Tomline on Article XXII: Of Purgatory

Xh 1 8 Article is intided ” Of Purgatory,” but it relates to four other doctrines, as well as Purgatory, all of which were maintained by the church of Rome, and were rejected by our church, and indeed by all Protestants, at the time of the Reformation.

The ROMISH doctrine concerning pur^ GATORY, as asserted in the councils of Florence and Trent, is this:

That every man is subject both to temporal and eternal punishment for his sins: that God does indeed pardon sin, as to its eternal punish-r ment, for the sake of the death and merits of Christ, but that the sinner is still liable to tem-r poral punishment; that this temporal punish- ment must be expiated by voluntary acts . of

penance

353 Expositiofi of the [part in:

penance and sorrow, and by such afflictions as he may here endure by the appointment of Grod ; that this expiation does not fully take place in this life, but that there is an * intermediate state, in which departed souls suffer the remaining part of their punishment, and as this state is supposed to purge them from all effect of their sins, and to qualify them for the joys of heaven, it is called Purgatory ; and the church of Rome farther maintains, that the pains and sufferings of Pur- gatory may be alleviated and shortened by the prayers of men here on earth, by the intercession of the saints in heaven, and, above all, by the sa- crifice of the mass offered by the priests in the name of sinners ; and that as soon as souls are released from Purgatory, they are immediately admitted to eternal happiness.

Tlie practice of praying for the dead began in the third century ; but it was not till long after- wards that Purgatory was even mentioned among Christians. It was at first doubtfully received, and was not fully established till the papacy of Gregory the Great, in the beginning of the seventh century. The belief, that the saying of masses would redeem the souls of the dead from the punishment of Purgatorj^ was the source of great gain to the clergy of the western churches : the endowments, indeed, for that purpose, be- came

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came so large and fireqaeDt ill dm coantry, tfaaft it was necessaiy to retrain them by statittae of mortmain. The doctrine of puigatcny was narer admitted into the Greek cfaufch : but scHoething of this kind seems to have been bdieved by Pagans, Jews, and Mahometans (a).

Not only Purgatory itself is not mentioned in Scripture, but there is not the slightest author! for that destinction between temporal and eternal punishment, which is the foundation of this doc- trine ; nor are we directed to offer prayers or masses for the souls of the dead. It is no where said, that there is any species of guilt or punish- ment, from which the merits of Christ will not dver us ; on the contrary, we are told, that ’ the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us finom all sin (b) ; ” and diat ’ now there is no con- demnation to them which are in Christ Jesus fc/* Full and complete forgiveness of sins in the world to come, without any reserve or exception, is promised to repentant sinners ; and we have the most positive assurances that they will bt eternally happy, without any intimation of suf- fering, preparatory to their entrance into those joys which are at God’s right hand for evermore.

And,

(m) Vide Brou^ton’s Dictionary, under the word Purgatory ; and Mauriee’a History of Hindostan. (b) I John, p. 1. V. 7. (c) Rpm. c. 8. r. i*

354 Exposition (^ the [p aet xu.

Andy tbefor the dqctrme of an interme- diate state of paii and tonnent; firoin wbifh the merits qf qur BLdeemr cannot deliver U3 not only grounped upon no waeeantt oi scBiPTURB, but is 90 far positively eepvgnanic TO THE WORD OF GOD, 83 it is Contrary to tbt absolute and unreserved offers of mercy, peace, end happiness ccHitained in the Gospel, and as it dQrog.tes from the fulness and perfeeticm of . tfao oijte expiatory sacrifice made by the death of Christ for. all the sins of all mankind. It seems 130 absurd to suppose that considerable suffisringi should await, in a future life, those who aie to bq finally saved, and that there should bf effectual methods of avoiding or shortening tfaos sufferings, without any mention of the eyii or its remedy, in any part of the New Testamt. To this argument, firom the silence of Stcriptor w tnay dd, that the Gospel represents Lazarus s at once conveyed to a state of comfort and joy ; that our Saviour promised the thief upon th cross that he should o that day be with him in Paradise; that St. Paul exults in the prospect of * a crpwn of righteousness after death (d) ; ”— that he represents, ” to depart and to be with Christ (e) : […] to be absent from the body, and present with the Lord (/)” as states which were

immediate!/.

