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'.EMITTED EILUGAS CPANACH 
 
 BBABTIN UUTIHIEIK 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS; 
 
 OOKTAINI1KJ A BTATBMBHT OF THE 
 
 ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENT, DOCTRINES, FORMS OF WORSHIP 
 AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 i0tts Denominations 
 
 IN THE WORLD. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OP EMINENT DIVINES. 
 
 SAMUEL M. SCHMUCKER, LL.D. 
 
 REVISED AND ENLARGED 
 
 BY CHARLES DREW. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY QUAKER CITY PUBLISHING HOUSE, 
 
 Nos. 217 AND 219 QUINCE STREET. 
 
 E, H. PARMELEE <fc CO., CINCINNATI, O. 
 
 1872. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, bjr 
 DUANE RDLISON, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and fi 
 the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress,"n the year 1870, oy 
 
 DUANE RULISON, 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE design of the following work is essentially different 
 from that of other publications on the same subject, which 
 already exist. The larger and more extensive of these are 
 composed of articles on the Religious Sects in the United 
 States, which were written by members of the several de- 
 nominations described, and are often expanded into im- 
 mense length by reiterated and familiar arguments in- 
 tended to demonstrate the truthfulness and Scriptural 
 authority of the Sects to which the respective writers be- 
 longed. This method of treatment is much better suited 
 to works on Polemic Theology, than to those which pro- 
 fess merely to contain a statement of opinions and a narra- 
 tive of events. On the other hand, the smaller works 
 which have appeared on this subject are superficial and in- 
 complete ; being generally made up of very short articles, 
 of clippings from Encyclopedias and Biographical Diction- 
 aries ; and are utterly unfit to convey even to the general 
 reader a satisfactory idea of the various subjects which come 
 under consideration. 
 
 (3) 
 
PREFACE TO THE PRESENT EDITION. 
 
 In offering this revised edition to the public, the 
 Publishers have deemed it best to allow the numerical 
 strength of the different sects and denominations to re- 
 main unaltered the statements being based upon the 
 Census of 1860. It is futile to attempt to keep pace 
 with the changing numbers. Any figures which 
 might be given to-day would be incorrect to-morrow, 
 and so on from time to time. The statistics can easily 
 be ascertained from the periodical publications of the 
 different societies. The Old and Kew School Presby- 
 terian bodies have been consolidated into one organiza- 
 tion, so that the distinctions maintained in this work 
 are not strictly correct ; but in view of the fact that 
 many will regard the causes of separation with great 
 interest, and will desire to refer to some trustworthy 
 account of the differences, the subject is allowed to 
 remain unchanged, believing that the book will be 
 more valuable on this account. 
 
 The recent great changes in our relations and com- 
 munications with the Chinese and Japanese have in- 
 creased the interest in these peculiar peoples. A full 
 account of their religious creeds and ceremonies seemed 
 to be demanded, and it has accordingly been prepared 
 with great care from the best sources, expressly for 
 this work, and will be found exceedingly interesting. 
 That the work will long continue a standard autho- 
 rity, and be a blessing to mankind, is the wish of 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 August, 18*71. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Abelians, or Abelites 112 
 
 Abyssinian Church 112 
 
 Adventists 284 
 
 Anabaptists, or "Munster 
 
 Baptists " 37 
 
 Antinomians 152 
 
 Arians 186 
 
 Armfnians 65 
 
 Associate Reformed 108 
 
 Athanasians 181 
 
 Atheism 329 
 
 Baptists 38 
 
 Bereans 136 
 
 Brahmins 36 
 
 Brownists 37 
 
 Buddhists 36 
 
 Calixtins 193 
 
 Calvinists 193 
 
 Campbellites 250 
 
 Catholics, Roman 7 
 
 Chinese 259 
 
 Christian Connection 320 
 
 Church of God 306 
 
 Church Government 332 
 
 Cocceians 198 
 
 Congregationali sts 54 
 
 Come-Outers 236 
 
 Copts 318. 
 
 Covenanters 302 
 
 Cumberland Presbyterians... 277 
 
 Deism 329 Labbadists 
 
 Disciples 250 
 
 Druses , 134 
 
 Dunkers 143 
 
 Dutch Reformed 83 
 
 Episcopal, Protestant 124 
 
 Evangelical Alliance 135 
 
 Evangelical Association 186 
 
 Flagellants 254 
 
 Friends, Orthodox 58 
 
 Fratres Albati 254 
 
 French Prophets 255 
 
 Free-Will Baptists 114 
 
 Free Communion Baptists.... 112 
 
 German Seventh - Day Bap- 
 tists 308 
 
 German Reformed 31 
 
 Gnostics 199 
 
 Greek Church 137 
 
 Hicksite Quakers 51 
 
 Hopkinsians 230 
 
 Huguenots 94 
 
 Humanitarians 119 
 
 Hutchinsonians 240 
 
 Jansenists 213 
 
 -Japanese 264 
 
 Jesuits 214 
 
 Jews 145 
 
 257 
 
 (5) 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Lamaism 
 
 Latitudinarians 
 
 Libertines 
 
 Lutherans, Evangelical 
 
 Mahommedans 
 
 Manicheists 
 
 Maronites 
 
 Materialists 
 
 Mennonists 
 
 Methodists, Episcopal 
 
 Methodists, Protestant 
 
 Millerites 
 
 Millenarians 116, 
 
 Monophysites 
 
 Monothelites 
 
 Montanists 
 
 Mormons 
 
 Moravians 
 
 Mystics 
 
 PAGE 
 
 36 
 258 
 258 
 
 19 
 
 171 
 
 249 
 
 133 
 
 285 
 
 142 
 
 72 
 
 282 
 
 284 
 
 265 
 
 35 
 
 35 
 
 35 
 
 98 
 
 67 
 
 139 
 
 Nestorians 241 
 
 New Jerusalem Church 45 
 
 Origenists 244 
 
 Paganism 325 
 
 Pantheism 327 
 
 Pelagians 243 
 
 Pre-Existents 271 
 
 Presbyterian Reunion 165 
 
 Presbyterians, Cumberland.. 277 
 
 Presbyterians, New School... 81 
 
 Presbyterians, Old School.... 155 
 
 Presbyterians, Reformed 302 
 
 Progressive Friends 311 
 
 Protestants.... .. 328 
 
 Puritans 328 
 
 Puseyites 290 
 
 Quakers 58, 311 
 
 Quietists 247 
 
 Reformed, German 31 
 
 Reformed, Dutch 88 
 
 Reformed, Associate 108 
 
 Reformed, Presbyterian 302 
 
 Religions of the World 333 
 
 St. Simonians 79 
 
 Six Principle Baptists 142 
 
 Servetians 206 
 
 Shakers 216 
 
 Socinians 204 
 
 -Spiritualism 323 
 
 Seventh-Day Baptists 150 
 
 Swedenborgians 45 
 
 Theophilanthropists 94 
 
 Tractarians 290 
 
 Unitarians 167 
 
 United Brethren 67 
 
 United Brethren in Christ... 132 
 Universalists 169 
 
 Wesleyan Methodists 281 
 
 Wilkinsonians 138 
 
 Winebrennerians 306 
 
 Whippers 115 
 
 Yesidees ; or, Worshippers 
 of the Devil 329 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 Rev. Charles Wadsworth 334 
 
 Rev. J. B. Dales 337 
 
 Rev. Albert Barnes 341 
 
 Rev. W. H. Furness 347 
 
 Rev. John Wesley 352 
 
CECIL CALVERT, SECOND LORD BALTIMORE, FOUNDER OP 
 CATHOLIC CHURCH IN UNITED STATES. Page 7. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 THE career of the Roman Catholic Church in the 
 United States commenced in the winter of 1633, when 
 Lord Baltimore landed with a number of immigrants near 
 the mouth of the river Potomac in Maryland. He had 
 obtained the charter of the colony of Maryland from 
 Charles L, with the avowed intention of colonizing a new 
 province, of which his brother, Lord Calvert, was to be 
 the Governor. The great majority of the immigrants who 
 accompanied these noblemen were Roman Catholics. The 
 first act of the Governor after landing was to erect a cross 
 upon the shore. He himself was a Catholic ; the whole 
 administration of the colony was in the hands of the 
 Catholics; the laws which subsequently controlled the 
 community were enacted and administered by Catholics ; 
 and, therefore, it is with great truth asserted that the State 
 of Maryland was first established by members of the Cath- 
 olic Church. Contemporary with the founding of the col- 
 ony were also the introduction and establishment of the 
 Catholic Church and religion. 
 
 The colony of Maryland was governed by laws of the 
 most liberal description. Lord Calvert enacted that, in 
 the civil government of the colony, there should be an 
 absolute equality of rights extended to all religious per- 
 
8 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 suasions, and that religions liberty and toleration should 
 be one of the fundamental principles upon which that com- 
 munity should ever afterward exist, and be conducted. 
 The Assembly of the Province, composed for the most part 
 of Roman Catholics, passed an "Act Concerning Reli- 
 gion," by which it was ordained that no person within the 
 limits of the colony should be compelled in any way to 
 the belief or observance of any particular form of reli- 
 gion ; and that, provided they did not conspire against the 
 civil authority, no one should be interfered with in any 
 way, in the enjoyment of the most absolute religious lib- 
 erty. This policy is in strange contrast with the usu- 
 al course pursued by this church, which in general is 
 very jealous of other denominations, and it is in direct 
 conflict with the decrees of the council of Lateran, 
 which goes so far to enjoin as a duty the extermina- 
 tion of heretics. 
 
 The religious services of the Catholic Church in Mary- 
 land began on the 23d of March, 1634, when the first mass 
 was celebrated on the Island of St. Clement, in the river 
 Potomac. The priests who accompanied the Maryland 
 colonists were Jesuits ; and from that hour till the present 
 time, the Catholic community in Maryland has continued 
 to be numerous and influential ; although in the progress 
 of time the influx of residents and settlers from various 
 other States and from Europe, who were Protestants, 
 gradually and without resistance withdrew from them the 
 authority of the State, constituted a majority of voters, 
 and divorced the administration of the colony from the 
 possession and supremacy of its original holders. This 
 state of things existed at the commencement of the Amer- 
 ican Revolution. 
 
 "While the Roman Catholic Church was thus taking firm 
 root in Maryland, her doctrines and worship w r ere being 
 gradually introduced in various places throughout the orig- 
 inal thirteen States, and elsewhere on the American con- 
 tinent. From 1634 till 1687, Catholic missionary priests 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 9 
 
 chiefly Jesuits, were traversing the immense region which 
 exists between Canada and the present site of New Orleans. 
 A Jesuit, Claude Allouez, explored the then unknown 
 southern shores of Lake Superior. Another Jesuit, Mar- 
 quette, discovered the mouth of the Missouri River. A 
 third, Menan, preached among the Mohawk Indians. Other 
 members of the same order missionated among the Onon- 
 dagas, the Oneidas, the Senecas, and the Miamis. During 
 a hundred years this quiet and gradual process continued. 
 Meanwhile, Catholics were emigrating into the various 
 States from all the countries of Europe ; and Catholic 
 churches, generally small in the beginning, were erected, 
 which were supplied and visited by missionary priests as 
 often as they were able, who thus administered the rites, 
 and kept up the celebration of the services of the Church. 
 " Father Formei " was one of the first and most celebrated 
 Catholic missionaries in Pennsylvania. "Father Rasle" 
 was equally distinguished for his apostolic zeal in Maine. 
 Cardinal Cheverus was renowned for his sanctity and use- 
 fulness in Massachusetts. Bishop England, at a later day, 
 was renowned throughout the Southern States, especially 
 in South Carolina, for similar qualities and similar achieve- 
 ments. Archbishop Carrol was a worthy patron and ad- 
 vocate of the Church of Maryland. The first Episcopal 
 See established in this country was that of Baltimore ; 
 and the Rev. John Carrol was elected and consecrated as 
 its first prelate. This event took place on August 15th, 
 1790, after the Catholic priests of the province, amount- 
 ing at that period to twenty-four, had convened, and after 
 due deliberation had chosen Dr. Carrol as the most suita- 
 ble person to wear the Episcopal mitre, and therefore had 
 commended him to the Pope for consecration. Dr. Car- 
 rol received twenty-two votes out of the whole number. 
 Subsequent to this period the Sees of New York, Phila- 
 delphia, Boston, and Bardstown, were successively estab- 
 lished, as the growth of the Church seemed to require. 
 Several very eminent men have figured, and still flourish 
 in the more recent history of the Church. The late 
 
10 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Archbishop Hughes, of New York, who was formerly 
 pastor of St. John's Church, in this city, was justly 
 esteemed as one of the most able, sagacious, and eloquent 
 churchmen of the present time ; and whose rise from 
 poverty and obscurity to distinction and influence, by the 
 sheer force of his superior talents and personal merits, 
 constitutes one of the most interesting and remarkable 
 episodes in American history. Another very able Catho- 
 lic prelate, Archbishop Kenrick, of Baltimore, formerly 
 Bishop of this diocese, was a man of more profound 
 and extensive erudition than Dr. Hughes, and occupies 
 an equally elevated position in the Church ; but was his 
 inferior in popular eloquence, in dexterity and craft, and 
 in the efficiency with which he promotes the interests and 
 extension of the Church. 
 
 The Roman Catholic religion is pre-eminently a ritual 
 one. Forms and ceremonies occupy a prominent place 
 in her public worship and her private religious usages. 
 Earnest and enthusiastic Protestants call the Church of 
 Home the great drag-net of Christianity, by which they 
 mean that, as that Church descended the stream of time 
 until the Reformation, she collected and preserved, as she 
 went along, all sorts of rites, observances, superstitious 
 conceits, doctrinal imaginings, and perversions, which the 
 peculiar circumstances of each successive age and country 
 may have originated and introduced ; and that she has 
 preserved them all, by incorporating the whole of them, 
 without selection or rejection, into her present established 
 and now unalterable form of worship, belief, and govern- 
 ment. We will leave our readers to judge for themselves 
 of the truth or the falsehood of this compliment. Since 
 the period of the Council of Trent, however, which com- 
 menced its sittings in the year 1545, no change whatever, 
 either in doctrine, or in government, or in ritual, has been 
 introduced. The Decreta of that memorable assemblage 
 fossilized the church, so that no change will ever again occur 
 in anything that concerns her, except it be in violation of 
 her wishes, and by persons hostile to her real genius. The 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 11 
 
 only alteration which has been made during three centu- 
 ries in the doctrinal system, or credenda of the Church, 
 has been the acknowledgment and proclamation of the 
 dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, 
 which has recently been promulgated at Rome as one of 
 irhe established principles of the true faith. 
 
 What, then, are the chief doctrines which are taught 
 *y the Roman Catholic Church, and which are implicitly 
 end universally believed by the "faithful" everywhere ? 
 
 In every system of religious belief the doctrine con- 
 cerning G-od, the Supreme Being, lies at the foundation of 
 ?,ii the rest. The existence of God, then his attributes, 
 men his works, and then his providence, are the first and 
 Tandamental points which are discussed, determined, and 
 adopted. Thus it is in regard to the doctrinal system of 
 the Romish Church. The first point is that concerning 
 God, (De Deo^) and on this subject she teaches what Pro- 
 testants term the Orthodox view of the Divine nature and 
 being. She believes that God is self-existent, eternal, 
 supreme, infinite in wisdom, goodness, justice, immutable, 
 omnipresent, and omnipotent. At the same time she 
 teaches that while there is but one true God, that single 
 being is composed of three separate and divine persons 
 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost who exist to- 
 gether in a mysterious and inexplicable manner, constitu- 
 ting one single essence, yet composed of three divine and 
 separate persons, who perform different and distinct func- 
 tions. She teaches that the second person in the Trinity, 
 the Son, proceeds by an eternal procession from the 
 Father ; and that the Holy Spirit, the third person in the 
 Trinity, proceeds by an equally eternal procession from 
 both Father and Son. She teaches that the Son descended 
 from Heaven to earth, assumed human nature, in conjunc- 
 tion with the nature of the Infinite ; that he taught, suf- 
 fered on the cross, and died for human guilt in order to 
 avert the vengeance of God incurred by the fall of Adam, 
 by man's inherited and original sin, and by his actual and 
 habitual rebellion against the Divine law. The Catholic 
 
12 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Church teaches that the Holy Spirit is the " Comforter 1 ' 
 promised by Christ to his disciples ; and that this Spirit 
 is sent by the Father into the hearts of the faithful. This 
 Spirit, thus sent by the Father, is coequal in every respect 
 with the Father. It is, in truth, the Infinite, Omni- 
 present Jehovah, who, on one occasion, took the form of 
 a dove, and descended visibly on Christ. At another time 
 the Infinite Jehovah assumed the appearance of flames of 
 fire, as at Pentecost, and thus sat visibly on the heads of 
 the disciples. 
 
 Next in dignity to the Godhead, in the Catholic system, 
 is the Virgin Mary. Innumerable prayers and petitions 
 are offered to her, and she is invoked in all parts of the 
 world at the same time. Hence we may infer that she is 
 supposed to possess the attribute of Omnipresence ; else it 
 were vain to pray to her in more places than one at the 
 same time. But Omnipresence is an attribute which be- 
 longs to God alone ; and, therefore, the ascription of it 
 to the Virgin Mary seems like the ascription to her of a 
 portion of the Divinity. She is called, moreover, the 
 " Mother of God ;" and those who make objection to this 
 title are answered thus : " Mary was the mother of Christ, 
 was she not ?" " Yes." " Christ was God, was he not ?" 
 "Yes." "Then, surely Mary is the mother of God." 
 But the obvious reply to this reasoning is, that Mary was 
 the mother only of Christ's human nature ; and, there- 
 fore, even though Christ were God, the union of a human 
 and divine nature in Christ did not extend the maternity 
 of Mary to both natures. It would be utterly impossible, 
 for many reasons, for Mary to have been the mother of 
 Christ's divine nature ; because no. finite human being can 
 give existence to an infinite being, any more than a pint 
 measure can possibly hold a quart. Moreover, the Catho- 
 lic Church teaches that Christ, as God, created all things : 
 hence he created Mary ; and if Mary was the mother of 
 his divine nature, she actually gave birth to the same 
 Omnipotent Being who created her ; and therefore Mary 
 
HISTORY OP ALL KELIGIONS. 13 
 
 is not, and cannot be, the mother of God. She was 
 simply the mother of the man, Christ Jesus. 
 
 Recently the Catholic Church, by her highest authori- 
 ties, has decreed the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin 
 Mary ; and this doctrine is now, as we have said, a portion 
 of the belief of the Church. A large portion of the ritual 
 is devoted to prayers offered to her ; and in one place the 
 same expressions, addressed to her with slight variations, 
 are repeated forty times. In truth, the invocation of 
 saints occupies no insignificant position in the worship of 
 Catholics ; and doubtless many are encouraged and com- 
 forted by the idea, that their interests are promoted by the 
 interposition and the prayers of the good arid wise, who 
 have gone before them to the land of spirits, and have al 
 ready explored its solemn mysteries. 
 
 The inspired authority of the Scriptures is one of the 
 leading tenets of the Catholic Church : yet she contends 
 that, though inspired, the Scriptures are in themselves in- 
 sufficient, incomplete, and defective ; and that the aid of Tra- 
 dition is necessary in order to constitute the whole sum of 
 Christian truth and doctrine. By Tradition is meant the 
 oral teachings and sayings of the Apostles, which, though 
 not committed to writing by themselves or by their imme- 
 diate successors, were repeated from one person to another, 
 and by this means communicated to the whole Church. 
 Thus Paul says to Timothy : " The things which thou 
 hast heard from me, before many witnesses, the same com- 
 mit to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach others also." 
 2 Tim. ii. 2. The chief argument used by Catholics in 
 favor of Tradition is, that, by the use of Scripture, all the 
 various sects may prove and establish their various and 
 contradictory opinions ; whereas, Tradition is uniform and 
 harmonious in defending only those doctrines which are 
 held and taught by the Catholic Church.) Protestants, OR 
 the other hand, retort to this assertion, that Tradition is 
 more variable, contradictory, and diversified in its teach- 
 ings, than even the Scriptures ; and if this argument has 
 
14 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 any weight against the authority and sufficiency of the 
 Scriptures, it has much more weight against Tradition. 
 
 The doctrine of the Catholic Church, in reference to 
 the Church herself, is peculiar. She believes greatly in 
 the external organization, the visible form, the outward 
 crust of religion, which is termed the Church ; and holds 
 that immense authority, prerogative, and sanctity, have 
 been conferred upon her, as a separate and distinct entity, 
 by Christ himself. Roman Catholics believe that the 
 Church is entitled to absolute obedience from her members , 
 and of course, in this connection, obedience to the Church 
 means obedience to the priesthood for who ever heard 
 of the priesthood obeying the laity ? And this doctrine 
 is based on the words of Christ addressed to the Apostles : 
 " Whosoever 's sins ye remit, they are remitted." But 
 the question naturally arises, whether this authority to for- 
 give sins, like that of working miracles, was not confined 
 to the Apostles only. The Catholic believes in the Unity 
 and Universality of his Church. All theological writers, 
 in treating of the attributes of the Christian Church, in- 
 variably enumerate these two qualities as being fundamen- 
 tally essential to the existence of the true Church ; where- 
 as, every one who knows anything of the history of Chris- 
 tianity during all past ages, knows perfectly well that there 
 never was a time when any church or denomination pos- 
 sessed either perfect Unity or Universality. Even 
 previous to the Reformation, the Catholic Church could 
 not boast of Unity ; for in every age there were diver- 
 sities of opinion and differences of doctrine. Even exter- 
 nal Unity, the dryest, deadest, and most worthless of all, 
 was never completely possessed ; and sometimes the ex- 
 ternal divisions of the Catholic Church were carried even 
 to the popedom, the supreme head of the Church, the in- 
 fallible source of all authority ; and as many as three rival 
 and hostile Popes existed at one and the same time, who 
 fulminated, fumed, and cursed away against each other. 
 As to Universality, it would be difficult, we think, to prove 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 15 
 
 that any religious sect possesses it at the present time, or 
 ever possessed it. 
 
 The Roman Catholic Church teaches that she is infalli- 
 ble, and cannot err, in matters of faith. This opinion is 
 defended by the following arguments : that Christ pro- 
 irised to his disciples that the Spirit of all truth should 
 remain with them she infers that this promise was in- 
 tended to apply not only to the apostles, but also to their 
 successors ; that Christ appointed Peter as the foundation 
 of the Church, and that therefore if the gates of hell are 
 not to prevail against her, she must have some infallible 
 protection against falling into error. This infallibility 
 centres in the Pope as the head of the Church on earth ; 
 though unfortunately the Popes have at different times 
 decreed directly contradictory decisions. To obviate this 
 difficulty, a large proportion of eminent theologians in the 
 Catholic Church have contended that this infallibility did 
 not belong to the Pope alone, but to the Pope in conjunc- 
 tion with a general or oecumenical Council. But suppose 
 the Pope and the Council differ, as has repeatedly been the 
 case, how then ? The Protestant answers, in fact, that 
 the history of the Church proves that there has been as 
 much disunion and difference of belief among Catholics as 
 among other religionists ; and that this results from the 
 fundamental laws of the human mind, which lead to differ- 
 ences of opinion in spite of all authority. 
 
 The Roman Catholic Church has seven sacraments, 
 while nearly all other sects have only two. The seven 
 Roman Catholic sacraments are, Baptism, the Lord's 
 Supper, Confirmation, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy 
 Order, and Matrimony. The most important of these 
 sacraments in the estimation of the laity, is the JEJucharist, 
 or Lord's Supper. Catholics believe that the bread or 
 wafer, after being consecrated by the officiating priest, is the 
 body, blood, and divinity of Christ, and that, as there are 
 at one single period of time myriads of consecrated wafers 
 distributed over various countries of the earth, the body of 
 Christ is necessarily divided and subdivided into an infinite 
 
16 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 number of portions, and received by the faithful every- 
 where, while at the same time that body remains unmuti- 
 lated in heaven. In other words, the doctrine of tran- 
 substantiation, as held by Roman Catholics, is a mystery 
 a thing, the mode of which cannot be explained and de- 
 fended to the satisfaction of common sense ; which is 
 indeed revolting to every dictate of common sense; but 
 which must be received, if received at all, by the exercise 
 of a submissive and obedient faith. We must believe that 
 it is so, because the Church teaches that it is so ; and to 
 many sincere minds this is sufficient and satisfactory 
 authority. The chief text of Scripture on which this doc- 
 trine is based, is that in Matthew xxvi. 26-28, where 
 Christ says : " Take, eat, this is my body," and giving the 
 cup, said : " This is my blood of the New Testament, 
 which is shed for the remission of sins." A consecrated 
 wafer is constantly kept on the altars of the churches, and 
 hence it is that Catholics suppose that they are in the im- 
 mediate presence of God while they are in church ; and 
 therefore they kneel to the wafer on the altar frequently, 
 when entering and leaving the church, or when passing 
 from one side of the sanctuary to the other. If indeed it 
 be true that the great Creator and Sovereign of the uni- 
 verse, or even a small fraction of him, is reposing on the 
 altar, it is certainly proper enough to kneel to him, when 
 in his direct presence. And it cannot be denied that 
 this view of the thing leads to a much greater appearance 
 of devoutness and solemnity in Roman Catholic Churches, 
 than is to be seen in the churches of any other denomina- 
 tion of Christians. 
 
 The sacrament of Penance is connected with the duty 
 of Auricular Confession. It is the popular notion that 
 Catholic priests claim the power absolutely to forgive sins ; 
 but though the laity may entertain this opinion, the 
 Church herself does not teach it. Her doctrine really is, 
 that after a sin has been sincerely repented of and entirely 
 forsaken, and after it has been fully and freely confessed 
 to the priest, then the latter is empowered to forgive it, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 17 
 
 and remit the penalty which might otherwise have followed 
 it. St. James says : " Confess your sins to one another ;" 
 and on the authority of this passage the Confessional is 
 based. But the Protestant here objects that these words 
 plainly enjoin a mutual confession of each other's faults, 
 whereas no priest ever confessed to a layman. Confession 
 5.3 always required in the Catholic Church before going to 
 /r.e Lord's Supper. A portion of Penance consists in 
 satisfaction satisfaction to God, and satisfaction to the 
 Church, whom the penitent has offended. Sometimes the 
 y-riost sees fit to relax the rigor of the Church, and remit 
 a portion of the penance or satisfaction which would other- 
 wise be enjoined. This is called an indulgence. Old 
 Tetztl once did a thriving business in selling these indul- 
 gences for money, until Luther arrested his course, and 
 " made a big hole in his drum," which silenced it forever. 
 The abuses which existed in the sixteenth century, in 
 reference to these indulgences, led to the first outbreak of 
 the Reformation, and to the down-break of the Papal 
 Dower throughout a large portion of Christendom. 
 
 Roman Catholics administer Extreme Unction to those 
 about to die, as a sacrament a rite which is based on the 
 words of St. James : "Is any sick among you, let him 
 call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over 
 him, anointing him with oil, in the name of the Lord." 
 Th3 Church also regards Marriage as a sacrament ; mean- 
 ing thereby that, when the ceremony is performed by a 
 Catholic priest, a vow is thereby made to God, which can- 
 not be dissolved. Hence the Church does not permit full 
 divorces for any cause, even for those specified and allowed 
 by the law of the land. Yet the Popes have frequently 
 granted dispensations for divorces, whenever the interests 
 of the Church were promoted by them, thus apparently 
 making a fundamental law and principle subservient to 
 interest. But the church permits limited divorces, or 
 separations a mensa et thoro. 
 
 The Invocation of Saints occupies a very prominent place 
 in the worship and religious exercises of the Catholic 
 
18 EISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Church ; for the reason that, if pious friends and relations 
 when on earth pray for those whom they love, it is a rea- 
 sonable inference that they would continue so to do, here- 
 after, in Heaven. Of the truth and propriety of this 
 view, there can be no doubt ; yet whether this considera- 
 tion justifies us in offering them our prayers, when in 
 another world, is a question on which men will be disposed 
 to differ. 
 
 Of Purgatory, or the intermediate state between death 
 and judgment, the Catholic Church teaches, that the jus- 
 tice of God will not punish those whose sins are of a 
 trivial nature, to the same severe extent as those who are 
 guilty of the most enormous crimes. Hence, as Hell is 
 believed to be composed entirely of the elements of brim- 
 stone and teeth-gnashing, without any grades of misery 
 or diversity of torment, another place named Purgatory 
 has very opportunely been discovered, where minor trans- 
 gressions are disciplined by a lighter and more equitable 
 punishment ; so that when their venial sins have been suffi- 
 ciently suffered for, the purified spirits will be admitted to 
 Heaven. 
 
 A portion of the public services of the Catholic Church 
 is celebrated in Latin. The reason of this is because the 
 liturgy of the Church was anciently composed in that lan- 
 guage, and a just reverence for antiquity induces her to 
 retain the form in which her prayers were originally 
 uttered. In this country all the prayers are translated 
 into English and printed, in the people's editions, together 
 with the Latin. The Mass is a series of Latin prayers, 
 during the utterance of which the consecrated host is of- 
 fered to God by the officiating priest. The term Mass 
 itself is derived from the concluding words of this solemn 
 and imposing rite, which are "Ite, missa est." In the 
 great cathedral churches of Europe the ceremonies con- 
 nected with this portion of Catholic worship are solemn, 
 imposing, and sublime in a pre-eminent degree, and the 
 spectacle has often led the most thoughtless and irreverent 
 minds to pious and penitent emotions. 
 
MAETIX LUTHER PREACHING. Page 19. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 19 
 
 Notwithstanding the prevalence of Protestant sects and 
 churches, the Roman Catholic Church is still more numer- 
 ous than any other single denomination. Her members 
 may be said, at a rough guess, to amount to a hundred 
 millions. In the United States they have increased with 
 a steady and rapid pace during the last fifty years, till at 
 the present time they are one of the leading denomina- 
 tions. The spirit of this ancient and venerable church is 
 aggressive, and her aspirations for extension never cease. 
 But we believe that all those fears which some timid Pro- 
 testants profess to entertain, of future danger to Ameri- 
 can liberty from the encroachments of the Church of 
 Rome, are most preposterous and absurd ; for that Church 
 has enough to do to protect and preserve her own inte- 
 rests and security, without having any means, even if she 
 possessed the will, to interfere with the rights and inte- 
 rests of others. 
 
 EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH. 
 
 ONE of the oldest of the Protestant churches, and in 
 Europe one of the most distinguished, is the Evangelical 
 Lutheran. There are probably more historical incidents 
 of interest and importance connected with the early career 
 of this sect, than belongs to any other. The name or 
 title by which they are designated the term Lutheran 
 was first applied to them by their opponents, the Roman 
 Catholics. When Luther met Dr. John Eck, the Romish 
 theologian, in his celebrated debate at Leipsic, 1519, the 
 latter endeavored to stigmatize the friends of the Reformer, 
 and to turn both him and them into ridicule, by calling 
 them Lutherans, in opposition to Catholics and Christians. 
 The term thus used in the first instance as one of reproach, 
 became universally prevalent among the enemies and 
 friends of the new sect ; and it has since become renowned 
 and esteemed for the honorable and memorable associa- 
 tions connected with it. The other title which Lutherans 
 apply to themselves that of Evangelical is the one 
 
20 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 which Luther and his followers originally claimed, when 
 they abandoned and renounced what they held to be the 
 errors and abominations of the Romish Church. 
 
 The birth of the Lutheran denomination may with^some 
 fitness be dated from the year 1507, in which Luther then 
 a monk, and twenty-four years of age, first discovered a 
 Latin Bible among the rubbish of his convent library, 
 from the perusal of which he derived his novel and then 
 almost unknown ideas in reference to the doctrinal system 
 of Protestant theology. During ten years he continued 
 to investigate and study the Scriptures, at the end of 
 which period, in 1517, he made his first public foray into 
 the territories of Rome, by attacking the sale of Indul- 
 gences, which at that time was carried on by Tetzel, in 
 the vicinity of Luther's residence. Luther refused abso- 
 lution, as a priest, to those who had bought forgiveness of 
 their sins with money from Tetzel. A violent controversy 
 ensued between Luther and Tetzel, in reference to this 
 business, in which the former gained an overwhelming 
 advantage. His violent conduct, however, excited the in- 
 dignation of the authorities of the Catholic Church, and 
 the Papal Court decreed that his writings should be pub- 
 licly burnt. In return for this compliment, Luther col- 
 lected together some of the standard works of the Romish 
 Church and burnt them, together with the condemnatory 
 bull of the Pope, in the view of the inhabitants of the city 
 of Wittenberg. To punish this audacity, the Pope fulmi- 
 nated another bull or decree, excommunicating the refrac- 
 tory and contumacious priest. Thus the breach was made 
 irreparable, and the career and independence of the new 
 Beet were formally and publicly begun. 
 
 The first churches, or religious organizations connected 
 with this new sect, were established in Saxony. The 
 monarch of that State, the Elector Frederic, became a 
 patron of Luther at the commencement of his career : and 
 as the Reformer was one of his subjects, being professor 
 at Wittenberg, his favorite University, his protection was 
 of immense value. Soon Reformed and independent 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 21 
 
 churches were established in every city and town of 
 Saxony ; from Saxony the new faith spread rapidly into 
 Hanover, Wurtemburg, Prussia, and many of the minor 
 principalities which constituted the then Germanic Empire. 
 The views of Luther even extended into France and Eng- 
 land, into Denmark and Sweden ; and it may with truth 
 be asserted that the most potent and efficient enemy which 
 the Roman Catholic Church has ever met with, during the 
 progress and vicissitudes of many centuries, was " Brother 
 Martin," the Monk of Eisleben, the illustrious founder of 
 Lutheranism. 
 
 The history of the Lutheran Church in Europe presents 
 two very marked and prominent features. Her conflicts 
 have been divided between those which she waged with 
 the Church of Rome, and those which were carried on 
 within her own bosom by the disputes and everlasting 
 differences of her own members. Debate and disturbances 
 seem indeed to have been the natural and normal state of 
 this sect during their whole past history. Even before 
 the death of Luther, the opinions of Melanchthon, his most 
 intimate and trusted friend, became so widely dissimilar 
 from his own, that a coldness of feeling ensued between 
 them. The various diversities of sentiment, among the 
 Lutherans, were somewhat harmonized by the memorable 
 Diet at Augsburg, at which the Confession or creed known 
 by that name was set forth, as the system of doctrine 
 which the Lutheran Churches then entertained. At a 
 subsequent period efforts were made to terminate the dis- 
 putes which raged between the Lutherans and the Catholic 
 Church ; and the Reformers prepared a revised edition of 
 the Augsburg Confession, called the Smalcald Articles, in 
 which some concessions were made toward the Romish 
 system. These purposes of conciliation ended in nothing. 
 Luther died in 1546, in the sixty-second year of his age, 
 and he left his followers an inheritance of great peril ; for 
 they soon became involved in the horrors of war with the 
 Emperor Charles V., who was then champion of the 
 Romish Church and of its supremacy. The Elector of 
 
22 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse were the political 
 and military heads of the Protestant party. The Emperor, 
 suddenly surrounded by the armies of the Protestants at 
 Innspruck, in 1552, was compelled to make some impor- 
 tant concessions to the Protestant leaders, which are 
 known by the epithet of the Treaty of Passau. The Pro- 
 testants eventually wrested from the Emperor an edict, by 
 which he finally decreed and allowed that all those who 
 had adopted the Confession of Augsburg should thence- 
 forth be free from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the 
 Roman pontiff, and were at perfect liberty to ordain laws 
 for themselves in reference to all matters pertaining to 
 their religious belief, discipline, and worship ; and all the 
 inhabitants of the German Empire should be permitted to 
 judge for themselves in religious matters ; and that who- 
 ever should injure or persecute them, or any of them, on 
 account of their opinions, should be treated as enemies of 
 the Empire, and disturbers of its peace. 
 
 At a subsequent period in the history of the Lutheran 
 Church, another creed was added to their standards, in 
 addition to those which we have already named, in order 
 to aid in healing disputes and controversies which had 
 arisen among her members and her theologians. This was 
 called the Formula of Concord, which differs in some re- 
 spects from the Augsburg Confession. The two catechisms 
 of Luther, the Larger and the Smaller, also hold the rank 
 of authority with the members of this sect ; so that the 
 symbolical books which contain their creed, when taken 
 altogether, are of enormous size and volubility. The con- 
 sequence is that the utmost diversity of opinions exists 
 among the Lutherans in the various countries of Europe 
 where they prevail. Every possible shade of sentiment 
 and belief can be found among them, from the semi-Romish 
 " old Lutheran," who, like Luther, adheres to the doc- 
 trine of consubstantiation, to the semi-Infidel, who, like 
 Strauss, Paulus, Rohr, and the other modern rationalistic 
 theologians of Germany, deny the inspiration and mira- 
 cles of the Scriptures. In this country the same tendency 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 23 
 
 to diversity of sentiment exists among the Lutherans, 
 though it is not carried out to the same extremes ; and a 
 certain degree of uniformity, together with considerable 
 liberty, prevails among them here. 
 
 From the period of Luther's labors the church which 
 be represented gradually spread over a large part of north- 
 ern Europe. In 1525, it became the established Church 
 of Saxony. In 1527 the Lutheran doctrines were intro- 
 duced into Sweden, with the sanction of the monarch, 
 Gustavus Yasa Ericson. Lutheranism was introduced 
 into Denmark in 1527, under the reign of Frederic L, 
 whence it was carried into Norway, Lapland, and other 
 countries of the extreme North. During the progress 
 of half a century after Luther's death, his doctrines 
 were proclaimed by able and learned advocates in the 
 Netherlands, in Poland, in France, besides in all those 
 German States and communities which we have already 
 named. 
 
 In Europe the Lutheran Church is at the present time 
 the most numerous of all the Protestant sects. Her mem- 
 bers number eight millions in Prussia, two millions in 
 Austria, two millions in Saxony, one million, in Wurtem- 
 berg, one million in Hanover, two millions in the smaller 
 German States, two millions in Denmark, four millions in 
 Norway and Sweden, two millions and a half in Russia, 
 half a million in Poland, and a hundred and twenty thou- 
 sand in the Netherlands. Lutheranism is the established 
 religion in more separate States and kingdoms than is any 
 other Protestant Church. There are more universities 
 connected with this denomination than any other Protes- 
 tant sect can boast of; for nearly all the great seats of 
 learning in Germany exist in connection with that sect, 
 and are served by professors, who, for the most part, are 
 Lutherans. Yet it must not be inferred from this fact that 
 there is any unity of opinion among these numerous asso- 
 ciations of learned and scientific men ; for their belief ex- 
 hibits the utmost possible differences. It no more implies 
 unity or harmony of belief between people, to say of them 
 
24 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 in Europe that they are all Lutherans, than it would 
 imply similarity of appearance and of character, to say 
 of certain other people that they were all Swiss or all 
 Frenchmen. 
 
 The Lutheran Church in Germany has produced, during 
 the several centuries of its past existence, a greater num- 
 of learned and illustrious scholars than any other sect, 
 either Romish or Protestant. It would be absurd to begin 
 any enumeration of even a portion of these ; for they 
 would form a catalogue of many hundreds. Her clergy 
 in Europe are the most learned, as a body, in theological 
 science, of any sect in the world. At a time when candi- 
 dates for the priestly office in England and Scotland were 
 admitted, without their being able to understand a single 
 word of the Hebrew, in which the original of the Old 
 Testament is written and the knowledge and interpreta- 
 tion of which are indispensable to every well-read theolo- 
 gian, or even intelligent preacher at that time the 
 Lutheran churches in Germany required, and still require, 
 in all their candidates for the sacred office, a perfect ac- 
 quaintance with the original languages of the Scriptures, 
 and an equally accurate knowledge of every other depart- 
 ment of theological science. It must be admitted that the 
 three most influential and powerful sects in Europe at the 
 present time, and since the Reformation, have been the 
 Church of Rome, the Reformed Church of England, and 
 the Lutheran Church in Germany. 
 
 We will now proceed to sketch the history of this last 
 in the United States, and set forth the doctrines and 
 usages which now predominate among her members and 
 preachers. 
 
 The first religious assemblage of Lutherans which ever 
 existed in the United States was composed of a few immi- 
 grants from Holland, who came to New York about 1630, 
 a few years after the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth 
 Rock, and while the colony of New York still remained 
 under the jurisdiction of the Dutch. They belonged 
 originally to the small community of Lutherans who lived 
 
HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 25 
 
 In Holland, and who fled to this country probably to es- 
 cape the horrors of the Thirty Years' War, which at that 
 disastrous period threatened to exterminate Protestantism 
 from Germany and the Netherlands. Their first minister 
 was -named Fabricius, who arrived in 1669, and who 
 preached for them during eight years. Thejr first church 
 was a log building erected in New York in 1671, for which 
 a stone edifice was afterwards substituted. 
 
 The next settlement of Lutherans in this country was 
 that of the Swedes on the Delaware, at Philadelphia, in 
 1636. They continued to hold their religious services in 
 their native language for many years ; after this the pre- 
 valence of the English around them, the difficulty of ob- 
 taining native preachers from Sweden, and the fact that 
 the other then existing Lutherans of this city held all their 
 public exercises in the G-erman language, induced the 
 Swedish Lutherans to apply to the Protestant Episcopal 
 Churches for a supply of ministers. This request was 
 readily complied with ; and the consequence was, that in 
 the progress of time the whole congregation were trans- 
 ferred to the Episcopal Church, and were formally united 
 with that body. 
 
 The German Lutherans commenced to immigrate to this 
 country about the year 1700, and gradually spread over a 
 large portion of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and 
 Virginia. In 1710, three thousand of them came from 
 the Palatinate and settled in New York. In 1733, a large 
 number established themselves in Georgia, at a place which 
 they called Ebenezer. These were driven from Saltzberg, 
 in Bavaria, by the persecutions of the Jesuits, who then 
 exercised an absolute supremacy in that kingdom. This 
 colony was supplied with native ministers from Germany, 
 and they have ever since been a prosperous and highly 
 respected community. When George Whitefield traveled 
 in this country, he visited the Lutheran Churches in 
 Georgia, and was much pleased with their piety and use- 
 fulness ; and besides preaching for them, presented them 
 with a bell for one of their churches, as a token of his 
 
26 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 esteem. The descendants of these people still adhere to 
 the religion of their forefathers, and are connected with 
 the flourishing Lutheran Synod of South Carolina and the 
 adjacent States. 
 
 The most numerous and prosperous colonies of Lutherans 
 were located in Pennsylvania ; and about the year 1742 
 they began to assume their first importance and promi- 
 nence in the community. It was in that year that the 
 great patriarch of American Lutheranism reached this 
 country. This was the Rev. Henry Melchior Miihlenberg, 
 a remarkable man in every respect, one of the most useful 
 and distinguished persons in the history of this sect in 
 this country. He is the direct ancestor of the well-known 
 family of Muhlenbergs which still exists, and has pro- 
 duced several men of eminence in the pulpit, in politics, 
 and in the battle field. Previous to 1742, the Lutherans 
 in Philadelphia worshiped in connection with a few mem- 
 bers of the German Reformed Church, in a small log 
 house, in the lower part of Arch street. Miihlenberg, 
 having been sent out from the University of Halle, in 
 Germany, as a missionary to supply the wants of the Lu- 
 therans here, immediately commenced his labors, and these 
 he continued with great success during nearly half a cen- 
 tury. He was admirably adapted in every respect for his 
 difficult post. He was one of the most learned men of his 
 time, and could preach fluently in German, English, Dutch, 
 French, Latin, and Swedish. He was also thoroughly versed 
 in Greek, Hebrew, and several of the cognate Oriental lan- 
 guages. He was one of the most laborious and indefati- 
 gable of men. Probably no missionary every toiled in 
 this country with more unremitting effort than he. Often 
 he preached four and five times on a Sunday, and in as 
 many languages. He traveled extensively, and wherever 
 his services were needed among the stray communities of 
 Lutherans through the middle States, he was prompt and 
 ready to bestow them. As might be expected, his work 
 prospered ; he himself became greatly esteemed, and ac- 
 quired an immense influence in the community. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 27 
 
 Through his instrumentality the first Lutheran Synod 
 which ever convened in this country was held at Phila- 
 delphia, in 1748. At that time there were only eleven 
 preachers belonging to the sect in the United States, with 
 fifteen congregations, and a community of fifty thousand 
 people. During the Revolutionary war the Lutherans 
 were zealous in the support of the cause of liberty. A 
 son of Dr. Melchior Miihlenberg was a General in the 
 Continental army ; and the Germans were prompt, accord- 
 ing to their means, in assisting the good cause. Zion's 
 church, their largest edifice then, and even still, in this 
 country, located at Fourth and Cherry streets, in this 
 city, was occupied at one time (in 1778) by the British 
 army as a hospital. Their oldest church, that of St. 
 Michael, at the corner of Cherry and Fifth streets, was 
 also used by the British as a garrison church in the 
 morning of Sunday ; though the congregation were allowed 
 to occupy it in the afternoon. These outrages were con- 
 tinued until the final expulsion of the invaders from the 
 precincts of the city of Penn. 
 
 After the Revolutionary war the Lutherans began to in- 
 crease rapidly, not only by the growth of their native 
 members, but by foreign immigration. In 1786, they had 
 about twenty-five ministers ; and the number of the 
 churches and pastors gradually grew, until, in the year 
 1820, the most important event in their career which ever 
 occurred in this country took place. This was the estab- 
 lishment of their General Synod, by which the five or six 
 separate District Synods which had previously risen into 
 existence, in various portions of the country, were consoli- 
 dated and united into one chief body. The results of this 
 arrangement were soon felt, and were found to be highly 
 beneficial. The General Synod served to give harmony, 
 consistency, and unity to the various portions of the 
 church which were scattered over the several States ; and 
 this result was much needed. The members of the sect, 
 who immigrated to this country, came from the various 
 Protestant States of Germany, and they brought with 
 
28 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 them the peculiar opinions and usages to which they had 
 been accustomed at home. These are different and dis- 
 similar in most of those States ; and the result would very 
 naturally follow here, that considerable difference of 
 opinion should prevail among the aggregate masses on 
 every point of doctrine and worship. It is but due to the 
 Lutherans to say that, though harassed by this tendency 
 to diversity and discord, they have gradually coalesced 
 into a degree of uniformity and homogeneity which could 
 hardly have been expected. Yet one cause of this result 
 is to be found in that indifference to church matters which 
 gradually prevailed among many of them, when their at- 
 tention became diverted toward the opportunities for ac- 
 quiring wealth with which they were favored in this 
 country. A large proportion of them, devoted to their 
 pecuniary interests, did not care what became of the 
 church of their forefathers; and by giving twenty-five 
 cents a year, to secure their right of burial, many of them 
 became indifferent to the prosperity and welfare of that 
 faith for which their forefathers had fought and suffered, 
 and for the possession of which many of them had deserted 
 their native land, and had ventured upon the perils and 
 deprivations of a howling wilderness. 
 
 One of the first fruits of the establishment of the Gene- 
 ral Synod was the erection of the Theological Seminary at 
 Gettysburg, Pa., intended to prepare the young men of 
 the church for the ministry. This is the most important 
 institution connected with the Lutheran sect in this country, 
 and was established in 1825. It is provided with large 
 and commodious buildings, and with one of the best theo- 
 logical libraries in the country. The President of this in- 
 stitution is Rev. S. S. Schmucker, D. D., who was elected 
 its first professor in 1825 ; who still continues, after the 
 lapse of thirty-three years, to fill the important duties of 
 his office, and is the most eminent Lutheran theologian in 
 this country. There are two other professors connected 
 with the institution, completing the usual routine of the 
 most thorough theological instruction. A large portion 
 
j . 
 
 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS!*? ; 29 
 
 Fvv 
 
 * 
 
 of the library was obtained by Dr. B. Kurtz fror 
 
 the universities and clergy of Germany and Denmark. 
 As an auxiliary to the seminary, Pennsylvania College 
 was founded at the same place in 1827, Dr. Schmucker 
 and Thaddeus Stevens, Esq. being instrumental in pro- 
 curing the charter of the institution from the Legislature. 
 A branch of this college, and one of the most meritorious 
 portions of it, is the Medical College in Ninth street, below 
 Locust, in Philadelphia. 
 
 The Schmucker family, like that of the Muhlenbergs, 
 holds a prominent place in the history and development 
 of the Lutheran Church in this country ; there being no 
 less than eleven persons of the connection who have been, 
 or now are, clergymen of that sect. The younger mem- 
 bers of this family sometimes write their names " Smucker," 
 for the sake of convenience and brevity. Other eminent 
 names occur in the history of the Lutheran Church in 
 this country, such as those of Dr. Helmuth, formerly pastor 
 of Zion's Church in Philadelphia ; Dr. Kuntze, one of the 
 best Oriental scholars of modern times ; Rev. Drs. Kurtz, 
 Brunholtz, Handschuch, Lochman, Geissenhainer, Quit- 
 man, (father of the late General Quitman of Mexican 
 fame,) Schaeffer, Demme, Mayer, and Bachman, of 
 Charleston, the greatest of American entomologists. 
 
 In addition to the institutions at Gettysburg the Lu- 
 therans have a seminary at Columbus, Ohio ; another at 
 Hartwick, New York ; others at Lexington, South Caro- 
 lina, and at Springfield, Ohio. They have Education, 
 Home Mission, Foreign Mission, and other benevolent 
 societies. At present they number twenty-two synods, 
 fifteen of which are connected with the General Synod. 
 They have about five hundred ministers, fourteen hundred 
 congregations, and a hundred and forty thousand regular 
 communicants. They hold, in point of numbers and 
 influence, a very respectable position among the secondary 
 denominations of this country. 
 
 In Europe the Lutheran Church is governed by bishops, 
 
30 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 and by superintendents, whose functions are the same as 
 those of diocesan bishops ; but in this country parity ex- 
 ists in their ministry, and each preacher is regarded as a 
 bishop. In other words, their church government is Pres- 
 byterian ; and their doctrines, or the doctrines which are 
 entertained by the great majority of them, are termed 
 Evangelical. They believe in the Trinity, the Deity of 
 Christ and of the Holy Spirit, the vicarious atonement, 
 and the fall of man ; but they discard the doctrine of Pre- 
 destination and Absolute Decrees of God respecting Man's 
 Salvation. They hold to Justification by Faith alone ; to 
 the necessity of good works, nevertheless ; and to the eter- 
 nity of future hell-fire for the finally impenitent. Their 
 opinions exhibit the greatest diversity on the subject of 
 the Lord's Supper ; some of them adhering to the dogma 
 of Consubstantiation, as taught by Luther ; while others 
 hold that the bread and wine are merely commemorative 
 symbols of the broken body and shed blood of Christ. 
 Luther declared to the last his belief in Consubstantiation. 
 In one of his later works he says : " I should have wished 
 to have denied the real presence of Christ in the Eucha- 
 rist, in order to confound the Papists. But so clear and 
 strong are the words of Scripture which establish it, that 
 in spite of my inclination so to do, and though I strained 
 every nerve to reach the point, yet I could never persuade 
 myself to doubt or deny it." Hence the "old Lutherans," 
 who profess to be strict Lutherans, adhere to this opinion ; 
 though their numbers in this country are comparatively 
 few. The vast majority, however, go to the opposite ex- 
 treme, strip the Eucharist of all mystery, and invest it 
 only with a commemorative efficacy. The Lutherans also 
 differ about " old and new measures," some being opposed 
 to prayer meetings and other revival ways and means ; 
 while others adopt the Methodist method of converting 
 sinners, and sometimes carry their usages to the utmost 
 possible limits. These Lutherans are, however, found 
 chiefly in the western States. They claim the liberty to 
 believe and reject the Augsburg Confession, which is the 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 31 
 
 principal creed of the sect, when they please and as far as 
 they please. The rationalistic Lutheran theologians of 
 Germany, many of whom are the most learned men of the 
 age, assert that they carry out the great principle of the 
 Reformation that of private judgment in religious mat- 
 ters to its full and legitimate extent ; and thus each one 
 of them has a creed of his own. There are a few German 
 Lutheran Churches in this country who belong to this wing 
 of the sect, some of whom are Unitarians, and others as 
 good as Infidels and Rationalists. But with these heretics 
 the main body of the Lutheran Church hold no communi- 
 cation whatever, regarding their sentiments with horror 
 and condemnation. 
 
 GERMAN REFORMED CHURCH. 
 
 The German Reformed Church, as it exists both in 
 Europe and in this country, is historically descended from 
 the Swiss churches which were established in the sixteenth 
 century, through the instrumentality of the distinguished 
 reformer, Ulric Zwingli. The original seat of the sect 
 was in Switzerland ; but many of these churches exist in 
 the various Protestant States of Germany, as well as in 
 this country. 
 
 Zwingli was the contemporary of Luther. He commenced 
 his reforming zeal nearly at the same time, and was led 
 to the adoption of his Protestant sentiments by a process 
 somewhat similar to that used by Luther. He was born 
 at Wildhaus, in the canton of Schweitz, in January, 1484. 
 At an early age he exhibited proofs of superior intelli- 
 gence ; and his parents, who were poor, made every effort 
 to give him the benefit of a learned education. He was 
 intended for the priesthood, as the best avenue which could 
 then be found for the display of talent and the gratifica- 
 tion of ambition. In due time he was ordained as a Roman 
 Catholic priest, after having completed his studies at the 
 University of Basle. In 1506 he became the parish priest 
 of Glaris, a village near his native Wildhaus, and here he 
 
32 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 commenced to study and examine the Scriptures with spe- 
 cial reference to the absurdities which wero committed by 
 the pilgrims who at that time traveled to the venerable 
 shrine at Einsidlen, which, by some imposture or other, had 
 at that time acquired a widely-spread notoriety. By op- 
 posing this local superstition, he invited and incurred the 
 condemnation of his ecclesiastical superiors ; while at the 
 same time he acquired great popularity among the multi- 
 tude as a young man who was able and determined to ex- 
 ercise some freedom of thought. His growing fame at 
 length procured for him the post of preacher in the cathe- 
 dral church of Zurich. This event occurred in Decem- 
 ber, 1518. He was an eloquent speaker ; and though 
 while at Glaris his morals had not been any better than 
 they should be, this defect was overlooked and gradually 
 overshadowed by his superior abilities as an orator. 
 
 Meanwhile Luther was carrying forward the Reforma- 
 tion of Wittenberg, and the new doctrines which he pro- 
 pounded and defended found a ready and an able advocate 
 in Zwingli. The latter preached one novelty after another 
 as fast as he became convinced, by a careful examination 
 of its Scriptural authority, until he had gone over the 
 whole ground of Protestant theology. During the pro- 
 gress of these labors many of the Swiss cantons became 
 the partizans of the Protestant cause ; and the centre of 
 the new faith remained at Zurich, of which city Zwingli 
 was the leading and most powerful intellect. In some re- 
 spects, and on several important points, Zwingli differed 
 from Luther, especially in regard to the nature of the 
 Lord's Supper. For the purpose of comparing their views, 
 and, if possible, of forming an ecclesiastical and religious 
 union, they held several conferences together ; but in both 
 cases the rude and resolute manner in which the Saxon Re- 
 former insisted on his own peculiar and unmodified opin- 
 ions as being the only and the immutable truth, and his 
 determination not to depart a single jot from his previ- 
 ously expressed sentiments, rendered all prospect of ac- 
 commodation utterly hopeless, and sadly disappointed the 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 83 
 
 charitable hopes which Zwingli had reasonably enter- 
 tained on the subject. 
 
 Zwingli, therefore, proceeded to carry on his reforms in 
 Switzerland in entire independence of the movements of 
 Luther. One canton after another declared in favor of 
 the Reformation, until all, save five of them, ranged them- 
 selves on that side of the dispute. The names of those 
 which refused to do so were Uri, Lucerne, Schweitz, Unter- 
 halten, and Zug. It is probable that, had the Reformer 
 lived longer, he might have been able to extend his doc- 
 trines among the inhabitants of these cantons also ; but in 
 October, 1531, a religious war was declared between the 
 cantons of opposite faith, and Zwingli went forth as chief 
 chaplain in the army of his confederates. He was slain 
 at the battle of Cappel, and thus prematurely terminated 
 a career which might have ultimately led to very impor- 
 tant and permanent results. Zwingli was an inferior man 
 to Luther in every sense. He was his inferior in native 
 genius, in learning, in boldness, in eloquence, in the ex- 
 tent and grandeur of the arena on which he labored, in 
 the results which he produced, in the fame which he ac- 
 quired, and in the completeness and duration of his public 
 career. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, Zwingli 
 s-ccupies a very honorable place in history, as the founder 
 of the German Reformed Church. 
 
 After the death of Zwingli, his place as the head of this 
 church was assumed by a much greater man than himself 
 by John Calvin who resided at Geneva, and rendered 
 that city the head and centre of Swiss Protestantism. 
 Calvin differed from Zwingl; on several points ; especially 
 ?n the nature of the Lord's Supper, and on the proper 
 nature of church government. Zwingli regarded the 
 Eucharist merely as a commemorative symbol of Christ's 
 death ; while Calvin taught that the worthy communicant 
 received, in the bread and wine, the actual body, blood, 
 and bones of Christ. As to church government, Zwingli 
 was in favor of subjecting the church to the civil authority, 
 so far as her temporal and secular affairs were concerned ; 
 
34 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 while Calvin contended that in all things, both temporal and 
 spiritual, the church ought to be wholly free and separate 
 from the civil power. Calvin never succeeded in persuad- 
 ing the Swiss, much less any German community, to re- 
 ceive and adopt his views of church government, though 
 they were doubtless founded in truth and justice. 
 
 The German Reformed Church in the United States 
 took its rise about the year 1720, when the first immi- 
 grants who belonged to that sect came to this country. 
 These settled in Eastern Pennsylvania ; but other churches 
 were gradually formed in various portions of this State, 
 and subsequently in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and 
 the Carolinas. In this country their church government 
 is essentially Presbyterian. Some of the congregations 
 of this sect are in a flourishing condition ; though they 
 never have had any very large churches, nor have they 
 had any eminent or distinguished persons among their 
 membership. In this respect, as well as regards numbers, 
 wealth, and social influence, they have always been infe- 
 rior to the Lutheran and Dutch Reformed churches. 
 
 The creed of this sect is set forth in the Heidelberg 
 catechism. Their doctrines are regarded as orthodox, be- 
 lieving as they do in the Trinity, the vicarious atonement, 
 and other fundamental points of Protestant theology. 
 The Heidelberg Catechism was drawn up in 1563, and 
 adopted at the city of that name. Its purpose was to effect 
 a compromise between the Reformed Churches of Switzer- 
 land and Germany : and it was composed by several emi- 
 nent and learned men who represented several different 
 parties. These were Pr. Zacharias Ursinus, who was a 
 disciple of Melanchthon, Dr. Casper Olevianus, a follower 
 of Calvin ; and the Elector Frederic III., sorereign of the 
 Palatinate, of which Heidelberg is the capital, who was a 
 disciple of Zwingli. This catechism says nothing about 
 the cardinal doctrine of the imputation of Adam's sin to 
 his posterity ; the atonement is regarded as general, in 
 opposition to Calvin's opinion ; and the theories of Calvin 
 and Zwingli about the Lord's Supper are so mingled, tha\ 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 35 
 
 a compound of the two is made. It also teaches that 
 mankind cannot repent without the assistance of the 
 Spirit of God ; yet it admits that when the Spirit im- 
 pels and urges men to repent, they have the power to 
 resist that impulse and act as free agents. 
 
 MONOPHYSITES are properly the followers of a 
 monk of the sixteenth century, Severus, but the term 
 is applied to all the Eastern churches who helieve in 
 the one nature of Christ, holding that the divine na- 
 ture was so united to and mingled with the human 
 that they formed but a single nature. The churches 
 that hold to this faith at present are the Syrian, the 
 Jacobite, the Coptic, including the Abyssinian, the 
 Chaldean, the Arminian, and the Indo-Syriac. These 
 churches all hold this one article of faith in common, 
 though their creeds differ widely. 
 
 MO^OTHELITES, a sect which was suppressed 
 in the latter part of the seventh century. They claim- 
 ed that as Christ had two natures he must have two 
 wills, but that the human will was so overpowered by 
 the divine that it became entirely subordinated to it, 
 and consequently there could be but one free will in 
 the same person. This practical denial of the perfec- 
 tion of Christ's human nature raised the opposition 
 of other Christians, and they were condemned in 
 General Council. 
 
 MONTANTSTS, followers of Montanus, who, in the 
 second century, claimed that the Spirit, the Paraclete, 
 dwelt in him, and through him would give a more 
 perfect system of religion'than that expounded by the 
 apostles. He was aided by two women whom he had 
 won over to faith in him and his pretensions. They 
 allowed women to teach, forbade second marriages, 
 and allowed divorce. Persons guilty of great crimes 
 were never after to be admitted to communion, they 
 denying the authority of the bishops to restore tliiu. 
 
36 HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 L AM AISM, the religion of the Buddhist inhabitants 
 of Thibet, Mongolia, and of hordes of Tartars. The 
 Grand Lama, or Delai-Lama, is supposed to be the 
 deity inhabiting the body of a human being, and is 
 worshiped accordingly. When the man dies, the spirit 
 is supposed to have left the worn-out tenement, and 
 to have taken up his abode in the body of some child, 
 where he is discovered, by means of certain tokens, by 
 the Lamas, and the worship is accordingly transferred. 
 This religion is an offshoot of Buddhism, is very nearly 
 coeval with it, and very similar in rites and ceremo- 
 nies. It is the faith of a very large portion of the 
 human race, and has withstood the lapse of time and 
 the efforts of man to overthrow it. 
 
 BRAHMINS are the first of the four castes of Hin- 
 doos. They take their name from Brahma, the first of 
 the Trinity the Creator from whose mouth, the seat 
 of wisdom, they proceeded. They are the sacerdotal 
 caste, and have the most absolute authority. Brahmin- 
 ism is the most extended religion on the face of the globe; 
 and it is even claimed that the Hindoo religion, in its 
 several forms, is adhered to by more than half the peo- 
 ple of the world. It is, however, in India and else- 
 where, beginning to succumb to Christianity ; and the 
 day is not far distant when it will be a thing of the 
 past, when the light of Christianity shall have dis- 
 pelled the heathen darkness. 
 
 BUDDHISTS. Buddhism originated in India, but 
 was expelled by the Brahmins, and spread to Japan, 
 Thibet, China, and Ceylon, where it remains the es- 
 tablished religion still. It was founded by Gautama, 
 a Hindoo sage, in the sixth century B. C., though 
 mythology dates it back to the eleventh century B. C. 
 The faith was at first aesthetic and moral, but is now 
 essentially idolatrous and very similar to that of the 
 Brahmins, which see. 
 
HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 37 
 
 ANABAPTISTS, OR MUNSTER BAPTISTS," 
 
 a German sect which arose during the sixteenth, 
 century, who, under the pretext that Christ himself 
 was about to assume all government, bid defiance to 
 all magistrates, laws, and every restraint. Munzer, 
 a fanatic, assumed the leadership and, at the head of 
 a large army, attempted to propagate the new faith 
 by force of arms. He was soon overcome, captured, 
 and executed by the elector of Saxony. His followers 
 were scattered, and a party of them settled at Muns- 
 ter, whence their name. Here they established them- 
 selves, deposed the magistrates, confiscated estates, 
 and deposited all treasure for common use. They 
 called their city Mount Zion, invited all of their faith 
 to assemble, and proclaimed that they would reduce 
 the world to their doctrines. The city was, after a 
 long siege, taken by the army of the Catholic bishop, 
 and their leaders punished by death. The distin- 
 guishing features of their creed were: first, in common 
 with other Baptists, the baptism of believers by im- 
 mersion, denying the efficacy of infant baptism ; sec- 
 ond, that all civil law was an encroachment on the 
 rights of Christians, and that all distinctions of birth 
 and rank should be abolished ; third, the communist 
 doctrine of equality in possession of wealth ; fourth, 
 the patriarchal government and usages in respect to 
 marriage, including plurality of wives. The taking 
 of Munster was the death-blow to the sect, and, al- 
 though scattered over Germany, Switzerland, and 
 Holland, they dwindled and disappeared. 
 
 BROWNISTS, a dissenting sect of the Puritans, 
 followers of Robert Brown. Their articles of faith 
 were much the same as those of the Established Church, 
 but in government they were essentially independent. 
 They rejected all forms of prayer, as well as all ritual- 
 istic forms. In 1592, there were computed to be not 
 less than twenty thousand of this sect. Marriages in 
 church were not allowed, and only the children of 
 
38 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 believers were baptized. They recognized no distinc- 
 tive priesthood, but admitted of lay preaching. From 
 this sect sprang the company who laid the first per- 
 manent settlement in this country. 
 
 THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 
 
 THOSE religious people to whem the term " Baptist" is 
 applied, both in this country and in Europe, are divided 
 into a variety of minor sects who are known by various 
 epithets, such as Free Will Baptists, Free Communion 
 Baptists, Seventh Day Baptists, and several others. The 
 most extensive and important denomination of this class, 
 however, are those known by the simple word "Baptists," 
 and these are probably the most numerous and one of the 
 most influential sects in the United States ; and of these 
 we propose to speak in this article. 
 
 The Baptists claim to be the oldest of the present di- 
 visions of Christendom, on the ground that their method 
 of administering the rite of baptism by immersion is the 
 only one, as they contend, practiced by the apostles and 
 the primitive Church, and the only one which ought to be 
 practiced in succeeding ages. They hold that as baptism 
 was and is the only method of admission to the Church, 
 and as immersion is the proper way of administering this 
 rite, those only can be members of the Christian Church 
 who have thus been admitted. Consequently those who 
 have been merely sprinkled are not baptized ; and as, in 
 the early ages, we hear nothing of infants being baptized, 
 but only such as had first "believed," and were old 
 enough to exercise faith, they therefore infer that adults 
 only are suitable subjects for this rite, which incorporates 
 them with the Church of Christ. It is undoubtedly true 
 that the preponderance of proof is in favor of the position 
 that baptism was, in the first instance, administered only 
 by immersion ; that the very word for baptism used in the 
 Greek New Testament means plainly to " immerse," and 
 not sprinkle ; and that the ablest opponents of the Bap- 
 tists have been compelled to admit that the argument 
 
HISTOKY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 89 
 
 drawn from the early practice of the Church is in their 
 favor. 
 
 The history of the Baptists may therefore be said, in 
 one sense, to begin with the apostles. But several gene- 
 rations after their day, the universal practice of the 
 Church had gradually become changed, and the sprinkling 
 both of infants and of adults had taken the place of the 
 primitive rite. As a sect, or separate organization, they 
 never existed for many ages, until the rise of Peter 
 Waldo, in the twelfth century, who established the sect of 
 the Waldenses among the mountains and valleys of Pied- 
 mont. One of the prominent doctrines which he and his 
 followers believed was the impropriety of the baptism of 
 infants, and the necessity of immersion to the validity of 
 any baptism. Waldo commenced his reforming career in 
 1180 ; and during several centuries those who received his 
 doctrine endured immense persecutions, according to the 
 prevalent spirit of the times, from the Roman Catholic 
 Church, which was then predominant throughout Europe. 
 
 Those Christians who adhere to " believers' baptism," in 
 opposition to the sprinkling of infants, next appear as a 
 sect, in the sixteenth century, under the epithet of the 
 "Anabaptists of Munster." These were fanatics of the 
 worst description, who did an infinite degree of harm, and 
 met with a terrible fate ; but they had no connection 
 whatever with modern Baptists, except in the single face 
 that they immersed. The Munster Baptists may more 
 properly be regarded as the predecessors of the modern 
 Mennonites, who are indeed directly historically descended 
 from them. In 1338, Walter Lollard, a Hollander of 
 learning and distinction, who adhered to the doctrine of 
 the Baptists, visited England, preached and made many 
 converts, who were known by the epithet of "Lollards," 
 after their leader. During the reign of Henry VIII. , and 
 Edward VI. , they greatly increased in numbers ; though 
 subsequently, they, were cruelly persecuted under Queen 
 Mary. On one occasion as many as fourteen suffered 
 death, rather than renounce their religious convictions, 
 
40 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Notwithstanding fire and sword, however, these people 
 continued to increase, and gradually the name by which 
 they were designated was changed from Lollard to Bap- 
 tist, and they acquired more and more importance and in- 
 fluence. At length religious liberty and personal security 
 were granted them by Cromwell, who had overthrown the 
 pernicious tyranny of Charles I., and had established the 
 Commonwealth. It was during the reign of Charles II., 
 that those events -occurred which planted the Baptist name 
 and faith in the New World. 
 
 The chief instrument in producing this result was the 
 celebrated Roger Williams, who was a native of Wales, 
 and originally a clergyman of the Church of England. 
 Becoming dissatisfied both with the doctrines and the 
 government of that church, he determined to remove to 
 the then infant colony of Massachusetts. His voyage 
 terminated in February, 1631, and he first became a resi- 
 dent and a pastor at Salem. At. that period he was a 
 Puritan, and had not yet publicly announced his new 
 views on the subject of Baptism. But when, some years 
 afterward, he did so, he was expelled from the territory 
 of the colony, and compelled to seek a new home else- 
 where. Then it was that he and a few devoted followers 
 removed to the region of country, then inhabited wholly 
 by Indians, which now constitutes the State of Rhode 
 island. There he established the first regular Baptist 
 Society in this country, at Providence, in March, 1639. 
 Other societies were soon formed in other localities in the 
 State, and the Baptists thus became the founders and 
 chief citizens of one of the sovereign Commonwealths of 
 this confederacy. During the progress of several gene- 
 rations the denomination has gradually increased in 
 all the States, and especially in the South, until at the 
 present time, as their statistics show, they approach 
 in point of numbers every other sect in the community. 
 
 The doctrinal system of this denomination of Baptists, 
 is Calvinistic and Orthodox. They believe in the eternal 
 decrees of <7od, in reference to the salvation of the Elect, 
 

 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, BROAD AKP 
 STREETS, PHILADELPHIA. P'l^e. 43 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 41 
 
 and hold that such as have been predestined to be saved 
 from the foundation of the world shall be saved, and no 
 others. At the same time their method of preaching is very 
 earnest and practical as much so as that of the Metho- 
 dists and they are very zealous in laboring for the con- 
 version -of sinners. It is to this fact that their remarkable 
 increase in this country is to be attributed. They are also 
 great proselytizers among the members of other churches, 
 by means of arguments and reasonings in reference to the 
 true nature and method of baptism. Their fundamental 
 principle on this point is, that Christians should not admit 
 anything as an article of belief or of duty which is not 
 taught in the Scriptures, and sanctioned by the practice 
 of the Apostles themselves. Every other doctrine or rite 
 they hold to be a mere human invention. They apply 
 this principle to baptism, and contend that both the teach- 
 ings of the New Testament and the example of the Apos- 
 tles are plainly in favor of "believers' baptism," in pre- 
 ference to infant sprinkling; the former is right, and the 
 latter a wholly unauthorized innovation. In support of 
 this doctrine they can array, besides Scripture proofs, a 
 host of concessions and admissions which the most distin- 
 guished writers of other sects have made, which clearly 
 admit the greater propriety of immersion, and thus con- 
 cede the truth of the doctrine of the Baptists. 
 
 Nothing is more curious than the extraordinary fullness 
 of these concessions from their opponents, and they are so 
 remarkable that we will repeat a few of them. Bishop 
 Burnet says : "To baptize means to plunge, as is granted 
 by all the world." Calvin says: "The custom of the 
 ancient churches was not sprinkling, but immersion." 
 Bossuet admits that " the word baptize means to immerse, 
 and the rite of immersion was observed by the ancient 
 church." Dr. Doddridge says: "It seems the part of 
 candor to admit that baptizing by immersion was most 
 ssual in early times." Whitefield declares that "the- 
 manner of baptism was by immersion." It certainly 
 seems to be unaccountable that writers who are willing to 
 
42 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 make admissions such as these, should still have adhered 
 to sects which practice the sprinkling of infants, and which 
 have wholly abandoned the practical observance of the 
 rite, the scriptural and apostolical authority of which they 
 do not deny. 
 
 Although Baptists place so much importance in the 
 mode of administering this rite, they do not go as far as 
 some other sects in their views of the miraculous results 
 of baptism when administered. They do not believe, with 
 the Roman Catholic and the Episcopalian, that it neces- 
 sarily regenerates the nature of the baptized person ; and 
 they insist that unless repentance and faith accompany 
 this sacrament, it is of no avail, and produces no moral 
 benefit whatever. Baptism with them is a sign of the fellow- 
 ship of the recipient with Christ, of the remission of his 
 sins, and his heirship of eternal life ; "provided always" it 
 be accompanied with repentance and change of life. They 
 admit but one other sacrament, that of the Lord's Supper, 
 which they regard merely as a commemorative ordinance, 
 to remind Christians, till the end of the world, of the suf- 
 ferings and death of Christ. 
 
 The Baptists further believe in the total fall and cor- 
 ruption of human nature, and in man's utter inability to 
 do anything whatever towards his own salvation. Hence 
 they hold to the doctrine of election ; because as God only 
 enables men to repent, and as but few do repent, it is in- 
 ferred therefore that he aids but a few, leaving the balance 
 to the consequences of their own original sin, which 
 they inherited from old Adam through the fall, and of 
 their actual sins, which are the legitimate result of the 
 former. 
 
 The church government of the Baptists is purely con- 
 gregational. Each society is a separate and independent 
 organization, and has entire control over all its own affairs. 
 They think that the apostolic churches were organized in 
 this way, and that these were proper models for the guid- 
 ance of Christians in succeeding ages. Their church offi- 
 cers ai-e bishops, or presbyters, who preach, and deacons 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 43 
 
 who assist and have charge of the temporal affairs of the 
 congregation. Yet though the Baptists are Congregation- 
 alists or Independents in this respect, they long since felt 
 the necessity and advantage of a certain degree of inter- 
 course among their various churches, in different portions 
 of the community ; and hence they are accustomed to hold 
 what are termed " Associations." When difficulties occur 
 between a congregation and its pastor, a council of neigh- 
 boring ministers is called together, who take the facts of 
 the case into consideration, and give their opinion upon the 
 merits. But tl eir agency or influence is merely advisory ; 
 and they have no authority to prescribe any particular 
 course of action in the matter, either to the church or to 
 the preacher. The associations are composed of delegates 
 from the congregations existing within certain limits, and 
 they meet merely to consult together about the common 
 interests of the churches, and to engage in religious exer- 
 cises of more than ordinary earnestness and duration. 
 Besides these associations they have "Conventions," which 
 are composed of delegates from several associations, whose 
 objects are to carry forward and promote the operations 
 of the Missionary, Bible, Tract, and other benevolent op- 
 erations of the sect ; to give counsel and advice in doubt- 
 ful and disputed cases, and to hold religious exercises. 
 
 Formerly the preachers of this denomination were in- 
 ferior to those of several others in their literary and theo- 
 logical attainments. This defect has been greatly im- 
 proved during the last few years. The Baptists have now 
 under their care some of the best colleges and seminaries 
 in this country. Among these are Brown University, at 
 Providence, Rhode Island, over which the able Dr. Way- 
 land presided for many years; Madison University, at 
 Hamilton, New York ; Georgetown College, at George- 
 town, Kentucky ; Newton Theological Seminary, at New 
 ton, Massachusetts ; and other theological institutions at 
 Covington, Kentucky ; Hamilton, New York ; and New 
 Hampton, New Hampshire. The consequence of the ex- 
 igence and operations of these various establishments has 
 
44 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 been to elevate the standard of literary merit among the 
 clergymen of this church, until it is now nearly equal to 
 that of any of their contemporaries. 
 
 In England the Baptists can boast of many distinguished 
 men, prominent among whom were Bunyan, author of " Pil- 
 grim's Progress;" John Gill, the Commentator; Robert 
 Hall, the most eloquent preacher of his time, who declared, 
 in reference to the voluminous works of Dr. Gill, that they 
 were " a continent of mud ;" Dr. Ryland ; John Foster, the 
 celebrated essayist ; and more recently, Mr. Spurgeon, at 
 present the most popular preacher in London. In the 
 United States the Baptists have also had some eminent 
 men, among whom are Drs. William Staughton, Wayland, 
 Judson, the missionary, Howard Malcomb, Barnas Sears, 
 the learned Biblical critic, and Fuller, of Baltimore. The 
 present statistics of this denomination show a vast increase 
 during the last half century. In 1795 there were in the 
 United States but nine hundred churches, eleven hundred 
 preachers, and seventy thousand communicants. At the 
 present time a sufficiently accurate computation gives them 
 about ten thousand churches, six thousand ordained minis- 
 ters, and nine hundred thousand regular members which 
 number, by including negroes in the Southern States, may 
 readily be augmented to a sum total of one million. These 
 estimates, we believe, much exceed those of any other de- 
 nomination in the United States. 
 
 The Baptists are distinguished by their great zeal and 
 enterprise in foreign missions. They have flourishing sta- 
 tions in Burmah, Siam, China, India, Ceylon, Australia, 
 and Liberia ; and some of the most successful missionaries 
 of modern times have labored under the auspices. Such 
 were Judson and Kinkaid, men of unsurpassed ability and 
 usefulness in this difficult and self-denying enterprise. It 
 is probable that, at the present time, ten thousand natives 
 of the Asiatic countries just named are regular members 
 of their missionary churches. In consequence of the fun- 
 damental differences between the Baptists and otlier Evan- 
 gelical Christians on the subject of baptism, they have 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 45 
 
 prrmtted for themselves a new translation of the Scrip- 
 tures, in which the word " baptize" is uniformly rendered 
 'immerse," in accordance with their peculiar views on 
 bhis suoject. 
 
 SWEDENBORGIANS. 
 
 THE religious community founded by Emanuel Sweden- 
 boig is properly called the "New Jerusalem, or New 
 Christian Church;" and while other sects boast of their 
 antiquity, and of their connection and identity with the 
 primitive apostolic Church, this sect regards it as a greater 
 evidence of truth to possess the character of innovators, 
 and to improve upon the old religion of previous ages. 
 The peculiar nature of their doctrines has prevented them 
 from becoming a very large or influential community ; 
 for there is a great deal of mystery, profundity, and 
 difficulty involved in their belief, which makes the common 
 understanding revolt from it. 
 
 Emanuel Swedberg was born at Stockholm, in Sweden, 
 m 1688. His father, Jesper Swedberg, was first a chap- 
 lain in the army, and afterwards the Bishop of Skara, in 
 West Gothland. Emanuel received a liberal education, 
 and indicated his superior talents by his great success and 
 proficiency in many departments of learning, especially in 
 philosophy, mathematics, chemistry, anatomy, and langua- 
 ges. In 1716, he received from the king the appointment 
 of Assessor Extraordinary of the Metallic College, in 
 Stockholm. Several years afterward, in consequence of 
 his abilities and services, the rank of a noble was con- 
 ferred upon him, at which time he changed his name from 
 Swedberg to the more sonorous one of Swedenborg. He 
 thus became a member of the Equestrian Order, in Swe- 
 den, and took his seat in the Assembly of the States. 
 He retained his office in the Metallic College from 1716 
 till 1747 a period of thirty-one years; and although a 
 higher and more important office was then tendered to 
 him, he declined it, in order that he might devote his 
 
46 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 whole attention to the exposition and propagation of the 
 peculiar opinions which he had adopted. These opinions 
 he made known, from time to time, in the many works 
 which he published, all of which bear evidence of extraor- 
 dinary intellectual powers, of great learning and industry, 
 but at the same time of a visionary and imaginative ten- 
 dency, which has no parallel in the history or development 
 of the human mind. He lived to the great age of eighty- 
 five, and died at London in 1772. He was universally 
 esteemed for his personal qualities, admired for his learn- 
 ing and abilities; and he numbered among his intimate 
 friends many of the most eminent persons of his time. 
 
