at all, himself being an ecclesiastic; and, 2dly, in marrying a nun, who was also consecrated to the church. This great, reformer, however, despised the clamour of his adversaries, and, when he was satis fied that he had the prophets and apostles with him, set very light by Doctors, Popes, or even Fathers; of which we shall give an instance that will at the same time afford a specimen of his strong and vehement style. "Thus much I thought good to say as touching the gross error and profane opinion of Hierome, [Jerome] trifling, and by foolish allegories with his companion Origen, imagining spiritual fathers and spiritual children: whereby they have given occasion unto the Pope to make himself the bridegroom or the husband of the Church; and so one error has brought forth another. But I would rather wish that this bridegroom were hanged upon a tree with Judas and buried in hell, than that by this means he should spoil Christ of his name. For Christ Jesus alone is the husband of the Church. All the saints of God besides, are but the friends of the bridegroom,' as John the Baptist calleth himself. The Church is the spouse or the wife. The children are the faithful which daily come unto the marriage. These also are made the spouse, for they become partakers of the good things, and the blessings of the bridegroom, and they obtain the righteousness of Christ and his merits. If the Pope be good, then he is in the number of these, and not the bridegroom, not the husband, but the spouse; and is partaker of the benefits and the blessings of the bridegroom: But if he be evil, he is the bridegroom of Satan and the friend of Judas.' The Historical Account of Monasteries' prefixed by the editor, appears to be carefully drawn up and neatly written; and is illustrated by a well engraved frontispiece, exhibiting the different or ders of monks and nuns in their ecclesiastical costume. The narrative is also enlivened by some curious and interesting notes: the whole being calculated to expose the evils of popery, and shew the necessity of the Reformation. say another word; but, as reviewers, we may announce Mr. Timms's publication, and give our opinion of the manner in which he has treated the Dr. and his opinions. We have, in the first place, the satisfaction to state, that this writer is temperate and argumentative; not passionate or abusive. He treats the person of his adversary with respect, while he boldly controverts, and we think fairly confutes, his opinions. We shall, in the next place, shew the train of argument which Mr. T. pursues.-1. The definition of foreknowledge which Dr. Clarke gives, as consisting in power to foreknow, is not true, on his own shewing; for God could not, according to the Dr., foreknow those things which he calls contingent.2. If Dr. C. could establish his point, it would avail him nothing, except he could disprove all foreknowledge, and make God ignorant of every thing that is about to happen. 3. The Dr. assumes, what he ought to have proved, that the certainty of a future action, would ren der it unworthy of praise or blame. Here Mr. T. quotes John Howe and Dr. Edw. Williams, who deny that certain futurity involves any violation of free agency. 4. The assertion of Dr. C., that with God there is neither foreknowledge, nor after-knowledge," but an eternal now," has no other tendency than to neutralize or destroy the Dr.'s own statement. Here Mr. T. acutely observes, that, if futurity and preteriety are to the Deity the same, then that kind of contingency which Dr. C. attempts to esta blish, concerning future events, may also be proved concerning the past; and we may be told, that what has already hap pened is to the Deity contingent and doubtful; so that though we know that it has made sure of existence, it is the privilege of his being to be doubtful, whether it has happened or not. And now, where falls the charge of absurdity and contradiction, and blasphemy, so liberally thrown out by the other side? 5. The parallel which Dr. C. attempts to maintain between the attributes of omniscience and omnipotence fails. Dr. C. himself could not assert that the Deity had no other justice, or wisdom, or holiness, than a power to become holy, wise, or just. 6. If the Dr. could establish any limitation of the divine power to fore it know, with regard to moral agency, would be of no avail to his system, unless he could extend it also to the physi cal world; so that God could not foresee that the sun would once be arrested in his course, once shrouded in preternatural darkness, with a host of et ceteras, because these events are so involved in the moral system, that they could not be foreseen without foreknowing the conduct of moral agents. 