VARIETIES. THE following table of very useful information, is printed as a small hand-bill, for the convenience of distribution, it is numbered 51, and if the others are equal in compressing facts and presenting them clearly, the series must be very valuable. Number 51 is a good answer to the enquiry, "where was your religion before Luther?" It shews how the fragments of Rome were pieced together by modern methods. 51. THE INVENTIONS OF ROME. DATES OF THE ADOPTION OF THE NEW DOCTRINES AND CEREMONIES ... ... ... Purgatory Tradition ... Apocryphal Books ... Priestly intention necessary to the validity of a Sacrament 1547 Venial sins Sale of Indulgences ... ... 1438 ... ... 1546 Creed of Pope Pius IV., in which twelve new Articles Mark the Apostle's words addressed to the Church at ROME, nearly 1800 years ago: "Be not high minded, but fear; for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God; on them which fell, severity; but toward the, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness; OTHERWISE thou also shalt be cut off."-(Rom. xi. 20—22.) "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbid ding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth."-(1 Tim. iv. 1-3) See also 2 Thess. ii. 3—9. INTENDED DISCUSSION. ATHEISM, OR SECULARISM VERSUS CHRISTIANITY. PREPARATION is now being made for a discusssion on the following topic," What benefits will accrue to mankind generally, and the working classes in particular, and for this life, by the removal of Christianity, and substituting Atheism in its place?" Mr. George Jacob Holyoake accepts this proposition, with the alteration of Secularism instead of Atheism, and it now remains for him to de fine Secularism, and give his list of professed advantages which his system will introduce, advantages which Christianity opposes. The Rev. Brewin Grant, B.A., of Birmingham, has agreed to maintain the su periority of the Gospel for this life, and is waiting for the definition and statements promised by Mr. Holyoake. The Discussion is to take place in London. I. CHRIST'S RELIGION. "PROVE ALL THINGS; HOLD FAST THAT WHICH IS GOOD." 1 Thess. v. 12. HOW AND WHY CHRIST WAS MADE LIKE UNTO HIS BRETHREN. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."-Heb. ii. 14. "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."-Phil. iii. 21. THE necessary tendency of all religions, and the only object of a true religion, is to make the worshippers like the object of worship. But in order to render this possible, there must be some sympathy or likeness to commence with; in every case of imitation there is this groundwork of similarity to start upon. Hence we find the heathen deities had certain attributes to correspond with human passions, by which men were held to their worship and fascinated to a closer likeness. Lust, and pride, and bloodshed, sensuality, domination, and ferocity, embodied in the characters of the hero-gods, found a certain echo in the bosoms of men. Just as we applaud our national heroes, from our selfish patriotism; and glow with vanity over the record of our enemies' destruction. It was upon the basis of these lower passions, that heathen gods, (somewhat elevated and adorned by the fictions of the poet, the chisel of the artist, and the sacredness of antiquity,) built to themselves the immense fabric of superstition and human degradation. Men were in the likeness of their gods, which first secured attachment, and continued to increase the likeness by all the associations of national legends and public rites. All this tended to swell the current of human depravity; polluting and increasing as time advanced, "the vain conversation received by tradition from our Fathers:" from all which Christ has now come to "redeem us." These superstitions appealed to the animal man, and were of the earth earthy; making men still more so: until passion being enthroned over nature and reason, men worshipped not only the animal in man, but brute beasts themselves. They first "changed the glory of the incorruptible God, into an image made after the likeness of corruptible_man :' choosing his corruptions to worship, they were next prepared to worship these qualities apart from man, in the image of "four-footed beasts and creeping things;" until men themselves became creeping things, herding L 3 VOL. II. and with the object of their worship, feeding on the husks which the swine should eat. It was to prepare for and secure this imitative tendency, in another direction, that God provided, first, the nature of man; and, secondly, the revelation of himself by Jesus Christ in the gospel. Thus because there must first be a likeness between the worshipper and the Being who is worshipped; he made man in his own image, a creature of knowledge and higher sympathies than the beasts that perish. Made him capable of the sentiment of kindred or relationship, bound him with family ties of mutual endearment; and rendered him capable of intelligent gratitude, affection, and reverence. From all of which the lower animals are excluded; since they recollect no family ties, and go little beyond self and sense. To these human relations, men have given names, and God having