 The sect founded by Swedenborg may be denominated 
 the predecessors of the Spiritualists of the present day, 
 though they greatly differ in many respects. They be- 
 lieve in communication with spirits, but not through the 
 agency or medium of material substances, and such things 
 as audible knocldngs. Swedenborg represented himself 
 as the chosen herald of the second coming of Christ, not 
 as the judge of the world, but as the revealer of new doc- 
 trinal truth, and of the practical results which those truths 
 would produce upon mankind. It is in executing this 
 commission that he was favored, as he thought, with fre- 
 quent revelations from Heaven, and with intercourse with 
 departed spirits, who communicated to him what he after- 
 ward revealed and taught to others. It is evident, from 
 his whole history, that he himself was sincere, and was 
 governed by no motive of a selfish or mercenary character 
 in his conduct. He was rich, and did not seek profit. 
 He was unambitious, and did not desire fame. He was 
 unobtrusive and retiring, and shrank from the dignities 
 and honors of this world. We must therefore infer that a 
 desire to utter what he believed to be the truth, was his 
 sole motive in proclaiming a new set of doctrines, which 
 greatly astonished and startled his cotemporaries and ail 
 those who have since studied and examined them. 
 
 Communication with the spirit-world is the fundamental 
 idea of the system of Swedenborg. By this means he 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 47 
 
 professed to receive his religious opinions ; and the proofs 
 which exist to show that he really obtained superhuman 
 intelligence, are certainly remarkable. This intelligence 
 was not confined to religious matters, but extended also 
 to temporal and worldly affairs, which were, from their 
 very nature, palpable and unanswerable proofs that there 
 was something extraordinary in the man, which rendered 
 him different from other human beings around him. In 
 proof of this, we will narrate several of the events of this 
 character which occurred, and which are authenticated and 
 established beyond the possibility of a doubt. 
 
 In September, 1756, Swedenborg paid a visit to Goth- 
 enburg, and was the guest of one William Castel. Fifteen 
 other persons were invited to dinner. About ten o'clock 
 in the evening, Swedenborg left the company and with- 
 drew. After a short time he returned, and seemed to be 
 much agitated and alarmed. The company immediately 
 perceived his state of mind, and inquired the cause of it. 
 He answered that he had been informed by his spiritual 
 agency that a fire had broken out in Stockholm, and was 
 at that moment raging with great fury ; that the house of 
 one of his friends, whom he named, was already in ashes ; 
 and that the conflagration was spreading rapidly. After 
 a short interval Swedenborg again retired, and returned 
 with a joyful countenance, with the intelligence that the 
 fire was then extinguished at the third door from his own 
 residence. The news of this reported conflagration rapidly 
 spread through Gothenburg, which is three hundred miles 
 distant from Stockholm. The governor of the city sent 
 for Swedenborg, and questioned him on the subject. He 
 described the fire with great minuteness, how it began, how 
 far it had extended, how it was suppressed, and some of tho 
 incidents connected with its progress. A messenger had 
 been dispatched from Gothenburg to Stockholm to ascer- 
 tain the truth or falsehood of the seer's revelation ; and at 
 the earliest possible time, on the succeeding Monday, he 
 returned, bringing the most full and complete confirmation 
 of all the statements of Swedenborg, which were further 
 
48 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 established by the royal courier, who soon after arrived at 
 Gothenburg. 
 
 Another well attested and equally remarkable incident 
 is as follows : Madam Hartville, the widow of the Dutch 
 Plenipotentiary at Stockholm, was requested, a short time 
 after her husband's death, to pay a certain goldsmith for 
 a set of silver plate which her husband had purchased. 
 The widow had good reason to believe that the bill had 
 been paid during the lifetime of her husband, yet she was 
 unable to discover any receipt or memorandum to that 
 effect among his carefully-arranged papers. She was in 
 great perplexity, as the sum in question was large ; and at 
 length a friend suggested to her that Swedenborg, wfibse 
 alleged intercourse with spirits was a matter of general 
 fame, should be consulted on the subject. She visited him 
 and requested his aid. He promised to serve her ; and 
 three days afterward he called upon her, and informed her 
 that he had conversed with her deceased husband. He 
 further stated that the debt had been paid seven months 
 before his death, and that the receipt had been put in a 
 bureau in a certain apartment of her house. She replied 
 that this bureau had already been thoroughly searched, 
 and in vain. Swedenborg answered that the spirit had in- 
 formed him, that the receipt would be found in a secret 
 drawer in the left side of the bureau in question, which 
 was hidden by the ordinary drawer, which must first be 
 removed ; and that, in that secret place, other important 
 papers, connected with her husband's official correspon- 
 dence, would also be found. An examination was imme- 
 diately made in accordance with this direction, and the 
 lost papers were discovered precisely as Swedenborg had 
 designated. 
 
 The truth of these incidents is supported by unanswer- 
 able evidence ; and many others, of similar character, an<^ 
 great clearness, occurrell during Swedenborg's lifetime 
 I?t becomes a matter of interest to inquire what were the 
 doctrines taught by a man whose spiritual insight se-rms 
 to have been so remarkable ; for all the opinions which he 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 49 
 
 taught he professed to have received from the same super- 
 natural and infallible mode of instruction. 
 
 Swedenborg did not believe, nor do his followers now 
 believe, that "all the tracts bound up in the Bible" are 
 necessarily inspired. They exclude from the inspired 
 books all the Epistles of the New Testament, yet they 
 read and receive them as writings of great interest and 
 value. Some of the sacred books they think contain 
 an internal sense, having been written according to the 
 u Science of Correspondences." Of this character is the 
 book of Job. The Swedenborgians also believe in a 
 Trinity ; but it is not the Trinity of the Orthodox sects. 
 It is not a Trinity of Persons, but it resembles that Trin- 
 ity which exists in man, who was created in the image of 
 God. In man there are the body, the soul or intellectual 
 essence, and the mode of operation. So Swedenborgians 
 say there is one God possessing a trinity of relations ; the 
 Father is the spirit, the Son is the bodily form, the Holy 
 Ghost is the form of operation. They do not believe that 
 Christ is eternal as the Son of Grod ; but that his Son- 
 ship only belongs to his nature, as it was born and ex- 
 isted in this world. Say they : Physiologists know that a 
 child receives his soul from his father, and his body from 
 his mother. Hence, as Christ had no human father, he 
 had nothing corresponding with a human soul, but was 
 animated directly and only by a divine nature. 
 
 Regeneration they believe to be merely the restoration 
 of the disarranged harmony of the soul, and bringing it 
 back to its original resemblance of the nature of God. 
 The object of the existence of the Christian Church in the 
 world is simply to aid in the accomplishment of this re- 
 sult. They do not regard the death of the body as a ca- 
 lamity or curse, but as a natural stage in the progress of 
 human beings, which puts an end to their probationary 
 state, and separates the soul from its material companion. 
 Immediately after death the spirit assumes a spiritual 
 lody in place of the material body it has left behind. At 
 death men enter an intermediate state, in which their real 
 4 
 
50 HISTOKY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 character is developed, according to the preponderance of 
 its moral tendencies. Those who possess a greater degree 
 of good than of evil qualities will be so developed and im- 
 proved as to become perfect, and be ultimately admitted 
 to Heaven. Those in whom the evil is the greater, get 
 worse and worse, till they are consigned to endless perdition. 
 Swedenborgians deny the doctrine of election and re- 
 probation, and believe that God has left salvation free to 
 all, and that all have an equal chance of attaining Hea< 
 ven. Salvation, according to Swedenborg, is not salva* 
 tion from punishment, but salvation from sinfulness. Thosi 
 who attain Heaven associate hereafter with angels, and in 
 their associations and spiritual employments the happiness 
 of Heaven consists. The wicked who finally enter endless 
 perdition become devils, or wicked angels, just as the re- 
 deemed finally become good angels in Heaven. None en- 
 ter the other world entirely good, or entirely bad ; yet 
 there is no repentance or reformation possible after death. 
 The final change and permanent situation of mankind in 
 the next world is accomplished by degrees ; and during 
 its progress th j departed are neither in Heaven nor Hell, 
 but in the " world of spirits," which enables them to have 
 intercourse, under certain restrictions, with human beings 
 in this world. They believe that there is a resurrection 
 after death, which is not the resurrection of the natural 
 or material body, but of the spiritual body from the nat- 
 ural. This resurrection, they think, generally takes place 
 on the third day after death, when the flesh becomes rigid 
 and putrefaction commences. They base this opinion on 
 the declaration of Saint Paul, that " there is a natural 
 body and there is a spiritual body." When the spiritual 
 body rises from the material, it possesses spiritual organs ; 
 and so all the things which exist naturally in the natural 
 world, exist spiritually in the spiritual world. Thus the 
 spiritual world is in fact a perfect counterpart of the nat- 
 ural or material world. There, spiritual things affect the 
 spiritual organs of men, as natural things affect their nat- 
 ural organs in this wrld. Hence Swedenborg was of 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 51 
 
 opinion that many persons who die, on their first awaken- 
 ing in the other world, do not know that they are in that 
 world. But those who have their spiritual senses opened 
 in this life, as was the case with him, are already able to 
 see the spiritual persons and things of the other world, 
 and hold communication with them, as he himself pretended 
 to do. The resemblance between the things of the other 
 world to those of this, is the foundation of that doctrine 
 of " Correspondences," which is one of the leading prin- 
 ciples of the system of Swedenborg. He also taught 
 that every person carried into the future world his own 
 future condition, his own heaven or hell, in the moral quali- 
 ties which he possessed. 
 
 Swedenborg was a voluminous author, and it is the labor 
 of a lifetime to become thoroughly acquainted with the 
 mysterious and extraordinary doctrines which he taught, 
 and to develope them to their full and legitimate extent. 
 In consequence of the abstruseness of his system, his fol- 
 lowers have never been numerous. Their form of worship 
 is simple and devoid of- ostentation ; hence it has little 
 whereby to attract the superficial and shallow. The lead- 
 ing man in the denomination in this country is Professor 
 George Bush, the Biblical commentator. They have a 
 few churches scattered throughout the Eastern and Middle 
 States, and the aggregate number of their members in 
 this country is about ten thousand. They are usually 
 classed among the un-orthodox sects, in consequence of 
 their views on the subject of the Trinity. 
 
 HICKSITE QUAKERS. 
 
 IN the year 1827, a great schism occurred in the Qua- 
 ker community in the United States. This event was 
 brought about by the activity and the preaching of the 
 celebrated Elias Hicks, who at that time succeeded in ac- 
 complishing a result to which the labors of several prece- 
 ding years had been devoted. Hicks was a man of supe- 
 rior ability, a good speaker, and a reasoner of great logi- 
 
52 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 cal acumen and power. The tendency of his mind was 
 toward freedom and progress in religious belief; and having 
 become dissatisfied with some of the cardinal doctrines 
 which were held by the old Quakers, he commenced to in- 
 vestigate, to free himself from old trammels, to adopt new 
 conclusions, and to preach them in the various assemblages 
 of the Quakers which he attended. 
 
 The consequence of this course of conduct was that, 
 while on the one hand, he made adherents and converts 
 to his views, he excited the hostility and opposition of the 
 rest, and thus two parties were gradually formed in many 
 of the meetings or congregations throughout the Middle 
 and Northern States. In April, 1827, the controversy 
 came to an open and public separation. Various disputes 
 subsequently arose from time to time between the two 
 parties, some of which referred to doctrine, but more to 
 the possession of the property which belonged to the Qua- 
 ker commmunity. The Hicksites, regarding themselves 
 as the real Quakers, demanded possession of the meeting- 
 houses and graveyards of the sect a requisition which 
 was resisted with great earnestness by the old Orthodox 
 Friends. 
 
 In the progress of time these disputes were settled in 
 various ways ; in some instances the Hicksite, and in others 
 the Orthodox Quakers obtaining the victory. The new 
 sect established meetings of their own in Pennsylvania, 
 New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Maryland. Their dress, 
 language, church government, and usages are the same as 
 those of the opposite party, of which we will speak in an- 
 other article. In point of numbers, the Hicksites in this 
 country are about equal to the Orthodox, though in Eng- 
 land the former are very few, and their existence there is 
 scarcely known. In this country the Hicksites or Pro- 
 gressive Friends are not inferior to the other party in in- 
 telligence, wealth, and social influence ; though, in conse- 
 quence of their peculiar doctrines, they are looked down 
 upon by the various Orthodox sects with dislike and aver- 
 sion, and are classed by them among the condemned and 
 

 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. WV . 53 
 
 ^v\ 
 
 anathematized communities, such as Unitarians, Univer- 
 salists, and Swedenborgians. 
 
 The doctrinal peculiarities of the Hicksites are as fol- 
 lows : They assert that there is a tendency to progress and 
 development in true Christianity, according to the teach- 
 ing in Mark iv. 28 : " There is first the blade, then the 
 ear, after that the full corn in the ear." In following out 
 this principle, they contend that they have arrived at the 
 belief that the light of Christ, and of religious truth, is 
 within them ; that Christianity is w r holly spiritual, the per- 
 fect ante-type of the visible, legal dispensation of the Old 
 Testament ; that under the gospel, the temple, the altar, 
 the sacrifices, the water, the fire, and the entire worship, 
 are spiritual, which require neither priest, nor book, nor 
 ritual, nor outward ceremonies of any kind to render them 
 efficacious and salutary. In a word, they carry out the 
 doctrine of the entire spirituality of the gospel dispensa- 
 tion, to its utmost possible development. 
 
 The Hicksites also deny the doctrine of the Trinity. 
 On this point they differ essentially from the Orthodox 
 Quakers, who have been believers of the Trinity from the 
 the first. Hicks argued with great earnestness and force 
 against the doctrine, and his opinion on this subject was 
 one of the chief grounds of the separation which occurred. 
 He also denied the doctrine of satisfaction, or a vicarious 
 atonement, and held that such a thing as " imputed right- 
 eousness" did not exist. On both these fundamental 
 points of orthodoxy the Hicksites are heterodox, and en- 
 tirely alienated from other Quakers. They are not much 
 more orthodox in their opinions respecting the inspiration 
 of the Scriptures. They believe that these are profitable 
 for doctrine and reproof, yet that they are an emanation 
 only from the fountain of truth, not that fountain itself; 
 that they are a dead letter unless accompanied by the light 
 and influence of the inward monitor and the divine Spirit, 
 and that their entire usefulness depends on the existence 
 of the divine Spirit within the mind of the reader when 
 perusing their contents. 
 
54 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 As to divine worship, the Hicksites believe that to wor- 
 ship God in a formal manner, with regular and established 
 ceremonies, is an abomination; and, like the Orthodox 
 Quakers, they have frequently silent meetings, where no 
 thing is either said or done. They have no singing cr 
 other outward worship, and they hold a hireling and mer- 
 cenary ministry in greater abhorrence and disgust, if pos- 
 sible, than the Orthodox. The discipline which governs 
 the community is the same in form as that of the other 
 branch of the Quakers, consisting of monthly, quarterly, 
 and yearly meetings. They marry, and are given in mar- 
 riage, and bury, like other Quakers. They have Yearly 
 Meetings in Philadelphia, New York, Genessee, Baltimore, 
 Ohio, and Indiana ; though like the other branch of the 
 Quakers, they do not increase, but rather diminish in 
 numbers with the progress of time. There is nothing in 
 their system of worship or discipline which is adapted to 
 win proselytes ; and the energy and zeal of other sects are 
 constantly attracting the young of both sexes to their 
 more impressive or more edifying modes of worship and of 
 association. It is the fashion of the orthodox religious 
 sects to stigmatize the Hicksites as nothing better than 
 outright infidels. This charge is very unjust and erroneous. 
 
 ORTHODOX CONGEEGATIONALISTS. 
 
 THE Orthodox Congregationalists constitute one of the 
 most numerous and important sects in this country. They 
 predominate throughout New England, and are identified 
 with much that is excellent in New England intelligence, 
 enterprise, wealth, and influence. The general principle 
 which designates this sect in opposition to all others is, 
 that they believe in the entire independence of each 
 church or congregation of all other congregations ; that 
 each society is a complete whole within itself ; and that no 
 association or connection with any other church is neces- 
 sary to constitute a community truly organized according 
 to the apostolic model. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 65 
 
 The first Congregational Church of which we have any 
 record was one which was organized in England, by one 
 Robert Browne, in 1583. His followers were first called 
 "Brownists," from their leader; but, as their views were 
 greatly abhorrent to the members of the English estab- 
 lishment, which was at that time flourishing under the 
 royal favor of Elizabeth, they were immediately visited 
 with persecution and broken up. Browne and a few fol- 
 lowers escaped to Holland, and there organized another 
 church in accordance with their views. After some years 
 Browne returned to England, renounced his religious 
 opinions and connections, and became, as his enemies said, 
 openly immoral. Yet, in spite of his own apostasy, the 
 doctrine which he had preached gradually acquired favor 
 in England and about the lime of the accession of James 
 I. they numbered twenty thousand. At that period more 
 stringent laws against dissenters were passed by that 
 weak monarch, and the Brownists were compelled to flee, 
 to escape the rod of persecution. Among their number 
 was John Robinson, a man who afterwards became famous 
 among them. He led another colony of his brethren over 
 to Holland, and founded a Congregational Church at Am- 
 sterdam. Ten years elapsed, and, for various reasons, 
 Robinson and his friends prominent among whom were 
 Elder Brewster, Bradford Carver, and Winslow resolved 
 to seek a freer home in America. It was about the year 
 1620, that they were able to execute their purpose ; and 
 the first feeble colony of exiles, after traversing the wide 
 and stormy ocean, reached the memorable rock of Plymouth. 
 In 1829 an additional colony was formed at Salem. Elder 
 Brewster was the first pastor of the Plymouth church, 
 and from that church colonists went forth from time to 
 time, which established other societies based on the same 
 principles of ecclesiastical government. Such were the 
 churches at Marshfield, Duxbury, and Charlestown. 
 
 The principles on which New England Congregational- 
 ism was founded are as follows : 1. That no Christian 
 church ought to contain more members than can conveni- 
 
56 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS 
 
 ently worship in one building. 2. That the true test of 
 membership in a Christian church is belief in Christ and 
 obedience to his precepts. 3. That any number of such 
 persons have the right to constitute themselves into a 
 separate church, and that such an organization will pos- 
 sess every necessary element of validity. 4. That, having 
 thus associated themselves together, they have the right 
 to elect their own officers and invest them with legitimate 
 functions. 5. That these officers are of three orders 
 pastors or teaching elders, ruling elders, and deacons. 
 6. That elders being chosen, derive all their authority 
 from the members, and depend for its continuance on their 
 will and pleasure. 7. That all elders and all churches 
 are equal in the extent of their powers and privileges. 
 8. That the sacraments of the church are two Baptism, 
 which is to be administered both to infants and adults, by 
 sprinkling, and the Lord's Supper, which is to be received 
 sitting at the table. 9. That Christians should not ob- 
 serve any holydays except the Sabbath, though they 
 might have occasional days for fasting and thanksgiving. 
 10. That the functions of the ministry and the rights to 
 preach may be validly bestowed upon any person chosen 
 for that purpose by the members and officers of any Chris- 
 tian church ; that no clerical succession of any kind is 
 necessary for that purpose ; that the ceremony of ordina- 
 tion does not in itself confer the functions of the ministry, 
 but that it is merely a recognition of the existence of those 
 functions, which are, in fact, already and solely conferred 
 on the preacher by his election by any Christian society 
 as their pastor. 11. That each congregation is totally in- 
 dependent, in all respects, both as regards its spiritual 
 and temporal affairs, of all other Christian churches. 
 
 The history of Congregationalism is closely identified 
 with the history of New England. It extended more and 
 more widely as the country became more thickly settled. 
 In 1638, Harvard University was founded at Cambridge. 
 In 1646, common schools were established by law in 
 Massachusetts. In 1648, the Cambridge Platform was 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 57 
 
 adopted by an assemblage of Congregational ministers, 
 which set forth what is usually known as the Calvinistic 
 system of theology. At that time the number of churches 
 of this sect in Massachusetts was thirty-nine ; in Connec- 
 ticut, four ; in New Hampshire, three. The Quakers first 
 made their appearance in Massachusetts in 1656. They 
 were two women, who had fled thither from Barbadoes, 
 hoping to find religious toleration and freedom in the land 
 of the Pilgrims. They were cruelly disappointed, were 
 arrested and imprisoned for witchcraft, and afterwards 
 sent back to Barbadoes. Others arrived, three of whom 
 were subsequently punished with death, though their only 
 offence was their religious opinions. 
 
 In 1708, in consequence of various disputes on religious 
 subjects which had, from time to time, agitated the reli- 
 gious community, an assemblage of ministers and elders 
 convened at Saybrook, in Connecticut, who eventually 
 adopted a confession of faith, which is generally known as 
 the " Saybrook Platform," and is a symbol of great 
 authority and importance among Congregationalists. It 
 differs from the Cambridge Platform in its teachings in 
 reference to church government and discipline, and the 
 desirableness of having ecclesiastical councils and associa- 
 tions, though the doctrinal opinions set forth are the same. 
 In regard to the matter of associations, the modern Con- 
 gregationalists believe that it is useful for neighboring 
 churches to send their ministers and elders occasionally to 
 a meeting for the purpose of consultation and religious ex- 
 ercises, and for the purpose of giving advioe in reference 
 to doubtful and difficult matters of doctrine or discipline 
 which may be submitted to their examination and discus- 
 sion ; but these associations never possess any but mere 
 advisory power, and the independence and supremacy of 
 each separate congregation is carefully maintained. It is 
 also the custom now for the candidates for the ministry to 
 be examined and ordained by these associations ; whereas 
 the custom formerly was, as we have said, for each con- 
 gregation to ordain its own minister. 
 
58 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 An important event in the history of New England Con- 
 gregationalism was the appearance of Unitarianism among 
 some of its most eminent clergymen. This event first oc- 
 curred in 1760. In 1785 several churches in Boston 
 openly avowed their Unitarian sentiments. Soon after 
 Harvard University passed under the control of the new 
 sect, and from that time till the present the progress of 
 Unitarianism has been constant. The latter are also 
 Congregationalists in their form of church government ; 
 and hence it is that the Congregationalists are frequently 
 designated at the present time by the single epithet of 
 " Orthodox." Most of the chief colleges of New Eng- 
 land such as Yale, Dartmouth, and Amherst, and the best 
 theological seminaries, such as those of Andover and 
 Bangor are under their control, and hold a high place 
 among the literary institutions of the country. The Con- 
 gregationalists at the present time number about sixteen 
 hundred churches, about fifteen hundred ministers, and 
 three hundred thousand communicants. Among their most 
 eminent men have been Drs. Cotton Mather, Emmons, 
 Edward Griffin, Leonard Woods, N. W. Taylor, and Moses 
 Stuart. 
 
 ORTHODOX FRIENDS, OR QUAKERS. 
 
 THIS remarkable sect had its origin in England, about 
 the middle of the seventeenth century. As is well known, 
 their head and founder was George Fox, who was born in 
 1624, at Drayton in Leicestershire. He was the son of a 
 weaver, a pious member of the Episcopal or Established 
 Church. Fox, who seems to have been by nature of a devout 
 turn of mind, received a religious education. His disposi- 
 tion towards solemnity and gloom appears to have been 
 confirmed by the occupation of a grazier, to which he was 
 consigned at an early age. While tending his sheep in 
 solitude and silence, his thoughts dwelt upon the state of 
 religion around him. He came to the conclusion that 
 worldliness, formality, and vanity were the chief charac- 
 
WILLIAM PENN. Page 58. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 59 
 
 teristics of the prevalent religion ; and at the age of nine- 
 teen he felt convinced that he had received a divine com- 
 mand to separate and exclude himself from the wicked 
 world, and devote his time to spiritual exercises. Accord- 
 ingly, during five years he led a wandering, unsettled, and 
 lonely life. At the end of this period, he began to preach 
 his peculiar doctrines. He first held forth at Manchester, 
 in 1648, and so great was his zeal and earnestness, that 
 he soon acquired many converts and adherents. The 
 name by which they proposed to be known was that of 
 " Friends, "a term taken from the third Epistle of St. John, 
 i. 14 : " Our friends salute thee," &c. .But at Derby the 
 epithet of " Quakers" was first applied to them, by way 
 of contempt, on account of the fact that their voices in 
 speaking were very tremulous, and because they shook 
 and quaked prodigiously in their meetings, in consequence 
 of their religious terrors and conscientious fears. 
 
 Persecution became the portion of Pox and his follow 
 ers, from the commencement of their career. This was 
 especially the case during the reign of Charles the Second, 
 when licentiousness and folly reached an unparalleled ex- 
 tent in England. When James the Second ascended the 
 throne, the severe laws against dissenters were relaxed, 
 and the Quakers were protected from the penalties which 
 they had previously suffered from their refusal to take an 
 oath in judicial proceedings ; their simple affirmation, in- 
 stead of it, was received ; and a plan was adopted by which 
 the levying of tithes was reconciled to their peculiar scru- 
 ples. Fox continued to labor with great zeal during his 
 whole life. He traveled twice to the continent, and once 
 he visited America. In 1655, meetings of his disciples 
 were held in Holland and several other countries, and at 
 the time of his death his sect was a well known and highly 
 respectable body. 
 
 Among the converts whom Fox had made, and whose 
 personal qualities added distinction to his society, were 
 Robert Barclay and William Penn. The former wrote the 
 celebrated work entitled " An Apology for the Quakers." 
 
60 HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Penn was more distinguished by his achievments as a 
 politician and founder of the colony of Pennsylvania. 
 Penn was born in London in 1644. He was of an opulent 
 and distinguished family. Being sent to Oxford Univer- 
 sity, he was converted to Quakerism by happening to at- 
 tend a sermon by one Thomas Lee, a zealous and able 
 preacher of that faith. Soon afterward he was expelled 
 from the University in consequence of his religious views. 
 He was also discarded by his father, because he refused 
 to take off his hat before the king and him. In 1668, 
 Penn boldly came forth as a Quaker preacher, and soon 
 after he was sent as a prisoner to the Tower, where he re- 
 mained in confinement seven months. 
 
 An important event in the external progress of the 
 Quakers was the establishment by Penn of the colony 
 which still bears his name. Charles II. was indebted to 
 the father of Penn, in a considerable sum of money ; and 
 this he paid oif by granting to Penn the right and title to 
 an immense tract of land in North America, then called 
 New Netherlands. This territory Penn proposed to settle 
 with colonists of his own religious belief. He drew up the 
 constitution of his proposed colony, containing twenty-four 
 articles, which, while they granted perfect religious liberty 
 to all, embodied the spirit and principles of his own belief. 
 In 1682, Penn first visited the province. He remained 
 two years and then returned to England. Subsequently 
 he returned to Pennsylvania, and resided for forty years 
 in the colony which he had founded, his head-quarters 
 being at Philadelphia, the capital of the new State. Du- 
 ring this long period he nurtured the community around 
 him with wise laws, and admirable regulations of all 
 kinds. He lived in peace and friendship with the Indians ; 
 and Philadelphia prospered in an eminent degree. At 
 that time nearly all the inhabitants were Quakers. In 
 1710, Penn returned to England, where he died July, 
 1718. Beside being the founder of one of the most re- 
 markable and flourishing colonies which ever existed, Penn 
 was an eminent Christian, a voluminous writer, and an in- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 61 
 
 fluential statesman. Among the works which he wrote, 
 were "The Sandy Fountain Shaken," " Innocency with 
 Her Open Face," &c. The Society of Friends are greatly 
 indebted to him for the favorable influence in their behalf 
 which he exerted in England, as well as in the colony of 
 Pennsylvania. Notwithstanding the recent attack of the 
 historian, Macaulay, on the character and conduct of Penn, 
 it is true beyond cavil that he was a wise, benevolent, and 
 pious man. 
 
 The doctrines for which the Quakers contended through 
 many persecutions, and which the " Orthodox" portion of 
 them still generally entertain, are as follows : That God 
 has given to all men sufficient internal light, by which they 
 can, if they will, attain their salvation ; that this light is 
 as universal as the diffusion of sin ; and is capable of 
 leading all who have not the outward means of salvation, 
 to a saving knowledge of the truth. They believe that 
 God condemns none but such as refuse the means of salva- 
 tion which have been offered to them. 
 
 They hold that the Scriptures are not the principal 
 source of religious truth and knowledge, nor the primary 
 rule of faith and conduct, yet that they are useful as far 
 as they go. The chief source of spiritual instruction is 
 the Holy Spirit, and the law of the spirit of truth which 
 is engraven on the hearts of men ; in other words, their 
 consciences which is the inner light. Nor do they be- 
 lieve that immediate revelations from God to men have 
 ceased ; but that a measure or portion of the Spirit of 
 God is given to every one, at this day and till the end of 
 time. They believe that as all spiritual knowledge comes 
 directly from God, those who have a gift of preaching 
 ought to preach ; that they ought always to obey the im- 
 pulse of the Spirit to that effect : and as women are as 
 much the recipients of the Holy Ghost as others, they 
 should also preach as well as men. They refer for proof 
 of the truth of this doctrine to the fact that St. Paul 
 speaks of women who had labored with him in the gospel ; 
 and that Philip had four daughters who prophesied, 
 
62 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Hence female preachers hold a prominent place in the 
 public services of this sect ; and they gratify their uncon- 
 querable dispositions to talk, as well in public as in pri- 
 vate ; and generally their preaching has more intelli- 
 gence and point in it than the preaching of the male 
 Quakers. 
 
 They believe that all external ordinances and ceremonies, 
 including Baptism and the Lord's Supper, should not now 
 be observed by Christians ; that they were only enjoined 
 for a time ; that they should be observed or commemora- 
 ted only spiritually ; that the baptism which should be ap- 
 plied is the baptism of the Spirit, of which John's baptism 
 was a mere figure ; and that the breaking of bread should 
 not actually be repeated any more than the washing of 
 the disciples' feet, or the anointing the sick with oil. This 
 they hold, because, as the gospel dispensation was purely 
 a spiritual institution, the external and visible observance 
 of these or any other ceremonies is useless and inconsis- 
 tent. 
 
 The ^Orthodox Quakers believe in the Trinity, the vica- 
 rious atonement of Christ, the constant presence of the 
 Holy Spirit in the hearts of true believers, the fall of 
 Adam, man's depravity and utter inability to save him- 
 self without the aid and inspiration of the Holy Spirit ; 
 and that men are justified, not by their own righteousness, 
 but by the righteousness and the mediation of Christ. 
 They believe in the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, 
 and are fiercely opposed to a "hireling ministry." The 
 latter personage is the object of their special hostility ; 
 and they regard those as little better than wolves and 
 robbers who preach for money, and who generally govern 
 their choice of a field of labor, as they say, in accordance 
 with the greater or the less amount of salary which they can 
 procure. In support of this doctrine they quote the lan- 
 guage of Christ : " Freely ye have received, freely give ;*' 
 taking no account whatever of that other Scripture which 
 saith, " The laborer is worthy of his hire :" " He that aiia- 
 istereth at the altar should live of the altar." 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 63 
 
 The moral principles and maxims of the Quakers are 
 those which are the most peculiar and singular. They re- 
 gard it as wrong to use the ordinary terms of courtesy 
 which are prevalent around them, such as "your honor," 
 " your lordship," " esquire," nor do they ever pay formal 
 compliments of any kind. They refuse to kneel or pros- 
 trate themselves to any human being, or even to bow the 
 body or uncover the head. They condemn all superfluity 
 or show in apparel, in the furniture of their houses, or in 
 anything else. They forbid indulgence in all games and 
 sports, all amusements and recreations, as being inconsis- 
 tent with religious gravity ; and they think that even jest- 
 ing and vain talking are pernicious to the soul and par- 
 take too much of the spirit of the world. Yet wealth, 
 the great pursuit of the world, they grasp at as eagerly 
 as any one; and when they cheat one another, and are 
 told of it, they excuse it by saying, "Friend, I merely 
 outwitted thee." They think it unlawful to take an 
 oath in courts of justice, to engage in war or conflicts of 
 any kind, or to resist evil in any way. They are great 
 opponents of slavery, and are more radical and extreme 
 in their condemnation of this peculiar institution than any 
 other Christian sect. Their religious assemblies are fre- 
 quently what are termed "silent meetings." Unless the 
 Holy Spirit directly move them, or any of them, to speak, 
 they keep quiet and say nothing. Yet it is presumed that, 
 during this interval, they are doing a good deal of think- 
 ing. They inculcate charity and benevolence toward all 
 men ; and as regards the members at least of their own 
 community, they practice what they teach ; for they gen- 
 erally help those who are in want, and relieve them from 
 the miseries and inconveniences of poverty. 
 
 The Society of Friends is governed and regulated by a 
 system which is different from that of any other denomi- 
 nation. They have a discipline which consists of four 
 ^iTerent grades of assemblies; the least and lowest are 
 those which are called Preparative Meetings, where the 
 matters of business which require the attention and action 
 
64 HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 of the members of the society, are first proposed and ar 
 ranged. These affairs are then referred to the second 
 assembly, called the Monthly Meetings, which are com- 
 posed of several Preparative Meetings, and have higher 
 executive authority. Tke decisions of the Monthly Meet- 
 ings are then referred to the Quarterly, composed of several 
 Monthly Meetings, which have higher jurisdiction still. 
 After these have made their decisions, they are referred 
 to the Yearly Meeting, which includes a large number of 
 Quarterly Meetings, which examines into the condition 
 and interests of the whole body, and pronounces its final 
 determination, from which there is no appeal. Moral dis- 
 cipline among the members is administered through the 
 agency of "overseers," who keep an eye on their conduct, 
 admonish the delinquent, and who report any improper 
 conduct first to the Preparative Meeting, and also, if 
 thought necessary, to the other higher meetings successively. 
 
 The principal Yearly Meetings belonging to the Ortho- 
 dox Quakers are those which convene in London for Eng- 
 land; in Dublin for Ireland; in Newport for Rhode 
 Island and New England; in New York city for that 
 State ; that for Pennsylvania and New Jersey is held in 
 Philadelphia ; in Baltimore for Maryland and others ; for 
 Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Indiana, in those 
 States respectively. These various assemblies represent a 
 body of actual members, who number about a hundred and 
 forty thousand persons, which is a smaller aggregate than 
 that which existed twenty-five years ago. 
 
 According to the views of Quakers, their children in- 
 Qerit naturally a birthright and membership in the church, 
 juid no ceremony or rite is used for the purpose of initia- 
 ting them into the connection. This birthright they retain 
 through life, unless they forfeit it by some act of immo- 
 rality, or some violation of the disciplinary regulations of 
 the sect. Marriages are all celebrated or enacted among 
 their members in public meeting, without much circumlo- 
 cution or ceremony, each party merely declaring that they 
 accept the other as a husband or wife. This usage com- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 65 
 
 ports with the idea of the marriage relation which the 
 Courts of Pennsylvania have decided to be the only legal 
 one, namely, that marriage is simply a civil contract, and 
 need not, to be valid, be invested with any ecclesiastical 
 or clerical sanction. 
 
 It is somewhat singular that, while the Quakers con- 
 demn all kinds of established forms in religion, they them- 
 selves are the most rigid formalists in the world ; for they 
 go so far as to display a peculiar formality in their dress, 
 in their mode of living, and even in their speech. This 
 inconsistency results from the fact that, after all, it is im- 
 possible for any assemblage or society of persons to re- 
 main associated together, without some distinctive features 
 and badges of identity and resemblance. But Quakers, 
 in yielding to this law of our nature, adopt a formalism in 
 regard to such things as render them objects of ridicule to 
 the worldly portion of the community, and impede their 
 increase and their usefulness. 
 
 ARMINIANS. 
 
 THE Arminians are those who hold the tenets of Armin- 
 ius, a Protestant divine, born in Holland in the year 1560, 
 and latterly a professor of divinity at Leyden. 
 
 Thinking the doctrines of Calvin in regard to free will, 
 predestination, and grace, contrary to the beneficent per- 
 fections of the Deity, Arminius began to express his doubts 
 concerning them in the year 1591 ; and upon further in- 
 quiry, adopted sentiments more nearly resembling those of 
 the Lutherans than of the Calvinists. After his appoint- 
 ment to the theological chair at Leyden, he thought it his 
 duty to avow and vindicate the principles which he had 
 embraced ; and the freedom with which he published and 
 defended them, exposed him to the resentment of those 
 that adhered to the theological system of Geneva. 
 
 His tenets included the five following propositions : First, 
 That God has not fixed the future state of mankind by an 
 absolute, unconditional decree, but determined, from all 
 6 
 
66 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 eternity, to bestow salvation on those who, he foresaw, 
 would persevere to the end in their faith in Jesus Christ, 
 and to inflict punishment on those who should continue in 
 their unbelief, and resist to the end his divine assistance. 
 Secondly, That Jesus Christ, by his death and sufferings, 
 made an atonement for all mankind in general, and for 
 every individual in particular : that, however, none ^ut 
 those who believe in him, can be partakers of this divine 
 benefit. Thirdly, That mankind are not totally depraved, 
 and that depravity does not come upon them by virtue of 
 Adam's being their public head, but that mortality and ac- 
 tual evil only are the direct consequences of his sin to 
 posterity. Fourthly, That there is no such thing as irre- 
 sistible grace in the conversion of sinners. And Fifthly, 
 That those who are united to Christ by faith may fall from 
 their faith, and forfeit finally their state of grace. 
 
 Thus the followers of Arminius believe that God, hav- 
 ing an equal regard for all his creatures, sent his Son to 
 die for the sins of the whole world ; that men have the 
 power of doing the will of God, otherwise they are not 
 the proper subjects of approbation and condemnation ; and 
 that, in the present imperfect state, believers, if not par- 
 ticularly vigilant, may through the force of temptation, 
 fall from grace, and sink into final perdition. 
 
 The Arminians found their sentiments on the expres- 
 sions of our Saviour respecting his willingness to save all 
 that come unto him ; especially on his prayer over Jerusa- 
 lem, his sermon on the mount, and above all, on his delinea- 
 tion of the process of the last day, where the salvation of 
 men is not said to have been procured by any decree, but 
 because they had done the will of the Father, who is in 
 Heaven. This last argument they deem decisive ; because 
 it cannot be supposed that Jesus, in the account of the 
 judgment day, would have deceived them. They also say 
 that the terms used in the Romans respecting election, are 
 applicable only to the Jews as a body, without reference 
 to the religious condition of individuals, either in the pre- 
 sent or future world. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 67 
 
 The asserters of these opinions in Holland were vehe- 
 mently attacked by the Calvinistic party, which was pre- 
 valent at the time ; and in 1610 the Arminians addressed 
 a petition to the States of Holland for protection, from 
 which fact they derived the name of Remonstrants. In the 
 year 1618, nine years after the death of Arminius, the 
 Synod of Dort was convened by the States General, and a 
 hearing given to both parties. But the Synod was suc- 
 ceeded by a shameful persecution of the Arminians. 
 
 THE MORAVIANS, OR UNITED BRETHREN. 
 
 CORRECTLY speaking, the Moravians are the oldest of the 
 Protestant sects, inasmuch as they are historically de- 
 scended from the first dissenters from the Roman Catho- 
 lic Church. They may trace their origin to John Huss, 
 the Bohemian Reformer, who, together with Jerome of 
 Prague, created commotions and disturbances in the Mother 
 Church, in Bohemia, in the fifteenth century, and who 
 were afterward burned at Constance in return for their re- 
 forming zeal. The sect languished in obscurity and amid 
 persecutions during several centuries, driven to and fro, 
 with various and disastrous fortunes, until at length, in 
 1722, they besought the protection of a German noble- 
 man, Count Zinzendorf, who possessed a large estate at 
 Herrnhut, in Upper Lusatia. The Count gave them a 
 secure asylum ; permitted the whole community to settle 
 within his jurisdiction ; and from that period the pros- 
 perity and good fortune of the society take their date. 
 
 At Herrnhut the Moravian community was organized 
 upon a novel plan, which combined social features of a 
 marked and peculiar character, together with religious and 
 theological unity. They formed a body which they sup- 
 posed resembled the primitive apostolical congregations 
 They adopted as articles of faith what they regarded only 
 as the fundamental and chief doctrines of Christianity ; 
 while their social arrangements provided for a community 
 cf goods such as is referred to in the Acts of the Apod 
 
68 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 ties in reference to one or two of the primitive churches. 
 Zinzendorf seems to have been a man admirably adapted 
 to the organization of the new sect ; and he devoted not 
 only his time and labor, but also his wealth, to the firm estab- 
 lishment of principles and arrangements on which the sect 
 was based. 
 
 The doctrinal belief of the Moravians has always been 
 a very undefined and unsettled one. They have constantly 
 avoided much argument or dispute on these points ; and 
 the sect has maintained an ascetic aspect, which is very 
 peculiar. Their distinctive features are pre-eminently of a 
 moral and practical nature, and also of a social character, 
 by which, indeed, they are widely distinguished from all 
 other denominations. They profess to receive the Augs- 
 burg Confession the symbol of the Lutheran Church as 
 the clearest statement of their religious belief, or of the 
 belief, at least, of the majority of them ; and hence, in 
 the absence of any creed of their own creation, they point 
 to that Confession as the one which comes nearest to their 
 views. 
 
 The chief doctrinal opinions of the Moravians may be 
 defined as follows : They believe in the inspiration of the 
 Scriptures, and their ample sufficiency and authority as 
 the sole revelation of divine truth. They believe in the 
 Trinity, and give great prominence to the history, nature, 
 works, sufferings, and death of Christ. They carefully 
 avoid abstruse argument or discussion on every topic of 
 theology ; and endeavor to make practical piety the prin- 
 cipal aim of all their religious teachings. They hold to 
 tte vicarious atonement ; they reject the doctrine of abso- 
 lute predestination ; and they believe in a future state of 
 rewards and punishments. Yet few of their doctrinal 
 tenets are clearly or accurately defined ; and very great 
 liberty and variety of belief are allowed among them. 
 
 The most remarkable features connected with the Mora- 
 vians refer to^ their social arrangements, and to the 
 government of their society as a church. During the ear- 
 lier period of their existence as a sect, they not only 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 69 
 
 practiced and observed a community of goods among all 
 the members, but even the marriages of the young people 
 were arranged in the most singular manner. They were 
 not permitted to court and marry like other people, but 
 their matches were disposed of by lot. No man or woman 
 knew who was to be the partner of his or her life, until 
 the moment before the indissoluble union took place ; and 
 we may well imagine the strange feelings which such a 
 disposition of matrimonial matters would frequently pro- 
 duce. Sometimes the blooming and beautiful maiden 
 found herself tied to the object of her secret aversion and 
 contempt ; and so also the vigorous and athletic young 
 man suddenly discovered that some feeble, deformed, 'and 
 sickly creature, of the opposite sex, had become his com- 
 panion for life. A more stupid and detestable mode of 
 arranging the domestic and social relations of any commu- 
 nity, could not possibly be imagined ; and we think it a 
 fortunate circumstance that in later and present times, 
 the heads and leaders of the sect have had wit enough to 
 abolish so objectionable a feature of their discipline. 
 
 Where the Moravians form separate and distinct commu- 
 nities, their mode of living also is peculiar. They banish 
 from among them all amusements of a sort which, as they 
 suppose, tend to produce worldliness and a neglect of the 
 growth of experimental piety, such as dancing, theatres, 
 balls, games of cards, and even the public promiscuous 
 assemblages of their own young people. In the Moravian 
 communities in Europe, the unmarried men and boys all 
 reside together in buildings which are separate from the 
 rest ; and the same is true also of the unmarried women 
 and young girls. The dwellings of the former set are 
 called the " Single Brethren's Houses ;" those of the 
 latter the " Single Sisters' Houses." In these dwellings 
 various trades and occupations are pursued, suitable to 
 men and women. An elder or superintendent has abso- 
 lute authority over each house, and all the inmates are 
 required to be industrious and well employed. This ar- 
 rangement exists in Europe in order to prevent the too 
 
70 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 frequent meeting of the young people of the two sexes, 
 and to diminish the disposition to early and precipitate 
 marriages ; but in this country this feature of the sect has 
 been relaxed, and Moravians live like other people ; asso- 
 ciate with their neighbors and fellow-members ; and the 
 youth of the society are permitted to approach each other 
 without restraint or apprehension. In this country the 
 marriage by lot is also abolished, and Moravians have the 
 same freedom of choice which other civilized people enjoy. 
 They provide for the aged unmarried women, who are 
 supported in the "Widows' Houses," when they are no 
 longer able to maintain themselves. These employ their 
 time in ornamental needle- work, which is sold, and the 
 proceeds devoted to the support of the houses in which 
 they reside. This arrangement prevails even in this 
 country only where the sect live together in distinct and 
 isolated communities, such as at Bethlehem and Nazareth 
 in this State. The young people are carefully educated, 
 and the schools of the Moravians are highly esteemed. 
 The chief government of the communities is conducted by 
 a Board of Elders, composed of both sexes. This Board 
 generally decides all differences between the members of 
 the community, of every sort. The Elders do not preach, 
 that office being confined entirely to the regularly ordained 
 ministers. 
 
 As a substitute for all sorts of amusement and social 
 intercourse in these distinct Moravian settlements, public 
 exercises are held every evening in the churches, which 
 consist of reading the Scriptures, narrating accounts which 
 have been received of the adventures of their absent mis- 
 sionaries in various portions of the world, and sacred 
 music. The last occupies a very prominent part in the 
 religious services of this sect, and is the chief attraction 
 connected with their religious and social organization. 
 They likewise observe and celebrate the leading festivals 
 of the Protestant Churches, such as Christmas, Easter, 
 and Pentecost. They also have a " Love Feast" previous 
 to every communion, at which the whole congregation par* 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 71 
 
 take together of coffee, or chocolate, and cakes, in token 
 of their fraternal feeling and union. On Easter morning 
 the Moravians observe a ceremony which is peculiar to 
 themselves : they meet together in the grave-yard at 
 eun-rise ; religious services accompanied with music are 
 held ; and the death of all those members who have de- 
 parted during the preceding year, is commemorated. 
 They also endeavor at all times to divest death of its 
 gloomy and repulsive attributes. Like the Quakers, they 
 observe no outward signs of mourning ; but unlike them 
 their funeral processions proceed to the grave, accompanied 
 with solemn instrumental music. Their grave-yards are 
 usually laid out to resemble a garden ; and the last long 
 home of the living, or rather of the dead, is invested with 
 everything which could diminish its mournful and repul- 
 sive aspects. 
 
 When members of the Moravian communities violate 
 any of the duties which devolve upon them, or are immoral, 
 the elders first reprove them, and expostulate with them. 
 If this process does not reform them, they are then ex- 
 cluded from the Lord's Supper. If they still remain in- 
 corrigible, they are then expelled entirely from the society. 
 The highest dignitaries in the church are the bishops, who 
 ordain the ministers or preaching elders. They have also 
 the order of deacons, into which young preachers are ad- 
 mitted at the commencement of their pastoral labors. 
 The Moravians claim to have the unbroken apostolic suc- 
 cession from the time of Christ to the present, by tracing 
 its current through the Bohemian Brethren, the immediate 
 disciples of John Huss. 
 
 The most remarkable feature connected with this small 
 yet respectable sect is the singular zeal which they have 
 always exhibited in reference to missionary work. Pos- 
 sessing very limited resources, they have been extremely 
 liberal in this respect. When Count Zinzendorf died, in 
 1760, after presiding over the community at Herrnhut for 
 more than a quarter of a century, the whole concern was 
 insolvent, although he had expended all his estates in the 
 
72 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 service of the denomination. Yet by subsequent thrift 
 these difficulties were surmounted, and immense sums have 
 since been expended in the enterprise of evangelizing the 
 world. They have but six thousand members in the 
 United States, of little account in a pecuniary point of 
 view ; yet the same lavish expenditure for the heathen 
 prevails among them here. Even in Europe their actual 
 membership does not exceed fifteen thousand persons. In 
 the United States the whole number of their congregations 
 is twenty-three, and the number of their clergymen is 
 twenty-five. They have here also two bishops, and four 
 principals of schools. Their literary institutions are 
 situated at Bethlehem, Nazareth, Lititz, in Pennsylvania ; 
 and at Salem, in South Carolina. A few churches of this 
 sect exist in England, and several even in Ireland. Their 
 missions at present are among the negroes in the Danish 
 West India Islands, at Jamaica, Barbadoes, in Surinam, 
 in Greenland, in Labrador, among the Hottentots and 
 Caffres in Southern Africa, and among the Indians of 
 Upper Canada and Arkansas. 
 
 THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUECH. 
 
 THIS prominent and active denomination of Christians 
 owe their origin, as a sect, to the celebrated John Wesley. 
 This remarkable man was born in the year 1703, and was 
 educated at Oxford University, in England. He entered 
 the Established Church, and was duly ordained a priest, 
 or presbyter. At first he had little more conception of 
 the true nature of religion, or the real responsibilities of 
 his office, than the majority of the clergy around him, who 
 were a worldly, selfish, and dissipated set of men, in gene- 
 ral, who knew much more about card-playing, fox-hunting, 
 and theatre-going, than they did about the truths and 
 duties of Christianity. 
 
 About the year 1729, John Wesley "became converted." 
 lie then saw what he supposed to be the horrors of the 
 existing state of religion and morals in the Established 
 
Drawn by R West all R.A. 
 
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 Genesis. Chap. 22 .Ver. n& 12. 
 
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HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 7h 
 
 Church, and among its clergy of all ranks ; and he deter- 
 mined, if possible, to effect a reformation. He proposed 
 to accomplish this work, not so much among the clergy 
 themselves as among the people. He discerned that the 
 kind of preaching which at that time was prevalent in the 
 churches was utterly useless in awakening sinners to a proper 
 sense of their moral condition, and that the vast majority 
 of the churches were nothing less than religious dormito- 
 ries, where humdrum preachers were paid high salaries for 
 putting people comfortably to sleep twice on Sundays. 
 Wesley's first efforts were made in the vicinity of Oxford, 
 where he soon rendered himself very unpopular with the 
 astonished and disgusted authorities and students of the 
 University. He had been converted by perusing the 
 writings of William Law, the well-known mystic. His 
 brother, Charles Wesley, shared his religious feelings. 
 The term "Methodist" was applied to them by their ene- 
 mies, in consequence of their orderly and composed de- 
 meanor. In 1735, among other persons who had joined 
 them was George Whitefield, the celebrated pulpit orator. 
 Yet a fundamental difference of opinion existed between 
 Whitefield and Wesley, the former being a rigid Calvinist, 
 and the latter an Arminian ; and this difference of senti- 
 ment characterized the followers of each when they sub- 
 sequently became associated in sects. In 1735, the two 
 Wesleys visited Georgia in order to preach to the colo- 
 nists ; but no very important results followed this expedi- 
 tion. 
 
 After their return to England, the Wesleys continued 
 their reforming labours in London, in 1739, and their zeal 
 and success constantly attracted more of the public atten- 
 tion, and increased the number of their converts. No 
 preaching like theirs had ever before been heard in Eng- 
 land. Their purpose was to arouse the consciences of tho 
 people, and convince them of the necessity of a new life 
 and a regenerated nature, in order to escape future perdi- 
 tion. The earnestness and sincerity with which they 
 preached, produced prodigious results. Wesley established 
 
74 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 congregations in various portions of England. He him- 
 self was a great itinerant ; and while he did not possess 
 the same degree of eloquence which Whitefield displayed, 
 he was equally successful in making converts. Yet he 
 always claimed to be a member of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church ; and this fact is proved by an incident which oc- 
 curred some years after he began his career as a reformer. 
 There was a famous man in that day, a prominent person 
 in the ranks of elegance and fashion, named "Beau Nash," 
 who, like all other dandies, was a hopeless fool. He hap- 
 pened to be present when Wesley preached at Bath, 
 and going up to him before the sermon, he asked him, 
 "By what authority he undertook to preach?" Wesley 
 replied, " By that of Jesus Christ, conveyed to me by the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, when he laid hands on me and 
 said, < Take thou authority to preach the gospel.' ' : Nash 
 replied that " he was acting contrary to the laws of the 
 Church." " Did you ever hear me preach ?" said Wesley. 
 "No, sir," replied Nash, "I judge of you by common re- 
 port." "Well, sir," answered Wesley, "I should be 
 more charitable than to form my opinion of you by com- 
 mon report." This incident serves to show at once the 
 severity of the preacher, the stupidity of the dandy, and 
 Wesley's regard for his clerical authority, as obtained 
 from the Protestant Episcopal Church, which he always 
 highly valued. 
 
 Wesley ordained the new preachers of the sect which 
 he gradually organized by virtue of this authority 
 Before the period of his death, in 1791, when he expired 
 at the age of eighty-eight, his followers were numerous 
 throughout England, though they generally belonged to 
 the poorer classes of the community. His labors did a 
 vast amount of good, not only among those who became 
 members of his own communion, but also in the Estab- 
 lished Church; for the zeal of these "Ranters," as they 
 were frequently called, put to shame the hypocrisy, world- 
 liness, and wickedness of the Established clergy, and 
 showed both them and the people who attended their ser- 
 
*SK 
 
 lO "' 
 
 HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. ^Vj* 75 '' 
 
 vices the necessity of a reform at least in external 
 priety ; and a few were led to sincere reformation and 
 pentance, both of the clergy and the laity. 
 
 The first congregation of Methodists in the United 
 States was formed in the city of New York in 1766. It 
 was composed of a few Irish immigrants, who had become 
 converts in their native land. Among them was a local 
 preacher named Embury, who preached in his own house, 
 at first, to an assemblage of five persons. Very soon their 
 numbers increased, and it became necessary for them to 
 obtain a larger place of worship. They next hired a rig- 
 ging loft in William Street in that city, and continued 
 their exercises. In the progress of time they found the 
 accommodations afforded by this house insufficient ; and 
 the members, who were generally poor and obscure persons, 
 petitioned the Mayor and other prominent citizens of New 
 York for pecuniary assistance. This was afforded them, 
 and in 1768 the Methodists obtained a lot on John Street, 
 and erected a house of worship sixty feet in length and 
 forty-two in width, which they named "Wesley Chapel." 
 This was the first Methodist meeting house ever built in 
 the United States, and their first sermon was delivered in 
 it in October, 1768, by Mr. Embury. Immediately after- 
 ward the congregation sent a request to John Wesley that 
 he would send them a more competent preacher. In an- 
 swer to this petition, Richard Boardman and Joseph Pill- 
 more sailed for this country and commenced to labor, the 
 former in New York, the latter in Philadelphia. This 
 event ocurred in 1770. 
 
 From this auspicious beginning, the growth of Method- 
 ism in this country was rapid and extensive. The zeal 
 of their preachers and members, the earnestness and ex- 
 citement which characterized their religious exercises, their 
 powerful appeals to the fears and hopes of their hearers, 
 their whole system of church government and ecclesias- 
 tical discipline, which were then characteristics pretty 
 much the same as they are now, were all admirably 
 adapted to impress their audiences, to influence the less 
 
 
76 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 intelligent and educated class of hearers, and to make con- 
 verts among the multitude. 
 
 In 1771, Francis Asbury and Richard Wright were sent 
 out by Wesley to aid the infant sect. These persons tra- 
 veled extensively throughout many of the colonies, preach 
 ing and making converts, and founding congregations. So 
 successful were they, that, in 1773, there were ten travel- 
 ing preachers and more than eleven hundred members 
 connected with the churches. Probably no sect ever ex 
 isted in the United States which increased in numbers as 
 rapidly as the Methodist ; and the reason of this is the 
 fact that their method of religious worship is eminently 
 aggressive, and they use every possible means and expe- 
 dients which can be devised to impress the feelings of 
 their hearers. This earnestness and zeal may seem to 
 some to be carried to excess. But the good results far 
 overbalance any evil arising from these peculiarities. 
 No sect has been more instrumental in pushing Chris- 
 tianity to the confines of civilization and making the 
 oiler of salvation known to thousands who would 
 otherwise be neglected. 
 
 At the time of the Revolution the Methodists were a 
 well-known and numerous sect. After its conclusion some 
 trouble occurred among them, in consequence of their 
 separation from the Methodist churches in England. Pre- 
 vious to the Revolution, all the Methodist preachers who 
 were in this country were merely " lay preachers," and 
 had no power or authority to ordain any persons to the 
 ministry. It now became necessary to adopt some means 
 by which a valid commission might be obtained by the 
 American churches, for the purpose of ordaining men to 
 preach without being dependent upon their brethren in 
 England. At first, John Wesley had some scruples as to 
 his power or authority to comply with this desire, and some 
 doubts as to the propriety of the measure. At length, 
 however, all his doubts were removed ; and in September, 
 1784, assisted by other Methodist preachers whom he had 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 77 
 
 himself previously ordained, he consecrated the Rev. 
 Thos. Coke, a clergyman of the Church of England, as a 
 Superintendent, and ordained Richard Whatcoat and Tho- 
 mas Yasey to the office of elders, and sent them to the 
 United States to carry on the work. These men itiner- 
 ated through the country, established many churches in 
 various States, and ordained many preachers as elders 
 and deacons. Mr. Coke was, in fact, the Bishop of the 
 church in this country, for the term " superintendent" was 
 merely another name for bishop. The question here 
 arises : How could Mr. Wesley, who had only received 
 priest's orders, confer orders on another, while diocesan 
 bishops only possessed that right, according to the views 
 of the Church of England, to which Wesley still professed 
 to belong ? And, more especially, How could he, a mere 
 presbyter, confer on another (Mr. Coke) the functions of 
 an office which was higher than his own those of a 
 bishop ? This objection, however, was answered by as- 
 serting that, in the New Testament, the functions and the 
 offices of presbyters and bishops were the same ; and that 
 if a man were a presbyter he was also a bishop, and could 
 confer upon another the office which he himself possessed. 
 Yet to this position another objection applies, which is 
 that this position is contrary to the teachings of the Church 
 rf England, to which Wesley professed to adhere in doc- 
 trine ; and hence some think he should either have 
 abandoned that connection, or renounced a theory 
 which that church condemned. 
 
 Having thus obtained full authority, as they supposed, 
 to ordain, and preach, and carry on a separate and inde- 
 pendent organization, the Methodists of this country con- 
 tinued their career with greater success than before. In 
 1792, they held their first General Conference, having 
 control over all the district conferences of the church. 
 At that time there were two hundred and sixty-six regular 
 preachers, and sixty-five thousand members, in the United 
 States. New circuits had been formed in various portions 
 of the country ; and annual conferences had been organized 
 
78 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 in the different States, all of which sent delegates to the 
 General Conference. At the present time the Methodists 
 haTe about five thousand regular and traveling preachers, 
 about nine thousand local preachers, and one million 
 church members, of whom about two hundred thousand 
 are negroes in the Southern States. 
 
 The government of the Methodist Church is an anomaly 
 in itself, yet admirably adapted to promote the ends and 
 views of the organization. They have bishops, whose 
 jurisdiction extends over the whole church conjointly, and 
 is not confined to any one particular State. They have 
 also presbyters, or traveling and regular preachers, and 
 local preachers and deacons. Their churches are divided 
 into various classes, each class consisting generally of a 
 dozen members. Each class is presided over by a class- 
 leader. They have also stewards, who are chosen by the 
 quarterly meeting conference, who have charge of all the 
 moneys contributed by the members for the support of the 
 preachers ; and trustees, to whom is committed the care of 
 the church property. The bishops are elected by the 
 General Conference. The presiding elders have control 
 over the several circuits and stations which compose a dis- 
 trict. The "leaders' meetings" are attended by all the 
 class-leaders belonging to one church or station. The 
 preachers receive but a very small yearly salary. In the 
 country formerly, each one was allowed a hundred dol- 
 lars for himself, a hundred for his wife, sixteen dollars 
 for each child under seven years of age, and twenty-four 
 dollars for each child above that age. A further allow- 
 ance was made for the table expenses and fuel of the 
 preacher's family. In cities, where such sums would 
 be of little account for the support of a family, the sums 
 allowed were generally much larger. Bishops received 
 no greater remuneration than itinerant preachers. 
 
 During the last few years the Methodist clergymen have 
 been generally better educated than they were formerly, 
 and they have established and conducted several literary in- 
 stitutions for this purpose. They have the Wesleyan 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 79 
 
 University, located at Middletown, Connecticut ; Dickin- 
 son College, at Carlisle ; Allegheny College, at Mead- 
 ville ; and others of minor importance. Their most remark- 
 able and valuable institution is their Book Concern, located 
 in New York, which has published a vast number of reli- 
 gious works and accumulated an immense capital. The 
 separation which took place between the Northern and 
 Southern portions of the church, in consequence of differ- 
 ences on the subject of slavery, does not seem to have 
 inflicted much injury on either branch. 
 
 The doctrines of the Methodists are well known. These 
 do not differ from the teachings of other orthodox sects, 
 except on two fundamental points. They are strenuous 
 Arminians, holding to "free grace," or the theory that 
 the offers of the gospel are made to all men alike, and not 
 to an elect few ; and that all may repent if they desire to 
 do so. They also believe in " Christian Perfection," or 
 the ability of Christians to attain such a state of holiness 
 in this world that they will become entirely free and ex- 
 empt from all moral turpitude. In many respects the 
 Methodists are among the most zealous and useful of reli- 
 gious sects. Among their most eminent preachers have 
 been Adam Clarke, Bishop Soule, Drs. Bascom, Durbin, 
 Maffit, and Olin. 
 
 SAINT SIMONIANS. 
 
 CLAUDE HENRI, Count de St. Simon, of the ancient 
 family of that name, born in 1T60, was engaged during 
 the greater part of his life in a series of unsuccessful com- 
 mercial enterprises, a traveler, and in the early portion 
 of his career a soldier in America ; but having dissipated a 
 considerable fortune, and being unable to draw the atten- 
 tion, of the public to a variety of schemes, political and 
 social, which he was constantly publishing, he attempted 
 suicide in 1820. He lived, however, a few years longer, 
 and died in 1825, leaving his papers and projects to Olinde 
 Rodriguez. St. Simon's views of society and the destiny 
 
SO HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 of mankind are contained in a variety of works, and es- 
 pecially in a short treatise entitled the Nouveau Christi- 
 anisme, published after his death by Rodriguez. This 
 book does not contain any scheme for the foundation of a 
 new religion, such as his disciples afterwards invented. 
 It is a diatribe against both the Catholic and Protestant 
 pects for their neglect of the main principle of Christian- 
 ity, the elevation of the lower classes of society ; and in- 
 veighs against " Texploitation de I'homme par I'homme," 
 the existing system of individual industry, under which 
 capitalists and labourers have opposite interests and no 
 common object. 
 
 The principle of association, and equal division of the 
 fruits of common labor between the members of society, 
 he imagined to be the true remedy for its present evils. 
 After his death these ideas were caught up by a number 
 of disciples, and formed into something resembling a sys- 
 tem. The new association, or St. Simonian family, wat 
 chiefly framed by Rodriguez, Bazar, Thierry, Chevalier, 
 and other men of talent. After the revolution of July, 
 1830, it rose rapidly into notoriety, from the sympathy 
 between the notions which it promulgated, and those en- 
 tertained by many of the republican party. In 1831, the 
 society had about 3,000 members, a newspaper called 
 the Grlobe, and large funds. 
 
 The views of the St. Simonian family were all directed 
 to the abolition of rank and property in society, and the 
 establishment of associations, of which all the members 
 should work in common and divide the fruits of their labor. 
 But with these notions, common to many other social re- 
 formers, they united the doctrine, that the division of the 
 goods of the community should be in due proportion to the 
 merits or capacity of the recipient. Society was to be 
 governed by a hierarchy, consisting of a supreme pontiff, 
 apostles, disciples of the first, second, and third order. 
 
 It was not until about this period (1830) that they be- 
 gan to invest these opinions with the form and character 
 of a religion ; but shortly after having done so they went 
 
>VEKTH PRESBYTERIAN CIIDKCU, PUILADELPIIIA. Pagt 81. 
 
HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 81 
 
 into great extravagances. There was a disunion among 
 them as to the fittest person to preside over the society; and 
 consequently Messrs. Bazar and Enfantin divided, for 
 some time, the duties and dignity of the " Supreme Fa- 
 ther," as he was termed. But on the 19th of November, 
 1831, Bazar and many others left the association, of which 
 Enfantin remained the supreme father. Their doctrines 
 and proceedings now became licentious and immoral to 
 the last degree. On the 22d of January, 1832, the family 
 was dispersed by the government. Enfantin and Rodri- 
 guez were tried on various charges, and imprisoned for a 
 year. The former afterwards collected again a part of 
 the society at Menilmontant ; but it was dissolved for want 
 of funds. Some former members of the St. Simonian as- 
 sociation attained places of rank and consideration ; some 
 of the most extravagant traveled to the East ; but En- 
 fantin, we believe, has now no followers. 
 
 NEW SCHOOL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 THE New School branch of the Presbyterian Church 
 claims to be a genuine and consistent descendant of the 
 Presbyterian Church as it exists in Scotland, asserting at 
 the same time that the Old School are the schismatics who 
 have departed from their ancient hereditary faith. Ac- 
 cording to this assumption, the history of the Presbyterian 
 Church in Scotland and the United States until the great 
 division of 1830, will apply to the New School Church as 
 well as to the Old ; and hence we may fitly continue the 
 history of the former by commencing with the separation 
 in question, and describe the career of the New Schoo 
 branch from that time till the present. 
 
 Previous to the year 1830, the Rev. Albert Barnes 
 was pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Morristown, 
 New Jersey; and while residing there he preached and 
 published a sermon on " The Way of Salvation," which 
 excited remark, as it seemed to teach a theory somewhat 
 different from that set forth in the " Confession of Faith." 
 
82 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 The matter, however, attracted but little attention until 
 Mr. Barnes received a call from the First Presbyterian 
 Church of Philadelphia, inviting him to assume the pasto- 
 ral charge of it. The case was discussed by the Presby- 
 tery of Philadelphia in April, 1830 ; and at length the 
 call was admitted by that body according to Presbyterian 
 usage, but accompanied by a protest against it, which was 
 signed by twelve members. After Mr. Barnes' removal 
 to Philadelphia, a complaint was made by the aforesaid 
 twelve to the " Synod of Philadelphia," based on the pro- 
 test which they had previously made, setting forth the 
 fact that Mr. Barnes had been settled and received by the 
 Presbytery, notwithstanding the fact that he had taught 
 heretical doctrines in the sermon entitled " The Way of 
 Salvation," and demanding an investigation of the case. 
 The matter was fully discussed in the Synod ; after which 
 the whole subject was referred back again to the Presby- 
 tery. The latter debated the questions involved at great 
 length ; and, after due deliberation, expressed their disap- 
 proval of the doctrine defended by Mr. Barnes, and ap- 
 pointed a committee to confer with him for the purpose 
 of convincing him of his error, and bringing him back to 
 a knowledge and confession of the truth. 
 
 Mr. Barnes and his friends appealed from this decision 
 to the General Assembly, in 1833. The questions in- 
 volved, both of doctrine and discipline, were fully investi- 
 gated by that body, who eventually reversed the proceed- 
 ings of the Synod of Philadelphia, and confirmed the acts 
 of the preceding year. This decision brought the dispute 
 again before the Synod for final examination, and the re- 
 sult was that the Synod annulled the decisions of the 
 General Assembly, and dissolved the Second Presbytery 
 of Philadelphia, which the Assembly had organized in ac- 
 cordance with the wishes of the friends of Mr. Barnes. 
 After some further attempts to compromise and arrange 
 the existing difficulties, which were unsuccessful, the con- 
 test was brought to a crisis by the action of the Rev 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 83 
 
 George Junkin, a member of the Presbytery of Newton, 
 who preferred a charge against Mr. Barnes in a regular 
 and formal manner, before the Second Presbytery of Phila- 
 delphia, to the effect that he had taught dangerous errors 
 and heresies contrary to the word of God, in his recently- 
 published "Notes on the Romans." After a full investi- 
 gation of the charge, with all that endless volubility of 
 argument and harangue which generally characterizes the 
 meetings and the proceedings of Presbyterial bodies, the 
 accused was acquitted by a decisive majority. This deci- 
 sion of course satisfied nobody who was of the opposite 
 opinion ; and an appeal was at once taken to the Synod 
 of Philadelphia, which convened in 1835. After another 
 interminable outlay of speeches, the Synod reversed the 
 decision of the Presbytery, and condemned it as contrary 
 to truth and righteousness, while they censured Mr. Barnes' 
 new doctrines as contrary to the teachings of the Presby- 
 terian Church, and in opposition to the instructions of the 
 word of God ; and they further suspended Mr. Barnes from 
 the functions of the ministry. From this sentence Mr. 
 Barnes of course appealed to the General Assembly of 
 1886. 
 
 When this body met, they were deluged with all man- 
 ner of "complaints," "appeals," "protests," and "me- 
 morials," having reference to this dispute. Eventually, 
 after one of the most protracted and violent discussions 
 known in the history of the churches in this country, the 
 Assembly rescinded all the acts of the Synod of Philadel- 
 phia, absolved Mr. Barnes from all censure, removed the 
 sentence of suspension which had been pronounced upon 
 him, and proclaimed in substance that the theories which 
 he taught in his aforesaid books were in accordance with 
 Scripture and the standards of the Presbyterian Church. 
 This decision only increased the alienation and bitterness 
 which already existed between the two parties in the 
 Church, and it was evident that these troubles would not 
 end there. The differences which divided the two bellige- 
 rent parties may be described in brief as depending upon, 
 
84 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 or resulting from, the way in which they severally inter- 
 preted the " Confession of Faith," one party adhering to 
 a strict interpretation, and the other a more lax and liberal 
 one. Both factions now prepared themselves for a grand 
 and decisive conflict in the ensuing General Assembly of 
 1837. 
 
 A week previous to the opening of the Assembly, an in- 
 formal Convention of Ministers was held in Philadelphia, 
 for the purpose of comparing views and discussing the 
 matters in litigation. This convention sent the result of 
 their deliberations to the General Assembly, immediately 
 after its opening, in a document which was entitled a 
 " Testimony or Memorial," and in it they condemned as 
 erroneous a long list of subjects, which they supposed 
 would probably come up for subsequent discussion such 
 as sixteen doctrinal errors, ten departures from the order 
 of the Presbyterian Church, and five invasions of Chris- 
 tian discipline. They also set forth their views of some 
 necessary reforms, which comprised measures such as these : 
 The abolition of the Plan of Union which then existed with 
 the Congregationalists, and which had been adopted in 
 1801 ; the discontinuance of the American Home Mis- 
 sionary and Education Societies ; the separation from the 
 church of all presbyteries and synods which contained un- 
 sound and disorderly members ; the separation from the 
 church of all presbyteries and synods which were not or- 
 ganized on strictly and exclusively Presbyterian principles; 
 and the requisition on all candidates for the ministry that 
 they shall make an explicit acceptance of the Confession 
 of Faith and Form of Government of the Presbyterian 
 Church. 
 
 The Convention having sent in their memorial to the 
 Assembly of 1837, the latter approved of all its views 
 and suggestions, and carried out the "reforms" which it 
 had recommended. The doctrinal views which the conven- 
 tion condemned and submitted to the Assembly were also 
 censured and pronounced in opposition to the teachings 
 of the Presbyterian Church. As the document which seta 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 85 
 
 these alleged errors forth is one of the most extraordinary 
 and remarkable which has ever been elaborated in the 
 history of any Christian church, and as it is rarely to be 
 found at the present time, we will insert it for the edifica- 
 tion of our readers : 
 
 " I. God would have been glad to prevent the existence 
 rf sin in our world, but was not able, without destroying 
 the moral agency of man ; or, that for aught which ap- 
 pears in the Bible to the contrary, sin is incidental to any 
 wise moral system. 
 
 " II. Election to eternal life is founded on a foresight 
 of faith and obedience. 
 
 " III. We have no more to do with the first sin of Adam 
 than with the sins of any other parent. 
 
 "IV. Infants come into the world as free from moral 
 defilement as was Adam when he was created. 
 
 " V. Infants sustain the same relation to the moral gov- 
 ernment of God in this world as brute animals, and their 
 sufferings and death are to be accounted for on the same 
 principle as those of brutes, and not by any means to be 
 considered as penal. 
 
 "VI. There is no other original sin than the fact that 
 all the posterity of Adam, though by nature innocent, or 
 possessed of no moral character, will always begin to sin 
 when they begin to exercise moral agency. Original sin 
 does not include a sinful bias of the human mind and a 
 just exposure to penal suffering. There is no evidence in 
 Scripture that infants, in order to salvation, do need re- 
 demption by the blood of Christ and regeneration by the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 " VII. The doctrine of imputation, whether of the 
 guilt of Adam's sin, or of the righteousness of Christ, 
 has no foundation in the word of God and is both unjust 
 and absurd. 
 
 " VIII. The sufferings and death of Christ were not 
 truly vicarious and penal, but symbolical, governmental, 
 and instructive only. 
 
 " IX, The impenitent sinner by nature, and indepen- 
 
86 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 dently of the renewing influence or almignty energy of 
 the Holy Spirit, is in full possession of all the ability 
 necessary to a full compliance with all the commands of 
 God. 
 
 " X. Christ never intercedes for any but those who are 
 actually united to him by faith ; or Christ does not inter- 
 cede for the elect until after their regeneration. 
 
 " XI. Saving faith is the mere belief of the word cf 
 God, and not a grace of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 " XII. Regeneration is the act of the sinner himself, 
 and it consists in a change of his governing purpose, which 
 he himself must produce, and which is the result, not of 
 any direct influence of the Holy Spirit on the heart, but 
 chiefly of a persuasive exhibition of the truth, analogous 
 to the influence which one man exerts over the mind of 
 another ; or regeneration is not an instantaneous act, but 
 a progressive work. 
 
 " XIII. God has done all that he can do for the salva- 
 tion of all men, and man himself must do the rest. 
 
 " XIV. God cannot exert such influence on the minds 
 of men as shall make it certain that they will choose and 
 act in a particular manner, without impairing their moral 
 agency. 
 
 "XV. The righteousness of Christ is not the sole ground 
 of the sinner's acceptance with God ; and in no sense does 
 the righteousness of Christ become ours. 
 
 " XVI. The reason why some differ from others in re- 
 gard to their reception of the gospel is, that they make 
 themselves to differ." 
 
 The Convention pronounced these " errors unscriptural, 
 radical, and highly dangerous," which in "their ultimate 
 tendency, subvert the foundation of Christian hope, and 
 destroy the souls of men." 
 
 The session of the General Assembly of 1837, was not 
 long enough to complete the schism of the church, and 
 the final dissolution did not take place till the meeting of 
 that body in 1838. Besides the irreconcilable doctrinal 
 differences which existed between the two opposing factions, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 87 
 
 other causes of dispute arose. The Moderator of the As- 
 sembly refused to entertain a motion which was made to 
 receive the Commissioners who had been chosen and sent 
 from the four Synods of Genesee, Geneva, Utica, and the 
 Western Reserve, because the members of those Synods 
 were not supposed to be rigidly Presbyterian, and because 
 their correspondence with the Assembly had been previ- 
 ously suspended by a vote of the Assembly of 1837, in 
 accordance with the suggestion of the " Convention" al- 
 ready referred to. When this extreme degree of rigor 
 was exhibited by the Moderator of the General Assembly, 
 the New School party deemed that the proper time had at 
 length arrived for them to secede and separate themselves 
 from a body of whose acts and views they so little ap- 
 proved. Accordingly it did so ; they withdrew from the 
 Assembly, organized themselves in the edifice of the First 
 Presbyterian Church, (Mr. Barnes',) elected a Moderator 
 and clerks, and thus commenced a separate and indepen- 
 dent ecclesiastical existence, which still continues to the 
 present day. They are sometimes termed the " Puritan" 
 party in the Presbyterian body, in opposition to the 
 " Scotch" party, which term is applied to the Old School 
 faction. The General Assembly of the former meet once 
 in three years, that of the latter once each year. 
 
 Since this memorable separation, the two Churches 
 have greatly flourished ; though the Old School have in- 
 creased more rapidly than the New. The differences of 
 doctrine between them may be described simply thus : the 
 New School are not quite as extreme Calvinists as the 
 opposite party ; though the distinction between them is in 
 truth so slight, that it is almost impossible to define it 
 clearly. Both parties claim to be purely Calvinistic, and 
 disclaim any admixture of Arminianism in their views. 
 They differ most materially on the subject of slavery. As 
 a large majority of the members of the Old School Church 
 live in Southern States, that Church has declared authori- 
 tatively by her Synods and Assembly that slavery is right, 
 allowable, and even an institution recognized and permitted 
 
88 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 in the Scriptures. As a large majority of the members 
 of the New School Church live in Northern and Western 
 States, that Church has decided by its several tribunals 
 that slavery is utterly wrong, condemned by the word of 
 God, atrocious, and justifiable by no law human or divine. 
 The literary institutions of the New School Church are 
 the Theological Seminaries at Auburn, the Union Semi- 
 nary in New York city, Lane Seminary at Cincinnati, 
 that at Marysville, Tennessee, and the Western Reserve 
 College, Ohio. The General Assembly has under ita 
 jurisdiction twenty synods, about one hundred and five 
 presbyteries, fifteen hundred ministers, two thousand 
 churches, and about two hundred thousand regular com- 
 municants. Among the eminent men belonging to the 
 New School Church are Drs. Nathan S. S. Beman, Ezra 
 Stiles Ely, Albert Barnes, Lyman Beecher, and Edward 
 Robinson. For reunion of old and new schools, see 
 p. 165. 
 
 THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH. 
 
 THE Protestant religion was established in Holland in 
 the year 1573, after that country had achieved its liber- 
 ties, and thrown off the yoke and tyranny of Spain, through 
 the agency of the heroic William of Nassau, Prince of 
 Orange. Previous to this period the doctrines of the Re- 
 formation had been gradually introduced, and isolated 
 churches had been formed throughout all the United Pro- 
 vinces ; but it was not till the period just named that the 
 Protestant religion became established and recognized by 
 law. It then took the name of the Dutch Reformed 
 Church, and became the national religion of North Hol- 
 land. 
 
 The first members of this communion who existed in 
 this country were the original settlers and inhabitants of 
 Albany and New Amsterdam, in the colony of New York. 
 The name of the latter town was subsequently changed to 
 that of New York the predecessor of the present vast 
 metropolis of wealth, vice, and misery, of this country. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 89 
 
 Soon after the arrival of the Dutch immigrants in the 
 colony of New York, they sent to the Classis or Synod 
 of Amsterdam, desiring that they might be supplied with 
 ministers. This request was conveyed by several cap- 
 tains who were in the service of the Dutch West India 
 Company, who at that time visited the port of New York. 
 The Classis of Amsterdam took the matter into considera- 
 tion, and finally selected several young clergymen to visit 
 the distant colony and reside in it. 
 
 The first Dutch Church in the United States was erected 
 in New York, on the spot now occupied by the Battery, at 
 the foot of Broadway. Other authorities, however, con- 
 tend that a small religious edifice had been built shortly 
 anterior to this, near the lower end of Stone Street, about 
 the year 1620. Another church was afterward con- 
 structed, in 1642, in what was then the Fort. The next 
 in the order of time was a church erected by Governor 
 Stuyvesant on his farm, or, as it was called in the Dutch 
 language, his bowery. It is from this source that the 
 celebrated street now known as the Bowery, in the city 
 of New York, derived its appellation. The first ministers 
 who supplied these churches, and preached only in the 
 Dutch or Hollandish language, were Dominies Bogardus 
 and J. and S. Megapolensis. These clergymen came from 
 the Classis of old Amsterdam ; and it was this fact which 
 afterward gave rise to the fierce and long dispute which 
 subsequently ensued between the Dutch churches of New 
 York and the Classis of Amsterdam, when the latter 
 claimed the right of exercising an absolute jurisdiction 
 over the Dutch churches in the colony. Two parties arose 
 in those churches, one of which was in favor of recogni- 
 zing the claim of the Classis of Amsterdam, and the other 
 in favor of regarding the churches in New York as per- 
 fectly free and independent of foreign jurisdiction. Ac- 
 cording to the view of those who were in favor of the 
 Amsterdam Classis, all questions of devotion and disci- 
 pline, and all casses of ecclesiastical controversy, were to 
 be sent over to the old country for adjudication ; and all 
 
90 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 young candidates for the ministry should be sent there 
 also to be educated and ordained. These obligations were 
 regarded as a great and unnecessary burden by the Native 
 American party in the church, and were strenuously op- 
 posed by them. The controversy which ensued was one 
 of the longest and most determined which has occurred in 
 the history of religious denominations in this country. At- 
 length the zeal of the parties expended itself; a compro- 
 mise was gradually adopted ; and the authority and do- 
 minion of the foreign Classis dwindled down till at last it 
 amounted to nothing more than a recogition of fraternal 
 alliance. 
 
