BX 5203 D7 UC-NRLF $B 5T7 SflT CO C\J CO O CO CD Cjaulord ■ PAMPHLET BINDER _B ■ onpnBBn LETTERS TO A YO the g: TER, ,ES OF NONCONFORMITY 5 CONTAINING BRIEF AND CANDID REMARKS ON THOSE RITES AND CEREMONIES IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, WHICH APPEAR OBJECTION- ABLE TO THE NUMEROUS AND RESPECTABLE DISSENTERS OF THE PRESENT DAY. 44 Prove all things ; holdfast that which is good." Paul, By T. DRUMMOND. LONDON:: PRINTED BY R. TAYLOR AND CO., SHOE-LANE, AND PUBLISHED. BY JOSIAH CONDER, BUCKLERSBURY. 1812. Price 2s, 1>1 *Z?f&0 J. he late attempts to impose restraints on religious liberty, and the important effect which in one instance resulted from the firm and zealous, yet calm and constitutional efforts of the Dissenters, render it desirable that a concise sketch of the motives which induce, and the principles which justify, dis- sent from the Church of England, should be offered to public attention. Although the important principle that Ecclesiastical Establishments, and Principles of Dissent. MY YOUNG FRIEND, In compliance with your wishes I commence a series of letters on the difference between Dis- senters in general and the Ecclesiastical Esta- blishment of our country. I avow myself a Dissenter from the Establish- ed Church, and you have been educated amongst us ; but neither my habitual impressions nor your education prejudices ought to be obstacles to our inquiry after Truth, nor to our honest avowal of the sentiments which that enquiry may induce us to adopt. Neither firm persuasion nor strict integrity in the avowal of what we believe to be the truth can sanction illiberally of sentiment towards those B who differ from us. — Acrimonious invective is not argument — persecution is not evidence. The discussion of any subject on which men may possibly form different opinions ought to be conducted with rational liberality. Candour may be denominated one of the characteristics of the Christian spirit: zealous polemics have too often needed the admonition which Jesus gave to his disciples, when they displayed the resentment of offended pride, the bigotry of zeal without know- ledge, " Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of J 9 In vain will any one seek from the words of Christ ^sanction for an authoritative interference, much less for anathema or persecution. Numerous as the systems of idolatry were which had been adopted by different nations; or varied as any particular system of idolatry had been in several nations, we find that civil and ec- clesiastical power were usually blended together. If antiquity could be admitted a rational plea, we might trace the annals of the four great mo- narchies, and summon our evidences from the earliest periods of ecclesiastical establishments in civil governments. We might also prove that, whatever was the religion adopted by the civil authorities, the sword of the civil power was ready to be unsheathed in maintaining its supe- riorily to any religious tenets which individuals exercising the rights of private judgement might prefer. But neither any argument which might be al- ledged from the universal practice of the gentile nations, nor any plausible inference that could be deduced from the Jewish establishments, will weigh down the positive evidence that the Go- spel does not recommend such religious establish- ments to be supported by the arm of civil power, and the well attested fact that previously to the reign of Constantine Christianity was never pro- claimed to be exclusively the religion of any state or empire. A Christian establishment of religion is an institution posterior to the age of the Apostles, and consequently is entitled to no veneration as a constituent and essential part of Christianity, Liberal-minded learned men of the Church of England do not contend for religious establish- ments but on the ground of their utility. We are well assured that Christianity was more extensively propagated and embraced in the first two centuries of the Christian sera than it has ever been during the same space of time in any succeeding periods. If it should he urged that the gifts enjoved by the Apostles were not transmitted to their succes- B 2 sors, we may remark that neither were the same means employed in later times to enlighten the understanding and reform the heart. Peter preached "Jesus of Nazareth, a man ap- proved of God by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him;" but the too preva- lent characteristic of establishments has been, by liberality in some instances and by disabilities in other cases, to induce ihe avowal of particular sentiments and the observance of particular ceremonies not according to the rights of private judgement, but in conformity to the opinion of men in authority in the State and of influence in the Church. The utility of such institutions shall be more fully considered in the next. Yours, &c. LETTER II. Eeligious Liberty of Conscience, Ecclesiastical Establishments, and Principles of Dissent. MY YOUNG FRIEND, N. Religion implies a system of Faith and Wor- ship, and also comprehends all the conduct of men on a principle of duty to God. It is an in- dividual consideration. No human authority can cre&lejaith nor regulate conscience, estimate the influence of evidence in the mind, nor perceive the motives which operate in the heart of any individual. Matters of religion are not therefore the pro- per subjects for the interference of the magi- strate ; his province is to take cognizance of such actions as disturb the peace of society or injure its members. Differences in religious opinions, differences in modes of worship, are compatible with the civil institutions under any form of civil go- vernment; and it remains for each individual to determine for himself whether he chooses to ad- here solely to what the Scriptures enjoin, or whe- ther he thinks proper to adopt the principles and practices of the Church of Rome, the Church of Geneva, the Church of England, the Kirk of Scotland, or any other religious denomination. Since a man may be a peaceable neighbour and an useful member of society whatever his re- ligious creed, — since he is capable of performing all the duties of life, whether his opinions coin- cide with the established religion of the country where he resides, or whether his faith is in uni- son with those who are accounted sectarists^ — the interference of civil power with his religions opi- nions cannot be justified. To extort a profession inconsistent with belief is to promote hypocrisy : to bind men by solemn vows to an invariable adherence to any particu- lar opinions is to impose a burden at which every rational mind will revolt. The creed of puerility and the creed of maturity in individuals and in society are likely to differ if the progress of mind has been encouraged, and all that man can ef- fect by penalties and persecution is the false avowal of sentiments which the understanding does not approve. On the principle that the sacred Scriptures contain sufficient information for the salvation of mankind, and that fail h and conscience axe solely the concerns of each individual, the reformed Churches were founded when they deserted from the Church of Rome, and on this principle Dissenters of all denominations defend their de- viations from the Church of England, and their deviations from the opinion of the early Noncon- formists in this country. To preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace ought to be the object of the followers of Jesus, the professed worshippers of that God who is love. Yet such is the fallibility of hu- man judgement, that in this as in many other cases the means adopted have had a direct ten- dency to counteract the purpose designed. There are some important principles in which Christians in general agree; and had the founders of ecclesiastical establishments been contented with endeavouring to obtain uniformity in these prin- ciples, it is probable^/hf Dissenters would have existed. But as the God of nature has formed the individuals of the human race with different pro- pensities, and placed them in different situations, they may be expected to obtain dissimilar views of the objects of their attention. The anxiety to secure uniformity on all points ultimately proved the principal cause of dissent. In the course of our investigation you will per- ceive that the Church of England has, in a great measure, driven the Dissenters out of her pale by enforcing the conformity of her members to numerous rites and ceremonies at best of trivial importance to piety and morality, too often tend- ing to attract the attention from the precepts of the Gospel, and the essential principles of reli- gion; rites and ceremonies whose origin may more frequently be traced among the records of the superstitious customs of Heathenism than in records of the preaching of Christ and his Apostles. Yours, &c. LETTER III. The History of the Church of England. MY YOUNG FRIEND, 1 he Dissenters from the Church of Rome had become numerous in England long prior to the reign of Henry VIII. WicklifFe, a century and half before, had sown the seeds of the reformation \ and Henry with more policy than piety, more pride than love of truth, more vindictive furor than Christian mo- deration, renounced the Supremacy of the Pope, and proclaimed his own in the government of the Church of England. This memorable event occurred in the year 1538. The Church of England, as a distinct Protest- ant Hierarchy, is therefore of no more than 274 years standing. If antiquity could be admitted as argument, the Church of Rome has a prior claim; but pri- mitive Christianity is still more ancient. To make antiquity the test of excellency is a fallacious mode of reasoning. The Jews as the disciples of Moses were before the Christians, 9 and many idolators had their reli established previous to the time of ft Truth alone is the objeet of inquiry, and neither the opinion of our immediate ancestors nor the customs of their predecessors should be suffered to bias our judgements relative to religi- ous dotrines, nor impose on us a yoke of cere- monies whose utility we conscientiously deny, and whose introduction bears date long after the times of the Apostles. Henry VIII. had received from the Pope the title of Defender of the Faith in consequence of his writing against Luther some time previous to renouncing the supremacy of the Pope. The King however continued attached to most of the doctrines of the Church of Rome, and the six articles which were enforced by act of Par- liament for the reformed Church of England enjoined communion of the bread or wafer only, to the Laity ; the celibacy of the clergy, the ob- ligation of vows of chastity, auricular confession^ and private masses. In the short reign of Edward VI. the six ar- ticles were repealed ; the Laity were allowed to partake of both bread and wine at the Lord's Supper ; the Clergy were permitted to marry, and a new Liturgy was composed ; a strict ob- servance of the Lord's day was enjoined ; acts of religion and acts of charity were considered B 5 10 the only duties to be performed on that day ex- cept in the time of harvest, during which the people were allowed to work on festival days and also on Sundays. In 15.50 images in churches were ordered to he defaced, prayers to the Saints to be disconti- nued, altars to be taken down, the book of Com- mon Prayer was revised, and 42 articles were drawn up by Cranmer and Ridley. In 1551 on the ascession of Mary, ecclesiastical affairs reverted into the old channel, and in 1554 the Church of England was again subjected to the See of Rome. In 1558 Elizabeth succeeded to the throne, and the Reformation which had commenced in the reign of Edward was again promoted. In this reign the title of Supreme Head of the Church was changed to Supreme Governor; but if the right of supremacy over the consciences of men is in any case to be allowed, 1 can see no particular objection to making a Queen Head vf the Church, In 1560, eleven articles of subscription were formed, which two years afterwards were (with the 42 drawn up in the time of Edward) com- prised in thirty-nine *, which with the * The 39 Articles were first produced in a convocation «f the Clergy in the year 1562, They were reviewed by 11 Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds were, in addition to the Scriptures, to receive the assent and consent of the Christians in England. Elizabeth would never allow an act to be passed in her reign for the marriage of the Clergy ; the children of the Clergy during her time were ille- gitimate in the eye of the law. Pierce refers toTroughton's Apology (p. 42), a work that I have not seen, for a statement that " the Reformers left in their preface to the Ho- milies and Forms of Prayer a passage signifying that they had gone as far as they could in reform- ing the Church, considering the limes they lived in, and hoped that they who came after them would as they might do more." It is evident from the changes that did take place, that the Church of England was not by its first advocates considered as unalterable; but whoever swears agreeably to the Oxford Act another convocation in 1571, and were afterwards rati- fied by Parliament. " It is an unquestionable fact, that the religion of all the good people of England was in 1652 put to the vote of one hundred and seventeen Priests, many of whom could hardly write their names, and several of whom were not present and voted by. proxy, and that Ceremonies and Holidays were carried by a majority of one single vote, and that given by proxy." — Rev. R. Robinson's Miscellaneous Works, vol. i, p. 154. 