7. In fine, to limit, and in effect destroy the prescience of Deity, we must destroy the moral goverument and providence of God, and leave the world to chance. We had, at first, concluded that this was a fictitious name, but as we are informed it is not, and though now we have no knowledge of the writer, we beg leave to assure him, that it would give us pleasure to see him again on this arena; for he wants nothing but more practice in composition, and in discussions of this kind, to make him all that we wish to see him. " Horne) in the Athanasian Creed as necessary to Salvation, is, that before all things we hold the Catholic Faith; which faith, it is said in the second verse,which Faith, received from the beginning, and to be preserved to the end, as embraced by the universal Church, except every one do keep whole, without rejecting any part of it that is clearly revealed, and undefiled, without adding any thing to it, which may defeat its sense and corrupt its tendency; without doubt, that is, it is beyond all controversy if the Scriptures be true, he shall perish everlastingly, he will finally forfeit his title to the benefits of the Christian Covenant. In the 3d and 4th verses, the Catholic Faith is stated to be this, that we worship One God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the persons (as the ancient Sabellians and others did, and as some in our own country do at this day), nor dividing the substance, as. the Arians did and do. This, it is de The Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity briefly stated and defended: and the Church of England vindicated from the charge of uncharitableness in retaining the Athanasian Creed. By T. H. Horne, M.A. Curate of Christ Church, Newgate-street, &c. 8vo. 5s.clared, is necessary to be believed; but MR. HORNE has already been introduced to our readers as an able advocate and judicious illustrator of the Sacred Writings; and, so far as respects the Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity,' he is no less entitled to our commendation. This work originated in two discourses on the much controverted text concerning the three witnesses, John, v. 7. of the genuineness of which the author appears to be well satisfied, and gives his reasons; to which we might add one founded upon Christian Charity: The words in question may have been omitted through the mistake of a transcriber+; but they could, if not original, be inserted only by design, and we think not a good one: we wish, indeed, the historie proofs of its authenticity were as strong as its internal evidence. The doctrine does, however, by no means rest upon a single text: the numerous texts adduced in favour of the Divinity of Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, are also proofs in favour of the Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity;' and these Mr. H. has arranged and argued from with no small degree of perspicuity and force. In his second section he proceeds to consider and refute objections-not only to the Scripture, but the Athanasian doctrine, which he considers to be the same, and is bold enough to defend even the damnatory clauses' in that obnoxious Creed. In this we cannot say we conceive him to be equally successful it is but just however that he should be heard. all that follows, from the 5th to the 25th everse inclusive, is only brought as a proof and illustration of it, and therefore requires our assent to more than a sermon does, which is written in order to prove or to illustrate a text. The text is, confessedly, the word of God, and therefore is necessarily to be believed: but no person is for that reason bound to believe every particular of the sermon deduced from it, upon pain of damnation, even though every tittle of it be. true. Now this is the case with the Athanasian Creed. The belief of the Catholic Faith above mentioned, the Scriptures make necessary to salvation; and therefore we must believe it: but there is no such necessity laid upon us to believe the illustration which is there given of it, nor does the Creed itself require it. For it proceeds in the 26th and 27th verses, to state, so that in all things as is aforesaid the Unity in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved (that is, is willing or desirous to be saved), LET him thus think of the Trinity. Such is the proper rendering of the clause. Thus it is evident that the things contained in the beginning and end of the Creed, are spoken of as matters of faith; but this intermediate matter, which is inserted in opposition to existing errors, is a matter of opinion only. "In reference to the first and last parts (the doctrine of the Trinity and