 The Dutch Reformed Church remained the leading sect 
 in New York till about the year 1670, when the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church began to attain a superior power and 
 importance. In 1664 the province was surrendered by 
 the Dutch to the English monarch, and from that period 
 the tide of influence turned ; although the majority of the 
 inhabitants of the colony were Dutch, and were connected 
 with the Dutch church. As might naturally be expected, 
 an intense spirit of jealousy arose between the two churches 
 in New York, which has not even yet entirely passed 
 away. In 1693 the project began to be mooted by the 
 then Governor Fletcher, of making the Episcopal Church 
 the established religion of the colony ; he proposed that 
 all the citizens should be taxed, without exception, for its 
 support ; and in a short time, through his agency, the As- 
 sembly passed a law to that effect, which attained the 
 purposed end in the counties of New York, West Chester, 
 Richmond and Queen's. This state of things continued 
 from 1694 till the year 1776 a period of eighty-two 
 years. The Dutch Reformed Churches, beside maintain- 
 ing their own preachers, were compelled by taxes to aid 
 in the support of the clergymen of the Church of England. 
 This miniature copy of the ecclesiastical despotism of the 
 established church in England continued to exist until the 
 outbreak of the American Revolution, when it fell to the 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 91 
 
 ground, along with many other detestable monuments of 
 the avarice, tyranny and ambition of Great Britain. 
 
 After the Revolution, the Dutch Church in New York 
 began to flourish greatly. About the year 1771, Dr. 
 John H. Livingston appeared upon the stage of action ; 
 and his superior talents and influence were thenceforth de- 
 voted, during a long life, to the promotion of the interests 
 of this church. His is the most eminent name which oc- 
 curs in the history of the Dutch Reformed sect in this 
 country. He was to them what Dr. Henry M. Muhlen- 
 berg was to the Lutheran Church. Dr. Livingston was a 
 man of unusual ability, of great prudence, and was admi- 
 rably adapted to accomplish much good in the then forma- 
 tive and transition state of the Dutch Reformed Church. 
 He, together with other men of like views and spirit, went 
 to work and drew up a plan of church government for the 
 future and independent control of the churches. The 
 leading men in the sect at that time were Livingston, 
 Hardenberg, Roosevelt, Westerlo, Romeyn, and Schoon- 
 maker; and these having approved the form of discipline 
 and government which Dr. Livingston had prepared, it 
 was submitted to a convention of all the ministers and 
 elders of the church in this country, and was ultimately 
 approved by them. A copy was then sent to the great 
 Classis of Amsterdam, in Holland, by whom it was also 
 approved. By the attainment of this happy result, the 
 harmony and unity of the churches were promoted, and 
 the most favorable results attained. 
 
 The next important step in the progress of this church 
 was the establishment of a college for the education of 
 young ministers. Of this institution Dr. Livingston was 
 elected President. In 1784 the old and almost defunct 
 Queen's College, which was located at New Brunswick, 
 was revived by the Classis ; and their new college was in- 
 corporated into it. That institution, after various vicissi- 
 tudes, still continues to exist, with a considerable share 
 of prosperity. Its public buildings, libraries and philo- 
 sophical apparatus, are all on a liberal scale. From tho 
 
92 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 year 1816 till 1825, its exercises were wholly suspended, 
 in consequence of pecuniary embarrassments. The emi- 
 nent and venerable Dr. Milledoler was for many years 
 afterward its President, and the worthy successor of Dr. 
 Livingston. This establishment, which has a theological 
 department connected with it for the purpose of educating 
 young clergymen, is the chief literary institution belong- 
 ing to the Dutch Reformed Church. In New York city 
 some of the congregations of the sect are very numerous 
 and wealthy; and they number among their members 
 many persons occupying the highest positions of influence 
 and importance in the community. 
 
 The doctrinal system held by the Dutch Reformed 
 Church is that of extreme and ultra Calvinism. They be- 
 lieve in the Predestination of a few of the human family 
 to eternal life, and the reprobation of a vast majority of 
 them to eternal misery. They hold to the limited atone- 
 ment of Christ ; to man's entire and total moral corrup- 
 tion ; to his utter inability to repent, unless it be in ac- 
 cordance with a divine and eternal decree to that effect ; 
 and to the final perseverance of the Saints that is, if a 
 person be once converted, it is impossible for him to fall 
 away and come short of salvation. These doctrines were 
 proclaimed by the great Synod of Dort, or Dordrecht, 
 which convened in 1618, and were promulgated there in 
 thirty-seven articles. They are the same as those which 
 are set forth in the Heidelberg Catechism, which is the 
 symbol of the German Reformed Church. The Dutch 
 Church believes in the inspiration and sufficiency of the 
 Scriptures as a rule of faith and practice for Christians. 
 There is, in fact, no difference in doctrine between this 
 sect and the Old School Presbyterian Church. Nor do 
 they differ as to church government ; for both believe in 
 the parity or equality of all ordained ministers, and both 
 are governed by Synods and a General Assembly, or 
 what is the same thing, by Classes and a General Synod. 
 Each congregation has its session, or consistory, which is 
 equivalent to the vestries of other churches. The Deacons 
 
HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 93 
 
 are entrusted generally with the secular affairs of the 
 congregation. The only essential difference between the 
 Dutch Reformed and the Presbyterian churches is, that, 
 in the former, the Ruling Elders are always chosen to 
 serve for two years, whereas in the latter they are elected 
 for life. 
 
 The Dutch Church in this country holds a prominent 
 place among the secondary sects. Her preachers are gen- 
 erally well educated; though sometimes clergymen are 
 admitted from other denominations who are deficient in 
 suitable theological attainments. They have twenty 
 Classes, or Synods, and a General Synod. The number 
 of members, or of persons who attend the churches of this 
 sect, is about a hundred thousand. There are three hundred 
 organized congregations and two hundred and ninety min- 
 isters in the United States. Among them are some cler- 
 gymen of distinction, such as Drs. Bethune, De Witt, 
 Knox, Milledoler and Brownlee. Among the past and 
 present laymen of the Church, the distinguished names 
 occur of Van Rensselaer, Freylinghuysen, Roosevelt, 
 Schuyler, Stuyvesant, and others. This sect has always 
 been remarkable for its liberality of feeling toward other 
 orthodox sects ; and it is a singular fact that the Rev. Mr. 
 Vesey, the first rector of Trinity Church in New York, was 
 inducted into his office, in 1697, in the Dutch Church, in Gar- 
 den street ; that two Dutch clergymen, Messrs. Solyn and 
 Nucella, officiated on the occasion ; and that Mr. Yesey after- 
 ward conducted his public services in the Dutch Church, 
 until the building of Trinity Church, which was then in 
 progress, was completed. In 1779, during the Revolu- 
 tionary war, the Dutch Church in Garden street was 
 seized by the British troops and used as a hospital ; on 
 whi';h occasion the vestry of Trinity Church reciprocated 
 the favor, and tendered to the Dutch congregation the use 
 of St. George Church for the purpose of holding their re 
 ligious services therein. We doubt very much whether 
 the Episcopal Church would exhibit the same fraternal 
 
94 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 feeling anywhere at the present day, to any of the " dis- 
 senters," even in their direst necessity. 
 
 HUGUENOTS. 
 
 IN French History this name was given in the sixteenth 
 century to the Protestants or Calvinists of France. The 
 writers of that time were not acquainted with the true de- 
 rivation of this popular epithet, to which they assigned 
 various absurd etymologies. It is undoubtedly a corrup- 
 tion of the German " Eidgenossen," signifying the Swiss 
 confederates. 
 
 The Huguenots arose in the year 1560, and greatly in- 
 creased until the year 1572, in the reign of Charles IX., when 
 at the feast of Bartholomew on the 24th of August, nearly 
 eighty thousand Protestants were massacred in France, 
 by the decree of this king. Twenty-six years afterwards, 
 Henry IV., caused the Edict of Nantz to be passed, which 
 enabled the Protestants to worship God agreeably to the 
 dictates of their consciences. Their privileges were thus 
 enjoyed by them to the time of the voluptuous and sensual 
 reign of Louis XIV., when they were again persecuted, 
 their churches destroyed, and thousands put inhumanly 
 to death. From the best authorities it is said that near 
 one hundred thousand were driven out of their own coun- 
 try during that reign. 
 
 Vast numbers found an asylum in England, who brought 
 with them the manufacture of silks, which became a great 
 source of wealth to the government of England. Many 
 found refuge in the United States, particularly in South 
 Carolina, and their descendants are among the most re- 
 spected of American citizens. 
 
 THEOPHILANTHROPISTS. 
 
 THIS title was assumed by a society formed at Paris 
 during the first French revolution. It is a compound 
 word, derived from the Greek, and implies a profession of 
 adoration towards God and love for mankind. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 95 
 
 The object of the founders of this sect was to establish 
 a new religion in the place of Christianity, which had 
 been formally abolished in France by the Convention, and 
 had lost its power over the minds of large classes of the 
 people. The Directory granted these philosophical secta- 
 rians the use of ten parish churches in Paris, where they 
 held meetings for religious service ; at first on the Decadi, 
 or revolutionary holiday, afterwards on Sunday. Their 
 system of belief was a pure Deism ; their service a simple 
 liturgy, with some emblematical ceremonies. The follow- 
 ing inscriptions were placed upon their altar : ' 
 
 FIRST INSCRIPTION. We believe in the existence of a 
 God, in the immortality of the soul. 
 
 SECOND INSCRIPTION. Worship God, cherish your 
 kind, render yourselves useful to your country. 
 
 THIRD INSCRIPTION. Good is every thing which tends 
 to the preservation or the perfection of man. 
 
 Evil is every thing which tends to destroy or deteriorate 
 him. 
 
 FOURTH INSC-RIPTION. Children, honor your fathers 
 and mothers. Obey them with affection. Comfort their 
 old age. 
 
 Fathers and mothers, instruct your children. 
 
 FIFTH INSCRIPTION. Wives, regard in your husbands 
 the chiefs of your houses. 
 
 Husbands, love your wives, and render yourselves re- 
 ciprocally happy. 
 
 " The temple most worthy of the divinity, in the eyes 
 of the Theophilanthropists," said one of their number, "is 
 the universe. Abandoned sometimes under the vaults of 
 heaven to the contemplation of the beauties of nature, 
 they render its author the homage of adoration and grati- 
 tude. They nevertheless have temples erected by the 
 hands of men, in which it is more commodious for them to 
 assemble and listen to lessons concerning his wisdom. 
 Certain moral inscriptions, a simple altar on which they 
 deposit, as a sign of gratitude for the benefits of the Crea- 
 tor, such flowers or fruits as the season affords, and a 
 
96 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 tribune for lectures and discourses, form the whole of the 
 ornaments of their temples." 
 
 The attempt on the part of the Theophilanthropists to 
 found a new religion was a failure. In 1802, they were 
 forbidden the use of the churches of Paris by the consuls, 
 and then ceased to exist. 
 
 GNOSTICS. 
 
 GNOSTICISM was a philosophical system of religion 
 which prevailed in the East during the first four centuries 
 of our era, and exercised great influence upon Christian 
 theology, giving birth to numerous and widely-diffused 
 heresies, and insinuating itself under a modified form even 
 into the writings of the most orthodox fathers. The ori- 
 gin of the system is involved in considerable obscurity ; in 
 its leading principles it seems to point to the Oriental 
 philosophy as its genuine parent, but it is objected to this 
 solution that the fathers refer it, together with the errors 
 similarly introduced by Platonism, to a Greek origin, and 
 appeal to the cosmogonies of Hesiod and others, as the 
 real exemplars, from which it is imitated. It is to be re- 
 marked, however, tfrat the fathers were universally igno- 
 rant of the Oriental philosophy ; from which we may con- 
 clude that their opinion upon such a point is not necessa- 
 rily conclusive. A modern solution conceives Alexandria 
 to have been the central point to which the speculations 
 of the Greeks and the Orientals converged, and from 
 whence they frequently re-issued, after having undergone 
 the process of fusion into a common mass. It is certain 
 that Alexandria was, during the time we have spoken of, 
 a celebrated resort of Gnostic opinions, both within and 
 without the Church. 
 
 The grand principle of this philosophy seems to have 
 been an attempt to reconcile the difficulties attending upon 
 the existence of evil in the world. Evil, it was supposed, 
 being the contrary of good, must be contrary to, and 
 therefore, the opponent of God ; if the opponent of God, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 97 
 
 then independent of him and coeternal. From the many 
 imperfections which are involved in all outward and sensi- 
 ble objects, it was held that matter must contain in itself 
 the principle of all evil The human soul on the contrary, 
 which aspires after, and tends to a higher and more per- 
 fect development, was held to be the gift of the Supreme 
 Deity, imparted to man for the sake of combating against 
 the material principle, and with the prospect of finally 
 subduing it. From the Supreme God on the one hand, 
 and matter on the other, succeeding philosophers pro- 
 duced various fanciful genealogies of superior intelligences, 
 under the name of JEons a Greek word, signifying pro- 
 perly, periods; thus representing these divinities them- 
 selves by a name expressive of the time and order of their 
 generation, much as in our current language the term 
 reign, or government, is frequently put for the king or 
 ministers governing. The Demiurgus who formed the 
 world out of matter, appears to have been an JEon de- 
 rived from the evil principle. He was also the God of 
 the Old Testament, who was considered by the Gnostics 
 to be an object of aversion to the One Supreme God, to 
 counteract whose machinations the 2Eon Christ was sent 
 into t^ie world. This is the earlier and simpler system, 
 which vs attributed to Simon Magus ; the number of the 
 .J3ons w&3 fancifully multiplied in latter times, and an ex- 
 travagant theory of morals founded upon the system. 
 The object of this principally was, as may be supposed, 
 to depreciate the honor due to the body, as being a part 
 of matter, and to elevate the thinking faculty, or at least, 
 to remove it from all consideration of worldly things. 
 The Gnostics imagined that by assiduous practice of cer- 
 tain mental and bodily austerities, they could obtain an 
 intuition of the divine nature, and dwell in communion 
 with it ; and this part of their system is adopted to a con- 
 siderable extent by Clemens Alexandrinus, whose opinions, 
 as expressed in the Pcedagogus, are very similar to those 
 of a Pietist of more modern times. 
 
 The Gnostics split in process of time into various secta, 
 
HISTORY OF ALI RELIGIONS. 
 
 ' distinguished rather by the different cosmogonies they in- 
 vented, than by any variation in principle. Of these, the 
 principal were founded by Carpocrates, Basilides, Tatian, 
 and Valentinus. The system did not survive the 4th cen- 
 tury. The Christians seem sometimes to have adopted 
 the general designation of Gnostics. 
 
 MOKMONS OR LATTER DAY SAINTS. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the general abhorrence and con- 
 mpt with which the Mormons are regarded by all other 
 religious sects, they adhere pertinaciously to their claim to 
 be the true church ; and are in no degree daunted or dis- 
 couraged by the universal hostility which is manifested 
 against them. Their pretensions, and the prominent place 
 which they have obtained in the history of religion, false 
 and true, in the United States render it proper that we 
 should include them in this work. 
 
 Joseph Smith, the founder of this remarkable commu- 
 nity, was born in Sharon, Vermont, in December, 1805. 
 In his youth his parents removed to Palmyra, New York, 
 and he commenced his public career in the vicinity of thai 
 place. He never enjoyed the benefit of much education \ 
 to "read, write, and cypher" was the extent of his scholas- 
 tic attainments. He pretended that in September, 1823, 
 he was favored with a divine vision, in which he saw a 
 light, brighter than the noonday sun, and that an angel 
 from heaven stood before him in person, who informed him 
 that he was chosen by Christ to proclaim a new religion, 
 an improvement upon the old Christianity ; that the end 
 of the world, the latter day glory, was approaching, of 
 which he (Smith) was appointed to be the herald and the 
 forerunner. He was also informed that certain golden 
 plates, containing a new revelation, and a record of the 
 history of the Aborigines of this continent, were buried 
 at a certain place under ground ; and he was commissioned 
 to obtain, read, and interpret them, and proclaim their 
 contents to the world. 
 

 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 99 
 
 It is pretended that these plates contained the Book of 
 Mormon, which has since become well known. Smith be- 
 gan to give himself out, after this, as a teacher sent from 
 . God. His immediate relations and friends were those to 
 whom he first preached ; and after some time and labor, 
 
 lie succeeded in converting five of them to his creed. The 
 ^ first regular organization of a Mormon church took place 
 
 in April, 1830, in the town of Manchester, New York. 
 " The translation of the contents of the golden plates, which 
 were written in an unknown and mysterious language, 
 Smith professed to accomplish by means of the " Urim 
 and Thummim," the keys of light and knowledge which 
 
 ,. were miraculously imparted to him. The opponents of 
 
 ^ the Mormons, however, assert that the Book of Mormon 
 is nothing more than a religious history, or romance, 
 written by a person named Solomon Spaulding, who was 
 a graduate of Dartmouth College, and became a clergy- 
 jnan f who afterward relinquished the profession and en- 
 tered into commercial pursuits. Having removed to Ohio, 
 
 ; he conceived the idea of writing such a work, and he spent 
 three years in the execution of it. Two of the principal 
 personages in the story are Mormon and Moroni, and from 
 the former of these the book is named. In 1812 Spauld- 
 ' ing brought the manuscript to Pittsburgh, and offered it 
 to a bookseller named Patterson, for the purpose of pub- 
 "^ lication. Before the matter could be arranged, Spaulding 
 died, and the work remained in the possession of Patter- 
 son, who paid no further attention to it. After his death, 
 in 1826, the manuscript fell into the hands of one Sidney 
 Iligdon, by whose means it came under the inspection of 
 Joseph Smith. From it Smith conceives the idea of found- 
 ing a new sect, on the basis of the new revelation which 
 this book was supposed to contain. 
 
 The Book of Mormon is an imaginary narrative of the 
 early history of the American Indians, who, the writer 
 endeavors to show, are the descendants of the ten lost 
 
 tribes of the Jews. It gives a detailed account of their 
 
 supposed journey from Jerusalem, both by land and sea, 
 
100 HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 till their arrival in America, under the guidance of Nephi 
 and Lehi. The identity of these two works was proved 
 by the assertions under oath of several respectable per- 
 sons who had heard Spaulding read portions of his manu- 
 script, and who readily discovered that a perfect sameness 
 and resemblance pervaded them. Yet the book answered 
 the purposes of Smith admirably, for it was written in an 
 antique style, was filled with Oriental allusions, and was 
 singularly adapted to answer the preposterous end to which 
 the Prophet subsequently appropriated it. 
 
 The great object which Smith professed to have in view 
 in the establishment of his new sect was to prepare the 
 way for the second coming of Christ to judgment, to usher 
 in the millennium, and to gather a round him all those who, 
 by belonging to his community, should be in a state of 
 preparation to receive Christ, and thus become heirs of 
 Heaven. His earnestness and zeal soon gathered around 
 him a considerable number of adherents; and the first 
 conference of all the " saints" was held in June 1830, at 
 Fayette, N. Y. The palpable absurdity and falsehood of 
 the whole concern soon surrounded Smith and his asso- 
 ciates with many and bitter enemies, and they found it 
 necessary to remove. They first emigrated to Kirkland, 
 Ohio; but here their sojourn was short. After a few 
 weeks they proceeded further west, and halted in Jackson 
 county, Missouri. Here Smith resolved to found the 
 " New Jerusalem." The surrounding country was beau- 
 tiful, game and fish of all kinds were abundant, and every- 
 thing seemed propitious for the purposes of the new pro- 
 phet. Moreover, the Almighty had informed Smith, by a 
 direct "revelation," that this spot was the one which was 
 agreeable to him as the future home of the saints, and 
 predestined for that purpose. A site for the temple was 
 laid out and dedicated. Subsequently a printing press 
 was obtained, and a paper commenced, called the Evening 
 and Morning Star. At this time Smith's followers 
 amounted to several hundreds. But soon the new sect 
 was again surrounded and assailed by persecution ; serious 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 101 
 
 charges were made against their morals ; the people around 
 them rose in a mob ; public indignation meetings were 
 held ; some of the Mormon leaders were taken, tarred, and 
 feathered ; and at last the whole community were expelled 
 from the county. The greater portion of them took refuge 
 in the neighboring county of Clay, where for a time they 
 obtained a precarious resting place. 
 
 The Mormons remained in this locality about four years, 
 at the end of which time their enemies became so deter- 
 mined and resolute in their persecutions that a new flight 
 became necessary to their safety. On one occasion they 
 were attacked by an armed band of several hundred per- 
 sons at a place known as "Hawn's Mill," when twenty 
 persons were killed and wounded. Threats were made to 
 exterminate the whole community, and it became abso- 
 lutely necessary for them again to remove. Then it was 
 that these persecuted fanatics selected the place which 
 they afterwards termed Nauvoo, Illinois, as their head- 
 quarters. The " saints" numbered at this period about 
 ten thousand persons, including women and children ; and 
 soon afterward they increased to fifteen thousand by the 
 addition of immigrants from the Eastern States and Eng- 
 land. At Nauvoo they immediately commenced to lay 
 out and build a regular town, to erect a temple, and pro- 
 vide other edifices suitable to their future plans and pur- 
 poses. They had purchased the land on which the new 
 town was erected ; and as none but Mormons sought a 
 residence among the inhabitants of the place, the whole 
 community was of one mind, and the Mormon leaders 
 possessed not only supreme religious influence, but all the 
 secular and political power. 
 
 The temple which was erected at Nauvoo, was an extra- 
 ordinary building. The foundations were laid in April, 
 1841, Joseph Smith officiated on the occasion. It was 
 built of polished white limestone, being a hundred and 
 thirty-eight feet in length, and eighty-eight in breadth. 
 It was surmounted by a spire a hundred and seventy feet 
 nigh. In the course of several years the Mormons erected 
 
102 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 two thousand houses, public schools, and buildings ; had 
 established a paper known as the Times and Seasons, and 
 had sent forth a large number of missionaries arid elders 
 to Europe and other distant countries to make converts 
 The success of some of these emissaries was extraordinary, 
 Orson Hyde, and Heber C. Kimball, converted and bap- 
 tised two' thousand persons in England and Scotland dur- 
 ing the course of a single year; though all their converts 
 were among the lowest and most ignorant classes of the 
 community. 
 
 Nauvoo and the Mormons thus continued to grow at a 
 rapid rate ; but with prosperity came its usual concomi- 
 tants in such cases spiritual pride and internal dissen- 
 sions. It was about this period that Sidney Rigdon, one 
 of the twelve apostles, first proposed and asserted the doc- 
 trine of the plurality of wives as being a part of the true 
 Mormon creed. It is but justice to Joe Smith to say, that 
 he was opposed to this innovation, and that it was not 
 till after his death that it became a fully recognized and 
 admitted principle and practice of the Mormon commu- 
 nity. Rigdon was subsequently expelled from the church ; 
 but he had gained a large number of followers in his views, 
 and a dangerous schism followed his exit. But the chief 
 trouble of the Mormons at Nauvoo arose from the fact 
 that, led on by Smith and his confederates, they assumed 
 an independent jurisdiction in Nauvoo, refusing to ac- 
 knowledge the authority of the State of Illinois within 
 their limits ; and a law was passed by the municipal au- 
 thority of Nauvoo, severely punishing any stranger who, 
 within the limits of the city, should use any disrespectful 
 language toward the prophet or his religion. So great 
 had the arrogance of these fanatics become, that, in 1843, 
 Smith was publicly nominated and proposed by them as a 
 candidate for the Presidency of the United States. 
 
 Various acts of injustice and tyranny gradually in- 
 censed the community in Illinois against the Mormons, 
 which ultimately led to furious hostilities, and to the death 
 of Smith and several of his leading associates. They were 
 
HISTOKY OF ALL RELIGION-S. 103 
 
 arrested and confined at Carthage on the charge of de*- 
 stroying the office of a newspaper named the Expositor, 
 which had been commenced at Nauvoo by an anti-Mormon ; 
 and also on the charge of treason against the authority 
 of the State of Illinois. While confined on this charge, 
 an infuriated mob attacked the jail ; fire-arms were used ; 
 and Smith, in attempting to escape through a window, was 
 struck by many balls, and fell to the ground a corpse. 
 Thus ended the life and personal career of one of the most 
 extraordinary men of the age, who without learning or 
 culture, or real ability of any kind, but by the mere force 
 of boundless craft and impudence, succeeded in establish- 
 ing a sect which has obtained no obscure place in the his- 
 tory of the present century, and which bids fair to exist 
 for several generations to come. 
 
 It was after the death of Smith that Brigham Young, 
 the present leader of the Mormons, first assumed a prom- 
 inent place in their community. He succeeded in being 
 chosen to the Presidency of the sect, in the defunct pro- 
 phet's place ; and he has since managed to retain his 
 supremacy. He resembles his predecessor in many im- 
 portant respects in his want of education, his impudence, 
 his craft and cunning, and his ability to control the opin- 
 ions and actions of his co-religionists. But the death of 
 Smith did not appease the vengeance of the enemies of 
 the Mormons. New persecutions were commenced, which 
 resulted finally in an attack on Nauvoo, and the expulsion 
 of the Mormons from Illinois in January, 1846. They 
 now resolved to seek a home beyond the Rocky Mount- 
 ains. They had heard of the desirable features of a tract 
 in the distant and unoccupied territory of Utah, named 
 the Great Salt Lake Valley, and thither they determined 
 to travel. Four thousand persons constituted the com- 
 pany, who under the guidance of Brigham Young, com- 
 menced and completed this long and laborious journey. 
 In July, 1847, they reached Great Salt Lake Valley, and 
 began to build the town which they still inhabit. 
 
 The career of the Mormons since their removal to Utah 
 
104 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 is so familiar to the public that it is unnecessary for us to 
 dwell upon it here. We will conclude with a brief state- 
 ment of their doctrines. They believe in the Trinity, en- 
 tertaining on this point the orthodox Christian theory. 
 They deny that men will be punished in any way for 
 Adam's sin, or that they fell in consequence of Adam's 
 transgression. They believe that all mankind may be 
 saved by Christ's atonement, and by the use of the sacra- 
 ments and ordinances of the Mormon church. These or- 
 dinances they hold to be Faith, Repentance, Baptism by 
 Immersion, Laying on of hands, and the Lord's Supper. 
 They believe that the true church should be organized 
 like the apostolic church, with Apostles, prophets, elders, 
 teachers, evangelists, &c., who should possess, like them, 
 the power to work miracles, to heal the sick, &c. They 
 hold that the Scriptures are inspired, and that the Book 
 of Mormon is equally so, and possessed of an authority 
 and sanctity similar to that of the Bible ; that Israel will 
 be literally " gathered in ;" that Christ will reign in per- 
 son a thousand years on the earth ; that his head-quarters 
 will be with the Mormon saints, wherever they may be at 
 the time of his advent ; and that when he comes there 
 will be a new heaven and a new earth. In addition to 
 these points, they hold to the literal resurrection of the 
 body, a literal judgment, and the reigning of the saints 
 with Christ over the w r hole earth. 
 
 But the most remarkable feature of the Mormon creed 
 is their "spiritual wife" doctrine. This theory is based 
 on the idea that the future kingdom of the saints is to 
 consist solely of their own posterity, and hence the more 
 children a " saint" has, the more heirs of glory are created ; 
 and that women may become heirs of heaven also, by be- 
 coming "sealed" to a saint, and entering paradise with 
 him. This spiritual relation, however, always involves 
 the usual incidents which accompany ordinary marriage, 
 and it is in fact nothing but a subterfuge to excuse and 
 justify the monstrous sensual excesses of polygamous life, 
 in which they indulge. Some of the saints are said to 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 105 
 
 have as many as twenty, others thirty, and others even 
 forty wives ; and the having of more than one wife is the 
 generally prevalent custom among the inhabitants of Salt 
 Lake City. It is probable that the whole Mormon com- 
 munity now dwelling in Utah territory may amount to 
 forty thousand persons ; and the sum total of the sect 
 throughout the world cannot, by the most liberal estimate, 
 exceed a hundred thousand.* 
 
 NECESSARIANS. 
 
 THAT scheme which represents all human actions and 
 feelings as links in a chain of causation, determined by 
 laws in every respect analogous to those by which the 
 physical universe is governed, is termed the Doctrine of 
 Necessity. This doctrine has been attacked and defended 
 with great zeal, in almost every period of speculative in- 
 quiry since the Reformation. 
 
 The inductive method of research, applied by Bacon 
 and his contemporaries to the phenomena of nature, led 
 very soon to the adoption of a similar method in reference 
 to the phenomena of mind. The discovery, or rather the 
 distinct re-assertion, of the law of association by Hobbes, 
 and the ready solution which it appeared to furnish of 
 states of consciousness, which, without it, would have 
 seemed capricious and unaccountable, encouraged many 
 philosophers to attempt its application to every province 
 of the human mind. It is only in connection with this 
 fact that the prevalence of Necessarian views in modern 
 times can be adequately explained. 
 
 "Without venturing an opinion on the merits of the 
 question at issue, between the advocates of free will and 
 of necessity, we are sufficiently assured of the historical 
 fact, that the distinction between man and nature, between 
 the actions of a self-conscious agent and the workings of 
 
 * See the Social, Religious, and Political History of the Mormons, 
 from their Origin to the Present Time. Edited and Completed bj 
 Samuel M. Smucker, A. M. New York, 1857. 
 
106 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 blind, unintelligent powers, was considered by the great 
 philosophers of antiquity as the groundwork of their sys- 
 tems of morality, and as involved in the very conception 
 of moral science. It was natural that this distinction 
 should be felt to be a barrier to the progress of the exclu- 
 sively empirical psychology to which we have alluded. 
 To the historians of man's nature, the necessity of his ac- 
 tions appeared in the light of an hypothesis which lay at 
 the very foundation of their inquiries, precisely as the 
 natural philosopher is compelled to assume the regular re- 
 currence of the same outward phenomena under the same 
 circumstances. 
 
 The psychologist considers the states of which he is 
 conscious, merely as they are related to each other in 
 time ; and, thus considered, it seems to him a mere identi- 
 cal proposition to assert that all that can be known of them 
 is the order of their succession. If their succession were 
 arbitrary or uncertain, nothing could be known of it, and 
 the science which he professes could no longer have an 
 existence. 
 
 It is in this consideration, rather than in the dialectic 
 subtleties by which the doctrine has been sometimes de- 
 fended, that the real strength of the Necessarian lies. So 
 long as he can maintain the merely phenomenal character 
 of human knowledge, he can reduce his opponents to the 
 dilemma of either denying the possibility of mental sci- 
 ence altogether, or of admitting the existence of those 
 uniform laws which are its only object. 
 
 BAXTEEIANS. 
 
 IN ecclesiastical history, the name of Baxterians is ap- 
 plied to those theologians, who adopted the sentiments of 
 Richard Baxter on the subject of grace and free will, form- 
 ing a sort of middle way between Calvinism and Armin- 
 ianism. They never formed, strictly speaking, a sect, and 
 the name is now disused ; nevertheless, similarly modified 
 opinions are common among Presbyterians at this day. 
 
Jfraxm, by JtWerttM. JcA. 
 
 Enfrare* by HEuany 
 
 'm 
 
 vvj;nk'?- Chap. 2 Ver.4 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 107 
 
 With the Calvinist, Baxter professes to believe that a 
 certain number, determined upon in the divine councils, 
 will be infallibly saved ; and with the Arminian he joins 
 in rejecting the doctrine of reprobation as absurd and im- 
 pious ; admits that Christ, in a certain sense, died for all, 
 and supposes that such a portion of grace is allotted to 
 every man as renders it his own fault if he does not at- 
 tain eternal life. 
 
 Among Baxterians are ranked both Watts and Dod- 
 dridge. Dr. Doddridge, indeed, has this striking re- 
 mark : " That a being who is said not to tempt any one, 
 and even swears that he desires not the death of a sinner, 
 should irresistibly determine millions to the commission of 
 every sinful action of their lives, and then with all the 
 pomp and pageantry of an universal judgment condemn 
 them to eternal misery, on account of these actions, that 
 he may promote the happiness of others who are, or shall 
 be irresistibly determined to virtue, in the like manner, is 
 of all incredible things to me the most incredible !" 
 
 Baxter, who was born in Shropshire, England, in 1615, 
 was an extraordinary character in the religious world. 
 He wrote about one hundred and twenty books, and had 
 above sixty written against him. His " Saint's Rest" is 
 a work with which every intelligent Christian, of what- 
 ever denomination he may be, should be familiar. Though 
 he possessed a metaphysical genius, and consequently 
 sometimes made a distinction without a difference, yet the 
 great object of most of his productions was peace and 
 amity. Accordingly his system was formed, not to in- 
 flame the passions and widen the breaches, but to heal 
 the wounds of the Christian church, under which she 
 had long languished. 
 
 As a proof of this assertion, we take the following affecting 
 declaration from the narrative of his own Life and Times : 
 "I am deeplier afflicted at the disagreements of Chris- 
 tians, than when I was a young Christian; except the 
 case of the infidel world, nothing is so sad and grievous to 
 my thoughts as the case of the divided churches ! And 
 
108 HISTORY OF ALL KELIGIONS. 
 
 therefore, I am the more deeply sensible of the sinfulness 
 of those who are the principal cause of these divisions. 
 Oh, how many millions of souls are kept by their igno- 
 rance and ungodliness, and deluded by faction, as if it were 
 true religion ! How is the conversion of infidels hindered, 
 Christ and religion heinously dishonored ! The conten- 
 tions between the Greek church and the Roman, the Pa- 
 pists and the Protestants, the Lutherans and the Calvinists, 
 have woefully hindered the kingdom of Christ !" 
 
 THE SECEDEES OR ASSOCIATE EEFOEMED. 
 
 THE history of this sect, which is a prominent branch 
 of the great Presbyterian family, illustrates forcibly the 
 effects which result from that prodigious spirit of contro- 
 versy and contention which has often characterized the 
 Scotch churches. This sect arose in 1733, and was oc- 
 casioned by the delivery of a sermon by the Kev. Ebenezer 
 Erskine, at the opening of the Synod of Perth and Stir- 
 ling, in Scotland, in which he condemned the then recent 
 laws passed by General Assembly in reference to the set- 
 tlement of ministers. He was afterward arraigned for 
 trial, was censured, refused to submit to the censure, and 
 then seceded from the Presbyterian or Established church. 
 He, with half a dozen other ministers, formed themselves 
 into a new and distinct body, which they called the "As- 
 sociate Presbytery." They also published a document, in 
 which they set forth their views and their motives for 
 making the secession, which they called their Testimony. 
 
 A few years elapsed, and in 1746 a controversy arose 
 among them in regard to the "Burgher's Oath," some of 
 them contending that the taking of this oath was wrong, 
 the others maintaining that it was right. They split into 
 two parties eventually, who were known by the names of 
 the Burghers and the anti-Burghers, each claiming to be 
 the true Secession church. In 1796 the Burgher party 
 again divided and underwent a sub-split, in consequence 
 of a dispute among them in reference to the powers of the 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. VCO% 109 
 
 civil magistrate. One party was called the 
 Burghers," and the other the " New Lights." In 11 
 anti-Burghers were also agitated and eventually divide? 
 by a dispute on the same subject, and the two parties into 
 which they formed themselves were called the " Old" and 
 "New Light" anti-Burghers. Subsequently the fever for 
 schisms subsided, and a contrary tendency took place 
 among these people. The New Light Burghers and the 
 anti-Burghers united in one body ; and it is a curious cir- 
 cumstance that this union took place in' the very same 
 building in Edinburgh in which seventy years before the 
 original separation had occurred. In 1837, the Old 
 Light Burghers returned to the Established Church of 
 Scotland. Such repeated divisions and subdivisions pre- 
 sent no very favorable illustration of Christian unity and 
 forbearance. 
 
 In 1751, the anti-Burgher Synod of Scotland deter- 
 mined to send several ministers of their sect to the United 
 States, to supply the wants of a few members who had 
 emigrated to this country. Several preachers were ap- 
 pointed, who eventually refused to obey the injunction. 
 The Synod then, in 1752, indignantly passed a resolution 
 to the effect that, should any minister or licentiate there- 
 after refuse to remove to the American colonies after they 
 had been appointed by the Synod so to do, they should 
 be expelled from the clerical office. This was an act of 
 ecclesiastical tyranny which was a disgrace to the Chris- 
 tian name ; for unless the Synod professed to act in the 
 choice made directly under Divine inspiration, there could 
 be no certainty that their resolution was infallible and al- 
 ways demanding unqualified obedience. 
 
 Accordingly, in 1752, the Rev. Messrs. Gellatly and 
 Arnot were appointed to this mission, and they soon after 
 reached this country. The latter, however, was not sent 
 out to remain permanently, but to make a tour of obser 
 vation in regard to the state of the sect in this country, 
 and then return to Scotland. In the next year Rev. 
 James Proudfit came over. In 1770, there were about 
 
110 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 ten ministers of this denomination in this country, whc 
 constituted what they termed the Associate Presbytery of 
 Pennsylvania. From this date the churches and members 
 of the Associate Reformed sect continued steadily to in- 
 crease in the Middle States. 
 
 After the American Revolution, the scattered churches 
 of this sect made an eifort to consolidate themselves under 
 an ecclesiastical government. In 1782, their ministers 
 accordingly associated together, and took the title of the 
 "Associate Reformed Synod of North America," and 
 adopted a set of articles containing their doctrinal opin- 
 ions. These were chiefly as follows: That Christ died 
 only for the elect ; that the gospel is addressed indiscrimi- 
 nately to all mankind ; that the righteousness of Christ is 
 the only ground of salvation ; that civil government origi- 
 nates with God the Creator, and not with Christ the Me- 
 diator ; that the administration of providence is given into 
 the hand of Christ, and that the civil magistrates are ap- 
 pointed to execute the purposes of God's government and 
 providence, and to promote the welfare of his spiritual 
 kingdom ; that the law of nature and the moral law taught 
 in the Scriptures are the same, though the latter expresses 
 the will of God more fully and clearly ; and that therefore 
 all magistrates should be governed by the teachings of 
 Scripture in the performance of their functions ; that no 
 religious test, further than an oath of fidelity, should be 
 required of the civil magistrate, except where the people 
 make a religious test a condition of government ; that the 
 Westminster Confession of Faith, the Catechisms and 
 Directory of Worship, shall be the future standards of the 
 Church ; that the American churches shall be independent 
 of the Scotch Ecclesiastical Courts. The peculiar tone 
 of 'these articles, which gave such prominence to the duties 
 and relations of the civU magistrate, arose from the nature 
 of the endless quarrels and squabbles which at that time 
 agitated the members of the sect in this country, and 
 which received an undue importance in the minds of the 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. Ill 
 
 churches, in consequence of the controversies of which 
 they were the everlasting theme. 
 
 In the history of all the American sects, a prominent 
 event in their career is the establishment of a theological 
 seminary, which should serve as a nursery for the prepa- 
 ration of the young men of the Church for the ministry. 
 This remark applies to the Seceder denomination which 
 we are now describing. In 1802, the leading preachers 
 of the sect resolved to establish such an institution ; and 
 Dr. John M. Mason, the most eminent man among them, 
 was appointed to visit England and Scotland, and solicit 
 funds for the purpose. He did so, and obtained about six 
 thousand dollars, which were chiefly appropriated to the 
 purchase of a library. In 1804, the plan of the seminary 
 was completed, and Dr. Mason was elected Professor of 
 Theology. The institution was located in the city of New 
 York, and we believe it was the first theological seminary 
 ever established in this country. Under the direction of 
 Dr. Mason it attained considerable success ; but its pros- 
 perity was greatly inspired by subsequent events. 
 
 In 1822, a proposition was made by certain members of 
 the Secession Church, and of the Dutch Keformed Church, 
 that an union between the two sects should be effected. 
 After some discussion on both sides the plan was aban- 
 doned, and another substituted in its place. This was an 
 union between the Seceders and the Presbyterians. Reso- 
 lutions favorable to the union were passed, both by the 
 General Synod of the former, and by the General Assem- 
 bly of the latter. The Seceders, as a denomination, were 
 opposed to the union ; but the library of the seminary in 
 New York was immediately removed to Princeton, appa- 
 rently to prevent the possibility of losing so valuable an 
 acquisition. The Seceder Synod of New York refused to 
 acquiesce in the union, and demanded the return of the 
 books. This demand was refused ; but the decision of the 
 Courts afterwards restored the plundered property to its 
 rightful owner. Subsequently this seminary was re-estab- 
 lished at Newburgh, in New York, and Dr. Joseph Me Car- 
 
112 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 roll was appointed professor. This sect have another 
 theological seminary at Allegheny city, in this State, of 
 which Dr J. T. Pressley is the chief professor ; and an- 
 other at Oxford, Ohio, presided over by Rev. Joseph 
 Claybaugh, D. D. 
 
 The Associate Reformed Church at present exists in 
 many of the middle and western States. They have about 
 two hundred and fifty ministers, three hundred congrega- 
 tions, and about thirty thousand members. They are re- 
 garded as the most rigid and extreme of all the Calvin- 
 istic sects ; their form of worship is very simple ; and they 
 condemn the use of any hymns but David's psalms in the 
 public singing of the church. They oppose instrumental 
 music, and even choirs ; the singing being always led by 
 a precentor or clerk. 
 
 ABELIANS, OR ABELITES, a temporary sect of 
 Hippo, mentioned only by Augustine. They regula- 
 ted marriage after the example of Abel, who, as they 
 believed, married, but lived in continence. Their en- 
 deavor to perpetuate the sect by adopting the children 
 of others failed, and they died out. 
 
 ABYSSINIAN CHURCH is a mixture of Judaism, 
 Christianity, and Paganism. The Abyssinians claim 
 to be of Jewish extraction, circumcise both male and 
 female, observe both the first and seventh days as holy, 
 regard the laws of Moses, and imitate the service of 
 the temple. They believe that Christ came in two- 
 fold nature human and divine compound, yet dis- 
 tinct. They also worship the Virgin Mary, and in- 
 voke saints and angels. They believe in penance, con- 
 fession, and absolution of sins. 
 
 FREE COMMUNION BAPTISTS. 
 
 THE Free Communion Baptists are a small sect in this 
 country, whose distinctive feature is, that they are willing 
 to allow Christians of all denominations to partake with 
 them of the Lord's Supper, while the other Baptist de- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 118 
 
 nominations are all in favor of " close communion." A 
 few churches of this persuasion existed in England, and 
 the celebrated Robert Hall believed in free communion. 
 He wrote a tract in defence of his opinion, in which he 
 says : "It is too much to expect an enlightened public 
 will be eager to enrol themselves among the members of a 
 sect which display much of the intolerance of Popery with- 
 out any portion of its splendor, and prescribes as the 
 pledge of conversion, the renunciation of the whole Chris- 
 tian world." Elsewhere he remarks : "I would not my- 
 self baptize in any other way than by immersion, as the 
 ancient mode, because it best represents the meaning of 
 the original term employed, and the substantial import of 
 this institution ; and because I should think it right to 
 guard against the spirit of innovation, which, in positive 
 rites, is always dangerous and progressive ; but I should 
 not think myself authorized to baptize any one who had 
 been sprinkled in adult age." The testimony of Robert 
 Hall, in favor of free communion, did not, however, ac- 
 complish much for the dissemination of his views in Eng- 
 land and the sect never attained a regular and distinct 
 organization there. 
 
 The Free Communion Baptists exist chiefly in this 
 country. About the year 1800 the first church of this 
 faith was established in Herkimer county, New York, by 
 a certain Elder Corp, who remained its pastor till his 
 death, in 1838. Other congregations were gradually 
 gathered in different portions of New York and Pennsyl- 
 vania, by various preachers, prominent among whom were 
 John Farley, Nath. Dickerson, Easter brook, Hunt, Row- 
 land, and Dodge. The growth of this sect has, however, 
 never been very rapid or extensive. They now have about 
 fifty preachers, sixty churches, and three thousand com- 
 municants. Their church government is strictly congrega- 
 tional, although they have a General Conference, Yearly 
 Conferences, and Quarterly Meetings, whose duties and 
 powers are only advisory, without any power to alter or 
 revoke the decisions of the churches. They believe in the 
 8 
 
314 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Trinity and in the Atonement, and originally they held to 
 the doctrine of absolute decrees and the perseverance of 
 the saints, though they have in later times practically 
 abandoned these views. The public washing of the feet 
 of the members in meeting was one of the most prominent 
 and important usages in this sect ; though more recently, 
 inasmuch as this observance gave rise to much ridicule 
 and opposition, they virtually abandoned it, in accordance 
 with a resolution, adopted by their General Conference in 
 1831, which provided that " all persons in connection with 
 us shall have a free and lawful right to wash their feet or 
 not, as they may best answer their conscience to God." 
 No denomination surpasses this sect in earnestness of 
 purpose and active benevolent labor in the cause of 
 Christianity. 
 
 FREE WILL BAPTISTS. 
 
 ANOTHER minor denomination of Baptists are known 
 by this title, which designates their most prominent charac- 
 teristic. They believe in the freedom of the human will, in 
 opposition to the Calvinistic theory, which is entertained 
 by all the other Baptist communities. This sect was com- 
 menced in 1780, in New Hampshire, by a Baptist preacher 
 named Benjamin Randall, who had been converted by 
 George Whitefield. Randall imitated Whitefield in his 
 endeavors to promote revivals, and he made a number of 
 journeys, during the progress of which he preached with 
 great success. He founded a large number of churches, 
 and spread the new sect through Maine, New Hampshire, 
 Vermont, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. He died in 
 1808. The sect is governed by a General Conference, 
 which was organized in 1827. They have also Yearly and 
 Quarterly meetings, subordinate to the first. Their 
 preachers are rarely men of much education, though they 
 are very earnest and zealous. They have about twelve 
 hundred churches, one thousand preachers, and sixty 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 115 
 
 thousand communicants. They have a theological institu- 
 tion at Whitestown, New York, beside several academies 
 in different parts of the country. They take considerable 
 interest in foreign missions, and have three stations in 
 Orissa, a province in Hindostan. They are numbered 
 among the orthodox sects, believing in the Trinity, totil 
 depravity of man by nature, the vicarious atonement, &c. 
 Their church government, like that of all the sects which 
 bear the Baptist name, is congregational or independent. 
 They have a printing establishment at Dover, New Hamp- 
 shire, which publishes religious books, and they issue 
 several newspapers and magazines, which are devoted to 
 the propagation and defence of their peculiar doctrine. 
 A prominent feature of the sect is their violent condemna- 
 tion of negro slavery, and their great zeal in the use of 
 those contrivances and measures which tend to promote 
 and carry on popular revivals and religious excitements. 
 
 WHIPPERS. 
 
 THIS denomination originated in Italy, in the thirteenth 
 century, and was thence propagated through almost all 
 the countries in Europe. The society that embraced this 
 new discipline, ran in multitudes, composed of persons of 
 both sexes, and all ranks and ages, through the public 
 streets, with whips in their hands, lashing their naked 
 bodies with the most astonishing severity, with a view to 
 obtain the divine mercy for themselves and others, by their 
 voluntary mortification and penance. This sect made their 
 appearance anew in the fourteenth century, and taught, 
 among other things, that flagellation was of equal virtue 
 with baptism and other sacraments ; that the forgiveness 
 of all sins was to be obtained by it from God, without the 
 merit of Jesus Christ ; that the old law of Christ was soon 
 to be abolished, and that a new law, enjoining the baptism 
 of blood to be administered by whipping, was to be substi- 
 tuted in its place. 
 
 A new denomination of Whippers arose in the fifteenth 
 
116 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 century, who rejected the sacraments and every branch of 
 external worship, and placed their only hopes of salvation 
 in faith and flagellation. 
 
 MILLENARIANS. 
 
 THE Millenarians are those who believe that Christ will 
 reign personally on earth for a thousand years ; and their 
 name, taken from the Latin, mille, a thousand, has a di- 
 rect allusion to the duration of this spiritual empire. The 
 doctrine of the Millennium, or a future paradisaical state 
 of the earth, is not of Christian, but of Jewish origin. The 
 tradition is attributed to Elijah, which fixes the duration 
 of the world in its present imperfect condition to six thou- 
 sand years, and announces the approach of a sabbath of 
 a thousand years of universal peace and plenty, to be 
 ushered in by the glorious advent of the Messiah. This 
 idea may be observed in the epistle of Barnabas, and in the 
 opinions of Papias, who knew of no written testimony in 
 its behalf. It was adopted by the author of the Revela- 
 tions, by Justin Martyr, by Irenseus, and by a long suc- 
 cession of the Fathers. As the theory is animating and con- 
 solatory, and when divested of cabalistic numbers and 
 allegorical decorations, probable even in the eye of Phi- 
 losophy, it will, no doubt, always retain a number of adhe- 
 rents. 
 
 But as the Millennium has during some years past 
 attracted the attention of the public, we shall enter into a 
 short detail respecting it : 
 
 Mr. Joseph Mede, Dr. Gill, Bishop Newton, and Mr. 
 Winchester, contend for the personal reign of Christ on 
 earth. To use that prelate's own words, in his Disserta- 
 tions on the Prophecies: " When these great events shall 
 come to pass, of which we collect from the prophecies, 
 this is to be the proper order : the Protestant witnesses 
 shall be greatly exalted, and the 1260 years of their pro- 
 phesying in sackcloth, and of the tyranny of the beast, 
 shall end together ; the conversion and restoration of the 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 117 
 
 Jews succeed ; then follows the ruin of the Othman Em- 
 pire ; and then the total destruction of Rome and Anti- 
 christ. When these great events, I say, shall come to 
 pass, then shall the kingdom of Christ commence, or the 
 reign of the saints upon earth. So Daniel expressly informs 
 us. that the kingdom of Christ and the saints will be raised 
 upon the ruins of the kingdom of Antichrist, vii. 26, 27 : 
 4 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his 
 dominion, to consume and destroy it unto the end : and the 
 kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom 
 under the whole heaven, shall he given to the saints of 
 the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 
 and all dominions shall serve and obey him.' So, likewise, 
 St. John saith, that, upon the final destruction of the beast 
 and the false prophet, Rev. xx., Satan is bound for a thou- 
 sand years ; i and I saw thrones and they sat on them, and 
 judgment was given unto them ; and I saw the souls of 
 them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus Christ 
 and for the word of God ; which had not worshipped the 
 beast, neither his image ; neither had received his mark 
 upon their foreheads or in his hands ; and they lived and 
 reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the 
 dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished. 
 This is the first resurrection.' It is, I conceive, to these 
 great events, the fall of Antichrist, the re-establishment of 
 the Jews, and the beginning of the glorious Millennium, 
 that the three different dates, in Daniel, of 1,260 years, 
 1,290 years, and 1,335 years, are to be referred. And as 
 Daniel saith, xii. 12 : ' Blessed is he that waiteth and 
 cometh to the thousand three hundred five and thirty days.' 
 So St. John saith, Rev. xx. 6 : 4 Blessed and holy is he 
 that hath part in the first resurrection.' Blessed and hap- 
 py indeed will be this period ; and it is very observable, 
 that the martyrs and confessors of Jesus, in Papist as well 
 as Pagan times, will be raised to partake of this felicity. 
 Then shall all those gracious promises in the Old Testa- 
 ment be fulfilled of the amplitude and extent, of the 
 peace and prosperity, of the glory and happiness of the 
 
118 HISTORY OF .ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 church in the latter days. Then, in the full sense of the 
 words, Rev. xi. 15 : shall the * kingdoms of this world 
 become t Tie kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ ; and 
 he shall reign for ever and ever.' According to tradition, 
 these thousand years of the reign of Christ and the saints, 
 will be the seventh Millenary of the world: for as God 
 created the world in six days, and rested on the seventh ; 
 so the world, it is argued, will continue six thousand years, 
 and the seventh thousand years will be the great Sab- 
 batism, or holy rest to the people of God. ' One day 
 (2 Peter iii. 8) is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a 
 thousand years as one day.' According to tradition, too, 
 these thousand years of the reign of Christ and the saints, 
 are the great day of judgment, in the morning or beginning 
 whereof, shall be the coming of Christ in flaming fire, and 
 the particular judgment of Antichrist and the first resur- 
 rection ; and in the evening or conclusion whereof, shall be 
 the Greneral Resurrection of the dead, small and great ; and 
 they shall be judged, every man according to their works." 
 
 This is a just representation of the Millennium, accord- 
 ing to the common opinion entertained of it, that Christ 
 will reign personally on earth during the period of one 
 thousand years. But Dr. Whitby, in a Dissertation on the 
 subject ; Dr. Priestley in his Institutes of Religion ; and 
 the author of the Illustration of Prophecy, contend against 
 the literal interpretation of the Millennium, both as to its 
 nature and duration. On such a topic, however, we can- 
 not suggest our opinions with too great a degree of modesty. 
 
 Dr. Priestley, entertaining an exalted idea of the advan- 
 tages to which our nature may be destined, treats the 
 limitation of the duration of the world to seven thousand 
 years as a Rabbinical fable ; and intimates that the thou- 
 sand years may be interpreted prophetically : then every 
 day would signify a year, and the Millennium would last 
 for three hundred and sixty-five thousand years. Again 
 he supposes that there will be no resurrection of aiy indi- 
 viduals till the general resurrection ; and that the Millen- 
 nium implies only the revival of rational religion. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 119 
 
 HUMANITARIANS. 
 
 THIS term has been applied to those who deny the di- 
 vinity of Christ, and assert him to have been a mere man. 
 This, however, is more than the word properly signifies, 
 and the term Psilanthropist, or Humanitarian, has been 
 suggested as conveying the idea more accurately. 
 
 One of the ablest of modern Humanitarians is the Rev. 
 Theodore Parker, minister of a Unitarian church in Bos- 
 ton, Mass. The following extracts from one of his dis- 
 courses will convey some idea of his views : 
 
 " Alas ! what men call Christianity, and adore as the best 
 thing they see, has been degraded ; so that if men should 
 be all that the pulpit commonly demands of them, they 
 would by no means be Christians. To such a pass have 
 matters reached, that if Paul should come upon the earth 
 now, as of old, it is quite doubtful that he could be ad- 
 mitted to the Christian church ; for though Felix thought 
 much knowledge had made the Apostle mad, yet Paul 
 ventured no opinion on points respecting the nature of 
 God and the history of Christ, where our pulpits utter 
 dogmatic and arbitrary decisions, condemning as infidels 
 and accursed all such as disagree therewith, be their life 
 never so godly. These things are notorious. Still more, 
 it may be set down as quite certain, that if Jesus could 
 return from the other world, and bring to New England 
 that same boldness of inquiry which he brought to Judea ; 
 that same love of living truth, and scorn of dead letters ; 
 could he speak as he then spoke, and live again as he 
 lived before, he also would be called an infidel by the 
 church ; be abused in our newspapers, for such is our 
 wont, and only not stoned in the streets, because that is 
 not our way of treating such men as tell us the truth. 
 
 " Such is the Christianity of the church in our times. 
 It does not look forward but backward. It does not ask 
 truth at first hand from God ; seeks not to lead men di- 
 rectly to him, through the divine life, but only to make 
 
120 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 them walk in the old paths trodden by some good, pious 
 Jews, who, were they to come back to earth, could as 
 little understand our circumstances as we theirs. The 
 church expresses more concern that men should walk in 
 these peculiar paths, than that they should reach the goal. 
 Thus the means are made the end. It enslaves men to 
 the Bible ; makes it the soul's master, not its servant ; 
 forgetting that the Bible, like the Sabbath, was made 
 for man, not man for the Bible. It makes man the less 
 and the Bible the greater. The Saviour said, Search the 
 Scriptures ; the Apostle recommended them as profitable 
 reading ; the church says, Believe the Scriptures, if not 
 with the consent of reason and conscience, why without 
 that consent or against it. It rejects all attempts to hu- 
 manize the Bible, and separate its fictions from its facts; 
 and would fain wash its hands in the heart's blood of 
 those who strip the robe of human art, ignorance, or folly, 
 from the celestial form of divine truth. It trusts the im- 
 perfect Scripture of the Word, more than the Word it- 
 self, writ by God's finger on the living heart. 
 
 " The church itself worships not God, who is all in 
 all, but Jesus, a man born of woman. Grave teachers, 
 in defiance of his injunction, bid us pray to Christ. It 
 supposes the soul of our souls cannot hear, or will not 
 accept a prayer, unless offered formally, in the church's 
 phrase, forgetting that we also are men, and God takes 
 care of oxen and sparrows, and hears the young ravens 
 when they cry, though they pray not in any form or 
 phrase. Still, called by whatever name, called by an 
 idol's name, the true God hears the living prayer. And 
 yet perhaps the best feature of Christianity, as it is now 
 preached, is its idolatrous worship of Christ. Jesus was 
 the brother of all. He had more in common with all 
 men, than they have with one another. But he, the 
 brother of all, has been made to appear as the master of 
 all ; to speak with an authority greater than that of Rea- 
 son, Conscience, and Faith ; an office his sublime and 
 Godlike spirit would revolt at. But yet, since he lived 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 121 
 
 divine on the earth, and was a hero of the soul, and the 
 noblest and largest hero the world has ever seen, perhaps 
 the idolatry that is paid him is the nearest approach to 
 true worship, which the mass of men can readily make 
 in these days. Reverence for heroes has its place in his- 
 tory; and though worship of the greatest soul ever 
 swathed in the flesh, however much he is idolized and 
 represented as incapable of sin, is without measure be- 
 low the worship of the ineffable God ; still it is the purest 
 and best of our many idolatries of the nineteenth century. 
 Practically speaking, its worst feature is, that it mars and 
 destroys the highest ideal of man, and makes us beings of 
 very small discourse, that look only backward. 
 
 " The influence of real Christianity is to disenthral the 
 man ; to restore him to his nature, until he obeys Con- 
 science, Reason, and Religion, and is made free by that 
 obedience. It gives him the largest liberty of the Sons 
 of God, so that as faith in truth becomes deeper, the man 
 is greater and more divine. But now those pious souls 
 who accept the church's Christianity are, in the main, 
 crushed and degraded by their faith. They dwindle daily 
 in the church's keeping. Their worship is not Faith, but 
 Fear ; and Bondage is written legibly on their forehead, 
 like the mark set upon Cain. They resemble the dwarfed 
 creed they accept. Their mind is encrusted with unin- 
 telligible dogmas. They fear to love man, lest they offend 
 God. Artificial in their anxiety, and morbid in their self- 
 examination, their life is sickly and wretched. Con- 
 science cannot speak its mother tongue to them ; Reason 
 does not utter its oracles ; nor love cast out fear. Alas, 
 the church speaks not to the hearty and the strong ; and 
 the little and the weak, who accept its doctrines, become 
 weaker and less thereby. Thus woman's holier heart is 
 often abased and defiled, and the deep-thoughted and true 
 of soul forsake the church, as righteous Lot, guided by 
 an angel, fled out of Sodom. There will always be 
 wicked men who scorn a pure church, and perhaps great 
 men too high to need its instructions. But what shall 
 
122 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 we say when the church, as it is, impoverishes those It 
 was designed to enrich, and debilitates so often the trust- 
 ing souls that seek shelter in its arms ? 
 
 " Alas for us ! we see the Christianity of the church is a 
 very poor thing ; a very little better than heathenism. It 
 takes God out of the world of nature and of man, and 
 hides him in the church. Nay it does worse ; it limits 
 God, who possesses heaven and earth, and is from ever- 
 lasting to everlasting, restricting his influence and inspira- 
 tion to a little corner of the world, and a few centuries of 
 history, dark and uncertain. Even in this narrow range, 
 it makes a deity like itself, and gives us not God, but Je- 
 hovah. It takes the living Christ out of the heart, and 
 transfigures him in the clouds ; till he becomes an anoma- 
 lous being, not God, and not man ; but a creature whose 
 holiness is not the divine image he has sculptured for him- 
 self out of the rock of life, but something placed over him 
 entirely by God's hand, and without his own effort. It 
 has taken away our Lord, and left us a being whom we 
 know not ; severed from us by his prodigious birth, and 
 his alleged relation to God, such as none can share. 
 What have we in common with such an one, raised above 
 all chance of error, all possibility of sin, and still more 
 surrounded by God at each moment, as no other man has 
 been ? It has transferred him to the clouds. It makes 
 Christianity a Belief, not a Life. It takes religion out of 
 the world, and shuts it up in old books, whence, from 
 time to time, on Sabbaths, and fast days, and feast days 
 it seeks to evoke the divine Spirit, as the witch of Endor 
 is fabled to have called up Samuel from the dead. It tells 
 you, with grave countenance, to believe every word spo- 
 ken by the Apostles weak, Jewish, fallible, prejudiced, 
 mistaken as they sometimes were for this reason, be- 
 cause forsooth Peter's shadow, and Paul's pocket hand- 
 kerchief, cured the lame and the blind. It never tells you, 
 Be faithful to the spirit God has given ; open your souls 
 and you also shall be inspired, beyond Peter and Paul it 
 may be, for great though they were, they saw not all 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 123 
 
 things, and have not absorbed the Godhead. No doubt the 
 Christian church has been the ark of the world. No 
 doubt some individual churches are now free from these 
 disgraces ; still the picture is true as a whole. 
 
 " The Christianity of the Church is a very poor thing ; 
 it is not bread, and it is not drink. The Christianity of 
 Society is still worse ; it is bitter in the mouth, and poison 
 in the blood. Still men are hungering and thirsting, 
 though not always knowingly, after the true bread of life. 
 Why shall we perish with hunger ? In our Father's house 
 is enough and to spare. The Christianity of Christ is 
 high and noble as ever. The religion of Reason, of the 
 Soul, the Word of God, is still strong and flame-like, as 
 when first it dwelt in Jesus, the chiefest incarnation of 
 God, and now the pattern-man. Age has not dimmed the 
 lustre of this li^ht that lighteneth all, though they cover 
 their eyes in obstinate perversity, and turn away their 
 faces from this great sight. Man has lost none of his 
 God-likeness. He is still the child of God, and the father 
 is near to us as to him who dwelt in his bosom. Conscience 
 has not left us. Faith and hope still abide ; and love 
 never fails. The Comforter is with us ; and though the 
 man Jesus no longer blesses the earth, the ideal Christ, 
 formed in the heart, is with us to the end of the world. 
 Let us, then, build on these. Use good words when we 
 can find them, in the church or out of it. Learn to pray, 
 to pray greatly and strong ; learn to reverence what is 
 highest ; above all learn to live ; to make Religion daily 
 work, and Christianity our common life. All days shall 
 then be the Lord's day ; our homes the house of God, and 
 our labour the ritual of Religion. Then we shall not glory 
 in men, for all things shall be ours ; we shall not be im 
 poverished by success, but enriched by affliction. Our 
 service shall be worship, not idolatry. The burthens of 
 the Bible shall not overlay and crush us ; its wisdom shall 
 make us strong, and its piety enchant us. Paul and Jesus 
 shall not be our masters, but elder brothers, who open the 
 pearly gates of truth, and cheer us on. leading us to the 
 
124 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Tree of Life. We shall find the Kingdom of Heaven and 
 enjoy it now, not waiting till death ferries us over to the 
 other world. We shall then repose beside the rock of 
 ages, smitten by divine hands, and drink the pure water 
 of life as it flows from the Eternal, to make earth green 
 and glad. We shall serve no longer a bond-slave to tradi- 
 tion, in the leprous host of sin, but become freemen, by 
 the law and spirit of life. Thus like Paul we shall form 
 the Christ within ; and, like Jesus, serving and knowing 
 God directly, with no mediator intervening, become one 
 with him. Is not this worth a man's wish; worth his 
 prayers ; worth his work, to seek the living Christianity ; 
 the Christianity of Christ ? Not having this we seem but 
 bubbles, bubbles on an ocean, shoreless and without bot- 
 tom ; bubbles that sparkle a moment in the sun of life, 
 then burst to be no more. But with it we are men, im- 
 mortal souls, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." 
 
 THE PEOTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 THE Protestant Episcopal Church had its origin in 
 England, in the sixteenth century, where it is called 
 the Church of England. In her rites and ceremonies 
 she copies those of the mother church in England 
 making such variations as necessarily arise from a 
 different form of civil government under which its 
 members live. 
 
 The first Episcopalians who ever existed in the 
 United States were members of the colony of Virginia, 
 and the first church of this sect in this country was 
 built at Jamestown, in that colony, in 1607. The 
 rector's name was Hurst. In 1610, he was succeeded 
 by the Rev. Mr. Buck. Several years afterward, other 
 parishes were established in the vicinity of James- 
 town, and other English clergymen came over to sup- 
 ply their spiritual wants. After the lapse of a cen- 
 tury, about the year 1720, there were more than fifty 
 Episcopal churches in Virginia. At the era of the 
 Revolution these had increased to the number of a 
 
REV. WILLIAM WHITE, D.D., BISHOP OP PROTESTANT 
 EPISCOPAL CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 125 
 
 hundred in Virginia alone. During the Revolution 
 many of the churches fell into decay, and were aban- 
 doned, so that at the present time their number does 
 not much exceed those which then existed. 
 
 The first English Episcopal Church in Pennsylva- 
 nia was built in Philadelphia about the year 1685. 
 
 After the Revolution, there were but six Episcopal 
 clergymen and fifteen parishes in Pennsylvania. The 
 successive bishops who have exercised the functions 
 of the Episcopate in this State have been as follows : 
 Dr. "William White, who was consecrated on the 4th 
 of February, 1787, and died in 1836 ; Dr. H. U. On- 
 derdonk, who was consecrated Assistant Bishop on 
 the 25th of October, 1827, was superseded on the 21st 
 of October, 1844, and died in 1858 ; and Dr. Alonzo 
 Potter, who was consecrated on the 23d of September, 
 1845. 
 
 Several of the Protestant Episcopal Churches in 
 Delaware are of very ancient date. Delaware did not 
 become a separate State till 1704 ; and from that pe- 
 riod till the Revolution several of those churches con- 
 tinued to exist dependent on supplies of clergymen 
 from Pennsylvania. In 1817, there remained but two 
 clergymen of this sect in that State. In 1844, the 
 parishes were seventeen, and the clergy ten. On the 
 12th of October, 1841, Rev. Alfred Lee was conse- 
 crated Bishop of the diocese. 
 
 In Maryland, the first church of this denomination 
 was erected in 1675. In 1692, the whole colony con- 
 tained thirty-one parishes. For many years the Ro- 
 man Catholic Church was the dominant power in the 
 State though the utmost religious freedom was 
 granted by them, as long as they remained in the ma- 
 jority. In 1792, the number of Protestant Episcopal 
 parishes in the State was about forty. In 1844, their 
 number had increased to about one hundred. The 
 first Bishop of the church in Maryland was Rev. T. J. 
 Clagget, who was consecrated in September, 1792. 
 After him succeeded Bishops Kemp, Stone, and 
 
126 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Whittingham. The last was consecrated in Septem- 
 ber, 1840. 
 
 In Massachusetts the Episcopal Church took its rise 
 at an early period, the first congregation being gath- 
 ered there in 1679. The churches grew in number 
 until after the era of the Revolution, when the mys- 
 terious and potent rise of the Unitarian faith gradually 
 exerted a strong influence upon a portion of the com- 
 munity in Boston and its vicinity, and both clergy- 
 men and people avowed themselves believers in the 
 new faith, and severed their connection with the old. 
 By this means, also, some of the church edifices be- 
 came alienated from the Episcopal service, and were 
 devoted to the use and occupation of the Unitarian 
 clergymen. The history of " King's Chapel," one of 
 the oldest churches in Boston, is an illustration of this 
 remark. Four Bishops have successively presided in 
 the diocese of Massachusetts Drs. Bass, Parker, 
 Griswold, and Eastburn; the last having been conse- 
 crated in December, 1842. In 1844, the number of 
 parishes under his jurisdiction was forty-eight; the 
 number of clergymen was sixty. 
 
 It is in the State of New York that the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church in this country has flourished most 
 extensively. The first parish was formed in New 
 York city, in 1697, the Rev. M. Yesey being the rec- 
 tor. He continued to perform the duties of his office 
 during the amazing period of more than fifty years. 
 In 1752, there w^ere twenty parishes in the colony, 
 and they grew rapidly. By the bounty of Queen 
 Anne, a very large amount of property was conferred 
 on Trinity parish, in the city of New York, which in- 
 creased in value from year to year, until now it 
 amounts to the sum of many millions. A large por- 
 tion of the surplus revenue of this wealthy and opu- 
 lent corporation has been spent in building churches, 
 and in assisting feeble parishes throughout the State 
 of New York thus contributing to the increase of 
 churches. In 1838, it was found necessary to divide 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 127 
 
 the diocese into those of Eastern and "Western New 
 York. In 1844, the number of parishes in Eastern 
 New York was one hundred and sixty-four ; those of 
 Western, were one hundred and sixteen. The whole 
 number of clergymen in the State, at that time, was 
 three hundred. New York has had six Bishops 
 Drs. Provost, Moore, Hobart, B. T. Onderdonk, (sus- 
 pended in January, 1845,) Potter, and De Lancey 
 the last of whom officiates in the diocese of Western 
 New York. He was the first Bishop consecrated there 
 since the separation. In the city and State of New 
 York, this sect is greatly superior to all others in 
 influence and wealth. The enormous resources of 
 Trinity Church have aided very effectually in produc- 
 ing this result ; and it cannot be denied, in spite of 
 all the slanders and the opposition which that church 
 has had to endure, that its mea is have generally been 
 expended in a judicious and c ^mmendable manner. 
 
 The first Episcopal Churc h in New Jersey was 
 founded by the Rev. John Ta hot, in 1705. After the 
 lapse of fifty years, the number of parishes amounted 
 to only sixteen, and the clergy to eight. In 1844, the 
 parishes were forty-six, aud the clergy fifty. The 
 church has never flourished very much in this State, 
 in consequence of the operation of several unfavorable 
 influences. Rev. John Croes was consecrated in 
 November, 1815, and died in 1832. His successor 
 was the well-known Dr. George W. Doane, who was 
 consecrated on the 31st of October, 1832. 
 
 This denomination in the United States is directly 
 descended from the Church of England, which doc- 
 trinally claims to be based on the Holy Scriptures as 
 interpreted in the Apostles and other ancient creeds 
 of the Church that have been universally received, 
 and to have kept herself aloof from all the modern 
 systems of faith, whether of Calvin, or Luther, or 
 Arminius, leaving her members free to enjoy their 
 own opinions on all points not represented in the 
 Scriptures as necessary to the soul's health, and refus- 
 
128 HISTORY OF ALL KELIGIONS. 
 
 ing to be narrowed down to any other creed or creeds 
 than those of the Apostles and the Primitive Church. 
 She claims also to have retained all that is essential 
 to church organization in her Episcopate, and in her 
 liturgy to have not only a wise and judicious compend 
 of doctrine and devotion, but also one of the most 
 effectual of all possible conservative safeguards for the 
 faith once delivered to the saints. The characteristic 
 tenets of the Church of England, besides the funda- 
 mental doctrines of the Trinity and redemption 
 through the all-sufficient atonement once made for all 
 by the death of Christ on the cross, are a regeneration 
 or spiritual birth in baptism, in which the baptized 
 becomes a member of the Church, and a growth in 
 grace by the use of the sacraments and ministrations 
 of the Church duly administered and duly received, 
 made efficacious by tl e word of divine truth and the 
 gracious influences of he Holy Ghost, freely given to 
 all who duly seek and mthfully use them. The con- 
 dition of man after the fall is such that he can do no- 
 thing* acceptable to God without perverting grace; 
 good works, though pleas : ng to heaven, have no power 
 to put away sin; works of supererogation, over and 
 above God's commandments, cannot be taught with- 
 out arrogance and impiety. The Church has power 
 to decree rites or ceremonies, and to decide matters 
 of faith ; the Roman Catholic doctrines of purgatory, 
 invocation of saints, and respect to relics and images, 
 are rejected; clergymen are allowed to marry; and 
 communion is to be given in both kinds. The num- 
 ber of sacraments is two Baptism, and the Lord's 
 Supper. Three clerical orders are recognized bish- 
 ops, priests, and deacons, the first deriving their office 
 in direct succession from the Apostles by Episcopal 
 consecration, and the others receiving ordination at 
 the hands of a bishop. Those of the second order are 
 entitled archdeacons, deans, rectors, vicars, or curates, 
 according to their functions. A reader is a layman 
 licensed by the bishop to read in a church or chapel 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 129 
 
 where there is no clergyman. Parson signifies a cler- 
 gyman in possession of a parochial church. 
 
 From the time of the first congregations of the 
 Church of England in America, in 1607, to the close 
 of the Revolution, all the clergy in the colonies were 
 regarded as under the supervision of the Bishop of 
 London. The first American bishop was Rev. Sam- 
 uel Seabury, who, in 1783, was consecrated in Scot- 
 land as Bishop of Connecticut. All Protestant Epis- 
 copal churches in the United States are associated in 
 one national body, called the General Convention, which 
 meets triennially. This body is composed of two 
 houses the House of Bishops, including the bishops 
 of all the dioceses in the country ; and the House of 
 Clerical and Lay Deputies. The clergy and laity, 
 composing the House of Deputies, meet and deliber- 
 ate together ; but, when required, vote separately, and 
 sometimes by dioceses. The General Convention di- 
 rects the manner in which the qualifications of candi- 
 dates for orders shall be estimated and determined ; 
 regulates the particulars in regard to the election and 
 ordination of the orders of the ministry ; defines the 
 nature of ecclesiastical offences, and decrees the pun- 
 ishment thereof; settles the particular form and orders 
 of its common prayer, and publishes authorized edi- 
 tions of the Book of Common Prayer ; and directs the 
 mode and manner of its intercourse with foreign 
 churches. In all cases the House of Bishops has a 
 negative upon the House of Deputies ; but when ex- 
 ercised, must be communicated within a limited time 
 to that house. No law or canon can be enacted with- 
 out the concurrence of both clergy and laity ; no man 
 can be introduced into the sacred office without testi- 
 monials from both orders ; no clergyman be sent to 
 minister where he may not choose to go ; no parish 
 be required to receive or continue a clergyman obnox- 
 ious to a majority of the parishioners; no man be 
 punished for any offence not clearly defined by the 
 laws of the Church, nor in any manner but in that 
 9 
 
130 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 prescribed by the same, and never without an oppor-, 
 tunity of a trial by his peers. The salaries of the 
 clergy are determined by the mutual agreement of 
 ministers and people. 
 
 We insert the following, relating to special days 
 and seasons observed by the Church, taken from the 
 " Book of Common Prayer " of the Protestant Epis- 
 copal Church of the United States. Some of them are 
 observed with a great degree of strictness and religious 
 devotion, while to others but little attention is given. 
 
 RULES 
 
 TO KNOW WHEN THE MOVEABLE FEASTS AND HOLT-DATS BEGIN. 
 
 EASTER-DAY, on which the rest depend, is always the First Sunday after the Full 
 Moon, which happens upon or next after the Twenty-first Day of March ; and if 
 the Full Moon happen upon a Sunday, Easter-Day is the Sunday after. 
 
 Advent-Sunday is always the nearest Sunday to the Feast of St. Andrew, whether 
 before or after. 
 
 Septuagesima } f Nine 
 
 Quadragesima ) ( Six 
 
 Rogation-Sunday | C Five Weeks 
 
 Ascension-Day \ . 1 Forty Days ... m.,./,.. 
 
 Whit-Sunday f *S Seven Weeks >" After Easter ' 
 
 Trinity- Sunday ) ( Eight Weeks 
 
 A TABLE OF FEASTS, 
 
 TO BE OBSERVED IN THIS CHURCH THROUGHOUT THE TEAR. 
 
 All Sundays in the Year. 
 
 The Circumcision of our Lord JESUS 
 
 CHRIST. 
 The Epiphany. 
 The Conversion of St. Paul. 
 The Purification of the Blessed Virgin. 
 St. Matthias the Apostle. 
 The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin. 
 St. Mark the Evangelist. 
 St. Philip and St. James the Apostles. 
 The Ascension of our Lord JESUS 
 
 CHRIST. 
 St. Barnabas. 
 
 The Nativity of St. John the Baptist. 
 St. Peter the Apostle. 
 
 St. James the Apostle. 
 
 St. Bartholomew the Apostle. 
 
 St. Matthew the Apostle. 
 
 St. Michael and all Angels. 
 
 St. Luke the Evangelist. 
 
 St. Simon and St. Jude the Apostle. 
 
 All Saints. 
 
 St. Andrew the Apostle. 
 
 St. Thomas the Apostle. 
 
 The Nativity of our Lord JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 St. Stephen the Martyr. 
 
 St. John the Evangelist. 
 
 The Holy Innocents. 
 
 Monday and Tuesday in Easter- Week. 
 
 Monday and Tuesday in W 7 hitsun-Week. 
 
 A TABLE OF FASTS. 
 
 Ash- Wednesday. Good-Friday. 
 
 OTHER DAYS OF FASTING, 
 
 ON WHICH THE CHURCH REQUIRES SUCH A MEASURE OP ABSTINENCE AS IS MORE ESPECIALLY 
 SUITED TO EXTRAORDINARY ACTS AND EXERCISES OF DEVOTION. 
 
 I. The Forty Days of Lent. 
 II. The Ember-Days at the Four Seasons, f The First Sunday in Lent. 
 
 being the < The Feast of Pentecost. 
 
 Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after f September 14, and December 13. 
 III. The three Rogation-Days, being the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before 
 
 Holy-Thursday, or the Ascension of our Lord. 
 IY. All the Fridays in the Year, except Christmas-Day. 
 
 In addition to the above, the first Thursday in November (or, if any other day be 
 appointed by the Civil Authority, then such day) shall be observed as a day of Thanks- 
 giving to Almighty God, for the Fruits of the Earth, and all other Blessings of his 
 merciful Providence. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 131 
 
 The doctrines of this Church are taught in what are 
 known as the "THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES," and these 
 articles embrace and treat of the following subjects : 
 
 Article 1st. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity. Art. 2d. 
 Of the Word, or Son of God, which was made very 
 Man. Art. 3d. Of the going down of Christ into 
 Hell. Art. 4th. Of the Resurrection of Christ. Art. 
 5th. Of the Holy Ghost. Art. 6th. Of the Sufficiency 
 of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation. Art. 7th. Of 
 the Old Testament. Art. 8th. Of the Creeds. Art. 
 9th. Of Original or Birth-Sin. Art. 10th. Of Free- 
 will. Art. llth. Of Justification of Man. Art. 12th. 
 Of Good Works. Art. 13th. Of Works before Justi- 
 fication. Art. 14th. Of Works of Supererogation. 
 Art. 15th. Of Christ alone without Sin. Art. 16th. 
 Of Sin after Baptism. Art. 17th. Of Predestination 
 and Election. Art. 18th. Of obtaining eternal Salva- 
 tion only by the name of Christ. Art. 19th. Of the 
 Church. Art. 20th. Of the Authority of the Church. 
 Art. 21st. Of the Authority of General Councils. Art. 
 22d. Of Purgatory. Art. 23d. Of Ministering in the 
 Congregation. Art. 24th. Of Speaking in the Con- 
 gregatioa in such a Tongue as the People Under- 
 standeth. Art. 25th. Of the Sacraments. Art. 26th. 
 Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which hinders 
 not the effect of the Sacraments. Art. 27th. Of Bap- 
 tism. Art. 28th. Of the Lord's Supper. Art. 29th. 
 Of the Wicked, which eat not the Body of Christ in 
 the use of the Lord's Supper. Art. 30th. Of both 
 Kinds. Art. 31st. Of the one Oblation of Christ fin- 
 ished upon the Cross. Art. 32d. Of the Marriage of 
 Priests. Art. 33d. Of excommunicated Persons, how 
 they are to be avoided. Art. 34th. Of the Traditions 
 of the Church. Art. 35th. Of the Homilies. Art. 
 36th. Of Consecration of Bishops and Ministers. Art. 
 37th. Of the Power of the Civil Magistrates. Art. 
 38th. Of Christian Men's Goods, which are not com- 
 mon. Art. 39th. Of a Christian Man's Oath. 
 
