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TFIE

RELIGIOUS WORLD

DISPLAYED j

OR

A VIEW

OF THE

FOUR GRAND SYSTEMS OF RELIGION,

JUDAISM, PAGANISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND MOHAMMEDISM;

AND OF

THE VARIOUS EXISTING DENOMINATIONS, SECTS, AND PARTIES, IN THE CHRISTIAN WORLD.

TO WHICH IS SUBJOI?IED,

A VIEW OF DEISM AND ATHEISM.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

BY THE

Rev. ROBERT^ JIDAM, B. Ji. Oxford,

]^Iinister of the Episcopal Congregation, Blackfriar's Wynd, Edinburgh ; and Chaplain to tlie Right Honourable the Eail of Kellie.

Prove all things : hold fast that which is gfood.

1 Thessal. 5. V. 21.

VOL. L

PHILADELPHIA :

PUBLISHED BY MOSES THOMAS,

Xo. 5'2, Chesiiiit Street.

1818.

" We have, I verily believe, in our country, the best establishment of Christianity, in doctrine and discipline, and the most conducive to every good purpose of society ; but yet it behoves us to look impartially into the different controversies and opinions, and Confessions of Faith." — Archbishop Dkummond's Letter on Theol. Study, subjoined to his Sermons, iyo. 1803.

TO THE MEMORY

OF

THE RIGHT REVEREND

DR. WILLIAM ABERNETHY DRUMMOND,

OF HAWTHORNDEN, TITULAR BISHOP OF GLASGOW,

AND

SENIOR MINISTER OF THE EPISCOPAL CONGREGATION, BLACKFRIAR'S WYNU, EDINBURGH;

WHO,

Tlirough a life prolonged for valuable purposes,

And through tlie various fortunes of the Church to which he belonged,

Continuing ever faithfully and zealously

To exercise piety tow ards God,

And cliarity towards man,

Died on the 27tli of August, A. D. 1809,

In the 89tli year of his age, and the 22d of his episcopate.

Full of years and of honour ;

THIS WORK

is inscribed BY THE AUTHOR,

With feelings of gratitude, with tin- affection of a son. And witli tlie veneration due

TO

AGE, CHARACTER, AND WORTH.

PREFACE

AS the Scriptures, from whence all Christians investigate their principles of be- lief, and rules of conduct, have been va- riously interpreted by different commenta- tors and others, these diversities have given birth to a multiplicity of different sects and parties. And, as the history and knowledge of religious sects may be said to constitute a branch of general, ecclesiastical, and hte- rary history, a part of the original materials, of which the following work is composed, was collected, not so much with a view to publication, as to satisfy private curiosity, and from tlie desire of adding to the au- thor's stock of professional knowledge.

He now submits it to pubhc inspection with mucli diffidence, though not without good advice, foreseeing, tliat, notwithstand- ing all his labour and endeavours to come

Vl PREFACE.

at the real knowledge of the history and present state of the various controversies and parties into which the religious world is unhappily di\dded, he will be found to have misstated or misunderstood the prin- ciples or practices of some religionists, and will be himself misunderstood in what he has said respecting others.

By tlie operation and influence of private vanity, or of that wisdom which is too con- fident in its own opinions, and too con- temptuous of those of others, opinions rise into doctrines, doctrines swell into distinc- tions, and distinctions increase and break off into sects, extending and multiplying into endless circles. And, as Dr. Hey has well observed — " Some sects have no pre- cise ideas, and therefore no Creeds, Cate- chisms, Confessions of Faith, nor any eccle- siastical history ; hence their doctrines will be unsteady ; sects will ramify and mix im- perceptibly, keeping the same names, in such a manner as to elude all regular and systematical investigation." *

Taking therefore into account, the com- prehensive object of this work ; the neces-

* .Vorriiian Lectures, Vol. III. p. 38.

PREFACE. VII

sity of close investigation, and patient dis- crimination ; — tlie great number of works to be consulted ; tlie correspondence, and other requisites for doing justice to the subject, I may be allowed to say of my office, without magnifying it, that it is one of no small labour and difficulty. And the more heailily the reader agrees with mc in this, he will of course be the more dis- posed to exercise candour, and make all due allowance for my failures in the dis- charge of it.

