is confused and agitated; and if he make haste away, and enter such scenes no more, he is safe. But if he disregard the admonitions of his conscience, and yield to temptation again, he is a fallen and wretched man. And many young Christians have been thus thrown down in the ways of righteousness, robbed of the consolations of religion, and rendered a dishonour to the church of God. (To be continued.)

An Infidel Objection answered.-Before I put an end to this address, I cannot help taking notice of an argument by which some philosophers have of late endeavoured to overturn the whole system of Revelation; aud it is the more necessary to give an answer to their objection, as it has become a common subject of philosophical conversation, especially among those who have visited the continent. The objection tends to invalidate, as is supposed, the authority of Moses, by showing, that the earth is much older than it can be proved to be from his account of the creation, and the Scripture chronology. We contend that six thousand years have not yet elapsed since the creation; and these philosophers contend, that they have indubitable proof of the earth's being at the least fourteen thousand years old; and they complain that Moses hangs as a dead weight upon them, and blunts all their zeal for inquiry. *

The Canonico Recupero, who is engaged, it seems, in writing the history of Mount Etna, has discovered a stratum of lava, which flowed from that mountain, according to his opinion, in the time of the second Punic war, or about two thousand years ago. This stratum is not yet covered with soil sufficient for the production of either corn or vines; it requires, then, (says the canon,) two thousand years at least to convert a stratum of lava into a fertile field. In sinking a pit near Jaci, in the neighbourhood of Etna, they have discovered evident marks of seven distinct lavas, one under the other; the sur faces of which are parallel, and most of them covered with a thick bed of rich earth. Now the eruption which formed the lowest of these lavas, if we may be allowed to reason

* Brydone's Travels.

(says the canon) from analogy, flowed from the mountain at least fourteen thousand years ago. It might be briefly answered to this objection, by denying that there is anything in the history of Moses repugnant to this opinion concerning the great antiquity of the earth; for though the rise and progress of arts and sciences, and the small multiplication of the human species, render it almost to a demonstration probable, that man has not existed longer upon the surface of this earth than according to the Mosaic account; yet that the earth itself was created out of nothing, when man was placed upon it, is not, according to the sentiments of some philosophers, to be proved from the original text of Sacred Scripture. We might, I say, reply with these philosophers to this formidable objection of the canon, by granting it in its full extent; we are under no necessity, however, of adopting their opinion, in order to show the weakness of the canon's reasoning. For, in the first place, the canon has not satisfactorily established his main fact, that the lava in question is the indentical lava which Diodorus Siculus mentions to have flowed from Etna, in the second Carthaginian war; and, in the second place, it may be observed, that the time necessary for converting lavas into fertile fields must be very different, according to the different consistencies of the lavas, and their different situations, with respect to elevation or depression; to their being exposed to winds, rains, and to other circumstances, just as the time in which the heaps of crow slag (which resembles lava) are covered with verdure, is different at different furnaces, according to the nature of the slag, and situation of the furnace; and something of this kind is deducible from the account of the canon himself; since the crevices of this famous stratum are really full of rich, good soil, and have pretty large trees growing in them.-Watson's Apology.

[From a work lately published by Dr. Wiseman it appears, that the whole story as given by the Infidel Brydone was a fabrication of his own. The Canon denies having ever made such a communication to him. What will not the enemies of the Gospel do ?-ED. E. R.]

Published by I. DAVIS, 22, Grosvenor-street, Stalybridge; Bancks and Co., Exchange-street; Heywood, Oldham-street, Manchester; R. Groombridge, 6, Panyer Alley, Paternoster Row, London; and may be had of all Booksellers. [CAVE and SEVER, Printers, Manchester.]

EVANGELICAL REFORMER,

AND YOUNG MAN'S GUIDE.

BY JOSEPH

BARKER.

Published every Saturday.-Price One Penny, or in Monthly Parts, price Five-pence.

No. 23.

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 1838.

VOL. I.

THE PLAIN MAN'S DEFENCE OF CHRISTIANITY. ANOTHER charge which Infidels bring against Christianity is, that it supports priestcraft. I have read the New Testament through, but I recollect not one word in favour of priestcraft. I do not recollect a word in favour of craft of any kind. I find it always recommending truth and honesty, and speaking against all guile and hypocrisies as works of the devil.

