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Is rtot my word like «n 11 r.ii'? saith tiit; Lord : and liUu a iiaaitucr that bruakuth the rucU ia piiCL'sV"— Jkuemiah Xiiii. 18, iil). H A L I F \ X , N . S . PIMNTED AT THE " CllRl -Tl AN MESSENGER" OFFICE 1S50. K\*..V-*.■'A<.■.>^^.. % SQllIPTURE AND TRADITION. I .should not have thought it necessary to take any public notice of Mr. Maturin's pamphlet, if it had merely announced his abandonment of the Church of England for the Church of Rome. Some will say that there was not a long journey before him ; and certainly, from the point to which ho had advanced, some time before he openly changed sides, he had not far to go. Nor would the transfer of his allegiance from the Queen (as Head of the Church) to the Pope have occa- sioned any icmonstrance or rebuke, as though he had done what he had no right to do. Our country is free. If any of its inhabitants choose to renounce the opinions they formerly professed, to exchange Protestantism for Romanism, or the contrary, or even to become Mormons or Mahommedans, no one can call in question their liberty, and no Protestant would restrain it. However we may regret their choice, and how- ever perilous to their souls, as we think, the course they have taken, we cannot interfere with them, except in the way of argument or persuasion; and in all civil i"; tters they are just where they were, so long as they conduct tut nselves peaceably and obey the laws. Under British rule all good subjects pos- sess and enjoy eipal rights. It is not so in Spain — nor in Austria — nor in Italy — nor in France. And how great a blessing is freedom of discussion ! If, in any of the above-mentioned countries, a pamphlet should be published in explanation or defence of Protestantism, the author would expose himself to fine and imprisonment, at least — perhaps to peril of life or limb. But here he may write, and teach, and preach, as he pleases, so long as he abstains from sedition or libel. No policeman will seize his book or 4 HCUIl'TUUK AND TllAUlTlON. touch his person. No judge will oiiiorttiin a clior^'O ii^'ainst him. lit! is under the /^UiirdiiUiship of the hiw. Jliis lilxirty is guaranteed. Thanks be to (juU lor the rights of J'lngli.sh* uien ! Ill hoeoining a conviTt to Uonianit;ni, however, Mr. IMahirin has forsiken Jiot only the (■(.niniunion of the (Munch of Eng- land, hut of Protectant inn it^eIi'. Jle has ahan(k)ned the }irin- ciples whieh arc eonnnon to all J'rotestunt C'hurehes. Ilifl reasons for so doing are contained in Lis pani|»hlet, and they are (Mititlcd to siirious and iinftartial consideration. lie «;ominences by giving a skctcii of his religious iiistory. It is an alleeting ruinative. The perusal of it lias led mo irresistibly to the conclusion that JMr. iMaturin ought never to have bec'onie a elergynian of the Church of Kngn.nd. llj hia own showing his mind was in an unsettled state shortly after the close of hi* university studies, and in 1840 he was troubled with "doubts as to the true position of the Church of J*'ng- land." He entered on a course of iuf^uiry. Tiie canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, and the Konian Missal, were canii'ully studied ; they were his " constant conipanionft," and •'a great part of them was connnitted to inenioiy." Thus he obtained " a clear and comprehensive view of the ('atholic sys- tem in all it.s proportions," and "could not help aihubing its beauty and cotisistency." Htill he was not (]uiie siti.vlied, His "peace was broken," his " soul was rc-tless," and he found " little comfort in the Protestant worship." Then he read the llhoiuiish Testament, with all the originni notes (no lig'it tusk!), and his former opinions were "com^ilotely shaken." Desirous of becoming " more luliy ac(]^uainted with tiie practi- cal working of the systcan," ho attended High Tuass, " on the 12th December, 1841, in the Church of tlj immaeulatG Concej»tion, Marlborough l^treet, Dublin," and that event, he says, " constitvitcd a new era" in his religious hi. tory. Yet he could not decide. He *' continued in the same un^( mfbrtable state, month after month — reading, praying, doubting laid believiu:' — without beln^ al)le to come to any ihial delermina* Mil. matuiun's EAULY DOUnTS. 5 tion." Having •' net upurt tlio whole .season of Lout, 1842, for a sj)i)cial oxmuination of the suhji'iit, with fasting]; and prayer," he road Cardinal Wisonian's " Les coiitiiiii sufllicient- !y nil (loi'triiio rctjuiriMl of necessity for etornul salvation, thrcuu'li faith in Jcsiw Christ ; and ;.royou dotonninod with t\n) .said Scripturos to instruct tho people coniinitted to your ('liar^(\ !ind to teach nothing (as ,^"04111 red of necessity to eter- nal salvation) but that you shall he p(.'rsuailed may be conclu- dod and proved by the Scripture?" The reply was — "lam so persuaded, and have so detonnined hy (Jod's grace." Mr. Maturin's own account of himself indicates that he must have !)3on very feobly " persuaded" and " determined ;" so feebly, that it would have been wiser and safer to continue among the laity. Notwithstanding his doubts and difficulties, however ho discharged the duties of his office, and, while ho was busily engaged in investigating the controversy between Protestants and Roman Oatholies, with a manifest leaning to the Church which he lui.s now joined, was accustomed to expatiate at length, in his public ministrations, and that oven to the last, on tho erroi'2 >\va[ eorru[)tions of the Church of Home. Now, [ do not charge Mr. ^Maturin with •' hypocrisy and dissimu- lation," — a charge which he not unnaturally apprehends will bo brought against him ; but I caimot refrain from expressing my full conviction that he has boon in a wrong position from the beginning. Ho ought not to have become a Protestant, minister. How ho satisfied his conscience, I cannot imagine. A strange hallucination seems to have possessed him. Perhaps it has not yet pissed away. It may bo that Cod has mercy in store for him, and will " give him repentance to the acknow- iodging of tho truth." Boforo I proceed to exr.mine the positions assumed by Mr Maturin, it may be expedient to take some notice of certain historical statements found in his letter. Mr. Maturin says (p. 9.) that " it is admitted that St. Peter was Bishop of Antioch before he was Bishop of Rome." Neither ETIDENCE AOAINST I'ETKIl'S HETiSa AT HOME. 7 (ho one nor tlic otiicr \h udnnttod. ]Joth arc fictions. They have no lilstoricr.l loutidation to Htaiul on. Thoy were unknown to the earliewt CJhrlstiun writern. So much haH been«iid about i*etcr'.s being IJi.shop of Homo, and about the Popes being hia HUCecHsors, tiuit the fact ha.s at length been taken for granted without furtlier iiK^uiry. But there are critics now at work who are able and willing to render the name service to the occloHia.stical department of history as has been already ren- dered to the secular. Fables and legends will be cleared away. It is extremely doubtful whether Peter was ever at Home at all ; at any rate, there is no proof of his presence in the city till just before his nairtyrdom. The allegation that he was seven years Bishop of Antioch, and twenty-five years in the same office at Home, it totally inconsistent with the chronology of his life. It is now pretty generally agreed that he suffered death in the vear 07. If he had been then twenty-five years Bishop of Home, he must have entered on his office in the year 42 ; and if, at that time, he had been seven years Bishop of Antioch, his episcopate there must have conunenced in the year 85. But there was then no Church at Antioch; the Gospel had not been preached in that city? There is no proof, but rather strong presumption to the con- trary, that Peter left Palestine till aiter the year 50, when the meeting was held of which we have an account in the fifteenth chapter of the Acts. It is probable that he travelled in Asia Minor. A visit of his to Antioch is noticed by the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians ; the circumstances at- tending that visit forbid the supposition of a lengthened resi- . 41.) t hat *'the Church of Home in the ninetecnlh century is csseutiitlly the same iu doctrine witli the Church of Kome in the first century." This is an astonishing tliscovery. JJut we question if even his new friends will endorse the statement. They know better. -They Ivnow that the ecclesiastical develop- ment hnd not then begun. Home in the fii'st cejjtury had a much shorter creed than Home will now consent to ret;eive or prescribe. All we have to do is to compare Paul's Epistle to the Honiaiis with the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, and especially the third and fourth chapters of the Epistle with the Council's decisions on justification. The con- trariety between the two authorities is so manifest that no fur- ther consideration c+ Mr. Maturin's statement is needful. "The Protestant Canon," says Mr. Maturin. (p. 58.) "does not agree, in all its parts, with the sacred books enumerated by any one ancient Council or Father of the Christian Church." This is boldly put. We shall see what credit is due to the assertion. One authority will suffice. Whoever will read Jerome's Prologus Galeatus, as it is sometimes called, and his Prafatio in Libros Salomonis, will find that the Canon of Scripture, as held by that learned Father, was precisely the same as the Protestant Canon, and that he explicitly affirms of the Apocryphal books that they are "not canonical." Je- rome died A. D., 420. Speaking of the first four General Councils, Mr. Maturin says (p. 91.) that "it is a remarkable fact that every one of these Councils contains a clear and unequivocal testimony to the supremacy of the Pope in the universal church." " Hemarka- ble" enough, it would be, no doubt, if it could be proved that before the close of the fifth century the "supremacy of the Pope" had become an acknowledged fact. Mr. Maturin has presumed too much on the ignorance of the Christian public in making this statement. The first General Council was held at Nice, A. D., 325. 10 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. Its sixth canon is thus expressed: — "Let the ancient customs be maintained with regard to Egypt, Libya, and the Pentapolis, so that the bishop of Alexandria may exercise authority in those countries, as also is the practice of the Bishop of Home. In like manner also, in Antioch, and the other eparchies, let the privileges of the Churches be preserved."* There is no " supremacy of the Pope " here, ii/e presided over Provirces in Italy, as metropolitan ; the Bishop of Alexandria held simi- lar authority in Egypt, and the Bishop of Antioch in Syria. These three were e(|ual — Rome had no power over Alexandria or Antioch, nor had either of them over Home. The second of these General Councils met at Constantinople A. D. 381. Its third canon enacted that the Bishop of Con- stantinople should take the post of honor next to the Bishop of Home, because Constantinople was " new Rome."t The Bish- op of Rome, as presiding over the Ohurch of the metropolis, had beer; allowed the first place of honor. That was all. No jurisdiction was conferred by it. When the seat of government was transferred to Constantinople, the Bishop of that city was assigned the place of honor next to his brother of Rome, be- cause Constantinople was "new Rome," evidently pointing to the mctropolitical position of those cities, respectively, as en- titling their Bishops to precedence. The third General Council was held in Ephesus, A. D. 431. Celestine, then Bishop of Rome, was represented by his le- gates ; but so far was his supremacy from being acknowledged, that in the subscriptions to the Council the name of Cyril of Alexandria stands first, not the names of the legates, and that the Fathers j/idently treated Cyril and Celestine as equals. When a letter from Celestine was read, they exclaimed, "This is a just judgment. To Celestine, a second Paul ; to Cyril, a second Paul ; to Celestine agreeing with the Synod (mark that * Sabb. et Cossart. Conceil. Toru. II. p. 31, (Ed. Paris, 1671.) tibid, p. 947. ■I THE EARLY AND MODERN ROMAN CIIURCH. 11 — "agrc the discussion of other matters, I shall con- fine mysell' to Mr. Maturin's theory of faith and obedience, " The JJible, the Bible only," said Chilliiigworth, " is the religion ol' Protestants." "Holy Scripture" (I «piote the sixth afti'.'le of the Church of Kngland) "containelh all thinars niU-e^siry to salvation; so that vhatever is not ntad therein, !>')r iiiiy bo proved thereb}^, is not to be required of any man, that it sluaild be believed as an article of the i'^iith, or be thought ni|ui Jto your give the " I will )infort,T, r Truth, not, nei- alj be Ai sed lielp ) all the i dispen- are thus , it .so be laii have \y as are '—Rfui. ^ vlli. 1), 14. Every one who searches the Scriptures with prayer may expect the blessing, and i'eel assured that in the exercise of his judgment he will be divinely aided. These promises are not to be set aside by the establishment of an earthly tribunal, which indeed would practically render them useless ; for why need I search and pray, if there is a judge at hand from whom I am to receive the law, and to whose dic- tates I must bow ? Of such an appointment, and Mich a judge, I find no mention in Holy Writ. Mr. Maturin tells us that the Christian's rule is not Scrip- ture only, but Scripture a?id Tradition ; and he observes that even the Apostles referred to Tradition, as forming part of the Ilule. " Stand fast, and hold the Traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our Epistle," — 2 Thess. ii. 15. "Withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the Tradition which he received of us," — lb. iii. 6. What arc the facts of the case ? The Apostles went from place to place, preaching the Gospel, founding Ohurghes, and instructing the members how to serve God and edify one an- other. At first, these oral instructions were all that the Churches, for the most part, received ; with the exception of the copies of the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which were possessed by some residents in cities and towns. But the necessity for written, authoritative documents soon became evident. They were supplied. The Gospels were compiled. Epistle after Epistle was composed. They were copied, and transmitted from Church to Church, till at length all might possess the entire collection. Till then, the Churches would be necessarily dependent on such teachings as they might procure, and were exposed to the uncertainties attendant on that state of afiairs. The Churches at Thessalouica and Corinth suffered in consequence, as the Epistles to those Churches show. The inconvenience was par- tially obviated during the life-time of the Apostles by their 18 SCniPTURE AND fRADITIOJT. I ( li < frequent itinerancies, and by the labors of tlione eviiiigolists and others who received the truth from their li[)H. It was mercifully ordered that before the last of them died the facts and truths of Christianity were committed to writing, for the use of believers in all time to como. When, therefore, the Christians of those days were bidden to observe the "Traditions," the reference was to the instruc- tions actually received from the A[)ostles, and the substance of which might be easily remembered. As leng as those instriic- tions were remembered, and could be fairly traced up to their authors, they wore binding on those to whom they had been given. 13ut we all know how soon a traditionary testimony is corru[)ted, mutilated, or enlarged, and how little reliance can be placed on hearsay reports. Hence the desirableness, and in matters of importance the necessity, of writings. It was obviously impossible, without a constant miracle, to preserve Apostolic teachings in a pure and unmingled state. Provision was at first made by the extraordinary influences of the Spirit, bestowed in those times. But they gradually ceased. Meanwhile, the writings were spread abroad, and before the miraculous passed away, giving place to the ordi- nary bestowment of the blessitig, the words of our Ijord and his Apostles were embodied in a book, constituting the divine, complete, and unchangeable Rule. It was not to be supposed that (jiod would leave his Church, under the new dispensation, worse provided for than under the old. In giving us the New Testament he has dealt with us as he dealt with his ancient people. They had the Old Testa- ment ; they wanted nothing more ; it was sufficient for all the purposes of that dispensation. We have, in addition, the New Testament. Is it not sufficient? Oucrht it to 1x3 imaijined that there would be a perfect Rule under the preparatory economy, and an imperfect one afterwards? Mr. 3Iaturin endeavors to show that the Scrlj>tures do not claim for themselves that exclusive authority which is claimed ■I 'i '4 1 Isi Tim EPISTLES DIVINELY INSPIIIED. 