But though, considering my delicate state of health, the little leisure that I enjoy from the important duties of a small, l)ut lal)o- rious charge, and other disadvantages under which I labour, few may be of opinion that I was prompted by prudence to undertake it ; most readers, I trust, will admit that, in discharging it, I have ])ecn guided by can- dour and moderation.

No one, it is hoped, wlio shall take the trouble of looking into these volumes, \vill here find his principles attacked or de- cried ; as far, at least, as I may have misre- presented those of any sect or party what- ever, so far have i failed in my object, which was to give a fair and candid statement of

VIU PREFACE.

existing sentiments, and differences of opi- nion on the important subject of religion.

Should this work, therefore, fall into the hands of any " men, brethren, or fathers," who may be disposed to estimate its value from the quantity of abuse that I have thrown upon the various sects and secta- rists, or from the severity with which I have treated them, they will be much disappoint- ed, I trust, in perusing it. To such readers, and sucli, perhaps, there still are, though I fondly hope, " rari nantes in giirgite vasto^'' I have only to say, " Go ye and learn what that meaneth" — " Now abideth faith, hope, charity, tliese three ; but the greatest of these is charity;'' and to remind tliem, in the words of an able divine of the present day, whose churchmanship has never, I be- lieve, been called in question, that — " Since, unhappily, there are still so many subjects of debate among those who ' name the name of Clirist,' it is doubtless every one's duty, after divesting himself, as much as possible, of prejudice, to investigate those subjects with accuracy, and to adhere to that side of eacli disputed question, which, after such investigation, appears to him to be the truth. But he transgresses the fa-

PREFACE. iX

vourite precept of liis Divine Master, wlicn he casts injurious reflections, or denounces anathemas, on those who, witli equal since- rity, view the matter in a different liglit ; and, hy his want of cliarity, does more harm to the rehgion of the Prince of Peace, than he could possibly do good, were he able to convert all mankind to his own or- thodox opinions.

On the principle of Fleury, that " every one ought to be believed concerning his own doctrine, and the history of his own sect," I have not only had recourse to va- rious works wherein the principles and practices of tlie several denominations, sects, and parties, are detailed by them- selves and others, and have carefully culled from tliem whatever seemed applicable to my purpose ; but I have also invited to my assistance living authors, or other learned and distinguished characters of most deno- minations. And, I am happy to say, that there are very few instances in which, on my stating the object and plan of the work, the invitation has not been very readily and cheerfully accepted.

It would give me pleasure, were I at li- berty to mention the names of all those

R

X PREFACE.

who have either written, or contributed to- wards, the following account of their re- spective denominations, both as it would give authenticity and respectability to the work, and as such notice is the very least that I owe them. But, while I must now be satisfied with acknowledging my obhga- tions to them all in general, I feel it my duty to mention here, and I hope I shall be ex- cused for mentioning in particular, two very able and willing contributors in London ; the Rev. C. E. A. Schwahe^ and Joshua Van Oven, Esq. ; the former a learned, respecta- ble, and amiable pastor of the Lutheran Church ; and the latter, a learned, distin- guished, and worthy member of the Society of German Jews; — "an Israelite indeed;'' one of many qui tales sunt, utinam essent Jiostri.

Some of my friends have done me the fa- vour to proffer their assistance, and some of my correspondents have kindly promised to continue theirs, for the improvement of this work ; and I will be happy to open a corres- pondence with others, for the same purpose. I also look up to tlie public organs of criti- cism for many useful hints and remarks, of which I will tliankfuUy avail myself, if can-

PREFACE. XI

didly communicated ; so that, should a se- cond edition be called for, it will most like- ly be more correct, and less unworthy, in many respects, of the public attention.

lliat I should be permitted to see ano- ther edition, is, I freely admit, what I anxi- ously ^vish and desire ; for, as the work will most likely survive the author, 1 would not that any unjust aspersion, cast by him, how- ever unintentionally, on any sect, party, or individual whatever, should remain unwiped away, when the hand that guides this pen shall be mouldering in the dust, and no lon- ger able to erase it. At the same time, I have not the vanity to think, that, through any art or industry of mine, even with all the assistance I shall hsive, tins Display* will be very generally gazed at and admired ; and much less, that I shall be able to please all pailies ; nor have I the folly to attempt it.

