The Orthodox journal and Catholic monthly intelligencer [ed. by W.E. Andrews].

tre, and subverting to its lowest "foundation, the kingdom of the "Prince of Darkness.' You, Mr. Editor, will perhaps think with me, that the Rev. Gentleman's description of this machine is much more admir

of leading their souls to heaven. In " power than was ever constructed
the hope of wiping off the reproach" for a moral purpose, and is put in
thus thrown upon their body, the "motion with greater mechanical ad-
Established Clergy lent a ready hand "vantage. The lever of this machine
to the formation of Bible Societies." is the diameter of the globe: its
They hailed the Bible distributing" fulcrum is the word of God; and
scheme as a new era in the history" the physical strength of the religious
of Christianity, and as throwing a "world is the power by which it acts.
splendour over the commencement of "How admirably adapted is such a
the 19th century, far eclipsing the "machine for shaking to its very cen
glory of preceding ages. Some of the
members of that body, eager to make
the world sensible of their talents, in
a style of lofty declamation descanted
on the almost supernatural merits of
their plan, and the quite supernatural
effects which it was calculated to pro-ably adapted to shake the sides of his
duce. One tells his enraptured hear
ers, that the Bible distributing scheme
(the work of man, by the bye) is some-
thing far more miraculous, in its na-
ture and its effects, than the descent of
the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles on
the Feast of Pentecost, and the first
establishment of Christianity. Another
Rev. Gentleman says, "The Bible So-
❝ciety is a spiritual lens, made, as I
"believe, by the immediate hand of
"the Almighty, for the express pur-
66 pose of collecting together the scat
66 tered rays of heavenly light, which
are reflected in this lower world;
"and of bringing them to a focus,
"that they may be made to diverge,
"with greater brilliancy, into the be
"nighted nations of the earth." (See
the Rev. T. Cotterill's speech, deli-
vered at the anniversary of the Branch
Bible Society, for the Potteries, June
3, 1813.)

You have not, perhaps, Mr. Editor, been favoured with a sight of the luminous speech here referred to. It contains all that the most enthusiastic advocate of the Bible Society could advance in favour of that institution, conveyed, however, in such fustian language, as cannot fail to excite the smile of ridicule, both for the author and his subject. His audience, no doubt, must have been highly enlightened by the following comparison; "The Bible Society is a machine of more stupendous magnitude and

readers with laughter. But, to pro-
ceed with my subject;-in detailing
the wonderful effects to be produced
by their scheme in the moral world,
these champions of the Bible Society
are transported beyond all bounds
of moderation. Tears of joy stand
glistening in their eyes, while with
prophetic vision they contemplate the
millions whom their scheme is destined
to call from the shades of darkness
and error, and conduct into the way
of truth. At the same time, they for-
get not to tell us, that this scheme,
with its wonderful merits and effects,
owe its origin to the fruitful Invention
of the wise men of the 19th century.

It must be acknowledged, Mr.
Editor, that such a plan for propa
gating Christianity was totally un-
known to past ages, and had escaped
the notice even of Him who was Wis-
dom itself, the co-eternal Son of God,
the Author & Founder of Christianity.
For, we no where find it recorded,
that the Son of God, before he as-
cended into heaven, either wrote
down, or commanded to be written,
the doctrines which he delivered for
the instruction of mankind. He
adopted the plain and simple method
of verbal instruction; and, when
about to leave this world, charged
a chosen few, whom he had selected
from his followers, to pursue the same
plan, and preach by word of mouth
the truths which they had received

from him, no mention being made of would aid it with his divine co-opéra distributing Bibles. Accordingly, wetion and assistance, as the metho find the Apostles, in obedience to this chosen by himself for propagating his divine commission, immediately after religion to the end of the world the descent of the Holy Ghost, boldly" And behold, I am with you all days announcing to mankind, by word of even to the end of the world." mouth, the truths of religion. At first (Matt. xxv. 26.) they confined their preaching to the Jews, but soon dispersed themselves among other nations, still preaching, "the Lord himself co-operating with "them, and confirming their preaching "by the signs and miracles which he "enabled them to perform." (St. Mark, xvi. 20.)