It is also to be observed, that no order of priests is appointed under the Christian system. Christ is called a priest, and all Christians are called priests; but as for any distinct class of persons in the Christian church called priests, to whom power over the bodies and souls of their fellow men is given, not one single word is spoken. There were priests under the Jewish system, but there was nothing, even in that system, to set the priests above their brethren, or to give them opportunities of obtaining wealth or power at the expense of their brethren. And if under the Jewish system the priests did wrong, they were as promptly and as keenly censured as other sinners.

There have been priests among all nations, and priests have generally pretended to powers which they did not possess. They have often sought to lay hold on political influence, and to direct the affairs of empires. To accomplish their object they have often used deceit, and they have

ban anonsa sad sour aid to ban bebreyer bas boc plotted so deeply, and acted so wickedly, that priestcraft has become a proverb for the e most hateful, and criminal of villanies. All this we know. We know there are still persons called priests, and we know that some of them are wicked and deceitful men. We know We know that there are priests that call themselves Christians, and that there is what some men call the Christian priesthood. We know also that persons called Christian priests have, like other priests, frequently yielded to temptations, and used their influence for wicked purposes. There have been persons called Christian priests, who have been given up to the pursuit of riches and power; who have used fraud to support and extend their influence; who have favoured the rich and oppressed the poor; who have persecuted the wise and flattered the foolish; who have killed the innocent and indulged the guilty. We have no doubt but there are persons called Christian priests at this day, who are deceitful and wicked. We fear there a those who love darkness rather than light; who promote their own interests at the expense of their fellow men, and who would rather have the whole world in bondage and misery, than give up their wealth and power. We believe all this; we believe perhaps as much as William Howitt has written about priests, and almost as much as unbelievers have said. But the question remains What has the Gospel to do with priestcraft? Is the Gospel to blame for the iniquities of priests? Does the Gospel sanction them? Does it require us to connive at them? Does it support or encourage them at all? We say, Nos; and we challenge all the Infidels in the land to prove the contrary.

are still

to Priesteraft existed before the time of Christ, and it exists now in places where the Gospel was never known; so that the Gospel cannot be its author. Where the Gospel is best known, priestcraft prevails the least. When the Gospel was unknown in our land, Britons were all slaves to priests, but as the Bible began to be read and understood, the power of the priests declined, and it is now fast passing away. Priestcraft has always prevailed most, where Christianity has been least under

stood and

; and at this time those nations and religions sects who know the Gospel best and regard it most, are most free from all the evils which priesteraft inflicts upon men.

It should also be observed, that those who practise priestcraft always oppose the Gospel. Infidels themselves are not more set against the Gospel than crafty and wicked priests. However much wicked priests and Infidels may differ in other respects, they both agree in this; both of them hate and dread the sacred Scriptures. Did you ever find crafty and wicked priests recommending people to rea read the Bible? Did you ever know such characters unite to circulate the Scriptures? Just in proportion as a priest is selfish and crafty, will he always be opposed to the Bible. But if the Bible encouraged priestcraft, it would be just the other way. Then the worst priests would be the greatest friends of the Bible, and the most forward supporters of the Bible Society. The Bible societies of our country were begun, and they have always been supported, by the most liberal and honest and benevolent of our countrymen. Those who favoured any thing like priestcraft, looked on the Bible Society and upon similar institutions with a jealous eye, and strove to check their operations.

The Gospel is against priestcraft from beginning to end.⠀⠀⠀Wicked priests teach that people are divided into two classes, priests and laymen; the Gospel tells us that we are ne, and that Christians are, without excep

tion, a kingdom of priests."

Wicked priests teach that they are appointed by God to rule the rest of men; the Gospel tells us that one is our Master, even Christ; and that all we are brethren. Wicked priests pretend to be able to shut men out of heaven, unless they will acknowledge their authority; but the Gospel tells us, that though men can kill the bodies of God's people, they have nothing further that they can do. Wicked priests would persuade men that they have a right to a share of their property, but the Gospel acknowledges no right in one class of Christians to levy a tax upon their brethren. Wicked priests con -19bn secol most od vomerendo sr-dw Jeos believorg