ART. IX. Serious and candid Observations on that Part of the Bishop of Lincoln's Work, entitled Elements of Christian Theology *, which contains his Lordship's Exposition of the Seventeenth Article of the Church of England, &c. 8vo. Is. Parsons, &c. 1800.

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THIS anonymous pamphlet, of 39 pages, is a serious animadversion on the Bishop of Lincoln, for having, in his discussion of the Seventeenth Article, (respecting Predestination and Election,) explained away its genuine Calvinistic meaning. The author's veneration and affection for the Church of England' prompted him to publish his Letter, which is addressed from an old Christian in the country to his friend in London; and he was the more induced to do this because several modern publications assert, boldly and confidently, as well as the learned Bishop, that the Articles of the Church of England are not Calvinistical.'

To this writer, the Bishop's interpretation appeared one of the most astonishing instances of the perversion of language, and distortion of the sense of a paragraph, that he ever met with; and he adds-that, if it were not for a consideration of the imperfections of the human mind in some of the most distinguished characters, he should be at a loss to reconcile it with common sense or common honesty.'-This is harsh language: but at the same time we must own that this old Christian appears to us to have so far proved his point, that he has shewn that no other doctrine than that of pure Calvinism is to be found in the Article in question. He calls to his aid the authority of Whitgift, Fletcher, Hutton, and Beveridge:but he adds:

• Without having any regard to the authority of great characters, there are, as I conceive, but two schemes of divinity, however they may be diversified, the one originating from the good pleasure or sovereign will of the Deity; the other taking its rise in the will of man, or in some betterness of character which is supposed to make one man more worthy of the divine favour than another. The one is St. Paul's, of Salvation by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works lest any man should boast. The other, which seems to be the Bishop's, of works, or of him that willeth, and obtains something by his efforts which others have not obtained. Though upon the scheme of works, if the subject be closely pursued, it will appear in the issue, that they who have this betterness of character in the case before supposed, must have had some advantages of nature, education, or connection, arbitrarily given them by the God of providence, which those otherwise disposed did not pos

REV. OCT. 1800.

* See our last Review.

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But waving this, on the two schemes, that of grace and work turned the dispute between the reformers and the defenders of the popish system. All the venerable Bishops, during the time of Edward VI. and Queen Elizabeth, almost to a man, understood the article as I have explained it, and were for building the whole fabric of man's salvation on the good pleasure of the Deity, and on nothing in the creature.

Regeneration, justification, and effectual calling, as these are acts of God in time, all of them depend on the doctrine of the 17th article. For, I suppose, the Deity does nothing in time, he did not intend to do from all eternity. I do not conceive that he has any new thoughts on subjects as man has.

If these Christian blessings are the result of divine grace, or mere benevolence to men, not depending on any exertions or pre-requisites in human characters, then the doctrine of the article must necessarily follow.'

This specimen will give our readers a sufficient idea of the author's manner, and of his faith.

ART. X. Animadversions on the Elements of Christian Theology, by the Rev. George Pretyman, D. D. F, R. S. Lord Bishop of Lincoln; in a Series of Letters addressed to his Lordship by William Frend. Svo. 3s. Ridgeway. 18oo.

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'HIS is an attack of a nature very different from that of the foregoing Observations. With a keenness of style almost peculiar to himself, Mr. Freud animadverts on various parts of the Bishop of Lincoln's late publication, in a series of twenty-one Letters. Of these the first is introductory; and, as it is not very long, we shall give it verbatim.

