in matters of faith and worship. The severe persecutions car ried on against the puritans during the reigns of Elizabeth and the Stuarts, served to lay the foundation of a new empire in the western world. Thither, as into a wilderness, they fled from the face of their persecutors; and, being protected in the free exercise of their religion, continued to increase, till in about a century and a half, they became an independent nation. The different principles, however, on which they had originally divided from the church establishment at home, operated in a way that might have been expected, when they came to the possession of the civil power abroad. Those who formed the colony of Massachusetts Bay, having never reJinquished the principle of a national church, and of the power of the civil magistrate in matters of faith and worship, were less tolerant than those who settled at New Plymouth, and at Rhode Island, and Providence Plantations. The very men (and they were men of God too) who had just escaped the persecutions of the English prelates, now, in their turn, persecuted others who dissented from them, till at length the liberal system of toleration established in the parent country at the revolution, extending to the colonies, in a good measure put an end to these unlovely proceedings. Neither the puritans, before the passing of the Bartholomew act in 1662, nor the nonconformists after it, appear to have disapproved of the articles of the established church in matters of doctrine. The number of them who did so, however, was very small. While the great body of the bishops and clergy had, from the days of Archbishop Laud, abandoned their own articles in favour of Arminianism, they were attached to the principles of the first reformers; and by their labours and sufferings the spirit of the reformation was kept alive in the land. But after the revolution one part of the protestant dissenters, chiefly Presbyterians, first veered towards Arminianism, then revived the Arian controversy, and by degrees many of them settled in Socinianism. At the same time another part of them, chiefly Independents and Baptists, earnestly contending for the doctrines of grace, and conceiving as it would seem, that the danger of erring lay entirely on one side, first veered towards high Calvinism, then forbore to exhort the unregenerate to repent, believe, or 'do any thing spiritually good; and by degrees many of them settled in gross Antinomianism. Such are the principles which have found place amongst the descendents of the puritans. At the same time, however, there have been some (and a goodly number too) of each of the three denominations, who have adhered both to the doctrine and spirit of their forefathers. While relying for salvation on the free grace of the Father, the atonement of the Son, and the sanctifying influences of the holy Spirit, they have proved the efficacy of their principles by their concern to be holy in all manner of conversation. The Arian controversy, which in the early part of the last century was agitated amongst the dissenters, is supposed to have been not a little injurious to the prevalence of vital religion in that body. Complaints were soon after heard of the decline of the dis senting interest. About this time they were provoked to jealousy by several eminent men being raised up in the established church; who, preach ing the same doctrines which had been taught by the puritans and nonconformists, and which their descendants seem ed disposed to lay aside as obsolete, became not a little popular among the serious part of dissenters themselves. This was the more extraordinary, as the community to which they still adhered had for some time been growing more and more corrupt, and was in a manner given up, as a kind of Nazareth, from which no good thing could come. This description of men, however, have gone on to increase, together with a new denomination of semi-dissenters, which have arisen in a measure from their labours, so as to occasion in reality a new distinction in the dissenting body. Those who continue to treat the doctrine of the puritans and nonconformists with neglect, have still to complain of the decline of the dissenting interest: but those who believe and preach those doctrines, and rejoice in their progress, whether as taught in the establishment or out of it, have in general but very few such complaints to make. It is remarkable, that while a certain description of dissen ters are enquiring the reasons why the dissenting interest declines, a certain description of clergymen are enquiring the reasons why it increases ?* *Neal's History of the Puritans. De Laune's Plea for the Nonconfor mists, Palmer's Nonconformists' Memorial. Backus's History of the New England Baptists, vol. i.] QUAKERS. See Friends. QUARTODECIMANI, a denomination in the second century; so called because they maintained that the festival of easter was always to be celebrated, conformably to the custom of the jews, on the fourteenth day of the moon of March, whatever day of the month that happened to be.