1386 
~ 
pel out of Virgil ;* a christianity which must 
e dug out of Greek articles and plural He- 
brew ‘ nouns and verbs, and such abomi- 
nable’ holes, as no christian, who is not so 
hoodwinked by the nursery, the church, or 
the state, as to be quite blind to the broad 
‘religion of the bible, would ever think of 
groping in for ‘the light of the world.’ 
ohn Vili. 12.) 
. *€ Weare told, that apostolical christian- 
ity, which is to this, Hyperion to a satyr, 
was not hidden in a corner, (Acts xxvi. 26.); 
but this * thing of shreds and patches” is to 
be found nowhere in the bible but in holes 
and corners. And when, by ‘ observing 
times, and using enchantments and witch- 
craft,t and by dealing with familiar spirits 
and wizards,’§ (2 Chron. xxxiii. 6.) some 
theological Manasseh drags it forth to view, 
it comes reluctantly by inches, and appears 
at last in such a questionable shape, that if 
‘a christian can but muster up courage to 
look it steadily in the face, he will soon see 
‘what an unsubstantial visionary form it is, 
and will behold it instantly shrink from his 
sight; and if he will but continue to pursue 
it with a fearless eye, and fixed regard, will 
find it vanish into air, ‘and what seemed 
corporal, melt as breath into the wind.’|j 
Let him but follow the aposile’s advice (1 
Cor. xiv. 20.), and not be, what the ge- 
neyality of christians are upon all questions 
of this sort, children, afraid to use their 
understandings; but let him be upon this, 
as upon every other matter that concerns his 
religion, though a child in malice, yet a 
man in understanding, and he will see and 
know, what I have said you at present seem 
to know so lite of, that all theoretical 
christianity is ‘ man’s device’ (Acts xvit. 
29.), the mere coinage of the brain, the 
“trumpery’ of fathers and councils, of theo- 
logues and schoolmen, of ‘ eremites and 
friars, white, black and gray.” 
In the course of the contest he deals 
this mighty blow: 
'_« By the application. of your rule to the 
Greek text of the following passages, you 
* «¢ Virgilius Evangelizans.” 
_ > «For the purpose of making out the doctrines of pre-existence, the rites and discipline 
of particular seasons, &c. &c 
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS. 
‘dig a little bit of mystery out of a text in 
. 
may shew that there is no difference, not — 
only between a street and a lane (Luke xit, 
21.), but between a high-way and a 
(ibid. verse 23.) ; not only between love and 
peace (2 Cor. xiii. 11.), but between con- 
solation and salvation (2 Cor.i: G2) You 
may prove not only that high-priests and 
scribes, (Matt. ii. 4.), that scribes and pha~- 
risees, (Matt. v. 20.), that seribes ande l» 
(ib. xxvii. 41.), and. that publicans arid 
sinners, (ibid. ix. 11.) were the same per- 
sons ; but moreover, that pharisees and sad- 
ducees, (Matt. iii. 7. xvi. 1, 6, 31, 12), 
apostles and prophets, (Ephes. ii. 20.), buyers 
and sellers, (Matt. xxi. }2.), were the same; 
that Mary Magdalene was the same as Mary 
the mother of Joses, (Mark xv. 47.); and 
that there was no. difference between Joses 
himself and his brother James, (Matt. xxvit. 
56.), between Peter and John, (Acts viii. 
14.) 
«From Lukeix. 28, you may, by virtue of 
your excellent rule, extract a new, secondary, 
apostolical trinity, by way of supplement to 
that commonly received; and that too, all 
from one text, without heing forced, as is 
the case in manufacturing the old trinity, to 
one corner of the bible, next to splice that 
to a bit more out of another corner, after- 
wards to eke ont that with a bit froma third, 
thus hopping about from text to text; and 
after all the toil and labour bestowed on it, 
after all the twisting and turning, and vamp- 
ing, and soleing and heel-piecing, to rest 
satisfied with producing what to a common 
eye, not tutored and trained from infancy to 
look askew at it, appears just as broad as it 
is long, though > it is squinted at, 
through a theological magnifying glass, such 
as you make use of to turn points of separa- 
tion into ‘ lines of connection,’ (p. 48.) 
many persons are apt to fancy that it looks 
‘ nearly three times as long as it is broad.’] 
“ From Luke viii. 1, 2, you might shew, 
by your rule, that the twelve apostles were 
all women; as you might make it appear, 
from the same evangelist, (xxiil. 27.), were 
likewise the great company of people that 
~ £ “ Conjuring with supplications, adorations, and invocations, &c. and juggling with 
names and titles, actions and attributes, persons and natures, &c, &c. at “which sort of 
work you and your editor have nibbled a little, you in your notes, (page 5, &e.) and he in 
his table, and plain argument, (p. 65, &c.)” j 
 § “The subtle doctors, deep divines, and systematic expositors of ignorant and corrupt 
mages; many of whose mystical mummeries are still so current and-contagious among us, 
that it is hardly possible for the youthful mind to escape the infection, or to postpone the 
attack till it has aequired strength to resist ataint, which, when once it gets into the habit, 
it is very difficult to get out again: so that many a poor child is the miserable victim of it 
all his va ron I am afraid, Sir, you had the disease badly in your youth.” 
“ c ” ot! . 
_ «+ Karly and intetested preposs¢ssion, or prejudice, is a magnifying-glass that makes 
mountains of molehills, or the greatest matters of mere nothings.” 
; ' Unitarian Tracts, 4to. 1695. vol, iii. tract 1, p. 23. 
