The Life of Hugo Grotius eBook

Charles Butler
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 203 pages of information about The Life of Hugo Grotius.

The Life of Hugo Grotius eBook

Charles Butler
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 203 pages of information about The Life of Hugo Grotius.

It does not appear, that subsequently to the communications, between Archbishop Wake, and Dr. Dupin, any attempts for a general, or partial reunion of christians, were made in the last century:  but, early in the present, Napoleon, conceived the project, of effecting, such a reunion.  He is said, to have particularly had in view, the catholicizing, as it was termed, the northern part, of Germany.  To forward his design, many works were published:  one of them, the Essai sur l’Unite des Cultes, of M. Bonald, is written, with great ingenuity.  That Essay, and several others by the same author, were inserted in the Ambigu of Peltier, and deserve the attention, of every reader.  Though they contain some things, to which a Roman Catholic writer, would object, they are evidently written, by a Roman Catholic pen.

The first point to be considered, by those, who meditate the project of reunion, is, its practicability—­those, who are disposed, to contend for the affirmative, will observe, the number of important articles, of Christian Faith, in which, all Christians, are agreed, and the proportionally small number of those, in which, any Christians disagree.

All Christians believe,

    1st.  That there is one God;

    2d.  That he is a Being, of infinite perfection;

    3d.  That he directs all things, by his providence;

    4th.  That it is our duty to love him, with all our hearts, and our
    neighbour, as ourselves;

    5th.  That it is our duty, to repent, of the sins we commit;

    6th.  That God, pardons the truly penitent;

    7th.  That there is a future state, of rewards, and punishments,
    when all mankind shall be judged, according to their works;

    8th.  That God, sent his Son, into the world, to be its saviour, the
    author of eternal salvation, to all, that obey him;

    9th.  That he is the true Messiah;

    10th.  That he taught, worked miracles, suffered, died, and rose
    again, as is related in the four gospels;

11th.  That he will hereafter, make a second appearance on the earth, raise all mankind from the dead, judge the world in righteousness, bestow eternal life on the virtuous, and punish the workers of iniquity.

In the belief of these articles, all Christians, the Roman Catholic, all the Oriental churches, all the members of the Church of England, all Lutherans, Calvinists, Socinians, and Unitarians, are agreed.  In addition to these, each division, and subdivision of Christians, has its own tenets.  Now, let each settle among its own members, what are the articles of belief, peculiar to them, which, in their cool deliberate judgment, they consider as absolutely necessary that a person should believe, to be a member of the church of Christ; let these articles be divested of all foreign matter, and expressed in perspicuous, exact,

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The Life of Hugo Grotius from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.