ESSAY VII. 209 obvious and easy to be explained. At first these men assume to themselves the name of the church, and lodge in themselves a sort of infallibility, or at least pretend to a divine authority to determine finally all doubtful cases of religion, and to rule over the consciences of men. They set up the wretched trade of creed-making, and demand the belief of mankind : Then they give out decrees, suchas Christ andhis apostles never gave, and pronounce damnation against all that doubt or disbelieve them ; though their fables are not cunningly devised, because they are made toobig for belief. Some of them contradict the most sub- stantial principles of sense,reason and christianity. Youwill see this plainly exemplified,in a few instances I shall give of their decrees and canons. As " Whosoever shall affirm that that there are more or less than seven sacraments, let him be anathemized, excommunlcated, or accursed : Who- soever shall affirm that the substance of bread and wine re- mains in the eucharist, together with the body and blood of Christ, or shall deny the wonderful change of the whole sub- stance of bread into the body, and wine into blood, which the catholic church calls transubstantiation, let him be excommuni- cated : Whosoever shall say, that extreme unction doth not confer grace, nor remit sin, nor ease the sick, let him be excom- municated." Thus oftentimesthe same anathema and eternal death is denounced against such as disobey their decrees about matters of trifling importance ; matters which they themselves can never pretend to be, in their own nature, necessary to salva- tion. " He that shall say a commonminister can confirm as well asa bishop, let himbe excommunicated : He that shall say, the ceremonies, the vestments, &c. in the celebration of the mass, are incentives to sin, rather than duties of piety, let him be ex- communicated : He that shall say, a priest may become a layman again, let him be excommunicated : and whosoever shall say, that the hierarchy of bishops, presbyters, and ministers or dea- cons is not of divine ordination, let him be excommunicated." When this church has thus excommunicated and cursed christians better than herself, and cast them out of her arms, she gives them up to the secular powert, with an awful and deceitful charge, that the obstinate heretic shall not be hurt in life or limb ; but with a full design that they should be tortured and de- stroyed. Having solemnly delivered them to thedevil in their spi- ritual courts, the temporal executioner sends them out of the world ; not their souls may be saved in the day ofthe Lord, but that they may be plunged immediately into utter darkness where Satan dwells. It is the command of Christ to the Roman church, by Paul t Canons of the church of Rome in the council of Trent, t Ste the History of the Iognisitión.
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