12 that he will never endeavour to make any altera* tion in it binds himself to adhere invariably to what the Reformers in the time of Edward and of Elizabeth thought capable of improvement. There have been seven fruitless attempts to a further reformation of the Church of England. One in the reign of James I., one'm the reign of Charles I., three in the reign of Charles II., and two in the reign of William III., a still further proof that in the days of those princes it was considered capable of amendment. In 1771 a considerable number of clergymen and other members of the Church of England petitioned Parliament for relief from subscription to the 39 Articles. Another petition was prepared by another cle- rical assembly in 1772, " to request a revisal of the Articles and Liturgy, and forms of subscrip- tion. " In this latter association were the late Dr. Porteus Biahop of London, Dr. Yorke Bi- shop of E ! y, and Dr. Percy Bishop of Dromore in Ireland. Although all the petitioners did not separate from the Church of England, they bore testi- mony that they considered further reformation in the Church perfectly consistent with the nature of its establishment and on many accounts high- ly expedient. 13 Whilst we pretend not to judge the motives which induced others of the petitioning clergy to continue in connection with the Established Church, we ought not to withhold the tribute of commendation due to the integrity and con- sistency of the late learned and pious Theophilus Lindsey, who was one of the petitioners in 1771* He resigned his valuable living at Catterick in Yorkshire, and afterwards opened a Chapel in Essex-street, London, where he made use of the Liturgy of the Church of England, as re- formed by Dr. Clarke, and still, further altered by himself. If the language in the preface to (< Free and cavdid Disquisitions, relating to the Church of England, and addressed to the Governing Powers in Church and State/' published 1749, be correct, and it has never been contradicted, we learn that " all the serious, intelligent, and well inclined people of the Church of England wish there was something more and better done than is done Ml We are now arrived at the year 1812, and nothing has been done to effect v\hat the writers of the Free and Candid Disquisitions hoped to see, what the petitioners in 1771 soli- cited, and what they who would have petitioned in 1772, had not the Archbishop put off the execution of the design, anxiously desired. There 14 is reason to apprehend that most of these "serious, intelligent, and well inclined people of the Church of England" are already gathered to their fa- thers, and that the majority of the present, gene- ration do not suspect that any objections were ever made to the ecclesiastical arrangements, and therefore earnestly contend for maintaining what their predecessors were most solicitous to have done away. I shall in a subsequent letter manifestly prove that the Church of England has, in repeated instances, compelled those to becomeDissenters, who would have rejoiced to have continued with- in her pale, had she not by her injudicious violence driven them out of it. There is, although little heard of either amongst Dissenters or the members of the Established Church, a Convocation, which , by the eccle- siastical constitution of this country, is the great Court of appeals in matters relating to the Church ; and u * the venerable body of the Pre- lates and Clergy therein assembled are not only the guardians of our (i. e. the Church's) ecclesi- astical rights under His Majesty as supreme, but also delegates intrusted by him, and their respective constituents, to consider of the state *' Free and Candid Disquisitions. n of the Church — what there may be amiss in it that may want amendment, what particular grievances deserve to be laid before the Govern- ment in order to be rectified, pnd what on the whole may seem most proper to be done towards settling religion on its right basis, and procuring it a firm establishment, together with just li- berty and encouragement within His Majesty*s realms." It is I apprehend the duty of this Convoca- tion to promote the perfection of the Establish- ed Church. Dissenters do not acknowledge an obligation to countenance what they deem to be error, year after year, and century after century, because the Convocation has not yet made any amendment. The Dissenters argue that the constitution of the Church of England, like all other human institutions, is not perfect ; and for the same reasons that the Church of England denies the infallibility of the Pope, surrounded by his Cardinals, the Dissenters from the Church of England refuse to yield implicit confidence to the judgement of the Convocation with the King as its Head. Whether it be that the Convocation can find nothing to amend, or that the difficulty of ac- complishing the work deters them from setting 16 about it, — nothing is done to remove any of the obstacles to that uniformity, which is profes- sedly the desirable however visionary object of the advocates of every ecclesiastical establish- ment. Yours, &c. LETTER IV. Church Government. MY YOUNG FRIEND, It is unnecessary to enlarge on the government of Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons, Chapters, Prebends, Canons, &c. &c. The Church of England has the same right to appoint a gradation of ecclesiastical offices for the Clergy, and to have Chancellors, Commissaries, and Proctors, &c. from amongst the Laity, as we Dissenters have to manage our congrega- tional concerns without such a variety of ranks and orders. If the Church of England is sensible of any spiritual benefit she derives from such a multifarious arrangement, let her adhere to it. We have long experienced that we need no such 17 dignitaries, they are no more to us than the Pontifices and Fl amines of ancient Rome. Our meeting-houses and chapels are not, like many parochial benefices, to be disposed of at the option of a Lay Patron, or bestowed by the appointment of a Dean and Chapter, &c. $ we adhere to the most ancient mode of choosing the person selected to officiate. Previous to the existence of any established Christian Church,, the Presbyter, or if you prefer the term the Bishop, was always elected by the people who composed the society. The New Testament mentions only Presbyters and Deacons, and we find them quite sufficient for the conduct of our ecclesiastical affairs. The plan of each society electing its own minister, and each society acting independent of all others, appears to have originated with the Apostles, and I am still to be convinced that any real benefit has been obtained to the cause of Christianity by a deviation from their stan- dard. Yours, &c. IS LETTER V. Liturgies* MY YOUNG FRIEND j. Although many of the first Nonconformists were exceedingly averse to the use of Liturgies, there is no inconvenience to be apprehended from leaving the subject to the deliberation o£ each religious society. The principal objection to the use of Liturgies is, that the uniform and incessant repetition of the same words may become defective in energy on the part of the minister, and mere words by rote on the part of the people. On the other hand, it may be urged that the people, not knowing precisely what the minister is about to utter, the attention may be engrossed by con- sidering the propriety of what is spoken, rather than in uniting in prayer with the minister. As there have been several Liturgies adopted by Dissenters, and the Liturgy of the Church of England, altered by Dr. Clarke, and since his time by the Rev. T. Lindsey and Dr. Disney, is used in Essex-street, London, at Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, and some other places, it is evident 19 \c< that a numerous body of Dissenters feel TO^e- pugnance to the use of such a form, provided it contains nothing to which they conscientious- ly object. I am perfectly aware that the advocates for free prayer are earnest opponents to the use of Liturgies; but, on the other hand, many of those who term themselves rational Dissenters appre- hend that much extraneous matter, much redun- dancy, if not tautology, is likely to be introduced in extempore prayer. Where the minister pre* viously composes his prayer, and offers it agree- ably to his notes, a middle path is pursued ; and whilst the variety he is able to produce may prove acceptable to some of his congregation, he may avoid those incorrect and redundant expres- sions which others might censure as " vain re- petitions.' 5 It is customary to extol the Liturgy, on account of many sublime expressions con- tained in it; but the want of order — the nume- rous repetitions — the obsolete terms which in the present clay are not generally understood, render it necessary that a revisal should take place. The Free and Candid Disquisitions, the work of members of the Church of England, may be referred to for a list of objectionable passages* Yours, &c. 20 LETTER VI. Priest's Garments. MY YOUNG FRIEND, 1 hat the ministering servants of every Church should appear in a decent garb is perfectly con- sistent with rational views of all civilized socie- ty ; but that any ideas of peculiar sanctity should be attached to that garment, is ridiculous and superstitious. It is unquestionable that a pious man is the same whether he officiates in a threadbare coat, or whether he puts on a black cloak or a gown ; but the use of a garment which may neither excite the sarcasm nor the admiration of thejfoi- caly is desirable. I apprehend that the most violent advocates or opponents of a Gown are those who through prejudice consider every thing appertaining to the service of religion to be peculiarly sacred, and those who, through aprejudiceequally strong, consider every semblance of conformity to the Established Church a violation of principle. The easy flowing garments of the Romans, which resembled those of the eastern nations, 2i were retained by the Clergy, after the Goths and Vandals had introduced the more close dress of the northern nations ; and as such garments have been considered not merely decorous, but peculiarly convenient at the bar, so many have thought them equally appropriate for the pulpit. Several of the first Reformers were apprehen- sive lest the use of any of the garments ap- pointed by the Church of Rome might tend to cherish a puerile veneration for them. Bishop Hooper, in the reign of Edward VI., positively 'refused for a long time to be invested with the garments prescribed. He was thrown into prison 5 and at length, from an apprehension that the Bishops were conspiring against his life, he con- sented (i to appear once in public, attired after the manner of the other Bishops/' Nor was Hooper singular in his contempt of the garments. You will find in Peirce's Vindication of Dis- senters, an account of many others who enter- tained opinions similar to Hooper's They reasonably apprehended, that, as experience had shown that the ignorant had attributed a certain degree of sanctity to the garments themselves, whoever wore them, so the simplicity of the Christian religion could not be easily preserved in connection with them. The majority of the Clergy were of the same opinion; and according 22 to Burnet, an Act was prepared for the abolition of them ; but the accession of Mary prevented any further proceedings. This subject led to the first separation of members from the Church of England, although the difference of opinions concerning doctrines occasioned also frequent secessions. For in the reign of Edward some persons were burnt for opposing the Trinitarian doctrines; but as my object is to speak only of those matters which relate to all descriptions of Protestant Dissenters, I shall now confine myself to those subjects on which they have but one opinion. Lawn sleeves, and scarlet scarfs ; square caps, &c. may be admissible as civil distinctions of dress ; nor need we be anxious to deprive those who love greetings in the walks of the Universi- ties of such honorary vestments, but we appre- hend that simplicity of raiment is most suitable to the offices of religion. We may expect to hear the varieties of dress in the Mosaic ritual quoted, and to be referred to the superb trappings of Heathen Priests, but we require proofs that the Fishermen of Galilee considered that it was necessary or even expedient for a teacher of the Christian religion to appear in one dress for the purpose of praying, and in another for the purpose of preaching. You may 23 have observed in village churches, that the Clergyman rarely changes his garb, but actually preaches in the surplice he wore whilst using the Liturgy. Some individuals have objected to dressing in black; but the dark blue or dark green which has most frequently been substituted so nearly re- sembles it, that persous with weak eyes, or spectators at a distance, cannot perceive the dif- ference. Black admits of the fewest fanciful variations ; as the ministers of religion have frequent occasion to appear in the habit of mourning agreeably to the custom of our coun- try ; and as many of them, especially those who have no large incomes to maintain them, whether Conformists or Nonconformists, cannot afford to have a large variegated wardrobe ; Hack is found most convenient, and for many reasons may be considered as most appropriate. Yours, &c. 24 LETTER VII. Pictures and Statues in Places of Worship. MY YOUNG FRIEND, We may admit that nothing more superstitious was originally apprehended from adorning the churches with historical scripture pieces and the pictures of celebrated individuals, than from the likenesses of our friends, and of those whose cha- racters we admire, so commonly seen in our dwelling-houses : but since experience has shown that the human mind may become superstitious in attachingsome peculiar sanctity to such figures, whether the productions of the painter or the sculptor, it appears laudable