worship of the heavenly bodies, i. e. the natural deities;. and of the artificial gods, dead men and women. Jupiter, Juno, Venus, Mercury, &c. is condemned; and the similar worship among Christians, of the Virgin Mary, and other dead persons: but, as I am persuaded, that the blessed Jesus was a human being, as much as his mother Mary, though invested with extraordinary divine gifts and powers, the truth obliges me to confess, that the worship of the son is equally idolatrous with that of the mother. I cannot defend the worship of the one, any more than that of the other. Nor could I do it, if instead of being a man, Jesus had been the highest archangel, and first in the order of time and dignity, next to the Almighty Being. For still he would have been a creature, and at an infinite distance from HIM that made him, and no object of religious worship, unless he had been so appointed.

I am also convinced, that no plea of ignorance, or good intention, will excuse the worshippers of Jesus. Christ from being ranked as idolaters, which will not also exculpate the worshippers of the Virgin Mary, and of the heathen gods.

Fruth then forces me to confess, that the worship paid to Jesus Christ, or to any other person but God himself, is idolatry; as surely as there was ever any such thing as idolatry in the world.

I cannot however describe to you how much this avowal costs me, and what pain it gives me to think as I am constrained to do, of myself, and of all around me. For according to my present view of things, I behold myself, my relations, friends, and acquaintance,

to say nothing of others ad infinitum, involved in idolatry, by worshipping him as the supreme God, who is not above the condition of a creature.

The whole company was much struck with the manner in which Volusian spoke his feelings and deep concern, upon his new discovery of the deplorable state of the christian world, and their darkness with respect to the true object of divine worship.

PHOTINUS.-When Photinus, addressing himself to him, said; I am not surprised, Volusian, at the great emotion with which you express yourself, on the prospect, that on the sudden, as it were, opens itself upon you. A pious, feeling mind cannot be indifferent in seeing his fellow-creatures inveloped in supersition, and ignorance of the God that made them, especially such as are endeared to us by particular ties of affec tion and friendship.

But then, we must not suffer ourselves to be too much disquieted at their being involved in such unhappy errors, even if it be out of our power to remedy them; because they may be very innocent in the midst of them.

It will be well for you always to remember the distinction betwixt heathen and christian idolatry, which was just now noted to you. The former is that alone

which is mentioned in scripture, and is so severely condemned, because it directly led to and licensed vicious. and immoral practices. Whereas the idolatry of Christians in worshipping Jesus, the founder of their religion, as the supreme God, a corruption brought in first by learned heathen converts, altl ough it has been and is productive

productive of numberless evil consequences, does not directly lead to any thing wicked.

And this idolatry of Christians now is an error of their education, a wrong bias of the understanding, not of the heart, and will not be imputed to those who enjoy not the means of correcting it.

You should therefore accustom yourself to look upon the idolatry of your family, friends, and acquaintance, as upon any other great errors concerning God, and his righteous administration, with pity and concern; and where it is not in your power to rectify them, by no means to think they will thereby be prevented obtaining the favour of God and their share of future bliss, if their lives have been virtuous, and they have sincerely followed their convictions, and the light they have received.

But how far those are acceptable to God, and innocent, who, believing Jesus Christ to be a creature, do nevertheless customarily join with others in the worship of him as the supreme God, is another, and a very serious question.

I think, however, my friend, that as you and many others are under such full convictions, that the worship of Jesus Christ is idolatrous, as it truly is, there is no reason, why you should be at all reserved, on proper occasions, in calling it such. Perpetual silence about it would seem to be owing to an illaudable fear, and delicacy, like what the poet alludes

to;

"Nor mention hell to ears polite."

After so many ages that Christians have slept in this

idolatry,

idolatry, the holding of it up to view as such in reality, appears to be the only way left of awakening them out of it; and of keeping others from falling into the same unhappy slumber, and continuing in it. In the mean time, by means of such polytheism almost universally prevailing, undeserved disgrace and discredit are brought upon the christian name, as countenancing the worship of three gods, of whom one had been a dead man, which the heathens in scorn upbraided us with very early. And thus innumerable multitudes are continually turned aside from the gospel, choosing rather to follow nature's light, or else losing themselves in the mazes of a dreary Pyrrhonism.

The most orthodox in our own country have had no scruple of terming the worship of Christ idolatrous, if he be a creature. The famous Dr. Waterland, in one place, says; (a) AM creatures whatsoever are effectually precluded from receiving any religious homage • and adoration, of any kind or degree; and to worship Christ, considered as a creature, is idolatry." An eminent dissenter, on a public occasion, declares ; (b) Prayer is one of the principal branches of religious worship, which is the peculiar prerogative of the

great God: if men therefore make the object of it a creature, then are they guilty of downright idolatry." And this very year, a learned man of the church of England thus pronounces; (c) If this doctrine of the

(a) Waterland. Def. p. 231, 252.

(b) Dr. Hughes's Sermons at Salter's-Hall, Vol. 11. p. 8.

(c) The origin of Arianism disclosed, p. 4, 5. by the Rev. Mr. Whitaker.

• Trinity

Trinity be false, then nine tenths of the Christians, throughout every age and in every country, have been guilty of idolatry ;-of an idolatry, more gross than that of the Papists at present, because not " merely the worship of saints, and of angels, in subordination to God; but the worship of a creature along with the creator, placing him equally with God upon the throne of the universe, giving God a partner in his empire, and so deposing God from half 'his sovereignty.'

The last author, however, is far from allowing nine tenths of the Christians, throughout every age and in every country, to have been guilty of such idolatry. But what he puts only hypothetically is indeed a melancholy truth; that there has been, and perhaps is, such a large proportion of idolaters anong Christians throughout the world; since for fifteen centuries past at least, to the present day, the christian world (with. some exceptions, more or less, in every age) instead of worshipping the supreme Father and only true God, whom the blessed Jesus worshipped, and taught all to worship, have together, and equally with HIM, worshipped Jesus himself, and another divine person of their own invention; but this last, called the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, begins now to be given up by not a few; to say nothing of the idolatrous worship of saints, or dead men and women, without end.

But we have now a prospect of better days of light, and of the knowledge of God, and of his true worship, from various causes, and particularly from the happy disposition in the nation, to put it in the power

of