just alluded. It is, that unless we believe Christ to be the Supreme God, we cannot regard him as our all-sufficient Saviour. But if, as we all most sacredly believe, God himself is the original author of all the blessings of our redemption, to doubt the sufficiency of him, whom he has sent to diffuse them, what is it, but to doubt the sufficiency of God himself? Does then the efficacy of these blessings depend in the least on the dignity of the instrument employed to impart them? Could not God, if it were his pleasure, of the very stones raise up children to Abraham? Could he not communicate enough of power to any being he has created, to effect any purpose which he sees to be best? And shall it be said that his beloved Son, whom he hath sanctified and sent into the world, and on whom he hath poured his spirit without measure, is still not competent to the work assigned to him, unless we suppose that he shares the throne, and divides the honours of his Father?

"Fourthly,-Another circumstance which has prevented men from taking a calm survey of this subject, is its supposed connexion with what is called the doctrine of the Atonement. I shall only remark, at present, that there is no view of the nature of our Saviour, more eminently inconsistent with every idea of an atonement, than that of our Trinitarian brethren; for they all must and do believe, that Jesus suffered only in his human nature. It would be too monstrous to suppose that Almighty God himself wept in agony; that he, whose nature is impassible, endured the severest tortures; that the Creator of the universe was the scorn and mockery of his sinful creatures, died by their hands, and left, for three days, the universe without a governor! nature without a God! This is too horrible to be directly maintained by any one. As, therefore, the divine nature could not suffer, it was man alone, on this theory, that died for us, and however unwilling to be so conjoined, it is certain, that every Trinitarian precisely agrees with the Unitarian whom he so much abhors.

"What a lesson is it of the futility of these unholy disputes, to find, that they who seem at the farthest remove from their opponents, after filling the world with the noise of their contention, and bringing accumulated disgrace on the cause of Christ, do yet, after all, practically meet and unite in exactly the same conclusion."-(Samuel Cooper Thacher.) '

The foregoing remarks, on the orthodox doctrine of the trinity, are true, as every reasonable man will decide. The author of them, however, was represented by the orthodox, as an enemy to the gospel of Christ! a false teacher ! and, a

man who denied all the essential doctrines of revealed religion! And the same unholy slanders, are now, in every orthodox parish, zealously promulgated. I shall show the complete deception, and perfect superstition, and unparalleled idolatry of the orthodox, in further considering some of their ESSENTIAL doctrines.

Let me now proceed to apply and prove my text. It is not necessary to repeat the words-they are too awful-yet, they are strictly orthodox.

In the quotations, which I have made from orthodox books, enough has been produced to fully satisfy every man that the trinitarians consider Jesus Christ to be the Holy One of Israel; the unchangable, never dying, eternal, Infinite JEHOVAH. There is no mistake about this. Their words are plain, clear and positive-that Jesus was the GOD of all men, and this doctrine, I again repeat, is now taught at all orthodox seminaries,* and no one will pretend to dispute it-for it is the most important of all their essential doctrines.

Again, another very essential doctrine of the orthodox, is a full and unwavering belief in the Devil. This fact is so notorious, that if a person should dare to say he did not believe in the existence of the devil, when admitted to the table of the sacred ordinance, that person would be immediately pronounced a heretic! Indeed, no one can join a trinitarian church, unless they have a saving faith in the existence of the devil. This fact is so common, that no one can dispute it. Here then, we have the first and second ESSENTIAL doctrines of all trinitarians. Here is no mistake.

I will now show the gross and complete deception of this doctrine. It is useless for my opponents to say "these things are mysteries'-clearly REVEALED in the bible-such a mean and heathenish course will answer for Hottentots and Arabsbut should never be practiced by the true Orthodox interpreters of the bible. If these things are mysteries, and beyond our reason to comprehend them, what do the clergy mean by telling us we shall be damned if we do not believe them ?What, I repeat it, What is meant by such conduct? For myself, I am satisfied, this conduct is complete deception and a most flagrant imposition on common sense.

It will be admitted, that Jesus was GOD-and that there is a devil who goeth about seeking whom he may devour.' Now I ask, Where did the devil come from? This question no man can answer. It is true, 1 am told the devil is a fallen angel. Well, who made the fallen angel? Why, God made him. What did he make him for? If orthodoxy is true, the devil was made on purpose to deceive and ruin mankind

*Can any one tell the difference between them and Catholic Convents?

that God might eternally damn them!! Let us attend to this all important subject, and see if our Holy FATHER, in heaven, has made and placed us in this world "for the sport of the devil," as trinitarians teach us to believe: who also tell us that our present and future eternal happiness, depends on a belief in this orthodox doctrine. If this is true, no man ought to treat the subject lightly. Therefore, let us attentively and seriously "search the scriptures," and "see if these things

are so.

It appears from orthodoxy, that after God had made Adam and Eve, he sent the devil to deceive them, that they and all mankind might be damned. (See Chapter on Satan.) In this wretched condition, God was moved to repentance for his work, and resolved to leave heaven and come down to the assistance of us rebels. While on earth, this devil whom God had made, happened, in one of his tours round the world, to meet with his father, and had the impudence to dispute his right in the goverr.ment of the world-and among other things the devil made his father straddle,' or, sit on a pinnacle of the temple.' Here you have the orthodoxy of my text. I cannot in words, express my horror at such monstrous dogmasand when I see men enter the pulpit and say that these doctrines are clearly revealed in the bible-but mankind are so totally depraved that their carnal reason cannot understand them-my surprise is turned to sorrow; and, to complete the abominations already mentioned, I am told it requires the irresistible influences of God's spirit to enlighten the mind, in order to rightly understand these horrid inventions of men, clothed under the title of sacred mysteries!!! [I shall consider these things at length in their proper places.]

