SALVATION. Why, almost all the churches are exclusive on some articles; and let not those members, who urge this objection, forget that the Church of England holds the Athanasian Creed-a human exposition of the great mysteries of Christianity—and holds it with the expressed declaration, that they who differ from it cannot be saved. With this fact before them, could the (Roman) Catholics be excluded from the enjoyment of their civil rights, on the ground of believing the doctrine of exclusion?" Sir, the laws of the old Athenian legislator, Draco, were said to be written in blood; for he annexed the penalty of death to every offence whatever. Suppose, now, that a citizen of Megara had observed to a friend at Athens, on the cruelty of this sanguinary code,-"This is a dreadful system of yours, to put a man to death for stealing a few figs, or breaking into his neighbour's oliveground." Why, my dear friend," answers the Athenian, “how can you talk so absurdly? did not you yourselves hang a man, last week, for murder?" This, Sir, affords but a very faint illustration of the wisdom of putting our use of the Athanasian Creed on a par with the tyrannical and intolerant principles of the Church of Rome. That Church, among a thousand similar extravagancies, sentences a man to the loss of all hope of Christian Salvation, who says, that it is contrary to the institution of Christ, to mix water with wine at the holy communion; the Church of England, in the Athanasian Creed, pronounces the same of one who impugns the fundamental truths of Christianity; and you are pleased to say, that this deprives us of all right to find fault with the exclusive spirit of Rome. As to the Athanasian Creed being "a human exposition of the great mysteries of Christianity," you must forgive my telling you, that if you had taken the trouble of acquainting yourself with the nature of that formulary, you would not have thought it a fit subject of sneer or banter. The Athanasian Creed is not an exposition of any mysteries; it does not aim at any thing so absurd. But it states the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel; and in respect to the doctrine of the Trinity, accompanies the statement with certain distinctions, which were rendered necessary by the attempts of Heretics to corrupt the doctrine itself, by their own daring innovations. It also accompanies its statement with denouncing the awful sentence on unbelievers, which our Lord himself denounced, when he gave to his apostles the solemn charge to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, "he that believeth not shall be damned," You will perceive, therefore, that the main question respecting the Athanasian Creed is, first, whether its doctrines be true; se 1 Con. Trid. Sess. 22. Can. 9. condly, whether they be fundamental. The Church of England holds them to be both true and fundamental, and therefore scruples not to receive and use the Creed, notwithstanding the strong terms in which the danger of unbelief is there set forth. Now, Sir, our complaint against the Church of Rome is, not that it excludes from Salvation those who impugn doctrines which it thinks fundamental, but that it holds as fundamental one particular doctrine which requires the belief, under the pain of damnation, of every thing else whatever which it shall choose to prescribe, I mean the infallible authority of the Church. This one tenet enslaves the minds of those who hold it; or, at any rate, it makes them unfit to legislate for any other Church: for it teaches them to regard that Church as leading its members to perdition. In respect to our own Church, the Protestant Church of England and Ireland, it is admitted to be either an integral part, or an inseparable adjunct, of the present Constitution of this Kingdom. The writ of Summons to Parliament expresses now, as it did of old, one of the principal ends of holding it to _be, to_consult for the safety and defence of the Church of England. say, therefore, that those who believe that this Church leads its members to damnation, as they cannot with a sound conscience consult for its safety and defence, cannot, on the principles of the British Constitution, be entrusted with the legislative powers of the state. We This, Sir, is the argument for excluding Roman Catholics from Parliament, which we found on their doctrine of exclusive salvation; and you will, I am sure, perceive, that it remains completely untouched by your pleasant commentary on the Athanasian Creed. A more plausible answer is sometimes suggested, that whatever be the doctrines of the Roman Church itself, its lay members, those at least who would be likely to sit in Parliament, will trouble themselves very little with theological points, but will suffer all questions respecting the Church to go ou pretty much as they do at present. Sir, I certainly will not insult the members of a different communion, by speaking or thinking so ill of them, as to suppose, that, if they hold the doctrine of their Church in this particular, it will be perfectly inoperative. On the contrary, those who really hold it must feel every inducement and temptation to act on it; their spiritual instructors will be ready enough to apprise them of this duty, and their own passions will make them very willing to acquire the merit of obeying it. In a Church which keeps so accurate a ledger of each individual's merits and demerits, and allows so large a premium on acts of obedience to itself, we may be quite sure that there will be no want of inclination to comply with so easy a demand.-It may be said, however, that there are many professed members of the Church of Rome who do not hold this doctrine, whatever their Church may tell them. I really believe that there is much truth in this observation; and if you could ascertain correctly who these are, I, for one, should not be afraid of seeing such men in Parliament. But, in the meanwhile, it is quite idle to speculate on the possible conduct of these mere entes rationis. That I have not too strongly stated the sentiments of the Church of Rome, even in England, respecting the spiritual state of the members of every other Church, especially of our own, I shall beg leave to demonstrate by one or two examples. Mr. Gandolphy, one of the most learned and eloquent divines of his Church in modern days, published, about twelve or fourteen years ago, four volumes of sermons, which received the highest praises from the See of Rome, and were authoritatively pronounced worthy to be "cased in cedar and gold." From them I select the following passages:-"We deny holiness and theological virtue to all sectaries, because they want these first principles of piety and virtue, and constitute private reason and judgment the motive and the rule of every moral action."