have already raised among themselves, £238, which they hope still further to increase. Having thus placed their own shoulders to the wheel, they respectfully, but urgently call upon all friends to the spread of liberality and benevolence, of unshackled conscience, and of Christian truth and virtue, to lend a helping hand. It is thus they will contribute to place the Congregation of Glasgow on a firm and respectable basis, aid the progress of religious reformation in Scotland, and promote the improvement, moral welfare, and everlasting happiness of their fellow creatures. The Unitarian Congregation of Glasgow, respectfully request the following Individuals to receive Donations on their account. The Donations will from time to time be advertised on the covers of the Monthly Repository and Christian Pioneer; and the smallest sum will be gratefully received and acknowledged. Rev. T. BELSHAM, London. Rev. J. KENTISH, Birmingham, Rev. Dr. CARPENTER, Bristol. STATEMENT OF UNITARIAN CHAPEL, GLASGOW. Original Cost of Chapel, Cellar, &C. mum Debt already liquidated, Balance of Debt against the Congregation, 802 0 0 www€ 2300 0 0 £1498 0 Donations by Glasgow Congregation in 1828, £238 5 6 IN the morning of Sunday, January 6, the Rev. W. J. Bakewell preached his farewell sermon to the Unitarian Congregation in Edinburgh; and in the afternoon of the same day, the Rev. I. Perry, formerly, we believe, a Calvinist Minister at Norwich, delivered his introductory discourse as his successor. CHRISTIAN PIONEER. No. 19. MARCH, 1828. Vol. II. A Summary View of the State of the Argument, on the Historical Evidences of Christianity, between Mr. Beard and his opponents Mr. Carlile and Mr. Taylor. (Concluded from page 193.) Mr. C.-It seems to me, that Pliny's letter contains the fact that Christianity began in or about Bithynia. Mr. B.-If the fact is contained in the letter, point to the part where it is said that Christianity began in Bithynia: if it is said, nothing is easier than a reference. -(L. ii. p. 58.) Mr. C-No, this is quibbling; by fact, I mean probability; and by contained, suggests. Mr. B.-Suggests the probability, then, is what you mean. Let us then weigh this probability. Whence does it arise? Consider the tenor of the letter; recall to mind what you have not answered relating to this matter, that the very circumstance, as I argued, of Pliny's not explaining the designation which he uses," Christians". proves that the Emperor knew of them, and is a presumption that they then existed at Rome. Join to this presumption, the positive assertions of Suetonius and Tacitus, and no one can doubt of the fact, that Christians did exist at Rome not only at the time of Trajan, but long before. (L. ii. p. 58.) Mr. C.-Pliny found Christianity only precisely where I say it began. Mr. B. He found it there, and therefore he found it no where else! The sun shines in England, and therefore it shines no where else! This is of a piece with the famous old syllogism: Every man is an animal; every goose is an animal; therefore, every man is a goose.-(L. ii. p. 59.) But the simple question between us, is, whether or not it is credible, that supposing as you do, that Christianity arose in the year 100, within the space of six years (Pliny's letter), it should, through the advocacy of illiterate men, have pervaded towns, villages, and the open country, caused a long intermission of the sacred rites, and made U votaries, some fourteen years before it arose. Run not from the point at issue. Meet this difficulty by fair arguments; show a parallel case.-(L. ii. p. 46.) Mr. C.-A superstition plausible, might have made progress in one year. Mr. B.-" Might have made:" can you prove that such a superstition as Christianity, propagated under similar circumstances, ever has made? Where are your facts, your references? Produce a parallel case with Christianity, and I will yield; but not till then.-(L. ii. p. 46.) Mr. C.-As instances, I refer to the superstitions of Joanna Southcote and Mahomet. Mr. B.-You have not corroborated your assertions by proofs; they are not parallel cases; for, in the first, it is notorious, that there was only addition to, not a subversion of, preconceived notions; and in the second, the founder himself had recourse to arms for the propagation of his creed. Then as to your "might have made progress in one year," the insignificant number of converts made by the strenuous and long-continued exertions of Christian missionaries in India, invalidates your supposition. Read the book published by the Abbé Dubois, on his return to England, after a mission of thirty years in India, and you will find him so dissatisfied with the progress there made by a "plausible superstition", during centuries, as to pronounce the conversion of the Hindoos a moral impossibility. (L. ii. p. 46, 47.) Mr. C.-The close similarity between the fable of Jesus and that of Prometheus, is another proof that the former contains no literal truth. Mr. B.-Lempriere says, "Prometheus surpassed all mankind in cunning and fraud. He ridiculed the gods, and deceived Jupiter himself. To punish him, he ordered Mercury and Vulcan to carry this artful mortal to Mount Caucasus, and there tie him to a rock, where, for thirty thousand years, a vulture was to feed upon his liver." If there be close similarity between this fable and the history of Jesus, then there may be similarity between Atheism and Christianity, Virtue and Vice, and whatever else is most opposed. (L. i. p. 26.) Mr. C.