 The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
 
132 HISTORY OP. ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 States occupies the first rank among Christian sects 
 for several important characteristics. Her members 
 are unrivalled for their liberality and taste in the erec- 
 tion of church edifices, and for the liberal support 
 which, as a general thing, they give to their clergy. 
 Meanness, parsimony, and similar defects, cannot be 
 charged upon the members of this Church; at the 
 same time they are distinguished for their intelligence 
 and mental cultivation ; and were such a thing as an 
 established church possible in this land of equality 
 and freedom, it is certain that this Church would be 
 admirably adapted to such a high and ambitious rela- 
 tion. The clergymen of this sect are generally well 
 educated, and in their literary accomplishments and 
 scientific attainments are not excelled by those of any 
 other denomination. It is no small glory to this sect, 
 that, in this country, many of those men who have 
 been most distinguished in the annals of war and of 
 statesmanship, have belonged to it ; and by their pri- 
 vate virtues and public fame have greatly increased its 
 influence. 
 
 UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST. 
 
 THIS sect arose among the Germans in Pennsylva- 
 nia about 1760. They are frequently confounded with 
 the Moravians, but have no ecclesiastical connection 
 with that sect. They have but one grade of ministers, 
 are American in theology, and supply their churches 
 with preaching on the itinerant plan. They have 
 quarterly, annual, and general conferences. The 
 highest ecclesiastical body is the General Conference, 
 which meets every four years, and is composed of del- 
 egates from the conference districts, elected by ballot, 
 every member of the Church being entitled to vote. 
 ~No adhering member of any secret combination, and 
 no manufacturer, seller, or drinker of intoxicating 
 liquors, can be a member of the Church. They regard 
 a change of heart as an indispensable condition of 
 membership. Baptism is administered by either 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 133 
 
 sprinkling, pouring, or immersion, each, member be- 
 ing permitted to exercise his own judgment in regard 
 to the mode. Infants are baptized when it is desired. 
 Open communion at the Lord's table is practised. 
 Until about 1829, the United Brethren in Christ con- 
 fined their labors almost exclusively to persons speak- 
 ing the German language, but at present by far the 
 greater number of the communicants speak English. 
 They have churches in the Eastern, Middle, Southern, 
 and Western States, in most of the Territories, and in 
 Canada. (New Am. Cyclop.) In 1869, the Church had 
 38 annual conferences, 3,663 societies, 864 itinerant 
 and 783 local preachers, and 108,122 members. ^ They 
 have seven colleges or universities, four seminaries, 
 2,268 Sunday - schools, with 16,057 teachers, and 
 106,202 scholars. The Church has five bishops. 
 
 MAEONITES. 
 
 A SECT of Christians in Asiatic Turkey, dwelling 
 principally about Mount Lebanon. Their origin and 
 the derivation of their name, are matters of some un- 
 certainty; but the prevailing opinion is, that they 
 were called either after a hermit Maro, who lived in 
 the fifth century, or after their first patriarch, John 
 Maro, who flourished two centuries later. The gen- 
 eral opinion is, that the Maronites are sprung from 
 the Monothelites, who arose in the seventh century, 
 and held the opinion that Christ, though he united in 
 himself the divine and human natures, had but will. 
 They were supported by several emperors, particularly 
 Heraclius; but they were condemned and banished 
 by Anastasius. In the country of Lebanon, they be- 
 came a warlike mountain people, and defended their 
 freedom first against the Greeks, and subsequently 
 against the Saracens. At length, in 1182, they re- 
 nounced Monothelitism, and recognized the authority 
 of the Eoman Church. Nevertheless, though united 
 with Kome, they are permitted to retain their distinc- 
 tive national rites and usages. They administer com- 
 munion in both kinds ; they use the ancient Syriac 
 
134 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 language in their liturgy; their clergy, if married 
 before ordination, are permitted to retain their wives; 
 and they have many festivals and saints not recog- 
 nized in the Roman calendar. In 1584, Pope Gregory 
 XIII. founded at Rome a Maronite college, from 
 which they have since received most of their priests. 
 Their head is the patriarch of Antioch, whose resi- 
 dence, however, is the Convent of Daer-al-Shafer on 
 Mount Lebanon. Every tenth year he has to give an 
 account of the condition of the Church to the Pope at 
 Rome. Subordinate to the patriarchs are bishops and 
 several other orders of clergymen. In the district of 
 Lebanon there were upwards of two hundred reli- 
 gious houses under the rule of St. Anthony; but in 
 consequence of the recent war with the Druses, many 
 of these have been destroyed. Their political consti- 
 tution is that of a military commonwealth, the su- 
 preme government being in the hands of four chief 
 sheiks, who are also their leaders in time of war. 
 Their dependence on the Ottoman empire is little 
 more than nominal, consisting merely in the payment 
 of an annual tribute. In 1841, a fierce war raged be- 
 tween the Maronites and the neighboring Druses, 
 being aided and excited by the Mohammedan popula- 
 tion, and even by Turkish troops. The Maronites were 
 soon overpowered. About one hundred and sixty 
 towns and villages were destroyed, and nearly their 
 entire territory laid waste. Many of the people were 
 cruelly massacred. At length peace was concluded, 
 and to prevent the return of similar atrocities, the 
 European powers, at a conference held at Paris, agreed 
 upon an intervention in Syria for the protection of 
 the Christians. The number of the Maronites is about 
 20,000. 
 
 DEUSES. 
 
 THE popular name of a race which inhabit a district 
 in the north of Syria, comprising the whole of the 
 south range of Mount Lebanon, and the west slope of 
 Anti-Lebanon. In this district they hold exclusive 
 possession of about four hundred towns and villages, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 135 
 
 and divide the possession of about two hundred more 
 with the Maronites, while eighty villages in other 
 parts of Anti-Lebanon are peopled by them. In reli- 
 gion they pass among the Maronites for atheists. The 
 great body of the people are certainly indifferent to 
 any religious form ; but a certain sect styling them- 
 selves Akels, are very rigid in the practice of their 
 faith, in which the doctrines of the Pentateuch, the 
 Christian Gospel, the Koran, and the Suli allegories 
 are wonderfully interwoven. They number about 
 80,000. They are noted for their hospitality; but 
 their resentment is easily aroused, and this character- 
 istic was artfully used by the Turkish authorities in 
 fomenting the massacre of the Christians in Lebanon, 
 in 1860. From May to October, of that year, it is 
 said the Druses slew about 12,000 men, women, and 
 children, of whom two hundred were priests; destroy- 
 ing two hundred and twenty churches and seven con- 
 vents. Elaborate efforts have been made to prove 
 that the Druses are the remnants of the lost ten tribes 
 of the Jews. Their peculiar and apparently foreign 
 belief gives some color to the supposition. 
 
 EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. 
 
 AN association of Christians of various denomina- 
 tions, formally organized in London, in 1846. Its 
 object is to promote unity and co-operation among 
 the different sects of Protestants, and to unite their 
 efforts against the advance of Romanism and infidelity. 
 Their object is also to encourage and strengthen la- 
 borers in the cause of Christianity in all parts of the 
 world, particularly such as are struggling with diffi- 
 culties and hardships. They also exert themselves in 
 behalf of religious toleration in all parts of the world. 
 The branch associations of the Alliance are seven in 
 number, as follows : 1. Great Britain and Ireland; 2. 
 United States ; 3. France, Belgium, and the French 
 portion of Switzerland; 4. Northern Germany; 5. 
 South Germany and the German portion of Switzer- 
 land; 6. British North America; 7. West Indies. 
 
136 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 The members of the Alliance are such as hold evan- 
 gelical views on the following points : The divine in- 
 spiration of the Holy Scriptures, and the right of 
 private judgment; the Trinity; depravity of human 
 nature ; the incarnation ; justification by faith alone ; 
 the work of the Holy Spirit in conversion ; the im- 
 mortality of the soul ; resurrection and judgment; the 
 divine institution of the Christian ministry ; and the 
 obligation of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's 
 supper. They hold frequent conferences for devotion 
 and mutual consultation. 
 
 EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 THIS society is sometimes popularly called Albright 
 Methodists, from Jacob Albright, a gifted preacher, 
 who was instrumental in organizing the society in 
 1800. In most doctrinal points they adhere closely 
 to those of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The 
 government is Episcopal in form, but the bishops are 
 elected quadrennially. This sect is quite strong and 
 highly influential in the Middle States, and are con- 
 stantly increasing in importance. The members are 
 zealous and active in all Christian enterprises. 
 
 BEREANS. 
 
 THIS is a sect formed of dissenters from the Church 
 of Scotland, in the year 1773. Rev. J. Barclay, who 
 died in 1798, was the founder. They believe that our 
 only source of information as to the existence, char- 
 acter, and attributes of God, is his inspired Word 
 the Bible. They believe a large proportion of the 
 prophecies of the Old Testament and of the Psalms, 
 to be typical or prophetical of Christ, his life, and 
 his kingdom. Unbelief is, in their view, the " un- 
 pardonable sin." They take their name after the an- 
 cient Bereans, who " received the word with all read- 
 iness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily." 
 They are not numerous, but are known to some ex- 
 tent in England, Scotland, and America. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 137 
 
 THE GREEK CHURCH. 
 
 THE Greek Church comprises the great bulk of the Chris- 
 tian population of Russia and Greece, Moldavia and Walla- 
 chia, besides various congregations scattered throughout the 
 provinces of the Turkish and Austrian empires, who ac- 
 knowledge the Patriarch of Constantinople as their head. 
 
 The opinions of this church bear considerable affinity to 
 those of the Latin, or Roman Catholic. The fundamental 
 distinction is the rejection of the spiritual supremacy of 
 St. Peter, and the denial of any visible representative of 
 Christ upon earth. In the view which it takes of the 
 Holy Ghost it is also at variance, not only with the Ro- 
 man Catholic church, but with Protestants.* It recog- 
 nizes, however, the seven sacraments ; authorizes the of- 
 fering of prayer to the saints and Virgin ; and encourages 
 the use of pictures, though forbidding the use of images. 
 It holds in reverence, also, the relics and tombs of holy 
 men ; enjoins strict fasting and the giving of alms, looking 
 upon them as works of intrinsic merit ; and numbers 
 among its adherents numerous orders of monks and nuns. 
 It allows, however, the marriage of its secular priests, and 
 rejects auricular confession. It holds that modified form 
 of the Roman doctrine of the eucharist, which is denomi- 
 nated Consubstantiation ; and apparently entertains some 
 confused notions of a purgatory, in consideration of which 
 it offers prayers for the dead. It administers baptism by 
 immersion. 
 
 The services of this church consist almost entirely of 
 ceremonial observances. 
 
 Preaching and the reading of the Scriptures form but a 
 small part of them ; the former, indeed was at one period 
 altogether forbidden in Russia. 
 
 The origin of the separation which has now prevailed 
 for many hundred years between two such important sec- 
 
 * The variation consists in the idea, that the Holy Ghost proceeds 
 from the Son alone, and not from the Father and the Son. 
 
138 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 tions of Christendom as the Latin and Greek churches, ap- 
 proaching so near as they do in many of their fundamen- 
 tal principles, is to be attributed to the rival pretensions 
 set up by the bishops of the two imperial cities, Rome and 
 Constantinople, and dates almost from the foundation of 
 the latter capital. The Roman branch continued, however, 
 still powerful in the East, and the intrigues of the papal 
 see were frequently successful ; until in 1054, the mutual 
 excommunications pronounced upon each other by Leo IX. 
 and Cerularius, caused the final separation which has con- 
 tinued to the present day. 
 
 WILKINSON! ANS. 
 
 THE followers of Jemima Wilkinson, who was born in 
 Cumberland, R. I. In 1776, she asserted that she was 
 taken sick and actually died, and that her soul went to 
 heaven. Soon after, her body was reanimated with the 
 spirit and power of Christ, upon which she set up as a 
 public teacher, and declared she had an immediate revela- 
 tion for all she delivered, and was arrived to a state of ab- 
 solute perfection. It is also said she pretended to foretell 
 future events, to discern the secrets of the heart, and to 
 have the power of healing diseases ; and if any person who 
 had made application to her was not healed, she attributed 
 it to his want of faith. She asserted that those who re- 
 fused to believe these exalted things concerning her, will 
 be in the state of unbelieving Jews, who rejected the 
 counsel of God against themselves ; and she told her 
 hearers that was the eleventh hour, and the last call of 
 mercy that ever should be granted them ; for she heard an 
 inquiry in heaven, saying, " Who will go and preach to a 
 dying world ?" or words to that import ; and she said she 
 answered, "Here am I send me;" and that she left the 
 realms of light and glory, and the company of the heavenly 
 host who are continually praising and worshipping God, 
 in order to descend upon earth, and pass through many 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 139 
 
 sufferings and trials for the happiness of mankind. She 
 assumed the title of the universal friend of mankind. 
 
 Jemima made some converts in Rhode Island and New 
 York, and died in 1819. She is said to have been a very- 
 beautiful but artful woman. 
 
 MYSTICS. 
 
 THIS denomination derived their name from their main- 
 taining, that the Scriptures have a mystic and hidden 
 sense, which must be sought after, in order to understand 
 their true import. They derived their origin from Diony- 
 sius, the Areopagite, who was converted to Christianity, 
 in the first century, by the preaching of St. Paul at 
 Athens. To support this idea, they attributed to this 
 great man various treatises, which are generally ascribed 
 to writers who lived at a later period, particularly to a 
 famous Grecian Mystic, who, it is said, wrote under 
 the protection of the venerable name of Dionysius, the 
 Areopagite. 
 
 This denomination appeared in the third century ; and 
 increased in the fourth. In the fifth century, they gained 
 ground in the eastern provinces. In the year eight hun- 
 dred and twenty-four, the supposed works of Dionysius 
 kindled the flame of Mysticism in the western provinces. 
 In the twelfth century, they took the lead in their method 
 of expounding the Scriptures. In the thirteenth century, 
 they were the most formidable antagonists of the school- 
 men ; and towards the close of the fourteenth century, 
 they resided, and propagated their sentiments, in almost 
 every part of Europe. In the fifteenth and sixteenth cen- 
 turies, many persons of distinguished merit embraced their 
 tenets. In the seventeenth century, the radical principle 
 of Mysticism was adopted by the Behmists, Bourignon- 
 ists, and Quietists. 
 
 The ancient Mystics were distinguished by their pro- 
 fessing pure, sublime, and perfect devotion, with an entire 
 
140 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 disinterested love of God, and by their aspiring to a state 
 of passive contemplation. 
 
 The first suggestions of these sentiments have been sup- 
 posed to proceed from the known doctrine of the Platonic 
 school, which was adopted by Origen and his disciples, 
 that the divine nature was diffused through all human 
 souls, or, in other words, that the faculty of reason, from 
 which proceeds the health and vigor of the mind, was an 
 emanation from God into the human soul, and compre- 
 hended in it the principles and elements of all truth, hu- 
 man and divine. 
 
 They denied that men could, by labor or study, excite 
 this celestial flame in their breasts. Therefore, they dis- 
 approved highly of the attempts of those, who, by defini- 
 tions, abstract theorems, and profound speculations, endea- 
 voured to form distinct notions of truth, and to discover its 
 hidden nature. On the contrary, they maintained, that 
 silence, tranquillity, repose, and solitude, accompanied 
 with such acts of mortification as might tend to attenuate 
 and exhaust the body, were the means, by which the hid- 
 den and internal word was excited to produce its latent 
 virtues, and to instruct men in the knowledge of divine 
 things. For thus they reasoned: 
 
 They, w r ho behold, with a noble contempt, all human 
 affairs, who turn away their eyes from terrestrial vanities, 
 and shut all the avenues of the outward senses against the 
 contagious influence of an outward world, must necessa- 
 rily return to God, when the spirit is thus disengaged from 
 the impediments which prevent this happy union: and 
 in this blessed frame, they not only enjoy inexpressible 
 raptures from their communion with the Supreme Being, 
 but also are invested with the inestimable privilege of con- 
 templating truth undisguised, in its native purity, while 
 others behold it in a vitiated and delusive form. 
 
 The apostle tells us, that the Spirit makes intercession 
 for us, &c. Now, if the Spirit prays in us, we must re- 
 sign ourselves to its motions, and be swayed and guided 
 by its impulses, by remaining in a state of mere inaction. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 141 
 
 As the Rev. William Law, who was born in 1687, makes 
 a distinguished figure among the modern Mystics, a brief 
 account of the outlines of his system, may perhaps be en- 
 tertaining to the readers. 
 
 He supposed that the material world was the very re- 
 gion, which originally belonged to the fallen angels. At 
 length, the light and spirit of God entered into the chaos, 
 and turned the angels' ruined kingdom into a paradise on 
 earth. God then created man, and placed him there. 
 He was made in the image of the Triune God, a living 
 mirror of the divine nature, formed to enjoy communion 
 with Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and live on earth, as 
 the angels do in heaven. He was endowed with immor- 
 tality ; so that the elements of this outward world could 
 not have any power of acting on this body. But, by his 
 fall, he changed the light, life, and spirit of God, for the 
 light, life, and spirit of the world. He died, the very day 
 of his transgression, to all the influences and operations of 
 the spirit of God upon him, as we die to the influences of 
 this world, when the soul leaves the body: and all the 
 influences and operations of the elements of this life were 
 open in him, as they are in any animal, at its birth into 
 this world. He became an earthly creature, subject to the 
 dominion of this outward world ; and stood only in the 
 highest rank of animals. 
 
 But the goodness of God would not leave man in this 
 condition. Redemption from it was immediately granted, 
 and the bruiser of the serpent brought the life, light, and 
 spirit of heaven, once more into the human nature. All 
 men, in consequence of the redemption of Christ, have in 
 them the first spark, or seed, of the divine life, as a trea- 
 sure hidden in the centre of our souls, to bring forth, by 
 degrees, a new birth of that life, which was lost in para- 
 dise. No son of Adam can be lost, only by turning away 
 from the Saviour within him. The only religion, which 
 can save us, must be that, which can raise the light, life, 
 and spirit of God, in our souls. Nothing can enter into 
 the vegetable kingdom, till it has the vegetable life in it ; 
 
142 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 or be a member of the animal kingdom, till it has tho 
 animal life. Thus all nature joins with the gospel ill 
 affirming, that no man can enter into the kingdom of hea- 
 ven, till the heavenly life is born in him. Nothing can 
 be our righteousness or recovery, but the divine nature 
 of Jesus Christ derived to our souls. 
 
 The arguments, which are brought in defence of this 
 system, cannot easily be abridged in such a manner, as to 
 render them intelligible. Those who are fond of mystical 
 writings, are referred to the works of this ingenious author. 
 
 SIX-PRINCIPLE BAPTISTS. 
 
 BY this name are designated those, who consider that the 
 imposition of hands subsequent to baptism, and generally 
 on the admission of candidates into the Church, is an in- 
 dispensable pre-requisite for Church membership and com- 
 munion. They support their peculiar principle chiefly 
 from Heb. vi. 1, 2 " Therefore, leaving the principles of 
 the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection ; not 
 laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, 
 and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and 
 of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and 
 of eternal judgment." 
 
 As these two verses contain six distinct propositions, 
 one of which is the laying on of hands, these brethren 
 have, from thence, acquired the name of " Six-Principle 
 Baptists," to distinguish them from others, whom they 
 sometimes call " Five-Principle Baptists." They have 
 fourteen churches in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 
 
 MENNONITES. 
 
 THE Mennonites were a society of Baptists in Holland, 
 so called from Mennon Simonis, of Friesland, who lived in 
 the sixteenth century. Some of them came to the United 
 States, and settled in Pennsylvania, where a considerable 
 body of them still reside. 
 
HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 143 
 
 The fundamental maxim of this denomination is, that 
 practical piety is the essence of religion, and that the 
 surest mark of the true Church is the sanctity of its mem- 
 bers. They advocate perfect toleration in religion, and 
 exclude none unite in pleading for toleration in religion, 
 and debar none from their assemblies who lead pious 
 lives, and own the Scriptures for the word of God. They 
 teach that infants are not the proper subjects of baptism ; 
 that ministers of the gospel ought to receive no salary ; 
 and that it is not lawful to swear, or wage war, upon any 
 occasion. They also maintain that the terms person and 
 Trinity are not to be used in speaking of the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghost. 
 
 The Mennonites meet privately, and every one in the 
 assembly has the liberty to speak, to expound the Scrip- 
 tures, to pray, and sing. 
 
 The Mennonites in Pennsylvania do not baptize by im- 
 mersion, though they administer the ordinance to none but 
 adult persons. Their common method is this : The per- 
 son who is to be baptized, kneels ; the minister holds his 
 hands over him, into which the deacon pours water, and 
 through which it runs on the crown of the kneeling per- 
 son's head; after which follow imposition of hands and 
 prayer. 
 
 Mr. Van Beuning, the Dutch ambassador, speaking of 
 these " Harmless Christians," as they choose to call them- 
 selves, says : " The Mennonites are good people, and the 
 most commodious to a state of any in the world ; partly, 
 because they do not aspire to places of dignity ; partly, 
 because they edify the community by the simplicity of 
 their manners, and application to arts and industry ; and 
 partly, because we need fear no rebellion from a sect who 
 make it an article of their faith never to bear arms." 
 
 DUNKEES. 
 
 CONRAD PEYSEL, a German Baptist, was the founder of 
 the Dunkers about the year 1724. Weary of the world, 
 
144 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 he retired to an agreeable solitude, within fifty miles of 
 Philadelphia, that he might. give himself up to contempla- 
 tion. Curiosity brought several of his countrymen to visit 
 his retreat, and by degrees, his pious, simple, and peace- 
 able manners induced others to settle near him. They 
 formed a little colony of German Baptists, which they 
 call Euphrata or Euphrates, in allusion to the Hebrews, 
 who used to sing psalms on the border of that river. 
 
 This little city forms a triangle, the outside of which 
 are bordered with mulberry and apple trees, planted with 
 great regularity. In the middle is a very large orchard, 
 and between the orchard and these ranges of trees are 
 houses built of wood, three stories high, where every Dun- 
 ker is left to enjoy the pleasures of his meditations with- 
 out disturbance. Their number in 1777 did not exceed 
 five hundred, and since that period they have not multi- 
 plied greatly. They do not foolishly renounce mar- 
 riage, but when married they detach themselves from the 
 rest of the community and retire into another part of the 
 country. 
 
 The Dunkers lament the fall of Adam, but deny the 
 imputation of his sin to posterity. They use trine im- 
 mersion (dipping three times) in baptism, and employ the 
 ceremony of the imposition of hands when the baptized 
 are received into the church. They dress like Dominican 
 friars, shaving neither head nor beard ; have different 
 apartments for the sexes, and live chiefly on roots and vege- 
 tables, except at their love-feast, when they eat mutton. 
 It is said no bed is allowed except in case of sickness, 
 having in their separate cells a bench to lie upon, and a 
 block of wood for their pillow! They deny the eternity 
 of future punishment believe that the dead have the gos- 
 pel preached to them by our Saviour, and that the souls 
 of the just are employed to preach the gospel to those 
 who have had no revelation in this life. 
 
 But their chief tenet is, that future happiness is only to 
 be obtained by penance and outward mortification, so as 
 that Jesus Christ by his meritorious sufferings became the 
 
- 
 & 
 
3R.ABJBII- 
 
HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIOKS. 145 
 
 Kedeemer of mankind in general, so each individual of the 
 human race by a life of abstinence and restraint may work 
 out his own salvation. Nay, it is said they admit of works 
 of supererogation. 
 
 They use the same form of government and the same 
 discipline as other Baptists do, except that every person is 
 aKowed to speak in the congregation, and their best speaker 
 is usually ordained to be a minister. They have also 
 deacons, and deaconesses from among their ancient wid- 
 ows, who may all use their gifts, and exhort at stated 
 times. 
 
 THE JEWS. 
 
 THE origin of this ancient and remarkable people is 
 traced to Abraham, who was chosen by the Almighty to 
 be the father and progenitor of a favorite people, to whom 
 the Deity promised to reveal his law and will, in prefer- 
 ence to all the rest of mankind. The moral and ceremo- 
 nial laws, which were given to govern them, are contained 
 in the Pentateuch, or Five Books of Moses; and these 
 present one of the most remarkable systems of ethics and 
 worship which the world has ever seen. The contents of 
 these books refer so exclusively to matters of a temporal 
 and mundane character, that many persons have doubted 
 whether the Jewish Scriptures really made any reference 
 to a future state after death ; and Bishop Warburton, in 
 his famous work on the "Divine Legation of Moses," de- 
 nies that any such doctrine was known to Moses or his 
 successors. 
 
 The nistory of the Jewish people till the time of Christ 
 is contained, to some extent, in several books of the Old 
 Testament. When the Messiah came, they were divided 
 into several religious sects : the Pharisees, who placed the 
 substance and value of their religion in external forms 
 and ceremonies , the Sadducees, who were remarkable for 
 their incredulity ; and the Essenes, who were distinguished 
 by their austere sanctity. These sects are referred to in 
 10 
 
 \ 
 
146 I7ISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 the New Testament. In more modern times, the Jews are 
 divided into two classes : the Caraites, who admit no rule 
 in religious matters except the strict letter of the law of 
 Moses ; and the Rabbinists, who add to the law the traditions 
 and comments of the Talmud. 
 
 The capture of Jerusalem by Titus, and the first dis- 
 persion of the Jews after the advent of Christ, occurred 
 A. D. 70. From that day till the present they have wan- 
 dered over the face of the whole earth, and have existed 
 in many countries under various circumstances. They still 
 look for the advent and appearance of the promised Mes- 
 siah. The fact that their ancestors were the persons who 
 inflicted deatb apon Christ, has made them the subjects of 
 unjust persecution in almost all Christian countries ; and 
 nowhere do they enjoy the same degree of religious free- 
 dom and the just and inalienable rights of man, so fully 
 and impartially as in the United States. 
 
 The first Jews who ever existed in this country became 
 residents of New York, then called New Amsterdam, about 
 the year 1660. They were Portuguese and Spanish Jews, 
 who had fled in the first instance from the cruelties of the 
 Inquisition, in their native country, to the comparative 
 security of the Batavian Republic ; and there becoming 
 acquainted with the greater benefits of a residence in the 
 United States, removed afterwards to New York. They 
 gradually increased, and eventually built a small syna- 
 gogue for themselves. Several generations elapsed before 
 they attained to any great numbers, for till 1827 one place 
 of w rship sufficed for all their community. At that time 
 a second building was erected. At present the city of 
 New York contains the largest Jewish community which 
 exists in this country, and ten synagogues are necessary for 
 their use. They there number about ten thousand persons ; 
 and particular localities, such as Chatham street, are in a 
 great measure occupied by them, c "-chef as residences or 
 places of business. 
 
 After New York, one of the oldest Jewish communities 
 which exist in this country was assembled in Newport, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 147 
 
 Rhode Island, where there are still a synagogue and a 
 burying ground. About the same period (1780) the first 
 Jews began to settle in Philadelphia, and in several places 
 in Maryland and Virginia. Only one State in the con- 
 federacy is tyrannical enough to withhold the fullest re- 
 ligious freedom and equality from Israelites, and that is 
 one of the poorest and the least enlightened of them. In 
 North Carolina the Constitution of the State forbids Jews 
 the privileges of citizens, and to some extent restricts 
 their worship. 
 
 In the United States the Jewish congregations are not 
 governed by the same regulations, nor by the same eccle- 
 siastical authorities, that prevail in Europe. There are in 
 reality no Rabbis in this country, though the title is some- 
 times given by way of compliment. Each congregation is in 
 a great measure free, makes its own rules and regulations, 
 chooses its own minister, and his ordination consists in 
 his election and induction into office, without any other 
 ceremony. The Jews have no literary institutions here, 
 devoted to the giving of instructions to their peculiar 
 tenets. But they have several charitable establishments, 
 which are liberally endowed. They have a religious peri- 
 odical called the Occident and American Jewish Advocate. 
 
 In Europe many of the most eminent persons in modern 
 times, in various departments of intellectual labor, have 
 been Jews. In the German Universities some of the most 
 learned of their linguists are members of this community. 
 The celebrated church historian, Neander, was a Jew by 
 birth, though he afterwards became a Christian. With 
 the eminence of the Rothschilds in the department of 
 finance, every one is familiar. The Jews of all classes are 
 generally well read in the Hebrew language, and many of 
 them in Hebrew literature. Prominent among their theo- 
 logical writings is the Talmud, already referred to. This 
 is in substance a collection of doctrines and moral pre- 
 cepts. There are two works which bear this name, the 
 "Talmud of Jerusalem," and the "Talmud of Babylon." 
 The former is more ancient, but it is shorter and more ob- 
 
148 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 scure that the latter, which is clearer, more extensive, 
 and is generally more highly valued by the Jews. 
 
 As an illustration of the horrible cruelties to which 
 these people have been subjected even in recent times, we 
 may adduce the following instances : Dr. Grant relates 
 that, during his residence at Ooroomiah, in Persia, in 
 1840, a Jew was publicly burnt to death in that city, by 
 order of the Governor, on the charge of killing the child- 
 ren of the Gentiles to obtain their blood to mingle with 
 the bread of the Passover. Naphtha was poured over the 
 body of the poor wretch, and the torch applied. He was 
 instantly enveloped in flames, and died in the greatest 
 agonies. In Meshed, another city of Persia, the same ac- 
 cusation was preferred against the Jews who resided at 
 that place in 1839, in consequence of the mysterious dis- 
 appearance of a Mahometan child. The inhabitants re- 
 solved upon the entire extirpation of the Jews in the 
 place. The massacre began, and fifteen of them were 
 slain. The rest, to avoid the same fate, embraced the al- 
 ternative offered them of becoming Mahometans with 
 how much sincerity or admiration for their new faith, may 
 readily be conceived. 
 
 The number of Jews throughout the world is not far 
 from five millions. In the United States they do not ex- 
 ceed seventy thousand. They have synagogues in New 
 York, Philadelphia, Newport, Charleston, Baltimore, 
 Wheeling, Savannah, New Orleans, Cincinnati, St. Louis, 
 and a few other places. There are a million of them in 
 Poland and Russia ; half a million in Austria; a million 
 in the Barbary States ; and other large communities exist 
 in the chief countries in Europe. It is a curious circum* 
 stance that the Catholic inhabitants of Spain and Portugal, 
 who formerly persecuted the Jews with such horrid bar- 
 barity, are themselves the descendants of Jews, of those 
 colonies which went forth from Palestine in the reign of 
 Solomon, and paid tribute to that monarch. 
 
 The religious belief of the Orthodox Jews does not 
 change. It may be stated as follows, in the language of 
 
HISTORY OF ALL KELIGIONS. 149 
 
 the creed, which was drawn up f:r their us? by Maimoni- 
 des, an illustrious Rabbi, whs ived in the eleventh 
 century : 
 
 " I. I believe, with a true and perfect faith, that God 
 is the Creator, whose name be blessed, Governor and 
 Maker of all creatures, and that he hath wrought all 
 things, worketh, and shall work forever. 
 
 " II. I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Creator, 
 whose name be blessed, is one, and that suci a unity as is in 
 him can be found in none other, and that he alone hath 
 been our God, is, and forever shall be. 
 
 " III. I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Creator, 
 whose name be blessed, is not corporeal, nor to be compre- 
 hended with any bodily property, and that there is no 
 bodily essence that can be likened unto him. 
 
 " IV. I believe, with a perfect faith, the Creator, whose 
 name be blessed, to be the first and the last, that nothing 
 was before him, and that he shall abide the last forever. 
 
 " V. I believe, with a perfect faith, that the Creator, 
 whose name be blessed, is to be worshiped, and none else. 
 
 " VI. I believe, with a perfect faith, that all the words 
 of the prophets are true. 
 
 " VII. I believe, with a perfect faith, the prophecies of 
 Moses, our master may he rest in peace that he was 
 the father and chief of all wise men that lived before him, 
 or ever shall live after him. 
 
 " VIII. I believe that the law was given by Moses. 
 
 " IX. I believe that the law shall never be altered, and 
 that God will give no other. * 
 
 " X. I believe that God knows all the thoughts and ac- 
 tions of men. 
 
 " XI. I believe that God will regard the works of all 
 those who perform what he commands, and that he will 
 punish those who have transgressed his laws. 
 
 " XII. I believe that the Messiah is yet to come, though 
 Ls tarry a long time. 
 
 "XIII. I believe that there will be a resurrection of the 
 dead, at the time when God shall see fit/' 
 
150 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 This is the doctrinal belief of what are now termed the 
 Orthodox, or Conservative Jews. In recent times there 
 has arisen a new school among them, who are termed Pro- 
 gressive, or Rationalistic, who differ in some of their senti- 
 ments from the other portion of the Jewish community. 
 
 ENGLISH SEVENTH DAY BAPTISTS. 
 
 THE doctrine that the seventh day of the week, and no* 
 the first day, is the true Sabbath of the Christian Church, 
 has been entertained by many eminent divines, in various 
 countries ; but there are only two denominations who make 
 that doctrine the peculiar and distinctive characteristic of 
 their sect. These are the English and the German Sev- 
 enth Day Baptists. 
 
 The former of these arose in England about the year 
 1650. At that time, or soon after, there were some eight 
 or ten small congregations of them existing in that coun- 
 try. They were obscure, and of little importance. Promi- 
 nent among their members was a preacher named Edward 
 Stennet, who was persecuted by the authorities for his re- 
 ligious belief. The " Conventicle Act," which was then 
 in full force, prevented these people even from holding any 
 kind of religious worship in accordance with their peculiar 
 views. Another of their preachers, Joseph Davis, was 
 imprisoned for a long time. Francis Bawfield was in jail 
 eight years, during the reign of Charles II., and eventu- 
 ally died in prison, on account of his attachment to prin- 
 ciples which were in opposition to those inculcated by a 
 luxurious, pampered, hypocritical, and worldly Church. 
 
 In 1665, the first Seventh Day Baptists arrived in this 
 country from England. They were led by Stephen Muni- 
 ford, and settled at Newport, Rhode Island. But here 
 also they were called on to endure some persecution in 
 consequence of their conscientious scruples in observing 
 the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath. The 
 sect slowly spread into Connecticut, New Jersey, and New 
 York. At the present time they exist in many of the 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 151 
 
 States, in small numbers ; and they have about fifty con- 
 gregations, forty ministers, and seven thousand communi- 
 cants, in the United States. They are divided into four 
 associations an Eastern, a Central, a Western, and a 
 South- Western. They have an Annual Conference, com- 
 posed of delegates from these four associations ; yet they 
 are Congregational in their Church government each So- 
 ciety being in reality perfectly independent in the control 
 of its private and individual affairs. The officers of their 
 churches are pastors and deacons ; the latter of whom are 
 chosen for life. They have a Literary Institution at De 
 Buyter, established in 183T ; also an Academy at Alfred, 
 in New York. In proportion to their numbers and means, 
 they are an active and enterprizing sect. They are re- 
 garded as orthodox, entertaining the doctrine of the Trin- 
 ity, man's total depravity, the vicarious atonement, &c. 
 But their main distinctive doctrine is their strict obser- 
 vance of the Seventh day, or Saturday, as the Lord's Day. 
 In support of this usage and belief they urge some very 
 plausible arguments, of which the following are a specimen. 
 They assert that the Seventh day of the week having been 
 expressly set apart as the Sabbath, by God, immediately 
 after the Creation, and it being expressly enjoined by the 
 fourth commandment, some very clear injunction of Scrip- 
 ture is requisite to justify the change to the first day of 
 the week ; and that no such injunction exists. On the 
 contrary, Christ directly taught that "the Sabbath was 
 made for man," meaning thereby the Sabbath which was 
 then in use by the Jews, to whom he spoke. He also told 
 his disciples to pray that " their flight be not in the win- 
 ter, neither on the Sabbath day," which necessarily meant 
 the Seventh day. And the Psalmist declares : " All his 
 commandments are sure; they stand fast for ever." In 
 regard to the argument that Christ rose from the dead on 
 the first day of the week, they answer, that he died on 
 Friday, thus effecting the atonement on that day : and 
 that, if such an argument should have any weight, it 
 would give Friday a greater claim to being observed as 
 
152 HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 the Sabbath than the Monday. It is true, Paul says, in 
 his First Epistle to the Corinthians : "On the first day of 
 the week let every one lay by him in store," &c. ; but, say 
 they, this injunction did not require the early Christians 
 to meet on that day for public worship, and says nothing 
 about the change of the Sabbath day. The Holy Spirit 
 descended, as is supposed, on the first day of the week ; 
 but there is no proof that Pentecost was on that day of 
 the week. Paul preached to Lydia and her household on 
 the Seventh day. At Ephesus, he went into the syna- 
 
 fogue and preached and reasoned with the Jews on the 
 eventh day ; and he did the same thing at Thessalonica, 
 three Sabbath days in succession. Certainly the Jews 
 were not observing the first day of the week as their Sab- 
 bath. 
 
 ANTINOMIANS. 
 
 THESE derive their name from Greek words, meaning 
 against the law. In the sixteenth century, while Luther was 
 eagerly employed in censuring and refuting the Popish 
 doctors, who mixed the law and gospel together, and repre- 
 sented eternal happiness as the fruit of legal obedience, a 
 new teacher arose whose name was John Agricola, a na- 
 tive of Aisteben, and an eminent doctor in the Lutheran 
 church. His fame began to spread in the year 1538, 
 when from the doctrine of Luther, now mentioned, he 
 took occasion to advance sentiments which were interpreted 
 in such a manner, that his followers were distinguished by 
 the title of Antinomians. 
 
 The principal doctrines which bear this appellation, to- 
 gether with a short specimen of the arguments made use 
 of in their defence, are comprehended in the following 
 summary : 
 
 I. That the law ought not to be proposed to the people 
 as a rule of manners, nor useful in the church as a means 
 of instruction ; and that the gospel alone was to be incul- 
 
HISTORY OP ALL KELIGIONS. 153 
 
 cated and explained, both in the churches and in the 
 schools of learning. 
 
 For the scriptures declare, that Christ is not the law- 
 giver, as it is said, "The law was given by Moses; but 
 grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Therefore the 
 ministers of the gospel ought not to teach the law. Chris- 
 tians are not ruled by the law, but by the spirit of regene- 
 ration, according as it is said, "Ye are not under the law, 
 but under grace." Therefore the law ought not to be 
 taught in the church of Christ. 
 
 II. That the justification of sinners, is an immanent 
 and eternal act of God, not only preceding all acts of sin, 
 but the existence of the sinner himself. 
 
 For nothing new can arise in God, on which account he 
 calls things that are not as though they were ; and the 
 apostle saith, "Who hath blessed us with all spiritual bles- 
 sings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, before the foun- 
 dation of the world." Besides, Christ was set up from 
 everlasting, not only as the head of the church, but as the 
 surety of his people ; by virtue of which engagement the 
 Father decreed never to impute unto them their sins. See 
 2d of Cor. iv. 19. 
 
 III. That justification by faith is no more than a mani- 
 festation to us of what was done before we had a being. 
 
 For it is thus expressed in Hebrews xi. 1. "Now faith is 
 the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things 
 not seen." We are justified only by Christ; but by faith 
 we perceive it, and by faith rejoice in it, as we apprehend 
 it to be our own. 
 
 IV. That men ought not to doubt of their faith, nor 
 question whether they believe in Christ. 
 
 For, we are commanded to " draw near in full assurance 
 of faith." Heb. x. 22. "He that believeth on the Son of 
 God hath the witness in himself." 2d of John v. 10, i. e. f 
 he has as much evidence as can be desired. 
 
 V. That God sees no sin in believers, and they are not 
 bound to confess sin, mourn for it, or pray that it may bf 
 forgiven. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 For God lias declared, Heb. x. 17. " Their sins and 
 iniquities I will remember no more :" and in Jer. 1. 20, 
 "In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the ini- 
 quity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none ; 
 and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found : for I 
 pardon them whom I reserve." 
 
 VI. That God is not angry with the elect, nor doth he 
 punish them for their sins. 
 
 For Christ has made ample satisfaction for their sins. 
 See Isaiah liii. 5. " He was wounded for our transgres- 
 sions, he was bruised for our iniquities," &c. And to in- 
 flict punishment once upon the Surety, and again upon the 
 believer, is contrary to the justice of God, as well as dero- 
 gatory to the satisfaction of Christ. 
 
 VII. That by God's laying our iniquities upon Christ, 
 he became as completely sinful as we, and we as completely 
 righteous as Christ. 
 
 For Christ represents our persons to the Father ; and we 
 represent the person of Christ to him. The loveliness of 
 Christ is transferred to us ; on the other hand, all that is 
 hateful in our nature is put upon Christ, who was forsaken 
 by the Father for a time. See 2d of Cor. v. 21. " He was 
 made sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we might be made 
 the righteousness of God in him." 
 
 VIII. That believers need not fear either their own 
 sins or the sins of others, since neither can do them any 
 injury. 
 
 See Rom. viii. 33, 34. " Who shall lay any thing to 
 the charge of God's elect?" &c. The apostle does not say 
 that they never transgress ; but triumphs in the thought 
 that no curse can be executed against them. 
 
 IX. That the new covenant is not made properly with 
 us, but with Christ for us ; and that this covenant is all of 
 it a promise, having no conditions for us to perform ; for 
 faith, repentance, and obedience, are not conditions on 
 our part, but Christ's ; and he repented, believed, and 
 obeyed for us. 
 
 For the covenant is so expressed, that the performance 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 155 
 
 lies upon the Deity himself, " For this is the covenant that 
 I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith 
 the Lord ; I will put my laws into their mind, and write 
 them in their hearts ; and I will be to them a God, and 
 they shall be to me a people." 
 
 X. That sanctification is not a proper evidence of jus- 
 tification. 
 
 For those who endeavor to evidence their justification 
 by their sanctification, are looking to their own attain- 
 ments and not to Christ's righteousness for hopes of sal- 
 vation. 
 
 OLD SCHOOL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 BOTH branches of the Presbyterian Church in the 
 United States dorive their origin historically from the Re- 
 formed Church of Scotland, whose chief founder and most 
 eminent leader was John Knox. It is usual to attribute 
 the first preaching of the Protestant doctrines in Scotland 
 to Knox ; but this is an error. The person who, prior to 
 all others, proclaimed the new system of belief in that 
 country, was Patric Hamilton, a friend and pupil of Luther, 
 who, after his return from Wittemberg, preached the 
 opinions which he had learned in Germany, to his coun- 
 trymen, and was rewarded for his zeal by martyrdom, in 
 1528. Among the few followers whom he had acquired 
 was Wishart, who pursued the same career and met the 
 same end. After him came John Knox, who carried on 
 the work of Reformation with greater ability and zeal than 
 any of his predecessors, and eventually succeeded in con- 
 verting to the new faith a very large majority of the 
 Scottish people from the Church of Rome. 
 
 Knox was born in Haddington, in 1505. His family, 
 though not belonging to the nobility, was wealthy and re- 
 spectable. He was educated at the University of Glasgow, 
 and distinguished himself by his superior attainments and 
 abilities. He soon after entered the priesthood of the 
 Catholic Church, and being of a pious turn of mind, he 
 
156 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 endeavored to discharge the duties of his office faithfully, 
 and to accomplish some good. 
 
 At that time a priest who displayed such a temper in 
 Scotland was a phenomenon of rare occurrence. The hold 
 and earnest preaching of Wishart converted Knox to the 
 Protestant doctrine in the thirty-seventh year of his age, 
 and he withdrew from the priesthood and all his ecclesias- 
 tical relations. But at first he seemed to have no aspira- 
 tions after the career of fame of a Reformer, for he settled 
 himself down into the quiet and ohscure situation of tutor 
 to the sons of a nohleman. He was drawn from this re- 
 tirement by the eloquence of Wishart, who appreciated 
 the great qualities of Knox at their real value, and labored 
 to call them forth into active service in the Protestant 
 cause. Knox first accompanied Wishart, in his preaching 
 tours through the country, and at length undertook to 
 preach the doctrine which he had espoused. 
 
 The most active and dangerous enemy of the Reforma- 
 tion at that time in Scotland was Cardinal Beaton. He 
 succeeded in destroying Wishart, but was himself shortly 
 afterward assassinated by a band of young men who were 
 attached to the new faith. Persecution thickened around 
 Knox and his associates. They took refuge in a castle 
 near the city of St. Andrews, in which they were besieged 
 for many months, and finally captured. Knox was pun- 
 ished by imprisonment in the galleys, and this degraded 
 and revolting penalty he endured for the period of three 
 years and a half. On his release he fled to England, over 
 which country the pious Edward then reigned. The 
 young King properly appreciated the merits of the Re- 
 former, and appointed him one of the preachers to the 
 Court. A still higher preferment in the English Church 
 was offered him, but he declined it. From London he re- 
 moved to Berwick, and there he preached and labored 
 actively during two years. At the death of Edward, how- 
 ever, he was compelled to flee. Scotland was governed 
 by French influence ; a female monarch, devotedly attached 
 to the Catholic Church, ruled in England; and Knox 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 157 
 
 could find no safe retreat except at Geneva, on the free 
 soil, and amid the mountain solitudes of Switzerland. 
 
 Several years were spent by Knox in this retreat, 
 which he employed industriously in receiving instruction 
 from Calvin, both as to the true doctrines of the Christian 
 faith and in regard to the proper form and model of the 
 government of the church. As is well known, Calvin had 
 established a church at Geneva, which he believed to be 
 arranged and governed precisely as were the churches of 
 the apostolic era. Knox approved of Calvin's views in 
 every respect, and when he returned to Scotland he was 
 not only a thorough convert to all of Calvin's doctrinal 
 opinions, but an earnest defender of the Presbyterial form 
 of church government, in opposition to the Episcopal or 
 Prelatical form. 
 
 Knox returned to Scotland in 1555. During his ab- 
 sence the Reformation had made some progress, and he 
 found the state of affairs favorable to the continuance of 
 the work. He immediately commenced to preach and 
 labor with great zeal. He first proposed that all those 
 who were opposed to the Romish Church should take an 
 oath never again to attend the celebration of mass. This 
 was a bold measure, and Knox was cited to appear before 
 the Bishop's Court, at Edinburgh, to answer for his con- 
 duct. Ten years before, Wishart had been burnt in per- 
 son for a similar offence. On this occasion, so different 
 had the state of affairs become, that Knox was condemned 
 merely to be burnt in effigy. Undismayed by this penalty, 
 Knox drew up his celebrated " Petition to the Queen Re- 
 gent" desiring to be heard in the defence of himself, and 
 assailing the Church of Rome with great boldness and 
 severity. The effect of this measure eventually was that 
 Knox was compelled once more to flee for his life, and 
 once more he took refuge in the welcome haven of Geneva. 
 
 He remained there till May, 1559, when he returned 
 for the last time to Scotland, and resumed his work with 
 greater boldness and resolution than ever. He was then 
 fifty-four years of age, small in person, wearing a long 
 
158 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 beard, which reached nearly to his waist. His massive 
 brow and large, piercing eye, indicated his superior men- 
 tal capacity. His preaching is represented as having 
 been effective and powerful, and as making a prodigious 
 impression upon the minds of his hearers. He held forth 
 at Perth and at various other places in the kingdom, and 
 soon all Scotland was in a blaze of religious excitement 
 and enthusiasm. 
 
 The worst enemy with whom Knox had to contend was 
 Mary, the beautiful and unfortunate Queen of Scotland. 
 It is said that in his interviews with her he spoke with 
 such severity and rudeness as to cause her to shed tears. 
 He was no respecter of persons, and proclaimed his mes- 
 sage with the same spirit in the palace and the hovel. 
 Thus he continued to preach and labor till 1572, when his 
 life ended ; but he had lived long enough to secure the 
 prevalence of the Protestant religion throughout Scotland, 
 and the final and total overthrow of the Church of Rome. 
 He left the Presbyterian Church as it now exists, both in 
 doctrine and government, the dominant, religious, or 
 ecclesiastical power in his native land. 
 
 An attempt was made by James VI., afterward James 
 I. of England, to overthrow the Presbyterian influence in 
 Scotland, by substituting in its place the Episcopal Church. 
 He procured the appointment of bishops, and the introduc- 
 tion of the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, 
 and the abolition of the General Assembly of the Scotch 
 Kirk. Charles L, acting under the advice of Archbishop 
 Laud, endeavored to complete the work which his father 
 had begun, by enacting other measures of violence and 
 usurpation. But the Scottish people resisted his measures, 
 and in 1638, they abolished the modified form of Episco- 
 pacy which had been introduced ; the General Assembly 
 again convened, and Presbyterian doctrine and discipline 
 once more became the recognized religion of the nation. 
 This continued till 1660, when, during the reign and after 
 the restoration of Charles II., his profligate government 
 endeavored again to subvert Presbyterianism. It was not, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS- 159 
 
 however, till 1688, when the Revolution placed William 
 of Orange and Mary on the throne of England, that per- 
 fect religious liberty was granted to the Scotch people. 
 From that period Presbyteriaiiism became the religion of 
 the great masses of the people, and that also which was 
 established by law. It has remained the same till this 
 day; and although during the last century-and-a-half 
 there have been many ecclesiastical conflicts and disturb- 
 ances in Scotland, they have been always between the 
 members of the Scotch Church themselves. 
 
 These conflicts, which have been numerous, have often 
 resulted in the forming of new sects, all of whom claim to 
 be the true and pure Presbyterian Church such as the 
 Seceders, the Covenanters, the Burghers, and the anti- 
 Burghers, the Old and New Light Burghers, the Reformed 
 Presbyterian, and the Free Church of Scotland. In all 
 these divisions and subdivisions the inherent weakness of 
 the Scotch people to contend furiously for the most trifling 
 and insignificant differences of doctrine, displayed itself; 
 and the same peculiarity has been exhibited in the history 
 of the Presbyterians in this country, who have had 
 many controversies upon doctrinal subjects and other 
 matters pertaining to church government and disci- 
 pline. 
 
 The founders of Presbyterianism in the United States 
 were immigrants from Scotland and the North of Ireland. 
 The first Presbyterian Church which ever existed in this 
 country, was organized in Philadelphia about the close of 
 the seventeenth century. Other churches soon sprang up 
 around it ; and in 1706 the Presbytery of Philadelphia 
 was formed, consisting of seven clergymen. Francis Mc- 
 Kemie was the first Presbyterian preacher who ever held 
 forth in the Colonies. The first pastor of the first Pres- 
 byterian Church in this city was Jedediah Andrews, a 
 native of New England. In 1710, there were also one 
 Presbyterian congregation in Virginia, four in Maryland, 
 five in Pennsylvania, in Jersey two, with a few scattered 
 members in New York. From this time the denomination 
 
160 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 rapidly increased, by the growth of their native popula- 
 tion, and by constant immigration from Scotland, and the 
 north of Ireland. Certain influential members wrote to 
 the Synod of Glasgow, to the Presbytery of Dublin, and 
 to the Independents of London, for a supply of ministers. 
 This appeal resulted in obtaining what was desired. So 
 much did the denomination increase in a short time, that 
 in 1716, the Presbytery of Philadelphia found it desirable 
 to divide itself into four subordinate presbyteries, and to 
 assume the name and the functions of a Synod. It was 
 composed at this period of thirteen ministers and six 
 elders. In 1718, the celebrated William Tennent left the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church and joined the Presbyterian. 
 He afterward became one of the most distinguished and 
 eloquent preachers who have ever flourished in this coun- 
 try. He set forth his reasons for his change in a clear 
 and condensed manner ; and the Synod of Philadelphia, 
 of which he became a member, ordered the document to 
 be filed. As it is a production of some interest, we here 
 insert it : 
 
 " The reasons of William Tennent for his dissenting 
 from the Established Church in Ireland, delivered by him 
 to the Synod held at Philadelphia, September 17, 1718 : 
 1. Their government by bishops, archbishops, deans, chan- 
 cellors, and vicars, is wholly unscriptural. 2. Their dis- 
 cipline by surrogates and chancellors in their courts eccles- 
 iastic, is without a foundation in the word of God. 3. Their 
 abuse of that supposed discipline by commutation. 4. A 
 diocesan bishop cannot be founded, jure divino, upon 
 Paul's epistles to Timothy or Titus, nor anywhere else in 
 the word of God, and so is a mere human invention. 
 5. The usurped power of the bishops at their yearly visi- 
 tations, acting all of themselves, without consent of the 
 brethren. 6. Pluralities of benefices. 7. The churches 
 conniving at the practice of Arminian doctrines inconsis- 
 tent with the eternal purpose of God, and an encourage- 
 ment to vice. Besides, I could not be satisfied with their 
 ceremonial way of worship. Those have so affected my 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 161 
 
 conscience, that I could no longer abide in a Church 
 where the same are practised. 
 
 WILLIAM TENNENT." 
 
 
 
 Prior to the Revolution, the Presbyterian churches con- 
 tinued to increase by a gradual process, throughout many 
 of the original thirteen States ; arid with the formation of 
 new churches, presbyteries and synods were established, 
 which held ecclesiastical jurisdiction over them. In Vir- 
 ginia, they were much persecuted by the Episcopalians, 
 who went so far, in 1618, as to enact by their House of 
 Burgesses, that if any person came within the colony, and 
 claimed to be a clergyman, and attempted to preach or 
 perform any other clerical duty, without being able to 
 show a testimonial that he had been ordained by an En- 
 glish diocesan bishop, he was to be expelled from the limits 
 of the colony. By the operation of this law the Presbyte- 
 rian clergy were entirely excluded from Virginia for a 
 long series of years. 
 
 When the Revolution broke out, many of the most emi- 
 nent patriots of the era were Presbyterians. Among these 
 were John Witherspoon, who took a prominent part in 
 securing the passage of the Declaration of Independence ; 
 and George Duffield, who was a chaplain in the Continen- 
 tal army. As a body, the Presbyterians contended for 
 the validity of " a Church without a bishop, and a State 
 without a king;" and their Church government is emi- 
 nently a democratic or a republican one, by which the laity, 
 through their representatives, the Ruling Elders, are ad- 
 mitted to an equal share of authority in the various eccles- 
 iastical tribunals of the Church. Previous to the Revolu- 
 tion, a friendly correspondence was carried on between 
 this sect and the Dutch Reformed, and Associate Reformed 
 Synods ; but the most important era in the consolidation 
 and prosperity of the Presbyterian Church in this country, 
 was at the time of the first convention of the General As - 
 eembly of the whole Church, which met in 1789. 
 
 By the establishment of the General Assembly, all the 
 11 
 
162 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Presbyterians in the various States were combined intc 
 one ecclesiastical congregation; a uniformity of discipline 
 and of doctrine was introduced among them ; and greater sys- 
 tem was attained in carrying on their benevolent enterprises, 
 as well as in enforcing discipline. Among the several insti- 
 tutions which the Church established at successive periods, 
 were the Theological Seminary at Princeton, N. J., at a later 
 day, the Western Seminary at Allegheny City, near Pitts- 
 burgh, and the Union Seminary in Prince Edward County, 
 Virginia ; while among the colleges which are exclusively 
 or chiefly under their control, are Nassau Hall at Prince- 
 ton, Jefferson College at Cannonsburg, La Fayette Col- 
 lege at Easton, the University of Nashville in Tennessee, 
 and Centre College at Danville, Kentucky. Besides these, 
 there are a Board of Education for preparing young cler- 
 gymen for the ministry ; a Board of Publication, which 
 has already issued nearly a hundred and fifty standard 
 religious works ; a Board of Missions, both domestic and 
 foreign. The latter has sent forth many missionaries 
 to various portions of the earth. Thus in Northern India, 
 there is a Synod of American missionaries who are in 
 connection with the Old School General Assembly. 
 This Synod is composed of several Presbyteries which bear 
 eastern names, as the Presbytery of Allahabad, having 
 six ministers ; the Presbytery of Ferrukabad, having four 
 ministers ; and the Presbytery of Lodiana, with five minis- 
 ters, besides the usual number of elders. 
 
 In the year 1830, the great schism began which resulted 
 in the division of the Presbyterian body in this country 
 into two parts, of nearly equal numbers and importance. 
 We will proceed to state the chief doctrines which the Old 
 School entertain. As the opinions taught by this sect are 
 those of an extremely Calvinistic character, and are 
 somewhat at variance with those of most other Chris- 
 tians, both Orthodox and Liberal, we will state them 
 at some length. 
 
 In regard to the Divine nature, Presbyterians hold 
 views which are universally termed Orthodox, such as 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 163 
 
 that God is a spirit, infinite in glory and perfection, in 
 power and wisdom, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensi- 
 ble, everywhere present, just, merciful, and gracious ; that 
 there is but one true God, though there are three persons 
 in the Godhead that these three are one, the same in 
 substance, equal in power and glory, though distinguished 
 by their personal properties. In defining what the differ- 
 ent properties of these three Persons are, they answer that 
 it is the function of the Father to beget the Son, and of 
 the Son to be begotten of the Father, and of the Holy 
 Spirit to proceed from the Father and the Son from all 
 eternity. Yet these three are perfectly equal in power ; 
 all three are equally eternal, without beginning, and un- 
 created. 
 
 They believe and teach that Adam was created per- 
 fectly pure and holy ; but that he fell from that estate 
 (being left to the full freedom of his own will) by eating 
 of the forbidden fruit. That when Adam fell, all his 
 future posterity fell with him ; that their naturo became 
 totally corrupted and sinful, wholly inclined to evil, and 
 incapable of doing or thinking a particle of good. That 
 by this fall Adam and all his posterity incurred the wrath 
 and disfavor of Almighty God, his displeasure and his 
 curse ; that they became justly liable to eternal misery 
 hereafter ; and that, if left to themselves, they would 
 inevitably suffer sucli a fate. 
 
 In regard to God's decrees and purposes, they hold 
 that He foreordains from all eternity whatever comes to 
 pass ; and that, being omnipotent, his decrees cannot 
 be resisted. That He determined from all eternity that 
 a portion of the human family should be made heirs 
 of salvation, while the rest should become the recipients 
 of the eternal misery which their original and actual sins 
 had deserved. That He has chosen an elect number to 
 eternal life ; and that, as none can enter Heaven without 
 being holy and pure, the repentance and regeneration of 
 the elect are necessarily as certainly foreordained by God, 
 as is their final salvation. Hence men will repent or not 
 
164 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 repent, be lost or saved, precisely as God has decreed 
 from all eternity. 
 
 This doctrine is the great bone of contention between 
 Calvinists and Arminians ; and as commonly under- 
 stood by a majority of Arminians, it seems harsh and 
 implacable. It has been maintained by some of the 
 ablest men in the Christian Church. The decrees of 
 God are certainly mysterious and well calculated to 
 baffle the wisest finite mind. And yet there are pas- 
 sages of Scripture which seem to teach this doctrine 
 as plainly as words could express it. Thus, for in- 
 stance, Ephesians i. 4, 5 : " According as he hath 
 chosen us in him [Christ] before the foundation of 
 the world, that we should be holy having predestinated 
 us unto the adoption of children, by Jesus Christ, to him- 
 Belf." Verse 11 of the same chapter reads as follows: 
 " In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being 
 predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh 
 all things after the counsel of his own will." So also Ro- 
 mans, ix. 18 : " Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will 
 have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." And 
 stronger still in Romans, viii. 30 : " Whom he did predes- 
 tinate, them he also called ; and whom he called, them he 
 also justified ; and whom he justified, them he also glori- 
 fied." Scripture proofs, which are apparently so unan- 
 swerable as these seem to be, induce the members of this 
 denomination to adhere tenaciously and with great earn- 
 estness to a doctrine which Orthodox churches generally 
 condemn, and which liberal Christians regard as in- 
 consistent with God's character and attributes. 
 
 According to the Presbyterian doctrine, God has 
 made two covenants with the human race : one with Adam, 
 which Adam broke and forfeited ; another with Christ, and 
 in him with all the elect as his seed. The latter cove- 
 nant is called the covenant of grace, by which a Mediator 
 is provided for those whom God has ordained to eternal 
 life. The covenant of grace was administered under the 
 Old Testament by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circum- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 165 
 
 cision, and other types and ordinances ; all of which were 
 intended to represent the subsequent coming and suffer- 
 ings of Christ. Under the New Testament this covenant 
 is administered by the sacraments of Baptism and the 
 Lord's Supper, the preaching of the word, and the other 
 ordinances of Christianity. That the redemption procured 
 by Christ might be efficacious, it was necessary that he 
 should be both God and man. The divine nature in him 
 was necessary to sustain and keep the human nature from 
 sinking under the infinite wrath of God and the power of 
 death ; although his human nature did finally sink under 
 that exorbitant wrath; and it was requisite that the 
 Mediator should be human in order that he might perform 
 perfect obedience to the law, suffer, and make intercession 
 for men in their own nature, and have a fellow-feeling of 
 sympathy with mankind. 
 
 PEESBYTEEIAN REUNION. 
 
 AFTER the lapse of just a quarter of a century, a 
 formal tender toward reconciliation was made by the 
 " New School ; " it met with unexpected favor. It 
 came from Professor Henry B. Smith of the Union 
 Theological Seminary, New York, who as moderator 
 of the New School Assembly of 1863, in the sermon 
 which he preached at the opening of the succeeding 
 Assembly, took for his theme Christian Union and Ec- 
 clesiastical Reunion. This was the first step leading to 
 the opening of a correspondence between the two Gen- 
 eral Assemblies ; and in 1866, when the two bodies 
 met at the same time at St. Louis, measures were 
 taken towards bringing about a reunion by the appoint- 
 ment of a joint committee of thirty fifteen from each 
 School to prepare and submit a basis for it; the 
 overtures coming in this instance, as at the outset, 
 from the " New School " branch. From that date 
 forward the subject was kept constantly before both 
 branches of the church, and was discussed eagerly and 
 earnestly in the Presbyteries, Synods, and Assemblies, 
 
166 
 
 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 in Pamphlets, Church Journals, and Reviews. Fi- 
 nally, on the 27th of May, 1869, the plan of reunion 
 presented by the joint committee was adopted by the 
 " Old School," the vote standing 250 yeas, to 8 nays. 
 With 31 members absent, the same day, the Assem- 
 bly of the " New School " adopted it by a unanimous 
 rising vote. The plan of reunion being afterwards 
 submitted to the Presbyteries, was adopted by all those 
 of the " New School " and by a great majority of those 
 of the " Old School." The two joint Assemblies met 
 on November 12th, and consummated the reconcilia- 
 tion by formal and solemn ceremonies. From that 
 moment henceforth, the distinction of " Old School " 
 and " New School " ceased to exist. In 1868 the rela- 
 tive standing of the two branches was as follows : 
 
 
 OLD SCHOOL. 
 
 NEW SCHOOL. 
 
 TOTAL. 
 
 Synods 
 
 27 
 
 24 
 
 51 
 
 Presbyteries 
 
 143 
 
 113 
 
 256 
 
 
 2,381 
 
 1,848 
 
 4 229 
 
 Communicants 
 
 258 903 
 
 175 560 
 
 431 463 
 
 
 
 
 
 The contributions of the two branches for the pre- 
 vious year, which also serve to show their relative and 
 total strength, were as follows : 
 
 
 OLD SCHOOL. 
 
 NEW SCHOOL. 
 
 TOTAL. 
 
 
 205,023 
 
 142,377 
 
 347,400 
 
 Foreign Missions 
 
 212,919 
 
 116,364 
 
 329,283 
 
 
 242,511 
 
 29,492 
 
 272,003 
 
 Publication . 
 
 29 020 
 
 14,491 
 
 43,511 
 
 Church Erection 
 
 179,100 
 
 43,013 
 
 222,113 
 
 Ministerial Relief. 
 Freedmen 
 
 37,196 
 37 310 
 
 18,966 
 12 594 
 
 56,162 
 39,904 
 
 Local Expenses 
 
 3 180 102 
 
 2,866 940 
 
 6,047,042 
 
 
 
 
 
 Presbyterians believe in but two sacraments, Bap- 
 tism and the Lord's Supper. The former is admin- 
 istered on all occasions by sprinkling, and to infants 
 as well as adults. Their view of the Lord's Supper 
 is, that the bread and wine are merely commemorative 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 167 
 
 symbols intended to remind the communicant of the 
 events of Christ's sufferings and death, and thus give 
 rise to devout reflections. 
 
 UNITARIANS. 
 
 THE controversy which took place in Boston between 
 3)r. Channing and Dr. Samuel Worcester, in 1815, first 
 attracted the attention of the whole community to the ex- 
 istence and to the doctrines of Unitarianism. The polemic 
 storm raged during several years, many publications ap- 
 pearing on both sides of the question. After the tempest 
 passed away, the unscathed and imposing form of Unita 
 rian Christianity appeared through the gloom, towering 
 toward heaven in attractive beauty, symmetry, and solidity, 
 holding a recognized place among the religious denomina- 
 tions of the country. The principle which lies at the 
 foundation of this church is that of the unrestricted right 
 of private judgment in matters of religion. The advocates 
 of Unitarianism hold that each individual is responsible to 
 God for the opinions which he entertains, and that where 
 there is responsibility there must of necessity be perfect 
 freedom of thinking and acting. Neither primitive Fa- 
 thers, nor ecclesiastical councils, nor synods, nor estab- 
 lished creeds, possess any absolute authority for them. In 
 the conscientious exercise of this right the founders, or 
 rather revivers, of Unitarianism in this country, arrived 
 at a system of belief something like the following : They 
 hold to the absolute Unity of the Supreme Being ; thus 
 necessarily denying the doctrine of the Trinity, or three 
 persons in one God. They teach that Christ was the first 
 and greatest of all created beings ; that he was the wisest 
 and best personage who ever existed on earth ; that his 
 mission was divine, being what he himself declared it to 
 be, sent by God "to bear witness to the truth ;" that the 
 Holy Spirit is not a separate personal entity, but an influ- 
 ence which the Creator exercises upon the minds of men 
 under such circumstances as may comport with his will 
 and purposes ; that the Scriptures are for the most part 
 
168 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 the product of a divine influence exerted upon the minis 
 of those who wrote them, and that they contain doctrines 
 and precepts, the belief and observance of which will make 
 men wise unto salvation. The Unitarians further believe 
 that the death of Christ was not vicarious, but simply the 
 necessary and natural result of his labors and innovations 
 as a great and wise teacher ; that by dying on the cross he 
 gave the strongest possible evidence of his own sincerity, 
 disinterestedness, and obedience to the will of Him who 
 sent him ; that he was raised from the dead " by the power 
 of God;" that such miracles as he did perform, he per- 
 formed by that same power, which was delegated to him ; 
 that inasmuch as he left no very specific and minute di- 
 rections to his apostles in reference to the external relig- 
 ious organization of those who then were, and who would 
 afterward become, his followers, he regarded that outward 
 form as a matter of little consequence ; that in proportion 
 as mankind in every age believe and obey what they find 
 recorded in the Scriptures, interpreted by their own en- 
 lightened consciousness of what they suppose to be taught 
 therein, they will be happy here and hereafter. They 
 hold that charity, and not ecclesiastical ferocity love to 
 God and man, and not implacable religious bigotry and 
 spite constitute the great fundamental essence of Chris- 
 tianity. They believe that every sinful act will be pun- 
 ished precisely in proportion to its deserts ; and that the 
 ultimate consequence of that punishment will be curative 
 and remedial, which they regard as the only fit purpose 
 of punishment when inflicted by an infinitely wise and 
 benevolent Creator. Finally, they contend that, at the 
 " consummation of all things," a result will fee produced 
 which will prove that the chief object of God in the crea- 
 tion of the world was not to construct an almost universal 
 pandemonium, in which ninety-nine hundredths of his ra- 
 tional creatures should after death be eternally and hope- 
 lessly miserable, thus making a general hell in fact the 
 chef d'osuvre of his moral government, and the most 
 prominent and all-absorbing object in it; but that, on the 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 169 
 
 contrary, the final destiny of the world will be the preva- 
 lence of universal holiness, such as God's pure law de- 
 mands ; of universal happiness, such as his merciful nature 
 reioices in ; a whole race redeemed from sin and misery 
 by obedience to the truth, such as Jesus taught it ; and a 
 universe exulting throughout its vast and illimitable do- 
 mains in that unbroken harmony, purity, and felicity, which 
 would alone confer glory upon the attributes and provi- 
 ce of the Creator and Father of all. . 
 
 - 
 
 UNIVEBSALISTS. 
 
 OF the real doctrines of Universalism, very great igno- 
 rance prevails in this country. As an organized denomi- 
 nation it is of comparatively recent date ; being scarcely 
 known anterior to the opening of the present century. 
 Yet though the career of the organization is not very 
 ancient, it is a circumstance worthy of note that the chief 
 central doctrine of Universalism has been held by some 
 few Christian teachers in all ages since the Apostolic era. 
 Several of the early Fathers taught it. Origen and Arius 
 believed it. Several of the divines of the Church of Eng- 
 land have held it, such as Tillotson ; as well as some emi- 
 nent "Dissenters," such as John Foster; to say nothing 
 of vast numbers of what are termed the Neological or Ka- 
 tionalistic theologians of Germany. It cannot be denied 
 that important changes have taken place in the doctrinal 
 system held by Universalists in this country, since it was 
 originally preached by Hosea Ballou, the first. According 
 to him and his immediate successors, the theory of Univer- 
 salism was, that all penalty or punishment for sin was in- 
 flicted in the present life ; and that in consequence of the 
 universal and all-atoning power of Christ's sufferings and 
 atonement, all men entered on the enjoyment of the felici- 
 ties of heaven immediately after their departure from the 
 earth. This theory entirely ignored the existence of hell- 
 fire; of a personal, living and tormenting Devil; of a 
 literal judgment-day, in which a separation should be 
 
170 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 made between the good and the bad, the sheep and th& 
 goats; and it contended that though every man should be 
 adequately and sufficiently punished for his unforgiven 
 sins, that punishment would be inflicted only during tho 
 period and the progress of the present existence. 
 
 Subsequently the main doctrine of the denomination 
 became altered, in consequence, probably, of future inves- 
 tigation, and also, doubtless, from the experience which 
 had been felt of the difficulty of maintaining, by argument, 
 the position originally and previously contended for. 
 The opinion substituted for the old one by the general 
 consent, or at least by the general use and concurrence 
 of the denomination, was, that while denying the eternity 
 of hell-fire, they admitted that some punishment for sin 
 did take place in a future state, accurately proportioned 
 by Infinite Wisdom and Justice to the precise deserts of 
 the sinner. Universalists now hold to the existence of a 
 future purgatory, not unlike, in some respects, to the Ro- 
 man Catholic doctrine. They are at present, in fact and 
 substance, Rationalists, teaching the final restoration of 
 all mankind to holiness, and, as a necessary consequence, 
 to happiness. Other important changes have taken place 
 gradually in the doctrinal system held by them. Origi- 
 nally they taught the absolute divinity of Christ, with the 
 vicarious nature and the universally efficacious power of 
 his atonement. They held that, so great was the benefit 
 produced by his sufferings and death for fallen, degraded 
 and ruined humanity, that all men were saved thereby 
 from future and eternal punishment : the disciplinary and 
 punitive portion of human existence being confined to the 
 present life. Now, however, they generally deny the di- 
 vinity of Christ. Some are Arians, regarding him as a 
 member of the Godhead, but greatly inferior in nature, 
 power, and glory, to the Father. The majority of them 
 are Soeinians, believing Christ to have been only a man, 
 but the greatest, best, and wisest of men and of teachers 
 who ever existed and labored on earth. They deny the 
 vicarious nature of the atonement, or, rather, they do not 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 171 
 
 believe in any atonement at all, for the logical reason that, 
 if Christ were a mere man, his sufferings, death, and obe- 
 dience, would not be any more efficacious in propitiating 
 the wrath of the offended Deity, and fulfilling the require- 
 ments of an all-perfect law, than would the sufferings, 
 death, and obedience of any other great and good man. In 
 fact, they go behind the theory of the atonement entirely, 
 and hold that no atonement is necessary, because Adam 
 and his descendants have never fallen. In other words, 
 they deny original sin and native depravity. They do 
 not regard human nature as the degraded, miserable, and 
 detestable thing which the Orthodox system represents it 
 as being. They contend that if Adam fell and thus threw 
 a black mantle of misfortune and guilt over the moral uni 
 verse immediately after his creation, such an event was 
 a failure and a baulk at the very commencement of God's 
 moral government, which would be by no means compli- 
 mentary to the providence, foresight, and power of the 
 Creator ; who, originally creating the world and the hu- 
 man race for purity, holiness, and happiness alone, at once 
 beheld the whole business spoiled, his handiwork defaced, 
 his glory marred, his enemy the Devil triumphant, and his 
 own benevolent purposes defeated at the very start of the 
 experiment. Accordingly, Universalists do not believe 
 that any such fearful catastrophe ever occurred ; and while 
 they admit that sin exists in the world, they do not believe 
 in the same excess of it, nor in the necessity of the same 
 remedy for its powers and its ravages which the Orthodox 
 do ; but they hold that by suffering the inevitable consequen- 
 ces of sin both here, and temporarily and sufficiently hereaf- 
 ter, it will be wiped out eventually from every spirit, and 
 a holy and happy race will be the winding up of the 
 world's history and experience. 
 
 MAHOMMEDANS. 
 
 THE Mohammedans, or Mahommedans, derive their name 
 and doctrine from Mahomet, who was born in Arabia, in 
 
172 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 the sixth century. He was endowed with a subtle genius, 
 and possessed an enterprise and ambition peculiar to him- 
 self. He pretended to receive revelations ; and declared 
 that God sent him into the world, not only to teach his 
 will, but to compel mankind to embrace it. The magis- 
 trates of Mecca were alarmed at the progress of his doc- 
 trines, and Mohammed being apprized of their design to 
 destroy him, fled to Medina : from this flight, which hap- 
 pened in the 622d year of Christ, his followers compute 
 their time. This era is called in Arabic, Hegira. 
 
 The book in which the Mahometan religion is contained, 
 is called the Koran, or Alcoran, by way of eminence, as 
 we say the Bible, which means the Book.* Its doctrines 
 made a most rapid progress over Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and 
 Persia ; and Mohammed became the most powerful mon- 
 arch in his time. His successors spread their religion and 
 conquests over the greatest part of Asia, Africa, and 
 Europe; and they still give law to a very considerable 
 part of mankind. 
 
 The great doctrine of the Koran is the unity of God : to 
 restore which point, Mohammed pretended was the chief 
 end of his mission ; it being laid down by him as a funda- 
 mental truth, that there never was, nor ever can be, more 
 than one true orthodox religion. For though the particu- 
 lar laws or ceremonies are only temporary, and subject to 
 alteration according to the divine direction, yet the sub' 
 stance of it being eternal truth, is not liable to change, 
 but continues immutably the same. And he taught, that 
 whenever this religion became neglected, or corrupted in 
 essentials, God had the goodness to re-inform and re-ad- 
 monish mankind thereof by several prophets, of whom 
 Moses and Jesus were the most distinguished, till the ap- 
 
 * The generality of the Mohammedans believe, that the first manu- 
 script of the Koran has been from everlasting by God's throne, written 
 on a table of vast bigness called the Preserved Table, in which are re- 
 corded the divine decrees : that a copy from this table, in one volume 
 on paper, was, by the ministry of the angel Gabriel, sent down to the 
 lowest heaven, in the month of Ramadan. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 173 
 
 pearance of Mohammed. The Koran asserts Jesus to be 
 the true Messias, the word and breath of God, worker of 
 miracles, healer of diseases, preacher of heavenly doctrine, 
 and exemplary pattern of a perfect life ; denying that he 
 was crucified, but affirming that he ascended into Paradise ; 
 and that his religion was mended by Mohammed, who was 
 the seal of the prophets, and was sent from God to restore 
 the true religion, which was corrupted in his time, to its 
 primitive simplicity ; with the addition, however, of pecu- 
 liar laws and ceremonies, some of which have been used 
 in former times, and others were now first instituted. 
 
 The Mohammedans divide their religion into two gene- 
 ral parts faith or theory, and religion or practice. Faith 
 or theory is contained in this confession of faith, There 
 is but one God, and Mohammed is his prophet. Under 
 these two propositions are comprehended six distinct 
 branches : 
 
 1. Belief in God. 2. In his angels. 3. In his scrip- 
 tures. 4. In his prophets. 5. In the resurrection and 
 judgment. 6. In God's absolute decrees. 
 
 They reckon four points relating to practice, viz : 
 
 1. Prayer, with washings. 2. Alms. 3. Fasting. 
 4. Pilgrimage to Mecca. 
 
 The idea which Mohammed taught his disciples to enter- 
 tain of the Supreme Being, may be seen from a public ad- 
 dress he made to his countrymen, which is as follows : 
 
 " Citizens of Mecca ! The hour is now come, when you 
 must give an account of your reason and your talents. In 
 vain have you received them from an Almighty Master, 
 liberal and beneficent in case you use them negligently, 
 or if you never reflect. In the name of this Master, I 
 must tell you, he will not suffer you to abuse his inestima- 
 ble gifts by wasting life away unprofitably, and employing 
 them only in unworthy amusements. No more permit de- 
 lusive pleasures to distract your hearts ! Open your minds 
 and receive the truth ! Wo to you for the unworthy notion 
 you have entertained of God ! The heaven and the earth 
 are his o\vn ! and there is nothing in all their copious fur- 
 
174 HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 niture but what invariably obeys him ! The sun and stars 
 with all their glory, have never disdained his service ! 
 and no being can resist his will, and the exercise of his 
 omnipotence ! He will call men to an account, and require 
 of them the reason for all those Gods they have invented 
 in defiance of reason ! There is no other God but God, 
 and him only we must adore."* 
 
 The belief of the existence of angels is absolutely re- 
 quired in the Koran. The Mohammedans suppose they 
 have pure and subtile bodies, created of fire ; and that they 
 have various forms and offices ; some being employed in 
 writing down the actions of men, others in carrying the 
 throne of God, and other services. They reckon four 
 angels superior to all the rest : These are, Gabriel, who 
 is employed in writing down the divine decrees ; Michael, 
 the friend and protector of the Jews ; Azrael, the angel 
 of death ; and Israsil, who will sound the trumpet at the 
 resurrection. They likewise assign to each person two 
 guardian angels. 
 
 The Devil, according to the Koran, was once one of the 
 highest angels, but fell for refusing to pay homage to Adam 
 at the command of God. 
 
 Besides angels and devils, the Mohammedans are taught 
 by the Koran to believe an intermediate order of creatures, 
 which they call Jin, or Genii, created also of fire, but of 
 a grosser fabric than angels ; and are subject to death. 
 Some of these are supposed to be good, and others bad, 
 and capable of future salvation or damnation as men are ; 
 whence Mohammed pretended to be sent for the conversion 
 of Genii as well as men. 
 
 As to the Scriptures, the Mohammedans are taught by 
 the Koran, that God, in divers ages of the world, gave 
 revelations of his will in writing to several prophets. The 
 number of these sacred books, according to them, are one 
 hundred and four ; of which ten were given to Adam, fifty 
 to Seth, thirty to Enoch, ten to Abraham ; and the other 
 
 * Boulanviller's Life of Mahomet. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 17-5 
 
 four, being the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospels, and 
 the Koran, were successively delivered to Moses, Da- 
 vid, Jesus, and Mohammed ; which last, being the seal of 
 the prophets, these revelations are now closed. All these 
 divine books, excepting the four last, they agree to be 
 entirely lost, and their contents unknown. And of these 
 four, the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospels, they say, have 
 undergone so many alterations and corruptions, that very 
 little credit is to be given to the present copies in the 
 hands of the Jews and Christians. 
 
 The number of prophets, who have been from time to 
 time sent into the world, amounts to two hundred and 
 twenty-four thousand; among whom three hundred and 
 thirteen were apostles, sent with special commissions to 
 reclaim mankind from infidelity and superstition ; and six 
 of them brought new laws or dispensations, which succes- 
 sively abrogated the preceding. These were Adam, Noah, 
 Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed.* 
 
 The next article of faith required by the Koran, is the 
 belief of a general resurrection and a future judgment. 
 But before these, they believe there is an intermediate 
 state, both of the soul and of the body after death. When 
 a corpse is laid in the grave, two angels come and examine 
 it concerning the unity of God, and the mission of Mo- 
 hammed. If the body answers rightly, it is suffered to 
 rest in peace, and is refreshed by the air of Paradise : if 
 not, they beat it about the temples with iron maces ; then 
 press the earth on the corpse, which is gnawed and stung 
 by ninety-nine dragons, with seven heads each. 
 