I am aware that there are some who will think that I am become their enemy, because

* The word View, which I should have preferred, had it not already been anticipated, could not well be wholly avoided in the title page ; but I wish the above, or rather the original title, to be used in all cases, wherein this work is meant, that it may not interfere wiih that of Hannah Adains, which is now so well known, that it requires no re- commendation from me.

Xil FREFACE.

I have told them the truth ; but, though can- did where candour is a duty, I shall never be afraid to "blame where I must;'' and as 1 do not admit that I have done such people any injury, or given tliem any just ground of offence, they need look for no reparation, nor expect that I shall apologise or contend.

Let me be fully convinced of my errors and mistakes ; let me be shewn clearly and candidly tlie " hay and stubble" of my per- formance, and I will not be backward to gather them into bundles, nor the last to set a match to them, that they may be burnt. But remarks grounded on facts or plain truths, if hkely to do more good than harm, I will neither erase nor suppress ; nor will I enter into controversy, aware how little is generally gained by it, while it seldom fails that much is lost ; and, that there is often more reUgion in not contending, than there is in that about which we contend. Were we to sit down and consider how we shall account for our quarrels and contentions when at the end of our journey, we should not be so apt to fall out by the way.

1 have frequently ado])ted the senti- ments, and sometimes nearly the language, of others, without acknowledging it, partly

PREFACE. Xm

to avoid crowding my pages with notes, which are still unavoidably numerous, and paitly as, in many instances, I know not, at this day, to whom I am indebted. But no one, surely, will complain that I have been sparing of authorities ; nor is it likely that those autliors, living or dead, whom I have chiefly consulted, would have grudged mc the use that I have made of their writings.

So numerous are the quotations and refe- rences in the following work, that some of them must of course be from second-hand ; I cannot therefore take upon me to vouch for their being correct in every instance; yet I trust that mistakes of this nature are but few.

I also beg leave to mention here, in jus- tice to those who reviewed in MS. the fol- lowing views of their respective denomina- tions, that some alterations were tliought necessary in several of those articles, after they had received their corrections ; at the same time, I am not aware that I have made any alterations or additions, tliat those gentlemen will not sanction, or that they will disapprove or condemn.

Viewing things as of far more importance than words, I have paid no great attention

1

XIV PREFACE.

to the language in which these volumes are wi'itten. I trust, however, it will be found to be in general correct and perspicuous. More indeed than this, the reader cannot reasonably expect, for the character of the work will scarcely admit of ornament : —

" Ornari res ipsa negat, contenta doceri"

But, to pass from the work and its author, compiler or editor, as the reader shall be pleased to call him, to what is of more se- rious consequence, the subject of which it treats.

The perusal of these volumes may per- haps, in some measure, gratify the reader's curiosity, but it cannot fail to be at the ex- pense of exciting his serious regret ; for he must here observe how busy the enemy has been in sowing tares among the wheat ; — he must behold a melancholy illustration of the 19th article of the Church of England, in the errors of many societies; and, what is more, he must even remark some, who call themselves Christians, cutting and carving our rehgion, to make it more grateful to unbelievers.

He who strives to reconcile differing par- ties, and to ameliorate opposite interests,

PUEFACE. XV

deserves well of his fellow-creatures. Yet, *' let God be true, but every man a liar." Let us not, in our eagerness to conciliate, abandon a single article of " the faith once delivered to the saints," aware that sucli conduct would involve us in guilt of the deepest dye, while we should not thereby attain the object for which that guilt was incurred ; for, as Christianity enjoins and lequires holiness of heart and life, it will ever be opposed and rejected by the carnal mind that is enmity against God, and by the evil heart of un])elief.

Besides, it is not, perhaps, so much be- cause of our doctilnes, as of our divisions, that infidels reject and despise our religion. Beholding the numberless divisions and con- tentions that have in all ages prevailed among professing Christians, they reject Christianity itself, and view it merely as an apple of discord ; — as a Babel, or, as " a beast with many lieads and horns all pusl}- ing at one another." Fix on any period of the Christian Church ; — look into the eccle- siastical history of that peiiod, and what will you find it to be ? Little more, I suspect, than the history of the struggles of dilFer- eiit sects and parties to overturn the sys-

XVi PREFACE.

terns of others, in order to build up their own. And, whether the rent be reaching nearer to the foundation, or we of the pre- sent day be more disposed, than those who have gone before us, to keep " the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," I shall not now venture to say ; but, from the data here laid before the reader, shall leave him to judge for himself.