Incarnation, and offices of Christ)" the certainty of condemnation is asserted: but in reference to the intermediate part, nothing is asserted, except that such are the views which we * See Vol. xxv. p. 433. This is more evident in the Greek. tion." P. 69, &c. Let our readers now ought to entertain of the point in ques : All that is required of us (says Mr. urn to the Creed, as it lies in the Common-prayer book, and judge for themselves. Proceedings of the Prayer Book and Homily Society,' during its 7th year: containing the annual Sermon, by the Rev. D. Wilson, the Report of the Committee, Appendix,, &e. 8vo. 2s 6d. Of the annual Meeting of this Society we gave an account in our No. for June (p. 253) with a brief outline of the Report. Mr. Wilson's discourse is founded on 1 Tim. iii. 14-16, These things write I unto thee,' &c. From which Mr. W. considers, I. The commendation bestowed on the Church as the house of God,' &c. II. The Magnitude of the Truth which is entrusted to the custody of the Church. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness, &c. III.The Inferences which may be drawn from both Topics, as to our conduct, individually, in the present period of the Church.' Under the first head, Mr. W. very properly explains the term church, in the language of his Articles, as a congregation of faithful men,' &c. which he considers as equally applicable to the universal body of Christ, and to each sub-division of it;' hereby judiciously avoiding the absurdity of so identifying the Church of Christ and the Church of England (one of these sub-divisions) as to make the terms wholly, and in all cases, convertible. Under the 2d head, Mr. W. gives a brief exposition of Scriptural Theology, or the great mystery of godliness and under the last he has the following remarks: 1. The sincere Christian will form a just estimate of the design of the Christian Church.' 2. The text furnishes the test of a true Church.' 3. Where the foundations are firmly laid, the circumstantials of Religion will allow of a considerable latitude.' 4. It will follow that 'the innumerable defects arising from the infirmities of our common nature, are not to be charged on the constitution and ordinances of any particular church, or alleged as a cause of separation from it.' From this last proposition we apprehend many of our readers will be Dissenters; and, with deference to Mr. W., we apprehend it is very possible to dissent from a church containing innumerable defects' without incurring the charge of schism, or disturbing the church from which he peaceably withdraws. We are not disposed, however, to withhold from Mr. W. the praise of christian candour and considerable liberality-and certainly not to dispute his claim to the character of an able, pious, and enlightened preacher, LITERARY NOTICES. MR. J. BULMER is about to publish by Subscription, The Vicar of Llandovery, or Light from the Welshman's Candle, an improved ed. in 1 vol. foolscap. Mr. Humberstone's Sermons are also about to be published by Subscription.— See cover, p. 6. lished: True and False Religion, pracIn the Press, and shortly will be pub. tically considered by Rev. G. G. Scraggs, logy, by G. Betts.-A Memorial of the 1 vol. 12mo.-The Young Convert's ApoExperience of the late Mrs. Parsons, of Leeds.—A small selection of Village Hymns, by Mr. Cobbin.—A new edition of Freeman's Art of Teaching Adult Persons.—A Narrative of the Persecution of Protestants in the South of France, (with a Chart, by Rev. Mark Wilks.)Memoirs of the late Rev. Mark Wilks, of Norwich, by his Daughter. The History of Religious Liberty, to the death of George III. by Rev. R. Brook, 2 vol. ¿vo. to Subscribers, 17. le Memoirs of the Life, Writings, &c. of Dr. John Owen, by Rev. W. Orme, 8vo. with a portrait, 12s. The Outlaw of Taurus: a Poem, by T. Dale, 8vo. Lectures on the Temper and Spirit of the Christian Religion, by Mat. (not Wm.) Allen, E. M. R. M. S. E. &c. 8vo. 9s. The Insufficiency of Reason, and Necessity of Revelation, by An. Horn, 12mo. Sketches of Sermons, vol. 1. 12mo. 4s. A Defence of Baptism, as a term of Communion, by Jos. Kinghorn, 8vo. 6s. Evidence of the Divine Origin of Christianity, from the reception it met with: an Essay, 8vo. 4s. A Sermon occasioned by the Execution of R. Ellis, by Rev. W. Farmer, ls. Funeral Sermon for Mr. and Mrs. Jocelyne, of Harlow, by T. Finch, 8vo. 1s. 6d. Brief Memorials of Ministers at Harlow, by ditto, 8vo. 2s. Remarks on the 87 Questions proposed by Bishop Marsh; by Rev. Jos. Wilson, M. A. 8vo. Episcopal Innovation: in 87 Questions of the Bishop of Peterboro', 12mo. 2s. 6d Scripture and Antiquity united in the Christian Testimony against the Publications of Mr. Belsham and Dr. Carpenter. By the Bishop of St. David's. Occasional Poems, by J. Bulmer, 1s. The Christian's Annual Pocket Jour nal for 1821. 