 As to the souls of the faithful, when they are separated 
 from the body by the angel of death, they teach, that 
 those of the prophets are admitted into Paradise imme- 
 diately. Some suppose, the souls of believers are with 
 Adam in the lowest heaven ; and there are various other 
 opinions concerning their state. Those who are called the 
 most orthodox, hold that the souls of the wicked are con- 
 
 * Sale's Koran, vol. i. p. 94, 95. 
 
176 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 fined in a dungeon under a green rock, to be there tor- 
 mented till their re-union with the body at the general 
 resurrection. 
 
 That the resurrection will be general, and extend to all 
 creatures, both angels, genii, men, and animals, is the re- 
 ceived opinion of the Mohammedans, which they support 
 by the authority of the Koran. 
 
 Mankind, at the resurrection, will be distinguished into 
 three classes ; the first, of those who go on foot ; the 
 second, of those who ride ; and the third, of those who 
 creep groveling with their faces to the ground. The first 
 class will consist of those believers whose good works have 
 been few ; the second, of those who are more acceptable 
 to God ; whence Ali affirmed that the pious, when they 
 come forth from their sepulchres, shall find ready prepared 
 for them, white-winged camels, with saddles of gold. The 
 third class will be composed of the infidels, whom God will 
 cause to make their appearance with their faces on the 
 ground. When all are assembled together, they will wait, 
 in their ranks and orders, for the judgment ; some say forty 
 years, others seventy, others three hundred, and some no 
 less than fifty thousand years. During which time they 
 will suffer great inconveniences, the good as well as the 
 bad, from their thronging and pressing upon each other, 
 and the unusual approach of the sun, which will be no 
 farther off them, than the distance of a mile ; so that the 
 skulls of the wicked will boil like a pot, and they will be 
 all bathed with sweat. At length, God will come in the 
 clouds surrounded by the angels, and will produce the 
 books wherein every man's actions are written. Some 
 (explaining those words so frequently used in the Koran, 
 God will be swift in taking an account,) say, that he will 
 judge all creatures in the space of half a day ; and others, 
 chat it will be done in less time than the twinkling of an 
 eye. At this tribunal, every action, thought, word, &c. 
 will be weighed in a balance held by the angel Gabriel, of 
 so vast a size, that its two scales are capacious enough to 
 contain both heaven and earth. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 177 
 
 The trials being over, and the assembly dissolved, those 
 who are to be admitted into Paradise, will take the right 
 hand way ; and those who are destined to hell-fire, the left ; 
 but both of them must first pass the bridge called in Arabic, 
 Al Siratj which is laid over the middle of hell, and is de- 
 scribed to be finer than a hair, and sharper than the edge 
 of a sword. The wicked will miss their footing and fall 
 headlong into hell.* 
 
 In the Koran it is said that hell has seven gates ; the 
 first for the Musselmen, the second for the Christians, the 
 third for the Jews, the fourth for the Sabians, the fifth for 
 the Magicians, the sixth for the Pagans, the seventh and 
 worst of all, for the Hypocrites of all religions. The in- 
 habitants of hell will sufier a variety of torments, which 
 shall be of eternal duration, except with those who have 
 embraced the true religion, who will be delivered thence, 
 after they have expiated their crimes by their sufferings. f 
 
 The righteous, after having surmounted the difficulties 
 in their passage, will enter Paradise, which they describe 
 to be a most delicious place, whose earth is the finest wheat, 
 or musk ; and the stones pearls, or jacinths. It is also 
 adorned with flowery fields, beautiful with trees of gold, 
 enlivened with the most ravishing music, inhabited by ex- 
 quisite beauties, abounding with rivers of milk, wine, and 
 honey, and watered by lesser springs, whose pebbles are 
 rubies, emeralds, &c. Here the faithful enjoy the most 
 exquisite sensual delights, free from the least alloy.J 
 
 The sixth great point of faith which the Mohammedans 
 are taught to believe, is, God's absolute decrees, and pre- 
 determination, both of good and evil. The doctrine which 
 
 * Sale's Koran, p. 90, 100, 112. 
 
 f Between Paradise and hell, they imagine there is a wall or parti- 
 tion, in which, some suppose, those were placed whose good and evil 
 works exactly counterpoised each other. These will be admitted to 
 Paradise at the last day, after they have performed an act of adoration, 
 which will make the scale of their good works to over-balance. 
 
 | Some of the most refined Mohammedans understand their prophet's 
 deswiptiou of Paradise in an allegorical sense. 
 12 
 
178 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 they call orthodox, is, that whatever doth or shall come to 
 pass in the world, whether it be good or bad, proceedeth 
 entirely from the divine will, and is irrevocably fixed and 
 recorded from all eternity in the preserved table ; and that 
 God hath secretly predetermined not only the adverse and 
 prosperous fortune of every person in the world, in the 
 most minute particulars, but also his obedience or disobe- 
 dience, and consequently his everlasting happiness or 
 misery after death ; which fate or predestination it is im- 
 possible by any foresight or wisdom to avoid. 
 
 Of the four practical duties required by the Koran, 
 prayer is the first. Mohammed used to call prayer the 
 pillar of religion and the key of Paradise. Hence he 
 obliged his followers to pray five times every twenty-four 
 hours, and always wash before prayers. 
 
 Circumcision is held by the Mohammedans to be of di- 
 vine institution. 
 
 The giving of alms is frequently commanded in the Ko- 
 ran, and often recommended therein jointly with prayer ; 
 the former being held of great efficacy in causing the 
 latter to be heard with God. 
 
 Tasting is a duty enjoined by Mohammed as of the ut- 
 most importance. His followers are obliged by the ex- 
 press command of the Koran, to fast the whole month of 
 Ramadan; during which time, they are obliged to fast 
 from daylight to sunset. The reason the month of Kama- 
 dan is pitched upon for that purpose, is, because they sup- 
 pose that at that time the Koran was sent down from 
 heaven. 
 
 The pilgrimage to Mecca is so necessary a point of 
 practice, that, according to a tradition of Mohammed, he 
 who dies without performing it, may as well die a Jew or 
 a Christian ; and the same is expressly commanded in the 
 Koran. 
 
 The negative precepts of the Koran are, to abstain from 
 usury, gaming, drinking of wine, eating of blood, and 
 swine's flesh. 
 
 The Mohammedans are divided and subdivided into an 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 179 
 
 endless variety of sects. As it is said there is as great a 
 diversity in their opinions as among the Christians, it is 
 impossible to give a particular account of their divisions in 
 the compass of this work ; which will admit only of noticing 
 a few of their principal denominations. 
 
 The divinity of the Mohammedans may be divided into 
 scholastic and practical. Their scholastic divinity consists 
 of logical, metaphysical, theological, and philosophical 
 disquisitions ; and is built on principles and methods of 
 reasoning very different from what are used by those who 
 pass among the Mohammedans themselves for the sounder 
 divines, or more able philosophers. This art of handling 
 religious disputes was not known in the infancy of Mo- 
 hammedism, but was brought in when sects sprang up, 
 and articles of religion began to be called in question. 
 
 As to their practical divinity, or jurisprudence, it con- 
 sists in the knowledge of the decisions of the law, which 
 regard practice gathered from distinct proofe. The princi- 
 pal points of faith subject to the examination and discus- 
 sion of the school-men, are, the unity and attributes of 
 God ; the divine decrees, or predestination ; the promises 
 and threats contained in the law ; and matters of history 
 and reason. 
 
 The sects among the Mohammedans who are esteemed 
 orthodox, are called by the general name of Sonnites, or 
 Traditionarists, because they acknowledge the authority of 
 the Sonna, or collection of moral traditions of the sayings 
 and actions of their prophet. 
 
 The Sonnites are subdivided into four chief sects, viz., 
 
 1st. The Hanisites. 2d. The Malekites. 3d. TheSha- 
 feits. 4th. The Hanbalites. 
 
 The difference between these sects consists only in a few 
 indifferent ceremonies. 
 
 The sects whom the generality of the Mohammedans 
 suppose entertain erroneous opinions are numerous ; the 
 following are selected from a large number, in order, to 
 
180 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 give some ideas of the disputes among Mohammedan di- 
 vines.* 
 
 I. The Montazalites, the followers of "VYasel Ebn Ata. 
 As to their chief and general tenets : 1st. They entirely 
 rejected all eternal attributes of God, to avoid the dis- 
 tinction of persons made by the Christians. 2d. Thqy 
 believed the word of God to have been created in subjecto, 
 as the school-men term it, and to consist of letters and 
 sounds ; copies thereof being written in books to express 
 and imitate the original. They also affirmed, that what- 
 ever is created in subjecto is also an accident, and liable 
 to perish. 3d. They denied absolute predestination ; main- 
 taining, that God was not the author of evil, but of good 
 only ; and that man was a free agent. 4th. They held, 
 that if a professor of the true religion is guilty of a griev- 
 ous sin, and dies without repentance, he will be eternally 
 damned, though his punishment will be lighter than that 
 of the infidels. 5th. They denied all vision of God in Pa- 
 radise by the corporeal eye, and rejected all comparisons 
 or similitudes applied to God. 
 
 This sect are said to have been the first inventors of 
 scholastic divinity, and are subdivided, as some reckon, 
 into twenty different sects. 
 
 II. The Hashbemians ; who were so named from their 
 master Aba Hasham Abel al Salem. His followers were 
 so much afraid of making God the author of evil, that they 
 would not allow him to be said to create an infidel, because 
 an infidel is a compound of infidelity and man, and God is 
 not the creator of infidelity. 
 
 III. The Nohamians, or followers of Ibrahim al Ned- 
 ham, who imagining he could not sufficiently remove God 
 from being the author of evil, without divesting him of his 
 power in respect thereto, taught that no power ought to be 
 ascribed to God concerning evil and rebellious actions : 
 but this he affirmed against the opinion of his own disci- 
 
 * Sale's Koran, p. 142, 146, 148, 150, 152. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 181 
 
 pies, who allowed that God could do evil, but did not, be- 
 cause of its turpitude. 
 
 IV. The Jabedhians, or followers of Amru Ebn Bahr, 
 a great doctor of the Montazalites, who differed from his 
 brethren, in that he imagined the damned would not be 
 eternally tormented in hell, but would be changed into the 
 nature of brutes, and the vilest classes of the animal crea- 
 tion. 
 
 ATHAN ASIANS. 
 
 Those who profess similar sentiments to those taught 
 by Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, who flourished in the 
 fourth century. He was bishop during forty-six years ; and 
 his long administration was spent in a perpetual combat 
 against the powers of Arianism. He is said to have con- 
 secrated every moment, and every faculty of his being, to 
 the defence of the doctrine of the Trinity. The scheme 
 of Athanasius made the Supreme Deity to consist of three 
 persons, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. 
 The first of those three persons and fountain of divinity to 
 the other two, it makes to be the Father. The second 
 person is called the Son, and is said to be descended from 
 the Father, by an eternal generation of an ineffable and 
 incomprehensible nature in the essence of the Godhead. 
 The third person is the Holy Ghost, derived from the Fa- 
 ther and the Son, but not by generation, as the Son is 
 derived from the Father, but by an eternal and incompre- 
 hensible procession. Each of these persons are very and 
 eternal God, as much as the Father himself; and yet 
 though distinguished in this manner, they do not make 
 three Gods, but one God. 
 
 This system also includes in it the belief of two natures 
 in Jesus Christ, viz., the divine and human, forming one 
 person. 
 
 To prove the divinity of Christ, and his co-equality with 
 the Father, this denomination argue thus : 
 
 In John i. 1, it is said expressly, " In the beginning 
 
182 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word 
 was God." Which implies, that the Word existed from 
 all eternity, not as a distinct, separate power, but the 
 Word was with God, and the Word was God, not another 
 God, but only another person, of the same nature, Bub- 
 stance, and Godhead. 
 
 It is evident, that St. John intended the word " God" in 
 this strict sense, from the time of which he is speaking. 
 In the beginning the Word was God, before the creation. 
 It is not said, that he was appointed God over the things 
 which should be afterwards created. He was God before 
 any dominion over the creatures commenced. 
 
 It is said, that all things absolutely were made by him ; 
 therefore he who created all things, cannot be a created 
 being. Since nothing was made but by and through him, 
 it follows that the Son, as Creator, must be eternal and 
 strictly divine. 
 
 Christ's divinity and co-equality with the Father, are 
 plainly taught in Phil. ii. 5, 6, 7, &c. " Let this mind be 
 in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the 
 form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, 
 but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the 
 form of a servant." 
 
 Our Saviour says of himself, " I and my Father arc 
 one." John v. 19. " He that has seen me, has seen the 
 Father." John x. 30. "All that the Father hath are 
 mine." John xvi. 15. Those high and strong expres- 
 sions are supposed to teach, that he is the supreme God. 
 
 The prophets describe the true God as the only Saviour 
 of sinners. For thus it is written, "I, even I, am Jehovah, 
 and besides me there is no Saviour. Jesus Christ not 
 only professes to save sinners, but he calls himself the 
 Saviour, by way of eminence. Hence it is evident, that 
 he assumes a character in the most emphatical way, which 
 the God of Israel had challenged and appropriated to 
 himself. 
 
 The divine titles, which are ascribed to the Son in 
 Scriptures are: " The true God." 1 John v. 28. " The 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 183 
 
 mighty God." Isa. ix. 6. " The Alpha and Omega, the 
 first and the last." Rev. i. 8. " The God over all blessed 
 forever more." Rom. ix. 5. And Thomas calls Christ, 
 after his resurrection, his Lord and God. 
 
 The titles given to Christ in the New Testament, are 
 the same with those which are given to God in the Jewish 
 Scriptures. The name Jehovah,* which is appropriated 
 to God, Psalm Ixxxiii. 18. Isa. xiv. 5, is given to Christ. 
 See Isa. xiv. 23, 25, compared with Rom. xiv. 12. Isa. 
 xi. 3, compared with Luke i. 76. Jesus is the person 
 spoken of by St. John, whose glory Esaias is declared to 
 have seen, when he affirms he saw the Lord of hosts. 
 Therefore Jesus is the Lord of hosts. 
 
 The attributes, which are sometimes appropriated to 
 God, are applied to Christ. 
 
 Omniscience is ascribed to Christ. John xvi. 10. 
 "Now we are sure that thou knowest all things." To be 
 the searcher of the heart, is the peculiar and distinguishing 
 characteristic of the one true God, as appears from Jer. 
 xvii. 10. Yet our blessed Lord claims this perfection to 
 himself. "I am he," saith he, "that searcheth the reins 
 and the heart." Rev. ii. 23. 
 
 Omnipresence, another divine attribute, is ascribed to 
 Christ. Matt, xviii. 20. " Where two or three are gath- 
 ered together in my name, there am I, in the midst of 
 them." 
 
 Immutability is ascribed to Christ. Heb. i. 10, 11, 12. 
 " Thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." This 
 is the very description which the Psalmist gives of the 
 immutability of the only true God. See also Heb. xiii. 8. 
 
 Eternity is ascribed to Christ. Rev. i. 8. The Son's 
 being Jehovah, is another proof of his eternity, that name 
 expressing necessary existence. 
 
 * It has been observed by critics on the word Jehovah, that the first 
 syllable Jah means the divine essence, and that by kovah may be under- 
 stood, calamity, grief, destruction. Hence some have supposed, the 
 design of that venerable name was to convey unto us the ideas of a 
 divine essence in a human frame, and a suffering and crucified Messiah. 
 
1.84 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Christ is also said to have almighty power. Heb. i. 8 
 See also Phil. iii. 21. 
 
 The truth and faithfulness of God are ascribed to Christ. 
 "I am," says he, "the truth," &c. 
 
 Divine works are also ascribed to Christ, viz., creation, 
 preservation, and forgiveness of sins. 
 
 There are numerous texts of Scripture, which assert 
 that Christ is the Creator of all things. See Heb. i. 10. 
 " Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of 
 the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 
 See also Rev. iii. 14. 1 Cor. viii. 6, and various other 
 passages. 
 
 The work of creation is everywhere, in Scripture, repre- 
 sented as the mark and characteristic of the true God. 
 See 2 Kings xix. 15. Job xxii. 7. Psalm xix. 1. Hence 
 it is evident that Christ, the Creator, is the true God. 
 
 Preservation is ascribed to Christ. Heb. i. 3. " Up- 
 holding all things by the word of his power." 
 
 Christ himself says, in Matt. ix. 6, " The Son of man 
 hath power on earth to forgive sins. 
 
 Christ's being appointed the supreme Judge of the 
 world, is an evidence that he is the true God. The God 
 of Israel is emphatically styled, the Judge of all. 
 
 Religious worship, though appropriated to God, was by 
 divine approbation and command given to Christ. Heb. 
 i. 6. The apostle speaking of Christ, says, " Let the an- 
 gels of God worship him." See also Luke xxiv. 25. John 
 v. 23. Rev. i. 5, 6 ; v. 13, &c. 
 
 The Scripture everywhere asserts that God alone is to 
 be worshiped. The same Scripture asserts that our 
 blessed Saviour is to be worshiped. Thus St. Stephen 
 adores him with direct worship : " Lord Jesus, receive my 
 Spirit." The obvious consequence of which is, our blessed 
 Saviour is God. 
 
 This denomination allege, that divine titles, attributes, 
 works, and worship, are also ascribed to the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Many plead that the Holy Spirit is called Jehovah in 
 the Old Testament, by comparing Acts xxviii. 23, with 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 185 
 
 Isa. vi. 9, And he also appears to be called God. 
 Acts v. 4. 
 
 Eternity is clearly the property of the Holy Ghost, who 
 is styled by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, 
 "the eternal Spirit." Heb. ix. 14. 
 
 Omnipresence is a necessary proof of divinity. This 
 attribute belongs to the Holy Spirit ; for thus saith the 
 inspired poet, "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?" 
 Psalm cxxxix. 7. 
 
 Omniscience is ascribed to the Spirit. 1 Cor. ii. 10. 
 " For the Spirit searcheth all things, even the deep things 
 of God." 
 
 St. Paul declares, that his ability to work all manner 
 of astonishing miracles, for the confirmation of his minis- 
 try, was imparted to him by the Spirit. Rom. xv. 19. 
 The same act of divine grace, viz., our spiritual birth, is 
 ascribed without the change of a single letter to God and 
 the Spirit. John ii. 1. 1 John v. 4. 
 
 The chief texts produced to prove that divine worship 
 is given to the Spirit are, Matt, xxiii. 19. Isa. vi. 3, 
 compared with verse 9. Acts xxviii. 25, &c. Rom. 
 ix. 1. Rev. i. 4. 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 
 
 There are various texts of Scripture, in which, Father, 
 Son, and Spirit, are mentioned together, and represented 
 under distinct personal characters. 
 
 At the baptism of Christ, the Father speaks with an 
 audible voice, the Son in human nature is baptized by 
 John, and the Holy Ghost appears in the shape of a dove. 
 Matt. iii. 16, 17. 
 
 The Trinity of persons in the Godhead appears from 
 our baptism, because it is dispensed in the name of the 
 Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 The Trinity of persons also appears from the apostolic 
 benediction, " The grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of 
 God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you 
 all, Amen." 1 Cor. xiii. 14. And also from the testi- 
 mony of the three in heaven, contained in 1 John v. 7. 
 The Trinity in Unity is one Supreme Being, distinguished 
 
186 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 from all others by the name Jehovah. Deut. vi. 4. " The 
 Lord our God is one Jehovah." Yet Christ is Jehovah. 
 Jer. xxiii. 6. So is the Spirit. Ezek. viii. i. 3. There- 
 fore Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are one Jehovah. 
 They are three persons, but have one name, and one na- 
 ture. 
 
 ARIANS. 
 
 A denomination of the fourth century, which owed its 
 origin to Arius, a man of subtle mind, and remarkable for 
 his eloquence. He maintained that the Son was totally 
 and essentially distinct from the Father. That he was 
 the first and noblest of all those beings whom God the 
 Father had created out of nothing, and the instrument by 
 whose subordinate operation the Almighty Father formed 
 the universe, and therefore inferior to the Father both in 
 nature and in dignity.* He added that the Holy Spirit 
 was of a different nature from that of the Father, and of 
 the Son ; and that he had been created by the Son. 
 However, during the life of Arius, the disputes turned 
 principally on the divinity of Christ. 
 
 Such is the representation which is given of the opinion 
 of Arius, and his immediate followers. The modern de- 
 fenders of this system, to prove the subordination and in- 
 feriority of Christ to God the Father, argue thus : 
 
 There are various passages of Scripture, where the 
 Father is styled the one or only God. Matt. xix. 17. 
 " Why callest thou me good ? there is none good but one, 
 that is God." 
 
 The Father is styled God with peculiarly high titles and 
 attributes. See Matt. xv. 32. Mark v. 7, &c. It is said 
 in Eph. iv. 6. " There is one God and Father of all, who 
 is above all." 
 
 * His followers deny that Christ had anything which could properly 
 be called a divine nature, any otherwise than as anything very excellent 
 may by a figure be called divine, or his delegated dominion OYCI the 
 system of nature might entitle him to the name of God. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 187 
 
 Our Lo^. Jesus Christ expressly speaks of another God 
 distinct from himself. Matt, xxvii. 46. John xx. 17. 
 
 Our Lord Jesus Christ not only owns another than him- 
 self to be God; but also that he is above, and over him- 
 self. He declares, that "his Father is greater than he." 
 John xiv. 28. He says he came not in his own, but his 
 Father's name and authority. That he sought not his 
 own, but God's glory, nor made his own will but God's his 
 rule : and in such a posture of subjection he came down 
 from heaven into this earth, that it should seem that na- 
 ture which did pre-exist, did not possess the supreme will 
 even before it was incarnate. 
 
 Christ's saying, that he is of the Father must mean that 
 he is derived from him ; and this necessarily implies, that 
 he is neither self-existent nor eternal ; as the being derived 
 from, must exist before another being can be derived from 
 him. 
 
 Christ professes his knowledge to be limited and inferior 
 to the Father's.. Mark xiii. 32. " Of that day knows no 
 man, no not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the 
 Father only." 
 
 In like manner the apostle declares his subjection to 
 another ; not only as his Father, but his God, which is 
 emphatically expressed, in calling the most blessed God 
 the God u of our Lord Jesus Christ," after his humiliation 
 was over. Eph. i. 17. And the head of Christ is God. 
 See also 1 Cor. xi. 3. 
 
 It is said in 1 Cor. xv. 24, that " Christ will deliver 
 up the kingdom to God, even the Father," therefore ho 
 will be subjected to him, and consequently inferior. 
 
 There are various passages of Scripture in which it is 
 declared, that all prayers and praises ought primarily to 
 be offered to the Father. See Matt. iv. 10. John iv. 23. 
 Acts iv. 24. 1 Cor. i. 4. Phil. i. 3, 4. 
 
 The ancient Arians were divided among themselves, and 
 torn into factions which regarded each other with the bit- 
 terest aversion. Of these the ancient writers make men- 
 tion under the names of Semi- Arians, Eusebians, Aetians, 
 
188 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Eunomians, Acacians, Psatyrians, and others. But they 
 may all be included with the utmost propriety in three 
 classes ; the first of these were the primitive and genuine 
 Arians, who rejected all those forms and modes of expres- 
 sion, which the moderns had invented to render their 
 opinions less shocking to the Nicenians. They taught 
 simply, that the Son was not begotten of the Father, i. e. 
 produced out of his substance, but only created out of no- 
 thing. This class was opposed by the Semi- Arians, who 
 in their turn were abandoned by the Eunomians, or Ano- 
 maeans, the disciples of Aetias and Eunomius. The Semi- 
 Arians held, that the Son was similar to the Father in his 
 essence, not by nature, but by a peculiar privilege. The 
 Eunomians, who were also called Aetians and Exucon- 
 tians, and may be counted in the number of pure Arians, 
 maintained that Christ was unlike the Father in his essence, 
 as well as in other respects : 
 
 Under this general division were comprehended many 
 subordinate sects, whose subtleties and refinements have 
 been but obscurely developed by ancient writers. 
 
 The opinion of the Arians concerning Christ differs from 
 the Gnostics chiefly in two respects. 
 
 First, the Gnostics supposed the pre-existent spirit which 
 was in Jesus, to have been an emanation from the Supreme 
 Being, according to the principles of the philosophy of 
 that age, which made creation out of nothing to be an im- 
 possibility. But the Arians supposed the pre-existent 
 spirit to have been properly created ; and to have animated 
 the body of Christ, instead of the human soul. 
 
 Secondly, the Gnostics supposed that the pre-existent 
 spirit was not the Maker of the world, but was sent to rec- 
 tify the evils which had been introduced by the being who 
 made it. But the Arians supposed, that their Logos was 
 the being, whom God had employed in making the uni- 
 verse, as well as in all his communications with mankind. 
 
 Those who hold the doctrine, which is usually called 
 IJK Arianism say, that Christ pre-existed, but not as the 
 eternal Logos of the Father, or as the being by whom ne 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 180 
 
 made the worlds, and had intercourse with the patriarchs ; 
 or as having any certain rank or employment whatever in 
 the divine dispensation. As this doctrine had not any 
 existence till late years, and the author of it is unknown, 
 it has not got any specific name among writers. 
 
 ARMINIANS. 
 
 THEY derive thei* name from James Arminius, who was 
 bcrn in Holland in the year 1560. He was the first pas- 
 tor at Amsterdam; afterwards Professor of Divinity at 
 Leyden, and attracted the esteem and applause of his very 
 enemies, by his acknowledged candor, penetration, and 
 piety. They received also the denomination of Remon- 
 strants, from an humble petition entitled their remonstran- 
 ces, which they addressed in the year 1610, to the States 
 of Holland. 
 
 The principal tenets of the Arminians are comprehended 
 m five articles, to which are added a few of the arguments 
 they make use of in defence of their sentiments. 
 
 I. That the Deity has not fixed the future state of man- 
 kind, by an absolute unconditional decree ; but determined, 
 from all eternity, to bestow salvation on those whom he 
 foresaw would persevere unto the end in their faith in Je- 
 sus Christ ; and to inflict everlasting punishment on those 
 who should continue in their unbelief, and resist unto the 
 end his divine succors. 
 
 For as the Deity is just, holy, and merciful, wise in all 
 his counsels, and true in all his declarations to the sons 
 of men, it is inconsistent with his attributes, by an antece- 
 dent decree, to fix our commission of so many sins, in such 
 a manner, that there is no possibility for us to avoid them. 
 And he represents God dishonorably, who believes, that 
 by his revealed will, he hath declared he would have all 
 men to be saved ; and yet, by an antecedent secret will, he 
 would have the greatest part of them to perish. That he 
 hath imposed a law upon them, which he requires them to 
 obey, on penalty of his eternal displeasure, though he 
 
190 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 knows they cannot do it without his irresistible gra . j ; and 
 yet is absolutely determined to withhold this grace from 
 them, and then punish them eternally for what they coulc 
 not do without his divine assistance. 
 
 II. That Jesus Christ, by his death and sufferings, made 
 an atonement for the sins of all mankind in general, and 
 of every individual in particular : that, however, none but 
 those who believe in him, can be partakers of their divine 
 benefit. 
 
 That is, the death of Christ put all men in a capacity of 
 being justified and pardoned, upon condition of their faith, 
 repentance, and sincere obedience to the laws of the new 
 covenant. 
 
 For the Scriptures declare, in a variety of places, that 
 Christ died for the whole world. John iii. 16, 17. " God 
 so -loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 
 that whosoever believeth on him, might not perish, but 
 have everlasting life, &c." 1 John ii. 2. "He is the 
 propitiation not only for our sins, but for the sins of the 
 whole world." And the apostle expresses the same idea 
 in Heb. ii. 9, when he says, " Christ tasted death for 
 every man." Here is no limitation of that comprehensive 
 phrase. 
 
 If Christ died for those who perish, and for those who 
 do not perish, he died for all. That he died for those who 
 do not perish, is confessed by all ; and if he died for any 
 who may or shall perish, there is the same reason to afiirm 
 that he died for all who perish. Now that he died for 
 such, the Scripture says expressly, in 1 Cor. viii. 11. 
 " And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother per- 
 ish for whom Christ died." Hence it is evident Christ died 
 for those who perish, and for those who do not perish; 
 therefore he died for all men. 
 
 III. That mankind are not totally depraved, and that 
 depravity does not come upon them by virtue of Adam's 
 being their public head ; but that mortality and natural 
 evil only are the direct consequences of his sin to his pos- 
 terity. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 191 
 
 For, if all men are utterly disabled to all good, and con- 
 tinually inclined to all manner of wickedness, it follows, 
 that they are not moral agents. For how are we capable 
 of performing duty, or of regulating our actions by a law 
 commanding good and forbidding evil, if our minds are 
 bent to nothing but what is evil ? Then sin must be natu- 
 ral to us ; and if natural, then necessary, with regard to 
 us ; and if necessary, then no sin. For what is natural to 
 us, as hunger, thirst, &c., we can by no means hinder ; 
 and what we can by no means hinder, is not our sin, 
 Therefore mankind are not totally depraved. 
 
 That the sin of our first parents is not imputed to us, 
 is evident ; because, as the evil action they committed was 
 personal, so must their real guilt be personal and belong 
 only to themselves. And we cannot, in the eye of justice 
 and equity, be punishable for their transgression. 
 
 IV. That there is no such thing as irresistible grace, in 
 the conversion of sinners. 
 
 For, if conversion be wrought only by the unfrustrable 
 operation of God, and man is purely passive in it, vain are 
 all the commands and exhortations to wicked men " to 
 turn from their evil ways:" Isa. i. 16. "To cease to 
 do evil, and learn to do well :" Deut. x. 16. " To put off 
 the old man, and put on the new :" Eph. iv. 22. And 
 divers other texts to the same purpose. Were an irresisti- 
 ble power necessary to the conversion of sinners, no man 
 could be converted sooner than he is ; because, before this 
 irresistible action came upon him, he could not be con- 
 verted, and when it came upon him, he could not resist its 
 operations. And therefore no man could reasonably be 
 blamed, that he lived so long in an unconverted state : and 
 it could not be praiseworthy in any person who was con- 
 verted, since no man can resist an unfrustrable operation. 
 
 V. That those who are united to Christ by faith, may 
 fall from their faith, and forfeit finally their state of grace. 
 
 For the doctrine of a possibility of the final departure of 
 true believers from the faith, is expressed in Heb. vi. 4, 
 5, 6. " It is impossible for them who were once enlight- 
 
192 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 ened, &c. if they shall fall away, to renew them again to- 
 repentance ; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of 
 God afresh, and put him to open shame." See also 2 
 Peter, ii. 18, 20, 21, 22, and divers other passages of 
 Scripture to the same purpose. 
 
 All commands to persevere and stand fast in the faith, 
 show that there is a possibility that believers may not stand, 
 fast and persevere unto the end. All cautions to Chris- 
 tians not to fall from grace, are evidences and suppositions 
 that they may fall. For what we have just reason to cau- 
 tion any person against, must be something which may 
 come to pass and be hurtful to him. Now such caution 
 Christ gives his disciples ; Luke xxi. 34, 36. To them 
 who had like precious faith with the apostles, St. Peter 
 saith, " Beware lest being led away by the error of the 
 wicked, you fall from your own steadfastness." 2 Pet. 
 iii. 17. Therefore he did not look upon this as a thing 
 impossible : and the doctrine of perseverance renders those 
 exhortations and motives insignificant, which are so often 
 to be found in Scripture. 
 
 , In these five points, which are considered as fundamental 
 articles in the Arminian system, the doctrine of the will's 
 naving a self-determining power is included. Perhaps 
 some may wish to see a sketch of the arguments adduced 
 to support this opinion. 
 
 Dr. Clarke defines liberty to be a power of self-motion, 
 or self-determination. This definition is embraced by all 
 this denomination, and implies, that in our volitions we 
 are not acted upon. Activity and being acted upon are 
 incompatible with one another. In whatever instances, 
 therefore, it is truly said of us, that we act, in those in- 
 stances we cannot be acted upon. A being in receiving a 
 change of its state from the exertion of an adequate force, 
 is not an agent. Man therefore could not be an agent, 
 were aii his volitions derived from any force ; or the effects 
 of any mechanical causes. In this case, it would be no 
 more true that he ever acts, than it is true of a ball that 
 it acts, when struck by another ball. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 198 
 
 CAL1XTINS. 
 
 A BRANCH of the Hussites in Bohemia and Moravia in 
 the fifteenth century. The principal point in which they 
 differed from the church of Rome, was the use of the 
 Chalice, (Calix,) or communicating in both kinds. 
 
 Calixtins was also a name given to those among the 
 Lutherans, who followed the opinions of George Calixtus, 
 a celebrated divine in the seventeenth century ; who en- 
 deavoured to unite the Romish, Lutheran, and Calvinistic 
 churches, in the bonds of charity and mutual benevolence. 
 
 He maintained, 
 
 I. That the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, by 
 which he meant those elementary principles whence all its 
 truths flow, were preserved pure in all three communions, 
 and were contained in that ancient form of doctrine, that 
 is vulgarly known by the name of the Apostles' Creed. 
 
 II. That the tenets and opinions which had been con- 
 stantly received by the ancient doctors, during the first 
 five centuries, were to be considered as of equal truth and 
 authority with the express declarations and doctrines of 
 Scripture. 
 
 CALYINISTS. 
 
 THESE derive their name from John Calvin, who was 
 born at Nogen, in Picardy, in the year 1509. He first 
 studied the civil law, and was afterwards made professor 
 of divinity at Geneva, in the year 1536. His genius, 
 learning, and eloquence, rendered him respectable even in 
 the eyes of his very enemies. 
 
 The principal tenets of the Calvinists are comprehended 
 in five articles, to which are added a few of the arguments 
 they employ in defence of their sentiments. 
 
 I. That God has chosen a certain number in Christ unto 
 everlasting glory, before the foundation of the world, ac- 
 cording to his immutable purpose, and of his free grace 
 13 
 
194 HISTORY OF ALL KELIGIOKT. 
 
 and love, without the least foresight of faith, good works, 
 or any conditions performed by the creature ; and that the 
 rest of mankind he was pleased to pass by, and ordain 
 them to dishonor and wrath for their sins, to the praise of 
 his justice. 
 
 For, as the Deity is infinitely perfect and independent 
 in all his acts, the manifestation of his essential perfections 
 must be the supreme end of the divine counsels and de- 
 signs. Prov. xvi. 4. " The Lord hath made all things 
 for himself, &c." Since God is omniscient, it is evident 
 that he foresaw from everlasting whatever should come to 
 pass : but there can be no prescience of future contingents ; 
 for what is certainly foreseen, must infallibly come to 
 pass ; consequently the prescience of the Deity cannot be 
 antecedent to his decrees. 
 
 The sacred Scriptures assert the doctrine of the divine 
 sovereignty in the clearest terms. Rom. ix. 21. " Has 
 not the potter power over the clay of the same lump, to 
 make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor ?" 
 See from verse 11 to the end of the chapter. The same 
 divine author presents us with a golden chain of salvation 
 in Rom. viii. 30. To the same purport see Eph. i. 4. 
 Acts xiii. 48, and a variety of other passages in the 
 sacred oracles. 
 
 II. That Jesus Christ, by his death and sufferings, made 
 an atonement for the sins of the elect only. 
 
 That is, that redemption is commensurate with the di- 
 vine decree. Christ has absolutely purchased grace, holi- 
 ness, and all spiritual blessings for his people. 
 
 For, if God really intended the salvation of all men, 
 then no man can perish. " For the counsel of the Lord 
 standeth forever." Psalms xxxiii. 11. There are ex- 
 press texts of Scripture which testify that Christ did not 
 die for all men. John vi. 37. " All that the Father 
 giveth me, shall come to me, &c." and in John x. 11, 
 Christ styles himself, " The good Shepherd, who lays down 
 his life for his sheep." This is also implied in our Savi- 
 our's limitation of his intercession. John xvii. 9. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 195 
 
 To suppose that the death of Christ procured only a 
 possibility of salvation, which depends upon our perfor- 
 mance of certain conditions, is contradictory to those scrip- 
 tures which assert that salvation is wholly owing to free 
 sovereign grace. If Christ died for all, and all are not 
 saved, the purposes of his death are in many instances 
 frustrated, and he shed his precious blood in vain. To 
 suppose this would be derogatory to the infinite perfections 
 of the great Redeemer. Therefore he did not die for all, 
 and all for whom he died will certainly be saved. 
 
 III. That mankind are totally depraved in consequence 
 of the fall ; and by virtue of Adam's being their public 
 head, the guilt of his sin was imputed, and a corrupt na- 
 ture conveyed to all his posterity, from which proceed all 
 actual transgressions. And that by sin we are made 
 subject to death, and all miseries, temporal, spiritual, and 
 eternal. 
 
 For the inspired pages assert the original depravity of 
 mankind, in the most emphatical terms. Gen. viii. 21. 
 "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." 
 Psalm xiv. 2, 3. " The Lord looked down from heaven 
 upon the children of men, to see if there were any that 
 did understand, and seek after God. They are all gone 
 aside, they are altogether become filthy; there is none 
 that doeth good, no, not one." To the same purport see 
 Rom. iii. 10, 11, 12, &c. And it is evident, that Adam's 
 sin was imputed to his posterity, from Rom. v. 19. " By 
 one man's disobedience many were made sinners," &c., 
 The Scriptures also teach, that all sin exposes us to ever- 
 lasting destruction. See Gal. iii. 10. 2 Cor. iii. 6, 7, 
 and Rom. iv. 14. 
 
 The total depravity of human nature is also evident 
 from the universal reign of death over persons of all ages. 
 From the propensity to evil which appears in mankind, 
 and impels them to transgress God's law. From the ne- 
 cessity of regeneration. The nature of redemption. And 
 the remains of corruption in the saints. 
 
 IV. That all whom God has predestinated unto life, he 
 
196 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 is pleased, in his appointed time, effectually to call by his 
 word and spirit, out of that estate of sin and death, in 
 which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Je- 
 BUS Christ. 
 
 For an irresistible operation is evident from those pas- 
 sages in Scripture, which express the efficacious virtue of 
 divine grace in the conversion of sinners. Eph. i. 19. 
 " And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to- 
 wards us who believe," &c. Eph. ii. 1, 5. Phil. ii. 13, 
 and divers other passages. If there was any thing in us 
 which renders the grace of God effectual, we should have 
 cause for boasting ; but the sacred pages declaim against 
 this in the most emphatical terms. Rom. v. 27. " Where 
 is boasting then? It is excluded," &c. See Titus iii. 5. 
 1 Cor. i. 31, and a variety of other texts to the same 
 purport. 
 
 If the free will of man renders grace effectual, it may 
 be made ineffectual by the same power, and so the crea- 
 ture frustrate the designs of his Creator ; which is de- 
 rogatory to the infinite perfections of that omnipotent 
 Being, who worketh all things according to the counsel of 
 his will. 
 
 Y. That those whom God has effectually called and sanc- 
 tified by his spirit, shall never finally fall from a state 
 rf grace. 
 
 For this doctrine is evident from the promises of perse- 
 vering grace in the sacred Scriptures. Isa. liv. 10. "For 
 the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but 
 my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the 
 covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that 
 hath mercy on thee." See also Jer. xxxii. 38, 40. John 
 iv. 14 ; vi. 39 ; x. 28 ; xi. 26. And the apostle exclaims 
 with triumphant rapture, "I am persuaded that neither 
 life, nor death, &c., shall be able to separate us from the 
 love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord." Rom. 
 viii. 38, 39. 
 
 The perseverance of the saints is also evident from the 
 immutability of the Deity ; his purposes and the reasons 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 197 
 
 on which he founds them are invariable as himself. With 
 him there is no variableness or shadow of turning. 
 James i. 17. The faithfulness of the Deity is ever dis- 
 played in performing his promises ; but the doctrine of 
 falling from grace frustrates the design of the promises. 
 For if one saint may fall, why not another, and a third, 
 till no sincere Christians are left ? But the doctrine of 
 the believer's perseverance remains firm, as it is supported 
 by the express tenor of Scripture, the immutability of the 
 Deity, and his faithfulness in performing his promises. 
 
 These are the five points which distinguish this denomi- 
 nation from the Arminians. The Calvinistic system also 
 includes in it, the doctrine of three co-ordinate persons in 
 the Godhead forming one nature, and of two natures in 
 Jesus Christ forming one person. Justification by faith 
 alone and the imputed righteousness of Christ form an 
 essential part of this system. They suppose, that on the 
 one hand, our sins are imputed to Christ, and on the other, 
 that we are justified by the imputation of Christ's right- 
 eousness to us ; i. e. we the guilty are treated by God as 
 righteous persons, out of regard to what Christ has done 
 and suffered ; who, though perfectly innocent, was appoin- 
 ted to suffer by the imputation of our sins to him. The 
 Calvinists suppose that the doctrine of Christ's suffering 
 in the place of sinners is strongly expressed in a variety 
 of passages in Scripture. As Isa. liii. 4, 5, 6. " He 
 has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. He was 
 wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our 
 iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, 
 and with his stripes we are healed." 1 Pet. ii. 25. 
 " Who himself bare our sins in his own body on the tree, 
 that we, being dead unto sin should live unto righteous- 
 ness." There are also a number of other texts to the sama 
 import. 
 
198 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 COCCEIANS. 
 
 A DENOMINATION which arose in the seventeenth cen- 
 tury, so called from John Cocceius, Professor of Divinity 
 in the University of Leyden. He represented the whole 
 history of the Old Testament as a mirror, which held forth 
 an accurate view of the transactions and events, that were 
 to happen in the church under the dispensation of the New 
 Testament, and unto the end of the world. He main- 
 tained that by far the greatest part of the ancient pro- 
 phecies foretold Christ's ministry and mediation, and the 
 rise, progress, and revolutions of the church, not only 
 under the figure of persons and transactions, but in a 
 literal manner, and by the very sense of the words used 
 in these predictions. And laid it down as a fundamental 
 rule of interpretation, that the words and phrases of Scrip- 
 ture are to be understood in every sense of which they are 
 susceptible. Or, in other words, that they signify in 
 effect every thing that they can possibly signify. 
 
 Cocceius also taught that the covenant made between 
 God and the Jewish nation, by the ministry of Moses, was 
 of the same nature of the new covenant, obtained by the 
 mediation of Jesus Christ. 
 
 In consequence of this general principle, he maintained : 
 That the ten commandments were promulgated by Moses, 
 not as a rule of obedience, but as a representation of the 
 covenant of grace. That when the Jews had provoked 
 the Deity by their various transgressions, particularly by 
 the worship of the golden calf, the severe and servile yoke 
 of the ceremonial law was added to the decalogue, as a 
 punishment inflicted on them by the Supreme Being in his 
 righteous displeasure. That this yoke which was painful 
 in itself, became doubly so on account of its typical signifi- 
 cation, since it admonished the Israelites, from day to day, 
 of the imperfection and uncertainty of their state, filled 
 them with anxiety, and was a perpetual proof that they 
 had merited the righteous displeasure of God, and could 
 
f the entire 
 
 remission of their iniquities. That indeed good men, even 
 under the Mosaic dispensation, were immediately after"" 
 death made partakers of everlasting glory. But, that they 
 were nevertheless, during the whole course of their lives, 
 far removed from that firm hope and assurance of salva- 
 tion, which rejoices the faithful under the dispensation of 
 the gospel. And that their anxiety flowed naturally from 
 this consideration, that their sins, though they remain un- 
 punished, were not pardoned ; because Christ had not, as 
 yet, offered himself up a sacrifice to the Father to make 
 an entire atonement for them. 
 
 GNOSTICS. 
 
 THIS denomination sprang up in the first century, 
 Several of the disciples of Simon Magus held the principles 
 of his philosophy, together with the profession of Christi- 
 anity, and were distinguished by the appellation of Gnos- 
 tics, from their boasting of being able to restore mankind 
 to the knowledge of the Supreme Being, which had been, 
 lost in the world. This party was not conspicuous for its 
 numbers or reputation before the time of Adrian.* It de- 
 rives its origin from the Oriental philosophy. The doc- 
 trine of a soul, distinct from the body, which had pre-ex- 
 isted in an angelic state, and was, for some offence com- 
 mitted in that state, degraded, and confined to the body 
 as a punishment, had been the great doctrine of the eastern 
 sages from time immemorial. Not being able to conceive 
 how evil in so great an extent, could be subservient to 
 good, they supposed that good and evil have different 
 origins. So mixed a system as this is, they therefore 
 thought to be unworthy of infinite wisdom and goodness. 
 They looked upon matter as the source of all evil, and 
 
 * Under the general appellation of Gnostics, are comprehended all 
 those, who, in the first ages of Christianity, blended the Oriental philos- 
 ophy with the doctrines of the gospel. 
 
200 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 argued in tliis manner : There are many evils in this world 
 and men seem impelled, by a natural instinct, to the prac- 
 tice of those things which reason condemns ; but that 
 eternal Mind, from which all spirits derive their existence, 
 must be inaccessible to all kinds of evil, and also of a most 
 perfect and beneficent nature. Therefore the origin of 
 those evils, with which the universe abounds, must be 
 sought somewhere else than in the Deity. It cannot re- 
 side in him who is all perfection ; therefore, it must be 
 without him. Now there is nothing without or beyond 
 the Deity but matter ; therefore matter is the centre and 
 source of all evil and of 'all vice. Having taken for granted 
 these principles, they proceed further, and affirmed that 
 matter was eternal, and derived its present form, not from 
 the will of the supreme God, but from the creating power 
 of some inferior intelligence, to whom the world and its 
 inhabitants owed their existence. As a proof of their 
 assertion, they alleged that it was incredible the supreme 
 Deity, perfectly good, and infinitely removed from all evil, 
 should either create, or modify matter, which is essentially 
 malignant and corrupt ; or bestow upon it, in any degree, 
 the riches of his wisdom and liberality. 
 
 In their system it was generally supposed that all intel- 
 ligences had only one source, viz., the divine Mind. And 
 to help out the doctrine concerning the origin of evil, it 
 was imagined, that though the divine Being himself was 
 essentially and perfectly good, those intelligences, or spir- 
 its, who were derived from him,, and especially those who 
 were derived from them, were capable of depravation. It 
 was further imagined, that the derivation of those inferior 
 intelligent beings from the Supreme, was by a kind of ef- 
 flux or emanation, a part of the substance being detached 
 from the rest, but capable of being absorbed into it again.* 
 
 * The great boast of the Gnostics was their doctrine concerning tte 
 derivation of various intelligences from the Supreme Mind, which they 
 thought to be done by emanation or efflux. And as those were 
 equally capable of producing other intelligences in the same manner 
 
HISTOKY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 201 
 
 To those intelligences derived mediately or immediately 
 from the divine Mind, the author of this system did not 
 scruple to give the name of gods, thinking some of them 
 capab 1 . of a power of modifying matter. 
 
 The oriental sages expected the arrival of an extraordi- 
 nary messenger of the Most High upon earth ; a messen- 
 ger invested with a divine authority ; endowed with the 
 most eminent sanctity and wisdom ; and peculiarly ap- 
 pointed to enlighten with the knowledge of the Supreme 
 Being, the darkened minds of miserable mortals, and 
 to deliver them from the chains of the tyrants and usurp- 
 ers of this world. When therefore some of these philoso- 
 phers perceived that Christ and his followers wrought 
 miracles of the most amazing kind, and also of the most 
 salutary nature to mankind, they were easily induced to 
 connect their fundamental doctrines with Christianity, by 
 supposing him the great messenger expected from above, 
 to deliver men from the power of the malignant genii, or 
 spirits, to whom, according to their doctrine, the world 
 was subjected, and to free their souls from the dominion 
 of corrupt matter. But though they considered him as 
 the Son of the Supreme God, sent from the pleroma, or habi- 
 tation of the everlasting Father, they denied his divinity, 
 looking upon him as inferior to the Father. They rejec- 
 ted his humanity, upon the supposition that every thing 
 concrete and corporeal is in itself essentially and intrinsi- 
 cally evil. Hence the greatest part of the Gnostics de- 
 nied that Christ was clothed with a real body, or that he 
 suffered really for the sake of mankind, the pains and sor 
 rows which he is said to have endured in the sacred history 
 They maintained, that he came to mortals with no other 
 view, than to deprive the tyrants of this world of their in- 
 fluence upon virtuous and heaven born souls, and destroy- 
 
 and some of them were male, and others female, there was room for 
 cndhs) combinations of them. It is supposed, that the apostle Paul, 
 when he censures endless genealogies and fables, has reference to the 
 philosophy of the Gnostics. 
 
202 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Ing the empire of these wicked spirits, to teach mankinl 
 how they might separate the divine mind from the impure 
 body, and render the former worthy of being united to 
 the Father of spirits. 
 
 Their persuasion, that evil resided in matter, rendered 
 them unfavorable to wedlock ; and led them to hold the 
 doctrine of the resurrection of the body in great contempt. 
 They considered it as a mere clog to the immortal soul ; 
 and supposed, that nothing was meant by it, but either a 
 moral change in the minds of men, which took place before 
 they died ; or that it signified the ascent of the soul to its 
 proper abode in the superior regions, when it was disen- 
 gaged from its earthly encumbrance. The notion, which 
 this denomination entertained, that the malevolent genii 
 presided in nature, and that from them proceed all dis- 
 eases and calamities, wars and desolations, induced them 
 to apply themselves to the study of magic, to weaken 
 the powers, or suspend the influences of these malignant 
 agents. 
 
 The Gnostic 'doctrine concerning the creation of the world 
 by one or more inferior beings of an evil, or at least of an 
 imperfect nature, led them to deny the divine authority of 
 the books of the Old Testament ; and when they were chal- 
 lenged to produce authorities for their doctrines, some re- 
 ferred to writings of Abraham, Zoroaster, Christ, and his 
 apostles. Others boasted of their having drawn their 
 opinions from secret doctrines of Christ. Others, that 
 they had arrived to these degrees of wisdom by an innate 
 vigor of mind. Others, that they were introduced by 
 Theudas, a disciple of St. Paul, and by Matthias, one of 
 the friends of our Lord. 
 
 As the Gnostics were philosophic and speculative peo- 
 ple, and affected refinement, they did not make much ac- 
 count of public worship, or of positive institutions of any 
 kind. They are said, not to have had any order in their 
 churches. 
 
 As many of this denomination thought that Christ had 
 not any real body, and therefore had not any proper flesh 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 203 
 
 and "blood, it seems on this account, when they used to 
 celebrate the Eucharist, they did not make any use of 
 wine, which represents the blood of Christ, but of water 
 only. 
 
 We have fewer accounts of what they thought or did 
 with respect to baptism, but it seems that some of them at 
 least disused it. And it is said, that some abstained from 
 the Eucharist, and from prayer. 
 
 The greatest part of this denomination adopted rules of 
 life, which were full of austerity, recommending a strict 
 and rigorous abstinence, and prescribed the most severe 
 bodily mortifications, from a notion, that they had a happy 
 influence in purifying and enlarging the mind, and in dis- 
 posing it for the contemplation of celestial things. That 
 some of the Gnostics, in consequence of making no account 
 of the body, might think, that there was neither good nor 
 evil in any thing relating to it, and therefore supposed 
 themselves at liberty to indulge in any sensual excesses, is 
 not impossible ; though it is more probable, that every 
 thing of this nature would be greatly exaggerated by the 
 enemies of this denomination. 
 
 The Egyptian Gnostics are distinguished from the Asia- 
 tic, by the following difference in their religious system : 
 
 I. That besides the existence of a Deity, they maintained 
 that also of an eternal matter, endued with life and mo- 
 tion, yet they did not acknowledge an eternal principle 
 of darkness, or the evil principle of the Persians. 
 
 II. They supposed that our blessed Saviour was a com- 
 pound of two persons, of the man Jesus, and of Christ the 
 Son of God; that the divine nature entered into the 
 man Jesus, when he was baptized by John in the river 
 Jordan, and departed from him, when he was seized by 
 the Jews. 
 
 III. They attributed to Christ a real, not an imaginary 
 body. 
 
 IV. Their discipline, with respect to life and manners, 
 much less severe than that of the Asiatic sect. 
 
204 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 SOCINIANS. 
 
 A DENOMINATION which appeared in the sixteenth, cen- 
 tury, and embraced the opinions of Lelius Socinus, a man 
 of uncommon genius and learning; and of Faustus So- 
 cinus, his nephew, who propagated his uncle's sentiments 
 in a public manner after his death. 
 
 The principal tenets maintained by this denomination 
 are as follow : to which are added a few of the arguments 
 they use in defence of their sentiments. 
 
 That the Holy Scriptures are to be understood and ex- 
 plained in such a manner, as to render them conformable 
 to the dictates of reason. 
 
 In consequence of this leading point in their theology, 
 they maintain, that God, who is infinitely more perfect 
 than man, though of a similar nature in some respects, ex- 
 erted an act of that power by which he governs all things ; 
 in consequence of which, an extraordinary person was 
 born of the Virgin Mary. That person was Jesus Christ, 
 whom God first translated to heaven by that portion 
 of his divine power which is called the Holy Ghost ;* and 
 having instructed him fully in the knowledge of his coun- 
 sels and designs, sent him again into this sublunary world, 
 to promulgate to mankind a new rule of life, more excel- 
 lent than that under which they had formerly lived, to 
 propagate divine truth by his ministry, and to confirm it 
 by his death. 
 
 * Socinus and some of his followers entertained a notion, of Christ's 
 having been in some unknown time of his life, taken up personally into 
 heaven, and sent down again to the earth, which was the way in which 
 they solved these expressions concerning him : John iii. 13. " No man 
 has ascended to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the 
 Son of man, which is in heaven/' Thus Moses who was the type of 
 Christ, before the promulgation of the law, ascended to God upon 
 Mount Sinai. So Christ, before he entered on the office assigned him 
 by the Father, was, in consequence of the divine counsel and agency, 
 translated into heaven, that he might see the things he had to announce 
 to the world in the name of God himself. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 206 
 
 That those who obey the voice of this divine teacher 
 (and tkxS obedience is in the power of every one whose will 
 and inclination leads that way) shall, one day, be clothed 
 with new bodies, and inhabit, eternally, those blessed re- 
 gions, where God himself immediately resides. Such, on 
 the contrary, as are disobedient and rebellious, shall un- 
 dergo most terrible and exquisite torments, which shall be 
 'bucceeded by annihilation, or the total extinction of their 
 being. 
 
 The above is an account of the religious tenets of Soci- 
 nus, and his immediate followers. Those at the present 
 day, who maintain the mere humanity of Christ, differ 
 from Socinus in many things ; particularly in not paying 
 religious worship to Jesus Christ, which was a point that 
 Faustus Socinus vehemently insisted on, though he con- 
 sidered Christ as a man only, with divine powers confer- 
 red upon him. He supposed, that in condescension to 
 human weakness, in order that mankind might have one 
 of their own brethren more upon a level with them, tc 
 whom they might have resource in their straits and neces- 
 sities, Almighty God, for his eminent virtues, had con- 
 ferred upon Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, some years 
 after he was born, a high divine power, lordship, and do- 
 minion, for the government of the Christian world only ; 
 and had qualified him to hear and answer the prayers of 
 his followers, in such matters as related to the cause of 
 the gospel. The chief foundation on which Socinus 
 founded the opinion of Christ's being an object of religious 
 worship, was : the declarations in the Scriptures concerning 
 the kingdom and power bestowed upon Christ ; the inter- 
 pretation which he put on those passages which speak of 
 angels and heavenly powers being put under him and wor- 
 shiping him; his having a knowledge of the secret 
 thoughts of men imparted to him, and the like, which with 
 some presumed instances of the fact, of prayer being ac- 
 tually made to him, he maintained to be a sufficient, 
 tliou^i indirect, signification of the divine will, that men 
 uoul 7 invoke Christ by prayer. But he constantly ac- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL EELIGIONS. 
 
 knowledged, that there was no express precept for making 
 him an object of religious worship. 
 
 Socinus allowed that the title of true God might bo 
 given to Christ ; though all he meant by it was, that he 
 had a real divine power and dominion bestowed upon him, 
 to qualify him to take care of the concerns of Christians, 
 and to hear and answer their prayers, though he was origi- 
 nally nothing more than a human creature. 
 
 There were some among the early Socinians, who disap- 
 proved and rejected the worship paid to Christ, as being 
 without any foundation in the Holy Scriptures, the only 
 rule of a Christian's faith and worship. 
 
 At present it is agreed, both by Arians and Socinians, 
 that the Supreme God in one person is the only object of 
 prayer. 
 
 Socinus was a strict Pelagian, in his sentiments respect- 
 ing human nature. 
 
 This denomination differs from the Arians, in the follow- 
 ing particulars : 
 
 The Socinians assert, that Christ was simply a man, 
 and consequently, had no existence before his birth and 
 appearance in this world. 
 
 The Arians maintain, that Christ was a super-angelic 
 being, united to a human body. That though he was him- 
 self created, he was the creator of all other things under 
 God, and the instrument of all the divine communications 
 to the patriarchs. 
 
 The Socinians say, that the Holy Ghost is the power 
 and wisdom of God, which is God. 
 
 The Arians suppose, that the Holy Spirit is the crea- 
 ture of the Son, and subservient to him in the work of re- 
 demption. 
 
 SEIIVETIANS. 
 
 A NAME which, in the 16th century, distinguished the 
 followers of Michael Servetus, a Spaniard by birth. Ho 
 taught that the Deity, before the creation of the world, 
 had produced within himself two personal representations, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 207 
 
 or manners of existence, which were to be the medium of 
 intercourse between him and mortals, and by whom, con- 
 sequently, he was to reveal his will, and to display his 
 mercy and beneficence to the children of men. That these 
 tw-D representatives were the Word and the Holy Ghost 
 that the former was united to the man Christ, who was 
 born of the Virgin Mary, by an omnipotent act of the di- 
 vine will; and that, on this account, Christ might be 
 properly called God that the Holy Spirit directed the 
 course, and animated the whole system of nature; and 
 more especially produced in the minds of men, wise coun- 
 sels, virtuous propensities, and divine feelings. And 
 finally, that these two representations were to cease after 
 the destruction of this terrestrial globe, and to be absorbed 
 into the substance of the Deity, whence they had been 
 formed. 
 
 NECESSARIANS. 
 
 LEIBNITZ, a celebrated German philosopher, who was 
 born in the year 1646, is a distinguished writer on this 
 subject. He attempted to give Calvinism a more pleasing 
 and philosophical aspect. He considered the multiplicity 
 of worlds, which compose the universe, as one system or 
 whole, whose greatest possible perfection is the ultimate end 
 of creating goodness, and the sovereign purpose of govern- 
 ing wisdom. As the Leibnians laid down this great end, 
 as the supreme object of God's universal dominion, and 
 the scope to which all his dispensations were directed, they 
 concluded, that if this end was proposed, it must be ac- 
 complished. Hence the doctrine of necessity, to fulfill the 
 purposes of predestination founded on wisdom and good- 
 ness ; a necessity physical and mechanical in the motions 
 of material and inanimate things ; but a necessity moral 
 and spiritual in the voluntary determinations of intelligent 
 beings, in consequence of prepollent motives, which pro- 
 duce their effects with certainty, though those effects are 
 
208 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 contingent, and by no means the offspring of an absolute 
 and essentially immutable fatality.* 
 
 Mr. Leibnitz observes, that, if it be said, that the world 
 might have been without sin and misery, such a world 
 would not have been the best. For all things are linked 
 together in each possible world. The universe, whatever 
 it may be, is all of a piece, like an ocean ; the least motion 
 produces its effect to any distance, though the effect be- 
 comes less sensible in proportion to the distance. God 
 having settled every thing beforehand, once for all, having 
 foreseen good and evil actions, &c., every thing did ideally 
 contribute, before its existence, to his creating plan ; so 
 that no alteration can be made in the universe, any more 
 than in a number, without destroying its essence, or its 
 numerical individuality. And therefore if the least evil 
 which happens in the world was wanting, it would not be 
 the world, which all things duly considered, the all-wise 
 Creator has chosen and accounted the best. 
 
 Colors are heightened by shadows, and a dissonance, 
 well placed, renders harmony more beautiful. We desire 
 to be frightened by rope-dancers who are ready to fall; 
 and to shed tears at the representation of a tragedy. 
 Does any one sufficiently relish the happiness of good 
 health, that has never been sick ? Is it not most times 
 necessary, that a little evil should render a good more 
 sensible, and consequently greater ? 
 
 The Edwardean scheme of moral necessity is as follows : 
 
 That the will is, in every case, necessarily determined 
 by the strongest motives ; and that this moral necessity 
 may be as absolute as natural necessity ; i. e. a moral ef- 
 fect may be as perfectly connected with its moral cause, 
 as a naturally necessary effect is with its natural cause. 
 
 President Edwards rejects the notion of liberty, as im- 
 
 * Augustine. Leibnitz, and a considerable number of modern philoso- 
 phers who maintain the doctrine of necessity, consider this uecessity 
 in racial actions as consistent with spontaneity and choice. Accord 
 ing tc them, constraint alone, and external force, destroy merit and 
 imputation. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 209 
 
 J>iying any self-determining power in the will, any indiffer- 
 ence or contingency ; and defines liberty to be the power, 
 opportunity, and advantage, which any one has to do as 
 he pleases. This liberty is supposed to be consistent with, 
 moral certainty, or necessity. 
 
 He supports his scheme by the connection between cause 
 and effect by God's certain foreknowledge of the volitions 
 of moral agents, which is supposed to be inconsistent with 
 such a contingence of those volitions, as excludes all neces- 
 sity. He shows that God's moral excellence is necessary, 
 yet virtuous and praise-worthy that the acts of the will 
 of the human soul of Christ are necessarily holy, yet virtu- 
 ous, praise-worthy, and rewardable and that the moral 
 inability of sinners, consisting in depravity of heart, instead 
 of excusing, constitutes their guilt. 
 
 Lord Kames has the following idea of necessity : 
 
 That, comparing together the moral and material world, 
 every thing is as much the result of established laws in the 
 one as in the other. There is nothing in the whole uni- 
 verse, which can properly be called contingent ; but every 
 motion in the material, and every determination and actioa 
 in the moral world, are directed by immutable laws ; so 
 that while those laws remain in force, not the smallest link 
 in the chain of causes and effects can be broken, nor any 
 one thing be otherwise than it is. 
 
 That as man must act with consciousness and spontane- 
 ity, it is necessary that he should have some sense of things 
 possible and contingent. Hence the Deity has wisely im- 
 planted a delusive sense of liberty in the mind of man ; 
 which fits him to fulfill the ends of action to better advan- 
 tage, than he could do, if he knew the necessity which 
 really attends him. 
 
 Lord Kames observes, that in the material world, it is 
 found, that the representations of external objects, and 
 their qualities, conveyed by the senses, differ sometimes 
 from what philosophy discovers these objects and their 
 qualities to be. Were man endowed with a microscopic 
 oye, the bodies which surround him would appear as differ- 
 14 
 
210 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 ent from what they do at present, as if lie was transported 
 into another world. His ideas, upon that supposition, 
 would be more agreeable to strict truth, but they would be 
 far less serviceable in common life. 
 
 Analogous to this, in the moral world, the Deity has 
 implanted in mankind the delusive notion of liberty or indif- 
 ference, that they may be led to the proper exercise of that 
 activity, for which they were designed. 
 
 The Baron de Montesquieu, in his Persian Letters, ob- 
 serves, that as God makes his creatures act just according 
 to his own will, he knows every thing he thinks fit to know. 
 But though it is in his power to see every thing, yet he 
 does not always make use of that power. He generally 
 leaves his creatures at liberty to act, or not act, that they 
 may have room to be guilty or innocent. In this view he 
 renounces his right of acting upon his creatures, and direct- 
 ing their resolutions. But when he chooses to know any 
 thing, he always does know it ; because he need only will 
 that it shall happen as he sees it ; and direct the resolu- 
 tions of his creatures according to his will. Thus he 
 fetches the things, which shall happen, from among those 
 which are merely possible, by fixing by his decrees the fu- 
 ture determinations of the minds of his creatures; and 
 depriving them of the power of acting, or not acting, which 
 he has bestowed upon them. 
 
 If we may presume to make comparison of a thing, 
 which is above all comparison, a monarch does not know 
 what his ambassador will do in an affair of importance. If 
 he thinks fit to know it, he need only give him directions 
 to behave so and so ; and he may be assured he will follow 
 his directions. 
 
 President Edwards makes the following distinction be- 
 tween his, and Lord Kame's ideas of necessity : 
 
 I. Lord Kames supposes, that such a necessity takes 
 place with respect to all men's actions, as is inconsistent 
 with liberty. Edwards maintains, that the moral neces- 
 sity, which universally takes place, is not inconsistent 
 
HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 211 
 
 with the utmost liberty, which can be defined, or con- 
 ceived. 
 
 II. Kames seems every where to suppose, that neces- 
 sity, properly so called, attends all men's actions; and that 
 the terms "unavoidable," "impossible," &c., are equally 
 applicable to the case of moral and natural necessity. 
 
 Edwards maintains, that such a necessity as attends the 
 acts of men's wills, can with more propriety be called cer- 
 tainty ; it being no other, than the certain connection be- 
 tween the subject and predicate of the proposition, which 
 affirms their existence. 
 
 III. Kames supposes, that if mankind could clearly see 
 the real necessity of their actions, they would not appear 
 to themselves, or others, praiseworthy, culpable, or ac- 
 countable for their actions. 
 
 Edwards maintains, that moral necessity, or certainty, is 
 perfectly consistent with praise and blame, rewards and 
 punishments. 
 
 Lord Kames agrees with president Edwards, in suppos- 
 ing, that praise or blame rests ultimately on the disposi- 
 tion, or frame of mind. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Dawson in a late pamphlet entitled, The 
 Necessarian, or the Question concerning Liberty and 
 Necessity stated and discussed, endeavors to prove, that 
 the will is determined by motives. He accounts, however, 
 every act, which proceeds not from mechanical force, a 
 voluntary act. Every voluntary act he calls a free act, 
 because it proceeds from the will, from the man himself. 
 But calls that voluntary act necessary, in conformity to 
 their idea of necessity, who, on supposition of the wilFs 
 being determined by motives, will not allow it to be free, 
 though voluntary. Having established this species of 
 necessity, he endeavors to show that free will leaves no 
 foundation for attributing merit, or demerit, to the agent. 
 And, that on the contrary, the doctrine of necessity does 
 that, which the doctrine of free will does not. By leaving 
 the foundation of morality secure, it leaves a foundation 
 for merit and demerit, viz., the moral nature of actions. 
 
212 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 The morality of an action is its motive. That, whicn 
 gives the action its moral quality, gives it at the same 
 time its worth, or merit. But on the doctrine of free will 
 there can be no foundation for attributing merit, or demerit, 
 to the agent, because it destroys all distinctions between 
 actions ; good and bad being terms without a meaning, 
 when applied to actions without a moral motive. 
 
 As in the account of Dr. Priestley's sentiments, the 
 manner in which that celebrated author distinguishes his 
 scheme of philosophical necessity from the Calvinistic doc- 
 trine of predestination is inserted, perhaps those, who are 
 fond of speculating on this subject, will be gratified, by 
 being presented, on the other hand, with the following 
 distinction, which the Rev. Mr. Emmons of Franklin has 
 made between the Calvinistic idea of necessity, and Dr. 
 Priestley's. 
 
 It has long been a subject of controversy among Armin- 
 ians and Calvinists, whether moral agents can act of neces- 
 sity. Upon this subject, Dr. Priestley takes the Calvin- 
 istic side, and labors to prove the doctrine of necessity 
 upon the general principle, that no effect can exist without 
 a cause. His train of reasoning runs very much in this 
 form : Every volition must be an effect ; every effect must 
 have a cause; every cause must necessarily produce its 
 effect ; therefore every volition, as well as every other 
 effect, must be necessary. But though he agrees with 
 Calvinists in their first principle, and general mode of 
 reasoning ; yet, in one very capital point, he differs from 
 them totally. For he maintains, that motives, which are 
 the cause of volitions, must operate mechanically, which, 
 they suppose, totally destroys the freedom of the will. 
 He is obliged to maintain the mechanical operation of 
 motives, by his maintaining the materiality of the soul. 
 If the soul is material, the natural conclusion is, that mo- 
 tives must act upon it, by a mechanical operation. This 
 conclusion, he owns, he means to draw from the doctrine 
 of materialism. In the preface to his illustrations of 
 philosophical necessity, he says, " Every thing belonging 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 213 
 
 to the doctrine of materialism is, in fact, an argument for 
 the doctrine of necessity ; and, consequently, the doctrine 
 of necessity is a direct inference from materialism." 
 
 JANSENISTS. 
 
 A DENOMINATION of Roman Catholics in France, which 
 was formed in the year 1640. They follow the opinions 
 of Jansenius, bishop of Ypres, from whose writings the 
 following propositions are said to have been extracted : 
 
 I. That there are divine precepts, which good men, not- 
 withstanding their desire to observe them, are, nevertheless, 
 absolutely unable to obey ; nor has God given them that 
 measure of grace, which is essentially necessary to render 
 them capable of such obedience. 
 
 II. That no person, in this corrupt state of nature, can 
 resist the influence of divine grace, when it operates upon 
 the mind. 
 
 III. That in order to render human actions meritorious, 
 it is not requisite that they be exempt from necessity, but 
 that they be free from constraint. 
 
 IV. That the Semi-Pelagians err greatly in maintain- 
 ing that the human will is endowed with the power of 
 either receiving, or resisting the aids and influences of 
 preventing grace. 
 
 V. That whoever affirms, that Jesus Christ made expia- 
 tion, by his sufferings and death, for the sins of all man- 
 kind, is a Semi-Pelagian. 
 
 This denomination was also distinguished from many of 
 the Roman Catholics, by their maintaining that the Holy 
 Scriptures and public Liturgies should be offered to the 
 perusal of the people in their mother tongue. And they 
 look upon it as a matter of the highest moment to persuade 
 all Christians, that true piety does not consist in the per- 
 formance of external acts of devotion, but in inward holi- 
 ness and divine love. 
 
214 HISTORY OF ALL KELIGIONS. 
 
 JESUITS. 
 
 A FAMOUS religious order in the Romish church, estab- 
 lished in the year 1540, under the name of the company 
 of Jesus. 
 
 Ignio, or Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish gentleman of illus- 
 trious rank, was the founder of this order, which has made 
 a most rapid and astonishing progress through the world. 
 
 The doctrinal points which are ascribed to the Jesuits, 
 in distinction from many others of the Roman communion, 
 are as follows : 
 
 I. This order maintain, that the pope is infallible 
 that he is the only visible source of that universal and 
 unlimited power which Christ has granted to the church 
 that all bishops and subordinate rulers derive from him 
 alone the authority and jurisdiction with which they are 
 invested ; and that he alone is the supreme law-giver of 
 that sacred community ; a law-giver whose edicts and com- 
 mands it is, in the highest degree, criminal to oppose, or 
 disobey. 
 
 II. They comprehend within the limits of the church, 
 not only many who live separate from the communion of 
 Rome, but even extend the inheritance of eternal salva- 
 tion to nations that have not the least knowledge of the 
 Christian religion, or of its divine author ; and consider 
 as true members of the church, open transgressors who 
 profess its doctrines. 
 
 III. The Jesuits maintain, that human nature is far 
 from being deprived of all power of doing good that the 
 succors of grace are administered to all mankind in a mea- 
 sure sufficient to lead them to eternal life and salvation 
 that the operations of grace offer no violence to the fac- 
 ulties and powers of nature, and therefore may be resisted 
 and that God from all eternity has appointed everlast- 
 ing rewards and punishments, as the portion of men in a 
 future world, not by an absolute, arbitrary, and uncondi- 
 tional decree, but in consequence of that divine and un- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 215 
 
 limited prescience by which he foresaw the actions, merits, 
 and characters of every individual. 
 
 IY. They represent it as a matter of perfect indiffer- 
 ence from what motives men obey the laws of God, pro- 
 vided these laws are really obeyed. And maintain, that 
 the service of those who obey from the fear of punishment, 
 is as agreeable to the Deity, as those actions which pro- 
 ceed from a principle of love to him and his laws. 
 
 V. They maintain, that the sacraments have in them^ 
 selves an instrumental and efficient power, by virtue of 
 which they work in the soul (independently of its previous 
 preparation or propensities) a disposition to receive the 
 divine grace. 
 
 VI. The Jesuits recommend a devout ignorance to such 
 as submit to their direction, and think a Christian suffi- 
 ciently instructed, when he has learned to yield a blind 
 and unlimited obedience to the orders of the Church. 
 
 The following maxims are said to be extracted from the 
 moral writings of this order : 
 
 I. That persons truly wicked, and void of the love of 
 God, may expect to obtain eternal life in heaven, provided 
 that they be impressed with a fear of the divine anger, 
 and avoid all heinous and enormous crimes, through the 
 dread of future punishment. 
 
 II. That those persons may transgress with safety, who 
 have a probable reason for transgressing, i. e. any plausi- 
 ble argument or authority in favor of the sin they are in- 
 clined to commit. 
 
 III. That actions intrinsically evil, and directly con- 
 trary to the divine law, may be innocently performed by 
 those who have so much power over their own minds as to 
 join, even ideally, a good end to this wicked action. 
 
 IV. That philosophical sin is of a very light and trivial 
 nature, and does not deserve the pains of hell. 
 
 V. That the transgressions committed by a person 
 blinded by the seductions of tumultuous passions, and des- 
 titute of all sense and impression of religion, however de- 
 testable and heinous they may be in themselves, are not 
 
216 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 imputable to the transgressor before the tribunal of God; 
 and that such transgressions may be often as involuntary 
 as the actions of a madman. 
 
 VI. That the person who takes an oath, or enters intc 
 a contract, may, to elude the force of the one and obliga 
 tion of the other, add to the form of the words that ex 
 press them certain mental additions and tacit reservation* 
 
 This entire society is composed of four sorts of members 
 viz. Novices, Scholars, spiritual and temporal Coadjutors,, 
 and professed Members. Beside the three ordinary vows 
 of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which are common to 
 all the monastic tribes, the professed Members are obliged 
 to take a fourth, by which they solemnly bind themselves 
 to go, without deliberation or delay, wherever the Pope 
 shall think fit to send them. They are governed by a 
 General, who has four Assistants. 
 
 SHAKERS. 
 
 THE first persons who acquired this epithet were Europe- 
 ans ; a part of whom came from England to New York, in 
 the year 1774, and being joined by others, they settled at 
 Niskyuna, above Albany ; whence they have spread their 
 doctrines, and increased to a considerable number. 
 
 Anne Lee, whom they styled the Elect Lady, was the 
 head of this party. They assert, that she was the woman 
 spoken of in the twelfth chapter of Revelation ; and that 
 she spoke seventy-two tongues: and though those tongues 
 are unintelligible to the living, she conversed with the 
 dead, who understood her language. They add further, 
 that she was the mother of all the elect ; that she travailed 
 for the whole world ; and that no blessing can descend 
 to any person, but only by and through her, and that in 
 the way of her being possessed of their sins, by their con- 
 fessing and repenting of them, one by one, according to 
 her direction. 
 
 The tenets which are peculiarly distinguishing to this 
 denomination, are comprised in seven articles. To which 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. -* 217 
 
 is added a short specimen of their manner of defending 
 their religious sentiments : 
 
 I. That the first resurrection is already come, and now 
 Ls the time to judge themselves. 
 
 II. That they have power to heal the sick, to raise the 
 dead, and to cast out devils. 
 
 This, they say, is performed by the preaching of the 
 word of God, when it is attended with the divine power, 
 the wonderful energy and operation of the Holy Spirit ; 
 which performs those things, by healing the broken-hearted, 
 by raising up those, who are dead in trespasses and sins, 
 to a life of holiness and righteousness, which causes the 
 devils to be cast out. Matt. x. 8. 
 
 III. That they have a correspondence with angels, the 
 spirits of the saints, and their departed friends. 
 
 This they attempt to prove, from 1 Cor. xii. 8, 10. " There 
 are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. To some is 
 given the word of wisdom, to some prophecy, to some the 
 discerning of Spirits." 
 
 IV. That they speak with divers kind of tongues in 
 their public assemblies. 
 
 This, they think, is done by the divine power and in- 
 fluence of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 V. That it is lawful to practice vocal music with dan- 
 cing, in the Christian churches, if it be practiced in prais- 
 ing the Lord. 
 
 VI. That their Church is come out of the order of na- 
 tural generation, to be as Christ was ; and that those who 
 have wives be as though they had none. That by these 
 means heaven begins upon earth, and they hereby lose 
 their earthly and sensual relation to Adam the first, and 
 come to be transparent in their ideas in the bright and 
 heavenly visions of God. 
 
 They suppose, that some of their people are of the num- 
 ber "of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who 
 were redeemed from the earth, that were not defiled with 
 women." 
 
 VII. That the word "everlasting," when applied to the 
 
218 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 punishment of the wicked, refers only to a limited space 
 of time, excepting in the case of those who fall from their 
 Church ; but for such " there is no forgiveness, neither in 
 this world, nor in that which is to come." 
 
 They quote Matt. xii. 32, to prove this doctrine. 
 
 This denomination maintain, that it is unlawful to swear, 
 game, or use compliments to each other ; and that water- 
 baptism and the Lord's Supper are abolished. 
 
 They deny the imputation of Adam's sin to his poster- 
 ity, and the doctrine of election, and reprobation. 
 
 The discipline of this denomination is founded on the 
 supposed perfection of their leaders. The mother, it is 
 said, obeys God through Christ. European elders obey 
 her. American laborers, and the common people obey 
 them, while confession is made of every secret in nature, 
 from the oldest to the youngest. The people are made to 
 believe that they are seen through and through in the gos- 
 pel glass of perfection, by their teachers, who behold the 
 state of the dead, and innumerable worlds of spirits good 
 and bad. 
 
 From the shaking of their bodies in religious exercises, 
 they were called Shakers, and some gave them the name 
 of Shaking Quakers. This name, though used in deri- 
 sion, they acknowledge to be proper, because they are both 
 the subjects and instruments of the work of God in this 
 latter day. 
 
 "Thus the Lord promised, that he would shake the 
 earth with terror:" Lowth's translation of Isaiah ii. 19, 
 21. " That, in that day, there should be a great shaking 
 in the land of Israel :" Ezek. xxxviii. 19, 20. That he 
 would shake the heavens and the earth:" Isaiah xiii. 13 ; 
 Jpel iii. 16 ; Hag. ii. 6, 7, 21. " That he would shake 
 all nations, and that the desire of all nations should come." 
 And according to the apostle : " That yet once more, he 
 would shake not the earth only, but also heaven :" Heb. 
 xii. 26. Signifying the removing of things that are 
 shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which 
 cannot be shaken may remain. All which particularly 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 219 
 
 alluded to the latter day, and now in reality began to be 
 fulfilled ; of which the name itself was a striking evidence, 
 and much more the nature and operations of the work. 
 
 This work went on under Wardley, till the year 1770, 
 when the present Testimony of Salutation and Eternal 
 Life was fully opened according to the special gift and 
 revelation of God through Anne Lee. She was born 
 about the year 1736 ; her father, John Lee, lived in Toad 
 Lane, Manchester, and was a blacksmith ; with him she 
 lived till she embarked for America. She herself was a 
 cutter of hatter's fur, and had five brothers and two sis 
 ters. She was married to Abraham Standley, a black- 
 smith, and had four children, who died in their infancy. 
 
 In 1758, this singular woman joined the society under 
 Wardley, and became a distinguished leader amongst 
 them. 
 
 When therefore Anne, who, by her perfect obedience, 
 had attained to all that was made manifest in the leading 
 characters of the society, still, however, found in herself 
 the seed or remains of human depravity and a lack of the 
 divine nature, which is eternal life abiding in the soul, she 
 did not rest satisfied in that state, but labored in contin- 
 ual watchings and fastings, and in tears and incessant 
 cries to God, day and night, for deliverance. And under 
 the most severe tribulation, and violent temptations, as 
 great as she was able to resist and endure, such was, fre- 
 quently, her extreme agony of soul, that she would clinch 
 her hands together, till the blood would flow through the 
 pores of her skin ! 
 
