apparent renunciation of all human authority: but I have heard it observed, that if we could persuade men to study the Scripture, instead of the Religion of Nature, so admired by the Deists (as the Bishop of Clogher hath observed in his Essay on Spirit *) and which has nothing but human authority to support it; we should remove the foundations of more than half the Arianism of the present age. We have now heard the Author's character of those Christians, who search the Scripture in such a fashion as disposes them to contradict established Confessions. As for the rest, he declares them in few words, to be either knaves or naturals. "The adherence of such numbers to the peculiar doctrines of the Church from which they receive their denomination, and even to some doctrines common to the Creeds and Confessions of all Churches which call themselves orthodox," (a circumlocution for the doctrine of the Trinity)" is owing to their ignorance, their indolence, their secularity, or the early prejudices of education." As it is not in the power of all men to examine critically what they adhere to, it is happy for them when their rulers have no evil design upon their understandings. I speak here of those whose ignorance arises from a want of capacity or opportunity; which must be the case with very many. There is another generation in all communities, who are weak enough to take every thing upon trust, or too much engaged with pleasure and secularity to spend any of their time in searching for reasons of the hope that is in them. If it were the fashion to believe that Socinus P. 25. The principles of which Religion were so much admired by this same writer, that he undertook to confute the Trinity, by considering it in the light of Nature and Reason. See his Title. † P. 25. and George Fox the Quaker were true Apostles, ignorance and indolence would be content with the error; and supposing them to have a little dash of vanity, they would scoff, perhaps, at the Christians of better times for being led by the nose, and not having wisdom or spirit enough to believe as they do. But is truth to be disregarded and banished from society, because ignorant people do not know the grounds of it, or may be influenced by their betters to accept of error instead of it? Does it follow that a man's profession is false, because his conduct is unworthy of it? The Apostle tells us of some who hold the truth in unrighteousness*. Does he mean to reflect upon the truth, or upon those ungodly persons who hold it in an improper manner? Let ignorance, and indolence, and secularity then, each of them in their turns, or all of them together, approve the Orthodox Confession; this will be no reproach to the Confession itself, unless the same ignorance, and indolence, and secularity was at the bottom of its first establishment, to blind and corrupt the fathers of the Reformation: and let me add, that if ignorance and secularity must have a Confession, God forbid it should be of their own making; especially if they should happen to be possessed with the rage of proselyting for ignorance will fabricate false doctrine, for want of proper materials; and secularity (using its own private judgment) will invent such a religion as shall flatter its own vices. This leads us to the consideration of another plea of right, which, according to our Author, who is seldom so gracious as to make any allowances, is perhaps the best the Church has to allege. “A necessity * Rom. i. 18. for Confessions hath been inferred, from the indispositions and incapacities of the people to examine and judge for themselves *.' And this is a plea, to which every compassionate Christian will be inclined to give as much weight as he can. The common people being, for the most part, unlearned, and incapable of searching the Scriptures for themselves, are liable to be deceived by those who pervert the Scriptures to the ruin of themselves and others: and therefore it is thought necessary that they should be instructed according to some known rule of sound doctrine; and their safety was a principal consideration with those who were entrusted with the compiling of the rules now established. But here again he is troubled with consequences, and is terribly afraid of doing good, lest some evil should come of it. The people must be left to take their chance, and the Church must not insist upon her right, or, more properly, her duty, of providing for their spiritual necessities; because this "argument would equally vindicate the Church of Rome, with respect to many of her impositions †.” By the impositions of the Church of Rome, we understand those novel and false opinions which distinguish Papists from Protestants, and gave occasion to the Reformation; therefore, his consequence, in other words, will stand thus: "If we allow it to be the duty of the Church of England to instruct her people with sound doctrine, then it will be equally the duty of the Church of Rome to corrupt the people with false doctrine. If this Church establishes any Creed, the Romish Church may establish the Creed of Pope Pius V. both being equally necessary, from the indispositions and incapacities of the people." When he was about it, he might have inferred, with as much justice, that if one mother is bound to feed her children with bread, another will be under an equal obligation to give her children a dose of poison. And so much for the indispositions of the people. He goes on to observe, that " these indispositions and incapacities in the Clergy would be but an awkward reason for making their subscription necessary." They would certainly; and, therefore, I believe they were never given or thought of as a reason. The oaths are not administered to teach the duty of allegiance to those who take them, but in order to know whether they intend to perform what they understood before. So the Articles are not offered as a catechism to the Clergy to teach them a religion, which they are supposed already to have studied: but as a test of their religious opinions, that the Church may know whether the people will be safe under their teaching; that is, whether the sheep are committed to a wolf, or to a shepherd. These are the terms of the Scripture; and they express that peculiar sort of capacity or incapacity in the Clergy, of which the Articles are intended as a test. There may be a very great want of faith, hope, and charity, where there is no considerable defect in point of learning or natural capacity. A man may have his head filled with strange opinions, contrary to the sobriety of the Gospel, and his heart inflamed with a vehement desire of making disturbances in the Church, to the scandal of religion, and the breach of brotherly love and union among Christians. The intention of the Church, in appointing Confessions from the beginning, was to detect this spirit of error: and it was always thought necessary that it should be detected, if possible, and the evil effects of it prevented by timely caution. I beseech you, brethren, saith the Apostle, mark them which cause divisions and offences, contrary to THE DOCTRINE which ye have learned*. And upon another occasion he commands the Christians in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, which expression amounts to an abjuration, to withdraw themselves from every brother who walketh disorderly, and not after the TRADITION received from us †. For securing this tradition he prescribes the following method to the Clergy: Charge some that they teach no other doctrinet. We take our Confession to be such a charge as this, practically applied to all the teachers of the Church and if the Author can instruct us how to apply it in such a manner as better to secure the end of it, which is apostolical tradition, or the faith delivered to the saints, every friend to true religion will give him thanks for his advice. In the mean time, we are well assured, that no one good purpose can ever be answered by withdrawing it. But notwithstanding all that can be urged from the commands of the Scripture, or the necessities of the people, our cause is but a lost one at last; and for this reason, "Certain it is, in so far as the Laity are allowed not to be bound by these Church Confessions, the point of right to establish them is fairly given up §." But if the Laity are bound in common with the Clergy, then this right is not fairly given up. Let us consider whether they are or not. The Laity can be allowed to be not bound only in so far as they do not subscribe the Confession of the Church. But Rom. xvi. 17. † 2 Thess. i 6, 7. 1 1 Tim. i. 3. |