The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-03-19 00:00:00

amen. Thus saith God. Now he that
se spiritual harlots out of their lurking corners, into

openly, of all men and women, without shame, be committed with
them, no doubt that person is cursql orGod, and twice cursed, and
all good and godly men and woolen will say, Amen ; and their
amen will take effect also. " But away, for shame, with these co
loured cloaks of idolatry, of the books and seriptures of images and
pictures to teach idiots, nay to make idiots, add stark fools, and
None of these things be done to that book
l of our Saviour, which be done to images
_ nd scriptures of laymen and idiots as they
Wherefore call them what they list it is more evident
hat they make of them no other books and scrip-
filthy and horrible idolatry, as the

,sts of Christians."
scripture of the Gosp

and pic
call the

by their tic
ture, than

of wicked idolatry, for his
cold, read, and learn, to God's.-
oost horrible damnation !" " True re
in making, &c., dumb and dead images,
'ncl babies for old fools, in dotage and
, with, nor in kissing of them,
.mg to them, incensing them, setting up of
~ of legs and arms, or whole bodies of wax be.
_ graying and asking of them or of saints, things be.
only to God to give. But all these things be vain and
Aominable, and most damnable before God. Wherefore all such
do not only bestoW their money and labour in vain; but with their
pains and cost purchase to themselves God's wrath and utter indig-
nation, and everlasting damnation both of body and soul." " And
all those names of abomination which God's word in the Holy
Scriptures giveth to the idols of the Gentiles, appertain to our
images, being idols like to them and hav,ng like idolatry eommitted
unto them. And God's own mouth in the Holy Scriptures calleth
them vanities, lies, deceits; uncleanness, filthiness, dung, mischief,
and abomination before the Lord."
Such is the strain of pointed irony and indignant, decided,
and unqualified condemnation in Which our holy Church
testifies against the apostate Church of Rome. One more
quotation, my lord, I must give, in my own defence, from
the same homily.
For-she being indeed not only an harlot (as the scripture calleth
',,nt also a foul, filthy, old, withered harlot; and understand.
of natural and true beauty, and great loathsomeness
which of herself she bath, doth - (after the custom of such harlots)
paint herself with gold, pearl, stone, and all kinds of precious jew-
els, that she shining with the outward beauty and glory of them,
may pletise the foolish phantasy of fond lovers, and so entice them
to spiritual fornication with her. Who if they saw her (I will not

O books and scriptures, in
bath penned the lewd lessor

•, Satan,

lastardt

ligion, then
which be bt

eat puppet•
. to dal

and pla

capping, kneeling,
cat dies, hanging t

ore them, or

ing her la

say naked) but in simple apparel, would abhor her as the foulest
and filthiest harlot that ever was seen ; according, as appeareth by
the description of the garnishing of the great strumpet of all strum-
pets, the mother of whoredom, set forth by St. John in his iievela-
ton who by he
whoredom with

I quote this, because it shows the Church's interpretation
of Rev. xvii. 5, and therefore, justifies me in applying to the
Church of Rome all that is said in that blessed book of the
Mystic Babylon, and especially the 2d verse of the 18th
chapter. " Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is be-
come the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul
spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Surely
the " synagogue of Satan," itself a strictly Scriptural
phrase, is not too strong to apply to a church, which is thus
described by the Holy Ghost himself.

Your lordship is well aware, that I might quote very many
ages of a similar import from the Book of Homilies, and
as that book is not only one of the standards of our church,
to which every cler•-••-- • - the Thirty-nine

'gyrnan, in subscribing

Articles, signifies his ex animo assent and consent ; but one
which your lordship is (a most praiseworthy act) assisting to
diffuse and circulate amongst the people; I think, my lord,
1 might justly have expected from your lordship approbation
and not censure, for merely echoing sentiments contained in

that very same book, and in language not by many degrees
so strong,-as that in which they are therein expressed. My
lord, I signed my assent and consent to the articles, and.
therefore, to the Homilies, "ex anima," because I firmly
believed, as I do still believe, and am prepared to maintain
and defend, their truth. You, my lord, have also signed
them, I am bound to believe, in the same spirit of good
faith.; and yet your lordship now says, that the epithet I
have used, though in itself expressly scriptural, and, in my
application of it, clearly justified, and more than justified,
by this authorised standard of our church, is " insulting,
and only suitable tc a barbarous age of controversy." For
these reasons, my lord, I do not think that I deserved your
lordship's censure, for using and applying, as I did, the
Scripture epithet—" synagogue of Satan."
2. As to your lordship's second objection to my printed
papers, before replying to it, I shall first quote the paragraph
upon which it is founded; in full. " Roman Catholics,
pardon the apparent severity of my language; to you I feel

none ; I would willingly use none •and time Will, atiengi-1-1-,