On hearing that your Lordship had published an elementary work on theology, my curiosity was excited to discover the progress, which had been made within the last hundred years, in that much neglected science; and to learn, from good authority, what are the present doctrines of the church of England. Your work gratified me in both respects; and I should have contented myself with the pleasure derived from the first perusal, if a singularity in the conclusion had not forcibly attracted my attention, and led me into a farther investigation of your Lordship's principles. You stand forward the de. cided advocate of truth-the pernicious system which, with shameless effrontery, has been promulgated by two doctors of the church of England, receives no countenance from your lordship-you require of persons who dedicate themselves to the office of teaching, that they should really believe, what, in your lordship's presence, they have subscribed. You do not admit the specious glosses and jesuitical pretences, by which these divines palliate the most notorious frauds, and would make the church of England an asylum for the credulous and the incredulous, the pious and the impious, the active searcher after truth and the rapacious hunter after preferment. I honour you,

my

my lord, for your decision. May it produce the desired effect on your brethren on the bench! May it dissipate a system founded on a flagrant abuse of talents, and calculated to produce a total neglect of moral duty in the clergy, and an entire distrust of them among the laity !

In opposition to these divines, your lordship justly asserts, "that the clergy should unfeignedly believe the truth of the doctrines contained in the thirty-nine articles *;" and, that "it behoves every one, before he offers himself a candidate for holy orders, to peruse carefully the articles of the church, and to compare them with the written word of God. If upon mature examination," your lordship adds," he believes them to be authorised by scripture, he may conscientiously subscribe them; but if, on the contrary, he thinks, that he sees reason to dissent from any of the doctrines asserted in them, no hope of emolument or honour, no dread of inconvenience or disappointment should induce him to express his solemn assent to propositions, which, in fact, he does not believet." Such language is worthy of the overseer of any church; and your lordship's farther exhortation deserves to be recorded. "Let it be remembered, that in a business of this serious and important naturé, no species whatever of evasion, subterfuge, or reserve is to be allowed, or can be practised without immi nent danger of incurring the wrath of God. The articles are to be subscribed in their plain and obvious sense; and assent is to be given to them simply and unequivocally. Thus only can a person offer himself at the table of the Lord, as his minister, with safety: thus only can he expect to receive the divine blessing upon that course of life, to which he has solemnly devoted himself."

These extracts, according entirely with my own sentiments, I have copied with great pleasure; and, in the future letters, which I shall have the honour of addressing to your lordship, my eye will be continually directed to them, that, if any thing should be found in your interpretation of the articles to be not consistent with the forms laid down for subscription, I may give your lordship the opportunity of farther examination; and your lordship's condescension in declaring, that you" shall very readily attend to any suggestion or advice, whether it relates to errour or omission §," induces me to hope, that you will not be displeased at this intrusion on your time, and interesting avocations. I must premise only, that it is not in my power to imi tate your lordship in referring to and making copious extracts from a variety of writers: my scanty library does not contain those valuable writings in which my time was once so agreeably and, I thought, usefully employed: your lordship's work, and my old friends Trommius, Schmidt, Griesbach's Greek Testament, and Leusden's Hebrew Bible, are the only works, to which I shall have recourse, un less perchance I should, in a friend's library, be enabled to cast my Eye on some of the works quoted in the margin of your Elements of Theology. Of this defect I do not, in this instance, complain very bitterly; as every position, in which we agree or differ, must be ‡ Ib. p. 568.

.. Vol. I. p. 566.

§ Vol. 1. p. xii.'

+Ib. p. 567.
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brought to the test of scripture, and cannot be determined by any other authority. With great respect I beg leave to subscribe myself, My lord, your lordship's affectionate brother in Christ,"

WILLIAM FREND.'

In a similar strain, Mr. F. continues from Alpha to Omega.→ In Letter 2, he maintains, against the Bishop, that dipping is the only true baptism; and consequently that neither he nor his Lordship ever was baptized!-In Letter 3, he endeavours to prove that the necessity of baptism ceased with the apostolic age.-Letters 4 and 5 treat on Excommunication, and the mischiefs derived from it.-The subjects of Letter & are Heresy, and the Abuse of Authority.-We shall transcribe a passage relative to a clause in the 20th Article of the Church of England, regarding the power of the Church to decree rites or ceremonies, and authority in controversies of Faith.

