of a much lefs Nature than Idolatry, and more eafily pardoned.mo ag

Especially when they do not worship these Creatures as the Supreme God, but as their, Mediators, and Patrons, and Advocates with the Supreme God; for there is a Worship due to a Mediator,diftinct from the Worship of the Supreme God, as the Worship of ' Chrift proves, who is not God, but a Creature-Mediator; and thus the Heathens worshipped their inferior Deities, and thus the Papists worship their Saints: And if they do mistake, and worship thofe for Mediators, who are none, and can do them no Service; the greatest hurt seems to be,that they loofe their labour, but according to these Principles,they do no injury to God.

Page 92.

For as they tell us, when it is faid, That all men 5 John 23. Should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father; the meaning only is, as we honour God or the Father So we must not forget to honour alfo the Son of GodAn equality of Honour is no more intended here, than an equality of Perfection in those words, Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father, which is in Heaven is perfect. So the Heathens did not intend the fame degree of worship to their Mediators and Inferior Deities, as to the Supreme God; and we know the Papifts diftinguish between the worship of Latria and Dulia, or that Soveraign worship which is due to the Supreme God, and that inferior honour to Saints and Angels; and it is plain, this is not an arbitrary, but real diftinction, as is evident in the worship of God, and the Man Christ Jefus, who are worshipped with different degrees of honour, as thefe Socinians affert.

And

And whereas the Papists are charged with making Gods and Goddeffes of dead Men and Women, by paying Religious worship to them, they no more make them Gods, than the Socinians make Christ a God.

And as for the worship of the Virgin Mary, they have in reafon as much to say for it, as the Socinians have for the worship of Chrift: They make Christ the Son of God, only because he was formed by a Divine Power in the Womb of the Virgin; but Papifts, who believe Chrift to be God, own her for the Mother of God; and I cannot fee, why it is not as great an honour to be the Mother of God, as to be born of a Virgin by the Power of God, and it may be more. And in reafon I cannot fee (allowing of the Interceffion of a Creature) why the Virgin Mother of God, fhould not intercede as powerfully for us, as a Man born of a Virgin by the Power of God; and I am apt to think,our Saviour will account it a lefs fault to worship his Mother, than to make himself a meer Creature var

And though the blessed Virgin do not particularly know our Condition, yet the may help us by her general Interceffion as Christ does, and pray particularly for her peculiar Devotoes, and therefore at least we may pray to God in the Name of the Virgin, and other Saints, as Socinians do in the Name of Christ, who knows as little of them.

And yet the Virgin, and other Saints, may underftand our Condition and Affairs the fame way,

that

the

the Socinians fay Chrift does, viz. by Revelation from God, and by the Ministry of Angels, who are fent into the World, and carry the News of this World to Heaven, though we fhould not allow of their Glafs of the Trinity, wherein they fee and know all things.

So that here is nothing wanting but the appointment and allowance of God, to make the bleffed Virgin and other Saints as proper Advocates for us, as the Socinians make Chrift to be; for they are as well qualified for it, or might be, if God fo pleased, according to their Principles; and this the Papifts think they have too, that God has appointed, or at least allows the worship of fuch favourite Saints; and though they are mistaken in it, it is certainly a much more innocent and pardonable mistake, to make a Mediator, whom God has not made,than to make the eternal Son of God a Creature.

In a word, whatever evil there is in Creature Worship, that the Socinians are guilty of in worshipping a meer man; but this is not the worft of their Cafe, for they overthrow the whole Chriftian Religion by it; which Popery does not overthrow, though it greatly and dangerously corrupts it.

SECT.

Creed.

T

SECT. VII.

An Answer to what remains in the Brief Notes.

Am now haftening to a Conclufion, and there is little behind to ftop me; for though half the Sheet be yet untouched, it is answered before I come to it; and therefore both to fave Paper and Pains, I shall not transcribe his long impertinent Harangues, as I have hitherto done, but only give the Reader a view of those Passages which he intends for Argument or Drollery, I know not whether.

The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten.

Our Note-maker has difcovered a Contradiction between the beginning and the end of this Article; for either the Son is not of the Father alone, or he is not begotten; for every Novice in Grammar,and proper Speaking, knows, that begotten, when it is diftinguished from made and created, always fuppofes two Parents, a Mother as well as a Father. He will allow the Son to be begotten, if you speak of the Generation of the Son by the Divine Power on the Virgin Mary; for then it would have been true, that the Son is neither made, nor created, but begotten; for then he has both Father and Mother; God is his Father, and the Virgin Mary his Mother; and thus, though they will not allow the Virgin to be the Mother, they will allow her to be the Wife of God, which is as honour

able.

able. These are very fit men to make Addrefles to
a Morocco Ambaffador, for they are fo far of Maho-
met's mind, that God cannot have a Sɔn, unless he
have a Wife; but Mahomet was the better Divine in
this, that he never dreamt of God's having a Woman
for his Wife. I am afraid this is Blafphemy ;I'm fire,
we have always thought it fo from the Mouth of a
fcoffing Atheist or Infidel; for this is not his
own, but

borrowed Wit.

ta, qui velles,.

tanti muneris

For does our Author in earnest think,that God cannot have a Son, unless he begets him, as one man begets another? This is to dispute against God's begetting a Son, as the Epicurean in Tully did against Que molitio, God's making a World, that he wanted Minifters que ferramenand Inftruments for fuch a Work, as if God made a que machine, World, as a Carpenter builds a Houfe. Does a Son qui iniftri, neceffarily fignifie one who is begotten of two Pa-fuerunt? De rents? I thought the true Notion of a Son had been, Nat. Deor.! 1. one who is produced out of the Substance of its Parent, (not out of nothing, which we call Creation, nor formed of any other Præexiftent Matter which we call making) and that the true Notion of begetting, is to produce its own Image and Likenefs out of its own Subftance, by what means foever this is done and if one Parent can thus beget a Son of his own Substance, this argues greater perfection in the Father, and is a more perfect manner of Production than by two; and methinks he might allow the most perfect Being to beget a Son in the most perfect manner. And that an infinite Mind can and muft beger his own likeness and image, that is, an eterhal Son, by a reflex Knowledge of himself, I have already shown,

!

Supra p.130