(d) a T5m. p. 4. v. 8. (e) Phil. c. 1 • r. 53.

Cf) 2 Cor. c. fi. V. 8.

A»T. xxti] Tkirhf-nhie Articks. 555

immediate tb follow each other ; and St. John lays, ^ JBiessed aore tfaedead who die in the Lord, froflji henccfotth; yea, saith the spirit, that they may rest from thw laboors (g);’ but how do &ey vest frcHn thdr laboors, if they have stiU the pains of Poigatory to endure ?

• • •

Wift respect toi temporal punishments, it is Qvid^t tbat 6dd sMfietimes interposes in visible judgments upon the wicked as weU as in blessings upon the good ; but, on the other hand, the wicked often appear to prosper, while the good are suffering under adversity. And, indeed, the Gospel warns all men, without any discrimina- tioo, to expect crosses and afflictions in this pro- bationary Kfe, and requires faith and patience under the heaviest pi^sure of the most unpro- voked calamities. These are parts of the divine government of this world, which are ordained for the wisest and most salutary purposes, and have no concern whatever with a sfete of punishment in anodier lifei previous to a state of happiness.

The second doctrine condemned in this article

is that of VARDONS, which took its rise in the

following manner : In the primitive church very

severe penalties were inflicted upon those who

had been guilty of any sins, whether public or

private ; and in particular, they were forbidden

te (g) Rev. c- 14* T. 13.

356 Exposition of the [fart hi.

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to partake, for a certain time, of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper, or to hold commtmioD with the church. General rules were made upon these subjects ; but as it was often found expe- client to make a discrimination in the drees of punishment, according to the different circum- stances of offenders, and especially when they shewed marks of contrition and repentance, power was ven to bishops, by the CouncO £ Nice, to rdaxor remit those punishments as diey should see reason : every fiivour of this kind was called a Pardon or Indulgence : such a power was unobjectionable in itself; and it is obvious that if it had been wisely exercised, it mit have been productive of great benefit to the cause of religion. After the bishops had enjoyed &is privilege for some centuries, and had bun to abuse it, the popes discovered that in their own hands it might be made a powerful instrument both to promote their ambition and to gratify their avarice. They could not but see, that if they could persuade men they had the power of granting pardon for sin, it would give them a complete influence over their consciences; and if they could at the same time prevail upon them to purchase these pardons for money, it must add greatly to the wealth of the Roman see; and therefore, in the eleventh century, When the dominion of the popes was rising to its

*< zenith;

ART. XXII.] Thirty-nine Articles. isT

aenith, and their power was almost irresistible^ tfaey took to themsdives the exclusive preroga- tive of dispensing Pardons, and carried it to a most unwarrantable length. Instead of confin- ing diem, according to their origmal institution, to the ordinary purposes of ecclesiastical disci- pline^ they extended them to the punishment of the wicked in the world to come ; instead of shortening the duration of earthly penance, they pretended that they could deliver men from the pains of Purgatory ; instead of allowing them, gratuitously, and upon just grounds, to the peni- tent offender, they sold them in the most open and ccHTupt manner to the profligate and aban- cloned, who still continued in their vices. They did not scruple to call these Indulgencies, a plenary remission of all sins, past, present, and future, and to offer diem as a certain and imme- diate passport from the troubles of this world to the eternal joys of heaven ; and to give some sort of colour and support to this infieunous traffic, they confidently asserted that the superabundant merits of Christ, and of his faithful servants, formed a fund of which the pope was the sole manager ; and that he could, at his own discretion, dis- pense these merits, as the sure means of procuring pardonirom God, in any proportion, for any species of wickedness, and to any person he pleased* .The bare statement of this doctrine is a suffi-