It seems reasonable to expect, that they who bear the same name, — whose hopes are built upon the same foundation, — who are led by the same spirit, — who are oppos- ed by the same enemies, and interested in the same promises, would look upon each other with mutual complacence, — ^would love as brethren, — would bear each other's burdens, and so fulfil their Master's law, and copy his example. But, is such the cliaracter of professing Christians in the present day ? Alas ! instead of this, a mis- taken zeal for his honour, or a blind at- tachment to their respective peculiarities, fills them on all sides with animosities against their fellow-disciples; splits them into a thousand parties ; gives rise to fierce and endless contentions, and makes them so earnest for their own peculiarities, and

PttEFA.CE. XVll

SO prejudiced against those of others, tluit the love, which is the disciiiuinating. cha- lactei istic of his rehgion, is scarcely to ])c found amongst them, in such a degree of ex- ercise, as to satisfy even candid ohscrvcrs, whether they bear liis mark or not.

Hence it is tliat unbelievers keep aloof from the belief and profession of Christian- ity ; and, througli these divisions and dis- sensions, arc the name and doctrine of Christ still blasphemed among Jews and Pagans, among Turks and Inlldels. And yet, I know not, that such " stumbling- blocks" have been more numerous, or more prominent, in any country, of late years, than in our own ; or, that religious discord raises her head higher any where, at this day, than in Scotland, and among ourselves, where she has had the boldness, I may say the effrontery, to show herself even in the formation of an association, in which unani- mity, harmony, and co-operation, among all Protestants at least, might surely be expect- ed, and if found, would be no great virtue ; and where party-work, division, or discord, cannot fail to be condemned.*

* The want of room prevented my giving, as was propos- ed) a list and some account of the various societies and as-

C

XVlll PRjEFACB.

" Pudet hcec opprobria nobis

'''Et did potuisse, et non potuisse 7'efelli.'"

Among the other visible ill effects of our rehgious divisions and party distinctions, effects too numerous for me to recount at present, " we may reasonably reckon as a very considerable one," says good Mr. Nel- son, " the great decay of the spirit and life of devotion; foi', while men are so deeply concerned for their several schemes, and pursue them with the vigour of their minds, and the bent of their affections, the solid and substantial part of religion is apt to evapo- rate; and ' charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which, whosoever liveth, is counted dead before God,' is but too frequently made a sacrifice to those dif- ferences that divide us."

Admitting then, that the subject is not exclusively painful ;— that our differences of opinion on the subject of religion are in many instances innocent, and, for some purposes, even useful; — allowing that they

sociations for propagating and promoling the knowledge of Christianity, bolh at home and abroad. With most of these, however, the generality of readers are, I trust, more or less acquainted ; suffice it therefore only to remark here, that two Bible Societies have very lately been formed in this place.

PREFACE. XIX

promote enquiry, discussion, and know- ledge; that tliey help to keep up an atten- tion to religious subjects, and a concern about them that might be apt to die away, in the calm and silence of universal agree- ment ; — in a word, granting that they pro- voke examination, prevent implicit faith, and lead Christians to build their principles on a firm foundation ; — these advantages might be allowed considerable weight in abating the ill effects of our numerous divi- sions, did Christians in general possess the disposition which Christianity labours above all otliers to inculcate and inspire. But, as our divisions are seldom accompanied with mutual charity, or rather, as they are natu- rally hostile to tJiat charity which our reli- gion forbids us to violate, and have so un- happy a tendency to check tlie life and growth of the religious principle within, they cannot be desirable in a religious point of view ; and they are surely ill calculated to promote the peace and happiness of civil society.

Nay, admitting that tlie Scriptures have descended to us unimpaired, chiefly through them ; or that the sects and heresies which have scandalised the faith, have served to

XX PREfACla.

prevent the mutilation of its records : — even this advantage, combined with the others, can be no equivalent for the loss, or the decay, of those essentials of religion which Mr. Nelson here laments. For, if the mind be not spiritually enhghtened, as well as the judgment rightly informed ; — if the heart be not savingly changed, and the affections set on things above, the passions properly subdued, and the conduct reform- ed, it is of little avail to have the Scriptures pure and unadulterated in our hands, or even to have just notions of their contents ; as they will only increase our awful respon- sibility, without enabling us to give our ac- count with joy.

