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doctrine they confirm; not the doctrine by the miracles. The dreamer or prophet must be esteemed, not by the event of his wonder, but by the substance and scope of his teaching. The Romanists argue preposterously, while they would prove the truth of their church by miracles; whereas they should prove their miracles by the truth. For example; That power cannot know the prayer which knows not the heart either then the Virgin is God, for that she knows the theart; or to know the heart, and so our prayers, is falsely ascribed to the Virgin; and therefore the miracles which teach men thus to honour her, are teachers of lies, and so not of God. If the practice of worshipping the Virgin be bad, God deliver me from the immediate author of these miracles. Change but one idol for another, and what differ the wonders of Apollo's Temples from those of Romish Chapels." (Epistles.)

The sentiment of St. Chrysostom is important to shew that modern pretensions to miraculous powers will no more prove the Church of Rowe a true church than the acknowledged absence of those powers will prove the Church - of England a false church. " Once," says he, "it was known by miracles, who were true Christians, and who were false: but now that the power of working miracles is wholly taken away, the pretence of it is to be found amongst those who pretend 4o be Christians." With this agrees the opinion of Augustine, who ob- serves ; Against those pretended workers of miracles, God has put me upon my guard, by admonishing me that in the last days there shall arise false prophets, who shall work such signs and wonders as to deceive, if possible, the very elect." And in like manner, Calvin remarks; "To demand miracles of us is highly wrong; for we have not been the inventors of a new Gospel, but we retain that very Gospel which has for its confirma

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tion all the miracles which Christ and his Apostles have wrought."

I would here observe, that a Romish bishop, as well as a Romish priest, has ventured, in this enlightened age, (see Christian Observer for 1817, p. 782,) to put the credulity of some persons, and the patience of others, to the test, by publishing, in this Protestant nation, an account of another miracle performed at a holy well in Staf fordshire, and attested by himself, as if to try how far the public mind would endure the exhibition of so much absurdity, and no doubt as a prelude to future experiments upon their common sense and forbearance. See "Authentic Documents relative to the miraculous Cure of Winifred White, at St. Winifred's Well, by the Right Rev. John Milner, D. D. Vicar Apostolic." The pamphlet was published in 1806; and repeated editions have since been issued, and its sentiments remain unretracted,

I would trust that the laity of the Romish Church in Ireland, are likely, before long, to awaken to a sense of their duty, and to burst the shackles of the spiritual tyranny which at present impedes the progress of their country in sound knowledge and piety, as well as in civilization and social happiness. My readers will not have forgotten the memorable meeting at Cavan, in October 1817, when a large assembly of Roman Catholic laymen publicly resolved, that no priest in all the diocese of Kilmore was fit to assist or succeed to their present bishop; whose own incompetence was more than hinted, and he was requested to appoint "some learned stranger" as his coadjutor. In this important discussion, Dr. M'Donald took the lead, and stated, without contradiction, that “ notorious and flagrant abuses had long existed" that "scandalous lives rendered men unfit for the ministry of the Gospel"-that “ a superstition of the most monstrous

and detestable description, which would have dishonoured and disgraced the most barbarous ages, had taken firm root;"-that "the exclusive right of working miracles was now laid claim to by men of the most infamous and profligate characters, who are not only a dishonour to religion, but a disgrace to human nature; some of whom are so far gone in folly as well as depravity, as to make religion pander to their avarice and profligacy;" -and he declared there were then present the most respectable persons ready to attest the truth of his assertion. The speaker, after urging the bishop to a system of reform, roundly asserts, that "it is in vain to look for reformation from any exertion of the elergy."-This meeting, as might have been expected, produced at the time a great sensation in Ireland. But this is little to the purpose, unless suitable remedies are devised to cure these evils. I would therefore earnestly hope, that Protestants on both sides of the Channel, stimu lated by such painful facts as have been mentioned, will continue to persevere, amidst all the disappointments, they have experienced, in sending the sacred volume to every cabin in Ireland; and in educating the rising race, as far as the bigotry of the priesthood will allow it, in those scriptural principles which will best enable them to discern the errors and artifices of their misguided and misguiding instructors. This will indeed be an emancipation worthy of the name; an emancipation from sin, and wretchedness, and ignorance; and, by the Divine blessing, the prelude to an abundant admission "into the glori ous liberty of the children of God."