A A 3 cient

3^ . Eap^itim of the [pant ih^

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Nothing can be mOre clear, full, and distinct, tha& the expressions, of Scripture prohibiting the mak-» ing and worshipping. (tf images : ^’ Thou shaft not make unto thee any ghtyen image, or any Uke- ness of any thing that Is in h’^ven above, or thai is in the edrth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth ; thou shall not bow down thysdf

to

(h) Tert. de Pud.

(*) See the form of a “Solemn Plenary Indulgence^ granted in 1809 by a trail of Pope Pius Vll. given at Cork, in Ireland j Nov. 4f, tSig^ by IW. Francis Bloy- Ito, titular bishop of the diocese.

I

ART. xkli.] Thirty-nine Articled. 359

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made

lt) Eiod. c. io. V. 4 8c 5. The Papists upon the Contineniyin writing the tn commandments, leave out the second; and to keep up the number ten, divide the tenth into two. Vide Burnet Ref. y. 3. p. 264. This is also done in Butler’s ’ General Catechism for the Kingdom,” published ty the authority of the ” four H.C. Archbishops olrdand,” and prifatedatliut)lin in 181 i (the eighth edition) by H. Fitzpatrick, printer and bookseller to the Roman catholic college, Maynopth

(k) beut c. i6, V. 24. (t) Acts, c. 17. v. i€.

(m) Acts, c. 17. V. 29.

A A 4

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made Uke to conruptible ma and to birds, and four-foQted beasts, cid creeping things (n);’ and he praises the Thessalonians, who had turned to God from idols, to serve the living and tme God (0)” St. John says ” Little children keep yourselves from idols (p)r

That the first Christians had no images is evident from this circumstance, that they were reproached by the heathen, because they did nc use them ; and we find almost every ecclesiastical writer of the first four centuries arguing against the Gentile practice of image-worship, from tbe plain declarations of Scripture, and from the puxe and spiritual nature of God. In the beginning of the fourth century the Council of lUyberis decreqd that pictures ought not to be placed in churches, ’ lest that which is worshipped should be painted upon the walls (q). Images seem to have been introduced into churches in the fifth century; and it was probably first done to preserve the remembrance, and do honour to the memory, of departed saints, though some have imagined it originated in a wish to comply with die prgu* dices of the heathen, and to make them better disposed to embrace the Gospel. It was impos* sible to look at these interesting representations, standing in places consecrated to the service of

God,

(n) Rom. c. 1. v. 23. (0) 1 Thess. c. 1. v. g. (p) 1 John, c. fi. v. 21 . (qX Can. 36.

AM. aam.] ThhrUf-mnt Articles. 361

God, witlipat ftdboig acHooe degree of respect ; that respect was gradnally hcijtened into reve* fence, and at last ended 91 absolute worship : so that Christians, who in the first ages were re- preached by the heaften for not having images were in the seventh century accused by the Jews and even by Mahometans, of the grossest ido- latry. In die foDowing century bn the fa- mous controversy about breaking of images which was carried on for more than a hundred years with the greatest eagerness and animosity, both in the East and in the West Different popes and different councils, notwithstancUng their pretensicms to in&Dibility, espoused diffe rent sides of the question : but at length, after much uncertainty and fluctuation of opposite in- terests, those who contended for the lawfulness of worshipping images prevailed, and from that time image-worship has been an established doc- trine of the church of Rome. It was decreed by the Council at Trent, the last general council, that * due worship should be given to images/’ and several regulations were added upon the subject Among other corruptions of the church of Rome, that of the use of images was rejected by our Reformers, as being contraiy to the practice of the primitive church, and plainly eepugkant to

