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that hope should disappoint its possessor. Now, is not the Pope Antichrist? Well, if he is an idolater and Antichrist, ought he to be adhered to? What sort of a body must that be, which has such a head? I think I should not like to be a member of it. And I must confess that I am against such a person having any more power in our free, enlightened, and happy America, than he has already. Pray let us not, after having broken the chains of political thraldom, come in bondage to idolatry. Let us not, after having extricated our persons from the power of a king, subject our minds to the spiritual domination of a Pope.

19. Charles X. an Idolater.

Having proved his holiness the Pope an idolater, I proceed now to prove "his most Christian majesty" that was, the ex-king of France, an idolater; which having done, I shall have gone a good way towards proving the whole Catholic church idolatrous, since, as you know, it is their boast that they all think alike, and that there are no such varieties of opinion among them as among us unfortunate Protestants; though, by the way, it is not so strange that they all think alike, when one thinks for all.

I proved Gregory an idolater out of his own mouth. I shall do the same in the case of Charles. On the occasion of the baptism (with oil, spittle, &c. an improvement on the simple water-system of the Bible)

of his young grand-son, the Duke of Bordeaux, this was his language: "Let us invoke for him the protection of the mother of God, the queen of the angels; let us implore her to watch over his days, and remove far from his cradle the misfortunes with which it has pleased Providence to afflict his relatives, and to conduct him by a less rugged path than I have had, to eternal felicity." He was anxious that the little boy should have a protector, one to watch over him, and to remove his misfortunes, and to conduct him by an easy path to eternal life. For this purpose, one not educated a Catholic would have supposed that he would apply to the omniscient and almighty God. I do not know who can do those things besides God. But no. His majesty" does no more apply to God, than did his holiness in a similar case. I suppose it would have been heresy if he had. They would have thought him going over to Protestantism. His holiness and his majesty both make application to the creature rather than to the Creator. Charles does not "Let us invoke for him the protection of God," but of a woman, a woman indeed highly favored of the Lord, and of blessed memory, but still a woman.

say,

He calls her, according to the custom of his church, "the mother of God." I suppose you know that phrase s not in the Bible. And there is a good reason for it, the idea is not as old as the Bible. The Bible is an old book, almost as old as our religion. Roman Catholicism is comparatively young. I will not remark on the phrase, mother of God, seeing it is not in the Bible, and since it has often been remarked upon by others. But there is another thing the ex-king says of her, on which I will spend a word or two. He calls

her "the queen of the angels." Now we read in the Bible, of Michael, the archangel, or prince of angels, but we do not read of the angels having a queen. We read also of a king in heaven, but not a word about a queen. I don't know where he got this idea of a queen of angels. He certainly did not get it out of the Holy Scriptures, and yet these Scriptures, I had always supposed, contain all that we know about the angels. I wish he would tell us from his retirement where he got the idea, for he speaks very positive about the angels having a queen. It is true, we do read in one place in the Bible of a queen of heaven, but the worship of her was so evidently idolatry, that I presume the Catholics will not quote it as authorizing the title they give and the honor they pay to the Virgin Mary. The account is found in Jeremiah, 44. If any one will read the chapter he will see what that prophet thought of those worshipers of the queen of heaven. Now, if the worship of a queen of heaven by the Jews was denounced as idolatry, and ruin came on them in consequence of it, is not a similar worship performed by Catholics as idolatrous, and as dangerous?

But no matter what he calls her, he asks her to do what only God can do. He treats her precisely as if she were divine. Is it not so-and is not this idolatry? He ascribes divine perfections to her-omniscience, else how could she watch over the child; and omnipotence, else how could she ward off evil from him; and he speaks of her as the guide of souls to eternal life. The Psalmist considered it was the prerogative of God to do this. He says, Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." But the ex-king looks to Mary to conduct the young

duke to eternal life. What the Psalmist expects from God, the ex-king expects from Mary. Is not this putting a creature in the place of God, the Creator? Every one must see that it is shocking idolatry, and that the man who uses such language is as truly an idolater as any devotee of Juggernaut.

I do really wonder that the Catholics continue to call their system Christianity. It is by a great misnomer it is so called. It is not the proper name for it at all. It should be called by some such name as Marianism, rather than Christianity. In Christianity the principal figure is Christ; but he is not the principal figure in the Catholic religion. Mary is. Therefore the religion should be called after her, Marianism, and not after Christ, Christianity. Catholics are not the disciples of Christ, but of Mary; she is their confidence and hope. Pope Gregory says she "is our greatest hope, yea, the entire ground of our hope." Now, I think that the religion of such people ought to be called after the one who is their greatest hope; and I have suggested a name to the Catholics, which I advise them to adopt. Let their religion be called Marianism, and let them leave to us the name Christianity, since Christ "is our hope."

Having proved his Holiness, and his most Christian Majesty, the two principal characters in the church of Rome, idolaters, I think I may as well stop here.

20. Idolatry near Home.

It is wonderful what a propensity there is in fallen men to idolatry. How they do love to worship the treature rather than the Creator! In a certain church, which need not be named, the blessed virgin, though

mere woman, receives ten, perhaps a hundred times as much religious honor as does the blessed Savior, though he be "the mighty God," deserving of all homage, while she merits barely respectful remembrance. One that has much intercourse with Catholics would suppose the mother to be the Savior of the world, rather than the Son. They make her to be the principal advocate of sinners in heaven. "If any man sin, we nave an advocate with the Father." Who? St. John says, "Jesus Christ the righteous"-the Catholics say it is Mary! So they differ-we Protestants side with John.

I have lately met with an idolatrous temple, that is, a church or chapel avowedly erected in honor of a creature, and dedicated to a creature. Is not that a temple of idolatry? Can there be a more accurate definition of such a place? Well, I have seen one-and I have not been a voyage to India neither. Some think there is no idolatry nearer than India; and when they hear of an idol-temple they immediately think of Juggernaut. But it is a mistake. I have not been out of the United States of America, and yet I have seen a temple of idolatry. I will state the case, and let every one judge for himself. If I am under an erroneous impression I shall be glad to be corrected. The

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