Indeed, Mr. Editor, our Bible-men ought to know that the books composing the New Testament, which is the part of Scripture that principally regards us Christians, were not all written till nearly a century after Christianity had been announced to the world. What then, (I put this question to the Bible-men) what was the guide to faith, or the rule of faith, during that period? Not the Old Testament, for this would have left Christians in the dark as to the very first and most im portant articles of their belief. Not the New Testament, for this was not yet composed, nor consequently known but in part, and that to a very small proportion of believers. Most undoubtedly, Sir, the only rule of faith then known and universally received, was the preaching of the Apostles, and their lawful successors. Every doctrine conformable to their preach

Such was the method by which the Christian religion was first established and propagated, at least if Scripture and Church History speak the truth. Our Bible-men of the 19th century, may, perhaps, think that it would have been much more wise in the founder of Christianity to have furnished each of the Apostles, before his setting out upon his mission, with a knapsack well filled with Bibles, to be distributed among the towns and villages through which they were to pass. It must be confessed, that the Bible-distributing scheme, if it added to the burthens, would have considering was acknowledged to be of divine ably lessened the labours of the Apostles, and would certainly have freed them from one care, that of providing themselves with successors, as in this scheme none were likely to be wanting. However, from the most authentic monuments, it is clear that no such plan for the propagation of Christianity was then adopted, but the plain simple method above mentioned, of appointing a set of men to deliver the truths of the Christian religion by word of mouth, with an in-nated by the decision of those who junction upon the rest of mankind of hearing and receiving the truths thus delivered. "Go and teach all na*tions-teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded 66 you." (Matt. xxviii. 19, 20.) "He "that heareth you heareth me." (Luke x. 10.) This commission to teach was accompanied with a solemn assurance on the part of the Son of God, that he

authority; while every doctrine, whether written or unwritten, contrary to their preaching, was rejected as spurious. When a dispute arose among the faithful respecting the obligation of observing the Mosaic law, was either the Bible, or any other written authority referred to as the rule of faith? No: The living voice of the pastors of the church was consulted the Apostles assembled in council at Jerusalem, and the affair was termi

were by divine institution the teachers and guardians of the faith. It is by a similar appeal to the living tribunal of the pastors of the church, that in every succeeding age "the doctrines once delivered to the Saints" have been preserved from all mixture of error and human invention. This is the only rule of faith which the Scriptures themselves hold out to us, and to which

they enjoin implicit obedience, under pain of exclusion from the kingdom of heaven, with heathens and publicans in case of disobedience.

Reason itself, Mr. Editor, tells us that the Scriptures, left to private interpretation, cannot possibly form an unerring rule of faith and morals. To assert that the Almighty has left us his sacred word to be our sole guide in matters of religion, and at the same time given authority to every individual to put upon this word whatever interpretation his private jndgment, or want of judgment, suggests, is to convert the God of truth into a God of contradiction and falsehood, and to make the Deity responsible for all the errors, blasphemies and absurdities of every heretic and fanatic from the days of Ebion and Cerinthus, to Ann Lee, the shaker, and Johanna Southcott, the raving prophetess of the present day.

What then is the conclusion to be drawn from the above observations? Clearly this, that the Bible-distributing scheme was not the method appointed by Christ for the propagation of Christianity, and consequently that the Bible Societies are prefering the folly of man before the wisdom of God. I shall reserve some further observations for a future letter, and am, Mr. Editor, your's respectfully,

orthodox Fathers, are favourably in-
terpreted, which, if met with in those
of uncertain authors, would be judged
without indulgence, and perhaps con-
demned as heretical. I beg leave to
apply these general observations to
that small tract, entitled ROMAN CA❤
THOLIC PRINCIPLES, in reference to
God and the King, lately republished
by the Rev. Jos. Berrington and the
Rev. J. Kirk, under the name of
"The Faith of Catholics."
The au
thor of this tract did not think proper
to affix his name to it: the same was
neglected to be done by his friends af-
ter his death; and now it is become a
problem, by whom it was composed.
Owing to this unlucky circumstance,
this exposition of Catholic Principles,
which of late has acquired so much
publicity, and is now in the hands of
so many Catholics and Protestants, is
stripped of that authority which it
would otherwise enjoy; and lies open
to objections, even from Catholics,
which the name of GOTHER would
at once silence, if this eminent writer,
and zealous champion of the Catholic
cause, were universally known to have
published this work; and, if not him-
self the author, to have at least given
his approbation and sanction to it.