-Prometheus made the first man and woman out of clay; so also did Jesus Christ. Mr. B. And this-this alone, to establish a close similarity! But this is not all; this one instance of alleged similarity, has to be opposed to three instances of manifest dissimilarity. Three witnesses confront one; which is right? But I deny that the one instance of similarity which you have alleged, really exists. Supposing, however, that it does, the origin of the two fables is different. Prometheus is said to have formed men from clay, because he invented the art of modelling clay into representations of the human form. Nothing of this kind is said of Jesus Christ. This story of Prometheus, is merely a poetical version of a natural occurrence. * The story is also dissimilar in the circumstances, as well as in its origin. You only pretend that Jesus was the joint creator of Adam and Eve. But it is not on record, that Prometheus had any co-partner in his undertaking, or that those whom he had made, were called Adam and Eve. Prometheus made both man and woman from clay; but, in Genesis, we read that the woman was not made from clay at all. But, secondly, Apollodorus, who mentions the creative power of Prometheus, flourished long after the Hebrew Scriptures being translated into Greek were easily accessible to the Heathens, and may have taken his fable from the book of Genesis.-(L. ii. p. 50.) Mr. C.-The tales of the two persons have one common foundation; Jesus is the Christian logos, or Word of God, Prometheus was the Grecian logos, or Word of God. Mr. B.-Nor this, Sir, can you establish on adequate evidence. Prometheus is not the Grecian logos, or Word of God. According to the best authorities, it is composed of two words meaning before and care, and is pretty nearly equivalent to our adjective provident; nearly I say, for it is used in two acceptations, denoting either a person possessed of skill, or a person possessed of cunning. The following is an analysis of the tragedy of Eschylus, and I leave your readers to judge for themselves, betwixt us, in this matter: they will see how far it is "a prototype of the Christian religion." "Prometheus, as he had opposed Jupiter in his wishes to destroy the human race, and had conferred many benefits on miserable mortals, among which this is the chief, that he stole fire from Heaven and divided it amongst them, is committed by the enraged god to Vulcan and the deities who are called Might and Power.' These are commanded to bind him with chains to a certain rock in Scythia. * Schutz's first excursion to his Eschylus. "On the stage then appears Prometheus a captive, guarded by Vulcan, who carries bars and bolts, and also by Might and Strength, his cruel and unfeeling torturers. They urge Vulcan, who on account of his affinity to Prometheus feels pity for him, and therefore hesitates and is disposed to decline his cruel office; and threaten him with the vengeance of Jupiter unless he discharges his duty. Vulcan thus compelled, affixes Prometheus to a rough and precipitous rock. He neither exclaims nor groans at the presence of his torturers, but represses every expression of the anguish he feels, nor does he break silence or lament until they have left him. Soon, however, he regains his fortitude, and consoles his troubled mind by reasoning on fate and reflecting on his own immortality. Whilst thus occupied, the nymphs called the Oceanidæ present themselves before him, aroused by the clang of the chains with which Vulcan had bound Prometheus, and brought to him through the air in a winged chariot. After these nymphs had expressed their condolence with Prometheus in his misfortune, and intimated their solicitude respecting his future lot, as well as their desire to know the cause of his punishment, Prometheus relates to them the greatness of the obligation under which Jupiter lies to him, that he had brought on himself his anger and punishment, on account of benefits which he had conferred on man. In the mean time, the god Oceanus also arrives in order to see Prometheus, carried on a winged quadruped, which is interpreted to be a griffin. He deplores the pitiable fate of his relative, and endeavours to divest him of his pertinacity, as well as to induce him to check the ferocity of his mind and submit himself to Jupiter. He moreover promises to plead his cause with Jupiter. But Prometheus is so far from yielding to the importunities of his friend, that he dissuades him from the journey to Jupiter, which Oceanus had offered to undertake, and declares his resolution to be, to endure the vengeance of the king of gods until of himself he should remit it. Oceanus therefore, seeing him so determined, departs without accomplishing his purpose. The Chorus then proceeds to bewail the sad lot of Prometheus, and listens to him when afterwards he details the benefits which he had conferred on man; advises him to consult for his future safety, and professes its hopes of his future liberation. Prometheus replies, and lets fall certain obscure words, respecting a fated appointment, which even Jupiter himself could not avoid. The Chorus seeks an explanation, which he refuses, intimating that his safety was involved in his silence. "The Chorus then takes an occasion to declare its high reverence of the majesty of Jupiter, to warn Prometheus, and to give him some friendly rebukes on account of the excessive ferocity of his mind. Then Io enters on the stage, who, tortured by the sting of love through the cruel anger of Juno, and a wanderer on the face of the earth, arrives on this part of Scythia. Prometheus makes himself known to her. She seeks to learn the causes of his punishment, and the termination of her own wanderings. In both respects he gratifies her; but first obtains his request of her to relate to the Chorus of Nymphs, the causes of her lamentable |