nail with a spiritual hammer—a position very difficult to be instilled into the minds of children in our enlightened day. Yet they cling to their DOGMA without due examination, and are positively rivetted to this absurd prejudice. It is sincerely to be regretted that so much worth and excellence should be so blinded and infatuated by what has descended to them from their forefathers as to want the moral courage to examine the foundation upon which their DOGMA is constructed—namely, an absurdity too gross for com mon sense. Full well do I know that this very "DIVARICATION" will rouse the vengeance of the mighty rulers of the earth, both spiritual and temporal, because it overturns the long established prejudices of BIGOTRY which have too long defiled the Temples of Religion, and clears the House of God of all false systems and ridiculous sects, which are contrary to the "WORD OF God." "For it is written that the House of the Lord shall be a House of Prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves." Emboldened by the purity of my motive, which has long been canvassed in my mind, and ultimately approved by that spirit of truth-CONSCIENCE- I shall fearlessly proceed in my pious labour of purifying all the Religions on earth, till, by refinement and the substitution of "SCIENCE" for Dogmas, they shall all prove to be reducible to ONE only true Religion – that revealed to us by our Redeemer. Did the Star Chamber yet exist, and BIGOTRY still hold supreme sway, we might expect to see Smithfield enlightened by the blaze of faggots, and priests cheered by the dying groans of a martyr. These terrors even would not deter me from attempting to purify the so-called "Religion of Christ," that the prophetic voice of its founder may be heard at the remotest corners of the world, proclaiming that "the Gospel shall be preached to all the nations of the earth.". Whatever may be my earthly sufferings, full well I know that my reward will be in heaven, while I stand reconciled with my Maker, through his eternal spirit of truth, my own CONSCIENCE. During the progress of this chapter of the "DIVARICATION I have been visited with a most severe indisposition - so much so, that I felt myself at the very threshold of ETERNITY, and, as it were, summoned to the awful presence to give an account of my earthly deeds. This was a most propitious moment to rouse my Conscience into a severe self-examination. The thought started into my mind - Is the work which I propose to publish a wicked undertaking, disturbing the slumbering prejudices accumulated by the lapse of TIME, or a really honest and good work, calculated to induce self-examination and thorough enlightenment thus to ameliorate the condition of the whole human race!-Perhaps this burst of scientific light may be too much for the prejudices of Bigotry, Superstition, and Ignorance.-But the truth will out! — Indeed the times are somewhat favourable for this enormous disclosure. CONSCIENCE thou spirit of truth-answer these allegations. "If thy Maker wills the destruction of thy labours, he will annihilate the atom that meditates the mischief. If He - permits thee still to exist, proceed with thy truly glorious undertaking, and brave the censure of man."The appearance of the work is the full answer to the querist. The Infidel, still bent, as he thinks, on invalidating these four Gospels, persists in bringing all his forces to bear upon the case, and proceeds in selecting passages and expressions from "Holy Writ," which, as he states, would disgrace Divinity — therefore, they must proceed from Humanity. Thus, says he, it is decidedly im moral to take the ass and foal unknown to the owner evident humanity - not the conduct of the Son of God, but most certainly that of the Son of Man. Again, at the marriage at Cana, when Jesus said to his mother" Woman, what have I to do with thee!" this irreverent language from an affectionate son to his fond mother, say the Infidels, is somewhat reprehensible, or the import of the words has undergone considerable change since they were applied to the mother of God. They insist that, in their present meaning, they imply evident humanity. When Jesus was called upon to give some sign of his Divinity, he evaded the question-the act of a man, not of a God. Jesus, when disputing with the Jews, says "Now you seek to kill me, a man, that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God." What! say the Infidels, are we to doubt the statement of Christ, when he declares himself to be a man!—This, say they, would be making the founder of the "only true Religion" the asserter of a falsehood; consequently, his humanity is established from his own words. At the time of our Saviour's agony on the Cross, when he was about to give up the Ghost and commend his spirit to his Father, it is written that Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying-" Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani !”—which means—“My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me!" On this exclamation the Infidels lay great stress. It appears from this that God had forsaken his Son: hence there could not have been any stipulated contract between Jesus Christ and the Creator. To suppose that absolute perfection can break a contract is not only an absurdity but a total impossibility. But, on the other hand, to suppose that Jesus-a "MAN" in the agonies of deathshould appeal to his Maker for consolation is not only an evident mark of humanity, but a positive demonstration that Christ while on earth was not a Divinity. It is perfectly needless and absolutely superfluous to multiply the instances collected by the Infidels to destroy the "Scriptures" altogether. We shall soon convince this class of reasoners that their most potent efforts at destruction afford the most powerful arguments for the establishment of the entire Christian Scheme. Had Christ been a Spirit, as the Bigot asserts, walking this earth, he could have offered no example to man. How could matter act like Spirit! The Soul, when separated from the Body, is totally free from all carnal inclinations, having aspirations of a far higher nature — |