The Reverend John Gother " annexed" the Roman Catholic Principles to the very first edition of his Papist Misrepresented & Represented, which he published in 1685. An edition To the Editor of the Orthodox Journal. of this last work, by J. P. Coghlan, is

SIR-One of the most important services which Criticism can render to Religion, and which it has really rendered to it in these latter times, is, to restore to their true authors, works which have been published anonymously in former ages. The name of a writer, whose doctrine is known to have been invariably orthodox, throws a wonderful light upon his productions, and is often sufficient to fix the true meaning of a passage, which, on account of its intrinsic obscurity, might be susceptible of a wrong construction. How many sentences, in the works of the most ORTHOD. JOUR. VOL. IL

indeed pretended to have been "selected from the original of 1683;" but this must be a mistake. The original edition given by the author himself, was not published before 1685, as he himself declares, in his preface to the third part of his great work, of which The Papist, as republished by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Challoner, is but the first. In this third part, which was printed two years after the first, that is in 1687, Mr. Gother, in reply to a Protestant writer, who had attempted to answer the first part of his Papist, and pretended to give the public an account of the true state of the

controversy, charging the author of The Papist with being the aggressor, says, "The Church Divines had not finished this their undertaking (of making converts by publishing Discourses) when the unexpected death of our royal Sovereign, brake their measures; and therefore for the future, resolving to be only on the defensive side, they published no more Discourses, being in expectation what attacks those of the Catholic communion would make upon them. When behold, after some months, came forth a book entitled, A Papist Misrepresented and Represented, which has made no little noise, says our Stater, all over the kingdom. Thus he relates, as he pretends, the matter of fact. And here the reader may see the confidence of the man, who, by this way of telling his story, makes me the aggressor, pretending that his divines forsooth designed nothing but peace and that the Catholics broke the peace, and began the dispute, by publishing The Papist Misrepresented, &c. Now how false this is, I appeal to all the honest booksellers in town to declare, who upon recollection will find, that this book was not published till after the adjourning of the final sitting of Parliament 1685; and that, at the opening that Parliament the assault was given by Dr. Sherlock, in his Sermon before the two Houses, in which he made those severe and bold reflections upon the Catholics, fit not only for the exasperating that great tribunal against them, after the old plotting way; but likewise, being as provoking and open a defiance against them, as could well be expected, at that time, from a modest man." p. 5.

It being now demonstrated that The Papist Misrepresented was, for the first time, published in 1685, some months after James's accession to the throne, it follows that the Roman Catholic principles were, by Mr. Gother, annexed" to the original edition of that work, and published together with it. Indeed the printer

would never have presumed to annex the composition of a strange author to a work, which Mr. Gother was himself publishing for the first time, without his special leave; nor would Mr. Gother have consented to have another man's work thus annexed to, and printed together with, his, except he had first read that work, and approved the doctrine of it, since, by consenting to this association, he made himself responsible before the public for its orthodoxy. When Dr. Challoner republished The Papist, by doing so he certainly gave his sanction to this work, and adopted it as his own; so Mr. Gother, supposing he is not the author of the Principles, did, by annexing them to The Papist, and printing them with it, give his public approbation and sanction_to_them. It cannot be said, that the Roman Catholic Principles might possibly have been published before or after this date, and bound together in one volume with The Papist, at the desire of some private person, without Mr. Gother's knowledge. For in this original copy of 1685, now before me, The Papist and the Principles are printed under a common title-page, the very title bearing that the Principles are "annexed" to The Papist; which could not have been the case had not these two tracts been printed together; whence I infér, that Mr. Gother, who undoubtedly published one, did as certainly publish the other.

But was Mr. Gother the author as well as the approver of the Roman Catholic Principles? I believe he was. It is not probable that he would have published this work in connexion, and under a common title-page with his Papist, and made himself responsible for the doctrines it contains, had he not been the author. That there is a great resemblance, both as to matter and style between these two tracts, nobody that has read them will deny; this is perceived at first sight; but whoever will take the trouble of examining them closely, and comparing them together, will discover not a

mere similiarity of thoughts and expressions which is almost unavoidable when two authors write on the same subject, but that perfect conformity of features which is observed in twins, whole sentences occuring in the two works which hardly differ in a single word. The reader may judge from the following instances:

COUNCILS..