TB£ WORD OF GO0t

The

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Christians

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Ghitetiaiis Co Aow evety mark of itlspect both to tlie bodieSj dnd to the miemory, of those who had suffered death in its cause. Tb coflected their remains, and bdiied them, not only with decency, but with all the sblemni and honour vfbidi circumstances would alkm. A remark* able fact of this kind is recorded by Eusebiusj which is of itsdf sufficient to prove the practice of die second century; he tells us that the Christians of Smyrna were very careful tb seek for and bury the bones and ashes of their illiis trious bishop and martyr, tibe aged Polycarp- who had been put to death, and his body bmmt by his implacable enemies. It was also the custom for Christians to hold their feligioua meetings at the places whcaPe their martyrs were buried, by which they seemed, as it were; united with tiiem; and to display their attachment to their departed brethren by such rites as were dictate by the fervour of tibeir devout afiectioiij and were consisteirt with the piinHples of thir religion. It does not appear that thid boundary was ever trUisgressed in the first three centuries; but in the fourth century, when the pure laid simple worship of the Gospd began to be de based by superstitious practices, We find strtnq proofs of an excessive love for ery thing wfaidi hod bebnged to tboiise who had distitiguisfaed

themselves

364 EjpjMithii of the [part in.

themselves by their exertions or their sufieriogi for the truth of Christianityy and especially for any part of their garments, hair, or bones. Aii> gustine in Africa, and Vigilantius in Spain, com- {Gained loudly of this culpable fondness for re- liques, which they speak of as a new corrup- tion, then first appearing in the Christian world ; but the warm disposition of Jerome led him to stand forward in their defence, with more zeal than discretion. However, this learned fJEdher, even while he leans to the opinion that miracles were sometimes wrought by reliques^ explicitly disclaims all idea of offering them worship ; but when superstition has once made its way into the minds of men, it gradually gains ground, and it is difficult to set limits to it, particularly when there is a set of persons respected for their piety, who are studious to encourage it. Monks carried about reliques ; and with great ease, and no small advantage to them- selves, persuaded that ignorant age of their value and importance. Under their recommendation and patronage, they were soon considered as the best preservatives against every possible evil of soul and body; and when the worshipping of images came to be established, the enshrining of reliques was a natural consequence of that doc- trine. This led the way to absolute worship,

which

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which was now preached by the Romish clergy as a C!hristian duty. Every one tfaou^t it necessary to possess a rdique of some saint or martyr, as the effectoal means of securing his care and protection; and fraud and imposition did not M\ to furnish a supply proportionable to the demand. The discovery of the catacombs at Rome was an inexhaustable source of rdiques ; and thus the popes themsehres became directly interested in maintaining this superstitious wor- ship. The Council of Trent authorized the adoration of reliques^ and they continue in hi^ esteem among the Papists of the present day* What has been already said is amply suf&cient to point out the absurdity of worshipping re- liques. It is a doctrine manifestly grounded

UPON NO WARRANTY OF SCRIPTURE; it is A

roND THING, that is, foolish and trifling, in the extreme, directly contrary to the practice of the primitive Christians, and utterly irreconcileable with common sense.

. The invocation of saints, is the fiftti mA last thing condemned by this article. There is a passage in the epistle already mentioned, written by the church of Smyrna immediately after &e martyrdom of Polycajrp, which dearly proves that ’ the Christians of that a^ had no idea of invoking or worshipping saints : it refers

to

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ta the Jew4, at whose sutioq Polycarp’s body had leen burnt, lest, as the; pietended, it should he taken by tine €hiistians and worshipped! miese men, say they, know not that we can neither forse Christ, who suffered for fhe sal- vation of all that are saved, the innocent for tfat guilty, nor worship any other : him truly bei the Son of God we adore: but the martyrs, and disGles, and followers of the Lord, we justly love, for that extraordinary good mind, which they have expressed toward their King and Mas- ter, of whose happiness God grant that wi partake, and that we may leam by dieir exam’ pies (r).’ It is indeed certain that the practice of invoking saints was not known in the first dueee centuries, or in the middle of ibe fourth fpentury ; for the invocation of Christ is urged by Athanasius, Cyril, Basil, and other £sLthers of diat time, as an argument for his divinity, be- cause they did not pray to angels or other crea- tures ; and Augustine, who died at the age of seventy-six, in the year 430, says, “Let not the worship of dead men be any part of our rdigion ; they ought to be so honoured that we may imi- tate them, but not worshipped (s).” This pa- s seems to refer to the invocation of martyrs,