-" On all and each of the members of Protestantism, you may write schismatical. I will not attempt a comparative review of their distinguishing defects: this one noxious property, which they all inherit, absolutely vitiates what is otherwise good and fair, and not a fruit can they produce, however inviting in form and lustre, which is not of this schismatical quality." "Even the Church of England, which is the eldest of her heretical sisterhood, is a schismatical branch, a dead limb of the true vine, a rebellious child. My brethren, until the Reformation, the English Church formed a great branch of the Catholic Church of Christ, and in that quality she communicated with all the other churches of the world in communion with her. She was a limb of the true vine, and, abiding in it, brought forth much fruit. She shot her tendrils into every corner of these islands, and every cluster gave delight to the husbandman, because he saw that it was his own vine,-the vine that he had planted. But having been severed by the destructive hand of schism, with a hateful eye he now views the sickly sprouts, which issue from its fallen, crushed, and broken branches. As the branch, he says, cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine,—so this shall wither, and they shall gather it up, and cast it into the fire, and it shall burn." "12 I will now give some specimens of the devotions of the faithful, formed on these doctrines. In "A Manual of Prayers, and other Christian Devotions, by R. C. D. D. Booker, 1800." I find the following instructive and interesting particulars, Morning Prayer for Wednesday," p. 147. The Litany of Intercession for England. "O God the Father," &c.-" Holy Mary, Queen of Angels, whose powerful intercession destroys all heresies, pray for England." -From the dangers most justly threatening our sins, deliver England, O Lord. From the "spirit of pride, rebellion, and apostacy, deliver England.--From the spirit of hypocrisy, profaneness, and sacrilege, deliver England." "O Eternal God, who in this great deluge of heresy, which wholly overflows and almost covers the face of this land, hast vouchsafed to select a small number for thyself, and save them in thy holy ark from the common inundation: we praise and glorify,' &c. p. 153. A Prayer for the preservation of the True Church. “O Lord, who can abide it? what heart so stony, as to forbear weeping and lamenting for them, who are thus blinded, and daily mislead others into the pit of heresy and eternal damnation." A Prayer when the Church is afflicted. "O God, the enemies of the Church are entered into thine inheritance; they have defiled the temples dedicated to thy honor."— "We are become a reproach to our neighbors; they despise and make a jest of us." Why dost thou so deliver us into the hands of our adversaries?" Be mindful, O Lord, of thy holy Church, and leave it not in the hands of thy enemies, but deliver it by thy strong power."-" Awake, O Lord God, delay no longer, but come to succor thy people; make haste to help thy faithful servants, and save us from the hands of our enemies, &c. that we may have a little taste of the sweetness of thy promises, which our forefathers have so abundantly experienced." Sir, you will readily believe me, that I do not complain of these prayers; they accord with the feelings of persons who hold the principles of the Church of Rome; I only mean, that those who hold principles which produce such feelings, are not quite fit to be intrusted with the power of legislating for our schismatical, heretical, and, as they conceive, damnable Church. If I were to inquire into the expression of the feelings of Roman Catholics in Ireland, on the same subject, it cannot be doubted, that stronger language of detestation and abhorrence would easily be found. But I forbear.-I will only exhibit one specimen which falls under my notice while I am thus writing to you. Dr.. Doyle, who swore before the Committee of the House of Lords, that he had a higher respect for the Established Church, than for any other body of Christians separated from the Church of Rome, has just expressed himself, in his Letter to the Earl of Farnham, in the following handsome terms toward it. "When men gaze for a considerable time at the most hideous monster, they can view it with diminished horror; but a man of reflection, living in Ireland, and coolly observing the workings of the Church Establishment, would seek for some likeness to it among the priests of Juggernaut, who sacrifice the poor naked human victims to their impure and detestable idols." The immediate exciting cause of this rabid fury in your favorite divine was the recent procedure at Cavan; it has had the effect of absolutely dementing him; unless, indeed, he is influenced by a sort of perverted pride, which makes him eager to show to the world how much will be endured in him, before he is cast off by you and his other liberal friends in Parliament. For myself, when I see in him the fallen spirit of the Church of Rome, thus venting its impotent malice against that Reformed Church, to which, in its own despite, it is compelled still to look up with respect and honor, I am reminded of another address on an occasion not totally dissimilar : No friendly voice, To thee I call, but with ▬▬▬ to tell thee how I hate thy beams, That bring to my remembrance from what state I've fall'n, how glorious once, Till pride and worse ambition threw me down, III. I proceed to another of your arguments. "The doctrine of ABSOLUTION had also occasioned much objection. In the abstract that doctrine was absurd.”—I trust, Sir, that you meant to confine your censure to the extravagant doctrine of the Church of Rome; not to extend it (as your words seem to imply) to absolution generally for if the latter were intended, I am bound to tell you, that, in the plenitude of your parliamentary privilege, you have presumed to visit with your ban, one of the most solemn acts and declarations of our blessed Lord himself. After his resurrection from the dead, when "all power had been given to Him in heaven and in earth," He conferred on his apostles, and in them on their successors to the end of time, the power of absolution, soberly and soundly understood.. "In the abstract, that doctrine was absurd; but the evidence before the Committee of the House of Lords went to prove, that the absolution depended on the disposition of the party, and not on the abstract power of the party giving it.' 25 |