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the power of man, Pope, or any other, nor all the powers of earth, or hell, to add, alter, diminish.or corrupt the leaft tittle of the faith of the Church, if it pleafed her divine Head and Lord, that the fhould continue on earth for eternity; for it is as eafy with him to keep her pure eternally, as one hour; his whole creation being in his hands as the leaft particle, all things are under fubje&tion to his divine. will. This is the Catho Hick faith; but what reprobates advance against the fanctity of her faith and religion, proceeds from that depravity of understanding, which is the inheritance of reprobates and loft fouls, feparated from their God, and taught by the Father of Lies, The Pope, Priefthood, and every member of the Church of Chrift, is nothing faperior; either in foul or body, to the reft of man. kind, in our own nature, being part of the fame mafs, confequently fubject to the fame frailties, as St. John obferves, If we fay we have no fins, we are liars, and the truth is not in us. St. Peter, who was the first Pope appointed by Chrift himfelf, denied his Lord after he was appointed; and you find him err, according to St. Paul, afterwards, when, for fear of fcandalizing the Jewish converts, in eating in common with the Gentile converts, he retired; which difpleafed Paul, and he reprehended him for it. The fame you will find in all ages, when a Pope, Cardinal, or any other fails in their duty. You are, I hope, now convinced, and will convince your flocks, as you appear to be inftructors, that Peter, and his fuccellors are known to Catholicks, to be frail as other men, but they honour and respect them

as

as the Reprefentatives and Vicars of Jefus Christ.

Mof. This honour and appointment is not only granted, but a plenitude of power annexed, fo that the Pope has nothing inherent in himself, but only acts as an inftrument in the hands of Jefus Chrift; the conclufion is,, that Jefus Chrift acts and not the Pope; upon the lame ground, as Aaron and his fucceffors, who were only inftruments to exercife their office as appointed by Mofes, who the Chriftians fay was a type of Christ, and who received the whole from alinighty God. This boy has given me, in few words, an explanation to my entire fatisfaction.

Luth. & Calv. And to ours alfo; at the fame time acknowledging the ignorance and abfurd notions of Proteftants; but this, we believe, in part proceeds, as was our lot, from a malicious and gain-faying education; we now beg to be fet right, by an infight touching the facraments, beginning with baptifm.

Mof. In the first covenant circumcifion was ordained on the eighth day by almighty God, a breach of which was fo heinous a crime, that the Scriptures tell us, an Angel was upon the point of killing even Mofes our Lawgiver, for the neglect of this duty to his two fons.

Boy. Circumcifion, in the old covenant, was a type of baptifm, in the new; in like manner as the other rites of the old were types of the new. Touching the neceffity of baptifm, our Lord's words are the most effectual which I fhall give you, that he gave to a mafter in Ifrael: Of a truth, except a man be born again, he cannot see B 2 the

the kingdom of God; Except a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghoft, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Alfo his laft commandment at his afcenfion, Matt. xxviii. All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptifing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft, teaching them to obferve all things whatfoever I have commanded you, and I am with you all days, even to the confumimation of the world. Mark alfo. Go you into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is baptized, fhall be faved; but he that belidveth not, thall be condemned,

Luth. & Calv. But do you believe, that a man can forgive you your fins?

Boy. I appeal to the Jewish Scriptures, which not only Jews but Chriflians and Proteflants believe, and acknowledge to proceed immediately from God.

Mof. No doubt it is the univerfal agreement of all who acknowledge a God; but this we cannot look for from men, whofe manners and religion iffue from each man's own maggot, or likely fome old ignorant and illiterate nurfe, who generally form their minds when young to their own caft, which ftrengthens as they ripen into maturity; this we fee daily among the firft characters of learning and fcience; nay they have dipped fo deep into fenfuality, that they clafs themfelves with the dumb animal, and exclaim against gratitude and every other virtue, wallowing like wine, delighting in every beaftly action, crying.

will have no God but this. A fpecies of the vulture; and thefe chiefly of the higher rank have joined the fool in the pfalm, crying vehemently, There is no God. Their theology confifts in reducing the foul, or intellectual part of man, and incorporating it into the material part. This was an old condemned herefy called Materialism, and with us, in the time of Chrift, Sadducees, who difbelieve all fpiritual fubftances. The fool, juft quoted, is ancestor to this race. These forlorn, defpicable earth worms attempt a new philofophy, which is, to originate the properties of the foul from the brain. The ground of this philofophy is, that man's fuperiority to other animals depends folely on the greater quantity of brains which they poffefs proportionable to the reft of the animal creation The abfurdiny of this maggot is put to flight by a brainless animal, the tortoife, deftitute of both brains and marrow; each bone is of one folid fubftance, the head remarkable finall in proportion to other animals, which is all, to a fmall vacuum, in which is a web or membrane about the fize of a man's thumb, without brains, folid. Some of thefe animals will weigh from 5 10 6 or 700 weight. Their fuperior inflinct is remarkable, particularly at the time they are to come upon land to lay, and depofit their eggs. The precaution they take to avoid being taken by the vigilance of their adversary (the turtlery and to preferve their offspring, is altonifhing. They make choice of the night to come upon land, and that by the light of the moon, on a landy beech adapted to their purpose; they ge

nerally

nerally go fome diftance from the water, to prevent an innundation from fpoiling their eggs, where they with their fins dig a hole betwixt two and threet feet deep, depofit their eggs, and cover over the hole with care, making others to deceive the fearcher, and form a different track, and many other deceptions, to preferve her offfpring from becoming a prey to the enemy, whilft they are on land; if any noise, or danger of being interrupted, they lie clofe with the greatest caution and filence, until they can get an opportunity of recovering their natural element, but if difcovered, to prevent being taken, raife up with their fins a cloud of fand, which often blinds their invader whilft they recover the water and efcape; they ufually return near the fame spot to depofit their next litter, but, if prevented by the turtler, who expects their prey according to a ftated time, they will wait many hours watching a favourable opportunity to gain their point. I have often confidered with attention, and observed the fuperior instinct of this animal to the monkey tribe; the tortoife feems endowed with a proper portion of fagacity for the protection and fafety of herfelf and offspring, at the fame time free from apifh tricks. I now will fatisfy Luther and Calvin, that in the Jewish covenant the priest was placed betwixt God and his people, to offer facrifice, and make atonement for themselves and congregation; this was commanded by almighty God, and no wretch dare disobey this pofitive injunction. You will find Nathan, who was no priest, offering David the fentence of life or death, in the cafe of Uriah.

Luth.

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