These words stand in all the copies of the articles now printed by authority, and yet it is supposed, that they are a forgery: for, the original writing is still extant in Benet college library; and there are several printed copies of the articles about the same date, in which, as well as in the original, these words are not to be found. The controversy may be seen at full length in a book entitled, "Priesteraft in perfection,", to which I beg leave to refer your lordship; and there is a gentleman now alive, who, if not engaged in more important pursuits, could throw additional light upon this extraordinary

transaction.

Your lordship accounts for the omission in the following manner. "This first clause is not in the MS. copy of the articles in the library of Benet college Cambridge, which is thus accounted for: that copy was left to the college by Archbishop Parker, and was the one signed by the bishops, &c. when they first met: they afterwards agreed to add this clause, and another copy including it was signed. The former copy remained in the hands of the Archbishop, and was left by him to the college; the second copy was deposited in the registercourt of the province of Canterbury, and was burnt in the fire of London *." Here are some point-blank assertions, in which it is possible, that your lordship may be mistaken. The Bishops may not have met as you assert; may not have made a second copy; may not have signed it, &c. &c. &c. Without any imputation on your fordship's veracity I have my doubts on your statement: for your lordship lives between two and three hundred years since the transac tion is supposed to have happened, and you have not referred your readers to a single authority in support of this very extraordinary history. What then am I to write in the margin of your work? Á simple query. How came the bishop of Lincoln to be so exact in his account of a transaction, which happened between two and three centuries ago? Was it by inspiration, by tradition, or by historical evidence? In the next edition of your work I shall hope to be satis

fied on these points, and in the mean time recommend most strenueusly to your lordship to weigh in as equal a balance the authority of the early fathers, several of whom were addicted to the use of a figure in speech, which, however current in the days of credulity, is now reprobated in all good company.'

We shall now satisfy ourselves with giving the summary of the remaining Letters, in the author's table of contents, prefixed to each of them:

Authority. The famous fires in Alexandria and London-the writer takes a journey-is much abused on the road-finds the early fathers different ways of travelling-some very strange strange parties galloped over a great number of people.

Episcopalians-Presbyterians. Derivation and meaning of the words church, bishop, presbyter-a long ladder-uninterrupted succession of bishops where-alliance of church and state-alliance of kirk and state-all Christians equally priests-but a public, teacher.or reader may be useful.

The Lord's Supper. Fables according to the bishop dangerous, deceitful, and blasphemous-the Lord's supper in its origin-how changed--not a supper, but a feast upon a sacrifice.

Ditto. Invasion of the king's prerogative attempt to restore it-objections to the perpetuity of the rite of the Lord's supper

use and abuse of it.

The Trinity. Unchristian disputes on the trinity-Jewish opinions of the oneness of God-belief nominal or real-archbishop Secker→ artist's widow-Hindoo trinity.

Ditto. Erroneous judgment-singular use of language instanced in the Norfolk dialect- did not lead the Jews into errour-and is not an apology for the sons of Japhet.

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Ditto. Search after the trinity in the New Testament-three passages examined-nine persons in the trinity-trinity not found by the bishop in either Oid or New Testament.

Jewish Slanders. Jesus not God before he was thirty years old made himself God afterwards if we believe the Jews-denies that he ever made himself God-the Jews put him to death against their law. The Son of God. Son of God an appellation common to a great portion of the human racee- Adam and Jesus in a more appropriate manner sons of God-Jesus the son of God-but not the son of himself.

Beginning of Eternity. Eternity of the earth-form of Godhumiliation of God.,

The Holy Spirit. A spirit brooding over matter not the Holy Ghost-the holy spirit a thing given-procession of the holy spirit -the holy spirit allowed by the bishop to be a quality.

The Three Witnesses. A verse in the English bible spurious-hopes that the bishop will continue the examination of the scriptures.

"Sin of being born. Predestination-newspaper heresy-mother and babe bishop's babes-the women puzzled-suspicion of episcopal heresy-author's opinion on the five points.

Heresy. Heresy! heresy! heresy !-profane swearing a very idle custom-the bishop and the author agree-the church of England

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