2s, 3d. bd. RELIGIOUS FOREIGN. PERSIAN CHRISTIANS. INTELLIGENCE. Two persons professing to be Christians, and natives of Persia, have been dately travelling in India to collect charitable contributions. The Rev. Messrs. Kolholf and Sperschneider, the missionaries at Tanjore, from the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, were so well satisfied, after examination of the truth of their representations, that they gave them a testimonial to that effect. Lucas John is about 40 years of age; and states, that by the blessing and grace of God, he has for the last 10 years attended to the concerns of his soul. Jo seph John, about 23 years old, has, since the age of 15, known the things belonging to his peace. Their native town is Chosrabad, in the province of Hedesbegan, in Mesopotamia. It contains about 700 inhabitants, who are all of the same community. They are the offspring of ancient Jewash Christians, and are now suffering greatly under the government of Persia. Formerly, when under a Turkish Pasha, they enjoyed in some degree public justice and peace; but since they have been, subjected to the power of Abbas Mirza, a son of the King of Persia, who resides at Tebriz, these poor Christians have been treated in a most intolerant and cruel manner; and have had to pay heavy taxes beyond their ability. Two sons of Lucas John have been seized (as hostages), and threatened to be made mussulmans; but Mr. Armstrong, residing at Tebriz, has become security for the payment of 1000 rupees; 500 of which are already collected, the rest are still wanting. Since their acquaintance with Mr. Armstrong, they seem to have suffered less from their Mohammedan oppressors. They collected about 700 rupees at Bombay, Cochin, Tanjore, and the intermediate places, and about as much more at Madras: but the rupee of India is of much less value than that of Persia. The number of these Christians amount to about 10,000. They have an arch bishop and 3 bishops. The former resides at Mosul; one of the bishops at Chosrabad; another at Meredeen; and the third at Diarbekir. By the Mohammedans they are called Nazarenes, and Syrians by the Arabs; but among themselves, Ebrians, or Beni Israel; which name denotes their relation to the au cient Jewish Christian Church, as does also their present language, being very like the Hebrew. They have no connexion whatever with either Greek or Roman Churches. They hold the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity; and declare Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life;' and that through him alone they are delivered from the wrath to come, and are made heirs of eternal life. They acknowledge only the two Sacraments, but both in the full sense and import of the Protestant Church. They have at Chosrabad a large Church, nearly of the size and appearance of the Scotch Kirk at Madras, which is a fine building. Through fear of the Mohammedans, who insult and oppress them, they assemble for divine worship between the hours of five and seven on Sunday mornings; and in the evenings between six and eight. There are also daily services at the same hours. The women and men sit on opposite sides of the Church. Within the last ten years a School has been established, in which the average attendance of boys is about thirty. There is also a separate School for girls, consisting of very few in number. In these Schools are taught the four Gospels, the Psalms, and other books. These two men seem honest and sim ple, and well acquainted with the truths of Christianity, though quite deficient in reading and writing. On being asked occasionally what success they had met with, they invariably reply, in the most artless and unaffected manner-God has given us so much more'-mentioning the amount. FRENCH CLERGY. Ir is calculated that there are at present in France 2849 curates, 22,244 temporary curates, 5301 vicars, 1462 regular priests, 873 almoners of colleges and hospitals. The number of priests regularly officiating, including those who do not receive pay from the treasury, amounts to 36,185.