Christianity does not consist in striking out new hghts on the subject of religion ; nor in forming new systems of faith ; nor in treading in new paths of duty: — but in com- ing to the light held out to us in the gospel ; — ^in embracing, and adhering to, the faith "once delivered to the saints," and in being followers of them, who, " througli faith and patience, inherit the promises."

It does not approve of every sort of zeal, but only of the zeal that is in a good cause, and according to knowledge and charity.

PREFACE. XXi

Nor does it honour with its approbation, even a zealous profession of tlic truth, if tliat profession be not adorned by a suitable practice.

It does not condemn the preferring of one system to another, if there mmt be a clioice of systems, — nor our adlierina; sted- fastly to \\\Q one we have preferred, after due investigation ; but only the want of cha- rity towards tliose who, with equal sincerity and stedfastness, maintain different systems and principles, and our not living and acting agreeably to our own.

It does not require the saciifice of our substance, but of our animosities, our " strife and divisions," — the renunciation of the works of the flesh, — the devotion of our hearts, as well as of our lips, and the dedi- cation of our whole selves, souls and bodies, to tlie Father of our spirits and the Saviour of our souls.

Nor docs it reward all '' to whom arc committed tlie oracles of God," or the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament ; but those only, who duly search them, — who embrace and maintain their leading and important doctrines, and who shew their faitli by their works, by their exhibiting in

XXU PREFACE.

their lives the various virtues, graces, and dispositions, which the Saviour of the world recommended in his discourses, and exem- plified in his conduct.

In a word, it is not, as saith Archbishop Tillotson, " It is not being gilded over with the external profession of Christianity that will avail us, our rehgion must be a vital principle^ inwardly to change and transform

And, yet, that many professing Christians of the present day, however they may be- lieve all that our Lord and his apostles have spoken, are too liable to the imputation of lukewarmness and remissness, by not add- ing to their faith, piety, and virtue, is too evi- dent to be denied. To the evidences of re- velation, they give only that languid assent of the understanding, which is destitute of the warm and invigorating approbation of the heart: and, when employed in exe- cuting the commands of God, instead of treading the path of duty with delight, and glorying in the perfect freedom of the gos- pel, they seem to drag the heavy chain of reluctant compliance.

That application of mind, that diligence of labour, and that ardour of hope, wliich

PREFACE. xxiii

ought to be shown hi the exercise of reh- gious duties, are too often directed to un- worthy objects. How often, for instance, do they assist ambition to chmb the giddy heights of power, — dissipation to seek the flowery, but sUppery, paths of pleasure, — avarice to amass her wealth, and tlie pas- sions to overleap the bounds of duty ? And, when we do behold tliat alacrity which is so apparent in all these pursuits, transferred to religion, yet, even then, how often is it ex- hausted on ils ceremonials or unessentials, rather than on its solid and substantial du- ties ; — in supporting and extending our own peculiarities, or in attacking and decrying those of others ; — in zeal without know- ledge ; — in piety without charity ; or, in short, in any thing, but the " one thing needful" — in treading the plain, but narrow path of Christian duty ; or in the exercise of tliose graces and virtues wliich are "pro- fitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come?"

That, amidst all our divisions, tliough seemingly still increasing " unto more un- godliness," theie are exceptions, many ho- nourable exceptions, to the truth of these

XXIV PREFACE.

remarks, I most readily and cheerfully ad- mit. And the conviction that faith and love, piety and virtue, zeal and charity, and, in short, all that fits for heaven, may be traced amidst a wide diversity of Christian parties, is doubtless some consolation for the painful feeUngs which the perusal of this work must excite.

While the writing of it has served to es- tablish and settle the author in liis own principles, in preference to those of other denominations, it has, at the same time, ex- tended and strengthened his charity and good-will towards those who differ from him; and, by the nearer acquaintance with them and their principles, to which it has been the means of introducing him, his charity is no doubt more " according to knowledge.''