 By such deep mortification and suifering, her flesh 
 wasted away, and she became like a skeleton, wholly in- 
 capable of helping herself, and was fed and nourished like 
 an infant, although naturally free from bodily infirmities, 
 and a person of strong and sound constitution, and invin- 
 cible fortitude of mind. 
 
 And from the light and power of God, which attended 
 her ministry, and the certain power of salvation transmit- 
 ted to those who received her testimony, she was re- 
 
220 HISTORY OE ALL RELIGIONS 
 
 ceived and acknowledged as the first Mother, or spiritual 
 parent in the line of the female, and the second heir in 
 the covenant of life, according to the present display of 
 the gospel. Hence among believers, she hath been dis- 
 tinguished by no other name or title than that of Mother, 
 from that period to the present day. To such as addressed 
 her with the customary titles used by the world, she would 
 reply, <I am Anne the Word;' signifying that in her 
 dwelt the Word." 
 
 In 1774, Anne Lee, with some of her followers, having 
 been thought mad, and sorely persecuted, settled their 
 temporal affairs in England, and set sail from Liverpool 
 for New York. James Wardley and his wife, remaining 
 behind, were removed into an almshouse, and there died. 
 
 The others, we are told, " being without lead or protec- 
 tion, lost their power, and fell into the common course and 
 practice of the world!" Anne Lee and their brethren 
 reached New York, after working a kind of miracle, for 
 the ship sprang a leak on the voyage, and it is more than 
 hinted that had it not been for their exertions at the pump, 
 the vessel would have gone down to the bottom of the 
 ocean. They fixed their residence at Niskyuna, now 
 Watervliet, near the city of Albany. In this retired spot, 
 they greatly multiplied, but Anne was not without bitter 
 reproaches and manifold persecutions. She and the elders 
 would delight in missionary journeys being out for two 
 or three years, and returning with wonderful accounts of 
 their success. 
 
 The decease of Elder William served as a particular 
 means of preparing the minds of believers for a still 
 heavier trial, in being deprived of the visible presence and 
 protection of Anne the thought of which seemed almost 
 insupportable to many. But having finished the work 
 which was given her to do, she was taken out of their 
 sight in the ordinary way of all living, at Watervliet, en 
 the 8tt day of the ninth month, 1784. 
 
 Thus in the early dawn of the American Revolution, 
 when the rights of conscience began to be established, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 221 
 
 the morning star of Christ's second coming, disappeared 
 from the view of the world, to he succeeded by the in- 
 creasing brightness of the Sun of righteousness and all 
 the promised glory of the latter day. 
 
 And thus the full revelation of Christ, in its first de- 
 gree, was completed; which was according to that re- 
 markable prophecy of Christopher Love, who was be- 
 headed under Cromwell "Out of thee, England! shall 
 a bright star arise, whose light and voice shall make the 
 heavens to quake, and knock under with submission to the 
 blessed Jesus." 
 
 The most remarkable tenet of the Shakers is the abo- 
 lition of marriage and indeed the total separation of the 
 sexes. The essence of their argument is, that the Resur- 
 rection spoken of in the New Testament means nothing 
 more than conversion ; our Saviour declares that in the 
 resurrection they neither marry nor are given in mar- 
 riage, therefore on conversion, or the resurrection of the 
 individual, marriage ceases. To speak more plainly, the 
 single must continue single and the married must separ- 
 ate. Every passage in the Gospel and in the epistles is 
 interpreted according to this hypothesis. 
 
 Whatever degree of indulgence, say they, was ex- 
 tended to some among the gentile nations, who professed 
 faith in Christ, because they were not able to bear the 
 whole truth ; yet the truth did not conceal the pointed 
 distinction which Christ made between his own true fol- 
 lowers, and the children of this world. 
 
 "But I would have you without carefulness," saith the 
 apostle ; " He that is unmarried careth for the things that 
 belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord : ( his 
 noblest and principal affections are there.) But he that is 
 married careth for the things that are of the world, how 
 he may please his wife." The wife is put in the place cf 
 the Lord, as the first object of his affections. 
 
 The unmarried woman careth for the things of the 
 Lord, (upon whom she places her affections,) that she may 
 be holy both in body and spirit ; but she that is married 
 
222 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 careth for the things of the world, how she may please her 
 husband, instead of the Lord. 
 
 The same pointed distinction is made by Christ; not 
 only when he says of his disciples, " They are not of the 
 world, even as I am not of the world," but when in answer- 
 ing the Sadducees, who denied and knew not that he was 
 the Resurrection, he says, " The children of this world 
 marry, and are given in marriage ; but they which shall 
 be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resur- 
 rection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in 
 marriage." Neither can they die any more (spiritually), 
 for they are equal unto the angels, and are the children 
 of God, being the children of the resurrection. 
 
 An idea of the notions of the Shakers in regard to their 
 founder may be formed from the following passages : In 
 the fulness of time, according to the unchangeable purpose 
 of God, that same Spirit and word of power, which created 
 man at the beginning which spake by the prophets 
 which dwelt in the man Jesus which was given to the 
 apostles and true witnesses, as the Holy Spirit and Word 
 of promise, which groaned in them waiting for the day of 
 redemption and which was spoken of in the language of 
 prophecy as a woman travailing with child, and pained to 
 be delivered, was revealed in a woman. 
 
 And that woman, in whom was manifested the Spirit 
 and Word of power, who was anointed and chosen of God, 
 to reveal the mystery of iniquity, to stand as the first in 
 order, to accomplish the purpose of God, in the restoration 
 of that which was lost by the transgression of the first wo- 
 man, and to finish the work of man's final redemption, 
 was Anne Lee. 
 
 As the chosen vessel, appointed by divine Wisdom, 
 she, by her faithful obedience to that same anointing, 
 became the temple of the Holy Ghost, and the second heir 
 with Jesus, her Lord and Head, in the covenant and prom- 
 ise of eternal life. And by her sufferings and travail for 
 a lost world, and her union and subjection to Christ Jesus, 
 her Lord and Head, she became the first-born of many 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 223 
 
 Bisters, and the true Mother of all living in the new crea- 
 tion. 
 
 Thus the perfection of the translation of God in this 
 latter day, excels particularly, in that which respects the 
 most glorious part in the creation of man, namely, the 
 woman. And herein is the most condescending goodness 
 and mercy of God displayed, not only in redeeming that 
 most amiable part of creation from the curse, and all the 
 sorrows of the fall, but also in condescending to the lowest 
 estate of the loss of mankind. 
 
 The four leading peculiarities of the Shakers are : first, 
 community of property ; secondly, the celibacy of the en- 
 tire body, in both sexes ; thirdly, the non-existence of any 
 priesthood; and, fourthly, the use of the dance in their 
 religious worship. All these they defend on .Scriptural 
 authority, and quote very largely from the writings of the 
 Old and New Testaments in confirmation of their views. 
 The following are their rules for the admission of mem- 
 bers : 
 
 1. All persons who unite with the society must do it 
 voluntarily and of their own free will. 
 
 2. No one is permitted to do so without a full and 
 clear understanding of all its obligations. 
 
 3. No considerations of property are ever made use 
 of to induce persons to join or to leave the society ; be- 
 cause it is a principle of the sect, that no act of devotion 
 or service that does not flow from the free and voluntary 
 emotions of the heart, can be acceptable to God as an act 
 of true religion. 
 
 4. No believing husband or wife is allowed, by the 
 principles of this society, to separate from an unbelieving 
 partner, except by mutual agreement, unless the conduct 
 of the unbeliever be such as to warrant a separation by 
 the laws of God and man. Nor can any husband or wife, 
 who has otherwise abandoned his or her partner, be re- 
 ceived into communion with the society. 
 
 5. Any person becoming a member must rectify all 
 his wrongs, and, as fast and as far as it is in his power, 
 
224 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 discharge all just and legal claims, whether of creditors 
 or filial heirs. Nor can any person, not conforming to 
 this rule, long remain in union with the society. But the 
 society is not responsible for the dehts of any individual, 
 except by agreement ; because such responsibility would 
 involve a principle ruinous to the institution. 
 
 6. No difference is to be made in the distribution of 
 parental estate among the heirs, whether they belong to 
 the society or not ; but an equal partition* must be made, 
 as far as may be practicable and consistent with reason 
 and justice. 
 
 7. If an unbelieving wife separate from a believing 
 husband by agreement, the husband must give her a just 
 and reasonable share of the property ; and if they have 
 children who have arrived at years of understanding suffi- 
 cient to judge for themselves, and who choose to go with 
 their mother, they are not to be disinherited on that ac- 
 count. Though the character of this institution has been 
 much censured on this ground, yet we boldly assert that 
 the rule above stated has never, to our knowledge, been 
 violated by this society. 
 
 8. Industry, temperance, and frugality, are prominent 
 features of this institution. No member who is able to 
 labor, can be permitted to live idly upon the labors of 
 others. All are required to be employed in some manual 
 occupation, according to their several abilities, when not 
 engaged in other necessary duties. 
 
 As all persons enter this society voluntarily, so they 
 may voluntarily withdraw ; but, while they remain mem- 
 bers, they are required to obey the regulations of the so- 
 ciety. 
 
 The leading authority of the society is vested in a min- 
 istry, generally consisting of four persons, including both 
 sexes. These, together with the elders and trustees, con- 
 stitute the general government of the society in all its 
 branches. 
 
 No creed is framed to restrain the progress of impro re- 
 ment. It is the faith of the society that the operations of 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 225 
 
 Divine light are unlimited. All are at liberty to improve 
 their talents and exercise their gifts, the younger being 
 subject to the elder. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1780 the society consisted 
 of but about ten or twelve persons, all of whom came from 
 England. From this time there was a gradual and ex- 
 tensive increase in their numbers until the year 1787, 
 when they began to collect at New-Lebanon. Here the 
 Church was established, as a common centre of union for 
 all who belonged to the society in various parts of the 
 country. This still remains as the mother church, being 
 the first that was established ; all the societies in various 
 parts of the country are considered branches of this ; and 
 there are now twenty separate communities, numbering 
 about 4000 members. 
 
 In Ohio there are two societies, one at Union Village, 
 in the county of Warren, 30 miles northeast from Cincin- 
 nati, which contains nearly 600 members; and one at 
 Beaver Creek, in the county of Montgomery, six miles 
 southeast from Dayton, which contains 100 members. In 
 Kentucky there are also two societies, one at Pleasant 
 Hill, in Mercer county, 21 miles southwest of Lexington, 
 containing nearly 500 members; the other at South 
 Union, Jasper Springs, in Logan county, 15 miles north- 
 east from Russellville, which contains nearly 400 mem- 
 bers. In Indiana there is one society, at West Union, 
 Knox county, 16 miles above Vincennes, which contains 
 more than 200 members. 
 
 "The Shakers," says one of their visitors, "are, in 
 their religious notions, a compound of almost all the other 
 sects. They are a kind of religious eclectics, with this 
 commendable trait, that they are enemies to every sort of 
 coercion in matters of religion. They have chosen what 
 appeared to them to be good out of every denomination. 
 The Shakers unite with the Quakers in an entire submis- 
 sion to the Spirit, and in the rejection of baptism and the 
 Lord's Supper with the Calvinists and Methodists in 
 Laying great stress on conversion with the Arminiana 
 15 
 
226 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGU Jff S. 
 
 in rejecting election and reprobation, as well as the impu- 
 tation of Adam's guilt to his posterity with the Unita- 
 rians in exploding a Trinity of three persons in one God. 
 together with the satisfaction of Christ with the Roman 
 Catholics in contending for the continuation of miracles 
 in the church with the Sandemanians in practicing a sort 
 of community of goods, and having no person regularly 
 educated for the ministry with the followers of Joanna 
 Southcott, in believing that a woman is the instrument to 
 bring on the glory of the latter day with the Moravians 
 and Methodists in encouraging missi mary undertakings ~ 
 with the Swedenborgians in denying the resurrection of 
 the body, and asserting that the day of judgment is past 
 with the Jumpers in dancing and shouting during divine 
 worship ; and lastly, with the Universalists in renouncing 
 the eternity of hell torments. To all this, they have 
 added a tenet hitherto unthought of by any body of Chris- 
 tians. The Catholics indeed led the way in enjoining the 
 celibacy of the clergy, and in the institution of monachism. 
 It was left to the Shakers to enjoin celibacy as one of 
 their religious exercises." 
 
 As far as the history of the Shakers can establish the 
 fact, it has certainly shown that, where property is held in 
 community, and not individually, the disposition to bestow 
 it in works of charity and benevolence to others is greatly 
 increased. And that the property itself is better managed 
 for accumulation and preservation, no one can doubt who 
 has watched the progressive advancement which this so- 
 ciety has made in the augmentation, as well as improve- 
 ment, of its possessions, and in the neatness, order, and 
 perfection by which everything they do or make is char- 
 acterized : this is so much the case, that over all the Uni- 
 ted States, the seeds, plants, fruits, grain, cattle, and man- 
 ufactures furnished by any settlement of Shakers, bear a, 
 premium in tL? market above the ordinary price of similar 
 articles from Other establishments. There being no idle- 
 ness among them, all are productive. There being no in- 
 temperance among them, none are destructive. There 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 227 
 
 being no misers among them, nothing is hoarded, or made 
 to perish for want of use ; so that while production and im- 
 provement are at their maximum, and waste and destruc- 
 tion at their minimum, the society must go on increasing 
 the extent and value of its temporal possessions, and thus 
 increase its means of doing good, first within, and then 
 beyond its own circle. 
 
 The most remarkable religious ceremony among the 
 Shakers is that of dancing. The following account, from 
 Buckingham's Travels in America, appears to be a wholly 
 unprejudiced one: 
 
 " The males were first arranged in pairs, following each 
 other like troops in a line of march ; and when their num- 
 ber was completed, the females followed after, two and 
 two, in the same manner. In this way they formed a 
 complete circle round the open space of the room. In the 
 centre of the whole was a small band of about half a 
 dozen males and half a dozen females, who were there 
 stationed to sing the tunes and mark the time ; and these 
 began to sing with a loud voice and in quick time, like 
 the allegro of a sonata, or the vivace of a canzonet, the 
 following verse : 
 
 ' Perpetual blessings to demand, 
 Perpetual praise on every hand ; 
 Then leap for joy, with dance and song, 
 To praise the Lord forever.' 
 
 " The motion of the double line of worshippers, as they 
 filed oft" before us, was something between a march and a 
 dance. Their bodies were inclined forward like those of 
 persons in the act of running ; they kept the most perfect 
 time with their feet, and beat the air with their hands to 
 the same measure. Some of the more robust and enthu- 
 siastic literally ' leaped' so high as to shake the room by 
 the weight with which they fell to their feet on the floor ; 
 and others, though taking the matter more moderately, 
 bore evident signs of the effects of the exercise and heat 
 united on their persons. The first dance lasted about five 
 
228 HISTORY OF ALL BELiGIONS 
 
 minutes, and was performed to the air of ' Scots wha ha'e 
 wi' Wallace bled,' sung with great rapidity. The second 
 dance was of still quicker measure, and to the much less 
 respectable old English tune of 'Nancy Dawson,' and to 
 this lively and merry tune the whole body, now formed 
 into three abreast instead of two, literally scampered round 
 the room in a quick gallopade, every individual of both 
 the choir and the dancers singing with all their might 
 these words : 
 
 1 Press on, press on, ye chosen band, 
 
 The angels go before ye ; 
 We're marching through Immanuel's land, 
 Where saints shall sing in glory.' 
 
 " This exercise was continued for at least double the 
 time of the former, and by it the worshipers were wrought 
 up to such a pitch of fervor, that they were evidently on 
 the point of some violent outbreak or paroxysm. Accord- 
 ingly, the whole assembly soon got into the ' most admired 
 disorder,' each dancing to his own tune and his own mea- 
 sure, and the females became perfectly ungovernable. 
 About half a dozen of these whirled themselves round in 
 what opera dancers call a pirouette, performing at least 
 fifty revolutions each, with their arms extended horizon- 
 tally, their clothes being blown out like an air-balloon all 
 round their persons, their heads sometimes falling on one 
 side, and sometimes hanging forward on the bosom, till 
 they would at length faint away in hysterical convulsions, 
 and be caught in the arms of the surrounding dancers. 
 
 " This, too, like the singing and dancing which pre- 
 ceded it, was accompanied by clapping of hands to mark 
 the time, while the same verse was constantly repeated, 
 and at every repetition with increased rapidity. Altogether 
 the scene was one of the most extraordinary I had ever 
 witnessed, and, except among the howling dervishes of 
 Bagdad, and the whirling dervishes of Damascus, I re 
 member nothing in the remotest degree resembling it." 
 
 The Shakers vindicate this singular ceremony by quota- 
 tions from the Bible. " The exercise of dancing, in the 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 229 
 
 worship of God," say they, " was brought to light not as 
 an exercise of human invention, instituted by human au- 
 thority, but as a manifestation of the will of God, through 
 the special operations of his Divine power. No reader of 
 the Scriptures can doubt but that dancing was acceptable 
 to God as an exercise of religious worship in times past, 
 and will be in time to come, according to the prediction oi 
 the prophet : 
 
 " ' Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, 
 virgin of Israel ! thou shalt again be adorned with thy 
 tablets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that 
 make merry. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, 
 both young men and old together. Turn again, virgin 
 of Israel ! turn again to these thy cities.'* 
 
 " God requires the faithful improvement of every created 
 talent. i clap your hands, all ye people ; shout unto 
 God with the voice of triumph. Sing unto the Lord a 
 new song ; sing his praise in the congregation of the saints 
 Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King ; let them 
 praise his name in the dance.' 
 
 " These expressions of the inspired Psalmist are worthy 
 of serious consideration. Do they not evidently imply 
 that the Divine Spirit which dictated them requires the 
 devotion of all our faculties in the service of God ? How, 
 then, can any people professing religion expect to find ac- 
 ceptance with God by the service of the tongue only ? 
 
 " Since we are blessed with hands and feet, those active 
 and useful members of the body on which we mostly de- 
 pend in our own service, shall we not acknowledge our 
 obligations to God who gave them by exercising them in 
 our devotions to him ? There is too powerful a connec- 
 tion between the body and the mind, and too strong an 
 influence of the mind upon the body, to admit of much ac- 
 tivity of mind in the service of God without the co-opera- 
 ting exercises of the body. But where the heart is sin* 
 
 * Jeremiah, c. 31, v. 4, 13, 21. 
 
230 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 cerely and fervently engaged in the service of God, it has 
 a tendency to produce an active influence on the body." 
 
 "From every inquiry I could make," says Mr. Bucking- 
 ham, " of those longest resident in the neighborhood of 
 the Shakers, I could learn no authenticated case of evil 
 practices among them. On the contrary, every one ap- 
 peared ready to bear testimony to their honesty, punctu- 
 ality, industry, sobriety, and chastity." 
 
 HOPKINSIANS. 
 
 THIS sect is called after the Rev. Samuel Hopkins, D. D., 
 pastor of a Church at Newport ; who in his sermons and 
 tracts, has made several additions to the sentiments first 
 advanced by the celebrated Jonathan Edwards, President 
 of New Jersey College.* 
 
 The following is a summary of the distinguishing tenets 
 of this denomination, together with a few of the reasons 
 which they employ to support their sentiments : 
 
 I. That all true virtue, or real holiness, consists in dis- 
 interested benevolence. 
 
 The object of benevolence is universal Being, including 
 God, and all intelligent creatures. It wishes and seeks 
 the good of every individual, so far as is consistent with 
 the greatest good of the whole, which is comprised in the 
 glory of God, and the perfection and happiness of his 
 kingdom. 
 
 The law of God is the standard of all moral rectitude, 
 or holiness. This is reduced into love to God, and our 
 neighbor as ourselves ; and universal good- will compre- 
 hends all the love to God, our neighbor, and ourselves, re- 
 quired in the divine law; and therefore must be the 
 whole of holy obedience. Let any serious person think 
 
 * This denomination supposes, that this eminent divine not only illus- 
 trated and confirmed the main doctrines of Calvinism, but brought the 
 whole system to a greater degree of consistency and perfection, than 
 any who had gone before him. They profess only to pursue the same 
 design of still further perfecting the same system. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 231 
 
 what are the particular branches of true piety ; when he 
 has viewed each one by itself, he will find, that disinter- 
 ested, friendly affection is its distinguishing characteristic. 
 For instance, all the holiness in pious fear, which distin- 
 guishes it from the fear of the wicked, consists in love. 
 Again, holy gratitude is nothing but good will to God and 
 our neighbour, in which we ourselves are included, and 
 correspondent affection excited by a view of the good will 
 and kindness of God. 
 
 Universal good will also implies the whole of the duty 
 we owe to our neighbor. For justice, truth, and faithful- 
 ness, are comprised in universal benevolence. So are 
 temperance and chastity. For an undue indulgence of 
 our appetites and passions is contrary to benevolence, as 
 tending to hurt ourselves or others; and so opposite to 
 the general good, and the divine command, in which all 
 the crime of such indulgence consists. In short, all virtue 
 is nothing but benevolence acted out in its proper nature 
 and perfection, or love to God and our neighbor made per- 
 fect in all its genuine exercises and expressions. 
 
 II. That all sin consists in selfishness. 
 
 By this is meant, an interested, selfish affection, by 
 which a person sets himself up as supreme, and the only 
 object of regard ; and nothing is good or lovely, in his 
 view, unless suited to promote his own private interest. 
 This self-love is in its whole nature and every degree of 
 it, enmity against God. It is not subject to the law 
 of God ; and is the only affection that can oppose it. It 
 is the foundation of all spiritual blindness ; and therefore 
 the source of all the open idolatry in the heathen world, 
 and false religion under the light of the gospel. All this 
 is agreeable to that self-love which opposes God's true 
 character. Under the influence of this principle, men de- 
 part from truth, it being itself the greatest practical lie 
 in nature, as it sets up that which is comparatively noth- 
 ing, above Universal Existence. Self-love is the source 
 of all profaneness and impiety in the world ; and of all pride 
 and ambition among men, which is nothing but selfishness 
 
232 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 acted out in this particular way. This is the foundation 
 of all covetousness and sensuality ; as it blinds people's eyes, 
 contracts their hearts, and sinks them down, so that they 
 look upon earthly enjoyments as the greatest good. This 
 is the source of all falsehood, injustice, and oppression, as 
 it excites mankind by undue methods to invade the pro- 
 perty of others. Self-love produces all the violent pas- 
 sions, envy, wrath, clamor, and evil speaking, and every- 
 thing contrary to the divine law, is briefly comprehended 
 in this fruitful source of all iniquity, self-love. 
 
 III. That there are no promises of regenerating grace 
 made to the doings of the unregenerate. 
 
 For as far as men act from self-love, they act from a bad 
 end. For those who have no true love to God, really do 
 no duty, when they attend on the externals of religion. 
 And as the unregenerate act from a selfish principle, they 
 do nothing which is commanded. Their impenitent doings 
 are wholly opposed to repentance and conversion, there- 
 fore not implied in the command, To repent, &c. So far 
 from this, they are altogether disobedience to the com- 
 mand. Hence it appears, that there are no promises of 
 salvation to the doings of the unregenerate. 
 
 IV. That the impotency of sinners, with respect to be- 
 lieving in Christ, is not natural but moral. 
 
 For it is a plain dictate of common sense, that natural 
 impossibility excludes all blame. But an unwilling mind 
 is universally considered as a crime, and not as an excuse, 
 and is the very thing wherein our wickedness consists. 
 That the impotence of the sinner is owing to a disaffec- 
 tion of heart, is evident from the promises of the gospel. 
 When any object of good is proposed and promised to us 
 upon asking, it clearly evinces that there can be no impo- 
 tency in us with respect to obtaining it, beside the disap- 
 probation of the will : and that inability, which consists in 
 disinclination, never renders anything properly the subject 
 of precept or command. 
 
 V. That in order to faith in Christ, a sinner must ap- 
 prove in his heart of the divine conduct, even though God 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 233 
 
 should cast him off forever ; which, however, neither im- 
 plies love to misery, nor hatred of happiness.* 
 
 For if the law is good, death is due to those who have 
 broken it. The Judge of all the earth cannot but do right. 
 It would bring everlasting reproach upon his government 
 to spare us, considered merely as in ourselves. When this 
 is felt in our hearts, and not till then, we shall be pre- 
 pared to look to the free grace of God through the redemp- 
 tion which is in Christ, and to exercise faith in his blood, 
 " who is set forth to be a propitiation to declare God's 
 righteousness, that he might be just, and yet be the justi- 
 fier of him who believeth in Jesus." 
 
 VI. That the infinitely wise and holy God has exerted 
 his omnipotent power in such a manner, as he purposed 
 should be followed with the existence and entrance of 
 moral evil in the system. 
 
 For it must be admitted on all hands, that God has a 
 perfect knowledge, foresight, and view of all possible ex- 
 istences and events. If that system and sense of opera- 
 tion, in which moral evil should never have existence, was 
 actually preferred in the divine mind, certainly the Deity 
 is infinitely disappointed in the issue of his own operations. 
 Nothing can be more dishonorable to God, than to imagine 
 that the system, which is actually formed by the Divine 
 
 * As a particle of water is small in comparison with a generous stream, 
 BO the man of humility feels small before the great family of his fellow- 
 creatures. He values his soul, but when he compares it to the great 
 soul of mankind, he almost forgets and loses sight of it : for the gov- 
 erning principle of his heart is to estimate things according to their 
 worth. When, therefore, he indulges a humble comparison with his 
 Maker, he feels lost in the infinite fullness and brightness of divine love, 
 as a ray of light is lost in the sun, and a particle of water in the ocean. 
 It inspires him with the most grateful feelings of heart, that he has op- 
 pcrtunity to be in the 'jaud of God, as clay in the hand of the potter : 
 and as he considers himself in this humble light, he submits the nature 
 and size of his future vessel entirely to God. As his pride is lost in the 
 dust, he looks up with pleasure towards the throne of God, and rej sices 
 with all his heart in the rectitude of the divine administration. 
 
234 HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 hand, and which was made for his pleasure and glory, is 
 yet not the fruit of wise contrivance and design. 
 
 VII. That the introduction of sin is, upon the whole, 
 for the general good. 
 
 For the wisdom and power of the Deity are displayed in 
 carrying on designs of the greatest good : and the exist- 
 ence of moral evil has undoubtedly occasioned a more full, 
 perfect, and glorious discovery of the infinite perfections 
 of the divine nature, that could otherwise have been made 
 to the view of creatures. If the extensive manifestations 
 of the pure and holy nature of God, and his infinite aver- 
 sion to sin, and all his inherent perfections in their genu- 
 ine fruits and effects, is either itself the greatest good, or 
 necessarily contains it ; it must necessarily follow, that the 
 introduction of sin is for the greatest good. 
 
 VIII. That repentance is before faith in Christ. 
 
 By this is not intended, that repentance is before a 
 speculative belief of the being and perfections of God, and 
 of the person and character of Christ ; but only, that true 
 repentance is previous to a saving faith in Christ, in which 
 the believer is united to Christ, and entitled to the benefits 
 of his mediation and atonement. That repentance is be- 
 fore faith in this sense, appears from several considerations : 
 
 1st. As repentance and faith respect different objects, 
 so they are distinct exercises of the heart, and therefore 
 one not only may, but must be prior to the other. 
 
 2d. There may be genuine repentance of sin without 
 faith in Christ ; but there cannot be true faith in Christ 
 without repentance f sin : and since repentance is neces- 
 sary in order to faith in Christ, it must necessarily be 
 prior to faith in Christ. 
 
 3d. John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, taught, 
 that repentance is before faith. John cried, " Repent, for 
 the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" intending, that true 
 repentance was necessary in order to embrace the gospel 
 of the kingdom. Christ commanded, " Repent ye, and 
 believe the gospel." And Paul preached "repentance to- 
 ward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 236" 
 
 IX. That though men became sinners by Adam accord- 
 ing to a divine constitution, yet they have, and are ac- 
 countable for no sins but personal. 
 
 1st. Adam's act in eating the forbidden fruit was not 
 the act of his posterity, therefore, they did not sin at the 
 same time he did. 
 
 2d. The sinfulness of that act could not be transferred 
 to them afterwards ; because the sinfulness of an act can 
 no more be transferred from one person to another, than 
 an act itself. Therefore, 
 
 3d. Adam's act in eating the forbidden fruit was not 
 the cause, but only the occasion of his posterity's being 
 sinners. God was pleased to make a constitution, that, 
 if Adam remained holy through his state of trial, his pos- 
 terity should, in consequence of it, be holy too ; but if he 
 sinned, his posterity, in consequence of it, should be sin- 
 ners too. Adam sinned, and now God brings posterity 
 into the world sinners. By Adam's sin we are become 
 sinners, not for it ; his sin being only the occasion, not 
 the cause of our committing sins. 
 
 X. That though believers are justified through Christ's 
 righteousness, yet his righteousness is not transferred to 
 them. 
 
 1st. Personal righteousness can no more be transferied 
 from one person to another than personal sin. 
 
 2d. If Christ's personal righteousness were transferred 
 to believers, they would be as perfectly holy as Christ, 
 and so stand in no need of forgiveness. But, 
 
 3d. Believers are not conscious of having Christ's per- 
 sonal righteousness, but feel and bewail much in-dwelling 
 sin and corruption. And, 
 
 4th. The Scripture represents believers as receiving 
 only the benefits of Christ's righteousness in justification, 
 or their being pardoned and accepted for Christ's right- 
 eousness' sake. And this is the proper Scripture notion 
 of imputation. Jonathan's righteousness was imputed to 
 Mephibosheth, when David showed kindness to him for his 
 father Jonathan's sake. 
 
236 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 The Hopkinsians warmly advocate the doctrine of the 
 divine decrees, the doctrine of particular election, the 
 doctrine of total depravity, the doctrine of the special in- 
 fluences of the Spirit of God in regeneration, the doctrine 
 of justification by faith alone, the final perseverance of the 
 saints, and the consistency between entire freedom and 
 absolute dependence. And therefore claim it as their just 
 due, since the world will make distinctions, to be called 
 Hopkinsian Calvinists. 
 
 GOME-OUTERS. 
 
 THIS is a term which has been applied to a considerable 
 number of persons in various parts of the Northern States, 
 principally in New England, who have recently come out 
 of the various religious denominations with which they 
 were connected ; hence the name. They have not them- 
 selves assumed any distinctive name, not regarding them- 
 selves as a sect, as they have not formed, and do not 
 contemplate forming, any religious organization. They 
 have no creed, believing that every one should be left 
 free to hold such opinions on religious subjects as he 
 pleases, without being held accountable for the same to 
 any human authority. 
 
 Hence, as might be expected, they hold a diversity of 
 opinions on many points of belief upon which agreement 
 is considered essential by the generality of professing 
 Christians. Amongst other subjects upon which they dif- 
 fer is that of the authority of the Scriptures of the Old 
 and the New Testaments, some among them holding the 
 prevailing belief of their divine inspiration, whilst others 
 regard them as mere human compositions, and subject 
 them to the same rules of criticism as they do any other 
 book, attaching to them no authority any further than they 
 find evidence of their truth. They believe the commonly- 
 received opinion of the plenary inspiration of the writers 
 of those books to be unfounded, not claimed by the writers 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 237 
 
 themselves, and therefore unscriptural, as well as unrea- 
 sonable. 
 
 Whilst, then, they believe the authors of the Gospels to 
 have been fallible men, liable to err both in relation to 
 matters of fact and opinion, they believe they find in their 
 writings abundant evidence of their honesty. Therefore 
 they consider their testimony satisfactory as regards the 
 main facts there stated of the life of Jesus Christ, at least 
 so far. that there can be no difficulty in deducing there- 
 from the great principles of the religion which he taught. 
 They all believe him to have been a divinely-inspired 
 teacher, and his religion, therefore, to be a revelation of 
 eternal truth. They regard him as the only authorized 
 expositor of his own religion, and believe that to apply 
 in practice its principles as promulgated by him, and as 
 exemplified in his life, is all that is essential to constitute 
 a Christian, according to his testimony, (Matt. vii. 24,) 
 "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth 
 them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his 
 house upon a rock," &c. Hence they believe, that to 
 make it essential to Christianity to assent to all the opin- 
 ions expressed by certain men, good men though they 
 were, who wrote either before or after his time, involves a 
 denial of the words of Christ. They believe that, accord- 
 ing to his teachings, true religion consists in purity of 
 heart, holiness of life, and not in opinions ; that Chris- 
 tianity, as it existed in the mind of Christ, is a life rather 
 than a belief. 
 
 This class of persons agree in the opinion that he only 
 is a Christian who has the spirit of Christ ; that all such 
 as these are members of his church, and that it is com- 
 posed of none others ; therefore that membership in the 
 Christian church is not, and cannot, in the nature of things, 
 be determined by any human authority. Hence they deem 
 all attempts to render the church identical with any out- 
 ward organizations as utterly futile, not warranted by 
 Christ himself, and incompatible with its spiritual charac- 
 ter. Having no organized society, they have no stations 
 
238 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 of autnonty or superiority, which they believe to be incori 
 sistent with the Christian idea, ( Matt, xxiii. 8,) " But be 
 not ye called Rabbi : for one is your Master, even Christ ; 
 and all ye are brethren." (Matt. xx. 25, 26,) "Ye 
 know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion 
 over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon 
 them. But it shall not be so among you." 
 
 As might be inferred from the foregoing, they discard 
 all outward ordinances as having no place in a spiritual 
 religion, the design of which is to purify the heart, and 
 the extent of whose influence is to be estimated by its 
 legitimate effects in producing a life of practical righteous- 
 ness, and not by any mere arbitrary sign, which can- 
 not be regarded as a certain indication of the degree of 
 spiritual life, and must consequently be inefficient and un- 
 necessary. 
 
 Their views of worship correspond, as they believe, 
 with the spiritual nature of the religion they profess. They 
 believe that true Christian worship is independent of 
 time and place ; that it has no connection with forms, and 
 ceremonies, and external arrangements, any further than 
 these are the exponents of a divine life ; that it spontane- 
 ously arises from the pure in heart at all times and in all 
 places : in short, they regard the terms Christian worship 
 and Christian obedience as synonymous, believing that he 
 gives the highest and only conclusive evidence of worship- 
 ing the Creator, who exhibits in his life the most perfect 
 obedience to his will. These views they consider in per- 
 fect harmony with the teachings of Jesus, particularly in 
 his memorable conversation with the woman of Samaria. 
 
 They also agree in the belief that the religion of Christ 
 asserts the equality of all men before God ; that it con- 
 fers upon no man, or class of men, a monopoly of Heav- 
 en's favours ; neither does it give to a portion of his chil- 
 dren any means of knowing his will not common to the 
 race. They believe the laws of the soul are so plain, that 
 they may be easily comprehended by all who sincerely 
 seek to know them, without the intervention of any human 
 
HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 239 
 
 teacher or expounder. Hence they regard no teaching as 
 authoritative but that of the Spirit of God, and reject all 
 priesthoods but the universal priesthood which Christian- 
 ity establishes. They believe that every one whose soul 
 is imbued with a knowledge of the truth, is qualified to be 
 its minister, and it becomes his duty and his pleasure, by 
 his every word and action, to preach it to the world. It 
 follows, then, that, as Christ prepares and appoints his own 
 ministers, and as they receive their commissions only from 
 him, they are accountable to him alone for their exercise, 
 and not to any human authority whatsoever. They there- 
 fore reject all human ordinations, appointments, or control, 
 or any designation by man of an order of men to preach 
 the gospel, as invasions of his rightful prerogative. 
 
 Amongst the prevailing sins, against which they feel 
 bound to bear testimony, are slavery and war ; and it is 
 alleged as the main reason why many of them have dis- 
 connected themselves from the professedly Christian de- 
 nominations to which they belonged, that those bodies 
 five their sanction to those anti-Christian practices, 
 hey believe slave-holding to be sinful under all circum- 
 stances, and that, therefore, it should be immediately 
 abandoned. They believe not only that national wars 
 are forbidden by Christianity, but that the taking of hu- 
 man life for any purpose, by governments or individuals, 
 is incompatible with its spirit. A large proportion of 
 them, also, consider all resort to punishment, as a penalty 
 for crime, equally inconsistent with the law of love. 
 Hence they deem it their duty to withhold their voluntary 
 sanction or support from human governments, and all in- 
 stitutions which claim the right to exercise powers which 
 they thus regard as unlawful. 
 
 In various places, these persons hold meetings on the 
 first day of the week, which are conducted consistently 
 with their views of Christian freedom and equality. It is 
 understood that the object of thus meeting together, is to 
 promote their spiritual welfare. For this purpose, they 
 encourage a free interchange of sentiment on religious 
 
240 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 subjects, without any restraint or formality. They have 
 no prescribed exercises, but every one is left free to utter 
 his thoughts as he may feel inclined ; and even those who 
 difier from them in opinion are not only at liberty, but are 
 invited, to give expression to their thoughts. They be- 
 lieve this to be the only mode of holding religious meet- 
 ings consistent with the genius of their religion, and for 
 an example of like gatherings they refer to those of the 
 primitive Christians. 
 
 HUTCHINSONIANS, 
 
 HUTCHINSONIANS are the followers of John Hutchinson, 
 born in Yorkshire, 16T4, who in the early part of his 
 life served the Duke of Somerset in the capacity of a stew- 
 ard. The Hebrew Scriptures, he says, comprise a perfect 
 system of natural philosophy, theology, and religion. In 
 opposition to Dr. Woodward's Natural History of the 
 Earth, Mr. Hutchinson, in 1724, published the first part 
 of his curious book called Moses Principia. Its second 
 part was presented to the public in 1727, which contains, 
 as he apprehends, the principles of the Scripture philoso- 
 phy, which are a plenum and the air. So high an opin- 
 ion did he entertain of the Hebrew language, that he 
 thought the Almighty must have employed it to commu- 
 nicate every species of knowledge, and that accordingly 
 every species of knowledge is to be found in the Old Tes- 
 tament. Of his mode of philosophising, the following spe- 
 cimen is brought forward to the reader's attention : " The 
 air (he supposes) exists in three conditions, fire, light, and 
 spirit : the two latter are the finer and grosser parts of the 
 air in motion ; from the earth to the sun, the air is finer 
 and finer till it becomes pure light near the confines of the 
 sun, and fire in the orb of the sun, or solar focus. From 
 the earth towards the circumference of this system, in 
 which he includes the fixed stars, the air becomes grosser 
 and grosser till it becomes stagnant, in which condition 
 it is at the utmost verge of this system, from whence (ir* 
 
HISTORY OF ALL BELIOIONS. 241 
 
 his opinion) the expression of outer darkness, and black- 
 ness of darkness, used in the New Testament, seems to be 
 taken." 
 
 NESTORIANS. 
 
 THIS denomination, which arose in the fifth century, is 
 ?o called from Nestorius, a patriarch of Constantinople, 
 who was born in Germanica, a city of Syria, in the latter 
 part of the fourth century. He was educated and bap- 
 tized at Antioch, and soon after his baptism, withdrew to 
 a monastery in the vicinity of that city. His great repu- 
 tation for eloquence, and the regularity of his life, induced 
 the emperor Theodosius to select him for the see of Con- 
 stantinople ; and he was consecrated bishop of that Church 
 A. D. 429. He became a violent persecutor of heretics ; 
 6ut, because he favored the doctrine of his friend Anas- 
 tasius, that " the virgin Mary cannot with propriety be 
 called the mother of God," he was anathematized by Cy- 
 ril, bishop of Alexandria, who, in his turn, was anathema- 
 tized by Nestorius. In the council of Ephesus, A. D. 431, 
 (the third General Council of the Church,) at which Cyril 
 presided, and at which Nestorius was not present, he was 
 judged and condemned without being heard, and deprived 
 of his see. He then retired to his monastery in Antioch, 
 and was afterwards banished to Petra, in Arabia, and 
 thence to Oasis, in Egypt, where he died about A. D. 
 435 or 439. 
 
 The decision of the council of Ephesus caused many 
 difficulties in the Church; and the friends of Nestorius 
 carried his doctrines through all the Oriental provinces, 
 and established numerous congregations, professing an in- 
 vincible opposition to the decrees of the Ephesian council. 
 Nestorianism spread rapidly over the East, and was em- 
 braced by a large number of the oriental bishops. Barsu- 
 mus, bishop of Nisibis, labored with great zeal and activ- 
 ity to procure for the Nestorians a solid and permanent 
 footing in Persia ; and his success was so remarkable that 
 16 
 
242 HISTORY OF ALL EELIGIONS. 
 
 his fame extended throughout the East. He established 
 a school at Nisibis, which became very famous, and from 
 which issued those Nestorian doctors who, in that and tho 
 following centuries, spread abroad their tenets through 
 Egypt, Syria, Arabia, India, Tartary, and China. 
 
 The Nestorian Church is Episcopal in its government, 
 like all the Oriental churches. Its doctrines, also, are, in 
 general, the same with those of those churches, and they 
 receive and repeat, in their public worship, the Nicene 
 creed. Their distinguishing doctrines appear to be, their 
 believing that Mary was not the mother of Jesus Christ, 
 as God, but only as man, and that there are, consequently, 
 two persons, as well as two natures, in the Son of God. 
 This notion was looked upon in the earlier ages of the 
 Church as a most momentous error ; but it has in latter 
 times been considered more as an error of words than of 
 doctrine ; and that the error of Nestorius was in the words 
 he employed to express his meaning, rather than in the 
 doctrine itself. While the Nestorians believe . that Christ 
 had two natures and two persons, they say " that these 
 natures and persons are so closely united that they have 
 but one aspect." Now the word barsopa, by which they 
 express this aspect, is precisely of the same signification 
 with the Greek word prosopon, which signifies a person; and 
 hence it is evident that they attached to the word aspect 
 the same idea that we attach to the word person, and that 
 they understood by the word person, precisely what we 
 understand by the term nature. 
 
 The Nestorians, of all the Christian Churches of the 
 East, have been the most careful and successful in avoid- 
 ing a multitude of superstitious opinions and practices, 
 which have infected the Romish and many of the Eastern 
 churches. 
 
 Dr. Asahel Grant, an American, has published an in- 
 teresting work, in which he adduces strong evidence to 
 prove that the Nestorians and the "Lost Tribes" are one 
 people. The London Times of a recent date contains the 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 243 
 
 following letter, relating to the massacre of a large body 
 of the Nestorians, and the success of the Circassians : 
 
 " The Kurds, who for a long period have entertained a 
 ferocious hatred to this Christian republic, situated in the 
 centre of the Mahometan states, committed, on their inva- 
 sion, all kinds of atrocities. The villages were pillaged, 
 women and young girls were violated, and, in fact, the 
 massacres committed were worthy of a plundering tribe 
 having in their power a detested enemy. In the districts 
 adjoining Dzumalesk might be seen during several days 
 the Christian villages on fire. Some of those villages 
 were burned by the inhabitants themselves, who fled be- 
 fore the Pasha's hordes, destroying their property to pre- 
 vent its falling into the hands of the Kurds. The result 
 of this abominable outrage was, that the Nestorians, after 
 much bloodshed, surrendered their territory to the Pasha 
 of Mousul. This is a deplorable event, as the Nestorians 
 of Dzumalesk formed a small state well worthy of liberty. 
 They were brave, industrious, and peaceable. Dr. Grant, 
 who has for a long time resided at Urmia, has left for 
 Mousul, where he was about to take some steps in favor 
 of those persecuted Christians." 
 
 PELAGIANS. 
 
 THIS denomination arose in the fifth century, and was so 
 called from Pelagius, a monk who looked upon the doc- 
 trines which were commonly received, concerning the ori- 
 ginal corruption of human nature, and the necessity of 
 divine grace to enlighten the understanding and purify 
 the heart, as prejudicial to the progress of holiness and 
 virtue, and tending to establish mankind in a presumptu- 
 ous and fatal security. He maintained the following doc- 
 trines : 
 
 I. That the sins of our first parents were imputed to 
 them only, and not to their posterity ; and that we derive 
 no corruption from their fall ; but are born as pure and 
 
244 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 unspotted, as Adam came out of the forming hand of his 
 Creator. 
 
 II. That mankind, therefore, are capable of repentance 
 and amendment, and of arriving at the highest degrees of 
 piety and virtue, by the use of their natural faculties and 
 powers. That, indeed, external grace is necessary to ex- 
 cite their endeavours, but that they have no need of the 
 internal succors of the Divine Spirit. 
 
 III. That Adam was, by nature, mortal ; and, whether 
 he had sinned or not, would certainly have died. 
 
 IV. That the grace of God is given in proportion to 
 our merits. 
 
 V. That mankind may arrive at a state of perfection in 
 this life. 
 
 VI. That the law qualified men for the kingdom of 
 heaven, and was founded upon equal promises with the 
 gospel. 
 
 OEIGENISTS. 
 
 ORIGEN was a presbyter of Alexandria, who lived in 
 the third century. He was a man of vast and uncom- 
 mon abilities, who interpreted the divine truths of religion 
 according to the tenor of the Platonic philosophy. He 
 alleged, that the source of many evils lies in adhering to 
 the literal and external part of Scripture ; and that the 
 true meaning of the sacred writers was to be sought in a 
 mysterious and hidden sense, arising from the nature of 
 things themselves. 
 
 The principal tenets ascribed to Origen, together with 
 a few of the reasons made use of in their defence, are 
 comprehended in the following summary : 
 
 I. That there is a pre-existent state of human souls. 
 
 For the nature of the soul is such as makes her capa- 
 ble of existing eternally, backward, as well as forward. 
 For her spiritual essence, as such, makes it impossible 
 that she should, either through age or violence, be dis- 
 solved : so that nothing is wanting to her existence, but 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 245 
 
 His good pleasure, from whom all things proceed. And 
 if, according to the Platonic scheme, we assign the pro- 
 duction of all things to the exuberant fulness of life in 
 the Deity, which, through the blessed necessity of his 
 communicative nature, empties itself into all possibilities 
 of being, as into so many capable receptacles, we must 
 suppose her existence, in a sense necessary and in a 
 degree, co-eternal with God. 
 
 II. That souls were condemned to animate mortal bo- 
 dies, in order to expiate faults they had committed in a 
 pre-existent state. 
 
 For we may be assured, from the infinite goodness of 
 their Creator, that they were at first joined to the purest 
 matter,* and placed in those regions of the universe 
 which were most suitable to the purity of essence they 
 then possessed ; for that the souls of men are an order of 
 essentially incorporate spirits, their deep immersion into 
 terrestrial matter, the modification of all their operations 
 by it, and the heavenly body, promised in the Gospel, as 
 the highest perfection of our renewed nature, clearly 
 evince. Therefore, if our souls existed before they ap- 
 peared inhabitants of the earth, they were placed in a 
 purer element, and enjoyed far greater degrees of happi- 
 ness. And certainly, He whose overflowing goodness 
 brought them into existence, would not deprive them of 
 their felicity, until, by their mutability, they rendered 
 themselves less pure in the whole extent of their powers, 
 and became disposed for the susception of such a degree 
 of corporeal life, as was exactly answerable to their pre- 
 sent disposition of ppirit. Hence it was necessary, that 
 they should become terrestrial men. 
 
 III. That the soul of Christ was united to the "Word 
 before the incarna'ion.f 
 
 * Origen supposed f hat our souls, being incorporeal and invisible, 
 always stand in need ( bodies suitable to the nature of the places where 
 they exist. 
 
 f See this subjec* tiore fully illustrated in Dr. Watts' Glory of 
 Christ. 
 
246 HISTORY CF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 For the Scriptures teach us, that the soul of the Mes- 
 siah was created before the beginning of the world. See 
 Phil. ii. 5, 6, 7. This text must be understood of Christ's 
 human soul, because it is unusual to propound the Deity 
 as an example of humility, in scripture. Though the hu- 
 manity of Christ was so God-like, he emptied himself of 
 this fulness of life and glory, to take upon him the form 
 of a servant. It was this Messiah, who conversed with 
 the patriarchs under a human form : it was he, who ap- 
 peared to Moses upon the Holy Mount : it was he, who 
 spoke to the prophets under a visible appearance ; and it 
 is he, who will at last come in triumph upon the clouds, 
 to restore the universe to its primitive splendor and 
 felicity. 
 
 IV. That, at the resurrection, we shall be clothed with 
 ethereal bodies. 
 
 For the elements of our terrestrial compositions are 
 such, as almost fatally entangle us in vice, passion, and 
 misery. The purer the vehicle *he soul is united with, 
 the more perfect is her life and operations. Besides, the 
 Supreme Goodness, who made all things, assures us, he 
 made all things best at first ; and therefore, his recovery 
 of us to our lost happiness (which is the design of the 
 Gospel) must restore us to our better bodies and happier 
 habitations ; which is evident from 1 Cor. xv. 49, 2 Cor. 
 v. 1, and other texts of Scripture. 
 
 V. That, after long periods of time, the damned shall 
 be released from their torments, and restored to a new 
 state of probation. 
 
 For the Deity has such reserves in his gracious provi- 
 dence as will vindicate his sovereign goodness and wis- 
 dom from all disparagement. Expiatory pains are a part 
 of his adorable plan. For this sharper kind of favor 
 has a righteous place in such creatures as are by nature 
 mutable. Though sin has extinguished or silenced the 
 divine life, yet it has not destroyed the faculties of rea- 
 son and understanding, consideration and memory, which 
 will serve the life, which is most powerful. If therefore, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 247 
 
 the vigorous attraction of the sensual nature be abated by 
 a ceaseless pain, these powers may resume the seeds of a 
 better life and nature. 
 
 As in the material system, there is a gravitation of the 
 less bodies towards the greater, there must of necessity, 
 be something analogous to this in the intellectual system : 
 and since the spirits created by God are emanations and 
 streams from his own abyss of being, and as self-existent 
 power must needs subject all beings to itself, the Deity 
 could not but impress upon her intimate natures and sub- 
 Btances, a central tendency towards himself, an essential 
 principle of reunion to their great original. 
 
 VI. That the earth, after its conflagration, shall become 
 habitable again, and be the mansion of men and other 
 animals, and that in eternal vicissitudes. 
 
 For it is thus expressed in Isaiah : " Behold, I make 
 new heavens and a new earth;" and in Heb. i. 10-12 
 "Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundations 
 of the earth: As a vesture shalt thou change them, 
 and they shall be changed." Where there is only a 
 change, the substance is not destroyed; this change being 
 only as that of a garment worn out and decaying. The 
 fashion of the world passes away like a turning scene, to 
 exhibit a fresh and new representation of things ; and if 
 only the present dress and appearance of things go off, the 
 substance is supposed to remain entire. 
 
 QUIETISTS, 
 
 THIS name has been generally applied to a class of en- 
 thusiasts, who conceive the great object of religion to be 
 the absorption of all human sentiments and passions into 
 devout contemplation and love of God. This idea has 
 found its admirers and encomiasts in all ages. A sect 
 called by this name (in Greek Hesycliastce) existed among 
 the religious of Mount Athos ; and in the 17th century 
 it was given in France to a peculiar class of devout per- 
 sons with a tendency towards a higher spiritual devotion, 
 
248 HISTORY OF ALL HELIGIOtfS. 
 
 "which seems to have arisen, in a great measure, out of a 
 natural oposition to the hierarchical coldness and positive 
 immorality of the Roman Catholic religion at that time, 
 especially under the influence of the Jesuits. 
 
 A Spanish priest, Molinos, published at Rome a work 
 entitled The Spiritual Gruide (1657), of which the ardent 
 language attracted a multitude of partisans. Its leading 
 feature was the description of the happiness of a soul re- 
 posing in perfect quiet on God, so as to become conscious 
 of his presence only, and untroubled by external things. 
 He even advanced so far as to maintain that the soul, in 
 its highest state of perfection, is removed even beyond 
 the contemplation of God himself, and is solely occupied 
 in the passive reception of divine influences. The work 
 of Molinos was afterwards condemned on the application 
 of the Jesuits. 
 
 Akin to the ideas of Molinos seems to have been those 
 of the French Quietists, of whom Madame de la Motte 
 Guyon and Eenelon are the most celebrated names. The 
 former was at one time treated as insane, on account of 
 some strange delusions which led her to represent herself 
 (unless she was calumniated) as the mystical woman of 
 the Apocalypse ; at another she was admitted to the inti- 
 macy of Madame de Maintenon, and high in court favor, 
 Fenelon praised her in his treatise Sur la Vie Interieure 
 (1691), in which many of the most dangerous tenets of 
 Quietism were contained. The writings of the latter upon 
 this subject were finally condemned by Innocent XII; 
 and the example of the Archbishop in submitting to the 
 decision, and declaring himself satisfied and convinced by 
 the opinion of the church, has been dwelt on by pious 
 writers as a signal triumph of a truly religious mind. 
 
 The dissolute conduct of some hypocritical priests, un- 
 der the pretence of inculcating the tenets and practice of 
 Quietism, brought it eventually into disrepute more than 
 the repeated condemnations of the head of the Roman 
 Catholic church. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 249 
 
 MANICHEISTS. 
 
 THESE were the followers of Manes, an Oriental heretic 
 of the third century, who, having been ordained a Chris- 
 tian presbyter, attempted to effect a combination between 
 the religion which he was appointed to preach, and the 
 current philosophical systems of the East. He pursued 
 herein the same course as the Yalentinians, Basilidians, 
 and many others, whose leading ideas may be denominated 
 Gnostic. He maintained a dualism of principles govern- 
 ing the world, and a succession of dualisms generated from 
 them, like the Gnostic aeons. 
 
 All things were effected by the combination or repul- 
 sion of the good and the bad ; men had a double soul, 
 good and evil ; even their bodies were supposed to be 
 formed, the upper half by God, the lower by the devil. 
 The Old Testament was referred to the inspiration of the 
 evil principle, the New to that of the good. In the latter, 
 however, Manes proposed many alterations, and main- 
 tained also the authenticity of various apocryphal Scrip- 
 tures. A great part of his system related to cosmogony 
 and psychology, in which fields of speculation he expatiated 
 with the most arbitrary freedom. Like most other Oriental 
 systems, the Manichean heresy was celebrated alike for 
 the austerities which it enjoined, and for the scandalous 
 excesses which were attributed to its most zealous votaries. 
 The charge of Manicheism, which in latter times becomes 
 scarcely intelligible, was frequently brought against the 
 early reforming sects, such as the Albigenses, Waldenses, 
 and Picards. 
 
 Manes commanded his followers to mortify and mace- 
 rate the body, which he looked upon as essentially cor- 
 rupt ; to deprive it of all those objects which could con- 
 tribute either to its convenience or delight ; to extirpate 
 all those desires which lead to the pursuit of external ob- 
 jects ; and to divest themselves of all the passions and in- 
 stincts of nature. 
 
250 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 DISCIPLES OF CHRIST, OR CAMPBSLLITES. 
 
 SEVERAL important movements of a reformatory nature 
 have occurred in the American Church during its past his- 
 tory ; one of the most influential and extensive of which 
 was that effected by Thomas and Alexander Campbell, 
 and which is now embodied in the denomination known by 
 the title of " Disciples of Christ," or by the more popular 
 epithet of " Campbellites." Shortly after the commence- 
 ment of the present century, the Rev. Thomas Campbell, 
 a prominent clergyman of the Seceder Church, emigrated 
 from the North of Ireland to the United States, and loca- 
 ted in Washington county, Pennsylvania. He was ac- 
 companied by his son Alexander, at that time a young 
 man, and possessing superior talents, who had just com- 
 pleted his studies for the ministry. Both of these labored 
 at first among the destitute Seceder Churches in the west- 
 ern part of Pennsylvania, and as they became more 
 thoroughly acquainted with the state of sects and denomi- 
 nations in this country, and observed the vast variety and 
 number of religious organizations which here existed, they 
 conceived the idea of accomplishing an union between them. 
 The restoration of the primitive unity of the Christian 
 Church was the prominent purpose for which they deter- 
 mined to labor. 
 
 The Campbells began to preach among the Seceders 
 with reference to this object, and to aid in the accomplish- 
 ment of it, they resolved to discard all human creeds and 
 confessions, and receive the Scriptures as the only source 
 of instruction and authority in the development and deter- 
 mination of religious truth. They denied that confessions 
 of faith were necessary, or even useful, to the success or 
 purity of the Christian Church ; and they contended that 
 the impartial and enlightened interpretation of the Biblo 
 would infallibly lead mankind to a knowledge of the truth. 
 
 These views were of course very obnoxious to the rigor- 
 ous sect of Seceders to which the Campbells belonged- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 sect who had experienced innumerable splits 
 divisions and subdivisions, in reference to the 
 and insignificant points of Christian doctrine and 
 The Campbells accordingly withdrew from them 
 tablished a congregation on Brush Run, in Washington 
 county, in this State in 1810, which thus became the foun- 
 dation of their future organization the birthplace of one 
 of the most numerous and influential denominations now 
 existing in the southern and western States. The princi- 
 ple on which the new Church was founded was simply 
 this : That nothing should be received as a doctrine of be- 
 lief, or as a maxim of duty, for which there could not be 
 produced the authority of Scripture, either directly ex- 
 pressed or indirectly implied by inference or example. 
 
 Guided by this principle, the Campbells proceeded in 
 the free examination of the Bible, and arrived at the con- 
 clusion, as among the first fruits of their inquiries, that 
 infant baptism was a usage not enjoined or approved by 
 Scripture, and consequently improper. They also ob- 
 jected to sprinkling, and contended that immersion was 
 the only legitimate and valid method of administering the 
 ordinance of baptism. In consequence of this expression 
 of views, the Campbells and their adherents were invited 
 to become members of the Redstone Baptist Association. 
 They did so in 1813, and Alexander Campbell was ap- 
 pointed the "Messenger" of the Brush Run Church to 
 that association. Even among these people, however, Mr. 
 Campbell's views were singular and extreme in consequence 
 of their liberality ; his talents were so commanding, and 
 his influence soon became so great, that the utmost jeal- 
 ousy was excited. About this period he engaged in seve- 
 ral public discussions on theological topics, which greatly 
 extended his fame. One of these was with Rev. J. Wal- 
 ker, a Seceder minister ; the other was with Mr. McCalla, 
 of the Presbyterian Church. Both debates discussed the 
 subject of baptism, and the result in both instances was to 
 create many converts to Mr. Campbell's doctrine. 
 
 His adherents had become so numerous in 1828, that in 
 
252 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 that year a convention of preachers took place, composed 
 chiefly of members of the Redstone Association, whose 
 object was to consider the ancient and apostolic order of 
 the church, and see what could be done to restore it. Af- 
 ter proper deliberation they determined to reject all hu- 
 man creeds, all ecclesiastical carpentry in the shape of 
 confessions and formulas, and, receiving the Bible as the 
 only source of authority, live and preach accordingly. 
 This principle led them to the rejection of many usages 
 which had been observed by the Baptists, with whom they 
 had formerly been associated. Thus a new sect was or- 
 ganized, based on different principles and characterized by 
 different practices from surrounding sects ; but the purpose 
 of the new society was to attain unity by the adoption of 
 a free and catholic principle which could attract and ulti- 
 mately embrace members of the various sects, and thus 
 incorporate them into one. From this period the " Dis- 
 ciples" formed a separate organization, the professed ob- 
 ject of which was to restore pure and primitive Christianity 
 both in letter and spirit, in doctrine and in practice. 
 
 In accordance with this principle the establishment of 
 the doctrinal belief of this denomination has been progres- 
 sive in its nature, and the different leading theories which 
 they entertain have been developed successively. The 
 starting point was the essential nature and importance of 
 Christian unity in the Christian church. Ten years after- 
 wards the doctrine of the immersion of adults was accepted 
 as the only proper mode of baptism, and as the only means 
 by which men could obtain remission of sins, and could ap- 
 propriate to themselves the blessings of the gospel. And 
 thus all the other leading doctrines which they now enter- 
 tain were successively approved and adopted. 
 
 Alexander Campbell, the chief founder of this denomi- 
 nation, was without question one of the ablest polemics 
 and theologians in this country. He conducted many 
 public debates, some of which have been with the most 
 eminent men of the day such as Bishop Purcell, of Cin- 
 cinnati, on the subject of Romanism and Protestantism, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 253 
 
 and Mr. Robert Owen on Infidelity and Socialism. In 
 both of these great logical tournaments Mr. Campbell 
 was confessedly the victor. He has spent a long and 
 active life in preaching the doctrines which he believes, 
 and in establishing churches and institutions which are 
 intended to diffuse education and theological knowledge 
 among the community. His efforts have been highly suc- 
 cessful. His followers at this time are very numerous in 
 Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri; 
 and the whole number of communicants belonging to the 
 Disciples' churches is about two hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand, while their ministers number between two and three 
 thousand. 
 
 Among the leading peculiarities of this denomination 
 are the following : they practice weekly communion, the 
 Lord's Supper being administered in a simple manner on 
 every Sunday. They are not in favor of close commu- 
 nion, but are very liberal and charitable in this respect, 
 permitting persons of piety belonging to other sects to 
 commune with them. They observe the first day of the 
 week, not as a Jewish or Christian Sabbath, but as a day 
 commemorative simply of Christ's resurrection, and use- 
 ful as a season of religious worship. They condemn all 
 written creeds and formulas of faith. Their church gov- 
 ernment is congregational, each society having exclusive 
 control of its own affairs. They believe that the Scrip- 
 tures are the means employed by the Spirit to lead men to 
 repentance, and that the contents of the Scriptures are the 
 direct source of that faith by which the Gospel is received 
 savingly and effectually. They discard the use of all hu- 
 man terms and phraseology in speaking of religious truth, 
 such as the "trinity," "triune" &c., confining themselves 
 to the very words employed in Scripture. In consequence 
 of this peculiarity, they have been charged with denying 
 the doctrine of the Trinity ; but the truth is, that they be- 
 lieve and receive every thing which the Scriptures affirm 
 and teach in reference to the Father, the Son, and tho 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
254 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 FLAGELLANTS. 
 
 THIS denomination sprang up in Italy in the year 
 1260, and was thence propagated through almost all the 
 countries of Europe. They derive their name from the 
 Latin flagello^ to whip. The society that embraced this 
 new discipline ran in multitudes, composed of persons of 
 both sexes, and all ranks and ages, through the public 
 streets, with whips in their hands, lashing their naked bo- 
 dies with the most astonishing severity, with a view to 
 obtain the divine mercy for themselves and others, by 
 their voluntary mortification and penance. This sect 
 made their appearance anew in the fourteenth century, 
 and taught, among other things, that flagellation was of 
 equal virtue with baptism and the other sacraments ; that 
 the forgiveness of all sins was to be obtained by it from 
 God, without the merit of Jesus Christ ; that the old law 
 of Christ was soon to be abolished, and that a new law, 
 enjoining the baptism of blood, to be administered by 
 whipping, was to be substituted in its place. 
 
 A new denomination of Whippers arose in the fifteenth 
 century, who rejected the sacraments and every branch 
 of external worship, and placed their only hopes of salva- 
 tion in faith and. flagellation. 
 
 FBATKES ALBATI. 
 
 A NAME which distinguished a denomination in the fif- 
 teenth century. They owed their origin to a certain 
 priest, who descended from the Alps, arrayed in a white 
 garment, and accompanied with a prodigious number of 
 both sexes, who, after the example of their chief, were 
 also clothed in white linen. Hence they acquired the 
 name Fratres Albati, i. e. White Brethren. They went 
 in a kind of procession through several provinces, follow- 
 ing a cross, which their leader held erected like a stan- 
 dard, and by the striking appearance of their sanctity and 
 
HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 255 
 
 devotion, captivated to such a degree the minds of the 
 people, that persons of all ranks and orders flocked in 
 crowds to augment their number. The new chief exhorted 
 his followers to appease the anger of an incensed Deity ; 
 emaciated his body by voluntary acts of mortification and 
 penanoe, endeavored to persuade the European nations 
 to renew war against the Turks in Palestine ; and pre- 
 tended, that he was favored with divine visions, which in- 
 structed him in the will and in the secrets of heaven. 
 
 FRENCH PROPHETS. 
 
 THESE first appeared in Dauphiny and Vivarais. In the 
 year 1688, five or six hundred Protestants of both sexes 
 gave themselves out to be Prophets, and inspired of the 
 Holy Ghost. They soon became so numerous, that there 
 were many thousands of them inspired. They had strange 
 fits, which came upon them with tremblings and faintings 
 as in a swoon, which made them stretch out their arms 
 and legs, and stagger several times before they dropped 
 down. They struck themselves with their hands; they 
 fell on their backs ; shut their eyes, and heaved with their 
 breasts. They remained a while in trances, and coming 
 out of them with twitchings, uttered all which came into 
 their mouths. They said they saw the heavens open, the 
 angels, paradise, and hell. Those who were just on the 
 point of receiving the spirit of prophecy, dropped down, 
 not only in the assemblies, crying out mercy, but in the 
 fields, and in their own houses. The least of their assem- 
 blies made up four or five hundred, and some of them 
 amounted to even three or four thousand persons. When 
 the Prophets had for a while been under agitations of 
 body, they began to prophesy. The burden of their pro- 
 phecies was, " Amend your lives ; repent ye ; the end of 
 all things draws nigh." The hills rebounded with their 
 loud cries for mercy ; and with imprecations against the 
 Priests, the Church, the Pope, and against the Anti- 
 Christian dominion ; with predictions of the approaching 
 
256 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 fall of Popery. All they said at these times was heard 
 and received with reverence and awe. 
 
 In the year 1706, three or four of these Prophets came 
 over into England, and brought their prophetic spirit along 
 with them ; which discovered itself in the same ways and 
 manners, by ecstasies, and agitations, and inspirations un- 
 der them, as it had done in France. And they propaga- 
 ted the like spirit to others, so that before the year was 
 out, there were two or three hundred of these Prophets in 
 and about London, of both sexes, of all ages, men, women, 
 and children ; and they had delivered, under inspiration, 
 four or five hundred prophetic warnings. 
 
 The great thing they pretended by their spirit was, to 
 give warning of the near approach of the kingdom of God, 
 the happy times of the Church, the millennium state. 
 Their message was, (and they were to proclaim it as her- 
 alds to the Jews, and every nation under heaven, begin- 
 ning first at England,) That the grand jubilee ; the accep- 
 table year of the Lord ; the accomplishment of those nu- 
 merous scriptures concerning the new heavens and the 
 new earth ; the kingdom of the Messiah ; the marriage of 
 the Lamb ; the first resurrection ; or the new Jerusalem 
 descending from above, were now even at the door. That 
 this great operation was to be wrought, on the part of 
 man, by spiritual arms only, proceeding from the mouths 
 of those, who should, by inspiration, or the mighty gift of 
 the Spirit, be sent forth in great numbers to labor in the 
 vineyard. That this mission of his servants should be 
 witnessed to, by signs and wonders from heaven, by a del- 
 uge of judgments on the wicked universally throughout 
 the world, as famine, pestilence, earthquakes, &c. That 
 the exterminating angels shall root out the tares, and 
 there shall remain upon earth only good corn. And the 
 works of men being thrown down, there shall be but one 
 Lord, one faith, one heart, and one voice, among mankind. 
 They declared, that all the great things they spoke of, 
 would be manifest over the whole earth, within the term 
 of three years. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 257 
 
 These Prophets also pretended to the gift of languages ; 
 of discerning the secrets of the heart ; the gift of ministra- 
 tion of the same spirit to others by the laying on of hands, 
 and the gift of healing. 
 
 To prove they were really inspired by the Holy Ghost, 
 they alleged the complete joy and satisfaction they expe- 
 rienced ; the spirit of prayer which was poured forth upon 
 them ; and the answer of their prayers by God. 
 
 LABBADISTS. 
 
 A DENOMINATION which arose in the seventeenth cen- 
 tury ; so called from their founder John Labbadie, a native 
 of France, a man of no mean genius, and remarkable for 
 a natural and masculine eloquence. He maintained 
 among other things : 
 
 I. That God might, and did, on certain occasions, de- 
 ceive men. 
 
 II. That the Holy Scripture was not sufficient to lead 
 men to salvation, without certain particular illuminations 
 and revelations from the Holy Ghost. 
 
 III. That in reading the Scripture we ought to give less 
 attention to the literal sense of the words, than to the in- 
 ward suggestions of the Spirit : and that the efficacy of the 
 word depended upon him that preached it. 
 
 IV. That the faithful ought to have all things in common. 
 
 V. That there is no subordination, or distinction in the 
 true church of Christ. 
 
 YI. That Christ was to reign a thousand years upon 
 earth. 
 
 VII. That the contemplative life is a state of grace and 
 union with God, and the very height of perfection. 
 
 VIII. That the Christian, whose mind is contented and 
 calm, sees all things in God, enjoys the Deity, and is per- 
 fectly indifferent about every thing that passes in the world. 
 
 IX. That the Christian arrives at that happy state by 
 the exercise of a perfect self-denial, by mortifying the 
 flesh and all sensual affections, and by mental prayer. 
 
 17 
 
258 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 LATITUDINARIANS. 
 
 A NAME which distinguished those of the seventeenth 
 century, who attempted to bring Episcopalians, Presby- 
 terians, and Independents into one communion, by coin- 
 promising the difference between them. The chief leaders 
 of this denomination were Hales and Chillingworth, men 
 of distinguished wisdom and piety. The respectable 
 names of More, Cudworth, Gale, Whitchcot, and Tillotson, 
 add a high degree of lustre to this eminent list. 
 
 They were zealously attached to the forms of ecclesias- 
 tical government and worship, which were established in 
 the church of England ; but they did not look upon Epis- 
 copacy as absolutely and indispensably necessary to the con- 
 stitution of the Christian church. Hence they maintained, 
 that those who followed other forms of government and 
 worship, were not, on that account, to be excluded from 
 the communion, or to forfeit the title of brethren. They 
 reduced the fundamental doctrines of Christianity to a few 
 points. 
 
 By this way of proceeding they showed, that neither the 
 Episcopalians, who, generally speaking, were Arminians, 
 nor the Presbyterians and Independents, who as generally 
 adopted the doctrines of Calvin, had any reason to oppose 
 each other with such animosity and bitterness ; since the 
 subjects of their debates were matters of an indifferent na- 
 ture with respect to salvation, and might be variously ex- 
 plained and understood, without any prejudice to their 
 eternal interests. 
 
 LIBERTINES. 
 
 THIS denomination arose in Flanders about the year 
 1525; the heads of this party were one Copin and one 
 Quintin of Picardy. 
 
 The doctrines they taught, are comprised in the follow- 
 ing propositions ; 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 259 
 
 I. That the Deity was the sole operating cause in the 
 mind of man, and the immediate author of all human 
 actions. 
 
 II. That, consequently, the distinctions of good and 
 evil, that had been established with respect to those actions, 
 were false and groundless, and that man could not properly 
 speaking, commit sin. 
 
 III. That religion consisted in the union of the spirit, 
 or rational soul, with the Supreme Being. 
 
 IY. That all those who had attained this happy union, 
 by sublime contemplation, and elevation of mind, were 
 then allowed to indulge, without exception or restraint, 
 their appetites and passions, as all their actions were then 
 perfectly innocent. 
 
 V. That after the death of the body, they were to be 
 united to the Deity. 
 
 CHINESE. 
 
 Four different systems of religion are tolerated and 
 even upheld by the people and government of China. 
 The most ancient is that of the sect of Tau, founded 
 by a native philosopher about 600 years before Christ. 
 The founder is worshipped under the name of Shangtee, 
 Supreme Lord, while a host of tutelary divinities, the 
 wind, rain, thunder, etc., are personified and wor- 
 shipped, and Emperors, warriors, and illustrious men 
 are considered demi-gods. All these objects of devo- 
 tion are embodied in idols of various shapes, which are 
 kept in every house. The votaries regard tbe highest 
 happiness attainable, to be that of perfect tranquillity, 
 and utter indifference to every thing, past, present, or 
 future. 
 
 This sect being the most ancient, is probably the 
 most influential at the present day. It was at one 
 time, almost the only religion of the empire. 
 
 The next in point of influence, is a modified Bud- 
 
260 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 dhism, the worship of Fo, which was introduced about 
 the year A. D. 69. 
 
 Before the death of Fo, he is said to have called 
 his disciples together, and instructed them that 
 there was no other principle of things than a vacuum, 
 or nothing; that from nothing all things sprung; 
 that to nothing all will return, and that thus will 
 end all our hopes and fears. After his death, the 
 disciples told multitudes of fables concerning him, 
 such as that he was still alive, and had been born 8000 
 times, appearing in the form of an ape, a lion, a 
 dragon, an elephant, etc. His last words caused dis- 
 sensions among his followers, some adopting his last 
 atheistical views, others attempting to reconcile his 
 last teachings with his earlier tenets. The creed was 
 classified as internal doctrine and external doctrine. 
 Those who hold to the internal doctrine, believe in 
 the most a'bsurd atheism, such as, that nothing is the 
 beginning and end of all things : that all beings are 
 the same, differing only in figure and quality, that the 
 supreme happiness of man is in acquiring a resemblance 
 to this principle of nothing, accustoming himself to do 
 nothing, to feel nothing, and to desire nothing: that 
 perfection is reached when all bodily motion, mental 
 activity, and sensation cease; that when this divine 
 insensibility is .attained, we have nothing to do with 
 virtue or -vice, rewards or punishments, providence or 
 immortality, and have no changes, transmigrations or 
 futurities to fear, but have ceased to exist, and become 
 perfect like the god Fo. 
 
 The external doctrine teaches a distinction between 
 good and evil, a reward for the good and punishment 
 for the wicked after death. It acknowledges trans- 
 migration of souls through different animals until pre- 
 pared to unite with the Deity. It affirms that the 
 god Fo came upon earth to expiate the sins of men, 
 and to secure for them a happy life to come. It teaches 
 to pray to the god Fo, and to provide for his wor- 
 
HISTCSY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 261 
 
 ship in sustaining priests .and temples, that through 
 them and by repentance sins may be forgiven. There 
 are five commandments to be kept : Thou shalt not 
 kill ; Thou shalt not steal ; Thou shalt not lie ; Thou 
 shalt not commit impurity ; and thou shalt not drink 
 wine. The punishment for breaking these command- 
 ments is transmigration of 'the soul into the bodies of 
 rats, dogs, horses, serpents, etc. In consequence of this 
 doctrine multitudes of idols, in the forms of birds, 
 beasts and reptiles are worshipped as possibly the form 
 which Fo may have taken in the course of his trans- 
 migration. 
 
 The resemblance of the worship of the Hindoo 
 Budha and the Chinese Fo, is *very striking, showing 
 that they are one and the same system. Budha was 
 the son of May-a and one of his names is Amita. Fo, 
 of China was the son of Moya and his name is Om-e-to. 
 The Meushin or guardian of the door in China is the 
 same as G-anesa in India in both countries his image 
 is painted on almost every house. Many other points 
 of similarity might be cited. 
 
 Mohamedism also prevails among the Chinese to 
 some extent. It is somewhat modified by the various 
 superstitions of the other creeds, but is essentially the 
 same as among the Arabs, by whom it was introduced 
 when trading with the people. A large commerce was 
 at one time carried on between the Chinese and the 
 people -of the "West. 
 
 The great overshadowing system of worship it can 
 hardly be called a religion which pervades every 
 grade of society in the Empire is that of Confucius, a 
 philosopher who flourished about 550 years before 
 Christ. The maxims laid down by this sage are still 
 venerated by the Emperor on the throne and the 
 lowest menial in the land. His was a .system of 
 morals. He taught that it was a duty to live among 
 men to endeavor to improve them also, to reverence 
 and pay homage to our ancestors, who were permitted 
 
262 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 to revisit their ancient homes, and had the power oi 
 conferring benefits upon their relatives hence the 
 worship of ancestors is inculcated as an indispensable 
 duty and the sacred rites performed in memory of 
 the departed are the most conspicuous ceremonies of 
 all classes. The natural result of the belief of visiting 
 spirits is the introduction of the worship of genii or 
 good and bad spirits. Confucius himself has sacrifices 
 and sacred rites performed in honor of his memory 
 but while receiving all the honors of a god, is not 
 called Diety. 
 
 Besides the strictly religious ceremonies performed 
 by the various sects, there are feasts celebrated with 
 more or less zeal at various seasons of the year. These 
 festivals are of a semi-religious character and among 
 the common people are held as sacred duties. 
 
 The first festival in the year is that of the shutting 
 up of seals, which occurs about New Year's day. Every 
 Court in the Empire at this time locks up its seals, 
 and every one makes merry, taking greater liberty 
 than usual in the general joy. The mathematical 
 court determines with great nicety every thing per- 
 taining the seals, both in regard to the locking up and 
 opening, so that the ceremony takes place on the same 
 day throughout the empire. The household gods of 
 the Chinese are during this festival brought out and 
 placed in the most conspicuous position possible over 
 the door. This bringing out of the idols is common 
 at every festival, but is not so generally observed upon 
 other occasions. 
 
 The next in order is the Feast of Lanterns, which 
 takes place on the fifteenth of the first month. The 
 origin of this solemn festival is not certain. One 
 account is that a certain Mandarin whose daughter was 
 drowned, went with all the people, carrying lanterns 
 to find the body of the unfortunate damsel, but sought 
 in vain, and consoled himself by going through the 
 same ceremony year after year until the feast was 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 established. Another story ascribes the origin to an 
 extravagant project of an emperor who shut himself 
 up in his magnificent palace with his concubines. He 
 illuminated the halls with gorgeous lanterns shutting 
 out all other light, that he might have for his canopy 
 a sky which would be always calm and serene, and 
 thus shut out from his memory the revolutions and 
 strifes of the world. This singular conduct and 
 neglect of duties aroused the wrath of his subjects, 
 who demolished the palace, and, as a warning to 
 future emperors and to transmit the remembrance of 
 all such shameful conduct to posterity, hung lanterns 
 over the city, thus establishing the feast. 
 
 On this festival every one hangs out some kind of a 
 lantern. The wealthy vie with each other in the 
 magnificence and size of their offerings. Some of 
 these lanterns are twenty or thirty feet in diameter, in 
 which entertainments are given. The appearance of a 
 Chinese city during the continuance of this festival is 
 grotesque and beautiful beyond description. 
 
 The Festival of Agriculture, instituted by an empe- 
 ror about one hundred and eighty years before Christ, 
 to encourage the pursuit of agriculture, is another 
 feast of great solemnity. The Magistrates of the 
 country take leading parts in the ceremonies. The 
 streets are decorated with arches and the houses are 
 hung with tapestry. One feature of the celebration 
 is a huge image of a cow made of clay and carried 
 by forty men. Sitting on this is a beautiful boy who 
 represents the genius of industry. "When the proces- 
 sion reaches the emperor's palace, the garlands and 
 flowers and the other trappings are taken off the image, 
 which is then opened, disclosing several small cows 
 composed of clay. These are distributed by the Em- 
 peror to his ministers, to remind them of their duties 
 in the care of husbandry. The people are exhorted 
 never to let a piece of ground lie fallow, to avoid idle- 
 ness, and are taught to practice industry by the ex- 
 
264 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 ample of the emperor himself performing some ap- 
 propriate manual labor. 
 
 Thus, it will be seen that the existing worship in 
 China is a confused mixture of superstitions of which 
 individuals receive and observe what they please 
 while the government upholds by its patronage nearly 
 every form of idolatry that can be imagined. The 
 vast number of people embracing these superstitions, 
 within the limits of the Chinese Empire alone, can not 
 be far from 450,000,000, figures far beyond our con- 
 ception. Are not these multitudes worth a thousand 
 times the efforts which have been put forth to deliver 
 them from darkness? The missionary enterprises 
 which have been organized during the Century have 
 made but little impression on the tone of public opin- 
 ion or morals of the people, but a sure foot-hold has 
 been obtained, and the regeneration of these millions 
 will surely come, for the Lord hath said it. 
 
 JAPANESE. 
 
 v, ... 
 