raised man so far to meet himself, stooped to meet man at this point, by assuming those names of endearment and obligation that exist amongst mankind, as a Father, a Judge, a Ruler. So God at first drew near to the heart and conscience of his intelligent creatures, that by communing with him, they might grow in all true knowledge and holiness. But the departure from this privilege, produced disorder in the constitution of the human character, and placed the animal over the spiritual, produced slavery to sin and death: and, therefore, God drew still nearer to us, that by displaying a closer likeness and sympathy, he might recover us from our guilt and degradation. At first, by making man in his own image, he sought to establish an affinity between our higher nature and himself; to sanctify and exalt our intellect, affections, and conscience, he presented those corresponding elements in his own nature, wisdom, goodness, and justice. Thus was commenced the possibility of this relation, by an approximation to likeness on both sides: God coming down towards man, and lifting man up towards himself. This was the natural image of God, with which our race was endowed; that through this opening and possibility, we might, by obedience and growing principle, attain to his moral image, "in righteousness and true holiness.' But this first probation of mankind has proved a failure on our part; proving that the first Adam was of the earth earthy, and that we have borne his image: becoming, not what God intended us, in the destiny he offered the possessors of dominion over all things, and ourselves free under him but slaves to our own cherished passions, sold under sin, with no ability to deliver ourselves" from the body of this death:" the magnitude and power of this corruption and bondage. : Our wisdom had become perverted to folly, our strength melted to weakness, and men were corrupt and corrupting one another. In this state of things, God made a still further advance towards meeting us, that there might be a more powerful link of sympathy; and since man in the natural image of God, failed to attain to his moral likeness; God condescended to the image of man," the likeness of sinful flesh,” that so he might condemn, annul, and destroy sin in our nature: as he "who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” .. Thus was commenced a new human race, of which God himself became the leader and founder, in the person of "the Second Adam-the Lord from heaven;" as "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself." "And as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to as many as believed in his name: which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God," whose high distinction and honour, was no matter of hereditary inheritance, but originated in the new birth, of faith in the only begotten Son of God, "whom to know is life eternal." It is in this character, as the Second Adam, the Founder of a new race, that we have now to consider him who was made like unto his brethren. We shall endeavour to shew, I. How, or in what respects, Christ was made like unto his brethren. II. For what purposes he was made like unto us. I. How, or in what respects, Christ was made like unto his brethren, 1st. We observe in the first place, he was made like unto us, by becoming one of us-by assuming our form and condition. "For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus;" who became a man, that he might be a mediator; assuming this middle place, that he might come near and be on speaking terms with mankind. We must not so far rob our Lord's appearance here of all condescension and grace, as to confine him to the boundaries of humanity in which he appeared. His tabernacle was on earth, his temple and home was in heaven. He was the man Christ Jesus, as appearing here, but he was still "upholding all things by the word of his power;" he was here on earth, as the visible display of the Godhead, but was at the same time in heaven, as the presence of God was over the mercy seat, in visible splendour, but also at the same time filling immensity. "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven."-(John iii. 13.) He was "in the beginning with God," possessing the Divine estate and majesty; in other words he "was God;" but he "was made flesh," was afterwards with man; in the low estate and weak appearance of human condition, in other words, was man. (John i.) "Who being in the form of God," in the condition of majesty and splendour, was not anxious to retain this, "but made himself of no reputation, and having taken upon him the form of a servant, existed in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."—(Phil. ii. 6—8.) He became a man-a brother to mankind-by assuming the fashion of a man; being made flesh," clothed in a body like our own:" stooping to the conditions of our earthly existence. This is the fact implied or asserted, in each passage we have referred to: and on this, the chief stress is laid in the Epistle to the Hebrews.— (Chap. ii., 9-14.) It was this human body, and human condition, that constituted him a brother; by this he declared, that "he was not ashamed to call us bre |