to exclude them from places of worship, the more effectually to guard against idolatry or any approximation towards it. The idolatry of Laban, of the inhabitants of Egypt, of Greece, and of ancient Rome, may be traced to the same source ; visible symbols figu- rative of the attributes of divinity, and memorials of illustrious personages who had departed this life. It is probable that the best informed minds 25 were never in an error respecting either graven, sculptured, or painted images, but the mass of the people under every religious system have ge- nerally been too uninformed to preserve them- selves from the errors of idolatrous worship. Thus at the present day whilst the educated Bramin understands that merely the attributes of the Deity are expressed by distinct names, the multitude in Hindostan are led to worship three Gods whom they imagine to be three distinct personages, and in like manner in other countries the personification of the attributes of Divinity gave rise to the number of representations which in the course of time were misunderstood* and increased the catalogue of idols. It is easy to be comprehended that, after a certain degree of respect has been entertained for an admired figure, the idea of the Deity or the departed Hero it was designed to represent be- coming associated with it, a fanciful sanctity is frequently attached to the representation itself. As the idolaters under the various systems of Heathenism had supposed the images of their divinities to ensure the presence of the Divinity so amongst Christians in the fifth century * " the images of those who during their lives had ac- * Mosheim by Maclaine, vol. ii ? p. 39. C 26 quired the reputation of uncommon sanctity were now honoured with a particular worship in several places ; and many imagined that this wor- ship drew down into the images the propitious presence of the saints or celestial beings they re- presented. " The commandment "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth, thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve thetti/* has not always influenced the minds of professing Christians. Whilst we offer no apology for the Puritans who in the time of the Commonwealth committed manv ravages on the works of art in the churches of the Hierar- chy, we apprehend that they were not so devoid oftasie, — so much resembling theGoths and Van- dals, — as not to have admired and preserved them had they been found only in museums of curiosi- ties or in academies of the arts and sciences. Because history amply testifies the progress of idolatry, we think it preferable to shun the dan- ger of contagion, arid keep our places of worship free from all such temptations to idol worship. Yours, &c. 97 LETTER VIII. Bells. MY YOUNG FRIEND, Bells are said to have been invented by Pau- linus Bishop of Nola in Campania about the year 400. They were introduced into the Latin Church about the year 600. As a machine admirably adapted for the con- veyance of sound to a distance, the utility of a berl is obvious : as a musical instrument capable of combination in a tuneable set it is an admirable invention ; and when clocks and watches were not in general use, or where the people to be as- sembled in any public place for either civil or re- ligious purposes lived remote from the place of meeting, we must admit that the use of a bell is preferable to the Mohammean custom of a man's ascending the minaret of a mosque to call the people to prayer. The Dissenters of all denominations in this kingdom have with few instances of exception found it very possible to do without such a re- membrancer; but in country churches where the c2 28 Sunday service does not always commence at the same time, and in towns and cities where some churches have service in the morning one week and in the afternoon another, it is easy to conceive what an advocate for a bell affixed to a place of worship may be ready to advance on the subject. Although the invention of bells is said to have originated with a Bishop, we are not to infer that they were designed to be considered as the neces- sary appendages to a church. Men of leisure and men of talents have bene- fited the world by many discoveries and inven- tions in the arts and sciences, and in all proba- bility the Bishop of Nola in the year 400 had no anticipation that Pope Stephen III. would place three bells in a tower on St. Peter's at Rome; that in 968 John XIII. would consecrate the great bell of the Lateran church at Rome : nor that in 1029 the dedications of bells would be called baptism 3 and that oil and chrism would be used on the occasion in the church of St. Agnes in Orleans. The origin of customs is frequently forgotten, whilst some superstitious notions that through ignorance happened to be attached to the practice of them are more readily transmitted from age to age. I remember an account of some foreign sailors, 29 who when at sea in a tempest flourished their swords in the air to abate the storm by encoun- tering the daemons who were supposed to have raised it. We can conceive that every metallic point pre- sented to the air was capable of drawing off a small portion of the electric fluid, although we are unable to discover that this practice origina- ted in any design so rational ; yet there i3 some- thing analogous with respect to the ringing of bells ; whilst the well-informed in many countries have encouraged the ringing of bells, because the agitation oftheairwas thought likely todisperse the tempestuous clouds, the ignorant have imagined that the sound of bells belonging to a church was unpleasing to the evil spirits, and this ab- surd idea was not likely to be corrected by the consideration that they had been consecrated in due form. I have heard some people, where it was custo- mary to have the bell tolled as soon as possible after the decease of any one, express their ideas that the sound of the bell was favourable to the soul in its passage from this state of being to the next. But I need not attempt to defend your mind from such idlechimaeras; you will infer that the objections of our Nonconformist predecessors- were founded on an apprehension that suck usages might be misunderstood, 30 The tolling of a bell in consequence of the de- cease of any one may be admitted on rational grounds. When a member of society dies, pub- licity for obvious reasons ought to be given to the event; it is an occurrence in which the com- munity is interested, and I have often admired the ingenious regulation which by the number of concluding strokes on the bell communicates the condition of the deceased, but you will please to bear in mind that I admire it only as a civil regu- lation : and, because I think superstition would be less encouraged, I might prefer the sounding of a bell fixed on the town hall, or in some part of each parish remote from the church. Many Dis- tenters are averse to having a bell struck on such occasions, but I apprehend it is solely because they wish to discountenance erroneous opinions. In London there are persons appointed as searchers in each parish or ward to ascertain whe- ther the deceased is actually dead and whether the death was in trie ordinary course of nature : this has always appeared to me wise policy, and the tolling of a bell may be considered as a part of the same system. If the bell has been sounded to announce the death, it may not appear so ne- cessary that it should utter its monotonous voice at the time of interment; but the only rational dissent from conformity to the practice is derived from experience, which convinces us. that it has 31 contributed to countenance a prevalent supersti- tion. In this Protestant country the dedication of bells is no more than the naming a ship when she is launched ; a pail of water is thrown on the one as it ascends the belfry, and a bottle of wine is broken against the other when she goes off the stocks. If the Clergy of the Established Church will guard their hearers against attaching any super- stitious ideas to the tolling of a bell, I may per- haps be satisfied though the bell should be hang- ing in the steeple of a church ; and, provided we can effectually guard against any misconception, I should not remonstrate against a proposition to have one bell in connection with every chapel or meeting-house. Many will think that the most secure preventative against superstition is not to introduce them. I have often been surprised that those of the Clergy who have refused the Established Church service to those baptised by Dissenters have never interposed to prohibit the tolling of a church bell on the death of a Dissenter. Yours , &c* 32 LETTER IX. Musical Instruments* MY YOUNG FRIEND, With respect to the use of Musical Instru- ments in religious service, we must consider that the question is not whether such accompani- ments to the human voice be commendable on account of the more regular harmony which may be obtained by them, neither will any argument from the practice of the Jewish Tem- ple, any more than the custom of sounding trumpets at an heathen sacrifice, prove them to be agreeable to the practice of the Apostolic Christians. When Jesus and his disciples went up into the Mount of Olives and sang an hymn, we understand that the words were such as expressed the piety of their minds, but we read nothing about the sackbut, the psaltery, and the harp; and from the animadversions of the Christians of many succeeding ages, it is obvious that instru- mental music was long objected to as unprofit- able. 33 According to some accounts organs were introduced into churches about the year 800. According to other testimonies they were not admitted until between 1200 and 3 300 years of the Christian aera, and whatever might be the reason we understand that they were not used m the presence of the Pope. So objectionable did organs appear to many of the reformed Churches, that in the National Synod at Middleburjrh in 158-1, and in the Synod* of Holland and Zealand in 15Q4, it was resolv- ed to obtain an order for laying them aside. That the Church of England had formerly no high opinion of organs, the following extracts from one of her Homilies will prove. Vidi Homily of the Place and Time of Prayer. f f Alas 5 gossip, what shall we do at church, since all the Saints are taken away, since all the goodly sights we were wont to have are gone ; since we cannot hear the like piping, singing, chaunting,. and playing upon the organ that we could be- fore ?'*' In another homily it is observed of them, " that they greatly displease God, and filthily defile his holy church. " I conceive that such an instrument as- the organ, which requires no grating discordant, sounds by way of tuning previously to its pro- duction of harmony, is the least objectionable G 5 34 accompaniment to the singing of hymns or psalms; and when the tunes are selected and the music regulated in such a manner as not to deter the congregation from exercising their vocal powers, organs appear admissible; but if what Erasmus terms an operose and theatrical music is to supplant that exercise which tends to impress good sentiments in the mind, I had rather that treble, tenor, and bass should be discordant by half a note, than that, as Erasmus says, men should " run to church as to a theatre, to have their ears tickled." Some Dissenters would be ready to charge me with having conceded too much to the customs of the Established Church ; but even on this point I am a Nonconformist : for the Church has never appointed the use of organs ; and she acts inconsistently with her own regulations hen she permits the introduction of them. The clergy of the Established Church, agreea- bly to an act of uniformity, are to admit no rites, no ceremonies, that arc not prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer ; and that book con- tains not a single paragraph in favour of the use of organs, I expect no thanks for the compliment, but our cathedrals and many of our principal churches are in fact dissenting places of worship, and if their own hierarchical 35 governors will allow to each society the right of private judgement, it would not become me a Dissenter to censure their liberality. Yours, &c. LETTER X. Rites and Ceremonies. MY YOUNG FRIEND, I have in a former letter remarked that any Church, and every Church, is at perfect liberty to adopt whatever mode of Church Government the members of the respective societies think proper to prefer; but neither reason nor Scripture authorizes any one body of individuals, however numerous y powerful, or opulent, to dictate to others in matters of conscience ; much Jess to persecute or anathematize them for differences of opinion. Many of the members of the Established Church consider it a part of their duty to con- tend for the Rites and Ceremonies which they suppose to be appointed by Church authority, little imagining that many of them have been permitted not ordained, tolerated not enjoined, 36 and some of them introduced not only without any authority, but even in opposition to express regulations and appointments. It is generally understood that from nearly the commencement of the third, and particu- larly in the course of the fourth century, Rites and Ceremonies multiplied very fast ; and they who can trace the Christian practice no higher, must be deficient in instances derived from Apostolic usages. I wish not to be understood that the second century is to be exonerated from similar charges of error. Converts from Judaism, and converts from Heathenism, were likely to blend their, early opinions and the doctrines of Christianity into one mass ; and hence discordant sentiments would be adopted, retaining different degrees of the purity and excellency of the Gospel, in proportion to the improved intelligence of men's minds, and their total devotedness to Chris- tianity/ Proselytes from the Jews would act under the propensity to observe the Jewish Ri- tual. Proselytes from the Gentiles would be desirous of tracing analogies between the faith of their ancestors and their newly adopted reli- gion ; and on those subjects of opinion, whe- ther solely speculative or otherwise, concerning which the Gospel had been silent, the con» 37 verts from either side would feel themselves in- duced to retain with partial fondness their early sentiments. In vain will the plea of antiquity be urged for the use of the sign of the Cross in Baptism, kneeling at the Sacrament, Saints* Days, and many other Holidays, the use of the Surplice > &c. &c. As I do not propose writing to you largely on all these subjects at present, I shall proceed to offer some brief remarks on those Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church, which are the most objectionable in the opinions of Dissenters in general. The Sign of the Cross in Baptism* We admit that it became prevalent about four hundred years after Christ, but that is not suffi- cient antiquity to render the practice acceptable to us. No such ceremony derives its origin from the. records of Scripture ; and there is sufficient proof that it has been adopted as an amulet or talisman, by minds prone to superstition. If the Church of England can point out any such sign used rn the baptism recorded in the New Testament, we may think differently con- cerning this mark on the forehead. 