Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

XXII.

Hieron. ad
Vigil.
Aug. cura
pro mor-

ART. relics were fpread. St. Jerome, in his careless way, fays, they followed the Lamb whitherfoever be went, and feems to make no doubt of their being, if not every where, yet in feveral places at once. But St. Auftin, who could follow a confequence much further in his thoughts, though he doubted not but that men were much the better for tuis, c. 16. the prayers of the martyrs, yet he confeffes that it passed the ftrength of his understanding to determine, whether they heard thofe who called upon them at their memories, or wherefoever elfe they were believed to have appeared, or not. But the devotions that are spoken of by all of that age, are related as having been offered at their memories; fo that this feems to have been the general opinion, as well as it was the common practice of that age, though it is no wonder if this conceit once giving fome colour and credit to the invocating them, that did quickly increase itself to a general invocation of them every where. And thus a fondnefs for their relics, joined with the opinion of their relation and nearness to them, did in a fhort time grow up to a direct worthipping of them; and, by the fruitfulness that always follows fuperftition, did spread itself further, to their clothes, utenfils, and every thing else that had any relation to them.

Aug. de

opere mo

Bach. c. 28.

many

There was caufe given in St. Auftin's time to suspect that of the bones which were carried about by monks, were none of their bones, but impostures, which very much shakes the credit of the miracles wrought by them, fince we have no reafon to think that God would fupport fuch impoftures with miracles; as, on the other hand, there is no reason to think that falfe relics would have paffed upon the world, if miracles had been believed to accompany true ones, unlefs they had their miracles likewife to atteft their value: fo let this matter be turned which way it may, the credit both of relics, and of the miracles wrought by them, is not a little fhaken by it. But in the following ages we have more than prefumptions, that there was much of this falfe coin that went abroad in the world. It was not poffible to diftinguish the falfe from the true. The frefhnefs of colour and fmell, fo often boafted, might have been easily managed by art; the varieties of thofe relics, the different methods of difcovering them, the fhinings that were faid to be about their tombs, with the fmells that broke out of them, the many apparitions that accompanied them, and the fignal cures that were wrought by them, as they grew to fill the world with many volumes of legends, many more lying yet in the manufcripts in many Churches, than have been pub

lithed:

XXII.

lifhed all these, I fay, carry in them fuch characters of ART. fraud and impofture on the one hand, and of cruelty and fuperftition on the other; fo much craft, and fo much folly, that they had their full effect upon the world, even in contradiction to the cleareft evidence poffible; the fame faints having more bodies and heads than one, in different places, and yet all equally celebrated with miracles. A great profufion of wealth and pomp was laid out in honouring them, new devotions were ftill invented for them: and though these things are too palpably false to be put upon us now, in ages of more light, where every thing will not go down because it is confidently affirmed; yet as we know how great a part of the devotion of the Latin Church this continued to be for many ages before the Reformation, fo the fame trade is ftill carried on, where the fame ignorance, and the same superstition, does ftill continue.

I come now to confider the laft head of this Article, which is the Invocation of Saints, of which much has been already faid by an anticipation for there is that connection between the worship of relics and the invocation of faints, that the treating of the one does very naturally carry one to fay fomewhat of the other. It is very evident that faints were not invocated in the Old Teftament. God being called fo oft, the God of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, feems to give a much better warrant for it, than any thing that can be alleged from the New Teftament. Mofes was their Lawgiver, and their Mediator and Interceffor with God; and his interceffion, as it had been very effectual for them, fo it had thewed itfelf in a very extraordinary inftance of his defiring that his name might be blotted out of the book which he had written, ra- Exod. ther than the people fhould perish; when God had offered xxxii. 32. to him, that he would raife up a new nation to himself, out of his pofterity. God had alfo made many promises to that nation by him: fo that it might be natural enough, confidering the genius of fuperftition, for the Jews to have called to him in their miferies, to obtain the performance of thofe promises made by him to them. We may upon this refer the matter to every man's judgment, whether Abraham and Mofes might not have been much more reasonably invocated by the Jews according to what we find in the Old Teftament, than any faint can be under the New: yet we are fure they were not prayed to. Elijah's going up to heaven in fo miraculous a manner, might also have been thought a good reason for any to have prayed to him: but nothing of that kind was then

practifed.