10 lor thoni hy Protestants. It iH not difficult to dispose of such assertions. The quostion is settled as regards the Old Testa- ment, hy the authority of our Lord, in the passage beforo cited, John v. 39. Understood as a command, searching the Scri()tures is enjoined ; understood as an affirmation, it is com- mended. Let the reader seriously consider the following pas- sages of the New Testament: — "Wo have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that wo might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we spca.k, not in the words which man's wis- dom teachoth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." — "We have the mind of Christ," — 1 Cor. ii. 12, 13. " The Gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ," — Gal. ii. 11, 12. "He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit," — 1 Thess. iv. 8. «*That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy Prophets, and of the commandment of us the Apostles of the Lord and Sa- viour." "Our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you ; as also in all his Epistles, speaking in them of these things ; in which are some things hard to be understood, whieh they that are un- learned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scrip- tures, unto their own destruction," — 2 Peter iii. 2, 10. " Wo are of God ; he that knoweth God, heareth us ; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the sj>irit of error," — 1 John iv. G. Here, the Apostles claim for their teachings that respect and reverence which we owe to the Word of God. The only inquiry is, where are their teachings to be found ? I'Kat they are in the Now Tes- tament, is admitted on all hauls. To the New Testament, then, we are bound to submit. It contains the words ot those of whom the Lord saidj "He iluxt receiveth you roceiveth liO BCniPTUUE AND TRADITION. 'I/' I ' to- *** he that r^iwiyetli mo roccivotli Ilim tliat sent mo," — kac. X. 40. But arc riot certiiin toiicliin^*! of tho ApoHtlo.s found cl«c- whoro? To tlu8 i rt'ply, that ilio '* who niako the as.seition afP hound to pro oit. T\\q 07i/(S jrro/jandi rests upon tlicui. Wliatover words or tcacliing'' of tho Apostles can be produced, ilw-jv^wl from other sources iuiin tho New Testament, all J'ro- testunts will receive, on sufficient proof. Hut mero a^eertion will not be admifted as proof. And no amount of testimony can countervail the authority, already established, of tho Apos- tolic writings. To them, therefore, wo yi( Ul the same defer- ence which ancient Jews yielded to tho Old Testament. And of fhe??i we say, in perfect harmony with the drift and spirit of their instructions, *' Add thou not unto his words, lest ho re- prove thee, and thou be found a liar," — Prov. xxx. 0. In them we have, committed to tho security of writing, such of the Traditions, or teachings of the Apostles, as it has pleased tho Holy ISpirit to preserve, for the use and benefit of his Church. By his gracious direction and influence they wrote as they did, and tho Churcli equires nothing more than is contained in those writings. Had anything more been needed, it would have been given to us in the fixed, written form. Granting that Apostolic Tradition, if recoverable, would be authoritative, there is another consideration to be taken into account, and it is of no small moment. God's laws must be consistent with each other, His word is "not yea and nay." \Ve have the inspired book. There is certainty. It is fixed and unchangeable. Nothing can be true or binding which con- flicts with it. If, for instance, it is said to us- -•' V'.' ' • /e a tradition in our Church, handed down to us iium Apostolic times, by which we are taught to receive the Lord's Supper in thn form of bread only, and to pray to the saints in heaven, and \ •■' ;fiofPl,s " — we are warranted to reply — *' That tradition of you.P !■; ^ torgCij. It contradicts the teachings of Paul, and Petej, a.; Joim, as glvcv us iu the book. We must abide by i > THE APOCRYIMIAIi HOOKS. 21 tho book." Ami it is ;i very noticoiiblo tiling that thoy who |tloiul for what th(!y c ill Apo.-itnli<^ Tradition, adduce the .said tradition as tho authority lor doctrineH, cirenionies, and modes of <^overinn(!nt, whicl are not - iily not to bo found in the Scriptures, hut are ineonHistent with the jirinciples inculcated in thoin, and with the spirit ;.nd design of the Oospcl dispen- sation. It was not without reason that the Apostle Paul said : " Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, —IMiil. iii. 2; — ' Heware lest any man sjmil you through {)hilosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after tho rudimentH of the world, and not after Christ," — Col. ii. 8. But how do we know that we have the book, and neither more nor less than the book ? On what authority do we re- ceive it? Are we not indebted to the Church for the Canon ? And has not the same Church taught us to receiv Tradition ? There is a good deal of mystification on this (^|u<^tion. Mr. Maturin tells us that the Council of Carthage, V. P. 397, published a list of the canonical books, which was iftcrwards received by the universal church ; and that the list has been sanctioned by tho Council of Trent. We therefore owe the Canon to the Church, and receive it on the authority of the Church. Not quite so fast. There arc two parts of the Can. ^n — the Old and the New Testaments. It is matter of histtry that the books of the Old Testament, as we have them in th • Eng- lish version, were tho only books held sacred by the Jews. The Apocrypha was not received by them. Our old ''esta- ment is the identical collection which was regarded in thi time of our Lord as containing " the oracles of God." The Tews had examined the Apocryphal books, and found them destitute of the marks of divine inspiration. They rejected them, and retained only the books which now constitute our Old T( la- ment. The Saviour used and referred to that book as G< d's b 'uk. He sanctioned the decision of his countrymen. Cur Old Testament was Jesus Christ' s Bible. We are not indebted Oi> SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. : I to the Council of Carthage for that part of the Scriptures ; nor can we receive its list, because it includes the Apocrypha, which formed no part of the Saviour's Bible. The process was the same under Christianity as under the Law. Certain writings were issued, professing to be Apostol- ic, and therefore divine. They were examined. Some were ascertained to be genuine, and were received. The tokens of spuriousness appeared in others, and they were rejected. It was a careful exercise of sound criticism, conducted on correct principles. The evidence has been re-examined, and the de- cision revised and re-affirraed. We receive the New Testament, not on the authority of the Council of Carthage, or of any other Council, but on independent grounds. We are satisfied that the books of which it is composed were written by those whose names they bear, and that they wrote " as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Yea more ; — as the Canon of the Old Testament, determined by the Jews, received the sanction of the Saviour, so the Canon of the New Testament ascertained in a similar manner by Christian men, has been abundantly confirmed and honored by the Holy Spirit. It contains the truth by which the Spirit operates on the hearts of sinners in conversion, and sanctifies and sustains believers. It is manifestly God's word, and challenges our most hearty submission. It is sometimes asked, with an air of triumph, as though a satisfactory answer were altogether out of the question, how we can know that we have the real word of God, seeing there are so many various readings in the Manuscripts, and the texts adopted by critics difier from one another? And how, it may be asked again, do we know that we have the real text of Ho- mer, or Virgil, or Cicero, or other classics ? The answer will be the same, in all these cases. It would have been impossi- ble, without the intervention of a constant miracle, to preserve all manuscripts free from corruption, passing through so many hands, and the majority of the copyists being ignorant men. !• THE HOLY SCRIPTURES PRESERVED FROM ERROR. IjolI did not see fit to interpose in that manner on behalf of his word, but allowed it to be suVgect to the same casualties as other books, with this circumstance, however, in its favor, that the esteem in which it was held operated as a check on care lessness. The result is, that the text of the sacred volume is in a much better state than that of any other ancient book; and that the various readings, though very numerous, because the number of manuscripts of the iScriptures is much greater than of any other work, do not affect a single fact or doctrine, so as to weaken the faitii or disturb the peace of any servant of Christ. And it is observable that the boasted security af- forded by the authority of the Church fails altogether here. Take, for instance, the disputed portions of 1 John v. 7. 8 ; — " For there are three that bear record [in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost : and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth], the spirit, and the water, and the blood ; and these three agree in one." (The disputed words are included in brackets.) The Latin Vulgate, constituted authentic and authoritative by the Council of Trent, contains that passage as it appears in our English version, with this slight difference, that instead of " agree in one" it has "are one." But the disputed portion is found in no ancient Greek manuscript whatever, and by the common consent of critics Protestant and Catholic, is rejected as spurious. The authority of the Council of Trent cannot make it genuine — cannot alter the manuscripts — cannot change the judgement of critics. It may dictate opinions, and compel feigned submis- sion to its dictates, but it cannot alter facts. There they are still, in all their significance. I may add, that the loss of these words does rot in the least affect the Scripture doctrine of the Trinity, which is found in Mat. xxviii. 19, 2 Cor. xiii. 14, and a host of other passages. A pretty fiction is founded on 3Iat. xvi. 18. In that pas- sage our Saviour promises that his Church, however assaulted and imperilled, shall survive all onnosition. A blessed Dromisc •24 SCRIPTURE ANT) TRADITION. Hi ;i- it is ; it h:is lunl what Lord Bacon calls " a springing and gcr- niinant acoomplishnicnt," and will continue to have till " all things shall be subdued" to the IlDdeenier. But this by no means satisfies some men. They find in that text the suprem- acy of Peter, and not only the perpetuity, but also the infal- libility of the Church ; and tacking the latter notion to Scrip- ture-and-traditicn theory, they pleasantly enough persuade themselves, first, that the Rule of Faith is Scripture and Tra- dition ; secondly, that the Saviour has appointed an infallible judge and interpreter of the rule ; thirdly, that this preroga- tive is vested in the Church ; and fourthly, that by " the Church" is meant the Church of Kome, presided over first by Peter (itself a fiction), and then by Peter's successors. But verily, all this is a myth, a shadowy fable ; for there is not one word about it in God's book. And then fuither, there are certain questions to be answered before the claim can be al- lowed. Does the word " Church" mean all the members of the Church? If so, they are all infallible, according to the above-noted interpretion. But if not, who ere included? The Clergy? or only the Bishops? In either case, are they separ- ately infallible, or only when they meet together in Council? How many must meet in order to constitute an infallible body? Must the Pope be personally present ? In the intervals between Councils, is the infallibility vested in them? and under what circumstances ? In conjunction with his Cardinals, or sepai'ately from them? And how, in short, under the arrange- ment, whatever it may be, is a Christian to proceed, who wants an infallible explanation of a text, or an infallible direction re- lative to his course of conduct ? When these questions have been answered, it will be time enough to discuss the subject more fully. Till then, let every man " Search the Scriptures" for himself, praying for the " light and grace of the Holy Spirit ;" and let him be " fully persuaded in his own mind." Mr. Maturin remarks that the primitive Christians must have understood Apostolic teaching, and formed their opinions EARLY CHRISTIAN AUTHORS QUOTE SCRIPTURE. 25 accordingly : those opinions have been preserved by tlie Church, and thoy constitute the traditionary, or second portion of the Rule of Faith. I doul)t not that the servants of the Saviour in those days understood the announcements of the Apostles, and that there was a common theology in the Church, embrac- ing all essential points. It continues to the present day, not because it has been maintained and inculcated by Church :iuthority, but because God's people have derived it from the uncorrupted source, the written word, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. According to Mr. Maturin, we have first Scripture, and then Tradition to explain Scripture ; do we not also need, on this theory, an authoritative explanation of Tradition — and then again another explanation of the explana- tion — and so on, ad infinitum ? The primitive Christians, Mr. Maturin wishes us to believe, did not regard the Scriptures wth the reverence which ice yield to them, but held the unwritten Traditions in ei^ual honor. The Bible was not the only Rule of Faith, he affirms, in those times. He even ventures to assert (p. 54) that the Protestant doctrine on that subject was unknown for 1500 years. I must content myself with a simple denial of the fact asserted, ^.o proof of it being given ; and I presume t'^at my affirmation is entitled to as much credit as Mr. Maturin's. I add to the denial the statement of a singular fact, viz: — that scanty as are the works of Christian authors during the first three cen- turies, the whole of the New Testament might be recovered from them, should any marvellous accident deprive us of all printed and manuscript copies of the book. This docs not look like want of respect for Scripture.* * The following interesting anecdote was communicated by the Rev. Wal- ter Euchanan, formerly one of the ministers of Edinburg, to the Kev. John Caijapbell, afterwards the celebrated African traveller: — "I was dining some time ago with a literary party at old Mr. Aber- crombie's (father of General Abercrombie who was slain in Egypt, at the IU,I 2G SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. llcforring to the "primitive doctrine of the Eucharist" — that is, the meaning attached by the primitive church to the words, "this is my body" — "this is my blood" — Mr. Maturin says (p, 50) that it "was not derived *from the New Testament, but from an independent source of revelation — the oral instruc- tions of our Divine lledeemer. The question is, then, What was the primitive doctrine ? and on this point we have the concurrent testimony of all antiquity, confirmed by historical evidence, and proved by divine authority, that the doctrine of the primitive Church was the same as the doctrine of the Catholic Church in the present day." (The Italics are mine). iiii i''ll m \i'j m head of the British army), and spending the evening together. A gentle- man present put a question which puzzled the whole company. It was this — Supposing all the New Testaments in the world had been destroyed at the end of the third century, could their contents have been recovered from the writings of the three first centuries ? The question was novel to all, and no one oven hazarded a guess in answer to the inquiry. " About two months after this meeting, I received a note from Lord Hailes, inviting me to breakfast with him next morning. lie had been of the party. During breakfast he asked me if I recollected the cunous question about the possibility of recovering the contents of the New Testa- ment from the writings of the three first centuries ? ' I remember it well, aud have thought of it often without b,eing able to form any opinion or conjecture on the subject.' " ' Well,' said Lord llailes, ' that question quite accorded with the turn or taste of my antiquarian mind. On returning home, as I knew I had all the writings of those centuries, I began immediately to collect them that I might set to work on the arduous task as soon as possible.' Pointing to a table covered with papers, he said: 'There have I been busy for these two months, searching for chapters, half chapters, and sentences of the New Testament, and liave marked down what I have found, and where I have found it; so that any person may examine and see for themselves. I have actually discovered the whole New Testament from those writings, except seven or eleven verses, (I forget which,) which satisfies me that I could discover them also. Now,' said he, ' here was a way in which God con- cealed, or hid the treasure of his word, that Julian, the apostate Emperor, and othe renemies of Christ who wished to extirpate the Gospel from the world, never would have thought of; and though they had, they never would have etfectcd their destruction."" — Philip's Life of Rev, John Camp^ hell. p. 215. PROTESTANT AND CATHOLIC WORSHIP CONTRASTED. 