38 The anointing with oil not only the head, but the whole body, before baptism, has as strong a claim to our attention from antiquity ; but the Protestant Dissenters unanimously reject them both, on the same grounds that the first re- formers, the framers of the Established Church of England, rejected the one, and retained the other, i. e. the Right of Private Judge- ment. Godfathers and Godmothers. The Church of England allows not the pa- rents to be sponsors for their children. The most ancient usage, after sponsors were required, was, that the parents presented their own chil- dren to be baptized, and answered all questions i. e. they renounced Heathenism, and professed Christianity for them, engaging to educate them as disciples of Christ. But in particular cases, such as the baptism of a slave, the master be- came the sponsor. In case of the death of pa- rents, some Christian friend acted the part of the parent ; and children exposed by their pa- rents were presented by the compassionate, who found and took care of them. We consider the sponsors answering in the name of the child an useless fallacy. The sponsor can answer for himself, respecting the 39 care he will take of the child, but any thing further is a pious fiction. Formerly one sponsor only was required, a man for a male — a woman for & female \ — in the Church of England three sponsors are required. I am willing to admit that this custom, like many others, originated in good intentions, al- though it is now become very generally a mere form. It was calculated to provide guardians for orphans ; and probably the reason for not ad- mitting the parents to stand as sponsors was the design of providing other guardians in case the parents should die. The engagement which is entered into by the sponsors, required in the Church of England, induces many of the most pious and thinking members of the Establishment to shrink back with apprehension from incurring the respon- sibility. The language used on the occasion is too strong, if any thing is to be considered obligatory in the promise ; and if it is not to be held sacred, the service will become a solemn mockery. Confirmation. When you consider that nothing more is ab- solutely requisite to entitle any one to receive 40 Confirmation than that the minister of the parish where such person resides attests to the Bishop that the individual " is able to say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and ike Ten Commandments , and answer such other questions as in the Short Catechism are contained," you will perceive that no other qualification is necessary, than, as Pierce has before said, ff a child of five years old may have* We may charitably hope that Confirmation is not of very great importance, since a compa- ratively small number of the members of the Church of England can enjoy the opportunity of appearing in the presence of the Bis-hop. And we question the ut lily of the service, since kt requires that each child should be presented by the Godfather or Godmother ; whereas it is welt known that thousands of the said children never had any sponsor. We question further the propriety of continuing the imposition of hands accompanied with this prayer: — " We make our humble supplication to thee for these thy servants, upon whom (after the example of thy holy Apostles) we have now laid our hands, to certify them fly this sign) of thy favour and gracious goodness towards them" It is to be apprehended that a spiritual confi- dence, a delusive hope, may be excited by such of Tan rcir-ivj expressions, and if the Convocation shot ever be permitted to review and amend the Offices, it is probable that this service will not be unheeded, since many of the clergy, and some of them who were dignified with the highest honours, wished for alterations and amendments in it, during the reign of George the Second. It is the Church's own concern, we withhold our conformity to it in the exercise of our Na- tural Right of Private Judgement. The Matrimonial Service. The regulation and order of civil society re- quire that some ordinance should be appointed to legalize marriage, with a view to prevent the evils which would arise from selfishness, incon- stancy, and profligacy, whether they affected the welfare of either of the contracting parties, or their offspring. Constancy and kindness " in sickness and in health/' in adversity, and in prosperity, are undoubtedly moral duties of important obligation ; and in every engagement and connexion of life, who will question the importance of integrity, and the strict and con- scientious observance of the precept, Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you ? Yet neither the civil nor the ecclesiastical government has thought it needful to enforce a 42 regard to thern, by declaring the contract illegal unless it he in each case executed in a church and accompanied by religious ceremonies. The Society of Friends has long been permitted to conduct this engagement in the manner most consistent with their own views. As no evil has resulted from this liberty, it is not easy to assign any rational and candid mo- tive for withhold ing the exercise of the same right from other Dissenters. But every legal security might be obtained, every right of inheritance secured, and every sanction of law applied with equal effect, were the contract to take place in the presence of a magistrate; and a public civil registration, in each town or district, would .probably be not so liable to erasure, partial destruction, or inter- polation, as a parish register, whenever interest, ambition, or any other base motive, might prompt the wish to falsify the record. To any one who is destitute of all religious principle, no rel gious ceremonial can render a contract more binding; whoever disbelieves the Christian religion is not likely to feel reveren- tially impressed by the Rites of a Christian Church ; and the conscientious Dissenter, should he think proper to add any religious ob- servance to the civil contract, will be more in* 43 fluenced by a solemnity accordant with his own sentiments. As to thcjbrm, I would remark, iC With this ring I thee wed/' The rin^ is a civil token of the engagement. " With my body I thee worship." The phrase is not objectionable, if it be understood that the word worship, when used with relation to God, implies adoration ; but worship, when it has regard to kings, princes, magistrates, and wives, expresses merely the attention due to. them in their respective situations in social life. (i With all my wordhy goods 1 thee endow." This is an obligation sanctioned by the Church, and set at nought by the civil power. For at the death of the husband, unless some better security has been provided, the wife will find that all signifies only one third. Ordination and Absolution. At the Ordination of the Clergy, the Bishop, laying his hands on the head of the person to be ordained, says, " Receive the Holy Ghost " This expression does not appear to be a prayer, but an endowment. I would not intentionally pervert the meaning the words imply, but on the most serious consideration it appears to me to indicate an actual communication of a divine gift. 44 Any clergyman, so ordained, is directed by the office for the Visitation of the Sick, to in* quire respecting the sick person's belief in the Apostles' Creed, concerning his repentance of his sins, and his charitable thoughts towards all mankind ; and he is to admonish him to a spe- cial confession of his sins, if any weighty mat- ter lies heavy on his conscience. After which confession the priest shall ab- solve him after this sort : " Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences : — And by the authority committed to • me, /absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of tlie Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. I shall only add that the priest had need be well convinced that he had received the Holy Ghost at his ordination ; and he had need also be infallible to judge when the case of the peni- tent merits such absolution. Burial Service. " Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy to take unto himself the soul of our dear Brother here departed, we therefore 45 commit his body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, &c. The terms dear brother or dear sister are, it may be imagined, dictated by Christian charity ; and whatever there might have been objection- able in life, we must consider that the abso- lution service is supposed to have made his peace both with God and man : the "sure and certain hope of the resurrection," are the ideas of the attendants around the grave of one who has received absolution. I apprehend that no more is implied by saying that God, in his great mercy, hath taken * 9 to himself, than that he is removed from the greater evils which might have befallen him, or the longer suffer- ings which he might have endured. We may admit that the ordination service, the absolution, and the burial services, are con- sistent with each other : but since we have no criterion to ascertain the effect of thejlrst, v\e therefore question the validity of the second, and object to the mode of expression in the last. These are probably amongst those things which the Church itself will one day alter and amend ; till then we cannot feel anxious to be admitted within her pale \ Yours, &c. 4t> LETTER XI. Churches. MY YOUNG FRIEND, The assemblies of Christians were at first held in private houses, or any other convenient place ; thus Paul preached in an upper room at Troas. The erection of buildings expressly for the pur- pose of Christian worship was ft matter clt pend- ant on the number and the opulence of those professing the Gospel in their respective neigh- bourhoods. The temple at Jerusalem was celebrated for its architecture; the temple* amongst the Heathens were in high repute for magnificence and orna- ment; but if any imitation of either Jewish or Heathen edifices had been thought expedient by the Apostles we may reasonably infer that some instructions would have been given or at least some memorable example left to succeeding ages. When Christians were rich enough to ereet large buildings for the purpose of worship, they did not pay any particular attention to the posi- tion of them towards one point of the heavens more than another. Churches were forme rly built in different directions ; St. Patrick of Ireland is re- 47 corded to have erected one in Ulster in the direc- tion north and south. Jewish synagogues and many public buildings were in the course of time converted into places for Christian worship, and did not always admit of being arranged precisely eas* and west. We may ascribe much of the anxiety about buildings and the splendour of them to the period subsequent to the conversion of Heathen temples into Christian churches;- — at the same time the revenues of the Heathen clergy were confiscated. It was the aera of the influx of pageantry and superstition. The civil power has in numerous instances ex- ercised its prerogative over the property of the church ; the exigencies of the State have often superseded the claim of the priesthood ; and we presume that Henry VIII. as head of the Church might consider himself to be disposing of what he had a control over, rather than violating the property of others. I have heard it lamented that the Church of England has enjoyed the inheritance of the Roman Catholics ; civilians understand how estates en~ tailed may be made to change their masters ;— whether it was through slate-craft or priest-craft, the Heathens were in like manner despoiled by the confiscation of their property. 48 I hope the Dissenters from the Church of Eng- land will never covet their neighbours' goods, nor manifest any lingerings after the flesh-pots of JEgypt ; desirous neither of the original property of the Heathen priesthood, nor of the priesthood of Papal Rome, nor of the priesthood of the Protestant Church of England. Burial-places. During the first 300 years after the Christian sera, Christians, agreeably to the practice of Jews and Heathens, had no burial places within any town or city. Burial in churches was expressly prohibited by the laws of several Christian em- perors ; but in the course of the succeeding 200 years emperors and kings were permitted to be inferred not only within a town or city but even near the outside of a church, whilst other Chris- tians of all descriptions were buri-ed out of the town or city as before. When afterwards emperors, kings, bishops, and eminent men were allowed to have their graves within the churches, the people in gene- ral were permitted to have burial in the church- yards. Consecration of Churches and of Burial-places. The particular dedication or consecration of churches took place between 400 and 500 years after Christ. 