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III.

CHAP. sectaries, and the gross immoralities with which they were chargeable, were extremely prejudicial to the Christian religion, by disgusting many at 'whatever carried the Christian nanie.

1 Cor.

26. "But when it was known, by the writings of 'those who defended christianity, that these corrupt 'heretics were held in aversion, instead of being pat'ronized by the true followers of Christ, then the clouds that were cast over the religion of Jesus 'were dispersed, and the prejudices that had been 'raised against it were fully removed."

27. How Dr. Mosheim could give the name of Jesus Christ, to the followers of that system, which he elsewhere denominates a motley spectacle of superstition, is a mystery; but granting, that it was the religion forged in the Alexandrian school, that the learned fathers rescued from the indignation and contempt of the Pagans against the Christian name, his statement is doubtless correct.

28. To us, (said the followers of Christ from the viii. 6. beginning) there is but one God. This was detraction enough; it overthrew at once the whole Pagan system. This must surely be charged to the followers of Saccas, if they assume the name of Christians. To remove this disgraceful charge, they apply Origen's two-fold sense of scripture; according to this the literal sense must be, One God, and the mysterious sense, Three Persons; and so of the rest.

29. Thus it appears that the Catholics hold that more persons than one may be called God and worshipped. This doctrine they establish by a council of learned Bishops, Doctors and Patriarchs, from which the illiterate must be excluded, and into which none of the comments of the disciples of Jesus on the scriptures can be admitted. Here the Jew, the Pagan, and the Christian, are incorporated into one, and why not admit that three persons, each true God, by a mystical union, may also, be incorporated into one?

30. This is according to the true Catholic faith, and he that disputes this doctrine must be called a heretic. Heretics are held in aversion, they are not patronized-They are charged with the most extravagant, and execrable doctrines, and the most gross immo

ralities. This was enough to rouse the persecuting vengeance of both Pagans and Catholics to exterminate them from the earth, while the correspondent faith, and co-operating practice of their joint persecutors, declared them both to be the servants of one master.

31. Then as Christian Heretics alone are cut off from the general bond of union, and marked out for destruction, it may be proper to notice the account that historians give of them.

CHAP.

IV.

CHAPTER IV.

The Subject continued.

ERESY, in Greek, (says Lardner, in his His- Lardners

"HE Heretics, signifies election or choice, Works

p.

†See Aote

and is used for any opinion which a man chuseth as 223. best, or most probable. The same word is also V.17'translated sect.t"

5.-xxiv.

5, 14.

vol. ix.

9. "It is generally allowed, that a Heretic is one xxviii 22. 'who professes to be a Christian, but is not supposed p. 226. to be of the Church, having either separated himself from it, or been excluded from it by others. • They believe what they profess to be true.-As they p. 27. ' are Heretics in our esteem, so are we in theirs.

scarebes.

p. 53, 55.

3. "During the first three centuries, (says Robin- Ecel. Re'son,) Christian congregations, all over the east, 'subsisted in separate independent bodies, unsup'ported by government, and consequently without 'any secular power over one another. Opinionists, " or to use the Greek style, Heretics, formed churches, taught their own doctrines, and held separate assemblies every where."

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4. "Marcionites, Valentinians, Basilidians, and great ' numbers more who followed their own convictions, 'taught churches, and probably were men of more zeal than that most numerous party-who calumniated all the rest as Heretics who troubled the peace ⚫ of Israel."

CHAP.
IV.

Lardners

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5. "Heretics, (says Lardner,) have often been 'treated with much harshness and great severity of expression. Some seem to have reckoned that they Works, had a right to say the worst things of Heretics which 'they could; and others have thought themselves 'obliged to believe all the evil that has been reported ' of them.

vol. ix. p.

235,237.

ibid.

P. 240.

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6. "One thing laid to the charge of many of those p. 239.Heretics is Magic-another thing is lewdness, and 'all manner of wickedness, and likewise teaching it. There is no small agreement between the charges brought against the first Christians in the beginning of the second century, and the charges against the 'Heretics in later authors; which may create a sus'picion that these last were formed upon the model of the former, and consequently are without ground." 7. "What the crimes, were, which were laid to 'the charge of the Primitive Christians, we know 'from divers writers, Greek and Latin-From whom 'it appears that, besides atheism, or impiety to the established deitics, they were charged with having 'their wives in common, with promiscuous lewdness ' in their assemblies, with incest, and eating human 'flesh, especially young children, whom they first killed and then ate, at their nocturnal meetings, where persons of each sex, and every age were 'present."

