that transubstantiation, purgatory, the propriety of using images, and of worshiping saints, the doctrine of indulgences, several of the Papal sacraments, the celibacy of priests, and all the distinguishing tenets of the Romish church, depend on her infallible teaching. The amount of the whole is given by Dr. Wharton, that "the Church of Rome is infallible, because she herself has so determined." Letter, p. 26.

Two combatants were never more equally matched, than the reverend writers under review. They seem to have been educated together, to be of equal mental strength, and to contend seriously with great equanimity. For some incorrect expressions about our senses and our understandings being our only means of arriving at truth; about indifference to truth, as essential to candid investigation; and for the rather boastful assertion, to which he calls Heaven to witness, "that he has weighed every argument for and against your mode of religion with the same impartiality, as if the world contained no being but God and himself," the Archbishop justly reprimands his former friend; and if the Fathers are to be put upon a level with the Scriptures, the Protestant Wharton cannot stand before even the ghost of the departed Carroll. If the Bible and common sense are to be umpire in this controversy, Dr. Wharton has vanquished the Catholic. The arguments of the Archbishop for the infallibility of his church of bishops with the Pope at their head, are summarily comprehended thus: Jesus Christ appointed Apostles and made Peter their head, and the Vicar of himself; he gave his apostles authority to ordain their successors; the Roman Catholic bishops are the only successors in office of Peter and the other apostles; to the whole body of apostles and their successors Jesus gave the commission to teach all nations; their commission to teach would be vain without such a divine superintendence as to render it infallible; to the same body he said, "lo, I am with you always unto the end of the world;" to the same body he promised his Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth; and to the same he pledged his veracity, that the gates of hell should never prevail

against his church; that is, AGAINST THEM; So that should they publicly teach error for the truth of God, the gates of hell would prevail against them, and in that case Jehovah's word would be forfeited; which can never be. He argues thus, moreover; if the doctrine of the church is not infallible, men have no evidence that the Old and New Testament are divinely inspired; for they can ascertain only from tradition, handed down by the church from the apostles, what books are canonical: so that if the unwritten word of God is not received we have no warrant for receiving the written revelation. The most ingenious and favourable view of this subject of which we can conceive, is contained in The Religious World Displayed. The Roman Catholic writer in that

work says,

"To this creed, rightly understood, every Roman Catholic assents, and by it, makes a profession of his faith; but as many take the liberty of attributing doctrines to them which they disavow, I shall here point out how they themselves understand what may appear to have most difficulty in this symbol. With them, nothing is to be believed by divine faith but what God revealed; and according to them, an article of divine Catholic faith is, that, and only that, which has been revealed by God to his prophets, apostles, or other inspired writers of the Scriptures, and is proposed as such to her Children by the Church.

"But whether this is proposed to them by the universal church, as the word of God preached by an apostle, or as the word of God written by an apostle, is a matter of indifference to a Roman Catholic; he believes the one with divine faith, as well as the other: as the first Christians believed the revealed doctrines of Christ with equal firmness before they were written, as they did after they were written. The first is, what Roman Catholics understand by the word of God, delivered to the church from the beginning, and handed down to us from age to age by tradition; the second is, the word of God delivered to the church, and handed down to us from age to age by scripture: and as they believe that the scripture contains the word of God, because it has been so taught, preached, believed, and delivered successively by the church in all ages, without one text of scripture to prove the same; so, whatever thing the same church dispersed throughout the world, has in all ages successively, without interruption, taught, preached,

believed, and delivered, as the doctrine of Christ and his apostles, a Roman Catholic believes that by divine faith.

"But every other law, or constitution of the church, although it were a constitution or ordinance of the Apostles, handed down to our time by tradition, such as the keeping holy Sunday, instead of Saturday, as commanded in Scripture, however true and just they may be in themselves, yet not being revealed by God, they are no objects of divine faith; and what their faith teaches concerning these is, that they are to obey their spiritual superiors, and the church, and observe her just ordinances. To understand, therefore, rightly, not only this Creed, but likewise the definitions of their general councils, it is necessary to bring the foregoing observations always along with us.