49 The consecration of lurial-places bears date about the year 600 : but as the Heathens had many laws against the violation of sepulchres, and as many Christians in imitation of the Heathens rendered the graves of their deceased friends ob- jects of allurement to rapacious plunderers; so it may be considered that the consecration of ground was a formal announcement of its being set apart as a receptacle for deceased Christians. The Communion Table. The communion table, which was placed m some convenient part of the church, was for a long time the only altar we read of amongst Christians. There were no stone altars till the reign of Constantine ; about the year 500 they were con- secrated with chrism. So late as the reign of Charles I. of England, u the communion table was usually placed in the middle of the chancel, or in any convenient part of the church, and the people received round it, or in their places near. Under the direction of Archbishop Laud, all communion tables were ordered to be fixed under the east wall of the chancel, with the ends north and south in the form of an altar, raised two or three steps above the floor, and encompassed with rails. Laud ordered his vicar-general to see this alteration -made in all churches and chapels of his province; D 50 to accomplish which it became necessary to take down the galleries in some places, and to re- move monuments. Many ministers and church- wardens were excommunicated, fined, and obliged to do penance, for neglecting these in- junctions. Considerable numbers refused to come up to the rails and receive the sacrament ; for which divers were fined, and others excom- municated, to the amount of some hundreds, as the committee of the house of commons reported on the archbishop's trial *." It is of no importance whether the position of the table at the east end of the church be a remnant of ancient superstition, or whether it alludes to the appearance of the star in the east. Neither is it of moment, whether the custom of bowing towards the altar on entering and on go- ing out of church was in imitation of the Jews, who bowed towards the mercy seat on entering the temple. We may still find many persons who consider the enclosed space more sacred than any other part of the building. To prevent any such erroneous conceptions, we believing the omnipresence of the Almighty are indifferent towards which of the four quarters we place our- selves for worship. Bowing at f the name of Jesus, and not at the * Vid. Cornish's brief History of Nonconformity, p. 53. f Prior to the time of Archbishop Land, ' at the name, was more correctly translated * in the name/ 51 name of Christ or Saviour, is too puerile an ob- servance to need a comment. They who sup- pose the bodily knee is to be bowed at the name of Jesus only, are too ripe for superstition for us to expect that they will comprehend a figure of speech which implies that He is the head of the Christian Church. Yours, Sec. LETTER XII. Church Holidays. MY YOUNG FRIEND, The greater number of the feasts and festh^als of the Church of England may be reckoned ob» solete ; as they are observed with very little at- tention. We and the Church perfectly agree that the Apostles and first Christians were wont to assem- ble for religious worship on the firswlay of the week, because we have the testimony of Scripture record of the Acts of the Apostles. We are well aware that numerous other days have been denominated religious, by persons who at sundry times and in divers places wished to testify their own zeal,- or promote what they ac- counted zeal in others. Precedents may be quoted in the Jewish and in the Heathen ecclesiastical polity ; but we do D 2 52 not admit such analogous appointments to be of Christian obligation. The first day of the week appears to have been the commemoration of Jesus Christ, and to have had relation to his birth and his ministry, his death and his resurrection, and to all the benefits enumerated in the Gospel. Christmas Day. The year of the nativity of our Lord is uncer- tain ; the different modes of computing chrono- logical accounts have occasioned a variety of opinions, and it is generally supposed that our common reckoning is about four years too late. " There is not the least question but that Dionysius surnamed Exiguus, a native ofScy- thia, and a Roman abbot, was the first author of the vulgar sera of the nativity of Christ about the year 527 ; the ancients accounting their years before that time, either from the building of Rome, from the Consuls, from the emperor Dioclesian, or from the first Indiction*. The month also is uncertain. Some time in August; the 25th of March; the 6th of Janu- ary, and the 25th of December, asnow common- ly admitted, have been severally advocated. In the fourth century the 6th of January was observed as the time of the nativity ; and when the 25th of December was admitted, the 6th of January was made a festival of Christ's baptism. * Vid. Strauchius translated by Saiilt, p. 372. 53 Easter * . The time of the commemoration of the resur- rection, commonly called Easter f , was the occa- sion of vehement disputes between the Eastern and Western Churches. Whilst in Asia many observed the 14th day of the moon after the 21st of March, on whatever day of the week it hap- pened ; the Roman Churches observed the Sun- day after the 14th day of the moon ; and many denied the obligation of particular fasts and feasts. Ci But since the churchmen (says Peirce) always keep this festival on the Lord's day, we will not quarrel about it, who think all such days holy." It is unnecessary to comment on every fast and festival in the Church of England : there are thirty-one feast days, ninety- five fast days, besides the fifty-two first days of the week; in all one hundred and seventy-eight days; and I *This celebration was called Pascha, in allusion to the Jewish Passover, which was celebrated on the 14th day of the next moon after the vernal equinox, in commemoration of the destroying angel passing over the houses of the Israelites. They who derive the worn 1 paschal from a Greek word signifying to suffer, because the sufferings or passion of Jesus Christ are commemorated about this time, are in an error. The word is of Hebrew origin, and signifies to pass over. f The term Easier is derived from Estra, a Heathen god- dess whose festival was observed about the same time of the year, 54 apprehend that no one who withholds his confor- mity to the regulations appointed by the Church of England can be considered any other than a Dissenter. A Nonconforming Conformist is an absurdity. If the members of the Church of England are correct in their omission of attention to those days, it falls partially heavy on Dissenters to be censured for an avowed neglect of what the Church's own members profess to admit, yet seldom if ever observe. When Henry VIII. was acknowledged Head of the Church, he set aside many holidays ; and it is obvious to every one, that the thousands of gods said to have been admitted into the cata- logue of Heathen deities would in the course of time have been equalled by the number of saints and martyrs, if the practice had been con- tinued which was adopted in certain periods of the history of the Christian Church. Wt know nothing of Ea^er till the second century was far advanced, nor do we hear of " martyrs piously commemorated," till about the same period. We may trace the blending of Heathen and Jewish customs with Christi- anity in every addition that was made to the practice of the Apostles. The Jews at this time observe as a fast the annual return of the day on which their parents 55 died. The Christians about the third century were accustomed to pay anniversary visits to the tombs of the martyrs and most celebrated men. But it is not my design at present to trace the several imitations, in the Christian Church, of the rites and ceremonies of the Jews and Hea- thens. We entertain high opinions of Simon and Jude, of Matthias, Mark, Luke, and John, of Stephen, Andrew, 8tc. &c. but we do not find sufficient authority in Scripture to command us to pay any particular attention to days casually selected and arbitrarily appointed for religious services, merely because their names are affixed to them. We can comprehend the veneration which particular associations and particular churches may have for certain individuals ; but we appre- hend that if there had been any religious obliga- tion intended, we should not have been left without some direct testimony ; and moreover we are persuaded that faith and righteousness may flourish as well where, after the custom of the Apostles, Christians assemble only on the first day of the week, as where human authority has multiplied fasts and festivals. The numerous holidays amongst the pro- fessors of Christianity probably tended to recon- cile converts from Heathenism to the change of S6 their religion. And as the Pantheon at Rome, dedicated to all the Roman Heathen deities, was in 607 converted into a Christian church, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary and all the Saints, at which time the festival of All Saints was in- stituted ; so the substitution of saints and mar- tyrs made the transition easy to the uninformed, whose religious ideas accorded rather with the senses than with the understanding. I shall only add one observation concerning Juttnt. The first Reformers considered the obser- vance of it expedient in a civil view, because it tended to discourage the destruction of young cattle, as calves, &c, and to encourage the fish- eries around our islands. Had no obligation in the name of religion been imposed, the ration- ality^ of the practice would have been obvious, and patriotism might have effected what ecclesi- astical laws have failed to ensure. Whilst we feel tempted to admit that the late Rev. R. Robinson of Cambridge has given no incorrect picture of the multitude in the Church of England, we must be careful that our dissent is more rationally founded than on education pre- judices against Church government, and against ecclesiastical dictates respecting doctrines and rites and ceremonies. " Religion" (says Robinson) " should be un- masked and exposed in its own beauty to their 57 view : at present it appears to them an unmean- ing encumbrance of expensive forms. Their infants are questioned and sprinkled ; their wives pay a shilling and are churched ; they are ge- nerally funny at a wedding, and feel no expense but the ring; they eat cross bunns on Good Friday ; they are merry at Easter and Christmas; they pay small tithes through life, and are buried in form when they die ; and they call this the Christian religion in the best constituted Church in the world, and abuse all who think other- wise, as knaves and foots, ignorant of God and disloyal to their King*." However just this description, I am appre- hensive there may he found many Dissenters who object to the government of Bishops ; the wearing garments ; the sign of the Cross in bap- tism ; the use of a Liturgy, &c. &c. who have not paid sufficient attention to those subjects to maintain their opinions by rational arguments. A3 I am anxious that, whether you may be ultimately induced to conform or to dissent, you should be able to give a reason to him that ask- eth, I have been induced to make these things the subject of my correspondence ; and what- ever the result of your consideration, bear in mind that candour is an essential part of Christianity. " Judge not, that ye be not judged." Yours, &c. * Robinson's Hist, and Mystery of Good Friday. D 5 58 LETTER XIII. The Church of England itself the principal Cause of Dissent in Times past. MY YOUNG FRIEND, J he prejudices of education, and the influence of early habit, so far biassed the minds of many of the first converts to Christianity to assimi- late their newly adopted religion to the ceremo- nials of the Mosaic institutions, or the systems of philosophy prevalent among the Heathens, as to render it needful for the apostle Paul to caution them — iC Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ :" and to exhort, * c Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage ;" a yoke which, Peter elsewhere observes, neither they nor their fathers were able to bear*. That the same causes of discordance should continue to operate after the removal of the Apostles ; that the Jew and the Gentile should with increased facility introduce their still fondly cherished customs into the religion of Jesus, ought to excite no surprise. And when we ob- serve that the almost parental authority and in- * Col. ii. 8.— GaL v. 1.— Acts xv. 10.— 1 Cor. i. 12. 