May the reading- — ^the perusal of it, have the same happy effect upon all those into whose hands it shall fall. May it lead them to examine the foundation of their own faith, as well as of that of others ; — may it serve to excite their Christian cha- rity where it was wanting, and to strength- en it where it was weak. And, while they lament the unhappy contentions and divi-

PREFACE. XXV

sions tluit prevail in tlie world, may they all labour earnestly in their several stations to suggest such methods as may prove most effectual for recovering and preserving the unity of tlie faith in the bond of peace. At the same time, aware that it is he only who stilleth the raging of the sea, and the noise of his waves, and " the madness of the peo- ple," that can say effectually unto contend- ing parties, "peace, be still;" and that it is he only who gave us the command to '-love one another," that can enable us duly to fulfil it, by our loving, not " in word, nor in tongue, but in deed dud in truth;'' let them fervently beg of God a sovereign remedy for these our contentions.

When, — " O xvhen, shall all these enmi- ties be abolished by the over-powering in- fluence of the Spirit of light and love ? — When shall these unhappy walls of parti- tion be broken down, and the whole flock of Christ become one blessed fold under Jesus, the Universal Shepherd ? — When shall we arrive at the ''perfect unity of the faith,' and maintain the ' luiity of the Spirit, in the bond of love?' — When shall the glory and beauty of the primitive church be re- stored, where the ' multitude of them that

D

XXVI PREFACE.

believed were of one heart and one soul,^ united ill one faith and hope, by the almigh- ty influences of one spirit ?

" Come, blessed Redeemer ! come and accomplish thine own gracious words of promise : — Let there be ' o?ie fold, and one shepherd .' and let thy blood and thy spirit, by which we have access to one God, even the Father, cement all our hearts to each other in such an union as shall never be dissolved. — Then shall we join with all the creation, in one eternal song, even the song which thy word has taught us : — ' Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, he unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamh, for ever and ever!'' Amen.

CONTENTS

VOLUME FIRST.

Phefack ---... ^

IVTKODUCTIOX - - . . . XXix

' Judaism and the Jews - - - . - 3,3

Pag;anisni and Pagans - - - . - 121

' Christianity and Christians - - - - 191

Mohanimedism and Mohammedans ... 249

Grand Divisions of Christianity .... 322

Greek and Eastern Churches - - - . 323

Greek Church subject to the Patriarcli of Constantinople • 326

' The Russian Greek Church .... 375

Tlie Russian Sect of Uaskohiiki or Isbraiiiki - - 406

Georgian and Mingrelian Greek Chui-clies ... 412

Eastern Churches not subject to the Patriarch of Constantinople 41 7

Tlie Jacobite Monophysites .... 419

The Coptic Monophysites, or Copts ... 423

The Abyssinian Monophysites, or Church of Abyssinia - 430

The Doctrine of tiie Monophysites ... 435

The Armenian Church ..... 440

The Ncstorian Churclics - . - . . 453

The Nestorians of Malabar, or Christians of St. Thomas - 470

A*. B. — The Articles tliat have one Asterisk prefixed, were reviewed in MS., and those with tivo, were written by some learned member or mPiB-

bers of Uie respective denominations. 1

INTRODUCTION.

THE Religious World is divided into four grand Systems, viz. Judaism^ — Pagan- ism^— Christianity^ — and Mohammedism,

Judaism comprehends under it, all those who still expect and look for a promised Messiah.

Paganism^ all those who have not the knowledge of the true God, but worship idols.

Christianity^ all those who believe that the promised Messiah is already come, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, and the Saviour of tlic world ; — and,

Mohammedism^ all those who acknow- ledge Mohammed to have been a Prophet.

The only people who may not be classed under one or otlier of these four divisions, are. the Deists and the Atheists; — the latter

XXX INTRODUCTION.

differing from them all, in owning no reli- gion ; and the former^ in owning no revela- tion as the foundation of their religion.

The inhabitants of the world may be sup- posed to amount, at the present time, to about . - . . 800,000,000

Of whom we may suppose

The Jews to be - 2,500,000

The Pagans, - 482,000,000 The Christians, - 175,500,000 The Mohammedans, 140,000,000

800,000,000

The grand Subdivisions among Christians are, —

1. The Greek and Eastern Churches.

2. The Roman Catholics, who acknow-

ledge the authority of the Pope ; and,

3. The Protestants, or Reformed Churches

and Sects, who reject it.