"They believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the word of God, and as such, have the highest ve neration for them, and own them to be of the greatest authority upon earth, leading infallibly to truth, when rightly understood; but finding, by the experience of so many heresies since our Saviour's time, all pretending to be grounded on scripture, many parts of the word of God, even those that concern the most fundamental articles of the Christian religion, interpreted several ways, and made to signify things contradictory; the Roman Catholic does not presume to follow his own interpretation of any texts in it, contrary to the way they have been understood by the universal church in all ages since the apostles, however well grounded his own private sentiments may appear to him. For, as none but the universal church could with certainty tell him what books she received from the apostles, as containing the word of God; so he believes none but the universal church can point out to him, with certainty, in what sense the same word of God was delivered to her by the apostles, when a contest arises about the meaning of it; and to guard himself against error, he professes in this Creed, not to interpret it otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the Holy Fathers in all ages." p. 18-20.

How to answer these arguments Protestants very well know; and we shall be contented here with remarking, that the Bible contains as satisfactory internal evidence of its divine origin, as the works of nature that they have proceeded from the Omnipotent Creator. For any other answer, we refer our readers to Dr. Wharton, who is a very chaste and instructive writer. 2 H

VOL. I.

No. 2.

The question about the legitimate successors to the apostles Dr. W. seems little inclined to agitate with the Archbishop; and for ourselves, we must admit, that the Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal church have just as good a title to a legitimate succession to the Apostolic office, as the Pope and his Cardinals; if we make this difference, that the former have been excommunicated by the Mistress and her Papal Consort, whereas the latter have not. They may claim prelatical powers; but we believe Protestant Episcopal Bishops to be Pastors and Presbyters; and think we can prove from their liturgy, that their ordinations are essentially Presbyterian.

The two hundred last pages of the volume in our hand, consists of two pamphlets, in which Dr. Wharton exposes to merited disrespect the Roman Catholic doc. trine concerning the sacrament of penance. In these he meets Dr. O'Gallagher, the author of " an Appendix to the Catholic Question decided in the city of New-York, July, 1813," as the champion of the Romish religion; and he finds him, in every thing but arrogance, greatly inferior to his former opponent. What Dr. W. attempt. ed, he has accomplished; which was to show,

"First, that the doctrine of auricular confession, as a divinely instituted sacrament of the Christian church, has no foundation in the scripture. Secondly, that this doctrine was unknown to the primitive church; and that previously to the thirteenth century it had never been enacted into an article of faith and indispensable discipline.

"Thirdly, That neither the council of Lateran, nor the council of Trent, nor any other earthly tribunal, has a right to impose such a grievous yoke upon the faithful from a plea to infallibility; as this plea is altogether unsupported either by reason or revelation." p. 8.

A few of Dr. Wharton's expressions we deem exceptionable; especially some on the 15th and 16th pages of his "Short answer," in which he intimates that repentance in man renders God placable; that unequivocal evidences of repentance are sufficient to procure absolution; and.that confession to God is effectual in obtaining forgiveness. This is loose theology; and inconsistent with the general tenor of the Doctor's treatise, in which

he honourably exhibits the atonement of Christ as the only procuring cause of absolution from the guilt and misery of sin. Without approving of every thing contained in this book, we must say, that it is well calculated to do good to Roman Catholics, because Dr. Wharton meets them on their own ground and brings the Fathers against the Fathers, and tradition against tradition; and that our Protestant brother of Burlington deserves the thanks of all who have occasion to defend the religion of the Bible against the see of Rome.

ARTICLE VI.-1. A Brief View of Facts, which gave rise to the New-York Evangelical Missionary Society of Young Men: together with the Constitution. New-York, 1817. pp. 20. 8vo.

2.-History of the Young Men's Missionary Society of NewYork, containing a correct account of the recent controversy respecting Hopkinsian Doctrines. Published by the Society. New-York, 1817, pp. 40. 8vo.

3.-Proceedings of the First Anniversary of the New-York Evangelical Missionary Society of Young Men: together with the Annual Report of the Board of Directors, and the Speeches delivered on the occasion. New-York, 1817. pp.

42. 8vo.

4.-A Plea for a Standing Ministry: A Sermon, delivered at the Anniversary of the Young Men's Missionary Society of New-York, on the 28th of December, 1817. By Alexander McClelland, A. M. Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Rutgers street. Published at the request of the Society: with an Appendix, containing the second annual Report of the Young Men's Missionary Society, &c. New-York, 1818. pp. 56. 8vo.

We have brought these four pamphlets together, because they relate to the division of the Young Men's Missionary Society of New-York, and to the subsequent missionary efforts of each party in the Hopkinsian war that has prevailed in that city. From the whole we shall endeavour to collect a fair statement of some interesting facts, for the benefit of those who may not have opportunity for consulting these original documents. The first