27 1 wish to treat my opponent courteously, and to avoid all un- necessarily harsh language ; but really it is difficult to restrain one's self when such a glaring misrepresentation is made. The affirmation that ''the doctrine of the primitive Church was the same as the doctrine of the Catholic Church in the present day," with reference to the Eucharist, is a nearer approach to the mendacious than I have yet seen in the pro- ductions of any respectable writer. I can hardly imagine that Mr. Maturin believes it. He has been told that it is so, and having delivered himself up, bound and blindfold, to au- thority, and renounced the right of judging for himself, he hazards an assertion which neither he nor any other man can substantiate. There is another view of the subject, which ought not to be overlooked. I refer to its religious aspect, and the argument founded on it. By one class of professing Christians the Word of God is held in little honour. They are not taught to search it for themselves, and make use of it for their personal comfort and grot^th in religion. They are attached to a system under which they are trained to expect anything from their spiritual advisers, and to connect peace and safety with the diligent per- formance of services prescribed by those advisers, in accordance with the traditions of their Church. We see in another class the adoption of a different covfrse. They lore the Bible, and constantly read it, with prayer for the enlightening, sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit. The church to which they belong recognises the Bible only as the rule of faith and practice. Tradition is repudiated. Will-worship is unknown. The religious services of the first Church are splendid and imposing. The gorgeous vestments of the priests, the cx(juisite- ly adapted music, the paintings, the powerful appeals to the senses and the imagination — even the frequent changes of posture — all combine to make a deep impression. pi] 28 SCUIPTUIIE AND TRADITION. V ' There is nothing of the kind in the other church. There is simple, earnest prayer — appropriate singing — reading of the Scriptures — preaching ot the Gospel. The one is the religion of priests ; the other, of the people. The first holds with Scripture and tradition ; that is, ninc- tenths tradition — one-tenth, or a fraction of it, Scripture only. Which of these Churches is most like a Church of Christ ? In which of them is the ideal of Christianity most clearly and fully exemplified. In which is there the largest amount of true holiness (I do not mean the holiness of outward obser- vances, but of love to God and love to man) diffused among all the members ? Which of the two is most likely to be in- strumental in the great work of converting the world to God ? And what is the testimony of history in that respect ? In the preceding observations I have endeavored to show that 3Ir. Maturin's theory is opposed to Scripture. The di- vine origin and authority of Scripture being admitted on all sides, the concurrent authority of Tradition cannot be granted, if such concession should be proved to involve principle^ at variance with the word of God, and the regard due to it.* I observe, in the second place, that Mr. Maturin's rule is to be rejected for its novelty. Lacking the authority of Scrip- ture, it must of necessity be novel. That fact being established, I care not at how early a period opinions, and practices not to be found in Scripture were introduced. If they are not there, it is impossible to prove them to be Apostolic and divine ; and if they are not Apostolic and divine, the Church has no business with them. The opinions may be deemed plausible, and the ceremonies or practices may be judged becoming, but if they are not to be found in the book they are novelties, and as such they arc to be rejected. Nor have I any fear of the consc((uences that may be supposed to follow upon such a state- p \ *See Appendix, No. 3. PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. 2& ment. It is iniapjinGd by some that by dwelling on the corrup- tions of the Church we seem to admit that Christ's promises have not been fulfilled. So far from it, that fulfilment appears more clearly than ever. Predictions are to be taken, into ac- count as well as promises. Our Lord himself foretold a state of declension, and the Apostles repeatedly predicted it : See Mat. xxiv. 10-12 ; Acts xx. 29, 30 ; 2 Thess. ii. 3-12 ; 1 Tim. iv. 1-3 ; 2 Tim. iii. 1-7 ; 2 Peter ii. 1-3, iii. 1-3. It had begun to work before their departure from the world, and it was to be expcrtod that it would be more rapid and fearful afterwards. The downward tendency has ever since continued to operate, and it is in action still. Meanwhile, God's Abdiels, " faithful among the faithless," have appeared from age to age — now few, now many — protesting against all intrusions of the human into the divine, and appealing to the sacred volume, " the judge that ends the strife." Sometimes, as Archbishop Leighton says, the Church was in so low a state, that if you would trace her, it must be by her blood, and if you would see her it could only be by the the light of the fires in which her ma'l'tyrs were burnt. But she came forth again in beauty and glory, and is now pursuing her course, blessing the world as she goes, and attesting the faithfulness of her Lord. They were accustomed in the primitive ages, I am aware, to appeal to the teachings of the Apostles, as exemplified in the Churches which they founded. If a difficulty arose, for in- stance, in any of the Churches in the Western districts of Asia ]Minor, they would send to Ephesus for information, because that Church was founded by the Apostle Paul ; and the ques- tion would be. How were you instructed by him on this or that point ? As long as the inquiry related to the bare matter of fact, it was natural and reasonable ; but it was manifest that after a few years it would be inappropriate, because the imme- diate witnesses were then dead. By that time, however, the books of the New Testament might be obtained, and all neces- sary information procured from them. A 30 SCRIPTURE AND TRADlflONT. "I 'I ;! Ij It woiiM have been well if they had been contented with the New Testament. But they did not use it as a revelation from (jlod ought to be used. Notwithstanding the reverential regard for it which they professed, they began to deal with Christianity as they had been accustomed to deal with systems of philoso[)hy, and dared profanely to think that it might be developed and fashioned to please human tastes. One Wanted a spice of Judaism ; another desired the flaunting splendour of heathen pomps and processions ; a third plied his ingenuity in inventing forms and usages, to be dignified as " Christian sym- bolism." What plea or excuse had they for these things ? None whatever. Tertullian honestly confesses it. Having enumerated a number of ceremonies observed in those days, in connection with Christian ordinances, he says : — " If you ask for the Scripture law of these exercises, you will find none : tra- dition originated them, custom confirms them, faith observes them." {De Corona, c. 4.) Tertullian died about the year 220. The process of invention became every year more vigorously active. It was notorious that there was a gross departure from primitive simplicity and purity. Then they sought to cover it by pleading, not direct divine origin, but presump- tive Apostolieity. The existence of any practice in a Church that claimed Apostolic appointment, was deemed proof prc- Bumptivo that it had always existed there ; and universal or general observance stood instead of Scripture texts. Jiooka were [mblishcd, bearing the names of Apostles or Apostolic men, the comjiilers hoping by these means to secure readier sale ; the i)atrons of rival modes sought popularity in the same manner ; one time for observing Easter was recommended, be- cause it was sanctioned by John, — while another party stoutly contended that their method of computation for the festival was in accordance with the practice of Peter. So low had Christianity sunk in the fourth and fifth centuries, that Augus- tine maintained that whatever was not recom'nended in Scrip- INQUIRY SILENCED IN THE R. C. CIIURCW. 31 turo, instituted by Councils, or confirmed by the custom of the Univernul Church, was to be suppressed— thuii acing Coun- cils and customs on a level with God's word ; — and Vincent of Lerins published his famous Commonitoriiim^ in which he ar- gued that what had been received " everywhere, always, and by all," was to be held as true and binding, its heavenly origin being presumed. Augustine died A. D. 4^0 ; Vincent of Lerins about A. D. 450. Yet these fancies do not come up to the rule as propounded by Mr. Maturin, since he ascribes to the Traditions, not a pre- Bumed, but a direct divine authority. The Church was drift- ing that way, but had not yet grounded there. In fact, all through the period now noticed the most profound regard for Scripture was professed ; and none of the writers of the first four centuries would have spoken of it as sonic Romanist authors have ventured to do in the nineteenth. 'J'hc novelties of Home were not then in being. It may be observed in the next place, that the theory now under discussion is altogether unsatisfactory in its operation. It fails to give quietness and certainty. Here and there a poor creature may be found, too idle to use his intellect, yet anxious to still the upbraidings of his conscience, who allows himself to be soothed into repose by this spiritual magiictism, and then congratulates himself on having found a religion which saves him the trouble of thinking ; but a reflecting in- quirer after truth cannot be so easily satisfied. Ho is bidden to hoar the Church, and sul>mi>sivcly to be- lieve and obey. He is willing to humble himself to any rea- sonable extent ; and he would refrain from reflection, if he could. He cannot. His mind yearns for light and evidence. Can that be wrong ? Ought he not to be furnished with such proof as will remove every doubt, and convince him that the claim on his mental subjection is righteous, necessary, and teeming with advantage ? The proof is not supplied. Uncertainty stares him in the i 82 SCIIIPTURE AND TRADITION. face in every direction. On the one hand, lie is assured that the Church, tlio divinely-appointed depositary of Christian truth, is one and unchan<5ed, and that, conunitted at first to the charge of the Apostle l*eter, she has been presided over by his successors, in an unbroken line, till the present day ; so that he may be said to receive the truth from Peter's own hands. But history, should he venture to look into its pages, tells a different tale. It shows him the iiishop of Home, meek as a lamb in the first ages, changed into a roaring lion. It dis- solves the vision of unchangeableness by establishing the chronology of dogmas and inventions. It points to the breaches in the pretended Apostolic iSuccession — the uncanon- ical appointments of Popes — the inextricable confusio-i of the times of sehism-r— and coupling the whole with the doctrine of Trent, that the rightness of the Priest's intention is essential to the validity of an ecclesiastical act, lands him in the conclu- sion which has been thus expressed by Archbishop Whately (no mean authority,) viz., that " there is not a minister in all Cliiistendom who is ahlc to trace u'p with ,mj approach to ccr- tainfij his own sjuritital pedigree. * *■ ^ I'or If a Bishop has not been duly consecrated, or had not been, previously, rightly ordained, his ordinances are null ; and so arc the min- istrations of those who are ordained by him ; and their ordina- tion of others ; (supposing any of the persons ordained by him to attain to the e^'iscopal office) and so on, without end. The poisonous taint of informality, if it once creep in undetected, will spread the infection of nullity to an indefinite and irreme- diable extent. * * And who can undertake to pronounce that during that long period usually designated as the Dark Ages, no such taint was ever introduced ? Irregularities could not have been wholly excluded without a perpetual miracle ; and that no such miraculous interference existed, wo have even historical proof. Amidst the numerous corruptions of doctrine and of practice, and gross superstitions, that crept in, during those ages, we find recorded descriptions not only of the pro- : ; iiil POPES CONTIUDICT EACH OTIIEK. 33 Ibund ignorance, and profligacy of life, of many of the elerg^', but also the groHsest irregularities in respect of discipline and form. Wo read of Bishops consecrated when mere children ; — of men ofliciating who barely knew their letters ; — of pre- lates expelled, and others put into their places, by violence ; — of illiterate and profligate laymen, and habitual drunkards, ad- mitted to holy orders ; and in short, of the prevalence of every kind of disorder, and reckless disregard of the decency which the Apostle enjoins. It is inconceivable that any one even moderately acquainted with history, can feci a certainty, that, amidst all this confusion and corruption, every rc(|uisitc form was, in every instance, strictly adhered to, by men, many of them openly profane and secular, unrestrained by public opin- ion, through the gross ignorance of the population among which they lived ; and that no one, not duly consecrated or ordained, was admitted to sacred offices."* And with regard to the Council of Trent, to which reference has been made, history unfolds to the inquirer such a scene of base intrigue and trickery, that he involuntarily exclaims — "Can this be the fountain of truth ? Is it possible that the decisions of such an assembly can rightfully claim the sanction of heaven?" That Council enjoined the reception and use of the Latin Vulgate. It was denominated the " authentic" edition of the Scriptures. Our inquirer is acquainted with the Latin language, and he devoutly sits down to the perusal. He notes on the title-page the names of two Popes, Sixtus V. and (Jlement VIII. Curiosity leads him to acquaint himself with the literary history connected with the publication of those names. He finds that an edition of the Vulgate was issued under the auspices of Sixtus V., in 1590 ; that the Pope pro- fes.sed to have taken great pains with it, having corrected ,11 1 * Essays on the Kingdom of Christ, pp. 'll1-2Vd. See Appendix, No. i. 1 If ( 84 8CRI1TURE AND TRADITIOW. many of tho proof-sheets with his own hand ; and that in \\\f Bull, accompanying tho publication, ho announced and pro- claimed its correctness, requiring all persons to receivo it, on pain of anathema. Pursuing his investigations, tho inquirer discovers that Sixtus's edition swarmed with errors, and that in 1502 Clement VIIC. caused another edition to he published, in which those errors were corrected, and /lis Bull declared t/uit edition to bo tho only true and faithful one. Is it wonder- ful that sore perplexity follows these discoveries ? If tho in- fallible Sixtus was right, why did Clement correct him? If Clement was right, what becomcsof the infallibility of Sixtus?* According to Mr. Maturin, tho successive decisions of Coun- cils respecting doctrine, worship, or discipline, did not intimate that the points decided on were then first brought before the Church, but only that they were from time to time defined more clearly, in order that new heresies might bo better guarded against. Ho would have us believe that when the Council of Florence, A. D. 1439, " defined tho Pope's supremacy, seven sacraments, purgatory, canon of Scripture, and other doctrines," those doctrines had been in the (vhurch from the beginning, and were then more definitely oxprcsscd than they had been before, on account of various opposing opinions that had risen up. He makes the same remark res- pecting the Council of Nice, A. D. 325, which " defined the divinity of our Lord ;" the second Council of Nice A. D. 787, which " defined the proper honor due to holy images ;" and the fourth Council of Lateran, A. D. 1215, which «' defined the doctrine of the Eucharist," and " enforced tho practice of auricular confession." These being deemed General Councils, their authority is binding ; and all they did, if Mr. Maturin is t« be credited, (pp. 17-19) was to employ new expressions for * Sco Jaraes'g '' Bellum Papale, aive Concordia Ditcort Sexti V. el Ctf mentis VIII." '; DKNEFITS OF EXAMINlNfl gCIllPTUUE. 