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PALÆMON'S CREED

Reviewed and Examined.

T

ARTICLE I.

HE Scripture no where gives fuch an account of the nature, perfections, or works of God, as warrants us to affirm, that he is a pure fpirit, or a spiritual and incorporeal fubftance.

TH

REMARK S.

HOUGH the author of the Letters does not affert this in fo many words, it is the native and neceffary confequence of his doctrine; as must be evident to every one that will take pains to confider and examine the explication he gives of that well known text of Scripture, John iv. 24. He affirms with great confidence," that Jefus did not intend to furnish the woman of Sa"maria with a metaphyfical idea of fpiritual fub"stance abstracted from matter," and adds, "that "the Scripture no where gives us any idea of fpi"rit, but as acting in fome place or body." Hence it is plain, that according to our author, in full confiftency with what the Scripture teaches concern

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* Letters on Theron, &c. p. 118.

ing the nature and attributes of God, we are at liberty to conclude, that the Deity is a being, or fubftance compounded of body and fpirit; that he has a bodily fhape and bodily parts, as really as man has, yea, that he never was without a body.

Thus, by one bold ftroke Palamon has attempted to overthrow, not only one leading article in all the confeffions of faith emitted by the Proteftant churches, but what has been conftantly taught in the Chriftian church fince the days of the Apoftles. But it needs not at all furprife us, that any confideration of this kind fhould have little weight with this extraordinary writer, who, on all occafions, profeffes a hearty contempt for all creeds and confeflions of faith, though compiled by the pureft churches upon earth, and for moft of the doctrines that have hitherto been taught in the Chriftian church. Yet, fince he has thought fit to give his judgment in direct oppofition to what has always been accounted a fundamental article of the Chriftian faith, it might have been expected that he would have offered fome reasons in fupport of it; or, at least, have attempted to take off the force, and fhew the weakness of thofe arguments by which feveral eminent divines have endeavoured to prove, that the accounts given in Scripture concerning the nature and perfections of the Deity are incompatible with, yea entirely repugnant to this notion of a corporeal substance afcribed to the divine Being. But ftrong affertions without the leaft fhadow of proof, it feems, are all we muft expect from fuch an infallible writer as Palamon.

He

feems to have taken it for granted, that on account of his uncommon fagacity and penetration, he might claim the fame freedom that he fignifies he was difpofed to allow the author of Theron, &c. namely, as ample freedom in writing, as the "Roman

66

Yet,

"Roman dictator had in commanding."* whatever freedom he might be inclined to allow that celebrated author in writing, he took care to grant it upon this condition only, that nothing should be advanced contrary to his own favourite hypothefis. But perhaps he imagined, that a regard to his fuperior genius, uncommon abilities, and zeal for the apoftolic gofpel, would prevail with his readers to dispense with any reserve of that kind as to himself. However, it is hardly to be fuppofed, that such as are acquainted with the fpirit of this author, and his manner of writing, will be difpofed to pay any great regard to his bare affirmation, or adopt his fentiments without proof and due examination,

When he afferts, that the Scripture no where gives us any idea of fpirit, but as acting in fome place or body; and infinuates, that thefe words of our Saviour, God is a Spirit, ought not to be understood, as they have been usually explained by Chriftian teachers; his obfervation is either wholly impertinent, or he must mean, that the Scripture no where warrants us to conceive of the Deity as acting or exifting without a body.

Now, may we not take the liberty to afk, whether this body, in which we muft fuppofe the Deity always to have acted and exifted, even before the creation of the world, is a created or increated body? If it fhould be alledged, that it is a created body, the letter-writer muft allow, either that the divine Being was wholly inactive before it was created, or that the infpired writings warrant us to conceive of God as acting without a body: for we prefume he will not deny, that the Scripture warrants us to conceive of the Deity as existing from eternity

Letters on Theron, &c. p. 3.

eternity. If it fhould be faid, that the body in which he must be fuppofed ftill to act is increated, then it must belong to his nature and effence, fo that he can no more be without it, than cease to be. Thus we must conceive of the divine nature as a fubftance compounded of body and fpirit, in the fame

manner as

man is. And, as it can never be truly affirmed of any material fubftance or body, that it is infinite, omnipotent, immenfe, immutable, &c. if Palamon's notion is admitted, we must allow, that the Deity is a finite and changeable being, and confined to a certain place, or that it can only be in one place at once; or, which is equally fhocking, that he is partly finite, and partly infinite, partly mutable, and partly immutable, partly limited, fo` as to occupy but one place at once, and partly omniprefent and immenfe. Yet this laft notion, however abfurd in itfelf, will not confift with the letter-writer's hypothefis; for if it is granted, that omniprefence and immenfity are attributes of the divine Spirit, ftill we may, and must conceive of it as acting without a body, or where there is no body; or, which is equally abfurd, the divine Spirit must be supposed to exift where it neither acts nor can act.

Upon the whole, the notion that Palamon would inftil into the minds of his readers, is, that God is not a fpirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable, omnipresent and immenfe, as the Scripture every where teaches, but a corporeal fubftance, or, at beft, a fubftance compounded of body and fpirit; an opinion fo grofs and abfurd, that a fober and intelligent heathen would be afhamed of it. Something like it was afferted, and ftrenuously maintained by Epicurus and his difciples; but for this they were derided, and their abfurd notion frequent

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