Their numbers may be thus, —

The Greek and Eastern Churches, - 30,000,000 The Roman Catholics, - - 80,000,000

The Protestants, - - 65,500,000

175,500,000

J\fote. In the former table, Deists and Atheists are com- prehended, but not specified, as they are no where distinct, and as it is Bot possible to ascertain their numbers.

INTRODUCTION. XXXI

To give a view of these four general sys- terns of religion, and of their various sub- divisions, together with the two anomalies, Beism and Atheism^ will be the objeet of the following work ; and, for the sake of distinc- tion, eacli system, denomination, sect or party, will be considered, as far as the sub- ject will admit, in the following order : —

1 . Definition of the Name, or Names.

2. Rise, Progress, History, and Remark- able ^ras.

3. Disthiguishing Doctrines, or Tenets.

4. Worship, Rites, and Ceremonies.

5. Church Government, and Disciphne.

6. Sects.

7. Eminent Men, Authors pro et contra. Countries wherein found. Numbers, ^'c.

8. Miscellaneous Remark*^

Mite. Some of these heads will frequently be enlarged upon, and others wholly omitted, as occasion may require.

OF

JUDAISM AND THE JEWS.

Names and Language. — Judaism is the relii^ioii o^ the Jews, a term which \\ as at first the appropriate denomination of the descendants of Judali, but soon included under it the Benjamites, who joined themsehes to the tribe of Judah on the re\olt of the other ten tribes from the house of Da\'id. After the Babylonish captivit}', when many individuals of these ten tribes returned with the men of Judah and Benjamin to rebuild Jerusalem, tlie riame term was made to include them also ; or rather, ^^•as then extended to ail the descendants of Israel, \\ho retained the Jew- ish rel!;];ion, whether they belonged to the hvOy or to the teir tribes, whether they returned to Ju- dea or not. From hence not only all the Israel- ites of future times have been called Jews; but farther, all t!ie descendants of Jacob are so called by us at present from the very beginning of their

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34 JUDAISM AND •

history, and we speak of their original dispen- sation, as the Jewish dispensation. From Jose- phus, how ever, it would appear, that the name of Jews v,as but seldom used for the ancient people of God, either collectively, or otherwise, till after the return from the 70 years captivity at Baby- lon.* Till then they Mere called Children of Israel^ or Israelites^ from Israel, or Jacob, the son of Isaac, and grandson of Abraliam, the founder of tlie nation.

They \\'ere likewise called Hebrews^ from He- ber, one of the progenitors of that patriarch, and of the fourth generation from Noah.f Nor did

* But that it was sometimes so used, is plain from Jere- miah, who uses that name in a general sense wbout the time of the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar, long h(rfore the period spoken of by Josephus. And, in- deed, as the descendants of Jiuiah were the predominant part ot all Jd- ob's progeny, and as they were in possession of the metiopolis, (viz. Jerusalem) and the seat of the tem- ple, of the Lord, it is no wonder that their denomination should readily be applied to the whole nation and profes- sors of the same form of religion.

t The general custom of naming the people after the head of the family, and " the division of the earth" which is said to have taktn place in the days of Heber's two sons, Peleg .^nd Jokian, (Gen. x. 25.) seem to render it n)ore probiible, that the nanie ol Hebrew was deiived from the patriarch Heber, ihan from trie circun)stance of Abraham's pasning o-vtr tlie rivtr Euphrates; yet this last is tlie opi- nion ot some Jewish authois, who conceive, that this de- nomination does n<'t derive from Noah's descendant of that name, for to them it appears strange to affix Eber^ for

THE JEWS. 3.5

they then only lose the name of Hebrews, Init also the Hebrew lanp^uat^e, which is allowed by many to have been the first spoken by man.* Hav- inj^ jxirtly, thous^h jierhaps in\ oluntariiy, adopted the lant^iiage of the people amonj^ whom they dwelt, the pure Hebrew was tliereby chant^ed mto a compound of Chaklec and Ilchrnv^ wliich is now known by die name of Sijriac^ and w hich, under the name of Hebrew, the modern Jews learn at school as we do the Latin and the Greek.f The characters also were chano-ed ; those now in use are generall}- believed to i>e the Chal(lak\ then introduced by Ezra. The old Hebrew cha- racters were those of the Phoenicians, now^ called the Samaritan^ because die Samaritan Pentateuch is written in them.

the source of a generical name, in preference to Shem or Arph..xad. Tliey rather ascribe the name to the circum- stance of Xhraham's coming orit^inully from "^^j; Eber, :". e. the other side of the river wliich he crossed in com- ing from Haran ; and observe, that we never meet with any designation of himself or family thereby previous thereto.