85 i the explanation of old truths, ''without any change in the doctrine hold by the Church from the beginning." And so wo are actually told, in dfi/ia?ice of all histnry, that the seven sacra nentH, purgatory, tho adoration of images, to which may bo added communion in ono kind, as finally enacted by the Council of Trent, have been «♦ held by tho Church from the begirming !" These things must be extremely puzzling to tho honest searcher after truth. ' I pass on to a fourth observation. It is this — that submis- sion to the rule laid down by Mr. Maturin involves a state of intellectual degradation to which no man ought to submit. God himself does not rec^uire it of liim. It is not the condi- tion on which ho has given tho Bible to man. True, it is the duty of all men to believe God. True again — there are many facts, states of existence, principles — call them what you will —which cannot be comprehended. It is useless to speculate upon them. All we know is that they are. The natural at- tributes of God — revealed distinctions in Deity — and other topics, may be reckoned among them. Yet even these are not coldly propounded, in the fewest possible words — in creed- style — to be arranged among articles of belief, and then to be let alone. God does not say, " Believe this — believe that " — and leave us there. He presents to us the great and glorious, yea, the incomprehensible truths relating to himself, his provi- dence, and his grace — not in stiff, repulsive forms — but enrobed in beauty— emblazoned in splendour — interwoven with our dcjii^est interests and our hopes — and thus inviting inquiry and thought, and commanding admiration. He even condescends, sometimes, to reason with his creatures, and to convince them, not by mere assertion, but by irrefragable proof, of the wisdom and righteousness of his ways. Whatever may be understood is set before us, that we may investigate, compare, believe and adore. And though, as I said, some truths and facts elude our grasp, and essences and modes are unknown, there is a wide field ooen to exploration. What the doctrines of the ii jv| fr vn '6Q SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. Bible arc — wl at their individual and relative importance — what their mutual connections — what their practical bearings, can only be ascertained by repeated examination. That ex- amination is at once the duty and the privilege of every chris- tian. It is an exercise productive of the highest enjoyment. How beautifully does the Psalmist write ! — " The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul ; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. . The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart ; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enligLteiiing the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever : the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold ; sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned ; and in keeping of them there is great reward." — Psalm 19, 7-11. Here, the Church of Rome interposes. There are dangers, she wishes her children to believe, of which they are not aware. They must not venture to exercise their own judgments. The doctrines to be believed and the services to be rendered are exactly defined, and may be met with in her own Manuals. There is little or no occasion to read the Bible ; and if they do (having obtained the consent of the priest), they must not venture to interpret, except under certain limitations, and they must bear in mind that the Bible itself contains only part of the truth. The remainder is in the Church's keeping — not to be examined, but received. Ought a Christian freeman to submit to this ? The folly of the proceeding is strikingly seen when the Church commits a scientific blunder. She had given her ad- hesion, ages ago, to the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, ac- cording to which the Sun and the other heavenly bodies go round the Earth, which itself remains immovable. Galileo 'caches the Copernican, that is, the true doctrine, that the Earth moves round the Sun, and turns daily on its own axis. He is laid hold of by the In(|uisition — convicted of believing I i i;^ SCMPTURE-AND-TRADITION THEORY IMPRACTICABLE. 37 V \ C and teaching the " false doctrine," that " the Sun is the centre of the world, and that it does not move from east to west, and that the Earth does move, and is not the centre of the world " — and these "errors and heresies " he is compelled to •' abjure, curse and detest." He is further sentenced to confinement in the prison of the " Holy Oflfice," which issued practically in his continuing under the surveillance of the In- quisition ; and for penance he was ordered to recite once a week the seven penitential psalms. Is not this despicable folly ? Is it not abominable cruelty ? And do we not pity from our hearts the learned Jesuits who published an edition of Sir Isaac Newton's works, and found it necessary to append a note, stating, with reference to the well known decision in favor of the Ptolemaic astronomy, that they submitted the whole to the judgment of the Church? They knew that New- ton was right. But the Church had made no provision for as- tronomical discoveries. The Church is one and unchangeable. Scientific truth must yield to exploded theory, because the Church wills it. How is it that men possessing any manliness will bow under such a yoke ? I will briefly observe, in the fifth place, that the Scripture- and-Tradition theory is impracticable. It cannot be success- fully worked out. How is it to be proved that the Church of Rome is the one, only, Apostolic Church, whose behests all Christians are to obey? Is the Roman Catholic to take this,- too, on the Church's own assertion ? Is he to be reduced to this pitiable condition, that when asked why he believes that his Church is the only true one, all the answer he has to give is, " The Church herself has told me so ?" Or, suppose the case of an inquirer, such as Mr. Maturin represents himself to have been for many years. He is desirous of knowing which is the true Church, and he applies himself to an examination of the evidence. What right has ho, according to Rome? May he analyze, and compare, test quotations, weigh argu- ments, hold himself in readiness to follow the leadings of m as SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. m 1 1^ 1^ i, truth, whithersoever she may guide him? No such thing. He has nothing to do but to believe. Where, then, was the need of examination ? What is that man's submission worth ? And is not Rome, in demanding it, putting herself in the place of God, and requiring a surrender which no man or body of men has power to exact ? But Mr. Maturin says (p. 24) that *« there is a wide differ- ence between the exercise of personal responsibility and private judgment, though they are often confounded together," and that " Catholics strongly hold the one, while they utterly deny the other." He then goes on to state that it is " the duty of every individual " to *' examine the grounds of his faith and the evidences of religion, with the sincere desire of joining that Church which he believes in his conscience to have the strongest claims to divine authority." So far good. But he adds, that in conducting the examination "private judgment" must be cast aside : the man must not " form his religious opinions from his own private interpretation of the meaning of Holy Scripture, without submitting his opinions to the authority of the Church." According to my " private inter- pretation " of this passage, the religious inquirer is in a very singular position. He wants to know whether the Church of Rome is tho true Church. How is he to act? He must "examine the grounds of his faith and the evidences of religion," says Mr. Maturin — but he must not judge for him- self — he must submit to the authority of the Church," — he must believe the Church to be the true Church, and act accord- ingly, in order to knx)w that she is the true Church ! ! Ad- mirable rule ! How clear the difference between " personal responsibility " and " private judgment !" But impracticability appears on the very face of the thing. That inquirer cannot help exercising his judgment. Right or wrong, he must think. His very submission must be an act of his judgment, — his own private judgment, — unless, indeed, by some mysterious legerdemain, he is able to choose for himself ; I I '•St 'i ROMANISM LEAPS TO INFIDELITY. 39 and to decide, without such action ; and how that can be, Home herself will not undertake, I think, to explain. Pope Pius's Creed contains the following clause : — " I also admit the Scriptures, according to the sense which holy mother Church has held, and does hold, to whom it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures ; nor A^ ill I overtake or interpret them otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the Fathers." Here is a work for the student of Scripture ! He must interpret it " according to the unanimous consent of the Fathers." A strange rule this! As William Tyndale said, this is to '* measure the mete-yard by the cloth," instead of measuring the cloth by the yard. And to say nothing of the impossible labor of examining all the Fathers, where is this " unanimous consent ?" I must quote Tyndale again : — " Every religion, every university, and almost every man, hath a sundry divinity. Now whatsoever opinions every man findeth with his doctor, that is his gospel, and that only is true with him ; and that holdeth he all his life long ; and every man, to maintain his doctor withal, corrupteth the Scripture, and fashioneth it after his own imagination, as a potter doth his clay. Of what text thou provest hell, will another prove purgatory ; another, limho patrum ; another, the assunjption of our lady. * * * And of what text the gray friar proveth that our lady was without original sin, of the same shall the black friar prove that she was conceived in original sin."* That " unanimous consent" is nowhere to be found. Father contradicts Father, and Council stands up against Council. The " unanimous consent" is the " baseless fabric of a vision." " When men come to consider and inquire what the founda- tion really is on which they are told to rest their own hopes of * Tyndalo's Doctrinal Treatises, p. 158. Parker Society edition. ri' I ; Hi 5: f i 11 f. 40 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. eternal life, and to pronounce condemnation on those who differ from them, it cannot be but that doubts and dissatisfaction , and perhaps disgust, and danger of ultimate infidelity, will beset them, in proportion as they are of a serious and reflective turn, and really anxious to attain religious truth. For when referred to the works of the orthodox ancient Fathers, they find that a very large portion of these works is lost ; or that some fragments, or reports of them by other writers, alone re- main : thoy find again that what has come down to us is so vast in amount that a life is not sufficioit for the attentive study of even the chief part of it ; they find these authors by no means agreed, on all points, with each other, or with them- selves ; and that learned men again are not agreed in their interpretation of them ; and still less agreed as to the orthodoxy of each, and the degree of weight due to his judgment on several points ; nor even agreed, by some centuries, as to the degree of antiquity that is to make the authority of each de- cisive, or more or less approaching to decisive. " Every thing in short pertaining to this appeal is obscure, uncertain, — disputable — -and actually disputed, — to such a degree, that even those who are not able to read the original authors, may yet be perfectly competent to perceive how un- stable a foundation they furnish. They can perceive that the mass of Christians are called on to believe and to do what is essential to Christianity, in implicit reliance on the reports of their respective pastors, as to what certain deep theological antiquarians have reported to them respecting the reports given by certain ancient Fathers, of the reports current in their times, concerning Apostolical usages and institutions ! And yet whoever departs in any degree from these, is to be re- garded at best in an intermediate state between Christianity and Ileithenism ! Surely the tendency of this procedure must be to drive tlie doubting into confirmed (though perhaps secret) infidelity, and to fill with doubts the most sincerely pious, if WANT OP UNITY IN THE R. C. CHURCH. 41 they are anxiously desirous of attaining truth, and unhappily have sought it from such instructors."* It may be objected, that the herculean toil of examining the Fathers is not required of every one, and that the work has been done by competent men, who have thus ascertained the judgment of the Church. We ask, when, and by whom ? Where is this judgment of the Church ? Where is the au- thorized commentary on the Scriptures, comprising the expla- nations declaratory of the " unanimous consent ?" Rome has never published it. She never can. If even the attempt were made, we should have still to be satisfied that all the works of the Fathers had been read and examined — that the quotations were fairly given — that their meaning was correctly ascer- tained, and clearly and fully reported — and that we rightly understood the explanation. Difficulties multiply at every step. It is utterly impossible, in the manner prescribed by Rome and those who follow Rome's example, to acquire a knowledge of the will of God from his word ; and it is equally impossible to obtain a definite and complete understanding of utterances of tradition. The inquirer finds himself at sea, without compass or rudder, and the rocks of infidelity close at hand.t This leads me to a sixth observation. The Scripture-and- Tradition theory has been on its trial for ages, and has signally failed. The infallible Church has had a family of most unruly children. Professing, all of them, to obey their mother's voice, to think as she bids them think, and to do her will in all things, they have proved provokingly rebellious. Thomas Aquinas, the "Angelic Doctor,*' agreed with Augustine, maintaining, generally, the doctrines now called Calvinistic ; Duns Scotus, the " Subtle Doctor," was a semi-Pelagian ; ♦Archbishop Whatoly, as above, pp. 169-171. f See .Tamos's " Corruptions of Scripture, Councils, and Fathers, by the Cuurch of Rome. Now Edition, edited by the Rev. J= E.. Cox. 7»r 42 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. I? t ■i. i. ft ' Dominicans and Franciscans, the Realists and Nominalists, Jesuits and Jansenists, ranged themselves on opposite sides in various matters of controversy. Even Popes, in spite of their infallibility, have sometimes uttered strange things. Liberius (died A. D. 366) subscribed an Arian creed, and consented to the condemnation of the great Athanasius. llonorius (died A. J). 638) expressed his approbation of Monothelitism, and was condemned by several Councils. John XXIII., besides his enormous crimes, denied the immortality of the soul. Other instances of unsoundness in the faith might be cited. Where now is the boasted unity of the Church ? Once more. What is the natural tendency of the system under consideration ? It is to make " the word of God of none effect." The Jews had a similar invention. All things, they said, had not been written. Moses had spoken as well as written, and his sayings were to be kept as well as his re- corded injunctions. The "traditions of the elders" were more numerous by far than the Mosaic precepts, and much more burdensome. What was their effect on the Jewish mind? They superseded God's word. Depraved man ever prefers his own work, and presumes to think that he can even improve divine commands, or supply their deficiencies. Then, if there is any clashing, the human thrusts out the divine. " Ye reject the commandment of God that ye may keep your own tradition." Christian history presents similar results. The evil began to appear at an early period We meet with it in the pages of Tertullian, and from his time onward invention was busily at work. Forms, ceremonies, and observances increased and multiplied, all armed with the authority of tradition ; some of them tacitly admitted by the Church, others peremptorily en- joined ; till the complicated ritual became as unlike the sim- ple service of primitive Christians, as the ponderous, unintel- ligible volumes of the schoolmen were to the New Testament. And what has been — what is now, the result ? Just the same TRADITION versus SCRIPTURE. 