59 fluence of the Apostles were scarce sufficient to prevent dissension, we need not wonder that the attempts which have at various periods been made to obtain uniformity in religious opinions have proved unavailing. If Paul found reason to complain, " Every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ ;" without any defi- ciency of candour we may infer that the expecta- tion of regulating all religious opinions by one standard, was dictated by vanity and spiritual pride, rather than by Christian humility. The Church of England is the object of our consideration in these letters, and their limits would be too far extended by even a slight men- tion of all those fruitless efforts which with the design of promoting uniformity have increased dissension. When the Church of Christ had survived the fury of persecution from the Hea- thens, and the conversion of the emperor Con- & tan tine had secured it from their attacks, as if the fell spirit of domination and arbitrary power had entered into the Christians, they per- secuted each other. Constantine endeavoured to terminate all differences, and establish a per- fect uniformity of opinion. Wavering in his own sentiments, at one time coinciding with the Arians, at another period favouring the Atha- nasians, he did not succeed in combining even 60 those two into one cordial association. But there were numbers who differed from those and from each other, and who were always exposed to the virulence of the denomination who ob- tained a temporary ascendency in power. It is not our design to ascertain the degrees of purity in each Eastern Church, nor to inquire whether the Greek or the Latin Church adhered most faithfully to the doctrines delivered by Jesus Christ and his Apostles. In each nume- rous errors found advocates, and bigotry alienated many minds from the practice of brotherly love. Whatever denomination prevailed, stigmatized all other Christians with the appellation of Heretics. By the rigid demand of assent to tenets concern- ing which men might have differed in opinion, and yet lived in peace and unity, occasions of dissent have at all periods been increased; and had the different societies remained, as in the days of the Apostles, independent, less jealousy would have been excited by an imperious assumption of authority equally inconsistent with Christian charity, and with a humble spirit of inquiry after truth. Numerous instances might he adduced of in- terdicts and persecutions, in all the varied forms of fine^ imprisonment, excommunication, and death y under the pretence of obtaining Christian uni- formity. The project was romantic, and the 61 attempt has ever proved abortive. Uniformity without sincerity is a fallacious cordiality, and the dissent of the conscientious remains un- changed. The Church of Rome in the plenitude of its power failed in securing uniformity in opinion. In this country Wickliffe and his numerous fol- lowers had long prior to the time of Henry VI IT. entertained sentiments relative to rites and ceremonies, and Church Government, nearly similar to those avowed by the Dissenters in ge- neral at the present time. Whether influenced by a love of peace, sti- mulated by vanity to endeavour to appear com- petent judges of religious opinions, or actuated by ambition to seek to extend the authority with which they were amply invested in the things of this world, over the concerns of another ; a striking similarity may be traced in the conduct of Nebuchadnezzar, Constantine, and Henry VIII. Each fluctuating in his own opinion, required all subjected to his authority to follow him in every change of profession, whether the effect of caprice or conviction, and each inflicted the severest persecution on all who refused to model their Jaiih and practice accord- ing to royal example. In the reign of Elizabeth, the Clergy of the Established Church were required " to promise 62 and subscribe conformity to the habits, and like- wise to the rites, of the Common Prayer, the 39 Articles, and the Queen's Injunctions, or to be deprived within three months. " It is neces* sary to observe that there was no discordancy of opinion respecting the doctrinal points — the sole subject of dispute related to the Ordinances, Rites, and Ceremonies which the Rulers of the Church wished to impose on their community. Whilst the Puritans conscientiously objected to most of them, they more particularly refused an acknowledgement of an authority which might increase the number of them at pleasure, and still demand Conformity. Hundreds of Ministers were suspended and deprived of their livings, and thus injudiciously, on the part of the Church, driven out of its pale, although not inferior in learning and piety to those who remained. The Clergy thus excluded from the Church, became Dissenters, not voluntarily but by force; and the Laity, many of whom were imprisoned, entertaining similar opinions with their Ministers, felt the strong bonds of attachment to the Church of England broken by the imperiousness of its Governors, and the severity exercised against their teachers. They who are ignorant of the origin of the Dissenters frequently censure them for deserting the Church j but from this brief sketch you will 63 perceive that the schism was at first made by the Church itself — and such is the constitution of the Hierarchy, that instead of astonishment that any of its members withdraw at the present day, — when we consider that whoever dissents from any of its doctrines — whoever calls in que- stion the utility of any of its rites and ceremonies — whoever will not kneel at the Lord's Supper — or whoever cannot conscientiously subscribe to all its articles, is liable to excommunication, — there is greater cause for surprise that so many of those who are in the habit of reflecting on these things continue in the Church. I am inclined to believe that were the Bishops and Clergy in our time permitted to revise, alter, and amend, agreeably to the original design of the Reformers of the Church, and agreeably to the wishes of many of the most eminent men in the Church, in every age since the aera of the Reformation, they would propose terms of con- formityyizr different to those which have hither- to greatly contributed to promote separation amongst its members. In the second year of James I., three hundred Ministers were persecuted for non-compliance with the injunctions which had produced so much calamity m the reign of Elizabeth. Du- ring her long reign, a great relaxation in these impositions had taken place ; but under James 64 the subjects of discord were again brought for- ward, and both the Laity and Clergy, but espe- cially the latter, were made to suffer ; some were silenced, others deprived, some excommunicated, some imprisoned, and others induced to go into voluntary banishment. In 1618, King James I., as Supreme Head of the Church of England, u published a declaration to encourage recreations and sports after service on the Lord's day; e. g. morris-dances, revels, May-games, Whitsun-ales, wakes, leapings, vaultings, setting up may- poles in the church- yard, or near the church." As James in the course of his life, notwithstanding his zeal for Uniformity, had been a Presbyterian, a Church- man, a Calvinist, an Arminian, and according to some almost a Roman Catholic, the Book of Sports may be considered principally designed to disgust those who were called Puritans. The declaration was ordered to be read in every parish- church, throughout England. Archbishop Ab- bot forbad the reading the King's Declaration in his parish-church at Croydon ; which, as Cornish observes, " was wise, patriotic, religious, and at this time not ineffectual." In the reign of Charles I., the number of Dis- senters was increased by an order that the Book of Sports should be again read in every parish- church ; and a considerable number of the Clergy 05 were deprived of their livings, some\ cated, and others obliged to leave the ' r fhis may be further urged as a proof tha Church itself has greatly augmented the number of Dissenters. After the death of Charles I., the Episcopal Government of the Church was subverted, and the Presbyterian as in Scotland was established by the Long Parliament ; the Common Prayer was laid aside as incapable of amendment, and aDirectorysubstituted. All persons were required to enter into the Solemn League and Covenant, by which they engaged to preserve the Reformed Church of Scotland, and to promote Reformation in the Churches of England and Ireland. Who- ever refused to take the oath was excluded from offices civil) religious, and military, and the Clergy who refused to adopt the Director y were ejected from their livings, but with an ex- press stipulation that onvjifth of their seques- tered livings should be allotted to them. — This is an instance of humanity rising superior to bigoted zeal. In the ejectments under the former rules above mentioned, and also in later instances, no provision was made for those who were deprived. We may be desired to reflect on the similarity of conduct in those of the former reigns and those who governed during the Long Parlia- 66 ment ; but the only fair deduction that can be made from such a comparison, is, that had re- ligious societies always been independent, as in the times of the Apostles, these evils would not have arisen ; had the Civil Power never been allied to any particular Church, it might have preserved peace among them all. Episco- pal Government, and Presbyterian Government, and any other form of Government which can- not stand without the coercive measures of the Civil Power, are apt to be alike intolerant. Conscience is the only test of religion ;— Christ the only lawgiver in things spiritual. That Ministers formerly ejected rejoiced to be reinstated; — that those who formerly did not perceive the severity of deprivation, now endured similar evils, is easy to be conceived. — The oppressors and the oppressed now changed their situation, and every friend to religious liberty must regret that human vanity, ambition, or bigotry, should ever trample under foot Christian candour and forbearance. Recrimination by the descendants or the inheritors of the prin- ciples of either party is absurd. They who were silenced, ejected, or deprived, in the former in- stances of spiritual tyranny, were not averse to the Episcopal form of Church Government, provided the authority of the Bishops had been restricted by the general sense of the Church — ! 67 and provided that rites and ceremonies allowed to be indifferent had been inculcated as optional : and They also who had advocated the divine right of Kings and Bishops, and been the most strenuous advocates for rites and ceremonies, were all the members of the same Established Church, till dissevered by the violation of the rights of conscience in the tyrannical imposition of servile acknowledgement and formal cere* monies. That the Church by timely revision of its Articles, and by pursuing moderate measures consistent with Christian forbearance, might have prevented most of the secessions, may ra- tionally be inferred, and the consequences of the schism originated in Cue principal rulers of the Hierarchy. Cromwew, enlisted hi/riself with no particular sect :— he expressed his wish to see the Church at peace, and was more in- different about attachment to Bishops than at- tachment to the cause of Royalty. The Presbyterians were particularly active in restoring Charles II. to the throne : The decla- ration from Breda, April 4, 1 660, was joyfully received by them. " We do declare a liber- ty to tender consciences, and that no man shall be disquieted, or called in question, for dif- ferences of opinion which do not disturb the peace of the Kingdom." Soon after the Restoration, i( many hundreds of worthy Ministers were dis- 68 placed, because they were in sequestrations where others had been cast out by the Parliament* ! '' It was readily admitted on all sides to be equitable that every respectable divine should be reinstated; — and the King promised that those who vacated their livings on this occasion should succeed on the death of the Clergymen so restored. Epi- scopacy and a Liturgy were both assented to by thecontending parties; but altera pretended con- ference for the amicable arrangement of the business, no material alteration was made re- specting the power of the Bishops, and the Li- turgy remained unaltered. The rigorous Act of Uniformity, which was carried in the House of Commons by a majority of six only, received the Royal assent May 19th, 1 662. The Convocation had made some alterations in the Bookof Common Prayer, and the Clergy were required to subscribe their assent and consent before the 24th of August, 1662. " The work did not come out of the press till a few days be- fore the 24th of August, when the Act took place. So that of the seven thousand Ministers in England who kept their livings, few, but those in and near London, could have a sight of it till after they had declared their assent and consent to itf." The Clergy who subscribed without seeing the * Palmer's Nonconformist's Memorial. -f Ibid, book, strongly manifested implicit faith; whilst any one who thought it necessary to know to what he assented before he signed his name, subjected himself to the law of exclusion. Two thousand Ministers were by this Act of Unifor- mity banished from their livings, and a variety of cruel enactments were afterwards passed to increase their distresses. Neither their general agreement with the the- ology of the Church, nor their having been educated in the University of Cambridge or Oxford, nor their having received University honours, as B.A. M.A. B.D. D.D. ; neither their piety nor their learning could induce the Church to acknowledge them. They were ba- nished from its society, whilst at the same time a great lamentation was made that the number of Dissenters increased. You will find a circumstantial account of them in Palmer's edition of the Nonconformist's Me- morial. I shall briefly notice, that the Act of Uni- formity required ordination by Bishops — un- feigned assent and consent to every thing con- tained in the book of Common Prayer — the swearing subjection to their Ordinary according to the Canons of the Church — and a vow never to attempt any alteration in the Church, &c. &c. From the labours of those 