It may be well, however, here to give an extract from two highly approved religious newspapers, which are established to defend this true faith, mentioned in the above paragraph. In the Christian Index, for Jan. 5, 1833, (a Calvinist Baptist paper, published at Philadelphia,) we find the following declaration, which all the Baptists' zealously defend. The edit

or says

"God makes others instrumental in afflicting us, still it is He who controls and directs their instrumentality. They are the sword the hand is thine."

The New-England Baptist Register, of Aug. 2, 1832, published at Concord, N. H. another true Calvinist paper, says:

Regeneration is an irresistible act of God's grace, no more resistance can be made to it, than there could be in the

first matter, to its creation, or in a dead man to his resurrection, or in an infant to its generation. Whatever aversion, contrariety, or opposition there may be to it, in the corrupt NATURE of man, it is all speedily and easily overcome, by the divine grace, when the stony heart is taken away and a heart of flesh is given."

These extracts give the lie direct,' to the word of God.-Under the first, a man may murder, commit rapes, arson, robbery, suicide, piracy, lie, swear, and do every bad thing, and then say, "I could not help doing these things, for God was the cause of my doing so badly." "He has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass,' so that I am justified in doing evil, because I do just what God has willed I should do, and no man can resist the decrees of God." Such is the amount and effects of Calvinist preaching.

The second extract confirms the first in every particular. It is worse than mockery to call on bad men to forsake their evil ways, and tell them at the same time, they cannot 'pray right,' repent, or do any good thing, on account of their corrupt natures,' unless God sends an 'irresistible influence' to convert them. These extracts make all mankind perfectly justified in doing evil; and, under this gross error, thousands do justify themselves. Go through New-England, preach to the drunkard, the liar, the perjurer, the sabbath breaker, the profane, the lewd, and the vile of every description, tell them to reform, and they will all say, they cannot do it. If you ask them why they cannot comply with the reasonable commands of their Maker, they will all say, because they are not one of the elect, and God has never operated upon them to make them forsake their sins; when their turn comes, they shall be converted--and they are waiting for God's irresistible power to change their hearts!* Such, my friends, is the fatal delusion and totally depraving effects of Calvinist preaching, and no man can dispute it-and yet, these very men, who spread this spiritual Cannibalism, call themselves orthodox, the true teachers of the gospel of Christ; and all who will not believe such monstrous infidelity, are pronounced totally depraved. speak as to wise men, judge ye what I say.'

To be in character with all popular preachers, I will now tell a story—not about revivals, four day meetings, experiences, or conversions,-for all things may be found in another place-but a story to illustrate superstition, and many other facts of a similar nature will claim our attention.

The gallant Francis I. of France had an equally gallant and very shrewd valet-de-chambre, of the name of Lewis

* These vain excuses are not confined to the openly vicious.

Lewis

Brabant, who was also a most skilful ventriloquist. Brabant had the misfortune to fall desperately in love with a young, very beautiful, and very wealthy heiress, whose father forbade his addresses in consequence of the disparity of his condition. The father, however, died, soon after, and the courageous lover, unsubdued by a first repulse, was determined to try his fortune a second time, under favour of the new state of circumstances, and to see whether it would not be possible, upon a severe push, to call to his aid the art of ventriloquism, in which he was so considerable an adept.

He accordingly waited upon the mother as soon as decency would allow, and once more submitted his proposals. But faithful to the views of her deceased husband, the mother of the young lady made no scruple of once more giving Lewis Brabant a direct refusal. While, however, she was in the act of doing so, a low, hollow, sepulchral voice was heard by herself, and by every friend who was with her, and which was instantly recognised as the voice of the deceased, commanding her to give her daughter's hand immediately to Lewis Brabant, whom the piteous spirit affirmed he now knew to be a most worthy and excellent man, and considerable wealthier than he had taken him to be when alive; adding, at the same time, that he was at that moment suffering a part of the pains of purgatory for having ill-treated, by his refusal, so exemplary a man; and that he would not be released from them till his widow had consented.

All was mute astonishment; but Lewis Brabant appeared more astonished than the rest. He modestly observed, that whatever his merits or his virtues might be, he had no idea that they were worthy of being commemmorated by a voice from the grave; but that nothing could give him more pleasure than to be made the happy instrument of extricating the old gentleman from the pains of purgatory, which it seemed he was suffering on his account. There was no doubt as to

the voice; and, consequently, there was no doubt as to the path to be pursued; the mother, the daughter, the whole family, immediately assented with one accord, and Lewis Brabant had the honor to receive their commands to prepare for the nuptials with all speed.

To prepare for the nuptials, however, required the assistance of a little ready money; but Lewis Brabant was destitute of such an article. It was necessary, nevertheless, to procure it; and he now resolved to try whether the same talent which had obtained for him the promise of a wife, might not also obtain for him the material he stood in need of.