43 as in the days of our Lord. Enter a Iloman Catholic Church, and attend its most sacred exercises. On what are the wor- shippers intent ? To what is the most devout regard given ? Wherein consists the service itself ? Is it not an affecting fact, that from the use of the holy water at the entrance to the close of the whole, there is nothing (unless an evangelical sermon should happen to be preached — a rare phenomenon — ) which can claim bible-warrant ? All that is done is of human institution ; and the mosc exact compliance with rule, in every minute pari' ular, is essential to validity. The daily life of a Iloman Catholic is directed and governed in like manner. He is controlled by the precepts of the Church. She binds him down to strict obedience to the very least of them ; but she makes no provision for his spiritual edification by the word of the Lord. It might excite indifference or dislike to her exactions. She has " made the word of God of none effect through her tradition." And how carehilly does she guard that " tradition !" How anxious she is to prevent her children from becoming familiar with Scripture, lest they should learn to undervalue the au- thority of the Church. *'It is manifest from experience,"* says the fourth rule of the " Congregation of the Index," pub- lished in 1564, " that if the Holy Bible, translated into the vulgar tongue, be indiscriminately allowed to every one, the temerity of men will cause more evil than good to arise from it." Dr. Wiseman tells the people (in his " Lectures") that this reading of the Scriptures leads them astray. Archbishop M'Hale talks about " the poison of the Scripture Lessons," and assures Lord John|Russell that he will preserve the children under his care from it. The " Catholic Bishops, the Vicars Apostolic and their coadjutors in Britain" issue a " Declaration," in which they affirm that " the unauthorized reading and circulation of the Scriptures, and the interpretation of them by private judgment, are calculated to lead men to nontradicto7'y doctrhies on the primary articles of Christian rf 44 SCRIPTURE AND TRADttION. ■■• I belief ; to Inconsistent forms of worship, which cannot all be constituent parts of the uniform and sublime system of Christianity ; to error and fanaticism in religion, and to sedi- tions and the greatest disorders in states and kingdoms /" This policy is uniformly observed. If Scripture be allowed, tradi- tion will fall ; therefore, discountenance Scripture, that tradi- tion may be uppermost. So, after all — it is not Scripture-— ' A friend who was much ir+erested in my welfare begged me to accompany him to the Ohapel of which he was a member, (Rowland Hill's). A stranger preached. His text was Acts ix, 11, " Behold he prayeth !" I was struck with the mode of worship, and the solemnity of the discourse. I felt that / had never prayed ; but I smiled with inward contempt when I was pointed to a }?imple reliance upon a Saviour. I felt convinced I was wrong, I felt if his doctrine was in accordance with th« Bible, and it Was ti-ue, I must be lost ! Rosary trammels and prescribed confessions had lost their hold upon my mind. I tletermined to procure a Bible, and to give the book a prayer- ful and impartial reading. In about four months I had its contests, nearly. This course God blessed to my «€au 52 SCBIPTURE AND TRADITION. ii' conversion.' At this time Mr. Denhara was twenty-one years of age." During the next thirteen years Mr. Denham was engaged, partly in the work of education, and partly in the ministry. He so diligently improved his spare hours that he " acquired a knowledge of Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, Latin, and Greek, and was not unacquainted with Rabbinical lore. Theoretical and systematic theology also engaged his attention, and a consider- able course of reading had been pursued in philosophy and history, and whatever may be deemed necessary to the general exegesis of the Bible." In 1844 he entered into the mission- ary service, under the Baptist Missionary Society, and labored, first in Intally, near Calcutta, and afterwards at Serampore, with distinguished success. He was en his return to India, after a visit to England, when illness compelled him to stop at Ceylon, where he died, Oct. 25, 1858. A kind Wesleyan missionary, and the Presbyterian chaplain of the station (Point de Galle) rendered him brotherly attention in his last moments. The missionary says : — •' Throughout his affliction he conversed freely on religious subjects, and expressed his firm reliance on the atonement, and his entire resignation to the will of his Heavenly Father. His mind was filled with joy and peace in believing. When I first visited him, I ques- tioned him on these subjects, and he replied, ' These things are not a question of to-day or to-raorrow with me ; it has been the great purpose of my life for many years to give my heart wholly to God, and now I have no new resolutions to form. I am His in life and death.' "* Educated in Romanism, Mr. Denham lell into infidelity. The despised Bible was the means of his conversion. But it did not lead him back to Rome. I have now accomplished the purpose with which I under- took to reply to Mr. Maturin's pamphlet. I have endeavored ^: ( I ♦Baptist Magaaine, January 1859, p. 52. ;.( ,i NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHES. 53 5 • to show that his theory must be rejected, because it is opposed to Scripture ; — because it is a novelty ; — because of its unsatis- factory results ; — because of its degrading influence ; — because of its impracticability ; — because it has t^ignally failed ; — and because of its tendencies and effects. Mr. Maturin's production is very defective in point of order and arrangement. This occasions numerous repetitions, and gives an air of confusion to the whole, so that the reader feels much like a man in a fog, who wanders about eccentrically, and not unfrequently finds himself at the very place from which he had started some time before. It may be further observed, that the fallacy called petitio principii, or begging the question, is exemplified in every part of the work. Mr. Maturin is continually taking for granted the very thing that is to be proved, and then arguing from it as if it were proved. Thus, in order to prove that Scripture and Tradition united constitute the divine rule of faith and practice, h€ brings for- ward the decree of the Council of Trent, and then adds, " This is the public declaration of the Church in her last General Council." But the claims and authority of the so-called Church are the very points at issue, and therefore the de- cree of the Council of Trent is perfectly valueless. It must first be proved that the Church of Home is the true, the only Church, and then that the said Council was a lawful "and full assembly of that Church. Mr. Maturin's attempt to evade the charge commonly brought against the Roman Catholic argu- ment, that it is ** reasoning in a circle," entirely fails. There the circle is, and he and his friends are whirling round it, any thing he may say to the contrary notwithstanding. An observation may be made here on the manner in which the word " Church" is constantly employed by Mr. Maturin. He uses it in a sense in which it was never used by New Tes- tament writers, nor for some time after the days of the Apos- tles. Theoretically, he seems to intend by the word the entire Christku body, as at any one time existing, with power to act ' ''I f 111 54 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITTOK. i ■^i '111! I i • in its corporate capacity, by means of General Councils ,-. although a limitation has been introduced in modern tinies» excluding all but members of the Church of Bo'jie. Practi- cally, the General Council h the Church. But nothing of this kind is to b i found in the New Testament. There, wc read of " the Churches of the saints," every Christian assembly, con- stituted in accordance with the Saviour's laws, being a Church. When the word " Church" is used in a general sense, the re- ference is, not to a corporate body, or great organization, but to the whole family of the i adeemed. Tlie duties and privi- leges assigned to Christian Churches belong to every Christian Assembly, constituted as above, and are to be fulfilled and en- joyed accordingly. The laws of the New Testament can only be obeyed by individual societies, each acting under allegiance to Christ, the Head, and guided by tbe Holy Spirit, in har- mony with the word of truth. Of such a Church as Mr. Maturin speaks of, I find no trace in the inspired volume ; and I am not prepared to believe that a point of so much '"iportance, identified with the interests and actual existence of visible Christianity, was left in an indeterminate state, to be developed in after ages. On New Testament principles, the Church of Rome was — the v'' ■!rch of the City of Rome, or the Christian congregatiou there existing — and nothing more. All beyond was foreign ground, on which other Churches might be stationed, each of them independent of Rome and of one another, and each answering the purposes of the Christian institution, in diffus- ing the truth and promoting mutual edification. If Peter was- Bishop or pastor of that Church, which cannot be proved, his jurisdiction extended only to the individuals composing it, as a particular society, and not to any other place ; and his succes- sors could have no jther rights and privileges than he himself enjoyed. Whatever special power or prerogative was granted to him by our Lord was altogether personal in its nature, and ceased at his death, if not before. As an Apostle, he had no successor. THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH OF C'lUIST. 55 When, therefore, we speak of " the Church of Christ on earth," we mean thereby, if our language be in agreement with the New Testament, all Christians ; or we use the word in a general serise, including all Churches, each of them carry- ing into effect che designs of the Saviour, and thus, taken col- lectively, being regarded as the Church Institute of Christian- ity. The oneness, or unity of the Church docs not consist in its being one visible body, but in the fact of the agreement of all Christians in the fundamental points of faith, and in the uniformity of Christian character, produced by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But, as I have already observed, there is no provision in the New Testament for the action of the whole Christian body, as one Church. No powers are entrusted to such a supposed Church — no privileges given — no duties en- joined. How the separate and independent Churches of Apos- tolic times were at length developed into what is called the " Catholic Church," to the loss of their individuality and free- dom, it is the province of the ecclesiastical historian to unfold. I have confined myself, in the preceding observations, to one subject. It was not m;y intention to follow Mr. Maturin, step by step, nor to ' eply to every objection which he has adduced against Protestantism, or against any of its forms. I do not undertake to be the apologist of Luther, nor to defend the leaders of the English Eeformation. Whatever opinion may be formed respecting the conduct and policy of Henry VIII. or Elizabeth, the controversy between Protestants and Ro- man Catholics is not in the least aifected bv it. Nor am I in the slightest degree interested in the discussion, as it regards members of the Church of England ; they will manage their own quarrel. My attention has been solely given to certain principles in which Protestants, as such, generally agree. Much that has been advanced by Mr. Maturin has no bear- ing on the Denomination to which I have the honor to belong. Those who are aggrieved will know how to defend themselves, if they are inclined to do so. The position ive have taken Ml I ' rf 56 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. %. m saves U3 from some of the thrusts to wuich others arc exposed. We do not find diocesan episcopacy in the New Testament — nor infant baptism — nor confirmation — nor priestly absolution ; all these, with baptismal regeneration, which, in our opinion, lies at the root of the manifold evils with which Christendom is burdened, we have rejected. We repudiate all Church usages, as binding on Christians, which are not enjonied in the New Testament, or clearly sanctioned by its principles. What- ever can be fairly proved to have been the universal and con- tinued practice of Apostolic Churches, we think ought to be followed nuW, without deviation ; but we cannot go beyond the Apostolic age and the inspired lecord, for corruption was at work before Christianity w^as a hundred years old. There is no safety (such is awr feeling) in taking for patterns the (Jhurches of even the second and third centuries. There was among them such a mingling of weakness, and superstition, and ignorance of the true method of Scripture interpretation, and such a disposition to borrow adornments from other sys- tems, that if we conform ourselves to their modes of faith, worship, i\nd government, we shall find that we have un- consciously admitted principles of very dangerous tendency.''^ Onr conclusion is, that the Scriptures, and the Scriptures only, are the rule of faith and practice. No one knows whether the Apostles delivered any instructions to the Churches, de- signed to be of perpetual obligation, which are not embodied in their writings. The presumption is in the negative. We are warranted in the conviction t\at the Holy Spirit guided them in writing, as he did in speaking, so that the New Testa- ment constitutes a complete and sufficient body of Christian law. Not that exact provision was made for all the minutioi of service — such as, when, how often, or in what order, we should pray, sing, or read the Scriptures. That was not re- * See Isaac Taylor's " Ancient Christianity," an admirable work, which the Tractarians have not attempted to answer. I SUFFICIENCY OF THE NEW TESTAMKNT. 57 f[uiied under a spiritual dispenf«atioii. There is no book ot Leviticus in the New Testament. The outline is drawn, clearly and boldly ; the filling up is left to the discretion of the Churohea. We have ample directions for the constitvJon and general government of the (Dhurches, in the precepts, pre- cedents, and principles of the holy book ; and we want no ad- ditional legislation, no appendix of rules and orders ; for where direct commands or examples fail us, the true Apostolical Can- ons come to our aid. See 1 Cor. x. 31, xiv. 20, 40, xvi. 14 ; Col. iii. 17. We cannot, dare not, go beyond the book. If we adopt other laws and rules than those which are contained in the Now Testament, we assume a power which has not been com- mitted to us, and which, in the hands of Home, has forged the chains of spiritual despotism ; and we virtually charge the Redeemer with having made insufficient provision for the ser- vice of the Church. The Spirit being given to the Ap-^stles to " bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever Christ had said unto them,'* and to "guide them unto all truth," that saraQ divine influence led them to commit as much to writing as would bo needful for the wants ot the Churches. We find no difficulty in carrying on Church government by this means. But we are convinced, that if we should appeal to Christian antiquity, on the supposition that Apostolic plans and usages had been handed down from the beginning, a principle would be admitted which would lead us straight to liome. For who can distinguish between the presumed Apostolic custom and the new invention ? The only way, therefore, to preserve our- selves from the condemnation pronounced on those who " made the word of God of none effijct," is to cleave to the great Pro- testant declaration — "The Bible, the Bible only." If it be maintained that " the Church hath power to decree rites and ceremonies," we reply, first, that we want them not, for the ceremonial of the New Testament, simple as it is, is sufficient for us : secondly, that in reference to worship, the i^l ii 58 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. 11 *:■ J. 1 1 , !*U;: r. ! If li manner, boitij,' indifferent, must not be imposed, and therefore no "decree" is needed, the Churches having full lil)erty to adopt any proposed mode, or not, at their pleasure ; and thirdly, that we cannot eoneede such a right to any Chunjh or Churches, because of the consequences that would follow. We desire no allianae with Rorn3, nor with any member of her family. In the conclusion of his letter Mr. Maturin adverts, (pp. 86, 91) with groat warmth and arlour, to the "mtii.cs of the true Church." Tiie Church of Rome is "one — holy — catholic — and apostolic." I cannot trespass on the patience of my readers by lengthened animadversions on these "marks," and will only say, that every sentence Mr. Maturin has penned on this subject is capable of full and satisfactory refutation. Yet on one point a word or two must be offered. Mr. Maturin avers that " the Roman Church is holy — in the means of holiness and in the Jruits of holiness — in the tendency of her doctrines and the profession of her members — by the sanctifying grace of the Holy Ghost bestowed upon all her children, through the in- strumentality of her divinely appointed sacraments." Tie cautiously adds, that "we cannot always judge of llie sanctity of a Church by the lives of its members " — a very needful, but remarkable proviso in the present case, although it hardly squares with the divine axiom, " By their fruits ye shall know them." I will charitably suppose that Mr. Maturin is serious, and that he has brought himself to believe that " the Catholic Church stands immeasurably high in this respect, in comparison with all others." But how has he read history. Perhaps he has not noticed the lamentations of Cardinal Baronius. I will transcribe them for his information. "What was then the face of the holy Roman Church ! How filthy, when most vile and powerful prostitutes ruled at Rome ! by whose will dioceses were changed, bishops were consecrated, and — which is inexpressibly horrible to be spoken and heard — false popes, their paramours, were thrust into the chair of St. Peter, who, in being numbered as Popes, serve no purpose CflARACTER OF CAllDINALS AND I'Ol'l.S. 5a except to fill up tho catalogues of the Popes of Homo. For who can say that persons thrust into tho popedom without law, by harlots of this sort, were legitimate Popos of Koine?"