 The Japanese are divided into two religious sects, 
 those of Sinto and Budsdo. The former is the most 
 ancient. The followers acknowledge a Supreme Being 
 who inhabits highest heaven, but who is too great to 
 require any worship. They admit a multitude of 
 lesser divinities who govern earth, air, water, and 
 have dominion over the human race. They believe 
 that the good go to a region just under heaven, while 
 the wicked are doomed to wander to and fro about the 
 universe. Their places of worship contain no visible 
 idols although sometimes a small idol of some infe- 
 rior divinity to whom the temple is dedicated, is kept 
 in a small box. A large mirror is frequently placed 
 in the centre of the temple that the worshippers may 
 be reminded, that as they can see their blemishes in 
 the mirror, so can the gods perceive their most hidden 
 thoughts. The devotees bow before these reflectors, 
 proffer their prayers, present their offerings and pro- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 2G5 
 
 ceed to their amusements. The Mikado belongs to 
 this sect and worships at the temple at least once an- 
 nually. 
 
 Budsdo's doctrine is, like the Buddhism of India, 
 greatly mixed with still more absurd superstitions. 
 This sect believes that animals and men are equally 
 immortal. That the wicked are punished by passing 
 after death into the bodies of beasts and reptiles. 
 Every trade has its tutelar divinity, represented by 
 idols, which are characterized by their uncouth and 
 ugly forms. As many as three thousand of these un- 
 gainly monsters have been counted in one temple. 
 Both sects have monks and nuns or priests who have 
 their peculiar duties to perform. Part of them are 
 fortune-tellers and quack doctors, and others are beg- 
 gars who bind themselves to live upon roots and 
 traverse woods and mountain. 
 
 MILLENABIANS. 
 
 A NAME given to those who believe that the saints will 
 reign on earth with Jesus Christ a thousand years. 
 
 The Millenarians hold, that after the coming of Anti- 
 christ, and the destruction of all nations which shall fol- 
 low, there shall be a first resurrection of the just alone. 
 That all who shall be found upon earth, both good and 
 bad, shall continue alive ; the good to obey the just, who 
 are risen as their princes ; the bad to be conquered by the 
 just, and to be subject to them. That Jesus Christ will then 
 descend from heaven in his glory. That the city of Jeru- 
 salem will be rebuilt, enlarged, embellished, and its gates 
 stand open night and day. They applied to this new Je- 
 rusalem, what is said in the Apoc. chap, xxi., and to the 
 temple, all that is written in Ezek. xxxvi. Here they 
 pretended Jesus Christ will fix the seat of his empire, and 
 reign a thousand years, with the saints, patriarchs, and 
 prophets, who will enjoy perfect and uninterrupted feli- 
 city. 
 
266 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 The ancient Millenarians were divided in opinion : some 
 pretended, that the saints should pass their time in corpo- 
 real delights ; others that they should only exercise them- 
 selves in spiritual pleasures. 
 
 The opinions of some celebrated modern authors, con 
 cerning the Millennium, are as follow : 
 
 Dr. Thomas Burnet and Mr. Whiston concur in assert- 
 ing, that the earth will not be entirely consumed : but tha) 
 the matter of which it consists, will be fixed, purified, and 
 refined ; which the action of fire upon it will naturally 
 effect. They suppose, that from these materials thus re- 
 fined, as from a second chaos, there will, by the will of 
 God, arise a new creation ; and that the face of the earth, 
 and likewise the atmosphere, will then be so restored, as 
 to resemble what it originally was in the paradisaical 
 state ; and consequently, to render it a more delightful 
 abode for human creatures than it is at present. They 
 urge for this purpose the following texts : 2 Pet. iii. 13. 
 " Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new 
 heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 
 See also Matt. xiii. 29, 30. Luke xvii. 29, 30. Acts 
 iii. 21. 
 
 They both suppose, that the earth, thus beautified and 
 improved, shall be inhabited by those who shall inherit 
 the first resurrection, and shall here enjoy a very consid- 
 erable degree of happiness ; though not equal to that, 
 which is to succeed the general judgment ; which judgment 
 shall, according to them, open, when the thousand years 
 are expired, mentioned in Rev. xx. 4. 
 
 Though Mr. Fleming does not entirely agree with the 
 above mentioned scheme, he interprets Rev. xx. 6, as re- 
 ferring to a proper resurrection ; of which he supposes 
 that the event, which is recorded in Matt, xxvii. 32, was 
 a pledge. He conjectures, that the most celebrated saints, 
 of the Old Testament times, then arose, and ascended with 
 Christ to heaven. Agreeable to this he apprehends, that 
 the saints, who are to be subjects of the first resurrection, 
 will appear to some of the inhabitants of this earth, which 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 267 
 
 may be the means of reviving religion among them. Yet 
 they will not have their abode here. But during the thou- 
 sand years, in which the kingdom of Christ will have the 
 highest triumph on earth, they shall be rejoicing with him 
 in heaven, in a state of happiness far superior to that 
 which they enjoyed in a separate state ; yet not equal to 
 that which is to be expected after the general judgment. 
 To this peculiar privilege of the martyrs, and some other 
 eminent saints, he supposed St. Paul to have referred. 
 Phil. iii. 9, 11. 
 
 This author argues, that as there has been already a 
 special resurrection of the more eminent saints of the Old 
 Testament ; it is rational to conclude, from the ideas we 
 form of Christ, as a just and impartial judge, that the emi- 
 nent saints of the New Testament, who lived and died 
 under sufferings, shall be rewarded by a special resurrec- 
 tion to glory, when Christ shall give universal peace and 
 prosperity to the Church. 
 
 Mr. Ray agrees that there will be a renovation of the 
 earth ; and though he does not grant, as some have sup- 
 posed, the same animals which once lived, shall be raised 
 again, yet he supposes that other like animals will be 
 created anew, as well as similar vegetables, to adorn the 
 earth, and to support the animals, only in higher degrees 
 of beauty and perfection than they ever before possessed. 
 
 But he pretends not to determine, whether this new 
 earth, thus beautified and adorned, after the general resur- 
 rection, shall be the seat of a new race of men, or only 
 remain as the object of contemplation to some happy spir- 
 its who may behold it, though without any rational ani- 
 mals to inhabit it, as a curious plan of the most exquisite 
 mechanism. 
 
 He argues, that the apostle, speaking of the heavens 
 and earth says, " As a vesture thou shalt fold them up, 
 and they shall be changed." Heb. i. 12. To be changed, 
 is different from being annihilated and destroyed. The 
 earth shall be transfigured, or its outward form changed, 
 not its matter or substance destroyed. 
 
268 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Dr. Whitby supposes the Millennium to refer entirely 
 to the prosperous state of the Christian Church, after the 
 conversion of the Jews. That then shall begin a glorious 
 and undisturbed reign of Christ over both Jew and Gen- 
 tile, to continue a thousand years. And as John the Bap- 
 tist was Elias, because he came in the spirit and power 
 of Elias ; so shall this be the Church of martyrs, and of 
 those who have not received the mark of the beast, because 
 the spirit and purity of the times of the primitive martyrs 
 shall return. 
 
 He argues, that it would be a great detriment to the 
 glorified saints, to be brought down to dwell upon earth, in 
 the most pleasing form which it can be supposed to put on. 
 
 That it is contrary to the genius of the Christian reli- 
 gion, to suppose it built on temporal promises. For the 
 Christian is represented as one, who is entirely dead to 
 the world, and whose conversation is in heaven. Phil, 
 iii. 19. 
 
 Mr. Worthington's scheme is, that the gospel, being in- 
 tended to restore the ruins of the fall, will gradually 
 meliorate the world, till by a train of natural consequences, 
 under the influence of divine providence and grace, it is 
 restored to a paradisaical state. He supposes this plan is 
 already advanced through some important stages, of which 
 he thinks the amendment of the earth's natural state at 
 the deluge, which, with Dr. Sherlock, he maintains to 
 have been a very considerable one. He considers all im- 
 provements in learning and arts, as well as the propaga- 
 tion of the gospel among the heathen nations, as the pro- 
 cess of this scheme. But he apprehends much greater 
 advances are to be made, about the year of Christ, 2000, 
 when the Millennium will commence ; which shall be, ac- 
 cording to him, such a glorious state as Dr. Whitby sup- 
 poses ; but with this additional circumstance, that after 
 some interruption from the last effects of wickedness by 
 Gog and M'igog, this shall terminate in the yet nobler 
 state of the new heaven and the new earth, spoken of in 
 Rev. xxi. xxii., which he supposes, will be absolutely para- 
 
HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 269 
 
 dise restored. And that all natural and moral evil shall 
 be banished from the earth, and death itself shall have no 
 further place. But good men shall continue in the high- 
 est rectitude of state, and in the greatest imaginable de- 
 gree of terrestrial felicity, till the coming of Christ, and 
 universal judgment, close this beautiful and delightful 
 scene, perhaps several thousand years hence. Indeed he 
 seems to intimate some apprehension, that the consummation 
 of all things will happen about the year of the world 
 25,920 ; the end of the great year, as the Platonics called 
 it, when the equinoxes shall have revolved. The reason- 
 ing by which those conjectures are supported is too 
 diffuse to be represented. 
 
 Mr. Lowman agrees with Dr. Whitby, in supposing the 
 Scripture description of the Millennium to be figurative ; 
 representing the happy state of the church upon its deliv- 
 erance from the persecution, and corruption of the third 
 period. 
 
 He regarded the book of Revelation, after the fifth 
 chapter, as a prophetic representation of the most re- 
 markable events, which were to befal the Christian church, 
 from that time to the consummation of all things. 
 
 He divides the remainder into seven periods. The first 
 of which represented by seals, shews according to him, the 
 state of the church under the heathen Roman emperors, 
 from the year 95 to 323. 
 
 The second period, which is that of the trumpets, ac- 
 cording to him, relates to what was to happen in the 
 Christian church, A. D. 337 to 750, when the Mahometan 
 conquests ceased in the west. 
 
 The third period, according to him, represents the state 
 of the church and world, in the time of the last head of 
 the Roman government, i. e. under the popes, for 1260 
 years, viz. from A. D. 756 to 2016. Each of the vials, 
 which are poured out, he supposes to denote some great 
 judgment upon the Papal kingdom. 
 
 The sixth and seventh vials he supposes are yet to 
 
270 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 come ; and that the seventh will complete the final destruc- 
 tion of Rome. 
 
 The fourth period is that of a thousand years, or the 
 Millennium, in which the church will be in a most pros- 
 perous state, A. D. 2000 to 3000. So that the seventh 
 chiliad is to be a kind of sabbath. 
 
 The fifth period is the renewed invasion of the enemies 
 of the church, for a short time, not defined, but which is 
 to end in their final extirpation and ruin. Chap. xx. 7, 10. 
 
 The sixth period is the general resurrection, and final 
 judgment, Chap. xx. 11, 15, which terminate, 
 
 In the seventh grand period, in which the saints are 
 represented as fixed in a state of everlasting triumph and 
 happiness in the heavenly world. Chap. xxi. 1, 5. 
 
 Dr. Cotton Mather supposed that the conflagration 
 would take place at Christ's second personal coming. 
 That after this great event, God will create new heavens, 
 and a new earth. The raised saints will inhabit the new 
 heaven, attending on our Saviour there, and receiving in- 
 conceivable rewards for their services and sufferings for 
 his sake. The new earth will be a paradise, and inhabited 
 by those, who shall be caught up to meet the Lord, and 
 be with him in safety, while they see the earth flaming 
 under them. They shall return to the new earth, possess 
 it, and people it with an offspring, who shall be sinless 
 and deathless. The raised saints in the new heavens, 
 who will neither marry, nor be given in marriage, but be 
 equal to the angels, will be sent down from time to time, 
 to the new earth, to be teachers and rulers, and have 
 power over nations. And the will of God will be done on 
 earth as it is in heaven. This dispensation will continue 
 at least for a thousand years. There will be a translation 
 from the new earth to the new heavens, either successively 
 during- the thousand years, or all at once, after the termi- 
 nation of that period. 
 
 Dr. Bellamy supposed that the Millennium will be a 
 glorious scene of Christ's spiritual reign on earth, when 
 universal peace shall prevail ; wars, famines, and all deso- 
 
HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 271 
 
 latiiig judgments be at an end ; industry shall flourish, 
 and all luxury, intemperance, and extravagance be ban- 
 ished. Then this globe will be able to sustain with food 
 and raiment, a number of inhabitants immensely greater 
 than erer dwelt upon it at a time. And if all those shall, 
 as the Scripture asserts, " know the Lord from the least 
 to the greatest, and the knowledge of the Lord fill the 
 earth as the waters do the sea," for a thousand years to 
 gether, it will naturally come to pass, that there will be 
 more saved in those thousand years, than ever before 
 dwelt upon the face of the earth from the foundation of 
 the world. 
 
 Some understand the thousand years in the .Revelation, 
 agreeable to other prophetical numbers in that book, a day 
 for a year. By that rule, as the Scripture year contains 
 360 days, the thousand years will amount to 360,000 
 years ; in which there might be millions saved, to one 
 which has been lost. But if this glorious period is to last 
 only a thousand years literally, there may be many more 
 aved than lost. 
 
 PRE-EXISTENTS. 
 
 A TERM which may not improperly be applied to those 
 who hold the doctrine of Christ's pre-existence. This 
 name comprehends two classes ; the Arians, who defend 
 Christ's pre-existence, but deny that he is a divine person; 
 and others on the Calvinist system, who assert both his 
 divinity, and that his intelligent created soul was produced 
 into being, and united, by an ineffable union, to the second 
 person of the Trinity, before the heavens and the earth 
 were created.* 
 
 Under the article Arians, the reader has been presented 
 with the view of the system of Arius and his immediate 
 followers. 
 
 * This class of Pre-existents are not entirely agreed in tbeir sei?U- 
 beats. 
 
272 HISTORY or ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 The sentiments of the celebrated Dr. Richard Price, are 
 brought to view under the article Unitarians. And, per- 
 haps, some may be gratified with a short sketch of the 
 plan, which was maintained by Dr. Samuel Clarke. 
 
 This learned man held that there is one supreme cause 
 and original of all things ; one simple, uncompounded, un- 
 divided, intelligent agent, or person.* And that from the 
 beginning, there existed with the first and supreme cause, 
 or Father, a second person, called the Word; or Son. 
 This Son, is our Lord Jesus Christ. He derived his being, 
 his attributes, and his powers from the Father ; he is there- 
 fore called the Son of God, and the only begotten. f For 
 generation, when applied to God, is only a figurative word, 
 signifying immediate derivation of being and life from him. 
 This production or derivation of the Son is incomprehen- 
 sible, and took place before the world began. To prove, 
 that Jesus Christ was generated, or produced into being 
 before the world was created, the Dr. adduces the follow- 
 ing considerations. 
 
 The Father made the world by the operation of the 
 Son. John i. 3, 10. 1 Cor. viii. 6. Eph. iii. 9, &c. The 
 action of the Son, both in making the world, and in all 
 his other operations, is only the exercise of the Father's 
 power communicated to him, after a manner to us un- 
 known. 
 
 That all Christ's authority, power, knowledge, and glory, 
 are the Father's communicated to him, Dr. Clarke endeav- 
 ors to prove by a variety of passages of scripture. 
 
 The Son before his incarnation with God, was in the 
 
 * This learned divine considers this doctrine as the foundation of 
 piety, and the first principle of natural religion. He supposes, that all 
 the texts, which speak of the one God. the only God, the Father, the 
 most High, are to be considered as establishing the personal unity of one 
 only Supreme Being. 
 
 f Dr. Clarke avoids calling Christ a creature, as the ancient Ariana 
 did, and principally on that foundation disclaims the charge of Arian- 
 isna. 
 
HISTORY OF Ai; RELIGIONS. 273 
 
 Form of God, and had glory with the Father. John i. 4 ; 
 xvii. 5. Phil. ii. 5. 
 
 The Son, before his incarnation, made visible appear- 
 ances, and spake, and acted in the name and authority of 
 the invisible Father. 
 
 Dr. Clarke calls Christ a divine person, solely on ac- 
 acount of the power and knowledge, which were communi- 
 cated to him by the Father. He indeed owns, that Christ 
 is an object of religious worship ; but then he confines it to 
 a limited sense. The worship paid to Christ terminates 
 not in him, but in the supreme God and Lord of all. The 
 doctrine of the pre-existence of Christ's human soul has 
 been held by several divines, as Mr. Fleming and Dr. 
 Goodwin. These gentlemen all profess to maintain the 
 divinity of Christ. The following sketch of the plan of 
 Dr. Watts, is selected from the rest. He maintained one 
 supreme God, dwelling in the human nature of Christ, 
 which he supposed to have existed the first of all creatures ; 
 and speaks of the divine Logos, as the wisdom of God, 
 and the Holy Spirit as the divine power, or the influence 
 and effect of it ; which he says, is a scriptural person, i. e. 
 spoken of figuratively in scripture, under personal char- 
 acters.* 
 
 In order to prove, that Christ's human soul existed 
 previous to his incarnation, the following arguments are 
 adduced : 
 
 I. Christ is represented as his Father's messenger, or 
 angel, being distinct from his Father, sent by his Father 
 long before his incarnation, to perform actions, which seem 
 to be too low for the dignity of pure Godhead. The ap- 
 pearances of Christ to the patriarchs are described like the 
 appearances of an angel, or man, really distinct from God, 
 yet such an one in whom God or Jehovah had a peculiar 
 
 * Dr. Watts says, in his preface to the Glory of Christ, that true 
 *nd proper Deity is ascribed to the Father, Son, and Holy bpirit. 
 
 The expression, Son of God, he supposes is a title appropriated ex- 
 clusively to the humanity of Christ. 
 18 
 
274 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 in-dwelling, or with whom the divine nature had a per- 
 sonal union. 
 
 II. Christ, when he came into the world, is said, in seve- 
 ral passages of scripture, to have divested himself of some 
 glory, which he had before his incarnation. Now, if there 
 had existed before this time nothing but his divine nature, 
 this divine nature could not properly divest itself of any 
 glory. " I have glorified thee on earth, I have finished 
 the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, Fa- 
 ther, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory 
 which I had with thee before the world was." See John 
 xvii. 4, 5. " Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, 
 that we, through his poverty, might be made rich." 2 Cor. 
 viii. 9. It cannot be said of God, that he became poor. 
 He is infinitely self-sufficient, He is necessarily and eter- 
 nally rich in perfections and glories. Nor can it be said 
 of Christ, as man, that he was rich, if he was never in a 
 richer state before, than while he was on earth. 
 
 It seems needful that the soul of Christ should pre-exist, 
 that it might have opportunity to give its previous actual 
 consent to the great and painful undertaking of atonement 
 for our sins. It was the human soul of Christ, that endured 
 the weakness and pain of his infant state, all the labors 
 and fatigues of life, the reproaches of men, and the suffer- 
 ings of death. The divine nature is incapable of suffering. 
 The covenant of redemption between the Father and Son 
 is, therefore, represented in scripture as being made before 
 the foundation of the world. To suppose, that simple 
 Deity, or the divine essence, which is the same in all the 
 three personalities, should make a covenant with itself, is 
 inconsistent. 
 
 Christ is the angel to whom God was in a peculiar man- 
 ner united, and who, in this union, made all the divine 
 appearances related in the Old Testament. 
 
 God is often represented in scripture as appearing in a 
 visible manner and assuming a human form. See Gen. iii. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 275 
 
 8 ; xvii. 1 ; xxviii. 12 ; xxxii. 24. Exod. ii. 2, 3, and a 
 variety of other passages. 
 
 The Lord Jehovah, when he came down to visit men, 
 carried some ensign of divine majesty ; he was surrounded 
 with some splendid appearance. It was such a light ap- 
 peared often at the door of the tabernacle, and fixed its 
 abode on the ark between the cherubims. It was by the 
 Jews, called the Shekinah, i. e. the habitation of God. 
 Hence he is described as dwelling in light, and clothed 
 with light as with a garment. In the midst of this bright- 
 ness, there seems to have been sometimes a human shape 
 and figure. It was probably of this heavenly light, that 
 Christ divested himself, when he was made flesh. With 
 this he was covered at his transfiguration in the mount, 
 when his garments were white as the light. And at his 
 ascension into heaven, when a bright cloud received or in- 
 vested him, and when he appeared to John. Rev. i. 13. 
 And it was with this, he prayed his Father would glo- 
 rify him. 
 
 Sometimes the great and blessed God appeared in the 
 form of a man or angel. It is evident, that the true God 
 resided in this man or angel ;* because, on account of this 
 union to proper Deity, the angel calls himself God, the 
 Lord God. He assumes the most exalted names and 
 characters of Godhead. And the spectators, and the sa- 
 cred historians, it is evident, considered him as true and 
 proper God. They payed him the highest worship and 
 obedience. He is properly styled the angel of God's 
 presence. Isa. Ixiii. The messenger or angel of the 
 covenant. Mai. iii. 1. 
 
 This same angel of the Lord was the particular God 
 and king of the Israelites. It was he who made a covenant 
 
 * God considered in the person of the Father, is always represented 
 as invisible, whom no man hath seen, nor can see. But Jesus Christ 
 is described, as the image of the invisible God, the brightness of the 
 Father's glory, and he in whom the Father dwells. Christ was there- 
 fore the person by whom God appeared to man under the Old Testa- 
 ment, by the name Jehovah. 
 
276 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 with the patriarchs who appeared to Moses in the burn* 
 ing bush who redeemed the Israelites from Egypt who 
 conducted them through the wilderness who gave the 
 law at Sinai and transacted the affairs of the ancient 
 church. 
 
 The angels, who have appeared since our blessed Saviour 
 became incarnate, have never assumed the names, titles, 
 characters, or worship belonging to God. Hence we may 
 infer, that the angel, who under the Old Testament, as- 
 sumed divine titles, and accepted religious worship, was 
 that peculiar angel of God's presence in whom God resi- 
 ded, or who was united to the Godhead in a peculiar man- 
 ner, even the pre-existent soul of Christ, who afterwards 
 took flesh and blood upon him, and was called Jesus 
 Christ on earth. 
 
 Christ represents himself as one with the Father. I and 
 the Father are one. John x. 30. See also John xiv. 10, 
 11. There is, we may hence infer, such a peculiar union 
 between God and the man Christ Jesus, both in his pre- 
 existent and incarnate state, that he may properly be 
 called God-man in one complex person. 
 
 Among those expressions of scripture, which discover 
 the pre-existence of Christ, there are several from which 
 we may derive a certain proof of his divinity. 
 
 Such are those places in the Old Testament, where the 
 angel who appeared to the ancients is called God, the 
 almighty God, Jehovah, the Lord of hosts, I am that 
 I am, &c. 
 
 Dr. Watts supposes, that the doctrine of the pre-exis- 
 tence of the soul of Christ, explains dark and difficult 
 scriptures, and discovers many beauties and proprieties of 
 expression in the word of God, which on any other plan 
 lie unobserved. For instance, in Col. i. 15, &c. Christ 
 is described as the image of the invisible God, the first-born 
 of every creature. His being the image of the invisible 
 Sod, cannot refer merely to his divine nature, for that is 
 as invisible in the Son as in the Father ; therefore it seems 
 to refer to his pre-existent soul in union with the God- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 277 
 
 head. Again, when man is said to be created in the im- 
 age of God, Gen. i. 2, it may refer to the God-man, to 
 Christ in his pre-existent state. God said, " Let us make 
 man in our image, after our likeness." The word is re- 
 doubled, perhaps to intimate, that Adam was made in the 
 likeness of the human soul of Christ ; as well as that he 
 bore something of the image and resemblance of the di- 
 vine nature. 
 
 From this view of Dr. Watts' plan, and what is exhibi- 
 ted of the Arian scheme, the difference will be obvious. 
 They are thus distinguished by Dr. Price : This system, 
 says he, speaking of Dr. Watts' sentiments, differs from 
 Arianism in asserting the doctrine of Christ's consisting 
 of two beings, one the self-existent Creator, and the other 
 a creature, made into one person by an ineffable union and 
 in-dwelling, which renders the same attributes and honors 
 equally applicable to both. 
 
 CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS. 
 
 THIS denomination took its origin from the peculiar 
 wants and circumstances which the Presbyterian Churches 
 experienced in the early period of their existence in Ken- 
 tucky and Tennessee. About the year 1800, preachers 
 and congregations were very few in that vast country, 
 which had then but recently been reclaimed from savage 
 wildness by the emigration of the white adventurer. In 
 the progress of time, a few Presbyterian clergymen, who 
 gained a precarious livelihood by attending to the wants 
 of widely extended or scattered churches, formed them- 
 selves into an association which was known as the " Tran- 
 sylvania Presbytery." In view of the great religious des- 
 titution which existed in that part of the country, they 
 felt justified in admitting to the ministry some young men 
 who had not received a classical education, and whose at- 
 tainments were in other respects inferior to those which 
 are uniformly required of the candidates for the clerical 
 office in the Presbyterian Churches. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 ' his irregular conduct on the part of the Presbytery 
 was the cause of the origin of this new sect. In October, 
 1802, the Transylvania Presbytery was divided, by the 
 order of the Synod of Kentucky, into two sections ; to one 
 portion of which the name of the Cumberland Presbytery 
 was given. Several years elapsed before the peculiar 
 policy of this Presbytery in regard to licensing ministers 
 was made the subject of dispute ; but in 1804 three of its 
 preachers sent a remonstrance to the Synod of Kentucky, 
 complaining of the matter and requesting the interposition 
 of the higher court. Her Synod appointed commissioners 
 to examine into the subject, and they cited the Cumber- 
 land Presbytery, including all its candidates and licentiates, 
 to appear before them. This order the Presbytery re- 
 fused to obey, and after an ex parte hearing they were 
 called on to submit the persons whom they had licensed 
 and ordained to be reexamined as to their qualifications 
 for the ministry. 
 
 This order, also, the Presbytery resisted ; and the result 
 was that eventually they were interdicted from continuing 
 the exercise of their clerical functions. The Cumberland 
 Presbytery then sent a petition to the General Assembly 
 of the Presbyterian Church, requesting a redress of griev- 
 ances ; and in the meantime they resolved to lay aside the 
 name of Presbytery and assume that of " Council." The 
 result of this appeal to the General Assembly was that 
 that body decided that they could not act in the matter, 
 inasmuch as the appeal had not been regularly brought 
 before them ; at the same time the Synod of Kentucky was 
 advised to review its proceedings. The latter body accord- 
 ingly did so ; but the result was, that it became more con- 
 firmed in its conclusion than before. In 1807 it dissolved 
 the Cumberland Presbytery by a formal and official reso- 
 lution on the subject. 
 
 In 1808 the " Council" again appealed to the General 
 Assembly, and again the answer given was, that the latter 
 body could not interfere in the matter. In 1809 the Sy- 
 nod of Kentucky sent a memorial to the General Assam- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 279 
 
 bly, setting forth tlieir action in regard to the Cumberland 
 Presbytery ; and the result was, that the General Assem- 
 bly approved the action of the Synod, and excluded the 
 Cumberland Presbytery from the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 It now became necessary for the association to take 
 action in regard to their future organization. Three or- 
 dained preachers, Revs. Finis Ewing, Samuel McAdam, 
 and Samuel King, were the founders of the new denomi- 
 nation. In February, 1810, they organized themselves, 
 assumed the title of the Cumberland Presbytery, and 
 adopted a constitution setting forth their peculiar views. 
 The chief feature of their doctrinal belief was, that they 
 denounced the dogma of fatality, or the rigid Calvinistic 
 theory of election and reprobation, as taught in the Con- 
 fession of Faith and Discipline of the Presbyterian Church. 
 They also confined the examination of candidates for the 
 ministry to the branches of English grammar, geography, 
 astronomy, natural and moral philosophy, and church his- 
 tory. Examinations in the several departments of theo- 
 logical science were not required. The object of the 
 Presbytery was merely to admit those to the ministry 
 whose practical abilities for preaching were of a commend- 
 able character. Immediately after the organization of 
 the Presbytery a large number of persons were licensed to 
 preach, and the work of organizing and establishing con- 
 gregations on those popular principles was commenced 
 with vigor and activity. 
 
 Very considerable success attended these labors. In a 
 new country, preachers of this description are much more 
 efficient and useful than in older and more cultivated com- 
 munities. Accordingly the Cumberland Presbyterians 
 soon became numerous in Kentucky and Tennessee, and 
 not many years elapsed before their influence and numbers 
 extended to the neighboring States. In 1813, a Synod 
 was formed out of the various churches of the sect, which 
 had three Presbyteries connected with it. At this time 
 they so modified the Westminster Confession of Faith as 
 to expunge the objectionable points, especially that having 
 
280 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 reference to absolute decrees, and adapt it for the use of 
 the members of the church. The chief points of difference 
 which were introduced into that Confession were as fol- 
 lows : They deny that the doctrines of Election or Repro- 
 bation, as taught in the Bible, are absolute, irrespective 
 of faith or men's conduct ; but that Christians are elected 
 and chosen in consideration of their voluntary obedience, 
 and that the wicked are reprobated in consideration of their 
 voluntary disobedience. They teach that Christ tasted death 
 for every man ; that all persons who die in infancy are saved 
 through the merits of Christ and the sanctifying influence of 
 the Holy Spirit ; in this respect differing but little from 
 the leading Protestant denominations throughout the 
 world. They believe, also, that the Holy Spirit operates 
 on all men in such a manner that they may be saved, and 
 that the reason why the Spirit is effectual in one case and 
 not in another, is because the dispositions of the persons 
 subjected to its influence are different. 
 
 In the progress of time the Cumberland Presbyterians 
 established a General Assembly, which convened for the 
 first time at Princeton, Kentucky, in May, 1829. By 
 this means they organized the Presbyterian form of 
 church government among themselves to its full extent, 
 including Pastor, Session, Presbytery, Synod, and General 
 Assembly. About this perioi they founded a college at 
 Princeton, Ky., of which the Rev. F. R. Cossit was elected 
 the first president. The sect have also another college at 
 Lebanon, Tennessee, of which Rev. Richard Beard was 
 the first president. Subsequently several church papers 
 were established at different places, such as the Banner of 
 Peace, at Lebanon, Tennessee ; the Ark, at Memphis ; and 
 the Cumberland Presbyterian, at Uniontown, Pennsyl- 
 vania. The sect was introduced into Western Pennsyl- 
 vania about the year 1831, and some churches still exist 
 in that region of country. Not a few also are to be found 
 in Texas, where a Synod has been organized. Several 
 Presbyteries exist in connection with it, and a paper called 
 the Texas Presbyterian. The denomination has a Board 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 281 
 
 of Foreign and Domestic Missions, a Book Agency, estab- 
 lished at Louisville, Kentucky, and several other useful 
 institutions. Its members generally reside in the Southern 
 States. There are twenty Synods in connection with the 
 General Assembly, seventy Presbyteries, eight hundred 
 congregations, seven hundred preachers, and about a hun- 
 dred thousand communicants. 
 
 WESLEYAN METHODISTS. 
 
 THE sect of Wesley an Methodists arose in this country 
 in the year 1824, in consequence of the dissatisfaction 
 entertained by many members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church with the introduction of Bishops into the govern- 
 ment of that Church. They contended that not only is 
 such an order in the ministry unscriptural, but also in ex- 
 press violation of the wishes of John Wesley. They quote 
 a declaration of that eminent man as contained in one of 
 his letters to Mr. Ashbury, in which he speaks as follows : 
 " One instance of this, your greatness, has given me great 
 concern. How can you, how dare you, suffer yourself to 
 be called a Bishop ? I shudder at the very thought. 
 Men may call me a man, or a fool, or a rascal, or a scoun- 
 drel, and I am content ; but they shall never, with my 
 consent, call me a Bishop. For my sake, for God's sake, 
 for Christ's sake, put a full end to this." 
 
 But Episcopacy was introduced into the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church in spite of Wesley's earnest protest against 
 it ; and those members who could not reconcile their con- 
 sciences to this policy left the denomination, and formed 
 the Wesleyan Methodist Church. They were also in favor 
 of a more democratic and popular form of ecclesiastical 
 government, by which the laity would be allowed to have 
 some share in the control of the affairs of the churches. The 
 reformers held their first conference in Baltimore, in No- 
 vember, 1828. Their second meeting was in November, 
 1830, at which time they matured and adopted definite ar- 
 ticles of association, together with a constitution and. dia- 
 
282 HISTOEY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 cipline. They also declared their abhorrence of the insti- 
 tution of American slavery, and forbade any of their mem- 
 bers to have any connection with it. A more complete 
 organization was subsequently made at Utica, N. Y., in 
 May, 1843. They then organized annual conferences, 
 enrolled three hundred itinerant preachers, holding regu- 
 lar appointments, and recognized about twenty thousand 
 members. They have congregations in the New England 
 States, in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, 
 and a few of the Western States. They possess few liter- 
 ary or theological institutions, and are noted chiefly for 
 their zeal in promoting revivals and the practical aims of 
 religion. 
 
 METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH. 
 
 THIS sect arose from a secession from the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, which took place about the year 1828, 
 and which was occasioned by the dissatisfaction of some 
 of the members of that denomination with the doctrine that 
 the entire government of the Church should be vested in 
 the preachers, to the total exclusion of the laity. The 
 Methodist Episcopal Church forbids her members to have 
 anything to do with ecclesiastical affairs in her deliberative 
 bodies, and denies that the people have any right to a 
 Voice and a representation in the Conferences. A schism 
 arose in the Church about the time named, in reference to 
 a proposed change in this respect, which has resulted in 
 the organization of the Methodist Protestant Church. 
 
 The chief difference between these denominations are 
 two : the one being that of lay representation in the An- 
 nual and General Conferences ; and the other, the parity of 
 the ministry, that is, the doctrine that there should be no 
 difference of rank or order in the ministry. Hence the 
 Protestant Methodists have no bishops of the sort and 
 jurisdiction which exist in the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. At several different times about eighty preach- 
 ers have seceded from the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 283 
 
 from dissatisfaction with these tenets and usages of the 
 Church ; and all these became members of the Methodist 
 Protestant Church. The first General Convention waa 
 held at Baltimore, in 1830. Eighty-three clerical, and an 
 equal number of lay delegates were present from New 
 York, Pennsylvania, Maryland. Virginia, North Carolina, 
 Georgia, Alabama, Ohio, and New Jersey. At that period 
 the members of the sect amounted to about five thousand. 
 The Convention adopted a Constitution, which embodied 
 their peculiar views, and which set forth that Christ was 
 the true and only Head of the Church ; that the Scrip- 
 tures are the sufficient rule of faith and practice ; and that 
 a written constitution establishing a settled form of gov- 
 ernment, on an equal plan of representation, was neces- 
 sary to secure to Christians their religious rights. 
 
 The General Conference convenes every fourth year, 
 and consists of an equal number of preachers and laymen. 
 One of each appears for every thousand persons in full 
 church membership. The Annual Conferences assemble 
 yearly, and these have power to provide the circuits with 
 preachers, and procure means to pay their salaries. There 
 are also Quarterly Conferences, whose duties are of a less 
 responsible nature, being chiefly to see that the discipline 
 of the church is properly administered towards preachers 
 and members, and also to license persons to exhort and 
 preach. While this denomination retain the itinerant 
 system in theory, it is not fully carried out in practice, it 
 being suspended in cases where the interests of the con- 
 gregations may demand a more permanent relation with 
 their ministers. Their prominent preachers have been 
 the two Reeses, Dr. Waters of Maryland, J. R. Williams 
 of Baltimore and T. H. Stockton. The sect numbers 
 about fifty thousand communicants and five hundred 
 preachers. 
 
284 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 ADVENTISTS, OR MILLERITES. 
 
 THIS singular body of enthusiasts have been pertina- 
 ciously expecting and demanding the end of the world, 
 and the conflagration of the universe, during some years 
 past. Several specific dates have been named by them, 
 as the appointed time for the occurrence of this serious 
 and disagreeable catastrophe ; and although all their pre- 
 dictions have hitherto failed, they still continue from time 
 to time to repeat them, and to appoint a new era for the 
 realization of their hopes and prophecies. 
 
 The founder of this sect was William Miller, of Low 
 Hampton, New York, who commenced to preach in the 
 year 1833, and to assert positively and emphatically 
 that the end of the world was to occur in 1843. His 
 opinions' were first published in the Vermont Telegraph. 
 His most earnest coadjutor was Joshua V. Himes. Other 
 journals were commenced, advocating the same^views, 
 such as the Advent Herald. The Millerites based their 
 conviction on the supposed certainty and clearness of 
 their interpretations of the prophecies of the Bible. They 
 computed, as they believed without any possibility of error, 
 all the statements of the Scriptures respecting the Millen- 
 nium ; and their conduct was governed in accordance with 
 their honest convictions. At the time appointed they 
 were all prepared with ascension robes, and other fixings, 
 to meet the expected exigences of the occasion ; but their 
 calculations were found to be erroneous. Those who still 
 profess to belong to this sect entertain the opinion that 
 the end of the world and the Millennial era are very near 
 at hand. The views of Mr. Miller himself may be inferred 
 from the following " elegant extract" from one of his pub- 
 lished writings : 
 
 " I understand that the judgment day will be a thou- 
 sand years long. The righteous are raised and judged in 
 the commencement of that day, the wicked in the end of 
 that day. I believe that the saints will be raised and 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 285 
 
 judged about the year 1843, according to Moses' prophecy, 
 Lev. ch. 26; Ezek. ch. 39; Daniel, ch. 2, 7, 8-12; Hos. 
 v. 1-3 ; Rev. the whole book ; and many other prophets 
 have spoken of these things. Time will soon tell if I am 
 right, and soon he that is righteous will be righteous still ; 
 and he that is filthy will be filthy still. I do most 
 solemnly entreat mankind to make their peace with God, 
 and be ready for these things. ' The end of all things is at 
 hand.' I do ask my brethren in the gospel ministry to 
 consider well what they say before they oppose these 
 things. Say not in your hearts, ' My Lord delay eth his 
 coming.' Let all do as they would wish they had if it does 
 come, and none will say they have not done right if it 
 does not come. I believe it will come ; but if it should 
 not come, then I will wait and look until it does come." 
 
 MATERIALISTS. 
 
 A short view of the distinguishing articles in this system, 
 and a few of the arguments, which are used in defence 
 of their sentiments, are delineated in the following sum- 
 mary: 
 
 I. That man is no more than what we now see of him ; 
 his being commences at the time of his conception, or per- 
 haps at an earlier period. The corporeal and mental 
 faculties, inhering in the same substance, grow, ripen, and 
 decay together ; and whenever the system is dissolved, it 
 continues in a state of dissolution, till it shall please that 
 almighty Being who called it into existence, to restore it 
 to life again.* 
 
 * Dr. Priestley considers man as a being, consisting of what is called 
 matter disposed in a certain manner. At death, the parts of this mate- 
 rial substance are so disarranged, that the powers of perception and 
 thought, which depend upon this arrangement, cease. At the resur- 
 rection they will be re-arranged in the same, or in a similar manner as 
 before, and consequently the powers of perception and thought will be 
 restored. Death, with its concomitant putrefaction and dispersion of 
 parts, is only a decomposition. What is decomposed, may be recom- 
 poscd by the Being who first composed it : so that, in the most proper 
 
286 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 For if the mental principle was, in its own nature, im- 
 material and immortal, all its peculiar faculties would be 
 so too ; whereas, we see that every faculty of the mind, 
 without exception, is liable to be impaired, and even to 
 become wholly extinct before death. Since therefore all 
 the faculties of the mind, separately taken, appear to be 
 mortal, the substance, or principle, in which they exist, 
 must be pronounced mortal too. Thus we might con- 
 clude, that the body was mortal, from observing, that all 
 the separate senses and limbs were liable to decay and 
 perish. 
 
 This system gives a real value to the doctrine of a resur- 
 rection from the dead ; which is peculiar to revelation ; on 
 which alone the sacred writers build all our hope of future 
 life ; and it explains the uniform language of the scriptures, 
 which speak of one day of judgment for all mankind, and 
 represent all the rewards of virtue, and all the punishments 
 of vice, as taking place at that awful day, and not before. 
 In the scriptures, the heathens are represented to be with- 
 out hope, and all mankind as perishing at death, if there 
 be no resurrection of the dead. 
 
 The Apostle Paul asserts in 1 Cor. xv. 16, that, " If 
 the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised ; and if Christ 
 be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins. 
 Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ, are perished." 
 And again, ver. 32 " If the dead rise not, let us eat and 
 drink, for to-morrow we die." In the whole discourse, he 
 does not even mention the doctrine of happiness or misery 
 without the body. 
 
 If we search the scriptures for passages expressive of 
 the state of man at death, we find such declarations, as 
 expressly exclude any trace of sense, thought, or enjoy- 
 ment. See Psalm vi. 5. Job xiv. 7. 
 
 feense of the word, the same body, which dies, shall rise again ; not with 
 every thing adventitious and extraneous, as what we receive by nutri- 
 tion, but with the same stamina, or those particles, which really be< 
 longed to the germ of the orgauical body These will be collected and 
 revivified at the resurrection. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 287 
 
 II. That there is some fixed law of nature respecting 
 the will, as well as the other powers of the mind, and 
 every thing else in the constitution of nature ; and conse- 
 quently, that it is never determined without some real or 
 apparent cause, foreign to itself, i. e. without some motive 
 of choice ; or that motives influence us in some definite 
 and invariable manner ; so that every volition, or choice, 
 is constantly regulated and determined by what precedes 
 it. And this constant determination of mind, according 
 to the motives presented to it, is what is meant by its ne- 
 cessary determination.* This being admitted to be fact, 
 there will be a necessary connection between all things 
 past, present, and to come, in the way of proper cause 
 and effect, as much in the intellectual as in the natural 
 world ; so that according to the established laws of nature, 
 no event could have been otherwise than it has been, is, or 
 is to be, and therefore, all things past, present, and to 
 come, are precisely what the Author of nature really in- 
 tended them to be, and has made provision for. 
 
 To establish this conclusion, nothing is necessary, but 
 that throughout all nature, the same consequences should 
 invariably result from the same circumstances. For if 
 this is admitted, it will necessarily follow, that at the com- 
 mencement of any system, since the several parts of it 
 
 * The term voluntary is not opposed to necessary, but only to invol- 
 untary, and nothing can be opposed to necessary, but contingent. For 
 a voluntary motion may be regulated by certain rules, as much as a 
 mechanical one; and if it be regulated by -any certain rules, or laws, it 
 is as necessary as any mechanical motion whatever. 
 
 To suppose the most perfectly voluntary choice to be made without 
 regard to the laws of nature, so that with the same inclination, and 
 the same views of things presented to us, we might be even voluntarily 
 disposed to choose either of two different things at the same moment 
 of time, is just as impossible, as that an involuntary or mechanical mo- 
 tion should depend upon no certain laws or rule, or that any other 
 effect, should exist without an adequate cause. If the mind is as con- 
 stantly determined by the influence of motives, as a stone is determined 
 to fall to the ground by the influence of gravity, we are constrained 
 to conclude, that the cause in the one acts as necessarily as in the 
 other. 
 
288 HISTOKY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 and their respective situations were appointed by the Deity, 
 the first change would take place according to a certain 
 rule, established by himself, the result of which would be 
 a new situation ; after which, the same laws continuing, 
 another change would succeed, according to the same rules, 
 and so on forever ; every new situation invariably lea ling 
 to another, and every event, from the commencement to 
 the termination of the system, being strictly connected ; 
 so that, unless the fundamental laws of the system were 
 changed, it would be impossible that any event should 
 have been otherwise than it was. 
 
 In all these cases, the circumstances preceding any 
 change, are called the causes of that change ; and since a 
 determinate event, or eifect, constantly follows certain 
 circumstances, or causes, the connection between cause and 
 effect is concluded to be invariable and therefore necessary. 
 
 It is universally acknowledged, that there can be no 
 effect without an adequate cause. This is even the foun- 
 dation on which the only proper argument for the being 
 of a God rests. And the Necessarian asserts, that if, in 
 any given state of mind, with respect both to dispositions 
 and motives, two different determinations, or violations, be 
 possible, it can be on no other principle, than that one of 
 them should come under the description of an effect with- 
 out a cause, just as if the beam of a balance might incline 
 either way, though loaded with equal weights. And if 
 any thing whatever, even a thought in the mind of man, 
 could arise without an adequate cause, any thing else, the 
 mind itself, or the whole universe, might likewise exist 
 without an adequate cause. 
 
 This scheme of philosophical necessity, implies a chain 
 of causes and effects, established by infinite wisdom, and 
 terminating in the greatest good of the whole universe. 
 Evils of all kinds, natural and moral, being admitted, as 
 far as they contribute to that end, or are in the nature of 
 things inseparable from it.* 
 
 * Dr. Priestley says the doctrine of necessity contains all that the 
 heart of mail cau wish. It leads us to consider ourselves, and every 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Vice is productive not of good, but of evil to 
 here and hereafter ; though good may result from it to" 
 whole system. And according to the fixed laws of nature, 
 our present and future happiness necessarily depend on our 
 cultivating good dispositions.* 
 
 Our learned author distinguishes this scheme of philo- 
 sophical necessity from the Calvinistic doctrine of predes- 
 tination, in the following particulars : 
 
 I. No Necessarian supposes that any of the human race 
 will suffer eternally ; but that future punishments will an- 
 swer the same purpose as temporal ones are found to do, 
 all of which tend to good, and are evidently admitted for 
 that purpose. 
 
 Upon the doctrine of necessity also, the most indiffer- 
 ent actions of men are equally necessary with the most 
 important ; since every volition, like any other effect, 
 must have an adequate cause, depending upon the pre- 
 vious state of the mind, and the influence to which it is 
 exposed. 
 
 II. The Necessarian believes that his own dispositions 
 and actions are the necessary and sole means of his present 
 and future happiness ; so that, in the most proper sense of 
 the words, it depends entirely upon himself, whether he 
 be virtuous or vicious, happy or miserable. 
 
 III. The Calvinistic system entirely excludes the popu- 
 lar notion of free-will, viz., the liberty or power of doing 
 what we please, virtuous or vicious, as belonging to every 
 person in every situation; which is perfectly consistent 
 
 thing else, as at the uncontrolled disposal of the greatest and best of 
 Beings ; that, strictly speaking, nothing does, or can go wrong ; and 
 that all retrograde motions in the moral, as well as in the natural world, 
 are only apparent, not real. 
 
 * By our being liable to punishment for our actions and accountable 
 for them, is meant, that it is wise and good in the Supreme Being to 
 appoint, that certain sufferings should follow certain actions, provided 
 they be voluntary, though necessary ones. A course of voluntary ac- 
 tions and sufferings being calculated to promote the greatest ultimate 
 good. 
 19 
 
290 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 with the doctrine of philosophical necessity, and indeed 
 results from it. 
 
 IV. The Necessarian believes nothing of the posterity 
 of Adam's sinning in him, and of their being liable to the 
 wrath of God on that account, or the necessity of an infi- 
 nite Being making atonement for them by suffering in 
 their stead, and thus making the Deity propitious to them. 
 He believes nothing of all the actions of any man being 
 necessarily sinful; but, on the contrary, thinks that the 
 very worst of men are capable of benevolent intentions in 
 many things that they do ; and likewise, that very good 
 men are capable of falling from virtue, and consequently, 
 of sinking into final perdition. Upon the principles of 
 the Necessarian, also, all late repentance, and especially 
 after long and confirmed habits of vice, is altogether and 
 necessarily ineffectual ; there not being sufficient time left 
 to produce a change of disposition and character, which 
 can only be done by a change of conduct of proportionably 
 long continuance. 
 
 In short the three doctrines of Materialism, Philosophi- 
 cal Necessity, and Socinianism, are considered as equally 
 parts of one system. The scheme of necessity is the im- 
 mediate result of the materiality of man ; for mechanism 
 is the undoubted consequence of materialism. And that 
 man is wholly material, is eminently subservient to the 
 proper, or mere humanity of Christ. For if no man has 
 a soul distinct from his body, Christ, who in all other re- 
 spects, appeared as a man, could not have a soul which 
 had existed before his body. And the whole doctrine of 
 the pre-existence of souls, of which the opinion of the pre- 
 existence of Christ is a branch, will be effectually over- 
 turned. 
 
 TEACTARIANS, OR PUSEYITES. 
 
 THIS name has been given by their opponents to a school 
 of theologians, members of the established Episcopal 
 church in England, whose tenets have been set forth in a 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 291 
 
 series of publications, Known as the Oxford tracts, which 
 began to appear about the year 1833-4. From one of the 
 most able and indefatigable of the champions of the party, 
 the Rev. Dr. Pusey, the advocates of these tenets have 
 been also called Puseyites. 
 
 The main points, insisted on by them, according to 
 their own accounts, are the following : 
 
 1. The doctrine of Apostolic succession as a rule of 
 practice ; that is, First, That the participation of the Body 
 and Blood of Christ is essential to the maintenance of 
 Christian life and hope in each individual. Second, That 
 it is conveyed to individual Christians, only by the hands 
 of the successors of the Apostles and their delegates. 
 Third, That the successors of the Apostles are those w r ho 
 are descended in a direct line from them, by the imposi- 
 tion of hands ; and that the delegates of these are the re- 
 spective presbyters whom each has commissioned. 
 
 II. That it is sinful, voluntarily to allow the interfer- 
 ence of persons or bodies not members of the church in 
 matters spiritual. 
 
 III. That it is desirable to make the church more 
 popular, as far as is consistent with the maintenance of its 
 Apostolical character. 
 
 The following memorandum, drawn up by Mr. Newman, 
 one of the most distinguished members of the school, ex- 
 plains more fully the original intention and peculiar doc- 
 trines of the Tractarians : 
 
 Considering, 1. That the only way of salvation is the 
 partaking of the Body and Blood of our sacrificed Re- 
 deemer. 
 
 2. That the means, expressly authorized by him for 
 that purpose, is the Holy Sacrament of his Supper. 
 
 3. That the security, by him no less expressly author- 
 ized, for the continuance and due application of that 
 Sacrament, is, the Apostolical commission of the Bishops, 
 and, under them, the Presbyters of the church. 
 
 4. That under the present circumstances of the Church 
 of England, there is peculiar danger of these matters 
 
292 HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 being slighted and practically disavowed, and of numbers 
 of Christians being left or tempted to precarious and unau- 
 thorized ways of communion, which must terminate often 
 in virtual apostasy. 
 
 We desire to pledge ourselves, one to another, reserv- 
 ing our canonical obedience, as follows : 
 
 1. To be on the watch for all opportunities of inculca- 
 ting, on all committed to our charge, a due sense of the 
 inestimable privilege of communion with our Lord, through 
 the successors of the Apostles ; and of leading them to the 
 resolution to transmit it, by his blessing, unimpaired to 
 their children. 
 
 2. To provide and circulate books and tracts, which 
 may tend to familiarize the imaginations of men to the 
 ideal of an Apostolical commission, to represent to them 
 the feelings and principles resulting from that doctrine, in 
 the purest and earliest churches, and especially to point 
 out its fruits, as exemplified in the practice of the primi- 
 tive Christians ; their communion with each other, how- 
 ever widely separated, and their resolute sufferings for the 
 truth's sake. 
 
 3. To do what lies in us towards reviving among 
 Churchmen, the practice of daily common prayer, and 
 more frequent participation of the Lord's Supper. And 
 whereas there seems great danger, at present, of attempts 
 at unauthorized and inconsiderate innovation, as in other 
 matters, so especially in the service of our church, we 
 pledge ourselves, 
 
 4. To resist any attempt that may be made, to alter 
 the liturgy on insufficient authority ; i. e. without the exer- 
 cise of the free and deliberate judgment of the church on 
 the alterations proposed : 
 
 5. It will also be one of our objects to place, within 
 the reach of all men, sound and true accounts of those 
 points in our discipline and worship, which may appear, 
 from time to time, most likely to be misunderstood or un- 
 dervalued, and to suggest such measures, as may promise 
 to be most successful in preserving them. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 298 
 
 In regard to the charge of Romanism, so frequently 
 brought against the Tractarians, we find in the first vol- 
 ume of the tracts the following statement of " irreconcila- 
 ble differences" with Rome, by one of them : 
 
 Be assured of this no party will be more opposed to 
 our doctrine, if it ever prospers and makes a noise, than 
 the Roman party. This has been proved before now. 
 In the seventeenth century, the theology of the divines of 
 the English Church was substantially the same as ours is ; 
 and it experienced the fell hostility of the Papacy. It 
 was the true Via Media : Rome sought to block up that 
 way, as fiercely as the puritans. History tells us this. In 
 a few words I will state some of my irreconcilable differ- 
 ences with Rome, as she is ; and in stating her errors, 
 I will closely follow the order observed by Bishop Hall, 
 in his treatise on The Old Religion, whose Protestantism 
 is unquestionable. 
 
 I consider that it is unscriptural to say, with the 
 Church of Rome, that we are justified by inherent right- 
 eousness. 
 
 That it is unscriptural to say that " the good works 
 of a man justified do truly merit eternal life." 
 
 That the doctrine of transubstantiation, as not being 
 revealed, but a theory of man's devising, is profane and 
 impious. 
 
 That the denial of the cup to the laity, is a bold and 
 unwarranted encroachment on their privileges as Christ's 
 people. 
 
 That the sacrifice of masses, as it has been practised 
 in the Roman Church, is without foundation in Scripture 
 or antiquity, and therefore blasphemous and dangerous. 
 
 That the honor paid to images is very full of peril in 
 the case of the uneducated, that is, of the great part of 
 Christians. 
 
 That indulgences, as in use, are a gross and monstrous 
 Invention of later times. 
 
 That the received doctrine of purgatory is at variance 
 
294 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 with Scripture, cruel to the better sort of Christians, and 
 administering deceitful comfort to the irreligious. 
 
 That the practice of celebrating Divine service in an 
 unknown tongue, is a great corruption. 
 
 That forced confession is an unauthorized and danger- 
 ous practice. 
 
 That the direct invocation of the saints is a dangerous 
 practice, as tending to give, often actually giving, to crea- 
 tures, the honor and reliance due to the Creator alone. 
 
 That there are seven sacraments. 
 
 That the Roman doctrine of Tradition is unscriptural. 
 
 That the claim of the Pope, to be universal Bishop, 
 is against Scripture and antiquity. 
 
 I might add other points, in which also, I protest 
 against the church of Rome, but I think it enough to 
 make my confession in Hall's order, and so leave it. 
 
 And Mr. Newman himself says : " Whether we be right 
 or wrong, our theory of religion has a meaning, and that 
 really distinct from Romanism. They maintain that faith 
 depends upon the Church ; we that the Church is built 
 upon the faith. By Church Catholic we mean the Church 
 Universal ; they, those branches of it which are in com- 
 munion with Rome. Again, they understand by the faith, 
 whatever the Church at any time declares to be faith ; we, 
 what it has actually so declared from the beginning. 
 Both they and we anathematise those who deny the faith ; 
 but they extend the condemnation to all who question any 
 decree of the Roman church ; we apply it to those only 
 who deny any article of the original Apostolical creed." 
 
 Tractarians seem to insist that no vital Christianity can 
 exist out of the pale of the Episcopal Church. " A church," 
 says the British Critic, their principal organ in Eng- 
 land, " is such only by virtue of that from which it obtains 
 its unity and it obtains its unity only from that in which it 
 centres, viz., the Bishop. And therefore, all its teaching 
 must be through the medium of the Episcopate, as is ^au- 
 tifully expressed in the act of the synod of Bethlehem, 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 295 
 
 which the Eastern Church transmitted to the nonjuring 
 Bishops. 
 
 Therefore we declare that this hath ever been the 
 doctrine of the Eastern Church that the Episcopal dig- 
 nity is so necessary in the Church, that without a Bishop 
 there cannot exist any Church, nor any Christian man ; 
 no, not so much as in name. For he, as successor of the 
 Apostles, having received the grace, given to the Apostle 
 himself of the Lord, to bind and to loose, by imposition 
 of hands and the invocation of the Holy Ghost by con- 
 tinuous succession from one to another, is a living image of 
 God upon earth and by the fullest communication of 
 the virtue of that Spirit who works in all ordinances, is the 
 source of and fountain, as it were, of all those mysteries 
 of the Catholic Church, through which we obtain salva- 
 tion. And we hold the necessity of a Bishop to be as 
 great in the Church as the breath of life is in man, or as 
 the sun is in the system of creation. Whence, also, some 
 have elegantly said, in praise of Episcopal dignity, that 
 as God himself is in the heavenly Church the first born, 
 and as the sun in the world, so is every Bishop in the 
 Diocesan or particular church, inasmuch as it is through 
 him that the flock is lightened and warmed, and made into 
 a Temple of God. But that the great mystery and dignity 
 of the Episcopate has been continued, by succession from 
 one Bishop to another, to our time, is clear. For the 
 Lord promised to be with us, even unto the end of the 
 world ; and although he be indeed with us, also, by other 
 modes of grace and divine benefit, yet does he, in a more 
 especial manner, through the Episcopate, as the prime 
 source of all holy ministrations, make us his own, abide 
 with us and render himself one with us, and us with him, 
 through the holy mysteries of which the Bishop is the 
 chief minister and prime worker, through the Spirit. 
 
 Tractarianism has been often called a " sacramental re- 
 ligion," because of the extreme views of its supporters in 
 regard to the efficacy of baptism and the administration of 
 the Lord's Supper. It must be confessed, however, that 
 
296 HISTORY or ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 in defence of their views they quote the earliest and most 
 revered authorities, and adduce numerous strong passages 
 from the writings of Cranmer and Ridley, the composers 
 of those Thirty-nine Articles, which may be said to lie at 
 the foundation of the Protestant Episcopal church. Thus 
 Ridley says : " As the hody is nourished by the bread and 
 wine, at the Communion, and the soul by grace and Spirit, 
 with the body of Christ ; even so, in baptism, the body is 
 washed with the visible water, and the soul cleansed from 
 all filth by the invisible Holy Ghost." 
 
 And Cranmer, the martyr, is quoted in behalf of the 
 Tractarian view regarding baptism as follows: "And 
 when you say, that in baptism we receive the Spirit of 
 Christ, and in the sacrament of his body, we receive his 
 very flesh and blood, this your saying is no small deroga- 
 tion to baptism ; wherein we receive, not only the Spirit 
 of Christ but also Christ himself, whole body and soul, 
 manhood and Godhead, unto everlasting life. For St. 
 Paul saith, as many as be baptized in Christ, put Christ 
 upon them. Nevertheless, this is done in divers respects ; 
 for in baptism, it is done in respect of regeneration, and 
 in the Holy Communion, in respect of nourishment and 
 sustentation." 
 
 " Thus it is," says Bishop Doane of New Jersey, " that 
 the bishops, doctors, martyrs of the Reformation, teach a 
 'religion of sacraments.' Such and only such, is the 
 i sacramental religion' which the men of Oxford preach. 
 How can they do other, when it is written, in the words 
 of Jesus Christ himself, c Verily, verily, I say unto thee, 
 except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he can- 
 not enter the kingdom of God ;' and again, ' He that 
 eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, 
 and I in him !' When it is written, in the words of St. 
 Paul, ' According to his mercy he saved us, by the wash- 
 ing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost ;' 
 and again, ' The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not 
 the communion of the blood of Christ ? The bread which 
 we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ ?' 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 297 
 
 "When it is written in the words of St. Peter, * Repent and 
 be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, 
 for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of 
 the Holy Ghost ;' and again, ' The figure whereunto even 
 baptism doth now save us.' But let the whole subject be 
 summed up in the words of Mr. Simeon : i St. Peter says, 
 " Repent and be baptized every one of you, for the remis- 
 sion of sins," and in another place, " Baptism doth now 
 save us.' And speaking elsewhere of baptized persons, 
 who were unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, he says, " He hath forgotten that he was purged 
 from his old sins." Does not this very strongly counte- 
 nance the idea which our Reformers entertain, that the 
 remission of our sins, and the regeneration of our souls, is 
 attendant on the baptismal rite.' ' 
 
 "According to our church," says Dr. Pusey, " we are, 
 by baptism, brought into a state of salvation or justifica- 
 tion, (for the words are thus far equivalent,) a state into 
 which we were brought by God's free mercy alone, with- 
 out works, but in which, having been placed, we are to 
 'work out our own salvation with fear and trembling,' 
 through the indwelling Spirit of c God, working in us, to 
 will and to do of his good pleasure.' ' 
 
 And the following passage from the lectures of Dr. 
 Pusey's celebrated co-laborer, the Rev. Mr. Newman, may 
 be regarded as sufficient in imparting an idea of the views 
 of the Tractarians upon the subject of justification : 
 
 " In the foregoing lectures, a view has been taken, sub- 
 stantially the same as this, but approaching more nearly 
 in language to the Calvinist ; namely, that Christ indwell- 
 ing is our righteousness ; only what is with them a matter 
 of words, I would wish to use in a real sense, as express- 
 ing a sacred mystery ; and therefore I have spoken of it in 
 the language of Scripture, as < the indwelling of Christ 
 through the Spirit.' Stronger language cannot be de- 
 sired, than that which the Calvinists use on the subject ; 
 so much so, that it may well be believed that many who 
 use it, as the great Hooker himself, at the time he wrote 
 
298 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 his Treatise, meant what they say. For instance, the 
 words of a celebrated passage which occurs in it, taken 
 literally, do most entirely express the doctrine on the sub- 
 ject, which seems to me the scriptural and catholic view : 
 6 Christ hath merited righteousness for as many as are 
 found in him. In him God findeth us, if we be faithful ; 
 for by faith we are incorporated into Christ. Then, al- 
 though in ourselves we be altogether sinful and unright- 
 eous ; yet even the man which is impious in himself, full 
 of iniquity, full of sin, him being found in Christ through 
 faith, and having his sin remitted through repentance, him 
 God beholdeth with a gracious eye, putteth away his sin by 
 not imputing it, taketh quite away the punishment due there- 
 to by pardoning it, and accepteth him in Jesus Christ, as 
 perfectly righteous, as if he had fulfilled all that was com- 
 manded him in the Law ; shall I say more perfectly right- 
 eous than if himself had fulfilled the whole law ? I must 
 take heed what I say ; but the Apostle saith, God made 
 Him which knew no sin, to be sin for us ; that we might 
 be made the righteousness of God in Him. Such we are 
 in the sight of God the Father, as is the very Son of God 
 Himself. Let it be counted folly, or phrensy, or fury, or 
 whatsoever, it is our comfort and our wisdom ; we care 
 for no knowledge in the world but this, that man hath 
 sinned, and God hath suffered ; that God hath made Him- 
 self the sin of man, and that men are made the righteous- 
 ness of God.' ' 
 
 "Justification, then," says Mr. Newman, in another 
 place, " viewed relatively to the past, is forgiveness of sin, 
 for nothing more can it be ; but, considered as to the pre- 
 sent and future, it is more ; it is renewal, wrought in us 
 by the Spirit of Him, who, withal by his death and passion, 
 w T ashes away its still adhering imperfections, as well as 
 blots out what is past. And faith is said to justify in two 
 principal ways : first, as continually pleading before God ; 
 and secondly, as being the first recipient of the Spirit, the 
 root, and therefore, the earnest and anticipation, of perfect 
 obedience." 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 299 
 
 "Dpon the subject of transubstantiation, Dr. Pusey says: 
 u We believe the doctrine of our Church to be, that in the 
 Communion there is a true, real, actual, though spiritual, 
 (or rather the more real, because spiritual,) communica- 
 tion of the Body and Blood of Christ to the believer 
 through the Holy Elements ; that there is a true, real, 
 spiritual Presence of Christ at the Holy Supper ; more 
 real than if we could, with Thomas, feel Him with our 
 hands, or thrust our hands into His side ; that this is be- 
 stowed upon faith, and received by faith, as is every other 
 spiritual gift, but that our faith is but a receiver of God's 
 real, mysterious, precious gift; that faith opens our eyes 
 to see what is really there, and our hearts to receive it ; 
 but that it is there, independently of our faith. And this 
 Real, Spiritual Presence it is, which makes it so awful a 
 thing to approach unworthily." 
 
 In defence of these views, the authority of Cranmer, 
 the martyr, is quoted who says : " Christ saith of the 
 Bread, 'This is My Body;' and of the Cup He saith, 
 1 This is My Blood.' Wherefore we ought to believe that 
 in the Sacrament we receive truly the Body and Blood of 
 Christ. For God is almighty, ( as ye heard in the Creed.) 
 He is able, therefore, to do all things, what He will. 
 And, as St. Paul writeth, He called those things which be 
 not as if they were. Wherefore, when Christ taketh 
 Bread, and saith, 'Take, eat, this is My Body,' we ought 
 not to doubt but we eat His very Body. And when He 
 taketh the Cup, and saith, ' Take, drink, this is My Blood,' 
 we ought to think assuredly that we drink His very 
 Blood. And this we must believe, if we will be counted 
 Christian men. 
 
 " And whereas, in this perilous time, certain deceitful 
 persons be found, in many places, who, of very froward- 
 ness, will not grant that there is the Body and Blood of 
 Christ, but deny the same, for none other cause but that 
 they cannot compass, by man's blind reason, how this 
 thing should be brought to pass ; ye, good children, shall 
 with all diligence beware of such persons, that ye suffer 
 
300 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 not yourselves to be deceived by them. For such men 
 surely are not true Christians, neither as yet have they 
 learned the first article of the Creed, which teacheth that 
 God is almighty, which ye, good children, have already 
 perfectly learned. Wherefore, eschew such erroneous 
 opinions, and believe the words of our Lord Jesus, that 
 you eat and drink His very Body and Blood, although 
 man's reason cannot comprehend how and after what man- 
 ner the same is there present. For the wisdom of reason 
 must be. subdued to the obedience of Christ, as the Apostle 
 Paul teacheth." 
 
 The Tractarians are charged with inculcating the ne- 
 cessity of dispensing religious truth with caution, not 
 throwing it promiscuously before minds ill-suited to re- 
 ceive it. What Oxford teaches may be presented, in a few 
 words, from Dr. Pusey's Letter to the Lord Chancellor : 
 
 " In brief, then, my Lord, the meaning of our Church, 
 ( as we conceive,) in these Articles, is, that the Scripture 
 is the sole authoritative source of the Faith, i. e. of 
 i things to be believed in order to salvation ;' the Church 
 is the medium, through which that knowledge is conveyed 
 to individuals ; she, under her responsibility to God, and 
 in subjection to His Scripture, and with the guidance of 
 His Spirit, testifies to her children, what truths are neces- 
 sary to be believed in order to salvation; expounds Scrip- 
 ture to them ; determines, when controversies arise ; and 
 this, not in the character of a judge, but as a witness, to 
 what she herself received." 
 
 And in this view of the meaning of the Church, we 
 are further confirmed by the Canon of the Convocation of 
 1571, the same Convocation which enforced subscription 
 to the Articles. 
 
 " The preachers shall in the first place be careful 
 never to teach any thing from the pulpit, to be religiously 
 held and believed by the people, but what is agreeable to 
 the doctrine of the Old or New Testament, and collected 
 out of that very Doctrine by the Catholic Fathers and an- 
 cient Bishops. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 301 
 
 " So have we ever wished to teach, c what is agreeable 
 to the Doctrine of the Old or New Testament :' and, as 
 the test of its being thus agreeable, we would take, not 
 our own private and individual judgments, but that of the 
 Universal Church, as attested by the Catholic Fathers 
 and Ancient Bishops. " 
 
 Nor do we, in this, nor did they, approximate to Ro- 
 manism : but rather they herein took the strongest and the 
 only unassailable position against it. Rome and ourselves 
 have alike appealed to the authority of "the Church;" 
 but, in the mouth of a Romanist, the Church means so 
 much of the Church as is in communion with herself, in 
 other words, it means herself: with us, it means the Uni- 
 versal Church, to which Rome, as a particular Church, is 
 subject, and ought to yield obedience. With Rome, it 
 matters not whether the decision be of the Apostolic times, 
 or of yesterday ; whether against the teachers of the early 
 Church, or with it ; whether the whole Church universal 
 throughout the world agree in it, or only a section, which 
 holds communion with herself: she, as well as Calvin, 
 makes much of the authority of the Fathers, when she 
 thinks that they make for her ; but she, equally with the 
 founder of the Ultra-Protestants, sets at naught their au- 
 thority, so soon as they tell against her : she unscrupu- 
 lously sets aside the judgment of all the Ancient Doctors 
 of the Church, unhesitatingly dismisses the necessity of 
 agreement even of the whole Church at this day, and 
 proudly taking to herself the exclusive title of Catholic, 
 sits alone, a Queen in the midst of the earth, and dis- 
 penses her decrees from herself. No, my lord ! they ill 
 understand the character of Rome, or their own strength, 
 who think that she would really commit herself, as Cran- 
 mer did, to Christian Antiquity, or who would not gladly 
 brin* her to that test ! What need has she of Antiquity 
 who is herself infallible, except to allure mankind to be- 
 lieve her so ? 
 
 So much for Tractarianism by a Tractarian 
 
302 HISTOKY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 REFORMED PRESBYTERIANS, OR COVENANTERS, 
 
 THIS denomination of Christians take their name from 
 the fact that " Covenanting" has been a prominent event 
 and characteristic of their past history. They derive their 
 origin from the Reformed Church of Scotland ; their mem- 
 bers having united with others in signing the " National 
 Covenant of Scotland," and subsequently the " Solemn 
 League and Covenant," which Protestants in England, 
 Scotland, arid Ireland framed and signed in 1643, which 
 exerted an important influence in overturning the throne 
 of the Stuarts, and in bringing about the execution of 
 Charles I. 
 
 During the eighteenth century a few members of this 
 sect emigrated from time to time from Scotland to this 
 country. At length in 1752, Rev. Mr. Cuthbertson was 
 sent by the Reformed Presbytery of Scotland to visit 
 these scattered members, and to ascertain their religious 
 and social condition. He traveled and preached through- 
 out the colonies with great zeal during twenty years ; and 
 in 1774, Messrs. Linn and Dobbin were sent to assist him. 
 These three clergymen, and their ruling elders, organized 
 themselves into a regular presbytery. With the progress 
 of time the members of the sect increased, and additional 
 ministers were sent over to supply their spiritual wants. 
 In 1799 a constitution was adopted, and various measures 
 were taken to give organization and solidity to the denomi- 
 nation. Amongst other things, they took hold of the sub- 
 ject of slavery at an early period, and in 1800 ordained 
 that no person having any connection whatever with that 
 "peculiar institution," should be allowed to have commu- 
 nion or membership with them, under any circumstances. 
 
 In May, 1809, at a meeting of the Presbytery which 
 was held in Philadelphia, it was resolved to establish a 
 Synod, in consequence of the increase of members ani 
 preachers ; and the Rev. William Gibson, being the senior 
 minister, officiated in organizing and recognizing tha 
 *< Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Ame- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 803 
 
 rica." Several years previous to this step, the Presbytery 
 had issued a document termed the " Testimony of the 
 Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States," 
 which set forth their doctrines and opinions at length. 
 
 The most remarkable peculiarity of this denomination 
 is that they refuse to support the Constitution and Govern- 
 ment of the United States, and condemn them as opposed to 
 religion, as impious and detestable. They contend that no 
 Christian ought to countenance any government which 
 does not recognize the supreme authority of Jesus Christ, 
 and acknowledge allegiance to him. They hold that the 
 Constitution of the United States, and the Constitutions 
 of the several States, ought directly and distinctly to 
 introduce this topic, and to admit this principle else in 
 default thereof, they do not deserve the support or appro- 
 val of Christians. To our blind and dumb vision this 
 seems a most absurd doctrine, for this reason : Men should 
 consider what the intention of such a thing as a political 
 constitution is. If it be to proclaim religious truth, it is 
 proper that due prominence should be given to that, and 
 to the claims of Christianity and its founder. If its in- 
 tention, however, be to assert and define the various 
 political rights, duties, relations, and obligations of men, 
 it has nothing whatever to do with religious principles. 
 This sect might just as reasonably require that the decla- 
 ration which the National Convention of Dentists annually 
 puts forth, should contain a recognition of the truths of 
 Christianity, and other religious dogmas, in order to 
 secure the approval of Christians, as they have to require 
 the same thing in a political document, issued by an 
 assemblage of politicians, convened for a purely secular 
 and political purpose. 
 
 The Covenanters, or Reformed Presbyterians, wholly 
 condemn the Constitution and Government of the United 
 States, on a variety of grounds. They begin by laying 
 down a principle which is true ; but they deduce from it 
 (what we regard as) unjustifiable conclusions. That prin- 
 ciple is that, when immorality and impiety are made 
 
304 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 essential to any political system, the whole system should 
 be unconditionally condemned. Yet this premise involves 
 an error ; because, according to it, the whole Jewish sys- 
 tem of doctrine and belief, as contained in the Old Testa- 
 ment, should be condemned and utterly repudiated, be- 
 cause that system contained some essential features which 
 were wrong and censurable, and which Christ himself 
 subsequently abrogated. 
 
 Reformed Presbyterians proceed to denounce the Fed- 
 eral Constitution of the United States on the following 
 grounds : They condemn the preamble, because it does 
 not recognize the glory of G-od as the great end in the 
 establishment of civil governments ; and because it does 
 not propose to secure alike liberty to all the inhabitants 
 of the land. They condemn the first article, because it 
 makes a distinction between persons called "free" and 
 "all other persons;" because, as they think, it legalizes 
 the slave trade; because, among the qualifications re- 
 quired for public officers, no notice is taken of religious 
 merits, of the piety and moral excellence of the appli- 
 cants. They object to the second article, because the 
 mode prescribed for inducting persons into office is not 
 adapted to give glory to God, inasmuch as they swear or 
 affirm, without any allusion to God's law and authority. 
 They also condemn the pardoning power, as applied to 
 murderers, allowed by this article ; and the fourth article 
 they denounce, as calculated to make them partakers of 
 other men's sins, or at least encouraging and favoring 
 them. They also object to restoring fugitive servants or 
 slaves, and to making any human law the "supreme" law 
 of the land. This they regard as impious in the extreme, 
 an offence for which there is and can be no excuse. 
 
 These are the chief grounds on which the Reformed 
 Presbyterians refuse to acknowledge the authority of the 
 Federal Constitution, and even of the State Governments. 
 They hold no political offices on this account, and the 
 emotion of patriotism seems to be extinct within them. 
 The "stars and stripes" and the most glorious reminis- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 305 
 
 cences of Revolutionary days excite no enthusiasm in 
 their breasts. Another prominent peculiarity of this de- 
 nomination is, that in public worship they sing nothing 
 but David's Psalms, translated into English. They regard 
 it as impious and idolatrous to sing any other kind of 
 hymns ; and they condemn not only all instrumental 
 music, such as organs and violins, but even choirs, as 
 being abominable in the eyes of God and disgusting to 
 Him. We never could account for the inconsistency 
 which this opinion appears to involve, because David, in 
 the very Psalms which these people insist so much on 
 singing, expressly says, " Praise Him (God) with stringed 
 instruments and organs" (Ps. cl. 4.) And yet there is 
 not a "Reformed Presbyterian" Church in the United 
 States from which, if a fiddle or organ were introduced 
 into it, the congregation would not rush out in holy horror 
 and detestation. Some of the peculiarities of this deno- 
 mination led to a great split among them in 1830. Rev. 
 Dr. Wylie and a few other prominent clergymen endea- 
 vored to effect a change in the existing opinions of the 
 members and the preachers, especially with reference to 
 the prevalent views of the government and Constitution 
 of the United States. Their efforts were unavailing, 
 and the result was that the innovators were suspended 
 from the exercise of the ministry. Six preachers and 
 five ruling elders, who were thus disciplined, then 
 proceeded to form themselves into a new sect and a 
 new presbytery. The seceding ministers were Drs. 
 Wylie and McMaster, and Rev. Messrs. McLeod, 
 Wilson, Stuart, and J. McMaster. They retained the 
 title of Reformed Presbyterians, but entered into a 
 separate organization. The several points on which 
 they differ from those from whom they seceded are as 
 follows: They do not condemn the Constitution and 
 Government of the United States, and they permit their 
 members to take office, and to maintain all such relations 
 to the civil society and institutions of the United States 
 as are not immoral. They believe that in this government 
 20 
 
30& HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 there is no apostasy from any religious covenant -which 
 had formerly been entered into ; that the defects of the 
 laws are omissions not essential to the operations of civil 
 governments ; that a constitutional way is provided by 
 which all defects in the laws may be remedied ; and that 
 if Christians believe such defects to exist, it is their duty 
 to mix in politics and employ all their influence in effect- 
 ing a change in the objectionable features. In regard to 
 Psalmody, or singing in public worship, this denomination, 
 while they retain the use of David's Psalms, are not as 
 rigid in their views about them, nor are they as strict as 
 the old branch in their opinions respecting the terms of 
 communion ; and, while in general they practice " close 
 communion," admitting none but their own members to 
 the Lord's table with them, they entertain a more liberal 
 feeling toward other Christians. 
 
 Reformed Presbyterians, in this country, have about 
 forty ministers, fifty congregations, and eight thousand 
 communicants. They have a theological seminary at 
 Cincinnati, and several religious and theological maga- 
 zines, such as the " Reformed Presbyterian," and the 
 " Covenanter." Of all the various branches of the great 
 Presbyterian family, this denomination may be regarded 
 as one of the most conservative, the most resolutely hos- 
 tile to all change, and to any departure from the " old 
 paths." 
 
 CHURCH OF GOD, OE WINEBRENNERIANS. 
 
 THIS sect arose about the year 1825 in Dauphin county, 
 Pennsylvania, through the agency of Rev. John Wine- 
 brenner, a German Reformed preacher, who, in 1829, 
 settled in Harrisburg as pastor of a church of that deno- 
 mination. At that period those religious excitements 
 which are termed "revivals" were unknown among the 
 German churches in this country ; but the preaching of 
 Mr. Winebrenner was calculated to introduce this novelty 
 among the several congregations in town and country to 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 307 
 
 whom he ministered. The consequence of this state of 
 affairs was, that divisions and violent controversies arose 
 in regard to the propriety of these new measures ; and, 
 ultimately, Mr. W. and his friends seceded from the Re- 
 formed Church, and formed a denomination of their own< 
 These met together in October, 1830, at Harrisburg, and 
 formed an association, consisting of six preachers and 
 s jme elders, and this convention or assembly they called 
 the first "Eldership." These persons set forth their be- 
 lief that there is but one true Christian church; that 
 Christians ought not to be designated by any sectarian or 
 human name ; that they should have no creed or discipline 
 but the Bible ; and that they should not be governed by 
 any extrinsic foreign jurisdiction. John Winebrenner was 
 elected the first president, or "speaker," as he was termed, 
 of this gathering. Female members of the society were 
 allowed to vote in the choice of church officers ; and "feet 
 washing" was declared to be an observance which was of 
 perpetual obligation on all Christians until the end of 
 time, according to the declaration of Christ, John xiii. 14, 
 15 : " If I, then, your lord and master, have washed your 
 feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet ; for I have 
 given you an example, that ye should do as I have done 
 to you." They declared, also, that the Lord's Supper 
 should always be administered in a sitting posture, and 
 after nightfall ; because such was the posture, and that the 
 time, which attended the first observance of this sacrament 
 by Christ and the apostles. 
 
 Among the other peculiarities of this new sect was the 
 use of fast days, experience meetings, anxious meetings, 
 protracted meetings, and camp meetings. They condemn 
 intemperance and the manufacture of ardent spirits, sla- 
 very, wars, and national conflicts. They practice baptism 
 by immersion, and believe in the trinity, in a vicarious 
 atonement, in man's free moral agency and his ability to 
 repent, and that the doctrine of election and reprobation 
 has no foundation or warrant in the Bible. They hold to 
 the idea of Christ's personal appearaaca to judge tfaa 
 
308 HISTOKY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 world; and that the final resurrection of the good will 
 take place at the commencement of the millennium, and 
 that of the wicked at the end of that period. 
 
 They call their synods " Elderships," and of these there 
 are four in the United States : the East Pennsylvania, the 
 West Pennsylvania, the Ohio, and the Indiana Elderships. 
 These " Elderships" meet once a year, and the " General 
 Eldership" assembles once in three years. A newspaper 
 termed The Church Advocate is their organ, and is pub- 
 lished at Harrisburg ; its circulation is limited. This sect 
 may now have about fifty preachers, a hundred congre- 
 gations, and eight thousand members. 
 
 GERMAN SEVENTH DAY BAPTISTS. 
 