2000 ejected Mi- nisters many of the oldest Presbyterian Societies derived their congregational existence; the name 70 was transmitted to their successors : but further inquiry has weaned them from all attachment to a Presbyterian domination ; and because they con- ceive that to his own master every one standeth or falleth, and one is their master even Christ, they maintain the distinct independency of their societies — revering all good and liberal-minded men, whether adorned with a mitre, or more simply honoured in the Church, or distinguished by learning and excellency in any denomination of Dissenters. The doctrines of Christianity can be derived from Scripture alone ; the modes of worship are within the province of every one to select and prefer in the exercise of the rights of private judgement. If the Church should attempt to promote the work of Uniformity, it must be by opening the doors still wider, and making libera- lity and Christian charity the characteristics of Church Polity. Yours, &c. LETTER XIV. Creeds, Articles, &c. MY YOUNG FRIEND, 1 he Church of England is barricadoed with Creeds, Articles, and Canons. — Recommend incr m ... o you to bear in mind that each of them is a pro- per subject of investigation, I shall offer only a few brief remarks. The Creed called the Apostles' is so termed 71 because it is considered a compendium of the sentiments of the Apostles. Some have sup- posed it to have been written by the Apostles; but, as Mosheim observes, " All> however, who have the least knowledge of antiquity look upon this opinion as entirely false and destitute of all foundation* ." Several of the clauses have been introduced at subsequent periods, in order to render it a concise declaration of religious opi- nions respecting some of those subjects which became the foundation of controversy after the time of the Apostles. As the object of these Letters is to particu- larize what the Church of England requires, without entering into any discussion of the doc- trines of the Church, I proceed to notice the Athanasian Creed, concerning which- Arch- bishop Tillotson, writing to Bishop Burnet, said, €f I wish ive were well rid of it " It is com- monly understood that most of the Clergy and almost all the Laity entertain the same idea con- cerning it. It is generally admitted that this creed was not the production of that Athanasius who was at one time highly approved, and at another driven into banishment by- that zealous advocate of uniformity Constantine the Great, but was probably designed as a compendium of his opinions, whether written by Vigilius Tap- sensis or any person of the name of Athanasius. The Nicene Creed derives its name from the Council assembled at Nice in Bythinia an- no Domini 325. — Whether we are to impute 10 * MosheWs Eccles. Hist. vol. i. p. 116. 73 accident or error the adoption of both the Ni- cene and the Athanasian Creed in the Church of Rome and in the Church of England; or whether the adoption of discordant creeds was at any time thought expedient to preserve the peace of the Church, we cannot suppose they could ever be thought essential to the promotion of uniformity. Dr. Clayton, Bishop of Clogher in Ireland, observes in his Essay on Spirit, that he s * ca?i- not help saying it is something odd to have these two creeds established in the same Church*". — There was at first an anathema attached to the Nicene Creed, which was long since omitted ; otherwise, as Archdeacon Blackburne remarks, Ci we should have been cursed in the Nicene Creed for believing what we are cursed in the Athanasian Creed for not believing f". THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES. As a full discussion of the 39 Articles would fill a large volume, I shall notice only a few particulars which oblige us to withhold our C5- sent and consent. The 26th Canon enjoins " all and every one of these Articles to be acknowledged ex animo and subscribed as agreeable to the word of God" The 5th Canon enacts, that " If any man shall affirm that these Articles are in any part erro- neous, he shall be excommunicated" * Essay on Spirit, p. 146. | Archdf aeon Blackbume's Works, vol. vii. p. 115. 73 Some of the Clergy understand the 39 Articles *o be Calviiiisik) some adopt another interpre- tation. It might be thought presumption in a Dissenter to pretend to decide on a subject con- cerning which the Doctors of the Church are found to differ. As the mind can no more hold opposite opinions at the same moment than the body can be in two places at the same time, the difficulty of subscription is greatly increased in the view of every reflecting person. We are aware that young men pass from school to col- lege without having acquired much theological information; at Oxford they are expected to sub-- scribe at their matriculation ; at Cambridge, when they take their first degree. But whatever apo- logy might be made for juvenile subscription, the same plea cannot be advanced for the renewal of subscription at a later period of life : all will al- low that trifling is unworthy the manly charac- ter, and prevarication inconsistent with the Christian character. — Does subscription attest belief, or is it a mere formality ? If the general tenor of the Articles be Calvi- nistic, it may excite surprise that there can be Unitarians and Arians as well as Trinitarians amongst the Clergy of the Establishment. That men of unfeigned piety and exemplary morals have subscribed the 39 Articles with opinions very remote from Calvinism, can be accounted for, only by considering the twentieth article, which ascribes to the Church power to decree ritfis and ceremonies, and to have authority in E 74 controversies, yet admits that in whatever is contrary to Scripture no such legal power is pos- sessed by the Church. Hence, if from the study of the Scriptures any or all of the other articles should be thought unscriptural ; the subscription to them is, in consequence of this proviso, ren- dered null and void ; and the act of subscription attaches solely to such article, or articles, which the subscriber in the exercise of his right of pri- vate judgement considers agreeable to Scripture. Hence what avail the laborious efforts to secure uniformity? — The writings and the preaching of the Clergy manifest the discordancy of their sentiments, and all that the Church obtains is a nominal unity of sentiment. Archdeacon Blackburne* quotes a Right Re- verend author, who says, " Though these same Articles are called only thirty-nine, let no man from hence imagine that he has only thirty-nine propositions to deal with. He will findjbur or Jive times that number, though bound up indeed into so many bundles. The second article alone contains thirteen very substantial propositions; the seventeenth, twelve ; the tweniy : /ij'th, as ma- ny ; and the like may be affirmed, in a greater or less degree, of the rest." " And now may it not well be questioned whe- ther in any one science or subject in the world, so many distinct propositions can be found, be- yond absolute intuition or demonstration, where- in even twelve men, much less twelve thousand, ickbuiWs Works, vol vu. 310. 75 and a perpetual succession of them through every vicissitude of learning and knowledge, can be made uniformly to agree ?" As rites and ceremonies, whatever our opi- nion of them, were thought well of by their inventors, so the Articles, inconsistent as they may appear to us, were by the authors of them judged to be correct : we cannot ascertain the writer of each, and I have only internal evidence to support the opinion T have formed. Let us admit that the general tenor of them is Calvinistic ; and suppose that any Bishop pro- posed the twentieth article,— the writers of the other articles, from a firm persuasion that the tenets they held were founded on Scripture, could apprehend nothing from the concession in the twentieth. It argued a confidence in their own opinion, and was equivalent to their having said, Search the Scriptures ; and if you should be convinced that these doctrines are not true, you commit no breach in your obedience; for " it is not lawful for the Church to or dam anything that is contrary to God's word ivritten, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture that it be repugnant of another.' 9 Thus equity and candour inducing us to plead the consistency of the Articles, I cannot see how any Clergyman who founds his opinion on the Scriptures can be legally ejected y deprived) or excommunicated, for what the Church is ac- knowledged to have no lawful power to impose or decree, B 2 76 When the mass of mankind were more igno- rant the censures of the Church appalled the Laity, and the fetters of mental subjugation captivated the powers of the understanding. Rome drew her bonds too tight — Protestantism of every de- scription can defend itself only by the assertion of the rights of private judgement, and every Dissenter in the kingdom is an indisputable heir to the same privilege. Yours, 8cc. LETTER XV. Tests and Penal Statutes. MY YOUNG FRIEND, In the preceding Letters 1 have endeavoured to point out to you many of the occasions of our dissent from the Established Church; and \ am persuaded that you will perceive there is nothing in Nonconformity which any rational mind can suspect to be injurious to the State. Civil liberty is the natural right of mankind, and it is reasonable that we should rejoice at having been born in a country which a series of laudable efforts has rescued from the yoke of despotism. As the inheritors of the benefits of Magna Charta, we may boast of the name of Briton. But the entire duty of each individual is not comprised in obedience to earthly autho- rities 5 we are only the temporary inhabitants of any country, and all human authority and ha- 77 man obedience terminate at death. The Clergy of the Establishment will not I presume con- trovert my position, that we are also the sub- jects of an heavenly kingdom, and that Power which is designated the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, has a prior as well as a supe- rior claim to our respect, our attachment, and our obedience. I am confident that no member of the Established Church will refuse to assent that the Scriptures are of more validity than the decrees of any Council, or the imperial com- mands of any acts of Parliament. The preach- ing of Jesus Christ was to all persons without distinction; the Protestant Churches have al- ways avowed an anxiety to promote the know- ledge of the Scriptures, they have earnestly exhorted us to search them ; and if, in conse- quence of the study of them, we adopt opinions not conformable to the decrees of Councils, or acts of Parliament, we must determine whether we will prefer paying obedience to God or obe- dience to man. Acts of Parliament are at variance with Coun- cils ; Acts of Parliament are discordant with each other ; those in the reign of Elizabeth differ from those of Edward ; those of William TIT. from those of Charles II., but the Scriptures to which all appeal remain the same. It is probable that many Dissenters are not ware of the restraints and penalties imposed upon them by Laws yet unrepealed, and from the operation of which our only protection has 78 been the increased liberality of the times, and the Toleration Act, one of the valuable fruits 'of that Revolution, which will ever be valuable in the estimation of British Patriots* Late attempts by novel interpretation to under- mine this firm»barrier of religious liberty, render it essential that the Dissenter should know and bear in mind the penalties from which it secures him. In 1661, the Corporation Act prohibited the appointment of any persons to corporation of- fices, who had not within a year preceding taken the Lord's Supper according to the rites of the Church of England*. In 1662, when the Act of Uniformity ejected two thousand Ministers from the exercise of their profession in the Established Church, the deficiency in number of well informed and re- spectable Ministers to fill the vacated situations, and the attachment of their parishioners, rendered the continuance of their, professional services in many instances highly acceptable ; but the Le- gislative interference was soon employed to si- lence them. In 1663, the Conventicle Act was passed, to subject to heavy fines and imprisonment all who were present at any prayer or preaching, if more than five persons besides the members of the family attended ; and a refusal to frequent church incurred banishment. Numbers of both Clergy and Laity persevered in the worship of God according to the dictates of their own con- 79 sciences ; and during the dreadful ravages of the plague in London, in the year 1665, many of the ejeeted Ministers exposed themselves not only to the attacks of pestilence, but also to the persecution of the law, by attending their afflicted and dying fellow-creatures, to admini- nister the consolations of religion, and cheer the dark valley of the shadow of death with the hope of a resurrection to light and life eternal* During this awful period the Parliament assem- bled at Oxford, and passed the Five Mile Act, commonly called the Oxford Act, which pro- hibited the ejected Ministers from being within five miles of any corporation or place where they had formerly officiated. With undaunted cour- age, many continuing steadfast unto the end amidst insults, oppressions, and exorbitant Jznes 9 closed their lives in prison. In 1670, the Act against Conventicles was rigidly enforced. In 1672, the King granted an indulgence to Dissenters ; the penal laws were suspended 3 public meeting-houses were allow- ed, provided they were licensed. In 1673, the King's grant of indulgence was declared i legal by the Parliament, and the Test Act was passed, which