* On the other hand, some doubt whether we have any remains of the primitive Imguage of men, and are inclined to leave it in uncertainty, as the Scriptures are silent on the subject. Sir William Junes is of opinion that it is en- tirely lost ; ;.nd traces all the languages now in the world from the Hindoo, the Syriac, and the Tartarian, as their three roots.

t I am aware that this opinion is warmly controverted by tl>c Jews, who, though they admit that the use of pure Hebrew was lost in a very considerable degree during the Babylonish captivity prtviovis to Ezia, thil is to say, as a livintj Lnguaj^c, yet insist, that llie Bible is the only source of modern Heijrew.

36 JUDAISM AND

In our Saviour's time, the language spoken b}r the Jews was mixed and made up of the dialects and idioms of the several nations that surrounded them, particularly of the Chaldeans, Syrians, and Ara- bians : in this he delivered all his instructions, and held all his discourses.

The letter written by the German Jews resid- ing in England to their foreign brethren, recom- mending Dr. Kennicott to their protection and assistarice in his Biblical pui'suits, and published by him in his " Dissertatio Generalis^^ (p. 66.) is a curious specimen of the language of modem Jews, when they attempt to express modem, and, in respect to them, foreign ideas, in the Hebrew language. They look upon the points as an in- dispensible part of the Hebrew : and, with regard to their pronunciation of it, " they differ so much among themselves, that the German Jews can scarcely be understood by the Italians and Levan- tines; but there are none of them that speak more clearly and agi-eeably to the rules of grammar than the Italians?^ *

Rise, Progress, and History. — When, soon after the flood, almost all nations had already sunk into the grossest idolatry, it pleased God to call Abraham, a person of eminence, but

* Leo of Modena's History of the Present Jews through- out the Worlds p. 66; but his translator, Mr. Ockley, con- ceives, that his author is prejudiced in favour of his coun- trymen, and observes, that the pronunciation of the S/ianish Jews is allowed to be the best.

THE JEWS. 37

then probably an idolater, that with him, and his posterity, the knowledfije of the one true God, and of tnie religion, should lie preser^ ed in the w orld. Him God called from Haran into Canaan, where, in token of tlie promises then made him, lie ap- pointed circumcision, and commanded him and all his sons to be circumcised in all generations. Witli Abraham then, Judaism may, in some sense, be said to have begun ; but it ^as not till the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, that the Jewish economy was established, and that to his posterity was committed a dispensation which w^as to dis- tinguish them, ever after, from every other people upon earth.

Their histor}% both before and during their set- tlement in Canaan, the land of promise, is well known, or may be found in the Old Testament, and the WTitings of Josephus, their countryman and historian, M^ho was present at the last siege of their cit)\* The most remarkable periods in it are, — the call of Abraham ; — the giving of the law by Moses ; — their establishment in Canaan under Joshua, the successor of Moses ; — the buildmg of the temple by Solomon ; — the division

* Josephus was a native of Jerusalem, d'^scended from the kinf^s of Judjh, and born of parents belonging to the priest- hood ; and he is generally allowed to be an historian of the "greatest care, and most rigid veracity, insomuch that the learned Joseph Scaligevy gives him this character: " Dili- gentissimus kh <f/xix«9«r4Tof omnium Scrififorum Jonefihus.** — Prolegom. ad Opus de Emendat. Tempor. p. 16. Ed. Gcnev. 1629.

38 JUDAISM ANB

of the nation into the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel, in the reign of Rehoboam ; — their seventy- years captivity in Babylon ; — their return under Zerubbabel ; — their persecution and murder of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe to be the Messiah, the Lord of Glory ; — and, in conse- quence of this, the destruction of their city and temple by the Emperor Titus, A. D. 70. From that time, to the present day, they have been with- out a