who says, "There is one God, the Father of the living Word, the guiding wisdom and the everlasting power and image, the perfect Begetter of the perfect begotten, the Father of the only begotten Son. There is one Lord, the only one from the only one, God of God, the character and image of Deity; and the eternal of the Eternal. There is one Holy Spirit, having existence from God, who appeared by the Son to men, the image of the Son, the perfect of the perfect, the worthy life of the living, the holy fountain of holiness, in whom God the Father is manifested, who is over all and in all, and God the Son, who is through all, the perfect Trinity, whose glory and kingdom and government is never divided or destroyed."

We come now to the famous decree of the Council of Nice, A. D. 325. But before we look at this decree, it may be well to observe, that all the creeds and writings of the fathers previous, though they were filled with Platonism, and much inconsistency, absurdity, and nonsense, and with very little of the pure principles of Christianity, yet furnish us with no traces of the modern Trinitarian doctrine of three equal, independent, self-existent persons in one God. But they fully establish the sole supremacy of the Father almighty, and the inferiority and entire dependence of his Son. They never called the Son almighty, or a self-existent being; nor have they ever said, or used any language that can possibly imply, that "the one Jehovah is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Such an unscriptural, absurd idea then had no ex

istence. It was left to be conceived by the folly or mad enthusiasm of after generations. And even this creed, so much relied on by Trinitarians, if closely examined in the whole, will afford no support to this anti-christian doctrine. — Here we give it: "We believe in one God, the Father, Maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, that is of the substance of the Father; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were made, that are in heaven and in earth. Who for us men and for our salvaion descended, and was incarnate, and made man; he suffered, and the third day he rose again and ascended into heaven; and he shall come again to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost" Concluding with an anathema against all who do not thus believe.

The famous symbol, known by the name of the Athanasian creed, has been placed by creed-compilers next to the Nicene, though very improperly, for it evidently was not known or written, until three or four hundred years after; so Athanasius could not have been the author of it. It is not known who was its author. It is thought that it was some superstitious Monk of the dark ages. To be the author of such an inconsistent, unscriptural, irrational, absurd production, I should think, would be disgrace enough, yea too much, for any rational intelligent being to bear with composure. So the author

might wisely choose not to be known. It was necessary that it should have a great and popular name to give it currency, as there is nothing intrinsically in it good or consistent. But I will now only quote it at large, intending hereafter to make some remarks upon it. "Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith, which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in trinity, and trinity in unity, neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost; but the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet there are not three eternals, but one eternal. Also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty, yet there are not three almighties, but one almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, yet there are not three Gods, but one God. So also the Father is

Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Ghost is Lord, yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every person by himself to be God and Lord, so we are forbidden by the catholic religion to say there are three Gods, or three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father, also not created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and the Son, neither made nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers, one Son, not three Sons, one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this trinity. there is none afore or after other, none is greater or less than another. But the whole three persons are coeternal together, and coequal: so that in all things, as aforesaid, the unity in trinity, and trinity in unity, is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity. Furthermore, it is nécessary to everlasting salvation, that he also believe rightly of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the world, and man of the substance of his mother born in the world perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul, and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching his Godhead, and inferior to the Father, as touching his manhood. Who though he be God and man, yet he is not two but one Christ. One, not by

converting the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the manhood into God. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. For

as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ, who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, he sitteth on the right hand of the Father God Almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead, &c. This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved."

In A. D. 381, the emperor Theodosius called the first council of Antioch to mend the creeds, so as to anathematize Macedonius, for his abominable wickedness in denying the supreme divinity of the Holy Ghost, and his being a distinct person, proceeding from the Father and the Son. This council accordingly anathematized Macedonius, and put a patch upon the creed, so that none might dare to offend against the Church doctrine afterwards. They decreed" that the Holy Ghost was the Lord and giver of life, proceeding from the Father, and with the Father and Son to be worshipped and glorified."

I might state numerous other creeds during the fourth and fifth centuries, (a remarkable creed-making age,) such as that of the ninety-seven bishops at Antioch; the second council held at Sardis, from various provinces of the East; that of Cyril, the celebrated bishop of Jerusalem; that of St Epi