* QUIETISTS, the followers of Michael de Molinus, a Spanish priest who flourished in the seventeenth century. They were so called from a kind of absolute rest and inaction, which the soul is supposed to be in when arriyed at that state of perfection which they call the unitive life.t The principles maintained by this denomination are as follow: That the whole of religion consists in the present calm and tranquillity of a mind removed from all external and finite things and centered in God, and in such a pure love of the supreme Being as is independent on all prospect of interest or reward. For, say they, the primitive disciples of Christ were all of them inward and spiritual; and when Jesus Christ said to them, It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you, he intended thereby to draw them off from that which was sensible though very holy, and to prepare their hearts to receive the fulness of the holy Spirit, which he looked upon as the one thing necessary. To prove that our love to the Deity must be disinterested, they allege that the Lord hath made all things for himself, as saith the scripture; and it is for his glory that he wills our happiness. Our happiness is only a subordinate end which he has made relative to the last and great end, which is his glory. To conform therefore to the great end of our creation, we must prefer God to. ourselves, and Broughton, vol. ii. p. 307. Lady Guion, a woman of fashion in France, who was born in 1648, was a warm advocate of those principles. She asserted that the means of arriv ing at this perfect love, are prayer and the self-denial enjoined in the gospel, Prayer she defines to be neither a sweet sensation, nor the charm of an inflamed imagination nor an abstracted speculative reasoning, but the entire bent of the soul towards its divine origin. Fenelon, the amiable archbishop of Cambray, favoured the sentiments of this lady in a publication, entitled, "The Maxims of the Saints." The distinguishing tenet in his theology was the doctrine of the disinterested love of God for his own excellencies, independent of his relative benevolence: an important feature also in the theological system of Madam Guion, and the Mystics. See Life of Lady Guion, in two volumes, octavo: also Life of Fenelon, by the Chevalier Ramsay. not desire our own happiness but for his glory; otherwise we shall go contrary to his order. As the perfections of the Deity are intrinsically amiable, it is our glory and perfection to go out of ourselves, to be lost and absorbed in the pure love of infinite beauty. See Mystics. QUINTILIANS, a denomination which appeared in Phrygia about the year 189. They derived their name from their prophetess Quintilia. Their distinguishing tenet was, ANTERS, a denomination which arose in the year 1645. They set up the light of nature under the name of Christ in men. With regard to the church, scripture, ministry, &c., their sentiments were the same with the Seekers. See Seekers. REMONSTRANTS. See Arminians. ROGEREENS, so called from John Rogers, their chief leader. They appeared in New England about the year 1677. The principal distinguishing tenet of this denomination was, that worship performed the first day of the week was a species of idola that women ought to be admitted to perform the sacerdotal and episcopal functions; grounding their practice on Gal. iii. 28, There is neither jew nor greek, there is neither male nor female. They added that Philip, the deacon, had four daughters who were prophetesses, and were doubtless of their sect. In their assemblies it was usual to see the virgins enter in white robes, personating prophetesses. This denomination was a branch of the Montanists.+ See Montanists. try which they ought to oppose. In consequence of this they used a variety of measures to disturb those who were assembled for public worship on the Lord's day.§ ROMAN CATHOLICS, a name given to the papists, because the bishop of Rome is not only styled supreme, but œcumenical, or universal bishop. See Papists. ROSECRUSIANS, a name given to those in the seventeenth century who blended the doctrines of religion with the secrets of chemistry. Their sentiments were similar with those of the Behmenists. See Behmenists. * Mosheim, vol. iv. p. 388. Broughton, vol. ii. p. 309. Cambray on Pure Love, pp. 131-138. Lady Guion's Letters, p. 167. History of Religion, vol. iv. Broughton, vol. ii. p. 310. + Callamy's Abridgment of Baxter's History, vol. i. p. 101. Backus's History, vol. i, p. 473. Mosheim, vol. iv. p. 266. ABELLIANS, a denomi- as the ray returns to its source, third century. They derived their name from Sabellius, an African bishop, or presbyter, who taught that there is but one person in the Godhead; and in confirmation of this doctrine he made use of a comparison. He said, that man, though composed of body and soul, is but one person; so God, though he is Father, Son, and holy Ghost, is but one person, The Sabellians, upon their master's principles, made the Word and the holy Spirit to be only virtues, emanations, or functions, of the Deity; and held that he, who in heaven is the Father of all things, descended into a virgin, became a child, and was born of her as a Son; and that, having accomplished the mystery of our salvation, he diffused himself on the apostles in tongues of fire, and then was denominated the holy Ghost. They resembled God to the sun, the illuminative virtue or quality whereof was the Word, and its warming virtue the holy Spirit. The Word, they taught, was darted like a divine ray, to accomplish the work of redemption; and that, being re-ascended to heaven, communicated after a like manner to the apostles. They also illustrated this mystery by one light kindled, as it were, from another-by the fountain and stream, and by the stock and branch. The Sabellians differed from the Noetians in this particular: Noetius was of opinion that the person of the Father had assumed the human nature of Christ; but Sabellius maintained that a certain energy only, proceeding from the supreme Parent, or a certain portion of the divine nature, was united to the Son of God, the man Jesus. He considered in the same manner the holy Ghost as a portion of the everlasting Father.* SACOPHORI, a denomination in the fourth century; so called because they always went clothed in sackcloth, and affected a great deal of austerity and penance.t SANDEMANIANS. [A sect which originated in Scotland, about the year 1728; where it is at this time, distinguished by the name of Glassites, after its founder, Mr. John Glass. He was a minister of the established Broughton, vol. ii. p. 318. Mosheim, vol. i. p. 244, + History of Religion, vol. iv. See Sacophori. |