* Perhaps ho has never read IMarsilius of Padua, whose '''Defensor Pacis,'^ published in the fourtoenth century, was a wonderfully bold protest against tho corruptions of the times. "In the present corrupt state ot the church," says he, "tho great majority of the priests and bishops aro but little, and if we may speak frosly, quite insufficiently experienced in the sacred Scriptures ; because they hanker ofter the benefices, to which ambitious, covetous aspirants, skilled in canonical law, attain, b^ sjrvices rendered, by petition, by money, or the aid ot the secular power. I call God and the multitude of be- lievers to witness, that I have seen and heard oi very many priests and abbots, and some prelates, incapable even of preach- ing a sermon according to the rules of grammar." He mentions the case of a young man, not yet twenty years of age, and ab- solutely ignorant of religion, consecrated a bishop, without passing through the inferior grades of the ministry ; and he says that the Popes had often done this, " with a view to secure tho favor of the powerful."! Perhaps the complaints and remonstrances of Nicholas de Clemangis have never met his eye. In his celebrated work, " De ruina EcclesioB," published in 1401, he draws a melan- choly picture of the state of religion at that time. He speaks of the "scandalous bargaining away of benefices'' at Rome ; of the luxury, pride, and worldly pomp of the Cardinals, and of the ignorance of the priesthood, many of whom " could not even read," and who, instead of making amends for their ignorance by their excellent conduct, spent their time in " feasting and sporting." He describes the mendicant friars as ravening wolves in sheep's clothing, who put on for outward *A(1 Ann. 912, § 8. Also, Ad Ann. 900, § 1. fNeander's History of tho Church, V. 3S. 'I* 00 SCRIPTDUE AND TRADITION. \i:^ ■t show, severity of life, ehastit}', iiiunility, holy Himi)licity, but in secret abandoned theniselve.s to the choieest pleasures, to a " dainty variety of luxurious enjoyment." He says that the proportion of good members to bad in the (Jlmrch Mas scarecly " ono to a thousand," and that whenever iin individual dis- tinguished himsolf by his pious liviii;^, he was a butt of ridicule for the rest, and was pointed out as a proud man, a singular fellow, an insane person, or a hypocrite."* Perhaps he is ignorant of thers and Councils, and controversial writings on the Roman Catholic side, that he has not found time to become acquainted with the state of society in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and South America, in which countries the genuine effects of Romanism are much more fully developed than in Protestant lands. If the question is to be raised respecting the compara- tive effects of the two systems, the evidence will be forthcoming, and it will be of such a kind that " both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle." I freely admit the obligations under which we are laid to learned men, members of the Roman Catholic Church, for their contributions to literature, especially in the departments of the Classics and Ecclesiastical History. They have per- formed an immense amount of labor, and earned the gratitude of all Christendom. I honor the Benedictines, for their splendid editions of the Fathers. I admire, in common with all Protestants, Fenelon and Pascal. 1 know that Cardinals ^Nc*u(ler, as above,, pp. 5G-58. INTOLKRANCE OF TUE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. Gl Mezzofiiiiti and Maii, particularly the latter, dcsorvcd all the encomiums that have been lavi»hed on thom. IJut I lanient that meu of .such talent arul geniuH should have boon ujiserably whacklod by the restraints of the Church, and Hubjocted to the degrading inlluences inseparably connected with HubmisBiou to Home. I regret, too, the fall of Mr. Maturin. lie was at one time deemed a fervent, etiergetic, evangelical preacher of the Gos- pel. What has he gained by the change? Ho has joined a Church which declares that the "written l)Ooks" comprised in the Bible, the Apocrypha being included — and the " unwritten traditions," — are to be received " with e(i[ual piety and veneration;" — and asserts, contrary to the evi- dence of history, that the said traditions have been "pre- served in the Catholic Church by continual succession;" — thua poisoning the streams of truth at the very source. He has joined a Church which will not allow him to " read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest " the word of God, but places insuperable obstacles in the way — requires him to renounce the right of judging for himself, and even " the desire of subjecting truth to demonstration," and demands his unhesitating assent to whatever the Church may teach. He has joined a Church which denies justification by faith only — inculcates the doctrine of human merit* — mutilates one [ 'I I *Tlio following extracts from the Canons of the Council of Trent, on jus- tification, show the sentiments of the Church of Rome on that vital point. The Ji7st Canon sounded well : — " Whoever shall affirm tha' a man may be justified before God by his own works, whether performed by tho strength of human nature, or according to the teaching of the law, with- out the grace of God in Christ Jesua ; let hiin be accursed." But lot us compare it with some that follow : " 11. Whoever shall affirm that men are justified solely by the imputa- tion of tho righteousness of Christ, or the remission of sin, to the exclu- sion of grace and charity, which is shed abroad in their hearts and inheres in them ; or that the grace by which we are justified is only the favour of God ; let him be accursed." Ms 02 fiCRlPTtIHE AND tRADtttOK. &' lit |V •] . of tli<» onlinanot H of Christ— teaches that the Hncrumonta con* for grace, iinvl tliiit •' in them cxistH the jiowur ot the Oiimipo* tent "— *un(l itnpiouHly pretends to renew from time to time, in " the wicrifice of the ma8H>" the " one offering " by which the Saviour has •* perfected forever them th are sanotitted." llu has joined a Church in which the coHHtraincd cclibnoy of of the prie«tho,<)d and the Vows of the monastic state have led to gross innnonilitics, and destroyed the souls of thousands. Ho has joim.'d a Church which has systematically imposed on the credulity of mankind by foolish legends and •'lying wonders," and cheats them out of their salvation by encourag- ing confidence in indulgences, works of charity, austerities., " 24. 'VVhocvor shall affirm, that judtificalion received ia not preserved, and oven Increinod, in the sight of God, by good works ; but that works are only thu triiits and evidences of jutitiflcation rcxivcd, and not the oauHes of it!) inOrcaHO ; lot him be acourBed." " 2t5. WhiiiH'ur shall aflirm, that the righteous ought not to expect and hope for ovorhifiin^ reward from God for their good works, which are ^^rrought in Goil. tlirough his mercy and the merits of Josus Christ, if they persevere to thi; end in well-doing and obsorvanoe of the divine oommand>- tuonts ; let hi 11 l)o accursodt" " 30. M' hoevdi' shall affirm, that when the grace of justification is re^ tjcived the olTiiico of the penitent sinner is forgi ren, and the sentence of eternal punishimnt reversed, that there remains no temporal panishmcnt to be endured het'oro his entrance into the kingdom of heaven, cither in this world, or i i the future state, in purgatory ; let him be accursed." T shall affirm, that the good works of a justified man arc j^ifts of God, that they are not alno his worthy merits.: justified by his good works, whii^h aro wrought by him '0 of God, and the merits of Jesus Christ, of whom he ia a I es not really deserve increase of grace, eternal life, the ' ' eternal life if he dies in a state of grace, and evon an ; let him bo accursed." ' deal of unholy ingenuity in these canons. The fathers the grace of God," and " the merits of Jesus Christ," in ileal strain ; while their system is so constructed that the principal i-: .: '.oy of the Saviour's righteousnes sappears to be that it gives value to :r v, and that a kind of partnership oxists, whereby divine grace and man i scrvinge share the glory of salvation. " 32. Who. in such sense t : or that he, bei i through the gr. living momber cnjoyment ot *i increase of gioi There is a g' of Trent talk .• L^rOLKRASCB OP THE ROMAX CATllOLlr C'llLKOlI. oa relics, or saintly intcrcc8.sion, to the neglect of the on.y •' iiume unJer heaven given among men whereby thc^ must be saved." lie has joint'd a Chureh which is chargeuMe with the virtual suppression of one of* the commandments, in.struits her children to ««bow down" before images, and practically "worships and serves the creature more than the Creator." Ho has joined a chureh which filches from the people thoir dearest ri^^hts, fastens on their necks the yoke of bondage, and, wherever her intluenco is unchecked, cripi)lcs men's energies, debases their characters and habits, and makes them the vie* tims of a grovelling superstition. lie has joined a Church which excludi's hlin from the fellow* ship of the learned and wise of other relig'ous persuaKions, forbidding him to read (unless by special lictn.^e, wlioh may bo at ajjy tiujo revoked) the works of the Keforn( js of the »ixtecnth century, British and Foreign, and of the TViritaro and Nonconformists of the seventeenth cent ny- -and the writ- ings of Lord liaeon, Locke, Milton, Addison, (Jrotius, Sir Matthew Hale, Moshelm, Selden, Jeremy Taylor, Young (the poet), Macaulay, Roscoe, llobortson, and u)iiny more — pro* Bcribed because they are Protestant. He has joined a Chureh which teaches him to forswear all the kindly feelings he once entertained towards other profess* iug Christians, and tells him that as they are out of her pale they cannot bo saved. Members of the Greek lionnnunion— Protestajits of every class and 'U-riomination — our J^eightons, and Hebers, and Martyns — our Owens, and Baxters, and Howes — our Miltons and Lockes*— our ^Vhitcfields and Wes- leys — our Banyans and Howards— our Missionaries of every name — ;ini all included in the same condemning sentence. No matter what were their excellencies j their piety might be seraphic, t'leir benevolence Godlike, their faith like the "shin* ing light" that illuminates and gladdens all nature; but hav- ing committed the unpardonable sin of refusing to pay homage to the man of the triple crown, the Roman Catholic is bound to believe that thev are lost forever. 04 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITIOX. i) He has joined a Church which not only pronounces the fear- ful doom of everlasting destruction upon those who differ from her — teaching the very children to say that tliey go "to hell for all eternity " — but has in every age, when she possessed power or influence, consigned them to the most horrible punishments, torturing and destroying them, by means of her agents, in untold numbers ; — in one word, the Church which is the mother of the Inquisition. Mr. Maturin has joined that Church. Can such a union make him a happier, a holier, or a more useful man ? In conclusion, I beg to ask the attention of those members of the Honian Catholic persuasion who may read these pages. I have written plainly (some may think, severely) on the subject under discussion. It will be admitted, I hope, that in so doing I have conscientiously followed the dictates of duty. Nevertheless, you think that I am in grievous error, as /think you are. Protestants and Koman Catholics, regarding each other as in a state of spiritual peril, must each naturally desire to effect the rescue of the other. There is no obstacle in this country to such efforts. Yoit may endeavor to convert us to your views, and we are at full liberty to con\ert you to ours. The publication of our sentiments, on either side, contemplates this result, and not merely the explanation or defence of our respective systems. If any of our number should be persuaded by Mr. Mtiturin's pamphlet, and join vour ranks, we shall have no right to be angry with them on that account, however we may regret their defection, pnd tremble for their souls ; much less, would it be defensible to slander them, or to injure them in any way. All that we should be justified in doing, in such cases, would be, to pity the wanderers, pray for them, and employ reasonable and Scriptural means for their restoration. The same observations will apply to you, should any Roman Catholics become converts to Protestantism. Persecution, in any form, on account of religion, is as mean and cowardly as it is opposed to Christian teachings. HOMAN CATHOLICS INVITED TO INQUIRY. 65 the Yet though our religious differences are of a serious charac- ter, nothing of this kind should interfere with the duties of brotherhood, or occasion estrangement, or draw a line of demarcation between us. We live under a constitution which guarantees equal rights to all, and proscribes no man on account of his religious sentiments or practice. Let it be seen that we can differ from one another on points of tLe greatest moment, and still act together as fellow-subjects and fellow- citizens, and even co-operate for the good of mankind, in a variety of respects. " Wide as the poles asunder " in re- ligious matters, we may find common ground, where you and the various Denominations of Protestants may meet, and work together for the general weal. It is obviously desirable to multiply such points of contact, so far as it can be done without compromise of principle. That will be repudiated on all hands. Allow me to press upon you the importance of personal inquiry into the claims of differing systems, and the grounds on which that rests to which you are professedly attached. Take your own translation of the Scriptures, and read it, unencumbered with notes or comments. Imperfect as is the translation (for it will be remembered that it is only the trans- lation of a translation, being the Vulgate Latin rendered into English), you will not find in it the peculiar doctrines and practices which distinofuish the Roman Catholic Church. Now, if your Church required something more than the Bible in order to the completion of her system, it is manifestly proper that you should compare the original revelation with the sub- sequent additions, or, as your spiritual advisers will tell you, one part of the tradition with the other. Surely, God's mes- sages must be harmonious, and consistent with each other. He cannot teach a truth in the written word, and then contradict or neutralize it in the unwritten tradition. Exam- ine and compare them, without hesitation and without fear, earnestly praying to God to guide you. Do not suffer your- If' i h 1 f if , I l! 1% 66 SCRIPTURE AND TIXADITION. selves to be imposed upon by liigh-sounding phrases and vast pretensions. Assert your independence. Act as responsible beings — responsible and subject, in matters of religion, only to God. " If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given him," — James i. 5. •' Every one of us shall give account of himself to God," — Rom. xiv. 12. li : It 10 J, it I A P r E N D I X . (No. 1.) WAS PETER BlSnOP OF llOiME? The first thought .that strikes an inquirer is the aksolute silence ol' Scripture. If it were true, as Romanists affirno, that Peter was constituted head of the whole Church on earth, it was of tlie utmost importance that all the Churches should know it, and should know it from the very first. But here is the startling fact, that though all the books of the New Testa- ment were written after the Apostle's supposed entrance on his office, and even after his becoming bishop of Rome (accord- ing to the theory), there is not the slightest reference to the matter in the inspired volume. This is altogether unaccount- able. The early fatliers, as has been already observed, were entire- ly ignorant of Peter's presidency over the Roman Church. No mention is made of it in any authentic writing previous to the time of Justin Martyr. Papias, bishop of Ilierapolis, v.lio flourished in the early part of the second century, is cited us a witness ; but the sum of his testimony is merely this, (if indeed it be his at all, which is quite doubtful), that Peter wrote his first epistle from "Babylon," which, he says, figuratively means "Rome." No reliance can be placed on that fancy.* Then we come to Dionysius of Corinth (died about A. D. 178), who, in a letter addressed to the Church of Rome, frag- ments of which have been preserved by Eusebius, says of * Euseb. Ilist. ii 15. f; 1 68 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. Peter and Paul — '-They both came into our city of Corinth and instructed us, scattering the seed of evangelical doctrine; they also went together to Italy, and after they had in like manner instructed you, suflFercd martyrdom at the same time."* This statement is at variance with the narrative of the savu*ed historian. It is abundantly evident that Peter was not at Corinth when Paul was there, and that Paul never went from Corinth to Italy. Whether they both met at Rome and suf- fered there, is just possible. It is certain, however, that Paul's first visit to the imperial city took place when he was taken there as a prisoner in the year 61 > His second visit, previous to his martyrdom, may be assigned to the year 67 or 68. If, according to Dionysius, Peter accompanied him, he could not have been resident at Home more than a few months. His twenty-five years' episcopate there must be classed aiiiong the fables. Tertullian states that Peter baptized [immersed — "tinxit") — ■ in the Tiber, and that he was crucified at Romo.t Admitting the truth of these statements it would not follow that he was bishop of that city. Caius and Irenoeus style Peter and Paul the "founders" of the Church of Rome.1: That Paul was not its founder is evi- dent because a Church had existed there long before his visit. Consequently, these statements fall to the ground. And this further is noticeable, that the ancient fathers, in tracing the succession of the Roman bishops, do not place Peter among thera, thou>.