Roman Catholic Principles. Sect. ii. No. 1. "General Councils, (which are the Church "of God representative) have no commission "from Christ to frame new matters of faith, " &c."

Papist Misrepresented. Art. xvi. The Papist truly represented, "maintains the ne"cessity and right of general councils, law"fully assembled, whose business is not to "coin new articles of faith-but examine "what has been the belief of all nations." (who are there present in their bishops)Art. xvii. A divine assistance "he believes "to be in all general councils, which is the "Church representative (as the Parliament is "e representative of the nation) by which "they are especially protected from all error, " in all definitions and declarations in mat"ters of faith.”

SATISFACTION.

"sin, or eternal pain due to it, is never re"mitted by Indulgences, but only such temporal punishments as remain due after the 66 guilt is remitted; these Indulgences being nothing else than a mitigation or relaxa"tion, upon just causes, of canonical penances enjoined by the pastors of the "church on penitent sinners, according to "their several degrees of demerit."

Papist. Art. viii. "He believes there is power in the Church of granting Indulgences, which concern not at all the re"mission of sins, either mortal or venial, but "only of some temporal punishments remain"ing due, after the sin is remitted; so that "they are nothing else but a mitigation or "relaxation, upon just causes, of canonical "penances, which are, or may be, enjoined 66 by the pastors of the church, on penitent sinners, according to their several degrees "of demerit." N. B.-The reader will 'ob-' serve that I follow the original copy, not Bishop Challoner's edition. PURGOTARY.

Principles. Sect. iii. No. 4. "There is a "Purgatory, that is to say, a place or state, "where souls departing this life, with remis"sion of their sins, as to the eternal guilt or "pain, are yet obnoxious to some temporal punishments still remaining due, or not perfectly freed from the blemish of some "defects are purged before their admit"tance into heaven."

Papist. Art. xxiii. "He believes--there "must of necessity be some place or state "where souls departing this life, pardoned as to the eternal guilt or pain, yet obnoxious to some temporal penalty, or with the "guilt of some venial faults, are purged or purified, before their admittance into hea"ven."

Principles. Sect. iii. No. 9. "Though no "creature whatsoever can make condign sa"tisfaction, either for the guilt of sin, or "the pain eternal due to it, this satisfaction" "being proper to Christ our Saviour only; 86 yet penitent sinners, redeemed by Christ, 66 may, as members of Christ, in some measure satisfy by prayer, fasting, alms-deeds, "and other works of piety, for the tempo"ral pain, which, by order of divine justice, "sometimes remains due, after the guilt of "of sin and pain eternal are (gratis) remit"ted. These penitential works are notwithstanding satisfactory, no otherwise than as joined and applied to that satisfaction "which Jesus made upon the Cross, in virtue "of which alone all our good works find a grateful acceptance in God's sight.

Papist. Art. ix. "He believes that tho' 66 a condign satisfaction for the guilt of sin "and the pain eternal due to it, he proper only to Christ our Saviour, yet that peni"tent sinners, being redeemed by Christ, "and made his members, may, in some measure, satisfy, by prayer, fasting, alms, &c. "for the temporal pain, which, by order of "God's justice, sometimes remains due, after "the guilt and the eternal pain are remitted. "But these penitential works he is taught to "be no otherwise satisfactory, then as join"ed and applied to that satisfaction, which "Jesus made upon the Cross, in virtue of "which alone, all our good works find a grateful acceptance in God's sight."

PRAYER. FOR THE DEAD. Principles. Sect. iii. No. 5. "Souls de"tained in Purgatory, being the living mem"bers of Christ Jesus, are relieved by the prayers and suffrages of their fellow-mem"bers here on earth. But where this place "is? Of what nature and quality the pains "are? How long each soul is detained there? "Are questions superfluous and impertinent "to faith."

Papist. Art. xxiii. "Though he knows "not where it (Purgatory) is, of what na"ture the pains are, how long each soul is "detained there, yet he believes that those "that are in this place, being living members "of Jesus Christ, are relieved by the prayers "of their fellow-members here upon earth.”

good works of a just man, proceeding from 66 grace and charity, are acceptable to God so far forth as to be, through his goodness "and sacred promise, truly meritorious of "eternal life."

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