LAICUS.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer. PROFESSOR Leander Van Ess lately sept ine a small volume in defence of" the intermarrying of Protestants and Catholics," written

CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 242.

by a Catholic priest in Germany, to which the Professor, himself a Catholic, has prefixed a recommendatory preface, in which he gives his sanction to the principles laid down in the work, and to the inferences which result from them. To afford a proof of the liberal spirit in which this work is written, a spirit which I have reason to bope actuates no small number of the members of that church in the present day, I beg leave to transmit to you the following translation of a passage in which the author most candidly and ably vindicates the Protestant Church against the charge of heresy. The duty or propriety of such intermarriages as he recommends, is, I think, highly questionable; nor can two conscientious members of churches differing so widely and fundamentally, hope for that Chris tian union in marriage which is necessary to the true happiness of that holy state, and to the right discharge of its duties. Still it is pleasing to witness that increasingly candid and tolerant spirit which is beginning to spring up in the bosom of the Romish Church, and which, though at present very limited in its extent and operation, may, by God's blessing, rapidly as. sume a wider range. Let Protes tants follow the liberal example of some of their Catholic. brethren; and while they contend earnestly for the purity of the faith, aud manfully oppose the errors and delusions of the Church of Rome, let them beware of intolerance and party spirit, and endeavour, by precept and example, to accelerate the arrival of that blessed day when the true members of the church of Christ, however scattered at present, will form one fold under one Shepherd. Such a prospect cannot but highly interest and encourage every Christian mind; and I must venture to express a strong opinion, that the way to hasten its arrival is not by meaus of bigotry or persecution,-byN

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aggerating the errors of other men, or by palliating our own. Christian love is the only talisman that can gain access to the hearts of our deluded brethren of the Romish Church, whether on the continent or nearer home. Let our missionaries, and societies, and benevolent individuals of all classes, go forth to this "battle of the Lord," clad not in human panoply, but with meekness, righteousness, and truth; distributing the Scriptures, educating the poor, comforting the afflicted, instructing the ignorant, "becoming all things to all men, if by any means they may save some." We commence at the wrong end when we begin with disputing about transubstantiation, or the seven sacraments, or Catho lic emancipation, or holy water, or any similar subject of interminable debate. Let us aim rather at inculcating devout and heavenly principles, as they are able to bear them. Let us endeavour to diffuse among our Catholic brethren a fervent love for the Saviour, a penitential and exclusive dependence upon his all-sufficient sacrifice, a desire to obey his commands and to live to his glory. In the excellent spirit of Mr. Jowett's missionary sermon, let us exhibit ourselves to the members of the Papal Church, not as acrimonious polemics, but as sincere, zealous, affectionate Christians, who can bear many provocations, and persevere with gentleness and patience, not for any party purpose, but with a disinterested view to their spiritual benefit. Let us gladly meet, instead of repelling, any advance towards a mutual explanation and understanding. We need not, we dare not, concede any point of faith or duty; but we may and ought to exemplify that Christian affection which leaves a secretly favourcable impression on the minds of men, even where it is most sturdily repelled; and which, "if it cannot reconcile all understandings, endeavours at least to unite all hearts."

P. T.

"First of all, I would observe, that the decrees of the old councils, by which the intermarrying of orthodox and heretics are prohibited, are by no means applicable to marriages between Catholics and Protestants; as the latter cannot be classed among heretics, either according to the doctrine of the Bible, or according to the genuine principles of Catholicism, or according to the cunonical law. Nothing but the most unchristian arrogance of some Catholic divines can apply to them that odious epithet.

"1. According to the doctrine of the Bible, those only are to be considered as heretics, who have forsaken their faith in Christ. (2 Pet. ii. 1; Tit. iii. 10.) The Ro man Catechism calls them, in the answer to the third question, · illegitimate false brethren, who have adulterated the Gospel.' But where have the Protestants been guilty of that crime?

"2. It may be clearly proved, that nothing more is required of Christian to ascertain the purity of his faith, than his adherence to the apostolical creed.

"(1.) This is called by Ireneus, the immoveable rule of truth,' (regula veritatis immobilis); and Hilarius, in still stronger terms, represents it as the first and only evangelical creed' (prima et sola evangelica fides).

"(2.) It is the general opinion of all the Catholic doctors, that this apostolical creed is the substance of all those doctrines, which, according to Divine appointment, are essential to the salvation of one and all; whereas salvation is not lost by ignorance of all the other articles of faith. And this coincides with the doctrine of the fathers, by whom the apostolical creed is considered the plenitude of faith, the soul of all revelation, the gate of salvation, the indissoluble covenant with God, the seal and the mark of genuine Christianity.' (Augustine.) "(3.) The Roman Pontifical, in

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the chapter which prescribes regulations respecting the re-admission of apostates or schismatics, does not demand more of them, than their reception of the Apostolic Creed.

"(4.) The Council of Trent styles this creed the fundamental principle, in which necessarily all unite who have adopted the Christian faith, nay the only and firm fundamental doctrine. If then this creed constitutes and comprehends the true substance, the kernel of Christianity, its fundamental and distinguishing doctrines; if it is the soul and seal of genuine Christian faith; those only deserve to have the name of heretics inflicted on them, who reject the doctrines which it sets forth. But when or where have the Protestants, in one single point, departed from them? They ought therefore not to be confounded with those heretics against whom earlier synods published their prohibitory laws of matrimony. For those only were reprobates who adulterated the Gospel, and rejected the Apóstolical Creed; which, on the contrary, is held in holy reverence by all true Protestants, as well as the Scripture itself.