^h they speak of him (incorrectly) as one of the founders iE>f the Church. They uniformly declare .uat Linus was the fii>vt bishop, and the enumeration proceeds accord- ingly.^ The conclusion is, that whereas it is possible that Peter visited Rome, as Origen states, towards the end of his life, or ♦Euseb. Hist. ii. 25. fDo Baptismo, c. 4 : De Procscript, o 36. JEuseb. His. ii. 25. §Euseb, ut. sup. iii. 2. WAS PETER BISHOP OF ROME? 69 just before his martyrdom,* the story of his bishopric is al- together fictitious. But if he was not bishop of Home, the ecclesiastical fabric falls to pieces, for the papal supremacy rest« on the assumption that the occupants of the Roman see are Peter's successors. A few words on that subject may be added. That the supremacy was unknown in the early ages may be easily proved. The bishop of Home was treated as bishop of the Church in the city of Rome. Nothing was known for a long time of any more extensive jurisdiction. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch was put to death at Rome iu the reigr. of Trajan. On his journey from Antioch he wrote a letter to the Roman Church. It is not a little singular that neither in that letter nor in the narrative of his martyrdom i« there any reference to the bishop of Rome. What would be thought in these times of a letter written to the Church of Rome without any mention of the Pope ? Polycarp suffered martyrdom at Smyrna in the year 167. The Church at Smyrna published a narrative of his martyrdom, in a circular letter addressed to the Church at Philomelium, and " to all the Churches of the holy and catholic faith ;" but there is no reference to the church df Rome or to its bishop. When, towards the close of the second century, the practice of appealing to churches founded by apostles sprung up, the bishops of Rome eagerly availed their selves of the circum- stance, v.nd put forth pretensions of an extraordinary character. As the Apostle Paul had been thrice resident in their city — the first time when he " dwelt two whole years in his own hired house," — tiiu second, for some months before his martyr- dom ; and as the Apostle Pi mr also was believe ^ to have suffered there, his death being preceded by a shcr' period of christian labour — these apostles came to be regarded as in W^-' "■j^uavUi ii.ioti. III. 1. rii It!: I 70 SCiai'TUllJt] AND TRADITION. a ctjita... Hen>iC Ihc " rounJoi'^" of tlio church. It had existed long before, but their pre.iching and other ellbrts hiid '.»oe/i so blessed tluit it seeiued as ii the church received ncv life. Gratitude, mingled with un almost pardonable vanily, j'iijua- dcd thei:i to date their hii-tory accordingly, and tirh, il* luc acquired the title of an '" Apo.stohe Church." Her honour was greater than that of any other Clrarch, in t)i;it she could boast of ^//;o Apostles as her sn[ posed founders : she had besides the advantage of being cstaldished in the i)ictro|iolis of the c;(..r;ire. Men h.\d b !ca accustomed from their avliest veass to coutsinpbjio ihc im;iorial city as the centre oiconimunic-'tion, the pl.i;,e oi fua! a irtCul. ll was not difficult to trunsler those vicv.'s aiid foiviii!,;. to ecclesiastical matters. What the Empe.'or was iu t'uiigs t- niporal, that the bishop of the metro- polis would aspire to be, in things spij-itual. Victor I. (A. D. l'J2-202^ made the trial. There was a uiffereiif of ophiion rcspecthig the proper time for observing Easter. Fourteen bishops assembled at Home, at victor's re- quest, and agreed that Easter should be kept on tiie Sunday after the full moon succeeding the vernal CjuiHox. The Asiatics met at Ephesus, under the presidency of Pulycrates, bishop of that city, and resolved that Easter should be kept on the 14th day of the moon, on whatc. 'r day of the week it might fall. Polyerates informed Victor of this decision. The lioraan bishop was highly enraged. He resolved i<^ hold no fellowship with the Quarto-decimaas (as those on tlu opposite side were designated), and he wrote to that elfect, excluding them from Communion with his church. This arrogant and unchristian proceeding drew upon him the dis])lcasure of his brethren. The letter sent by Irenceus on that v asion has been preserved. lie held the same sentiments a.^ " .-^ Eoman bishop, but he held diem in charity. It '''^»p< , '. to him a monstrous thing ' ^communicate a brot^ . such slight grounds. Diversity of celebration, he obseiv 1 had existed nrom ihe very first. Some faste'. yno day beb. :v i ' ' er ; some. I WAS PETER BISHOP OF ROME? 71 . two ; some, for a longer period ; hut no one had yet ventured to niaintuiii that diverf^ity was inconsistent with fellowship. The Quarto-deelmans retained their peculiarities, in spite of Victor's harmless thunder.* This was the first attempt of the bishop of .Home to impose his sentiments on other churches, and it signally failed. The history of the dispute between Stephen I. of Home and other bishops is very instructive. Many of the Churches held that baptism administered by heretics was null and void ; but such baptism was regarded as valid at Rome, if the requisite form and manner Avore observed. At a Council held at Iconium, A. D. 256, it was resolved that all ecclesiastical acts performed by heretics were invalid. AVhen Stephen heard of it he was very angry, and excommunicated the Council, thr/t is," refused them fellowship in his church. A deputation was sent to remonstrate with him, but he refused to hear or see them. Firmilian, bishop of Coeserea, wrote a narrative of the aifair, in a letter to Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. Stephen was roughly handled on the occasion. His *' audacity" and " insolence" were boldy reproved. Absolute uniformity, it vras observed, did not exist among the churches ; different places had different customs, but they did not destroy or lessen the love of the brethren ; at Rome itself many things were done for which no apostolic authority could be pleaded, and which differed from the practice of the mother church at Jesusalem. The " open and manifest folly" of Stephen was exposed, in boasting of being Peter's successor, while he sanctioned that which Peter would have condemned. " To the ' *.i.stora ."Rome," said Firmilian, " we oppose the custom of truth, h>ldlrg froiu the beginning that which has been delivered to us by Christ and his apostles." Cyprian was equally firm. In an opening spc\ ;;h delivered by him at a Council held at ^Eusubiue Hist. 7. 24. i\\ 1:8 III t. : 3 lli: i '2 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. Carthage rnspccting the baptism of heretics, A. D. 256, he said, " no one of us pretends to be a bishop of bishops, or tyrannicallj compels his colleagues to obey him, since every bishop has full liberty and power to act for himself ; ai?d as he judges no man, so he cannot be judged by his brethren. But we looked for the judgment of Jesus Christ, the universal Lord, who only has power to appoint us to the government of his churches, and to judge our acts." These are the words of a man who acknowledged no superior in religious matters, and who was prepared to withstand every attempt at usurpation.* This brings us to the middle of the third century. It is un- necessary to pursue the inquiry any further. The testimony of history is clearly adverse to the claims of the bishop of Rome. Note. — Irenoeus and Cyprian as well as Victor and Stephen, are ack- nowledged as Saints by the Church of Rome, and receive the usual honours. * Labb. et Cossart. Tom. I. pp. 751-7C0, 78G. IS «. » :i r (No. 2.) THE EARLY HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN BRITAIN. • Since the publication of the first edition, I have received from Mr. Maturin a copy of his Lecture on *' the origin of Christianity in England," delivered before the " Halifax Catholic Institute." I have read the Lecture with attention and interest, but my opinion on the subject is unchanged. I cannot agree with Mr. Maturin with regard to " the origin of Christianity in England." Mr. Maturin slates the evidence very fairly. He shews that Clemens Romanus speaks of the Apostle Paul as "having come to the boundary of the West " ; — that Jerome says of the same Apostle that " he directed his journey towards Spain, running in imitation of his Lord, the Sun of Righteousness, his course from the Red Sea, or rather from the Eastern to the Western Ocean " ; — that Origen refers to the • ifesta- tion of " the power of our Lord and Saviour " in " the land of Britain " ; — that Eusebius, treating of the labours of the twelve Apostles and the seventy disciples, expresses his as- tonishment " that some individuals should have gone even to the very extremities of the earth, and have penetrated into the country of the Indians, and others have passed over the ocean to those called the British Islands" ; — +hnt Chrysostom rejoices in the thought that " even the BritisL x;3iands .... have felt the power of the word, for even there also churches and altars have been erected " ; — and that the same fact is referred to by Theodoret, Arnobius the younger, and Venan- tius Fortunatus. " The sum of their testimony is this, that Christianity was introduced into England before the close of the second century; but they are ent' ely silent as to the exact time at which, or the individual aissionaries by whom, ^A 74 SCIUI'TURE AND TKADITION. m ■ lfll !> . tlio iuostlinablc blus.^iiig oF divine truth was fii-st convoyed to tlio IJritisIi shores. Thero i'« not one ol them wliu refers the origin of the British t. iv' lo St. Paul, or to any other of the Ajjo.stles." (p. 21). All this may 1 o admitted. We do not kno^M exactly when or by whom the (Jospel as.is first preached in IJritain. IJut the unik)nn testimony of these writers is that it was tiierc at an early ]>eriod. By wh;it means, then, was the blessinp: conveyed ? Yene- valjle V'.'de gives this account : — " In the year of our Lord's Inearnw'on li)Q [it should be 101], Marcus Antoninus Verus, the fourt'j^enth from Auirustus, was made Kni]icror, together with iiis brother, Aurelius Commodus. In their time, whilst Kleuthcru;<, a holy man, presided over the Roman church, Lucius, king of the Britons, sent a letter to hiiri, entreating, that by his command he might be made a Christian. lie soon obtained the object of his piouq recpifst, and the Britoh, ^pre- served the f;iith, which they had received, uncorrujited and entire, in jieace and tranquility until the time of the Emperor Diocletian,"* Here is all the appearance of a legend, like those which, unhappily, disfigure many of th'.> pages of ecclesiastical history, and often prevent us from arrivit r at certainty. There was at that time no '* king of Britain," in the proper sense of that expression, the Romans being in possession of the country. Calphurnius Agricol.i was then governor, j'lie language at- tributed to the supposed king is also singularly inap} ropiiate. He is represented as entreatind the haid with wretchedness, and torn up the very foundation of society. Bcligion, if we may believe Gildas, suftered extremely. Tiio clergy were slothttd and vicious ; the peo[)le were universally wicked ; all was wr'^c'ic and ruin. At length, the idolaters prevailctl, and the Christian teachers withdre^v to Wales and Cornwall, with the ronniants of their flocks. In 597, when Augustine wa'? engaged in his missionary labours anionir the Ani>-lo-Saxons, he encountered the British bishops. But he found that they had no knov.ledgc of Home, or of spiritual allegiance due to Peter's successor. On the other hand, insulated as they were from the rest of Christendom, and unacquainted with the changes that were continusilly taking place, they were worshipping and serving Cod as they had been taught by their forefathers, and in vei'ij many things ['■^phirima'^) differed from the practices then prevalent at Rome. Augustine was bent on procuring uniformity and submission. His suc- cessors, after a long struggle, accomplished the design. But originally, Britain was independent, in things ecclesiastical, and owned nc su]>jectioQ to the Italian prelate. * Labb. ct Cossart. Tom. II. pp. CCO-G79. (No. 8.) THE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. In offering a few remarks on this subject, I wish it to be understood that the reader is supposed to be a believer in the divine origin of Christianity. It is no part of my present design to discuss the (question of Christian evidences. I shall take it for granted that the credibility of the New Testament history is acknowledged ; that the historians arc admitted to be honest, correct, and faithful ; in a word, that the truth-i fulness of their record cannot be impeached, and that if we refuse to believe them we must renounce all confidence in human testimony. These points being conceded, it will neces- sarily follow that Christianity is "of Cod. The truth of the testimony involves the divine character of the system ; for if the miracles recorded by the historians actually took place, the revelation in support of which they were wrought is the gift of heaven. We find, on examining these books, that our Lord and his apostles uniformly refer to the sacred scriptures, and quote them as the word of God. These rc(erences are to the Old Testament. On the Saviour's authority, therefore, we are bound to receive that part of tho volume, and reverently to consult it on all the subjects of which it treats. Are wc cfiually bound to receive the writings now called the New Testament, and to regard theru with tht same reverence ? This is a question of the deepest interest. The Saviour, we arc informed, promised his disci[)les, before his death, that they should receive the Holy Spirit ; that he would " bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever ho had said unto them ;" that he would explain to them the whole system of truth relating to himself ( "he shall recieve of mino, and shall show it unto you ;") and that he would " show them 80 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. ¥X IK,. ■ tl't 1 f m Mi- 1 t J p I I' |:i things to come" : John xiv. 26 : xvi. 13, 14. Wo should expect^ in the fulfilment of these promises, that christians would be furnished with an accurate account of the Redeemer's personal instructions, and a statement of truths and principles necessary to be held, and of services to be performed, under the new dis- pensation. We should further expect that the writings in which these would be comprised would contain predictions of future events, accrediting the authors as prophets of God. Now, in the books composing the New Testament we have the accomplishment of these expectations. The life and teach- ings of the Saviour are compendiously set before us by four writers. The system of Christian truth is clearly stated. Moral duties and positive institutions are explained and powerfully enforced. The approaching corruptions of Christianity, to issue in a lamentable «' departure from the faith" — and its ultimate triumph, involving the downfall of all opposers, are foretold — and the partial fulfilment of the predictions has confirmed faith and encouraged hope. Is not this God's book ? Do not its contents testify to its origin ? Is it not precisely the book that was wanted, in order that, as the first witnesses were removed by death, the loss of their oral testimony might be supplied by the written page, and it might be said of each, " he being dead yet speaketh ?" Many books were written, purporting to be productions of apostles or apostolic men. They were all subjected to rigid examination. The genuine were received and the spurious were rejected. Thus the collection gradually grew up into the Now Testament. When the volume was completed it was found to comprise the history, the truths, and the prophecies, which the Saviour had promised. But the promises were given to those who were actually dis- ciples at the time. A large portion of the volume was written by a man who did not become a Christian till some year < after th Lord's ascension. This was a special case, and provision was made for it. We have the narrative of his conversion and THE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 81 of his subsequent life, affording striking attestation to the trutli and divine origin of Christianity. Here is a new and inde- pendent witness. That man must be believed. His services and suflFerings entitle him to unlimited credence. Whoever may impose on his fellow-creatures, Paul the apostle will not be the man. And what does he say ? He expressly states that he received his theology from Jesus Christ himsell*. '' The Gospel which was preached of me is not after man : for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ," Gal. i. 11, 12. Throughout his writings he appeals to this fact, and claims for himself, as well as for the other apostles, that submission which inspired men and they only have a right to require. He confirms the claim by the miracles which God wrought by him. "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds." — 