3. THE third true religion is the Christian. The New teftament exhibits it in its purity. That it has been grievously corrupted, infidels glory in proclaiming, and Christians are nowife concerned to diffemble. Every history of the church bears teftimony to the fact, and difclofes the nature and the progress of its depravation. In a cafe of fuch notoriety, a very brief fketch will be fufficient.

By being blended with the ideas and speculations of falfe philofophy, the fimple doctrines of the Gospel began very early to be adulterated. From that philosophy, fubtileties were borrowed for defining them with precifion, and hypothefes for explaining them; and new ones were continually invented. Difcordant definitions were adopted, and tenaciously maintained, Controverfies concerning them were agitated. with heat, and debated with all the arts of mifapplied acuteness. Every controverfy produced contradictory decifions by those who equally ufurped authority to fix the faith of Chriftians. Every decifion engendered new controverfies,

and inflamed fiercer contentions.

Investigation

was ftretched to inquiries above the reach of man, and prostituted to frivolous questions and logomachies unworthy of his notice. By fuch decifions as had the good fortune to predominate, new creeds were continually fabricated; new terms of distinction confecrated; the heads of doctrine, the articles of faith, unreafonably multiplied; many falfe doctrines established. To give them fupport, divine authority was more and more attributed to human writings; and all the jargon of fcholaftic metaphyfics, and all the fophiftry of dialectics, were laboriously employed.

In proportion as the doctrines of the gospel were tortured from their original fimplicity, into endless intricacies of frigid refinement, they became unfit for touching the heart or influencing the practice, for ferving as motives to holiness, as roots from which piety and vir tue might derive nourishment and vigour. The precepts, likewife, of the Gofpel, whofe fimplicity gives them a venerable dignity and a commanding authority, were explained and analized with a dry minutenefs, better calculated for perplexing the understanding, than for

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impreffing them on the confcience. They were avowedly evaded by maxims of loofe cafuiftry; and their obligation fuperfeded by fuperstitious commutations, penances, indulgences, and difpenfations. Perfection was placed, not in fubftantial goodnefs, but in celibacy, monachifm, voluntary aufterities, and unnatural mortifications.

The fimple worship of Chriftianity was foon deformed by the admixture, first of Jewish, and next of Pagan ceremonies. Baptifm and the eucharift were adminiftered with empty pa geantry and idle mummery; they were transformed into terrific myfteries; new virtues were afcribed to them; new pomp was employed in folemnizing them; the corruption of the latter iffued in the monfter, tranfubftantiation. To the few rites enjoined by the Gofpel, many were added; and from unneceffary, they became abominable: from "glorying in "the crofs of Chrift*" they paffed to using the fign of it, as a charm, on all occafions; from praying for the dead, they proceeded to pray to them; from commemorating the mar

* Gal. vi. 14,

tyrs, to worship them; from refpecting their telics, to adore them, and to indue them with the power of miracles; from tolerating pictures and images, first to place them in churches, and afterwards to fall down before them. Fafts and feftivals without number were fucceffively inftituted. Prayers, in the beginning short and artlefs, were extended into complex liturgies, infected with all the niceties and errors of their faith.

The genuine fpirit of Chriftianity has been no lefs wofully depraved. The Apostles, though infpired, claimed no "dominion over faith *;" they infifted on the reception only of what was clearly revealed; they gave indulgence to human weakness in whatever affected not the very effence of religion t; they referved their anathemas for obftinate wickednefs. But they who came after them, from almost the earliest time, have impofed upon others their own precarious opinions, their determinations concerning what is not revealed; their far-fetched deductions from Scripture; and even the technical terms which they had coined for expreffing them. Rom. xiv. 1, &c. Phil. iii. 15, 16.

2 Cor. i. 24.

They have feparated from, and excommunicated, one another for the moft trifling, nay for verbal differences; and, while they were indulgent to crimes, denounced damnation against whatever they were pleased to denominate herefy. As foon as the converfion of the emperors put it in their power, the leaders of the church grafped at riches, dignities, and political influence. Clerical orders were multiplied: the bishops affumed a high rank archbishops and patriarchs exalted themselves above them: each fee was not only scrambled for with indecent ambition, but purchased by the bafeft arts; and one fee contended with another, for pre-eminence to flatter pride, and power to domineer.-In all the churches these evils grew, till the dexterous and perfevering efforts of the bishop of Rome raised him to fupremacy over most of them, subjected the kings of the world to his nod, made him the vicar of Chrift, a god upon earth, and vefted him with abfolute dominion, which he moft affiduously exercifed in tyrannizing over all, in difturbing the peace, and diffolving the laws of fociety, in authorizing all former corruptions and making great additions to them. in enforcing them by perfecutions, maflacres,