"3. The principles distinctly laid down in the canonical law of the Catholic Church, do not permit us to apply the name of heretic to Protestants. For there it is said: The Apostle commands to reject a man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition; know. ing that he that is such, is subvert ed aud sinneth, being condemned of himself. But, thus it goes on, Such as do not assert with proud obstinacy their opinion, though it be wrong and erroneous, (especially if their obstinacy do not arise from their own distracted brain, but originates with their parents, who have been carried away by error), but who, on the contrary, seek truth with candid solicitude, and are ready to forsake their error, whenever they discover it, are by

no means to be classed among he retics.

"The same canonical law bas these remarkable words: Whether an immoral Catholic ought to be held in higher esteem than a heretic, who, with the exception of his heresy, is blameless in his life and conduct, is a point upon which we would not venture to give a precipitate opinion.

"From these canonical statements, to which many more might be added, it clearly appears, that heresy essentially includes the idea of obstinacy, and a tendency to introduce and to establish in the church, in defiance of every opportunity to receive better instruc tion, a doctrine contrary to the spirit of Catholic Christianity. But can it be laid to the charge of Protestants, that they intentionally maintain religious errors, that they wantonly resist the truth, and reject better information? They differ indeed, in several opinions and doctrinal points, from the Roman Catholic Church. But who dares to assert, that they contradict her doctrines from wicked obstinacy, and not rather from sincere motives, and on account of arguments, which even Catholics cannot confate without having recourse to all the energies of controversial skill, and the acuteness of solid erudition. Even he is not a heretic, who, seeking truth, falls into an error; for not error, but pride and obstinacy, constitute the heretic.

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The wicked only is guilty before God: he that entertains an error in an honest mind, has nothing to fear from God, and is our brother.' (Words of a German Catholic casuist.)

"Thus, it has been proved from the canonical law of the Catholic Church also, that the title of Heretic cannot with any propriety be applied to the Protestants; and that it is only to be considered as the effect of an unchristian spirit of persecution, if it is extended to them by some Catholic divines." var

REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

1. An Inquiry into the Infidelity of the Present Times. By the Rev. JOHN RAMSAY, A. M. Edinburgh. 1821. 8vo. pp. 40. 2. Report to the County of Lanark, of a Plan of relieving Public Distress, and removing Discontent, by giving permanent productive Employment to the Poor and Working Classes; under Arrangements which will essentially improve their Character and ameliorate their Condition. By ROBERT OWEN. Glasgow. 1821. 4to. pp. 80. 3. Hints for conducting SundaySchools; useful also for DaySchools and Families; compiled by the Committee of the SundaySchool Society for Ireland. Second Edition. Dublin. 1819. 8vo. pp. 132.

THE number of sermons, tracts, essays, reports of societies, magazines, and miscellaneous pain phlets, which have issued from the presses of the United Kingdom, in consequence of the late alarm respecting the increase of infidelity and blasphemy, has formed a very considerable portion of the literary productions of the last three or four years. We had at one time thought of collecting a tolerably copious list of these publications, and presenting our readers with a digest of the principal ones; but have abstained from the task, partly because our limits would not have allowed of our devoting so much space as would have been necessary to do justice to so many authors; and partly because, with few exceptions, the general substance of their publications may be found in most of our standard works on the evidences of Christianity. We mean not by this remark to undervalue the zeal, or disparage the exertions, of those who have thus laudably endeavoured to

stem the torrent of infidelity, and to confirm the faith of the sincere believer. Many of the publications to which we allude are well calculated to effect both these objects and even those which display least novelty of argument, may, in their sphere and measure, have been found serviceable to the interests of religion; nor shall their benevolent and pious authors lose their reward. Still the majority of them may be viewed as chiefly ephemeral productions, which, having answered their immediate end, will again give place to those standard works which form our regular Christian classics upon this branch of divinity.

We have however thought, that though it would not be practicable for us to report upon the numerous works which have lately been published to oppose the advances of infidelity, there is an inquiry closely connected with the subject, which it is very important to bring before the public;—we mean what are the peculiar causes which have rendered such publications necessary. Till these causes are understood and seriously weighed, little, indeed nothing effectual, can be hoped for by way of remedy. The recent public alarm seems nearly to have subsided; but it does not follow that the same general causes of infidelity do not still remain, or that they are not as potent as ever to produce the same effects. The relative changes in the state of the country, the legislative measures adopted at the close of the year 1819 for bridling mischievous publications, the exertions of welldisposed individuals and charitable societies, with the continued progress of religious education, may for the present have skinned over the wound: but the fountain of all this blasphemy and sedition, whatever it may be, is not dried up; nor

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