-1361 French priests died in the year 1819; and in the same year there were 1401 ordinations. There are 106 female congregations, possessing altogether 1721 establishments, which contain 11,752 sisters. It is estimated that these charitable women constantly administer relief to nearly 69,000 sick persons, and gratuitously instrt et 63,000 poor childres *PROVINCIAL. ACADEMY AT IDLE. ON Tues, June 20th, the ministers to whom the office of examining the students had been entrusted, met at the Academy House. Many passages from the Roman and Greek Historians, Orators, and Poets, were read and translated by the different classes; and on their examination, the progress they had made was ascertained to the complete satisfaction of the examiners. Next day, the friends and supporters of the institution assembled in considerable numbers. After Mr. Jackson, of Greenhammerton, had prayed, the senior students delivered essays in the following order: Mr. Holroyd on the consequences of sin; Mr, Blackburn on the Atonement; Mr. Aspinall on Sanctification; Mr. Rheeder on Christian Contentment; Mr. C. Holgate on the Perseverance of Saints; and Mr. Colefax on Reason as subordinate to Revelation. Mr. Cockin, of Halifax, then addressed the students, and gave them appropriate admonitions and directions calculated to prepare them for usefulness in the Church of God. In the evening, Mr. Parsons, of Leeds, closed the day with an interesting discourse from The harvest truly is plenteous,' &c. This Anniversary was held in critical circumstances.-The Tutor had for many years undertaken to furnish supplies, on every application, for the congregations in the neighbourhood, to make provision for the West Riding Itinerancies when other means were deficient, and to send preachers to some newly raised interests which could not possibly afford to procure more distant aid; to do all this, as the number of students was inadequate, he availed himself of whatever preaching talent was within his reach; but some pecuniary resources having failed, it was evident that if the scale of the Institution was in consequence narrowed, he must abandon this mode of proceeding. It became therefore a question for the consideration of the Committee, previously to the General meeting, whether 14 students could as formerly be maintained? or, as the Tutor was desirous of tendering his resignation, whether the Academy would probably succeed better under other auspices, or if not, whether it should be suffered to dwindle into insignificance? But at the General Meeting, the liberal spirit of the subscribers scattered the fears and anxious forebodings which had gathered around the Institution. It had been resolved the preceding year, that the number of 1 students should not be diminished, and the resolution passed a second time, with a full determination to carry it into effect. To fill up the vacancies occasioned by the settlement of 3 of the students, the Committee admitted, on probation, three young men who had made application to them, and it is a pleasing consideration that they have passed the first stages of education, and have made so much progress that they can join the classes previously formed: indeed in every point of view, excepting the finances, the Academy never was in such flourishing circumstances as at present. AT the Meeting of the Association of the Independent ministers of Essex, held at Dunmow, July 10th, the bill lately introduced into Parliament by H. Brougham, Esq, for securing a general education of the poor, became a subject of conversation. The ministers present could not fail to consider the measure in its present state, as inimical, not only to the rights of dissenters, but also to the progress and general diffusion of knowledge among the poor. They therefore rations which induced them to form such discussed the various weighty considean opinion of a bill, which they presumed was never intended by its author to have any such operation. But, influenced by who were instructed to invite the coopera this feeling, they formed a Committee of7, tion of lay gentlemen to draw up a state ment calculated farther to excite the attention of the public, already drawu the different Societies in London for the to that subject, and to correspond with defence of religious liberty. JULY 12th, the Rev. J. White, late stulent of Idle, was ordained pastor of the Independent Church at Northowram, Yorkshire. Mr. Pool, of Kippin, read and prayed; Mr. Cockin, of Halifax, stated the nature of ordination, proposed the customary questions, and received Mr. White's confession; Mr. Baines, of Wilsden, offered the ordination-prayer; Mr. Vint, of Idle, delivered the charge; Mr. Scott, of Cleckheaton, preached to the people; and Mr. Pollard, of Booth, concluded the important services with prayer; Mr. Hamilton, of Leeds, preached in the evening. JULY 20th, the Rev. H. Welsford, late student of Hoxton Academy, was ordained to the pastoral office at Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Mr. Vaughan, of Worcester, commenced the service with prayer and reading; Mr. John Burder, of Stroud, delivered the introductory discourse, and proposed the usual ques |