which (r) Eus. Ep. lib. 4. cap. 15. (s) Aug. de Ver. Rel. cap. 55

^ W. 1X11.3 7%irt!f^Wif Articles. 56.7

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p^4jt«d

(t) These days were called Natalitia, because the martyrs were then apposed to be bom into l^(|ayen, or W^tev into the joys of heaven.

$68 Ex’position of the [pAet iiu

priated to them; and at length, by an ea transition, prayers were offered to them in tlfe same manner as to God and Christ Thus the invocation of saints became an established prac- tice of the Christian church; it was continued through the dark ages ; and the Council of Trent decreed, that all men are to be condemned who do not own that the saints reigning witK Christ, offer their prayers to God for men ; and that it is useful to invoke them to procure their assistance in asking God for blessings throu Christ.”

A very little inquiry will convince us tiiat there is no foundation whatever for this doctrine in Scripture. We are commanded to offer our prayers to God through Christ alone. ’ There iB one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (u — ” Throu him we have access to the Father (o?.” — No other per3on is mentioned by whom we can ap- preach the Father, and the silence of Scriptiun is decisive upon this subject; for we may rest assured, that every necessary direction is given to us relative to the important duty of prayer. The worshipping of angels is forbidden by St. * Paul : ” Let no man beguile you of your reiii’ard

in

(u) 1 Tim. c. a. t. 5. (x) Eph. c. 2. r. i8.

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m a voluntary humility, and worshipping of .angels (y);” it must therefore be unlawful to worship men, who were ” made lower than the angds (zy Several of the Apostles and first . Christians, particularly St James the Great and St. Stephen, had suffered martyrdom when the •Epistles were written, but no mention is made of offering prayers to them, or through them.

I have thus endeavoured to trace the origin and progress of the five doctrines condemned in this article, between which there is a close con- nexion, and their history has in general carried , with it * their . complete refutation. All of them had specious beginnings; and the mischief, in .almost every case, proceeded from their being allowed to transgress the bounds of propriety (a)j .without correction or remonstrance from those whose duty it was to watch pver and preserve the purity of Christian worship. The increasing darkness of the times soon caused them to dege- nerate

(y) Col. c. 2» V. 18. (z) Heb. c. 2. v. 7*

(a) *’ Superstition that riseth voluntarily, and by de- grees which are hardly discerned, mingling itself with the rites even of very divine service done to the only true God, must be considered of as a creeping and en-» croaching evil; an evil, the first beginnings whereof are commonly harmless, so that it proveth only then to be an evil when some farther accident doth grow unto it, or itself come unto farther growth.” Hooker’s Ecc. Pol. book £i

370 EsposUi&n oftbt [paet hi.

Derate stiU fiuther; but they had then made such an unpredsion upon the minds of men, and 60 many of the clergy found it their interest to support them, that all resistance from the sound and orthodox part of the church became inefiec- tual. The desire of complying with the prejudices of the heathen mi^t also have some wei^t in the introduction of practices, which by degrees led to some of these corruptions ; but the great source of all these evils seems to have been, that spirit of ” will-worship,” which was gradually admitted into the church, notwithstanding die sol^nn caution which had been given against it Our Reformers, therefore, were fully justified in fgecting these doctrines, which had thus arisen from indiscretion and avarice on the one side, and from ignorance and superstition on the other, and to pronounce them grounded on no

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