 THIS denomination of Christians is one of the most re- 
 markable which has ever existed in the United States ; 
 and though they are not numerous, or important in point 
 of prominence and influence, their peculiarities are such 
 as to render them superior to many other sects in interest. 
 Their remoter origin is to be traced to the year 1694, when 
 a religious revival took place in Saxony, Germany, in con- 
 sequence of the zealous preaching of Spener, a distin- 
 guished theologian and ecclesiastic of that period. Those 
 who sympathized with Spener's views were persecuted by 
 the members and dignitaries of the established religion, 
 and the result was that about the year 1719 some of them 
 emigrated to this country for the purpose of enjoying the 
 blessings of religious freedom. Their leader was named 
 Alexander Mack, and they settled at Mill Creek, in Penn- 
 sylvania. They had assumed the title of " First Day 
 German Baptists," and among their number was one 
 Conrad Peysel, who was destined afterward to act a promi- 
 nent part in the history of the association. 
 
 Peysel conceived the idea that there was no authority 
 in the Scriptures for the change of the Sabbath from the 
 seventh to the first day of the week ; and after some con- 
 troversy with the other members of the denomination, he 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 300 
 
 withdrew and retired to a solitary cell on the banks of a 
 stream of water in the vicinity, which had once been occu- 
 pied by a hermit named Elimelich. This occurred in 
 1724 ; and as soon as the place of his retreat became 
 known, some of the members of the society at Mill Creek, 
 who had concurred with Peysel in his opinions in reference 
 to the Sabbath, withdrew from the old community and 
 erected huts near his cell, in order to enjoy his society and 
 the benefits of his religious instructions. 
 
 In the course of several years a considerable village 
 sprang up around the habitation of the prayerful hermit ; 
 and in 1732 they resolved to change their solitary life 
 into a monastic one, by the erection of large buildings in 
 which they could more completely live a life of seclusion 
 devoted to pious exercises. They enclosed a spot of 
 ground to which they gave the title of "Euphrata," and 
 commenced to erect a monastery. They adopted a "white 
 habit, resembling that of the Capuchins, consisting of a 
 long gown and cowl, thrown over other garments, made 
 of woolen web in winter and of linen in summer. A num- 
 ber of female members were admitted into the association 
 who wore a similar garb, who also assumed monastic 
 names, and employed their time, in a great measure, in 
 monastic exercises. 
 
 In the year 1740 there were thirty-six male brethren 
 and thirty-five sisters in the cloisters, and at one time the 
 members of the society who resided in the neighborhood 
 were three hundred. The latter were married people, 
 whereas those who lived in the cloister were single. No 
 monastic vows were required, and each one was at liberty 
 to withdraw at any time from the association ; but it is 
 said that during the lapse of a hundred years not more 
 than five or six of those who had once commenced the 
 monastic life in the cloister withdrew from it and married. 
 They maintained a community of goods, and the society 
 was supported by the profits of the farm and the mills 
 which they owned, and which were carried on by their OWD 
 members. 
 
310 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 The doctrinal belief of this sect was as follows : They 
 entertained the opinion that celibacy was a higher and 
 purer kind of life than marriage, and that the former ena- 
 bled those who practiced it to attain a greater degree of 
 holiness than the latter. In support of this opinion they 
 quoted the express words of Paul : " He that is unmarried 
 careth for the things that belong to the Lord how he may 
 please the Lord ; but he that is married careth for the 
 things of the world how he may please his wife. The 
 unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that 
 she may be holy both in body and in spirit ; but she that 
 is married careth for the things of the world how she 
 may please her husband. I say, therefore, to the unmar- 
 ried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as 
 I." According to these teachings of the apostle, the fol- 
 lowers of Peysel, who occupied the monastery at Euphrata, 
 lived a life of rigid celibacy; and their preachers con- 
 tinually dwelt in their exhortations upon the superior 
 merit of that state, and exhorted one another to con- 
 stancy in it. As soon, however, as any one expressed a 
 desire to marry, it was allowed them, though they were 
 compelled to withdraw from the monastery, and reside in 
 the adjoining village. 
 
 In regard to other points of their religious belief, this 
 sect hold to the doctrine of the Trinity and to that of 
 "free grace," asserting that Christ died to redeem all men, 
 and that men possessed a freedom of the will which ena- 
 bled them at any time to repent and obey the demands of 
 the gospel. They practiced baptism by immersion, and 
 celebrated the Lord's Supper at night, washing each other's 
 feet, according to the injunction of Christ. (John xiii. 
 14, 15.) They considered it essential to adhere to the 
 time and manner, and to all the details which marked the 
 first institution of this sacrament by Christ. The Sabbath 
 they carefully observed on Saturday instead of the first 
 day of the week ; and in defence of this usage they urged 
 many plausible arguments against the unauthorized change 
 of the day from that which was originally appointed by 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 811 
 
 the author of the Sabbath. They deny the eternity of 
 the future punishment of the wicked. 
 
 Such were the leading features of this remarkable sect. 
 As might be supposed, their peculiarities have subjected 
 them to a vast amount of misrepresentation ; but the truth 
 is, that a more exemplary and excellent association of 
 persons has never existed in this country. Because they 
 were few and feeble, and because their doctrine respecting 
 Sunday militated against the opinions of those in greater 
 power and place, they have been persecuted by other reli- 
 gious sects, which, under the guise of the law of the land, 
 have endeavored to ruin them for not observing the preva- 
 lent Sunday as a Sabbath. Attempts have also been made 
 to cheat them out of their property. For a long time 
 they did not "resist evil," until at length, when their 
 wrongs became too outrageous and infamous to be longer 
 borne, they appealed to the Legislature of the State. The 
 Legislature refused them any relief. Afterward they ap- 
 pealed to the Supreme Court, which eventually rendered 
 a decision which shielded them in a great measure from 
 further imposition and outrage. At the present time we 
 believe that the monastery at Euphrata is not used for its 
 original purpose ; but many descendants of the earlier 
 members of the Seventh Day Baptist Church still survive 
 in the village, thus keeping alive the memory of the ob- 
 scure and unobtrusive virtues of one of the most praise- 
 worthy, though singular, of modern religious sects. 
 
 THE PROGRESSIVE FRIENDS. 
 
 THE religious community who are known by the title of 
 "Progressive Friends," derive their origin chiefly from 
 the Quakers. That society had been for some years dis- 
 turbed by disputes and differences in regard to some im- 
 portant points of doctrine. Many of its members believed 
 that a tone of domination and authority had arisen in the 
 sect, which was at variance with the spirit of primitive 
 Quakerism, which aimed at the suppression of free thought, 
 
812 HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 and resisted all attempts at progress or development, 
 The result of this state of things was that, in New York, 
 Ohio, and Michigan, various secessions took place from 
 the Quaker community, and the persons who thus with- 
 drew formed themselves into a new association, under the 
 title of Congregational Friends. 
 
 In May, 1853, a similar movement took place in Penn- 
 sylvania, which was produced by similar causes. On the 
 22d of that month an assemblage was held at Old Ken- 
 nett, in Chester county, composed of those members of 
 the Society of Friends who were in favor of progress, and 
 of separating religion from technical and dead theology. 
 These persons, however, did not exclude from their asso- 
 ciation any who had been members of other sects, or who 
 were members of no sect, who agreed with them in their 
 opinions ; and all were welcome who, being moral in their 
 lives, sympathized with the professed aims and purposes 
 of the convocation. 
 
 In answer to the published call, a very large number of 
 persons convened at the time and place appointed. The 
 meeting was organized and officers selected. There were 
 delegates present from a number of the Eastern and 
 Western States. Testimonies or reports were read in 
 reference to the most prominent evils and social crimes of 
 the day. Thus a distinctive form was given to the views 
 entertained by those present, and those whom they repre- 
 sented ; and the Pennsylvania yearly meeting of Pro- 
 gressive Friends was, after a session of several days, duly 
 organized and concluded. From that period till the pre- 
 sent, yearly meetings have been regularly held in May of 
 each year, and an increase of numbers and of interest 
 would seem to indicate that a marked progress has thus 
 far characterized the existence of this religious community. 
 
 The various orthodox sects have regarded and still re- 
 gard the Progressive Friends with great apprehension and 
 some horror ; stigmatizing them as persons who, under the 
 disguise of religion, and as seekers after truth, are en- 
 gaged in diffusing the most rank and ravenous infidelity. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 313 
 
 That the reader may judge for himself how true or 
 false this accusation is, we will set forth the prominent 
 opinions entertained by this sect, as avowed in their pub- 
 lished testimonies and other authorized documents. 
 
 I. And first, of their views of Physical Reforms. At 
 their meetings, from time to time, some of their testimo- 
 nies refer to the " Deleterious Effects of Tobacco." They 
 condemn the use of this popular weed on the ground that 
 it occasions a great waste of money, and produces the 
 most injurious effects on health, and leads to a want of 
 cleanliness of person. Instances were adduced where 
 children, who had been induced to taste tobacco, expired 
 in convulsions. The various results which follow the use 
 of this article were cited the gradual decay of health, 
 the gradual enervation of the mind, stupor, headache, 
 tremors, prostration, coma. They assert that in the 
 United States alone twenty thousand persons die annually 
 of diseases directly produced by the use of tobacco. They 
 also condemn it because it tends to the use of alcoholic 
 drinks, and in various ways deteriorates and degrades 
 humanity. 
 
 II. Another important question with the Progressive 
 Friends is the treatment which the Indians of our country 
 have received from the nation. These unfortunate people 
 are regarded as the victims of a selfish and cruel spirit, 
 which has for several generations promoted national and 
 personal aggrandizement at the expense of the rights of 
 the weak and the defenceless. They hold that in all 
 those cases where the Indians have been treated with hu- 
 manity, they have reciprocated with a friendly feeling, 
 but that one of the blackest pages in the history of our 
 country is the long array of persecutions and wrongs 
 which these people have suffered. Every humane heart 
 must approve of the sentiments expressed by the Pro- 
 gressive Friends on this subject, for it would be difficult 
 to excuse, on any ground of religion or human justice, the 
 innumerable outrages which the white man has inflicted 
 upon the aborigines of this country and their descendants. 
 
314 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 III. But the most vehement and earnest testimony of 
 Progressive Friends is against Southern Slavery. This 
 they regard as the great social and political evil of the 
 day. They contend that the holding of a human being as 
 property is a crime against God and against humanity ; 
 that every bondman in the land is entitled to full and 
 unrestricted liberty ; and they demand that these inalien- 
 able, but plundered rights, shall be immediately and uni- 
 versally restored. They denounce the Supreme Court of 
 the United States, because they have proclaimed the doc- 
 trine that persons of African descent, or whose descent is 
 even partly African, cannot enjoy or claim the rights oi 
 citizenship under any circumstances. They assert that 
 neither of the great political parties which now exist in 
 this country is entitled to their support, because the one 
 (the Democratic) is the avowed protector and partisan of 
 the institutions of the Southern States, while the other 
 (the Republican) merely compounds with the felony, takes 
 half-way ground, and endeavors to " carry water on both 
 shoulders." They also condemn the popular and more 
 prevalent churches of the country, because they are in 
 fact the bulwarks of the sin, defending it on the ground 
 of religion and the Scriptures. They stigmatize the 
 American Tract Society, because, while it rebukes with 
 great outcry and clamor such harmless indulgences as 
 sleeping in church, dancing, and attending theatres, re- 
 fuses to say a word in regard to a colossal crime which 
 outrages the most valued rights of three millions of hu- 
 man beings. The same objection they make to the Ame- 
 rican Bible Society, which refuses to distribute the Bible 
 among the slaves, and uses its influence to discountenance 
 agitation on the subject of slavery. In all its bearings 
 the Progressive Friends condemn the " peculiar institu- 
 tion" as an unmitigated sin and curse. 
 
 IV. The question of Women's Rights is an important 
 one with this sect. They contend that women are entitled 
 to an equal voice with men in making and administering 
 the laws ; that they are entitled to equal rights in regard 
 
HISTORY OF ALL KELIGIONS. 315 
 
 to the use and possession of property ; and that the doc- 
 trine of the mental inferiority of women to men is erro- 
 neous and absurd. They denounce the tyranny of hus- 
 bands over wives, and condemn the outrages which the 
 existing laws enable the former to inflict upon the latter 
 with impunity. In order to prepare women to exercise 
 their rights with prudence and success, they contend that 
 such an education should be given to women as will fit 
 them for that end and duty. 
 
 Under the head of women's rights comes the important 
 question of marriage and divorce. The Progressive Friends 
 hold that marriage is simply a civil contract, and nothing 
 more. Hence they believe that divorces are justifiable 
 whenever any of the essential ingredients or elements of 
 the marriage contract are violated by either party. Thus 
 they think that divorces are justifiable for desertion, for 
 abusive treatment, for habitual neglect, and for all the 
 other causes which the law of the land the protector of 
 civil rights and the punisher of civil wrongs may permit 
 and allow. This opinion is at variance with the Orthodox 
 Church doctrine, which generally (though not always) 
 inculcates that Christ intended to restrict divorces to cases 
 of adultery alone. Progressive Friends condemn the idea 
 that marriage is a sacramental rite invested with a priestly 
 sanctity, or deriving any virtue whatever from priestly 
 benediction. In a word, they leave the question of mar- 
 riage and divorce entirely with the law of the land ; yet 
 they do not countenance the careless or unnecessary disso- 
 lution of the marriage tie, because that extreme leads to 
 pernicious social and domestic evils. To justify divorces 
 for desertion they quote Paul, in 1 Corinthians vii. 12-15. 
 
 V. Another point concerning which Progressive Friends 
 have sent forth their testimony, and have taken decided 
 ground, is war, both offensive and defensive. They denj 
 that human liberty has ever been really promoted by con 
 flicts ; and while they do not approve of submitting to the 
 burdens and exactions of tyranny with a servile and cow- 
 ardly spirit, they think it is still worse to resist them by 
 
816 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 bloody means. Rather submit with the spirit of meek- 
 ness, and while protesting against tyranny in the cause of 
 humanity, refrain from all retaliation and violence. That 
 is the highest display of courage, the noblest exhibition 
 of heroism of character. They commend the teachings 
 of the New Testament : " Overcome evil with good ; re- 
 compense no man evil for evil ; love your enemies ; bless 
 them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and 
 pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute 
 you." 
 
 VI. The opinions of Progressive Friends are decided 
 on the subject of Temperance. They are in favor of total 
 abstinence from the use of intoxicating drinks as a beve- 
 rage, as the only effectual safeguard against the evils of 
 drunkenness, They also hold, that the adoption of penal 
 laws against the sale of liquors is not as effectual in sup- 
 pressing this vice as the use of moral suasion ; and that 
 the drunkard himself is much more effectually reached 
 and reformed by those means than by the terrors of the 
 penalties of the law. 
 
 VII. The Progressives also condemn capital punishment 
 for crime as a relic of a barbarous age, as originating in 
 a spirit of revenge, and as tending to increase the evils it 
 professes to remedy. They hold that the chief intention 
 of all punishment should be to reform and elevate the 
 offender ; and that the death penalty accomplishes neither 
 of these results. They also condemn the recent revival 
 which has taken place throughout a portion of the country, 
 on the ground that it is a revival of the prevalent and 
 popular religion, which they believe to be full of errors 
 and perversions ; the revival of that religion which sanc- 
 tions war, slavery, sectarian exclusiveness, priestcraft, 
 superstition, and hypocrisy. 
 
 The Progressive Friends, in establishing their new 
 society, appointed no forms or ceremonies as the peculiar 
 badges of their association. Nor did they adopt any par- 
 ticular creed as containing a system of dogmas to which 
 those who associated with them were compelled to adhere. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 317 
 
 Though they set forth, as we have stated, those chief 
 points on which the majority of them seemed to agree, yet 
 all were allowed the most complete liberty in the senti- 
 ments which they espoused. Creed-making was not among 
 the purposes of the association. Pure Christianity, with- 
 out any human alloy, was the boon after which they pro- 
 fessed to search. The terms of membership were confined 
 to morality of life and general sympathy in behalf of in- 
 tellectual freedom on the part of those who join them. 
 The most prominent persons who have identified them- 
 selves with this movement are Oliver Johnson, Charles C. 
 Burleigh, S. P. Curtis, J. A. Dugdale, Joshua R. Gid- 
 dings, William Lloyd Garrison, James F. Clarke, and 
 Theodore Parker. 
 
 As might- be anticipated, the Progressives reject the 
 doctrines of the Trinity, a vicarious atonement, the neces- 
 sity of forms, ordinances, and ceremonies, the efficacy of 
 a priesthood, and the eternity of the future torments of 
 the wicked. They believe in the entire spirituality of 
 Christianity, and in the idea that virtue and vice, religion 
 and sin, constitute their own reward, and confer happiness 
 or inflict misery of themselves, both in this world and in 
 that which is to come. They admit the truth of no dogma, 
 the inherent nature of which outrages reason or contra- 
 dicts reason, and which must be accepted and entertained 
 by a constant process of ignoring and stultifying that 
 standard of human knowledge and consciousness which is 
 the admitted and indispensable organ and medium of 
 mental and moral apprehension in all other things com- 
 mon sense. Guided by this standard, they reject the 
 popular idea of the nature of the Supreme Being, by 
 which He is made, as they think, a cruel, revengeful, 
 changeable, and short-sighted being, imperfect in his power, 
 in his wisdom, in his justice, and in all the other attributes 
 of his character. 
 
318 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 COPTS. 
 
 THE Copts are a sect comprising most of the Chris 
 tian population in Egypt, and the valley of the Nile. 
 They claim lineal descent from that ancient people who 
 inhabited Egypt in the time of the Ptolemies, and hold 
 that their Christian Kitual is the most ancient of any in 
 existence. In their list of saints, is included one of 
 the Evangelists ; and the monks of one of their con- 
 vents claim to be in possession of the remains of St. 
 Mark, who was martyred in Alexandria. 
 
 Though they have, to some extent, intermarried and 
 become mixed with other races and tribes, they have 
 maintained great distinctness of race and character, and 
 take great pride in their origin, and the purity of their 
 descent. Intermarriage with other Egyptian races is 
 prohibited by ecclesiastical law. The Copts are better 
 educated, and are, in many respects, superior to the Mos- 
 lem Arabs. They were at one time a numerous and in- 
 fluential people; but from the millions who once ad- 
 hered to the Coptic faith, and who, according to legend, 
 had three hundred and thirty-six convents, they have 
 diminished in numbers to such an extent, that it is com- 
 puted they have now, in all Egypt, not more than 
 150,000 members. 
 
 The Coptic church has five orders of active and sec- 
 ular clergy, besides the monks. The head of the church 
 is the Patriarch of Alexandria, whose residence is in 
 the city of Cairo. Some eight or ten monks are named 
 by the Superior of the Convent of St. Anthony, near 
 the gulf of Suez, and from that list the Patriarch is 
 selected by lot, and holds his office for life. His author- 
 ity in the church is nearly absolute. Next to him are 
 the twelve bishops, who are chosen from the convents. 
 The Patriarch and bishop are not allowed to marry. 
 The arch-priests are next in order ; then the priests ; 
 and fifth in order is the deacon or incipient priest. 
 The Copts are zealously devoted to their ecclesiastical 
 
HISTORY OF ALL EELIGIONS. 319 
 
 forms and system, and regard the communions of Greece 
 and Eome as heretical. The Coptic creed is that of the 
 Monophysites, who were condemned as heretics at the 
 council of Chalcedon, in the year 451. They do not 
 admit the doctrine of two natures in Christ, but be- 
 lieve that after the incarnation he possessed but a single 
 nature and a single will ; and they believe the Holy 
 Spirit proceeds from the Father alone. They baptize 
 by dipping the child three times into water which con- 
 tains a few drops of consecrated oil. They believe a 
 child who dies without being baptized, will be blind in 
 the next world. Like the Jews, they practice circumci- 
 sion, and are similar to them also in their customs re- 
 specting food. A form of communion is observed by 
 them, and the confessional is regarded as important as 
 it is with the Catholics. They use the rosary, which 
 contains forty-one beads, and are very strict in their at- 
 tention to daily prayer. Seven times a day they turn 
 to the east, and repeat forty-one times their supplication 
 for the Lord's mercy. The Coptic church has four 
 compartments. The chancel, or heykel, occupies the 
 extreme end from the doorway; next to that, is the 
 post occupied by the priests, who interpret ; between 
 the last-named and the main apartment, occupied by the 
 congregation, there is a high lattice-work, in which 
 there are three doors ; the fourth apartment is separated 
 from the third by a lattice partition, and is occupied by 
 the women, who always wear their veils during wor- 
 ship. On entering the church, each person must re- 
 move his shoes, and go and kneel before the cross. The 
 public services usually occupy several hours, and con- 
 sist of various forms from their ritual, accompanied by 
 chantings, burning of incense, processions around the 
 church, beating of cymbals, etc. The service within 
 the heykel, or sanctuary, is from their liturgies, in the 
 Coptic tongue, and is interpreted by the priests in Ara- 
 bic to the congregation. Their days of entire or par- 
 tial fasting, comprise about one-half the year, Their 
 
320 HISTOEY OF ALL KELIGIONS. 
 
 festivals also are numerous, while they commemorate, 
 with special attention, those of the nativity, the bap- 
 tism, the triumphal entry, the resurrection, the ascen- 
 sion, the Pentecost miracle, and the annunciation to the 
 Virgin. 
 
 The Copts have a convent in the city of Jerusalem, 
 and a chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 
 Manuscripts from their convents have been obtained, 
 dating back as far as the fifth century. In the early 
 centuries of the Christian era, the Copts had great in- 
 fluence in establishing the doctrines of faith, and the 
 names of many of their patriarchs are commemorated 
 in the Greek and Eoman calendars. Their patriarch 
 was then a rival of the Eoman bishop. From the time 
 of the Mohammedan conquest, down to the reign of 
 Mehemet Ali, they were subject to great persecution 
 and oppression. But through all their trials, they have 
 maintained the distinctness of their race and reli- 
 gion ; and though but little elevated above the Moslem 
 Arabs in their habits and modes of life, they claim a 
 common origin of faith with other Christians, and ex- 
 tend the mendicant's hand, for fellowship and charity, 
 from their more.. fortunate Christian brethren of other 
 countries. 
 
 CHRISTIAN CONNECTION. 
 
 THIS denomination was formed in the United States, 
 about the beginning of the nineteenth century, and 
 seems to have developed from a simultaneous move- 
 ment, in distinct and remote parts of the country. By 
 some, they have been called Christ-ians, a pronunciation 
 of the name which they have never adopted, and which 
 they regard as very improper. Among themselves, they 
 are known simply as Christians, or as the Christian Con- 
 nection. 
 
 In 1793, a movement was made in North Carolina, 
 known as the " O'Kelley Secession," from the Methodis* 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 321 
 
 Episcopal Church, which resulted in the formation of 
 a new church, called Christians, and which recognized 
 no other code of doctrine or discipline, except the New 
 Testament. A few years later, a similar movement was 
 made in Kentucky, by members of the Presbyterian 
 church ; and the seceders there organized under the 
 same name. About the same time, the northern branch 
 of this denomination sprung up in New England, being 
 organized mainly by those who separated from the 
 Baptists. Thus, unknown to each other, the seceders 
 from several existing denominations, became organized 
 in their several localities, under the same name Chris- 
 tians. Though several eminent persons were instru- 
 mental in the development of the society, they recog- 
 nize no individual as their leader. They point to the 
 New Testament as their only creed or code of doctrine, 
 and to Christ as the great Founder, and leave all to 
 judge for themselves of the requirements of true apos- 
 tolic Christianity. There is considerable diversity of 
 opinion among them upon many of the minor doctrinal 
 points in theology. This would naturallv result from 
 two causes ; first, their origin as seceders from different 
 denominations ; and second, from the great latitude 
 which they allow and teach, that all Christians should 
 enjoy universal toleration, being guided only by the 
 Scriptures as a rule of faith and duty, instead of the 
 forms and creeds established and adopted by men. 
 
 Each church, or society, is independent, and keeps a 
 record of its actions and affairs makes choice of its 
 minister, and in every respect has the management of 
 its own concerns. There is, however, a "connection" 
 between the several churches comprised within a cer- 
 tain district, by means of what is termed an annual 
 conference. At these sessions, the ministers and church 
 delegates are associated together for the purpose of 
 conferring upon matters of mutual interest, transacting 
 such business as their common good may require, and 
 acting as advisory councils in matters of difficulty. 
 
322 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 Although there is a diversity of belief among the mem- 
 bers on many points of faith, there is yet an approx- 
 imation to uniformity sufficient to secure concert of 
 action. The following are some of the leading doc- 
 trines which meet their general approval, and which 
 embody the more important points upon which they 
 agree : 
 
 That there is one perfect and infinite God ; that Jesus 
 Christ is the Son of God in the highest sense ; that the 
 Scriptures, including the Old and New Testaments, 
 were given by inspiration of God, and that they should 
 constitute our rule of faith and practice ; that all men 
 are guilty of sin, and can find pardon only through re- 
 pentance, and faith in Jesus Christ ; that by the Holy 
 Spirit, Christians are comforted, and sinners reproved ; 
 and that the way of salvation is freely open to all who 
 will repent of their sins, and come to Christ ; that God 
 calls men to the ministry by his Holy Spirit ; that those 
 who " fall from grace," as well as those who have never 
 repented, will be lost. They observe the Lord's Supper, 
 and baptize by immersion. They believe in the literal 
 resurrection of the dead, and that the righteous will 
 pass into everlasting happiness, and the wicked into 
 everlasting misery. Although they believe in the pre- 
 existence and Sonship of Christ, they are Unitarian in 
 their views of Deity. 
 
 This denomination has not been indifferent to the 
 cause of education, nor the influence of the press. They 
 have several weekly papers in different parts of the coun- 
 try, and a "book concern" in Albany, New York. 
 Among their institutions of learning, the most prom- 
 inent is Antioch College, in the State of Ohio, which 
 was for several years under the presidency of the Hon. 
 Horace Mann. They have societies in most of the 
 States, and comprise nearly 200,000 communicants, and 
 have upwards of 2,000 preachers. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 823 
 
 SPIEITUALISM. 
 
 THE advocates of Spiritualism, in the modern accep- 
 tation of the term, comprise those who believe in the 
 actual and open intercourse or communication between 
 the inhabitants of earth, and those who have passed to 
 the spirit world. The phenomena of modern Spiritualism 
 seems to have assumed a form, and attracted attention in 
 the year 1848, in what has been known as the " Fox 
 Family," in the western part of the State of New York. 
 Commencing with 'audible sounds and mysterious rap- 
 pings in the house of the Fox family, the manifestations 
 increased in variety and character, and developed with 
 wonderful rapidity, not only in different families in that 
 locality, but in all parts of the country, especially in the 
 northern and western States. Mediums, through whom 
 these manifestations were said to occur, multiplied by 
 hundreds, and were from all classes the high and low, 
 the rich and poor, the ignorant and learned. The phe- 
 nomena assumed various forms of development, from 
 raps and sounds, and the moving of ponderable bodies 
 without visible contact, to the alleged perfect control of 
 the medium by the spirit, and through him or her to 
 speak, or write, as the will and intelligence of the spirit 
 might dictate. People from all classes of society, and 
 from all religious denominations, were attracted by the 
 new phenomena, and in a short time the subject was 
 one of prominent discussion in the press, and in public 
 and private assemblies, while the actual converts to 
 Spiritualism included men of science, literature, and 
 philosophy, and from all the learned professions. In 
 1859 the "Spiritual Register" estimated that there 
 were no less than 1,500,000 of Spiritualists in America 
 and 4,000,000 more who had faith in the doctrines in a 
 greater or less degree. They have published many 
 books upon subjects connected with their theory and 
 doctrines, and have some twenty -five or thirty pe- 
 
324 HISTORY OP ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 riodicals and journals. In various parts of Europe, es- 
 pecially England and France, there are also many be- 
 lievers in Spiritualism, and several journals devoted to 
 the subject are there published. 
 
 While Spiritualists are united in their belief as to in- 
 telligible intercourse between the earthly and the spir- 
 itual states of existence, they have no regular denomi- 
 national organization nor written* creed, and there is 
 great diversity of opinion among them on theological 
 questions. Different views are entertained by them as 
 to the character and merits of the Bible. They do not, 
 however, generally regard it as a book of inspiration in 
 an orthodox sense; but accept it as a record of his- 
 toric events and of the religious views and experiences 
 of the Jews and early Christian s, including spiritual 
 manifestations etc., of past ages, similar in kind but dif- 
 fering in form and degree to those of the present day. 
 They claim that the phenomena of Spiritualism furnish 
 demonstrative and positive proof of the immortality of the 
 soul, and believe that the spirit world is around us and 
 blended with our present state. They regard death as 
 a change by which the individual passes from earth 
 life to life in the spirit world retaining all his mental 
 powers and faculties and that the experiences and at- 
 tainments of the present life, form the basis or founda- 
 tion upon which he commences in the next. That this 
 change, instead of restricting him to a fixed state, really 
 enlarges his sphere of liberty; and his happiness or 
 misery in the spirit world, as in this, depends on the 
 motives, aspirations, character, and conduct of the indi- 
 vidual. They regard Heaven and Hell as states or con- 
 ditions not fixed by arbitrary decree but the natural 
 results of the organization, the manner of life and the 
 surrounding influences of each person. 
 
 Eegarding man as the offspring of an Infinite and 
 perfect Parent, they believe in the progressive tendency 
 of the human race, and that the ultimate destiny of all 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 325 
 
 mankind is to a higher life and continual process of de- 
 velopment in knowledge and happiness. 
 
 They do not regard communications from the spirit 
 world as being, on th#t account, infallible truth but 
 that they will in that respect, depend upon the nature 
 and the motives, good or bad, of the minds from which 
 they emanate and the mediums through which they 
 are received hence they should be accepted as truth 
 only when they are found to be in harmony with the 
 consciousness and reason of the person who receives 
 them. 
 
 PAGANISM. 
 
 PAGANISM is a term applied to those who worship 
 and adore idols and false gods, and who comprise about 
 three fifths of the entire population of the world. At 
 one time or another, Paganism has existed over all in- 
 habitable parts of the earth. In the earlier period of 
 the world's "history, it had its votaries, not only among 
 the ignorant and weak, but the most powerful nations 
 of the earth, and those who occupied the foremost rank 
 in law, in literature, and in art, were devoted to the 
 worship of the creature instead of the Oreator. At dif- 
 ferent periods, and by different nations, almost every 
 thing known to man, whether animate or inanimate, 
 have been objects of worship. The sun, moon, and 
 stars, angels and demons, and spirits of the departed, 
 living men and women, all kinds of animals, birds, rep- 
 tiles, and insects, trees and plants, rivers and mountains 
 and stones, fire and air ; and besides these, images, al- 
 most without number, made of all kinds of material, 
 and in all conceivable forms, have received the adora- 
 tion and worship of countless millions of the past, and 
 are receiving the homage of 480.000.000 of Pagans in 
 the nineteenth century. 
 
 Among the ancients, the number of their heathen 
 temples was almost without limit, and in their magnifi- 
 
326 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 cence and splendor, they comprised all that art and 
 munificence could bestow. The people of Rome, at 
 one time, worshipped their numerous deities in four 
 hundred and twenty-four temples. The Greeks had no 
 less than 30,000 gods. The great temple of Diana, at 
 Ephesus, was, in size, four hundred and twenty-five feet, 
 by two hundred and twenty feet; with one hundred mar- 
 ble columns, sixty feet in height, and each column weigh- 
 ing one hundred and fifty tons. This immense edifice 
 was adorned, inside and out, with the greatest profusion 
 of gold and costly ornaments, and in all its magnificence 
 and splendor, this wonderful temple was devoted to 
 heathen worship. 
 
 Idols of worship, at the present time, are made a 
 lucrative branch of merchandise, by a class of manu- 
 facturers and traders engaged in the business, as seen 
 by the following advertisement from a Chinese news- 
 paper: "Achen Tea Chin-Chin, Sculptor, respectfully 
 acquaints masters of ships, trading from Canton to 
 India, that they may be furnished with figure-heads of 
 any size, according to order, at one fourth of the price 
 charged in Europe. He also recommends for private 
 venture, the following idols, brass, gold, and silver : 
 the Hawk of Yishnoo, which has reliefs of his incarna- 
 tion in a fish, boar, lion, and turtle. An Egyptian apis, 
 a golden calf and bull, as worshipped by the pious fol- 
 lowers of Zoroaster. Two silver mammosits, with 
 golden ear-rings ; an aprimanis. for Persian worship ; 
 a ram, an alligator, a crab, a laughing hyena, with a 
 variety of household gods on a small scale, calculated 
 for family worship. Eighteen months' credit will be 
 given, or a discount of fifteen per cent, for prompt pay- 
 ment of the sum affixed to each article. Direct, China 
 street, Canton, under the Marble Ehinoceros and Gilt 
 Hydra." 
 
 It is gratifying to know that Paganism is gradually 
 yielding to the sublime doctrines of Christianity, and 
 the elevating and saving influences of the Christian re- 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 327 
 
 ligion are being diffused in many parts of the heathen 
 world ; and yet " the harvest truly is plenteous, but the 
 laborers are few." The fact that so many millions of 
 unfortunate human beings are groping their way in 
 ignorance and superstition, calls loudly to Christian 
 philanthropists to aid in rescuing them from their dark 
 and benighted condition. 
 
 PANTHEISM. 
 
 PANTHEISM is that doctrine, or system which main- 
 tains that the universe is God or as expressed by 
 Pope: 
 
 "All are but parts of one stupendous whole, 
 Whose body Nature is, and God the Soul." 
 
 This doctrine has had its advocates in this country, 
 as well as by Spinosa, and his followers in Amsterdam, 
 and other parts of Europe. 
 
 Some years ago, Abner Kneeland, of Boston, was, 
 perhaps, the most prominent exponent of this theory in 
 this country. In his " Philosophical Creed," he explains 
 his views, as follows : 
 
 " I believe in the existence of a universe of suns and 
 planets, among which there is one sun belonging to our 
 planetary system, and that other suns, being more re- 
 mote, are called stars ; but that they are indeed suns to 
 other planetary systems. I believe that the whole uni- 
 verse is NATURE, and that the word NATURE embraces 
 the whole universe, and that God and Nature, so far as 
 we can attach any rational idea to either, are perfectly 
 synonymous terms. Hence I am not an Atheist, but a 
 PANTHEIST; that is, instead of believing there is no 
 God ; I believe that, in the abstract, all is God ; and that 
 all power that is, is in God, and that there is no power 
 except that which proceeds from God. I believe that 
 there can be no will or intelligence, where there is no 
 sense, and no sense where there are no organs of sense , 
 
328 HISTORY OF ALL EELIGIONS. 
 
 and hence, sense, will, and intelligence, is the effect, and 
 not the cause, of organization. I believe in all that 
 logically results from those premises, whether good 
 bad, or indifferent. Hence, I believe that God is all in 
 all ; and that it is in God we live, move, and have our 
 being ; and that the whole duty of man consists in 
 living as long as he can, and in promoting as much 
 happiness as he can, while he lives." 
 
 PEOTESTANTS. 
 
 THIS name was first given to Martin Luther and his 
 followers, and to those who, adhering to his doctrines, 
 in 1529, protested against a decree of Charles V., and 
 the Diet of Spires, making an appeal to a general coun- 
 cil. The name is now applied to all Christian denomi- 
 nations which have sprung from the adoption of the 
 principles of the . Eefbrmation, and especially distin- 
 guishes them from the Koman Catholics. 
 
 PUEITANS. 
 
 THE name of Puritan was originally applied as a 
 term of reproach to those who, in the reign of Queen 
 Elizabeth, dissented from the established church, and 
 professed to follow the pure word of God, in opposition 
 to traditions, creeds, liturgies, and other human autho- 
 rities. Although the name was first applied to Presby- 
 terians, it was also used to designate all dissenters from 
 the established English church. Many of the first set- 
 tlers of JSTew England were English Puritans, or Dis- 
 senters from the church of England, who were also 
 called Independents. They comprised a highly moral 
 and devoted class of people, but they were very exact- 
 ing and rigid in their code of morals, and for many 
 years manifested towards others much of that spirit of 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 329 
 
 intolerance and severity which had been shown toward 
 themselves and their ancestors in England. 
 
 DEISM. 
 
 DEISM is the doctrine of those who believe in the 
 existence of one God, who is an eternal, infinite, inde- 
 pendent, or intelligent Being or Deity ; but they do not 
 believe in Eevelation. They claim that nature and 
 reason are, and should be, their only and true guides 
 in moral and religious matters, and reject all systems 
 of revealed religion as being false. Some Deists believe 
 in a future state of existence, while others reject the 
 doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and believe 
 that man's existence, like that of the lower animals, is 
 limited to the present life. 
 
 ATHEISM. 
 
 AN Atheist is one who does not believe in the ex- 
 istence of a God. They not only reject all revelation, and 
 all forms and systems of revealed religion, but deny 
 the existence of a Creator and Supreme Ruler of the 
 universe. Absurd and unreasonable as this idea is, it 
 has had its advocates, who believed that all things exist 
 and occur, simply by chance without law, design, or 
 cause. 
 
 YEZIDEES; 
 OE, WORSHIPPERS OF THE DEVIL. 
 
 THE following description of this peculiar class of 
 people, is given in an interesting work, published by 
 Asahel Grant, M.D., a medical missionary to the Nes- 
 torians : 
 
 ' Soon after leaving the ruins of Nineveh, we came 
 
830 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS. 
 
 in sight of two villages of the Yezidees, the reputed 
 worshippers of the devil. Large and luxuriant olive- 
 groves, with their rich green foliage, and fruit just 
 ripening in the autumnal sun, imparted such a cheerful 
 aspect to the scene as soon dispelled whatever of pen- 
 sive melancholy had gathered around me, while treading 
 upon the dust of departed greatness. Several white 
 sepulchres of Yezidee sheiks attracted attention, as I 
 approached the villages. They were in the form of 
 fluted cones or pyramids, standing upon quadrangular 
 bases, and rising to the height of some twenty feet or 
 more. We became the guests of one of the- chief Yezi- 
 dees, of Baasheka, whose dwelling, like others in the 
 place, was a rude stone structure, with a flat terrace 
 roof. Coarse felt carpets were spread for our seats in 
 the open court, and a formal welcome was given us ; 
 but it was evidently not a very cordial one. My Turk- 
 ish cavass understood the reason, and at once removed 
 it. Our host had mistaken me for a Mahometan, 
 towards whom the Yezidees cherish a settled aversion. 
 As soon as I was introduced to him as a Christian, and 
 he had satisfied himself that this was my true character, 
 his whole deportment was changed. He at once gave 
 me a new- and cordial welcome, and set about supplying 
 our wants with new alacrity. He seemed to feel that 
 he had exchanged a Moslem foe for a Christian friend, 
 and I became quite satisfied of the truth of what I had 
 often heard that the Yezidees are friendly towards the 
 professors of Christianity. 
 
 " They are said to cherish a high regard for the Chris- 
 tian religion, of which clearly they have some corrupt 
 remains. They practice the rite of baptism, make the 
 sign of the cross, so emblematical of Christianity in 
 the East, put off their shoes, and kiss the threshold 
 when they enter a Christian church; and, it is said, 
 they often speak of wine as the blood of Christ ; hold 
 the cup with both hands, after the sacramental manner 
 of the East, when drinking it ; and if a drop chance to 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGION'S. 331 
 
 fall on the ground, they gather it up with religious 
 care. 
 
 "They believe in one supreme God, and, in some 
 sense, at least, in Christ as a Saviour. They have also 
 a remnant of Sabianism, or the religion of the ancient 
 fire- worshippers. They bow in adoration before the 
 rising sun, and kiss his first rays when they strike on a 
 wall or other object near them ; and they will not blow 
 out a candle with their breath, or spit in the fire, lest 
 they should defile that sacred element. Circumcision 
 and the passover, or a sacrificial festival allied to the 
 passover, in time and circumstance, seems also to iden- 
 tify them with the Jews ; and, altogether they certainly 
 present a most singular chapter in the history of man. 
 
 " That they are really worshippers of the devil can 
 only be true, if at all, in a modified sense, though it is 
 true that they pay him so much deference, as to refuse 
 to speak of him disrespectfully (perhaps for fear of his 
 vengeance) ; and instead of pronouncing his name, they 
 call him the ' lord of the evening,' or ' prince of dark- 
 ness ;' also ' Sheik Maazen,' or ' Exalted Chief.' Some 
 of them say that Satan was a fallen angel, with whom 
 God was angry ; but he will at some future day be re- 
 stored to favor, and there is no reason why they should 
 treat him with disrespect. 
 
 " The Christians of Mesapotamia report that the Yezi- 
 dees make votive offerings to the devil, by throwing 
 money and jewels into a certain deep pit in the moun- 
 tains of Sinjar. where a large portion of them reside ; 
 and it is said, that when that district, which has long 
 been independent, was subjugated by the Turks, the 
 pacha compelled the Yezidee priest to disclose the 
 place, and then plundered it of a large treasure, the 
 offerings of centuries. The Yezidees here call them- 
 selves Daseni, probably from the ancient name of the 
 district, Dasen, which was a Christian bishopric in early 
 times. Their chief place of concourse, the religious 
 temple of the Yezidees, is said to have once been a 
 
332 HISTORY OF ALL RELIGION'S. 
 
 Christian church or convent. The late Mr. Rich speaks 
 of the Yezidees as ' lively, brave, hospitable, and good 
 humored,' and adds that, 'under the British govern 
 ment, much might be made of them. 7 
 
 " The precise number of the Yezidees it is difficult to 
 estimate, so little is known of them : but it is proba- 
 ble that we must reckon them by tens of thousands, in- 
 stead of the larger computations which have been made 
 by some travellers, who have received their information 
 merely from report. Still they are sufficiently nume 
 rous to form an important object of attention to the 
 Christian church ; and I trust, as we learn more ' about 
 them, sympathy, prayer, and effort, will be enlisted in 
 their behalf. It will be a scene of no ordinary interest, 
 when the voice of prayer and praise to God shall as- 
 cend from hearts, now devoted to the service of the 
 prince of darkness, 'the worshippers of the devil 1' 
 May that day be hastened on !" 
 
 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 
 
 THERE are three principal or general forms of church 
 government ; and under these three systems, or a combi- 
 nation of parts of each, all Christian churches in the 
 world are governed. 
 
 The Episcopalian, from the Latin word Episcopus, 
 which signifies bishop, is the form which embraces by 
 far the largest number, as it includes the Catholics, 
 Episcopalian and English, the Greek church, and the 
 Methodist ; while the Lutherans, one of the most nume- 
 rous of Protestant sects, combines the Episcopalian and 
 the Presbyterian forms in its church government. 
 
 The name Presbyterian is derived from a Greek word, 
 which signifies Senior, Elder, or Presbyter. This form 
 is adopted by those who hold that the church should 
 be governed through the organization of Presbyteries, 
 Synods, and General Assemblies. 
 
HISTORY OF ALL RELIGION'S. 333 
 
 The Congregational form of church government is 
 that adopted by the Coiigregationalists and some other 
 sects, who maintain that each congregation or society of 
 Christians is and should be independent of all others 
 in its ecclesiastical power, and that no association with 
 any other society or church organization is essential or 
 necessary in church government. 
 
 EELIGIONS OF THE WORLD. 
 
 THE general estimate, so far as can be determined, is 
 that the inhabitants of the world amount to 800,000,000. 
 No nation or tribe of people is known who do not 
 believe in and practice some form of worship from 
 the lowest and most repulsive phase of Pagan idolatry, 
 up through all gradations, to the sublime truths of Chris- 
 tianity. The following division of the inhabitants of 
 the world, as they exist under their several systems of 
 religion, is regarded as being, in round numbers, nearly 
 correct : 
 
 Jews, 2,500,000 
 
 Mohammedans, 140,000,000 
 
 Christians, 177,500,000 
 
 Pagans, 480,000,000 
 
 Population of the world, 800,000,000 
 
 The following sub-division of the 177,500,000 Chris- 
 tians, may also be regarded as nearly accurate : 
 
 Greek Christians, 32,500,000 
 
 Protestants, . . . 65,000,000 
 
 Roman Catholics, 80,000,000 
 
 Total number of Christians, 177,500,000 
 
884 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 APPENDIX, BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 REV. CHARLES WADSWORTH. 
 
 THE pulpit is the most favorable arena for the cultiva- 
 tion and display of eloquence which the usages and insti- 
 tutions of modern times present. Whatever other disa- 
 greeable incidents may attend the clerical office, the 
 moment a preacher ascends the pulpit, he occupies for the 
 time being a vantage ground and an eminence above the 
 rest of the community. The inherent dignity and impor- 
 tance of the subjects which he is called upon to discuss ; 
 the direct personal interest which every hearer possesses 
 in the truth or falsehood of the doctrines which he incul- 
 cates, and the positions which he assumes ; the immense 
 influence exerted by Christianity upon the laws, literature, 
 social life, and political relations of the community ; the 
 long array of impressive historical associations which are 
 connected with the past fortunes and vicissitudes of this 
 most ancient and potent of all existing institutions ; the 
 fact that the preacher is supposed to be a man of spotless 
 character, and of competent intellectual training ; and also, 
 the circumstance that his utterances, whatever they may 
 be, remain uncontradicted and uncontroverted except by 
 the secret and inaudible dissent of the hearer ; all these 
 reasons often render the Pulpit the throne of eloquence. 
 
 The Rev. Charles Wadsworth is the pastor of the Arch 
 Street Presbyterian Church, in Philadelphia. He is re- 
 garded by a large portion of the community as stand- 
 ing at the head of the pulpit orators of that city ; and 
 this estimate, taking all things into consideration, is 
 probably a just one. Those who are attracted to his 
 church by his widely-spread fame will be disappointed if 
 they expect to see a polished, graceful and ornate speaker, 
 who modulates his voice, who moulds his gestures, and 
 who arranges the details of his attire, with all the scrupu- 
 lous and childish care of a boarding-school miss. He de- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 335 
 
 spises these insignificant matters as being beneath his no- 
 tice. He deals in weightier affairs. The visitor will see 
 in the pulpit a man of small stature, about forty-three 
 years of age, with thin black hair, wearing gold spectacles, 
 of singular and significant physiognomy, exhibiting the 
 care-worn marks of thought, the dilapidating physical ef- 
 fects of protracted and intense study. His gestures are 
 usually made in violation of all the rules which teachers 
 of elocution enjoin and commend as being most appropriate 
 and effective: they are wholly impulsive, seeming to be 
 merely the spasmodic effects of the electrical impetus of 
 the powerful thinking-machine which works within him ; 
 and they are generally awkward, but always suggestive, 
 and sometimes impressive. As the hearer watches and 
 listens, he discovers, while the speaker is advancing in 
 the discussion of his subject, that he is an original and a 
 profound thinker, whose eloquence is solely the unadorned 
 eloquence of thought ; that the deep and overwhelming ef- 
 fect produced on the hearer's mind is the result of the 
 boldness, the freshness, the gorgeous richness, the quaint, 
 lurid, meteoric quality and splendor of those conceptions 
 which the speaker has gathered in his intellectual rambles 
 in realms unfamiliar and unknown to the generality of 
 mortals, and has reproduced in his pulpit. Some of Mr. 
 Wads worth's thoughts are like thunderbolts, gleaming, 
 glittering, far-flashing to and fro through the intellectual 
 heavens ; and no beholder can witness one of these in 
 their full extent and power without remembering the im- 
 pression produced by it for a long time afterward. It is 
 chiefly this quality which lies at the foundation of Mr. 
 Wadsworth's fame as a pulpit orator. He is also original 
 in his use of words, and is very felicitous sometimes in re- 
 producing such as are either unused and unfamiliar, or are 
 perhaps entirely unknown ; and this peculiarity gives that 
 freshness to his sermons which always renders them a 
 treat when compared with the tame, arid and uninteresting 
 effusions which frequently characterize the pulpit. 
 
 We may illustrate a portion of this remark by an ex- 
 
336 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 ample. "What could be more refreshing than a paragraph 
 like the following, taken from his published sermon on 
 " Development and Discipline :" 
 
 " Here is a man it may be truly a Christian whose 
 earthly life is full of gladness and glory : his dwelling- 
 place is a palace ; his name is a power in the land's lan- 
 guage ; fair and fond children love him ; honorable men 
 honor him ; no corroding sorrow tortures his heart ; no in- 
 satiate ambition embitters his life-spring ; a happy and 
 joyous man he is on earth. Now, though this man may 
 be a Christian, he is not ready to die. So rich and fair 
 in its coloring falls round him this massive curtain of 
 things temporal, that even the revealed lustres of eternity 
 shine but faintly through ; and if the fire-car which came 
 for Enoch and Elijah should descend visibly to his portal, 
 Oh ! it would be almost with the recoil of a breaking heart 
 that he looked the last on his princely possessions, and 
 said 'farewell* to his beloved household, and flung the 
 reins loose on the winged coursers, turning his face for- 
 ever from the earthly, and rushing up to the skies." 
 
 Truly, if such a magnificent passage as this and Mr. 
 Wadsworth's sermons abound with them were declaimed 
 by an accomplished elocutionist, the effect produced would 
 be overwhelming. But it must be admitted that Mr. 
 Wadsworth's peculiar and pointless delivery often weakens 
 the power with which such majestic thoughts are always 
 pregnant. If some modern Whitefield, or some living 
 Bascom, were to deliver a few of his sermons as they 
 should be delivered, it would be an intellectual luxury 
 which is enjoyed but once in a cycle of ages, and would 
 revive the palmy era of a Chalmers and a Robert Hall. 
 
 What, then, are Mr. Wadsworth's defects ? We answer, 
 a monotonous and tiresome tone of voice ; a mumbling of his 
 words, by which he fails to expel their articulation beyond 
 his teeth a peculiarity which frequently deprives his origi- 
 nal and expressive nomenclature of half its effect ; and as 
 his words are the vehicles which convey his thoughts, this 
 peculiarity deadens and weakens the impression which his 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 337 
 
 conceptions would otherwise constantly make upon the 
 hearer. 
 
 The construction of Mr. Wadsworth's sermons is some- 
 what peculiar. It has both its merits and its defects. 
 The affluence of his ideas leads him to despise all tho es- 
 tablished rules, according to which the homiletical writers 
 of the elder schools divided and subdivided, framed and 
 fabricated, their sermons. There is not the least resem- 
 blance between his productions and those sermons which 
 harmonize with the rules of Simeon, or the examples of 
 Dwight, in which the various formal heads and sub-heads 
 amount to some fifteen or twenty. But he seizes three or 
 four of the chief thoughts contained in, or suggested by, 
 the text, and expounds and illustrates them after his own 
 fashion, in utter indifference to all that Porter or Gresley 
 may have enjoined in their manuals on Homiletics. This 
 plan of sermonizing may do very well for men of such 
 superior talent as Mr. Wadsworth ; but it would be very 
 injudicious for the great majority of preachers, whose intel- 
 lects are barren, and whose thoughts are commonplace. To 
 such men as the latter the various subdivisions of a dis- 
 course are indispensable helps, and enable them to fill out 
 the requisite amount of matter, of which they would other- 
 wise be incapable. 
 
 REV. J. B. DALES. 
 
 THE Rev. Dr. Dales is pastor of the Associate Reformed 
 Church, in Race street, in Philadelphia. He is a native 
 of Pennsylvania, and is about forty-eight years of age. 
 The denomination to which he belongs is one of that cluster 
 of minor Presbyterian Churches which have separated 
 from time to time in Scotland from the great Presbyterian 
 National Church ; some of which have afterward divided 
 and subdivided again among themselves, until the magni- 
 tude of the fragments has become very inconsiderable, and 
 the doctrinal differences whereon they disagree are almost 
 imperceptible. T'hev are all extreme Calvinists. A 
 22 
 
338 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 portion of them, such as the Seceders, and the Associate 
 Reformed, use no hymns in public or private worship, ex- 
 cept the Psalms of David, as originally translated intc 
 horrific verse hy Rouse, and modified from time to time by 
 subsequent ameliorations. Quite recently a union has 
 been effected, by the Synods at Pittsburg, between tho 
 Associate Reformed Church to which Dr. Dales belongs, and 
 the body known as the Seceder, or Associate Church ; and 
 this new denomination is now and henceforth to be known 
 by the title of the United Presbyterian Church. Their 
 doctrines remain unchanged. These are in substance the 
 same as those of the Old School Presbyterian denomina- 
 tion ; but they differ from these in matters of public wor- 
 ship. Some of them go so far as to insist that the use of 
 Watts' hymns, or any other uninspired composition, in the 
 public or private worship of God, is idolatry or blasphemy. 
 None of these churches permit the use of choirs. A pre- 
 centor, whose performances rarely rival the artistic skill 
 of Mario or Brignoli, leads the singing, and he is usually 
 well supported by the congregation. 
 
 Dr. Dales has been pastor of his present church for 
 some eighteen or twenty years. His congregetion is a 
 portion of the same to whom Mr. Chambers originally 
 officiated in Thirteenth street, above Market, previous to 
 the secession which led to the erection of the present 
 church of that gentleman on Broad street. It was origi- 
 nally known as the Ninth Presbyterian Church, and was 
 built in 1814. An old lady named Margaret Duncan, 
 who for many years had been a shop keeper in this city, 
 left a sum of money by her last will, together with the lot 
 in Thirteenth, above Market, for the purpose of erecting a 
 church. Mrs. Duncan was herself a member of the Se- 
 ceder denomination, and her intention doubtless was that 
 the building constructed by her bounty should be connected 
 with the same body. It is said that, whilst upon her 
 passage to this country, she encountered at sea a storm of 
 fearful violence, and the vessel was threatened with cer- 
 tain destruction ; but that she made a vow that, should 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 839 
 
 she escape a watery grave, she would testify her gratitude 
 for her preservation by erecting a church for the worship 
 of God, should she ever possess the means so to do. The 
 vessel outrode the tempest ; Mrs. Duncan was saved ; and 
 after many years she fulfilled her promise as aforesaid. 
 Recently, the congregation of Dr. Dales have sold their 
 former property, and erected the church in which he now 
 preaches, in Race street, below Sixteenth. The official 
 connection of the congregation and pastor is with the 
 United Presbyterian Church. 
 
 This new edifice is a large, commodious, and, in many 
 respects, a handsome one. Simplicity and plainness are 
 generally regarded by the denomination to which Dr. 
 Dales belongs as proper and essential qualities in the con- 
 struction of houses of worship. They regard all unneces- 
 sary ornament as unbecoming ; and look upon the Gothic 
 and other antique styles of architecture as inappropriate 
 to places used for the service of God, and as approxima- 
 tions to the horrid abominations of Rome. But in this 
 instance the congregation seem to have made an innova- 
 tion, and have introduced a degree of ornament into their 
 new edifice, which is an anomaly among the other Associate 
 Reformed Churches in this country. Stained windows are 
 even used in the building, which, could old Margaret Dun- 
 can arise from her sunken grave and see, we fear she 
 would condemn in no very equivocal terms. The whole 
 arrangement of this church is convenient and pleasing, 
 with one solitary exception. This is the singular and 
 shapeless top-knot or frontispiece which surmounts the 
 roof in front, and is in itself a most detestable deformity. 
 What it resembles, what it is intended to represent, or 
 what use it is supposed to accomplish, we cannot divine ; 
 but certain it is, that it is an injury to the appearance and 
 beauty of the otherwise chaste and elegant building. 
 
 One very commendable peculiarity of the large congre- 
 gation who worship here is the fact that they generally 
 join heartily and devoutly in the singing. It is bad 
 enough when the whole musical part of the divine worship 
 
340 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 is executed by three or four operatic singers, who are paid 
 so much per day for their performances ; in whose singing 
 there is not a particle of devotion ; and who are, themselves, 
 as is sometimes the case, persons of notoriously immoral 
 lives. In such instances it is bad enough when no person 
 in the congregation praises God except these musical hire- 
 lings for such music and such singing must be as great 
 an abomination to the Deity as is the wicked prayer of a 
 wicked man. But the case is still worse when there is but 
 a single singer or precentor, who " does" the hymn while 
 the whole congregation listen aloof, curiously or negli- 
 gently, and take no part whatever in the exercise, which 
 thus becomes a feeble and preposterous solo. Dr. Dales' 
 congregation neither use an operatic choir, nor permit 
 a solo performance. They all join heartily and solemnly, 
 after the good old Scotch fashion in the exercise of singing. 
 As an orator Dr. Dales is peculiar. He is an excellent 
 sermonizer. His discourses are systematic in their struc- 
 ture ; they exhibit clear evidence of the possession of much 
 more than ordinary learning ; and they are rendered valuable 
 and instructive by the frequent introduction of appropriate 
 proof-texts. His language is choice and appropriate ; and 
 this is the more remarkable, as he usually extemporises 
 from well prepared memoranda or skeletons. Nor is the 
 subject matter of his sermon dry and tasteless, as is too 
 often the case with preachers of his denomination. He 
 possesses a considerable share of imagination. He uses 
 tropes and figures ; he even employs them appropriately 
 and effectively ; and his manner of delivery is such as to 
 increase the impression which they produce. He com- 
 mences his discourse slowly and almost inaudibly ; but as 
 he progresses, he increases in fervor and in excitement. 
 He gesticulates with singular appropriateness and pro- 
 priety; and when he arrives at the argumentative part of 
 his sermon, he reasons with clearness and power. His 
 sermons exhibit unusual symmetry of construction, and 
 they generally go regularly through the formal yet judi- 
 cious routine of introduction, division, narration, argument, 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 341 
 
 illustration and conclusion. Nor does this formality seem 
 tedious, for he possesses the ability to render each part 
 interesting and instructive. 
 
 Nevertheless, these superior merits are rendered almost 
 useless by one defect, which is radical and ruinous, but 
 over which, unfortunately, he has no control. He has the 
 worst voice of any public speaker to whom we have ever 
 listened. We believe he has suffered from bronchial dis- 
 ease, and the result is, that his vocal organ is one which 
 would condemn even Demosthenes himself. It is difficult 
 to describe it, for there is scarcely anything of it to describe. 
 When sparingly used by him, it is both weak and screechy ; 
 and when he endeavors to speak loudly, it almost resembles 
 the echo of a frantic scream. 
 
 KEY. ALBERT BARNES. 
 
 THE Rev. Albert Barnes is the pastor of the First Pres- 
 byterian Church, located on Washington Square, Philadel- 
 phia. He has occupied, for many years, a prominent 
 position among the clergymen of Philadelphia ; and, in 
 consequence of his labors as an author, his name has ex- 
 tended throughout many distant countries, where even 
 the existence of the majority of his associates is unknown. 
 
 Mr. Barnes was born, we believe, at Rome, in the State 
 of New York, and is now about sixty years of age. 
 His youth was passed in manual labor ; and he was ap> 
 prenticed in his boyhood to learn the art and mystery of 
 a miller. He had scarcely reached his majority, when 
 certain infidel notions which he had previously imbibed 
 were exploded ; he became pious, and determined to pre- 
 pare himself for the ministry. This purpose he carried 
 into effect at Princeton. His collegiate and theological 
 course having been completed, he was ordained as a cler- 
 gyman by the Presbytery under whose care he had placed 
 himself and had been studying. His first pastoral charge 
 was at Morristown, New Jersey. About the year 1830 
 he was invited to become pastor of the church with which 
 
342 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 he is now connected, and to which he has laboriously min- 
 istered ever since. He has on several occasions been in- 
 vited to remove to other posts of responsibility and honor, 
 but he has uniformly declined. Some years since he was 
 elected President of the Auburn Theological Seminary ; 
 but he preferred to retain his pastoral position, greatly to 
 the gratification of the members of his congregation. 
 
 Shortly after his removal to Philadelphia, Mr. Barnes 
 became the unintentional cause of bitter theological dis- 
 putes, and eventually of a great ecclesiastical schism, in 
 the Presbyterian Church. This event took place in 1835. 
 Until that period, that numerous and powerful body of 
 American Christians had remained undivided and harmo- 
 nious, at least so far as outward seeming and union were 
 concerned. But there had been, during many years, a 
 difference of opinion gradually growing among their mem- 
 bers and divines in reference to certain theological dogmas, 
 especially with regard to those points which are distinct- 
 ively termed Calvinistic. The nature of the divine de- 
 crees, the doctrines of election, reprobation, free-grace, 
 infant damnation, perseverance of the saints, and similar 
 theories, which form the central points of the Calvinistic 
 or Augustinian system, were those respecting which this 
 difference of sentiment among Presbyterians was silently 
 and slowly progressing. How long that diversity might 
 have existed in the church without producing open conflict 
 and a public schism, it would be difficult to say ; but Mr. 
 Barnes was unconsciously destined to become the apple of 
 discord among his brethren. He prepared and published 
 a commentary, or practical and exegetical notes, on the 
 Gospels, in which he set forth his peculiar views on the 
 points just mentioned. These views were what might be 
 termed liberal, in comparison with the old fossilized theo- 
 ries which had been held by that denomination ever since 
 the days of John Knox ; and the great exponent of which 
 in this country was Jonathan Edwards. Mr. Barnes, in 
 interpreting certain passages of the Gospels, gave utter- 
 ance to opinions which were at once stigmatized by some 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 343 
 
 of his brethren as new school, as innovations, as uncalvin- 
 istic or Pelagian, as heterodox and unchristian. An awful 
 hue and cry was raised against him. The whole country 
 resounded with the yells of an indignant, outraged, impla- 
 cable orthodoxy. Calvin himself, when burning the un- 
 happy Servetus at Geneva for teaching sentiments which 
 such men as Milton, Priestley, and Channing have since 
 entertained, could not have been more ravenously intent 
 on wreck and ruin, than were some of the persecutors of 
 Mr. Barnes for inculcating doctrines which, before and 
 since, have been believed and taught by myriads of the 
 most excellent of men, the salt of the earth, 
 
 The publication of Mr. Barnes' Notes concentrated 
 around his own head the storms which had been brewing 
 for some years in the Presbyterian body. Already had 
 he excited censure and suspicion by publishing a sermon, 
 in February, 1829, while yet residing at Morristown, en- 
 titled " The Way of Salvation," which dimly foreshadowed 
 the views which were more fully expressed in his Commen < 
 tary. When, therefore, he was about to remove to Phila- 
 delphia, as the successor of Dr. Wilson, a portion of the 
 congregation objected to his settlement and entered their 
 protest. When that protest was overruled against the dis- 
 affected party, and after Mr. Barnes had been duly in- 
 stalled by the Philadelphia Presbytery, a formal complaint 
 was made to that tribunal against him as a teacher of 
 heresy. The charges were not prosecuted for some time, 
 as the assailants of Mr. Barnes were fearful lest they 
 might be discomfited in their assault upon him, by a greater 
 and wider prevalence of his views among his clerical breth- 
 ren than they anticipated. At length, however, when 
 Mr. Barnes published his "Notes of Romans," the sup 
 posed bulwark of intensified Calvinism, wherein his inter- 
 pretations were more bold, free and clear than they had 
 previously been, his opponents became frantic ; a hue and 
 cry, louder, fiercer, hoarser, than before, was raised, and 
 they proceeded to impeach him in form, as being guilty 
 of " damnable heresies." 
 
3-1:4 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 The controversy which ensued occupied the attention 
 of the church during the progress of several years. A 
 great deal of learning, eloquence, and acrimony were elici- 
 ted on both sides, which furnished another and a memora- 
 ble evidence that of all hatreds the odium theologicum is 
 the most intense and unchristian. The Presbytery voted 
 on the question of heresy in July, 1835, and Mr. Barnea 
 was acquitted. The Inquisitor General, Mr. Junkin, ap- 
 pealed from this decision to the Synod of Philadelphia, 
 which convened at York, in May, 1836. By that body 
 Mr. Barnes was condemned, and suspended from all the 
 functions of the ministry until he should furnish evidence 
 of repentance. But, instead of repenting, he appealed 
 from the Synod to the General Assembly, which subse- 
 quently convened at Pittsburg. By that body, after a 
 full hearing and protracted argument, his appeal was sus- 
 tained by a vote of 134 to 94. He was thus reinstated in 
 the ministry and in his church, having suffered suspension 
 during a year. But the defeated side were not satisfied ; 
 and the trial of Mr. Barnes resulted finally in the entire 
 splitting of the Presbyterian denomination into two dis- 
 tinct and hostile bodies, then and since known as the Old 
 and New School churches. 
 
 This controversy, in which Mr. Barnes was the central 
 figure, extended his fame widely and familiarly throughout 
 the country. He was justly regarded by all as the stand- 
 ard-bearer of the New School, and by many as the martyr 
 of a persecuting party. Others, who were not Presbyte- 
 rian, either Old or New, admired him for the courage with 
 which he asserted the principle of rational progress and 
 Christian freedom in the study and interpretation of the 
 Scriptures. Not a few hated him as the teacher of false, 
 pernicious, and detestable heresies ; nor have their preju- 
 dices yet passed entirely away. 
 
 Unconcerned either with the praise or the censure of men, 
 Mr. Barnes continued, after the formal settlement of this 
 great dispute, to devote himself to the performance of his 
 pastoral duties and to the completion of Exegetical Notes 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 on the Scriptures. The church of which he was and still 
 >.s pastor, is a very large one, and the congregation are 
 numerous and intelligent. As a preacher, Mr. Barnes is 
 peculiar in his style. He makes no pretentions to oratory 
 or eloquence. He rarely or never gesticulates, and he 
 usually stands bolt upright, and perfectly still, in the de- 
 livery of his discourses. This was more especially the 
 case when he preached from his notes ; for since the failure 
 of his eyesight, and his inability to make much use of his 
 pen, his extemporaneous efforts are more genial, less formal, 
 and, it may be added, more acceptable to the majority of 
 his hearers. His sermons possess in an unusual degree 
 the quality of thorough, exhaustive thinking. Many of 
 them are doctrinal discussions, which evince a mind trained 
 to logical reflection, and fully competent to follow out all 
 the details and sequences of an investigation. When he 
 preaches practical sermons, expressly as such, he exhibits 
 deep feeling and pious earnestness. His volume of Prac- 
 tical Sermons, already published, are characterized by 
 great evangelical fervor. In the pulpit, Mr. Barnes is 
 well adapted to edify, instruct, and benefit the hearer ; he 
 never charms him by the attractions of eloquence, nor by 
 the arts of the rhetorician ; but he often enlightens by 
 more than ordinary freshness, depth, and thoroughness of 
 discussion. 
 
 Mr. Barnes is more remarkable as a writer of commen- 
 taries than in any other intellectual respect. He is the 
 most voluminous author in Philadelphia. He has written 
 notes on all the books of the New Testament, and on Job, 
 Daniel and Isaiah in the Old As a Biblical critic he 
 has considerable merit ; his e xpositions being generally- 
 sound and safe. In point of critical and philologi- 
 cal learning, however, he will not compare with Moses 
 Stuart, or Professor Robinson, in this country ; or with 
 Tholuck, Kuinoel, or De Wette, in Germany. His ac- 
 quaintance with the Oriental languages is evidently only 
 such as it became necessary for him to acquire, in order 
 to read and appreciate the works of the great critics who 
 
346 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 have already commented on the Scriptures, and to make 
 use of their labors in compiling his own writings. But 
 for practical purposes, this acquaintance was sufficient, as 
 is evinced by the popularity which his comments have ob- 
 tained throughout the religious public, both in this country 
 and in England. People talk everlastingly about " the 
 learned and judicious Hooker." They might say with 
 equal propriety and frequency, " the laborious and useful 
 Barnes." 
 
 Yet it should not be inferred, from the fact that Mr. 
 Barnes has written so much, that he is not capable of 
 compact and logical thinking. In his controversy with 
 the deposed Episcopal Bishop Onderdonk, on Epis- 
 copacy, he reasoned with great force, clearness, and con- 
 clusiveness. In his Introduction to his edition of Butler's 
 Analogy, he produced an essay not unworthy to stand by 
 the side of that colossal monument of logic ; and it admi- 
 rably supplies the deficiencies which till then marred its 
 completeness. Had Mr. Barnes written only one-third of 
 what he has accomplished, his fame as an author (but not 
 perhaps his usefulness) would stand much higher than it 
 does, because mankind are always disposed to infer that 
 when a writer produces so much, a large proportion of it 
 must be of inferior quality. In general, this dictum or 
 judgment is true ; but Mr. Barnes is an exception, for the 
 most part, to the rule. 
 
 The personal incidents of the life of this distinguished 
 clergyman are few. His life has been chiefly passed in 
 his study. His devotion to his literary labors has been 
 rarely equalled. For many years he commenced his 
 studies at four o'clock in the morning, in his library in 
 the church in which he preaches, and he generally con- 
 tinued them till late at night. On one occasion, it is said 
 that a new watchman, who met him long before the dawn 
 of day, on his way to his study, carrying a bundle of 
 kindling wood in his hands, regarded him as a suspicious 
 person, arrested him, and retained him until enlightened 
 as to the true nature of the case and the real character of 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 347 
 
 his victim. A real thief would most probably have not been 
 arrested at all, or would have been compelled merely to 
 divide the plunder ! The constant devotion of Mr. Barnes 
 to study during so many years, resulted in the serious in- 
 jury of his eye-sight. Some time since he was compelled 
 to suspend his labors entirely. He embraced the oppor- 
 tunity to visit Europe, and employ the most competent 
 medical aid there accessible. It is not likely that he will 
 ever be able to resume the same prodigious habits of ap- 
 plication which he practiced during so many years ; yet he 
 can console himself with the reflection that, though he can- 
 not claim to stand beside Robert Hall or Edward Irving 
 as a preacher, or beside Gesenius and the younger Rosen- 
 muller as a critic, he will always rank honorably and emi- 
 nently as the Matthew Henry of his country.* 
 
 REV. W. H. FURNESS. 
 
 THE Rev. Dr. Furness is the most distinguished repre- 
 resentative in Philadelphia of that class of divines to whom 
 the term "Liberal" is applied, both by themselves and by 
 the general custom of the religious public. He preaches 
 in the Unitarian Church, at the corner of Locust and Tenth 
 Streets ; and has during many years been regarded as one 
 of the most intellectual and cultivated of the Philadelphia 
 clergy. Notwithstanding the large amount of prejudice 
 which the " Orthodox" churches have always entertained, 
 and do still entertain, against what they term heterodox 
 denominations, all have concurred in rendering a just 
 tribute of esteem and respect for this clergyman person- 
 ally. 
 
 Dr. Eurness was born at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1802, 
 and was educated at Cambridge University. Having ter- 
 minated his course of studies, he visited Philadelphia in 
 the summer of 1824, and preached a series of trial ser- 
 mons to those few Unitarians who then constituted the 
 society in that city. At the conclusion of the series, he 
 was invited to become the regular pastor of the church ; 
 
 * Mr. Barnes died early in 1871. 
 
348 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 he accepted the invitation, and was ordained in June, 1825, 
 to the office which he still retains. Thus thirty-three 
 years have elapsed since the connection of Dr. Furness 
 with his present church began ; and it is probable that he 
 is one of the oldest settled ministers in Philadelphia. 
 This church is the most ancient professedly Unitarian so- 
 ciety in the United States ; and as such it possesses more 
 than ordinary historical interest. It was commenced sixty- 
 two years ago, in 1796 ; and was composed at first of four- 
 teen members, most of whom were natives of England, and 
 men of wealth, who, finding themselves in the new world 
 where all the existing denominations differed fundamen- 
 tally in their views from themselves, resolved to organize 
 a church, and conduct religious services in accordance 
 with their own convictions. 
 
 A short time previous to the adoption of this resolution, 
 Dr. Joseph Priestley, the celebrated English philosopher 
 and theologian, had removed to this country ; having been 
 driven from his home at Birmingham, and his residence 
 destroyed, by the insane violence of a popular tumult. 
 Having located himself at Northumberland in this State, 
 he occasionally visited Philadelphia. Great and enlight- 
 ened as he was, he was still the object of universal preju- 
 dice even here. His co-religionists in Philadelphia alone 
 regarded him with the respectful consideration which he 
 deserved ; and by his advice, and under his direction, the 
 fourteen Unitarians already alluded to combined together 
 in the organization of a church. It is said that Dr. 
 Priestley's autograph appears among the signatures of the 
 first members of the society, and he no doubt assisted in 
 the public services of the congregation whenever he visited 
 Philadelphia. These exercises were carried on during 
 some years by the members of the society, it being impos- 
 sible for them at that time to procure the services of a 
 Unitarian minister. So great was the prejudice then 
 prevalent in the community against those who believed in 
 the unity of the Supreme Being, that it was with great 
 difficulty that the infant church could even procure a place 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 349 
 
 for public worship. At length, in 1813, they purchased 
 the lot upon which the present edifice stands, and erected 
 an octagonal building upon it, capable of accommodating 
 several hundred people. In 1822 the congregation suc- 
 ceeded in obtaining the occasional ministrations of students 
 of divinity from the theological department of the Univer- 
 sity of Cambridge. This arrangement continued until the 
 arrival, the preaching, and the permanent settlement of 
 Dr. Furness, at the period already referred to. From 
 that date until the present, during a long lapse of tran- 
 quil years, he has devoted himself to the quiet, regu- 
 lar and unobtrusive performance of his pastoral and pulpit 
 duties. 
 
 For twenty years after the formation of the Unitarian 
 Church in Philadelphia, there was no similar organization 
 throughout the United States. Even at Boston, which 
 has since become, and now is, the head-quarters of Liberal 
 Christianity in the United States, there was no open avowal 
 of Unitarianism, and no professedly Unitarian Church 
 until 1810. At this period the church known as King's 
 Chapel, in Boston, was ministered to by two clergymen, 
 Dr. Freeman and Mr. Carey, men of learning and piety, 
 who had become convinced of the absolute unity of the 
 object of divine worship, had boldly taught that doctrine 
 from the pulpit, and had brought over the majority of 
 their members to a harmony of opinion with themselves. 
 Gradually the number of converts increased ; this new or 
 old doctrine, this heretical or divinely taught opinion, just 
 as you choose to consider it, spread more and more through 
 the churches of Boston, through Massachusetts, through 
 New England, and through other States of the Union, un- 
 til it now comprises among its members a large portion of 
 the most intelligent and cultivated part of the community; 
 sending forth from year to year, from Cambridge, the 
 chief University in the land, men of science, men of elo- 
 quence, men of piety, to promulgate the doctrines which 
 they have there imbibed and adopted. 
 
 At the period of the arrival of Dr. Furness in Philadel- 
 
350 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 phia, his position, as one of the few Unitarian pastors in 
 this country, was a very difficult one. The religious pub- 
 lic even at that time, regarded a Unitarian with about 
 that same sort of indefinable horror and nameless dread 
 with which the most extreme and radical infidels are now 
 esteemed by the majority of them. Shortly before that 
 period a controversy had taken place in Boston in refer- 
 ence to this new doctrine, and its apprehended ravages 
 in that neighborhood, in which Dr. Channing had great- 
 ly distinguished himself ; and although he defended the 
 Unitarian views with superior learning, with rare amia- 
 bility, and with unrivaled eloquence, the Orthodox com- 
 munity far and near united in condemning, excommu- 
 nicating, and repudiating the persons and the opinions of 
 those who chose to interpret strictly that saying of Scrip- 
 ture : " Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." 
 Mr. Furness incurred his full share of this prejudice. He 
 was then but in his' twenty- second year, and his position 
 required great circumspection and prudence. He proved 
 himself fully equal to the task which he had assumed. 
 Avoiding the noisy clamors of controversy and all unchari- 
 table assaults upon the opinions and prejudices of others, 
 he devoted himself to his duties, and preached what he be- 
 lieved to be the truth, whether men would hear or forbear. 
 This course he has pursued during many years with signal 
 success. His congregation has flourished ; his views have 
 gradually become more and more disseminated ; and while 
 other churches have been torn and distracted by innumer- 
 able feuds and implacable divisions, his society has ever 
 been strangers to the distractions of party and the miseries 
 and animosities of schism. 
 
 As a preacher, the style of Dr. Furness is peculiar. At 
 one period he was one of the most popular clergymen in 
 this city. We may say that he occupied this position in 
 spite of himself ; for no man would seem to take less pains 
 to secure the notoriety which "fame's obstreperous trump" 
 bestows, than he. His manner of preaching is quiet, re- 
 flective, subdued, but none the less on that account im- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 351 
 
 pressive. He rarely gesticulates ; yet his manner seems 
 instinct with earnest feeling, which, by some myste- 
 rious process, he communicates to the hearer. His 
 most striking quality as a preacher is his intellectuality. 
 His sermons are calm embodiments of pure thought. 
 Frequently, from first to last, they are continued utterances 
 of unbroken, instructive, attractive ratiocinations on re- 
 ligious themes. One of the most remarkable peculiarities 
 of his ministrations, is his intense and never ceasing oppo- 
 sition to American Slavery ; and he embraces every oppor- 
 tunity afforded, erai by the ordinary services of the pulpit, 
 to express his abhorrence of this prominent and anomalous 
 element in American society and government. 
 
 The denomination to which Dr. Furness belongs entertain 
 three cardinal principles as the foundation of their faith. 
 The first is, that the Scriptures are the proper source of reli- 
 gious truth and knowledge. The second is, the full and 
 unrestricted right of private judgment, and the perfect 
 freedom of the human mind, in the interpretation of the 
 contents of the Scriptures. The third is, the undeniable 
 truthfulness of the doctrine of the Divine Unity. On 
 minor points American Unitarians not only differ, but they 
 expect to differ, as a necessary and natural result of the 
 full operation of the second of the preceding canons of 
 belief. This right of private judgment in religious matters, 
 was the great principium cognoscendi of the Protestant 
 Reformation in the sixteenth century ; yet, as Unitarians 
 say, the reformers and their followers do not carry it out 
 to its legitimate results, but annul it by the fabrication 
 of creeds and confessions, and other theological strait- 
 jackets, which as effectually interfere with the exercise of 
 private judgment, and with the spirit of progress and de- 
 velopment, as did the decrees and persecutions of the 
 Roman Catholic Church, during the Dark Ages. Doubt- 
 less, arguments of great weight may be urged on both sides 
 of this question ; and it is undeniable, that, if the unre- 
 stricted freedom of private judgment favors the discovery 
 and development of truth, it has on the other hand a ten- 
 
C$52 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 dency to destroy that unity and harmony of sentiment 
 which some Christians regard as essential elements or 
 characteristics of the true Church. 
 
 KEY. JOHN WESLEY. 
 
 JOHN WESLEY, the founder of the sect of the Methodists. 
 was born June IT, 1703, at Epworth. He was educated 
 at the Charterhouse, and Christchurch, Oxford, and was 
 ordained in 1725. Naturally of a devout disposition, he 
 was rendered still more so by the perusal of devotional 
 treatises ; and, in conjunction with his brother Charles and 
 some friends, he formed a religious society, to the members of 
 which his gay fellow collegians applied the name of Method- 
 ists. In 1735, with Charles Wesley and other missionaries, 
 he visited Georgia to convert the Indians ; but after a resi- 
 dence of less than two years in the colony, during which 
 he became extremely unpopular, he returned to England. 
 In 1738 he began those public labors which ultimately pro- 
 duced such prodigious effects, and in 1739 the first meeting- 
 house was built at Bristol. For some time he acted in 
 conjunction with Whitefield, but the radical difference in 
 their opinions at length produced a separation. Over the 
 sect which he had founded, Wesley obtained an unbounded 
 influence ; and it must be owned that he deserved it by 
 his unwearied zeal and his astonishing exertions. Two 
 sermons he usually preached every day, and often four or 
 five. In the course of his peregrinations he is said to 
 have preached more than forty thousand discourses, and to 
 have travelled three hundred thousand miles, or nearly 
 fifteen times the circumference of the globe. On the 17th 
 of February 1791, he took cold, after preaching at Lam- 
 beth. For some days he struggled against an increasing 
 fever, and continued to preach until the Wednesday follow- 
 ing when he delivered his last sermon. From that time ho 
 became daily weaker, and died on the second of March, 
 1791, being in the eighty-eighth year of his age, and the 
 sixty fifth of his memorable ministry. 
 
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 1 -year loans may be recharged by bringing 
 books to NRLF 
 
 Renewals and recharges may be made 4 
 days prior to due date. 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 - MAR 1 9 2001 
 
 12,000(11/95) 
 
8l?6