ART.

practifed. They understood prayer to be a part of that XXII. worship which they owed to God only: fo that the praying to any other, had been to a certain degree the having another God before, or befides the true Jehovah. They never prayed to any other, they called upon him, and made mention of no other: the rule was without exPfal. 1. 15. ception, Call upon me in the time of trouble; I will bear thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Upon this point there is no dispute.

In the New Teftament we fee the fame method followed, with this only exception, that Jefus Chrift is propofed as our Mediator; and that not only in the point of redemption, which is not denied by thofe of the Church of Rome, but even in the point of interceffion; for when St. Paul is treating concerning the prayers and fupplications that are to be offered for all men, he concludes that ■ Tim. ii. 5. direction in these words: For there is one God and one there Mediator between God and man, the man Chrift Jefus. We think the filence of the New Teftament might be a fufficient argument for this: but thefe words go farther, and imply a prohibition to addrefs our prayers to God by any other Mediator. All the directions that are given us of trufting in God, and praying to him, are upon the matter prohibitions of trufting to any other, or of calling on any Rom. x. 14. Other. Invocation and faith are joined togther: How fhall they call on him in whom they have not believed? So that we ought only to pray to God, and to Christ, acJohnxiv. 1. cording to thofe words, Ye believe in God, believe alfo in We do alfo know that it was a part of heathenish idolatry to invocate either demons, or departed men, whom they confidered as good beings fubordinate to the Divine Effence, and employed by God in the government of the world; and they had almoft the fame fpeculations about them, that have been fince introduced into the Church, concerning angels and faints. In the condemning all idolatry, no referve is made in Scripture for this, as being faulty, only because it was applied wrong; or that it might be fet right when directed better. On the conCol. ii. 18. trary, when fome men, under the pretence of humility and of will-worship, did, according to the Platonic notions, offer to bring in the worship of angels into the Church of Coloffe, pretending, as is probable, that thofe fpirits who were employed by God in the miniftry of the Gospel, ought, in gratitude for that fervice, and out of respect to their dignity, to be worshipped: St. Paul condemns all this, without any referves made for lower degrees of worVer. 8, 9, fhip; he charges the Chriftians to beware of that vain phi

[ocr errors]

me.

lofopby

lofophy, and not to be deceived by those fhews of bumility, ART. or the fpeculations of men, who pretended to explain that XXII. which they did not know, as intruding into things which they had not feen, vainly puffed up by their flefbly mind. If any degrees of invocating faints or angels had been confiftent with the Chriftian religion, this was the proper place of declaring them: but the condemning that matter fo abfolutely, looks as a very exprefs prohibition of all fort of worship to angels. And when St. John fell down to worship the angel, that had made him fuch glorious difcoveries upon two feveral occafions, the antwer he had was, See thou do it not: worship God: I am thy fellow-fer- Rev. xix. vant. It is probable enough that St. John might ima- 10. gine, that the angel, who had made fuch difcoveries to Rev. xxii. him, was Jefus Chrift: but the answer plainly fhews, that' no fort of worship ought to be offered to angels, nor to any but God. The reafon given excludes all forts of worship, for that cannot be among fellow-fervants.

9.

