trine; and the source of such a spirit is ignorance and superstition. Such has been the spirit and conduct of the members of the church of Rome, almost ever since they began to gain ground in the world, which is only of a modern date, although they assert the contrary by saying, "We were the first, and we shall be the last, our religion is the oldest." Well may they boast of its antiquity, for it is as old as Cain for fraternal discord and opposition to true religion; and for idolatry, 'tis as old as Laban's gods; (Gen. xxxi, 19-30;) and Aaron's golden calf; (Exod. xxxii, 4-8;) yea, it is so old, that it has grown blind many years ago, and the head Physician has pronounced it incurable without the scriptures, saying," If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." Luke xvi, 31. And the words of the prophet may be applied to the pastors of this church. "The leaders of this people cause them to err, and instead of being the head, it is said that the prophet that teacheth lies he is the tail.", Isa. ix, 15, 16. These are proper applications and true comparisons, of which I am a living witness, for I have discovered the errors and felt the persecutions of the church of Rome, And now I come to shew her idolatry in Image Worship. WHEN personages of noble dignity and high authority utter their voice, declaring what tends to the general good of society and special interests of mankind, they lay claim to the gratitude of their hearers, and deserve to be listened to with docility and attention. But let the whole earth be silent to the voice of God from Mount Sinai, saying,"Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them; for I am the Lord thy God." Ex. xx, 4, 5. The Pope of Rome seems to set God at defiance in this commandment, by contradicting and violating it in every point, and setting himself up in the office of God, to issue divine laws, pardon sin, and dispose of divine blessings; and this is done with all deceivableness, and with signs and lying wonders by him who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple or office of God, shewing himself that he is God. 2 Thes. ii, 4-9. For making images and drawing likenesses of our Saviour, the Virgin Mary, and the saints, and exhibiting them in chapels and places of worship, and bowing down to them, is an incessant practice in the popish church. But as her pastors attempt to transubstantiate and change substances and sentences to suit their fancy, so they also tell us, that they don't commit idolatry by bowing to images, although God has said, "Thou shalt not bow down to them." And even some of them have denied that they bow down to images. But this is only creating two evils; first committing idolatry, and then making use of an untruth by denying it when put to the test, because it can admit of no defence. The Rev. Mr. Macdonald had recourse to this ingenious plan at the Bradford controversy; for he saw that the practice of bowing to images could not be justified, and therefore denied that they did so. But every one who is acquainted with their system knows to the contrary, which shews that Mr. Macdonald has involved himself in an embarassing difficulty, according to his own doctrine, which says, "He is a heretic who obstinately maintains any thing contrary to the known faith and doctrine of the holy catholic church."* christian doctrine the catholics profess to maintain, yet Mr. Macdonald has denied it, and consequently, according to the above rigorous censure, is condemned for heresy. This Mr. Macdonald in my opinion was guilty of contradicting the known truth, and this before many witnesses, by saying, they did not bow to images. Hundreds of instances are known to the contrary, one of which in particular I here beg leave to relate. One Good Friday, when a con * Christian Doctrine explained, page 12. gregation was assembled in a chapel near Cavan, in Ireland, to commemorate the passion and death of our Redeemer; like all religious services which are not conducted under the guidance of divine direction, this was carried to excess. We were all engaged in confused prayer, using vain repetition as the heathen do, and thinking to be heard for our much speaking, the priest at the same time reading in Latin what they call the passion of Christ. When he concluded, he pulled off his boots, and we all took off our shoes; he then unfolded a napkin, in which was bound up a wooden image about ten inches long, representing our Saviour. He raised it up to the view of the whole congregation, repeating aloud three times these words, "Venite adorems." It was then hailed with acclamations of awe from every quarter of the chapel. The priest advanced with it elevated in his hands to the end of the opposite aisle, where he spread the napkin, and laid the image upon it, and kneeled down and kissed its face, hands, and feet, and then withdrew to the altar again, until we all followed his example in thus worshipping the image! Now this incontrovertible statement of facts defies refutation, and appeals to the judgment of every enlightened and candid reader, if idolatry could be more gross, or mortals more infatuated! God declares, "I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another; neither my praise to graven images." Isa. xlii, 8. And St. Paul says, that, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man." i, 22, 23. Rom. Thus does it appear that the Roman Catholics are condemned for holding and maintaining erroneous doctrines and idolatrous practices. And then, alas! a bad cause produces bad consequences; for, "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." Matt. xv, 14. But after all that has been proved on this point, both by matter of fact and the testimony of heaven; yet some may be ready to equivocate in order to evade censure, by saying, "We do not violate the commandments of God in any degree by making images, as we don't worship, but only venerate them on account of what they represent." But this evasion is vain, because the commandment is first violated in the dedication of the images. "Thou shalt not make unto thyself, &c." And secondly, in bowing down to them; for it is said, Thou shalt not bow down to them." It is not only superfluous worship, but gross idolatry and unprofitable nonsense, to attend the shadow of worship instead of the substance; for if all the time that is lost in praying to saints and angels, and howing to images, were spent in praying fervently to the true God, the only object of divine adoration, a real and saving change of heart and life would soon be the happy result; and the false and uncharitable opinion, that all out of the pale of the Romish Church must be lost, would not so powerfully predominate. But this bigotted notion also is a prevalent evil, and a most powerful barrier against the progress of truth, which must be removed |