2 Cor. xii. 12. Thus stands the argument. The New Testament historians were worthy of belief. They testified of what they had seen, and known, and heard, or had gathered from those who " from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word." Among other things they inform us that the Lord Jesus made certain promises to his disciples, which were to be fulfilled after his death. We have the fulfilment in the books of the New Testament, they contain the history, the truths, and the prophecies which Jesus had promised. Those books, therefore, were written under the direction of the Holy Spirit, or, in othei* wprds, their authors were inspired. As to the nature, degree, and method of inspiration, we need not curiously inquire. It might, for aught we know, be different at difiercnt times, and in relation to different subjects. But it is dangerous to dog- matise. It is enough to have the assurance that the authors of the New Testament, as well as those of the Old, wrote " as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Man is exceedingly fond of framing plans for God, and prescrib- inor to him modes of action. lie even affects to wonder that }m '■'t ,1'ili 111. iu; ('■■ ■ 82 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. methods of procedure have not been adopted. The construc- tion of the divine law-book of Christianity does not please him. He would have shaped it differently. It would have come forth in all the regular, formal proportions of a system, where- in each topic might be found in its own place, and nowhere else ; history, doctrine, discipline, morals, prophecy, each oc- cupying its several niche. It is very strange to him that wc should have four separate narratives of the Saviour's life — a fragmentary account of the first planting of Christianity — twenty-one epistles, some to churches, some to individuals — and one book of obscure visions and prophecies. He is con- founded at the apparent want of order, and deems it very ex- traordinary that it should be necessary to go through such a process of comparison .and disentanglement of passages in order to exhibit separately and distinctly the various parts of the divine system. Oh how often has it proved that " the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God !" It has pleased Him that the trrths of Christianity should be interwoven with ex- hortations and precepts rather than systematically discussed, and that they should sometimes seem to be but incidentally in- troduced ; but we ought not to doubt that this is the most" use- ful manner in which they could be presented, and that there is; great advantage in seeing how they are applied to practical purposes. God's way of working out the great problem of in- spiration must unquestionably be the best. The brevity of the sacred historian is very remarkable. How much of our Lord's history, for instance, has been sup- pressed ! Have we not often longed for more of his discourses, and for a fuller narrative of his lil'j ? " Many other . signs truly," says the Apostle John, " did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book" (John xx. 30), Why were they not written? The historians ma-,t have known a great deal more than they have told ; and besides, it was promised that the Holy Spirit would •' bring all things to their remembrance." Why, then, have they not been recorded ? V TUE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 83 Did not the writers desire to record them ? Were they not anxious that all the " gracious words" and benevolent, holy deeds of the Lord Jesus shoruld be amply detailed and set forth ? How was it that they used sach compression, and omitted so much ? There is only one way, it seems to me, of accounting for this strange phenomenon. They wrote under restraint. As on one occasion Paul and his companions '^^ assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suflFered them not" (Acts xvi. 7), so, when the authors of the New Testament sat down to commit to writing the wonderful story of the redemp- tion, they were supernatural ly prevented from giving the copious details whici they possessed. The book would have been much larger i.* man had had his will in compiling it. J3ut it is of God's making. We have the amount of informa- tion which it has pleased Him to communicate. And thus the very fact that so much has been left out serves to show that the writers were «« moved by the Holy Ghost." Another extraordinary circumstance may be mentioned. Peter was chosen to introduce the gospel loth to the Jews and to the Gentiles. He stood high among his brethren, as he had been the first of the " first three" in the days of the Saviour. But after the meeting at Jerusalem (Acts xv.), improperly called a " Council," we hear no more of him, save that he wrote one of his letters from " Babylon." And when the divine book was to be prepared, his share in it did not amount to one-twelfth part of the Apostle Paul's. What shall we say to this ? There may be various methods of explaining it ; but for my part I cannot help supposing that it is to be traced to the divine foreknowledge of the power and authority which could be in later ages ascribed to Peter. It was determined beforehand thit th3 sacred book should contain nothing which could warrant ! u ;h assumptions. Those who plead for Peter's supremacy cannot find it in the New Testament. If any Apostle appears to be the head of Christianity it is not Peter, but Paul. No one but Paul v^.itured to say, •' So ordain I in all Cburcbes :" see 1 Con iv. 17 - vii. 17 ; 2 Cor= xi, 2«. ^k^r" n 84 SCRIITURE AN?> TRADITION. I i 'i f II ■ % m ■S: The preceding observations relate chiefly to the external proofs of the inspiration of the Scriptures. The iiUernal proofs?: are no less strikingly convincing. There is a peealiarity in the style of the sacred writers which it is difficult to characterise. Perhaps we cannot do better than say tha^. they wrote a? men who were " moved by the Holy Ghost." Under that influence even their historical memorials assumed a more than human form. No others would have written of miracles as they did. No wonder is ex- pressed. There is no effort to direct the attention of the reader. A miraculous cure is narrated with the same calm- ness and precision as a journey from one place to another. And if from the historical we proceed to the epistolary, we meet with still more marked manifestations of what may be called the heavenly style of writing. Those letters were written by men who were conscious of power. There is a majesty, a condensed richness of thought, a fulness of meaning, indicating an acquaintedness with the " secret things" of the Most High, and a commanding tone and manner which no good man would assume, unless he felt that he could employ the phraseology of inspiration — " Thus saith the Lord." The contrast between the writers of the New Testament and the Christian authors of the first two centuries, their immediate successors, is particularly worthy of observation. The descent from Paul, Peter, and John, to Clemens Eomanus, Ignatius, &c., is most remarkable. It is just the difference between mature thought and childish triviality — between a golden and a leaden age — between heaven and earth. Look al§o at the antecedents of these writers. They were all Jews, originally narrowminded, bigoted, proud of their ex- clusive privileges, holding the Gentiles in contempt. In all these respects the Apostle Paul stood pre-eminent. Judaism was intensified in him. — Examine now the system of Christian truth as set forth in the apostolic epistles. What spirit-stir- Earthly distinctions benign revelations are THE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 85 are lost sight of. The writers think no more of Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and Barbarians. It is man — simple man — ruined man — and all alike ruined. And the Church, as they view and describe it, is one body, ccnposed of believers of all nations and classes, baptized into the same Spirit, all possessing equal rights, and " members one of another." Is there not here an utter abnegation of Jewish ex ^lusiveness ? Whence, too, did these men derive those wonderful truths, which they discuss with so much ease and familiarity ? Who unveiled to them God's predestination — the justifying righteousness of the Lord Jesus — the glorious privileges of the adoption — the ope- ration of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers — the media- torial kingdom of the Redeemer, extending to all worlds, all beings, and all time — and the sublime, dread realities of the future state ? Verily, these are " the things of the spirit," which " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have they entered into the heart of man ;" but God revealed them unto these his servants, and they are now inscribed on the immortal page. There is another consideration of no small moment. The system ot truth contained in the apostolic writings is insuscep- tible of iniproveraeut or addition. There have been no dis- coveries in religion since that time. All philosophy has suffered change. Science alters every year ; the theories of one age are exploded in the next ; the text-books of fifty years ago are tiseless now. But Christianity is the same as when it came forth from its Founder. It was complete at the very (irst. Subsequent writers have expounded the works of the apostles, but they have added nothing to them. — So also oi worship, government, and discipline. The examples of the apostolic Churches and the directions given in the apostolic letters are all-sufficient. Churches constituted and governed according to those examples and directions can exist in ali countries, and flourish under every form of civil polity, and in every state of Society. And the usefulness attending christian 86 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. .1 'H I' s, ■If i'l enterprises is always found to be proportioned to their confor- mity with New Testament patterns. Meddlesome men have interfered in this matter. The simplicity of apostolic arrange- ments displeased them. They must have more ceremony, more pomp, more power. Complicated liturgies were prepared — gaudy processions passed along tho streets — new offices were created, new orders instituted — and fasts and feasts appointed in abundance. What followed ? Withering — decay — cor- ruption — death. Something has been done in the way of re- form during the last three hundred years, but the majority of professing christians still adhere to unscriptural polities. Where is Christianity now seen in its most vigorous develop- ment. Is it not in those communities which approach most nearly to the apostolic pattern ? And must it not be regarded as a most marvellous thing that those Christian Jews should be able to devise a scheme which, though at variance with all the forms of religion then in vogue, and possessed of no outward attractions, should supplant them all, and should be found, at the lapse of eighteen hundred years, to require no change, but to be still the best adapted means of securing tho great spiritual purposes of Christianity ? Can any thing short of inspiration account for it ? Once more. Predictions have been referred to. Let tho reader turn to 2 Thess,ii. 1-12,. 1 Tim. iv. 1-3, 2 Tim. iii. 1-5. In those passages the apostle Paul foretels the rise of a system, pretending to be religious, which would arrogate divine power and authority ; would f^cek to enforce its claims by false miracles ; would be characterized bjr apostacy from the christian faith, and by demoralising tj^ndencies ; would estab- lish creature- worship and would enjoin observances at variance with the laws and arrangements of God. A.t the time of his writing the letters no one could have anticipated such a la- mentable result. All probability was against i\. But history has interpreted the prophecy, and- Paul takes his place among the prophets. Peter stands by his side (S*}e 2 Peter iii.) And there, too, enshrouded in mysterious glory, is the beloved disciple. THE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 87 Although many facts md arguments remain unnoticed, the space already occupied warns me to bring these remarks to a close. I »; vi^t that those who peruse them will be convinced that we are not only justified but imperatively required to re- gard the Bible as the production of inspired men, and therefore claiming our submission and obedience. Besides this — every Christian " hath the witness in himself " The word of God speaks to his heart. Its soothing, consoling, sanctifying power proclaims the heavenly source from which it flows. It is his light in darkness, his guide in perplexity, his preservative in peril, his solace in tribulation. What could he do without his Bible? " What Is tho world? — A wildering maze, Where sin hath track'd ten thousauil ways, Her viutims to nnsnare ; All broad, and winding', and aslope, All tempting with perfidious hope, All ending in despair. " Millions of pilgrims throng those roadu, Searing their bauble:^, or their loads, Down to eternal night ; — Ont humble path, that never bends. Narrow, and rouib, and steep, ascends From darkue. - into light. " Is there a Gruide to show that path ? The Bible ; — he alone, who hath The Bible, need not stray : Yet he who hath, and tvill n:>t give That heavenly Cui e to all that live, Hiimelf su^ll lose the way." Ja7nea Montgomery. (No. 4.) I .t*^ ; .-, I ' SI"': 1 ■■■ i. THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. This is the tlioory : — Bi.sliops succeeded the Apostles in the ;^ovornmcnt of the Churcli ; the Apostles themselves appointed the first bishops — they ordained others — and so the succession has been preserved till the present day. No person is author- ised to preach the gospel who has not been ordained by a )»ishop, who can himself prove that he is in the succession. Our episcopal friends on iill sides — Protestant, Roman (jatholic, Greek and Oriental, take common ground here. Tiiey all profess to be able to trace -up their orders to the Apostles. They all denounce the non-episcopally ordained as intruders. And they denounce one another. There are more difficulties in their way than some of them imagine. In the fir.-' j iac, they must prove that diocesan episcopacy is the mou?' of Church government established by the Apostles. Theij cannot do it. It was not thought of till some '.ime after the Apostles were dead. The bishops spoken of in the New Testament were j>astors of churches, and there were connnonly several in each Church. The words " bishop" and "elder" are synonymous. Theve were several "ciders" or " overseers," that is, " bishops," at E^ihesus, and at Philippi. See Acts XX. 17, 2S. Phil. i. 1. Secondly, they must prove that every bishop in the fi''st Churches was appointed by an Apostle. They cannot do it. Thirdly, they nuist prove that the chain of the succession lias never been broken. They cannot do it. The succession may be interrupted and broken off in various ways ; — by un- canonical appointments — by simoniaeal contracts — by forcible intrusions — by official acts without ordination — by the recep- tion of orders from persons whose own claim to episcopal dignity TIIK APOSTOLIC 81'CCESSION. w» NViis inviilid, &c. One such case proved will nullify all tlu' ntticial acts of the individual 0( iicerncd, and of those to whom lie may have eommutiica'ed official power. Pope ]Jenediet [X., for instance, was pi icud u th > papal chair when he was only eighteen years old: i >n. ' say ue was considerably younger. That was clearly cMitnnv fo I'no canons, which declare that a bishop must be thirt y .r,»-j;, oxce[)tions to whicli have only occurred whi a t' e >r moral cpialifications of the ntiDue the succession till the end of time. That precious promise, • Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,' (Mat. xxviii. 20,) secures all. The Church is built on an immovable rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." — (Mat. xvi. 18.) TIIE KND. 6'? -• i ' ■."A. mi ?■ ' - J •n c, r, )r )f :o n II IS e n il it EBRATA 16.— " 2 24.— " 12 24.— " 17 27.— " 15 28.— " 6 Page 10. — Note, for Sabb. read Labb.x for Concr.il. read Concil. 12. — Line 7 from top, for val read vel. bottom, for he his read he is. ** for them read Aim. " for interpret ion read interprrtatioii. " for any read every. top, place a period at the word Scripturr, Then add — The second looks to Scripture bottom, for ordinances read ordinations. 34. — Note, for Sexti read Sixti. 47. — JVbte, line 5 from bottom, for blood read body. 69. — Line 6 from bottom, for thrice read twice. ^2.— " 8 " " for looked read look. 75. — " 3 " top, for Lecture read Cent. -78.— " 3 " " insert not after rfjd. Si- ll I i '! i ill ^!; 7!" I ; ■ ■ / B i 1: ii'l; lit, "■,- ( ,• ft •■ BY THE SAME AUTHOR. jl. A Text Book of Popery, Comprising a History of the Oodncil op Tri:nt, and a com- f f ' P|^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Theological System of the Uoman Catholic y Church. 8 TO. .';^v f Reformation in 18 mo. Published by the Religious Traot Society. e. rr, ' '"A. . , t' l^reparing for jmJbliccUion, in one volume ^ 12 mo.^ Baptist History. From the Comnenoement to the Presont Time. In a Serdb or Lkttkrb. >■> -,■ ■*, ■ ■ . .-.sii.;.. ,w , ■ ■ . ■■ ^>.