As angels are thus forbid to be worshipped, fo no mention is made of worshipping or invocating any faints that had died for the faith, fuch as St. Stephen and St. James. In the Epiftle to the Hebrews, they are required to re- Heb. xiii. 7. member them which had the rule over them, and to follow their faith; but not a word of praying to them. So that if either the filence of the Scriptures on this head, or if plain declarations to the contrary could decide this matter, the controverfy would foon be at an end. Chrift is always propofed to us as the only perfon by whom we come unto God: and when St. Paul fpeaks against the worshipping of angels, he fets Chrift out in his glory in oppofition to it. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Col. ii. 9, Godbead bodily; and ye are complete in bim, which is the 10. bead of all principality and power; pursuing that reason in a great many particulars.

From the Scriptures, if we go to the first ages of Chriftianity, we find nothing that favours this,, but a great deal to the contrary. Irenæus difclaims the invocation of angels. The memorable paffage of the Church of Smyrna, formerly cited, is a full proof of their fenfe in this matter. Clemens Alexandrinus and Tertullian do often mention Clem. the worship that was given to God only by prayer; and Protrep. fo far were they at that time from praying to faints, that Apol. c. 17 they prayed for them, as was formerly explained: they thought they were not yet in the prefence of God, fo they could not pray to them as long as that opinion continued. That form of praying for them is in the Apoftolical Confitutions. In all that collection, which feems to be a

work

Tertul.

ART. work of the fourth or fifth century, there is not a word XXII. that intimates their praying to faints. In the Council of

C. 29. con.

Max. 1. 13.

C. 4.
Aug. de
Civ. Dei,

Laodicea, there is an exprefs condemnation of those who invocated angels; this is called a fecret idolatry, and a forfaking of our Lord Jefus Chrift. The firft apologists for Chriftianity do arraign the worship of demons, and of fuch as had once lived on earth, in a style that shewed they did not apprehend that the argument could be turned against them, for their worshipping either angels or departed faints. When the Arian controverfy arofe, the invocation of Chrift is urged by Athanafius, Bafil, Cyril, and other Fathers, as an evident argument that he was neither made nor created; fince they did not pray to angels, or any other creatures; from whence they concluded that Chrift was God. Thefe are convincing proofs of the doctrine of the three first, and of a good part of the fourth century.

It is true, as was confeffed upon the former head, they began with martyrs in the end of the fourth century. They fancied they heard those that called to them; and upon that it was no wonder, if they invocated them, and fo private prayers to them began. But, as appears both by the Conftitutions, and feveral of the writers of that time, the public offices were yet preferved pure. St. Auftin Aug. con. fays plainly, The Gentiles built temples, raised altars, orSerm. Ar. dained priests, and offered facrifices to their Gods: but we do not erect temples to our martyrs, as if they were Gods; but memories as to dead men, whofe fpirits live with God: nor do we erect altars, upon which we facrifice to martyrs; but to one God only do we offer, to the God of martyrs, and L. 8. c. 27. our God; at which facrifice they are named in their place and order, as men of God, who in confeffing him have overcome the world; but they are not invocated by the priest that facrifices. It seems the form of praying for the faints mentioned in the Conftitutions, was not used in the Churches of Afric in St. Auftin's time: he fays very pofitively, that they did not pray for them, but did praife God for them: and he fays in exprefs words, Let not the worship of dead men be any part of our religion; they ought fo to be bonoured, that we Rel. c. 55. may imitate them, but not worshipped. God was indeed prayed to, in the fifth century, to hear the interceffion of the faints and martyrs; but there is a great

I. 22. c. 1o.

Aug. de

vera

* Con. Laod. c. 35. Juft. Mart. Apol. 2. Iren. 1. 2. c. 35. Orig. con, Celf. 1. 8. Tert. de Orat. c. 1. Athanaf. cont. Arian. Orat. 1, 3, 4. Greg. Nazianz. Orat. 40. Greg. Niff. in Bafil. cont. Eunap. Bafil. Hom. 27. cont. Eunom. 1. 4. Epiph. Hæref. 64, 69, 78, 79. Theod. de Hær. Fabul. 1. 5. c. 3. Chryfoft. de Trinit.

difference

« AnteriorContinuar »