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of the way of unbelievers, and bear our testimony against the spirit of antichrist.

Religion is not accountable for the crimes committed in its sacred name, seeing it discountenances and condemns them. Christianity, as it originated with the God of infinite love and mercy, as it was introduced by his most glorious messenger, the meek and merciful Jesus, and promulgated by his holy apostles, is a religion of love, it breathes nothing but peace on earth and goodwill to men, its tendency and design is to regenerate the world, to unite mankind in one family, by the bonds of mutual love, and to lead them to the habitual practice of every thing that is virtuous and excellent: but as perverted by ignorance, corrupted by evil passions, prostituted to the vile purposes of avarice and ambition, a long catalogue of crimes and calamities have been associated with it. Yes, a religion which begins with humility, whose essence is love, and its object universal peace and happiness, has been so grossly perverted as to become the stalking horse of pride, the engine of tyranny, and the pretext for committing the most horrid cruelties. Nothing but the grossest perversion could ever make room for the practice of persecution, or suffer its spirit to arise among christians. The perversion of so godlike a system

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to base and wicked purposes is the foulest stain and deepest depravity of human nature.

The disciples of Jesus were for a long time persecuted. Then they were humble, peaceful and gentle towards all men: they bore their sufferings with patience and magnanimity, and pure religion flourished under their fostering hand.

It was not till they rose to power, till pride and luxury appeared among them, till they set up for masters over their brethren, in direct opposition to the spirit and precepts of Christ, that they began to persecute each other. If the professed followers of Jesus were like their great master, if, imbued with his spirit, guided by his precepts, they walked in his steps, bigotry, party spirit, and persecution, would have no existence among them. Had the reformer of Geneva uniformly regarded Christ as his example, he could not have aroused the demon of persecution, and goaded him on to the destruction of his christian brother; nor could he have become the advocate of the infamous prac tice of burning men for their opinions.

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The study of history is no doubt highly important; but the virtuous man must be filled with painful sensations, while perusing the sad details which historians give of crimes and calamities. He cannot refrain from weeping in secret places over the ignorance, folly, and wickedness of men : but most of all his heart is wrung with anguish while he views religion transformed into a monster, decorated with the filthy trappings of superstition, breathing anathemas and death, the source of all consolation made an engine of destruction, and contemplates the professed disciples of a master who went about doing good, biting and devouring each other. Alas! what shocking scenes do the pages of ecclesiastical history unfold! If the history of the world abounds with details of rapine and violence, of wars, murders and massacres, the history of the church equally abounds with disgusting scenes of intrigue, intolerance and persecution. The pages of the latter, like those of the former, are besmeared with blood, and exhibit facts which stamp infamy on those who have been adhered to as great leaders among christians.

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The acts of cruelty and murder which have been perpetrated in support of reputed orthodoxy are the more criminal because perpetrated under the pretence of glorifying the God of mercy, of promoting the cause of him who came not to destroy men's lives but to save them, and of doing honor and giving support to a re ligion, the grand characteristic of which is love,

which places charity at the head of all its virtues and excellencies. If any thing can add unusual aggravation to guilt, increase the natu ral odiousness of vice, and render cruelty superlatively cruel, it must be the attempting to sanction vice with the sacred name of religion, and the pretending that cruelty is exercised in the name and for the honor of the God of mercy.

A veil has too frequently been drawn by есclesiastical writers over the crimes committed against christian liberty and the rights of conscience. Sometimes such outrages on the prin ciples of justice and christianity, even when attended with cruelty and murder, have been mistaken for acts of piety and virtue. The perse cuted were first branded with the name of here tics, then murdered, and, to complete the inju ry done them, afterwards exhibited in the historic page as enemies to God and religion. So common has it been to call evil, good, and good, evil. It is not difficult to account for this. The persecutors were the predominant party, the persecuted, a despised few. The former thought their own faith and practice to be right, that by destroying the latter they did God service, and men of their own party gave an ac count of these transactions. In the estimation

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of such writers the persecutors were saints, and thepersecuted monsters. This statement, though it will not hold universally, will be found true in numerous instances, and is peculiarly applicable to the case of Dr. Servetus. When the persecuted quickly after became the preponderating party the case was different. The crimes of the persecutors were blazoned abroad, in all their enormity, though, alas! the party who published too frequently imitated them. When the persecutors were successful, and maintained their power, it was left for posterity, sometimes at a remote distance of time, to expose, in their true colors, their nefarious and bloody deeds.

This work is designed to place before the reader a shocking scene of persecution, in connexion with a view of the life and opinions of the worthy person who was the object of it. This scene cannot be laid open without exposing theunchristian spirit, and barbarous conduct of a great reformer; but it is presumed that this is no sufficient reason for the suppression of interesting facts. Every principle of justice should stimulate us to vindicate the character of an innocent man, who fell a victim to the merciless rage of bigotry. 'Persecutors of all parties cannot be too generally execrated. I know not how the baneful influence of bigotry and a

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