   16 The reader will perceive some difference in the dates, and also in
+      the spelling between this list and the list of Bishops, p. 315. This
+      difference arises from the following of different authorities in the
+      chronology and spelling by the compilers of the two lists. It will
+      be seen that they agree in the order of succession, with one or two
+      exceptions. The fourth and fifth names in _this_ list are generally
+      considered as the same individual, and the best authorities place
+      him before Clement. The other apparent differences in the succession
+      are caused by the inserting in _this_ list of the names of all who
+      were in the see of Rome at any time; while in the other, those who
+      were not lawful bishops of Rome are omitted.
+
+
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOOK OF RELIGIONS***
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author	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-14 19:53:34 -0700
committer	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-14 19:53:34 -0700
commit	5b6828f56cb912d29c8804c720b8791ef9ffebd5 (patch)
tree	ba0332724abc856061698124df7950cd29315704 /30323.txt