required that all persons admitted to any office, civil or military, should publicly receive the Sacrament according to the usage of the Church of England, within three months after admittance. In 1674, the King's licenses were recalled, and the Acts against Conventicles ordered to be 80 carried into execution: — 1680 and 1682 were years of persecution towards the Dissenters: — 1687 James II. published a declaration of indul- gence to them: — and 1688 the glorious Revolution seated William III. on the throne. In 1690 the Toleration Act was passed, which secured a greater degree of religious freedom than had hitherto been enjoyed ; places of wor- ship on being licensed were secure from dis- turbance undej* the protection of the laws ; and Ministers, on subscription to the doctrinal Ar- ticles of the Church of England, were guarantied from interruption. It is necessary to notice a new description of Dissenters at this time called Non jurors. They adhered to the Established Church ; but, from their attachment to the House of Stuart, they could not conscientiously acknowledge and join in prayer for the new Head of the Church, Conscientious integrity, whatever the opinion, merits praise, and the suffering it endures de- serves our commiseration. In the reign of Queen Ann, an Act was pass- ed to prevent occasional conformity, by which it is enacted, that all persons who accept offices shall take the Sacrament, and conform strictly to the worship of the Church of England all the time they hold them. In the latter part of her reign, another Act called the Schism Bill was passed to prevent Dissenters from educating their own children, and Schoolmasters from at- tending any Dissenting place of worship. The 81 Queen died the day on which this Act was to have taken phce, and the accession of the House of Hanover was the commencement of a fa- vourable sera for the cause of religious as well as civil liberty. The Occasional Conformity Bill and the Schism Bill were both repealed in the fifth of George I.; and it was also enacted, that no person holding offices without qualify- ing should be removed or punished unless pro- ceeded against within six months after his elec- tion* There was a time when if a Dissenter was elected to an office, and refused to serve, he became liable to a heavy fine, and if he did serve without qualifying, he was punishable by information and indictment. But in 1767 Dis- senters were allowed to plead against serving offices of Sheriff', &c; in 1777 Schoolmasters and Dissenting Ministers were exempted from sub- scription to the doctrinal Articles of the Church of England. The Act of Toleration, according to the letter of the law, extends its benefits only to those who register themselves as Dissenters at the quarter sessions ; every penal statute of any former reign against the Laity, or against their Ministers, is in direct force; and were not the enlightened liberal spirit of the times to scorn an attempt to put those penal laws into execution, the Dissenters in general might be deprived of the right to sue in any court of law or equity, and prevented from acting as guardians to their own 82 children, or receivingany legacy. The liberality of the first British Monarch of the House of Bruns- wick, George I., produced the repeal of the Occasional Conformity and Schism Acts ; but although the continuance of the same liberality in his successors has discountenanced persecu- tion, the Corporation, Conventicle, Five Mile, and Test Acts are still unrepealed. Besides these, there are still several Acts by which every person who does not repair to church is liable to a for- feit of 20/. per month ; and if he afterwards neglect to conform, the King may seize all his goods and two parts of his lands ; and if he be present at any meeting or conventicle under pre- tence of any exercise of religion, he shall be imprisoned till he conform ; and if he shall not conform in three months, he shall abjure the realm ; which if he shall refuse to do, or after abjuration shall not go, or shall return without license, he shall be guilty of felony ; and whether he shall abjure or not, he shall forfeit his lands during life. The carrying the whole of the penal laws into execution mav be considered impracticable. Why then are they retained to be suspended over our heads, exposing us to possi- ble trouble from malignant bigotry, or the ca- price of power in any Magistrate ? In the course of the last century some fruit- less applications were made for the repeal of the penal statutes ; but as every instance of the union of churchmen and all other denominations of Christians in the promotion of benevolent plans S3 indicates the approach of a general Confor- mity- to the only test which Jesus our Saviour appointed, " By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another " we may infer that the invidious distinctions which at present exist will ere long cease to disgrace the jurisprudence of our country. Yours, &c. LETTER XVI. Concluding Remarks. MY YOUNG FRIEND, In the preceding Letters I have endeavoured to state briefly the causes of dissent, without parti- cularizing the differences of opinion relative to the doctrines of faith. Amongst the various denominations of Dissenters, some accord more than others with the doctrines of the Church of England, whilst # they are in unison with the whole body of Dissenters respecting Church Government, and with regard to rites and cere- monies. It is inconsistent with the fundamental prin- ciples of Dissenters to impose on others their own peculiar sentiments either respecting doc- trines, or rites and ceremonies ; it is equally in- consistent with the principles of Dissenters to sacrifice the rights of private judgement to the will of any man or body of men, civil or eccle- siastical, who may be disposed to exact implicit 81 faith and obedience in matters of religion ; — to his own master every one standeth or falleth, and one is their master, Jesus the Christ. The name of Dissenter is a term of reproach in the estimation of many who are anxious to be accounted true friends to the Established Church, Nothing short of witnessing the fact could per- suade us that men of property, men of leisure, men of ability, are wilfully ignorant of the his- tory and the constitution of their own Church, for which they vehemently contend, and totally uninquisitive respecting the principles of Dissen- ters, whom they despise and revile. " Away with this fellow from the earth, it is not fit that he should live," was an exclamation formerly used by a multitude who boasted that they had Abraham to their Father, who placed implicit confidence in their teachers and leaders ; who were strenuous advocates for an adherence to things as they found them, although they knew not the dates of those customs which they re- vered for their antiquity, nor the reason of those practices which they observed merely in i nutation of their predecessors. n Dissenters are enemies of our holy religion I our religion is the religion of the State, and therefore Dissenters are the enemies of our Civil Government," is the exclamation of many who boast that they have the Church for their Mother, who avow their belief without conviction, who subscribe without investigation, who qualify as a matter of form, although it is within the com- pass of the understanding of every schoolboy t& 85 perceive that the Reformation of the Church was not considered a perfect work in the first instance, that various changes were made in the progress of its improvement, until Queen Elizabeth said. Thus far shall ye go, and no further. The charge of disaffection has been alleged against the Dissenters, like popular clamours in general, without the support of facts. The Par- liament who commenced the civil war, the Judges who condemned Charles I., were of the Church of England ; but many Presbyterian and Inde- pendent Ministers remonstrated against his exe- cution; and both denominations were strenuous advocates for the restoration of his son Charles II. The Dissenters were surpassed by no description, of their countrymen in zeal for William III., and for the House of Hanover ; and when in 1715 and 1 745 rebellion assailed that house, they testified their attachment by arming in its defence, although their exertions rendered them liable to the penalties of the Test Act. In the letters I have written to you, I have avoided contrasting our principles with those of the Roman Catholics; they are in this country to be ranked amongst Dissenters ; and although in the exercise of the right of private judgement we differ from them, yet the same* liberty we claim for ourselves we ought to wish .extended to all religious denominations. Whatever hierarchy enforces or induces the Legislature to enforce conformity adopts precisely the same measures to maintain Christianity that the Jews and Heathens employed to suppress it. 86 We may consider Heathenism and Mahometan- ism according to their deserts, and yet exercise Christian charitv towards their adherents : we may be adverse to Popery, and yet be on friendly terms with Papists ; we may object to some of the doctrines and the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, and yet cultivate Christian love towards its members ; we may exercise uni- versal benevolence towards all mankind, without violence to our principles as Christians. We may hold fast our integrity, though the calami- ties of fines, imprisonment, and death, be sus- pended over our heads ; and whilst we are willing to allow to others a perfect freedom in the exer- cise of their religion, we consider ourselves en- titled by every principle moral and divine to the free enjoyment of religious rights, which cannot interfere with the peace of civil society, and to a complete participation of civil rights, as mem- bers of the community and interested in its wel- fare. It has been asserted that the Bill lately brought into Parliament ought to have been more cor- dially received by the Dissenters, as it was de- signedto promote the respectability of their Mini- sters, The Bill was obviously incompatible with the regular arrangements of the numerous class denominated Methodists, and it were no difficult task to prove its utter incompetence to produce any beneficial effects to other denominations. But even allowing the Bill all the efficacy attributed to it by its advocates, we must bear in mind, that in the time of the Apostles, when the, Jews and 87 tnfc Heathens enjoyed all the power of human jurisdiction, and th ejirst Christians wereDissen- ters from the respective temples of each spiritual domination, Paul, anxious (as his epistles to Timothy and Titus prove him to have been) for the respectability of the Christian ministry, neither applied to the Sanhedrim of the Jews nor to the Roman Governors for a License ; and the 'upper room at Troas, in which Paul preached so long that Eutychus slept and fell down from the third loft, was in fact a Con- venticle : this we infer from the Scriptures. But Christianity, although so taught amongst the Jews and Heathens, may not be taught amongst professing Christians without a li- cense for the building, a license for the pteach- cr, and a stigmatizing mark of incapacity to serve in public offices on each of the attendants at any Dissenting place of Wv/rship — How does this correspond with the practice recorded in Acts v. 4*2? No Dissenter presumes to offi- ciate in the temples of the Establishment, but who can say that it is an unchristian practice to " teach and preach Jesus Christ" " in every house*." 1 cannot close this letter, the last that I shall have leisure to write to you at present, without re- marking that I have scarcely noticed the Homilies, the Canons, the Articles, and the Kubrick, to all of which the Clergy of the Establishment are obliged * The first Christians assembled for the purposes of divine worship in private houses, in cavea^ and in vaults \vbcr€ the dead were buried." Mosheim, vol. i, p. $<;0(3. 88 to subscribe, and in all of which the Laity arc presumed cordially to agree. The Homilies, al- though now perhaps out of season, are ordered to be read in churches, yet who reads them ? the Canons are partially attended to ; the Articles are diversely interpreted ; and the Rubrick, which amongst other matters requires that every member of the Church of England should receive the Communion at least three times every year, is become obsolete. — Hence in a variety of instances they who profess themselves members of the Established Church are in fact Dissenters ; the Clergy are obligated to subscribe to these things, but who has ever known an individual that in the exercise of his function conformed to all that is implied by his subscription ? Whilst under the standard of conformity the members of the Esta- blishment dissent in numerous instances, and yet enjoy civil rights without restraint, we who in the name of non-conformity dissent in many other instances, although we are at least as consis- tent, labour under the terror of Penal Laws, and the reproaches of those who style themselves true sons of the Church. With a sincere hope that, since every inves- tigation tends to elicit truth, mankind will ultimately accord in the song of angels, Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and, good will towards men, I remain, Yours, &c. THE END. Richard Tay lot and Co., Pri)iters, Shoe- Lone, London. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW Books not returned on time are subject to a fine of 50c per volume after the third day overdue, increasing to $1.00 per volume after the sixth day. Books not in demand may be renewed if application is made before expiration of loan period. JUK 26 39' l8Jan'51E§A 30Apr53BE 13Nov'53r6 DEC I 3 1953 nov2 &w -&m c > <&* 50w-7,'16