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8. "Turner says, these calumnies seem to have p. 241. begun with Christianity itself. Tacitus, speaking of the Christians in the time of Nero, says, they 'were generally hated for their wickedness; that is, they lay under a bad character with the people."

Eccl.His

i. p. 73.

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9. "The Romans, (says Mosheim,) concluded, tory, vol. that the christian sect, [i. e. heresy,] was not only unsupportably daring and arrogant, but, more. over, an enemy to the public tranquility, and every 6 way proper to excite civil wars and commotions in "the empire."

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10. "Tacitus, reproaches them with the odious 'character of haters of mankind, and styles the reli'gion of Jesus a destructive superstition. Suetonius speaks of the Christians, and their doctrine, in terms of the like kind." He calls christianity (6 a Note [m] poisonous and mulignant superstition.”

ibid

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Acts xxiv

14.

11. What is here added, may sufficiently show CHAP. upon what ground the charge of heresy was excited and continued against the Heretics. Thus says Paul : I confess, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God [not gods] of my fathers. And it was predicted by Christ Jesus himself, that his followers should have their name cast out as evil, and all manner of evil spoken against them falsely.

12. From which it appears, that while the apologists, the honorable Catholic Fathers, cleared themselves of those ridiculous charges, by uniting with the universal faith and manners invented by Saccas, they rolled over the burden of reproach upon those who would not conform: Of course a heretic in the second or third century, according to the universal opinion, must be a magician, an atheist, a lewd inces

tuous man-eater.

p. 225.

13. According to Lardner, St. Jerome scruples not Lardners Works, to say, "They are worse than heathens, the worst of vol. i. "all men; and if they are free from all reproach in "their lives, yet they have only the shadow and ap66 pearance of virtue, not the truth." "This is certain, (says Lardner,) that as bad things were said of the Primitive Christians by Jews and heathens, 'as ever were said of the ancient heretics by Cath'olics."

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14. And we might add, that as bad things were said by Jews, heathens, and Catholics, against Christ and his followers, in the three first centuries, as can be said by Antichristians, against the followers of Christ in this latter day; which may appear, not only from those general chars which have been mentioned, but from many things of the like nature, which were published to the world, with some appearance of authority; of which the following may serve as a specimen.

15. CELSUS, an Epicurean Philosopher of the second century, wrote a book against the Christians, entitled "THE TRUE WORD." Lardner thinks it was a time of persecution when he wrote, [about the year of Christ 176] because he several times speaks of the Christians as teaching their principles private

p. 236.

IV.

CHAP. ly, and holding assemblies contrary to law, and hiding themselves.

See L's.

vol. viii.

p. 9, 18.

16. The following extracts of this subtle writer are Works copied from Lardner's Jewish and Heathen Testimonies. "I could say many things, (says Celsus, personating "a Jew) concerning the affairs of Jesus, and those "true too, different from those written by his disci"ples, but I purposely omit them.-It is but a few 66 years since he [Jesus] delivered this doctrine, who "is now reckoned by the Christians to be the Son of "God." "In another place, Celsus calls Jesus “the "first author of this sedition.”

ibid P. 19.

17. "After this he brings in his Jew, arguing against Jesus in this manner. First, that he pre'tended he was born of a virgin: then he reproaches 'him with his birth in a Jewish village, and of a poor 'woman of that country, who subsisted by the labour ' of her hands."

18. "And he says, she was put away by her husband, who was a carpenter by trade, he having found, 'that she was guilty of adultery. Then he says, that having been turned out of doors by her husband, 'she wandered about in a shameful manner, till she had brought forth Jesus, in an obscure place; and 'that he being in want, served in Egypt for a liveli'hood; and having there learned some charms, such as the Egyptians are fond of, he returned home; and then valuing himself upon those charms, he set up himself for a God."

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19. Again" That the mother of Jesus, being great with child, was put away by the carpenter, who had espoused her, he having convicted her of adultery with a soldier named Pantheras.-Afterwards Celaus goes on: "Was the mother of Jesus hand66 some, that God should be in love with her beauty? "It is unworthy of God, to suppose him to be taken "with a corruptible body, or to be in love with a wo"man, whether she be of royal descent or otherwise.”

20. "In another place Celsus says: "But if God "would send forth a spirit from himself, what need had he to breathe him into the womb of a woman? For, since he knew how to make men, he might "have formed a body for this spirit, and not cast his "own spirit into such filth."

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