The Massachusetts spy, or, Thomas's Boston journal. [volume] (Boston [Mass.]) 1772-1775, 1773-08-19

Pieaie TO give toe fohoWing P'aSc W you'
Paper.
To my nsaref Ndg5bour L.
sspsaaese,sAseg / had placed certain
&S claimant of high powers
&NF a ~ and preroga,iyes, the Inl
NM d6%\ lial letter of whole chrif
~ SIX tan name agrees to your
.&9NHYS9 lignature in lat Ihurtday's
Spy, and.a gentleman, vsnsfsbk as well as
harmed. whole praife is in the churches both
ofO.d and New Eng and, in iuch co"pIcu
Gus oppoGion, in the Bottom Gazette OF
the 10Th Of July laG, ! expected chaft'ie
men, not leis fevere than another NEIGH
BouR of yours met with, in late PuOiI-
cation, who had undertaken, without a
thorough knowledge Of his fubjea, TO write
a pamphlet Untitled, A7rs0fjs on C6HTt6
Govynmsnt.
That YOU =" could produce many ienten-
ces to the fame pmp9f," with thoie you
have already favoured your readers with,
have not the leaf doubt but the mlsfor-
tune is that they would be no more to the
bubsE for which they might be dehgned,
than 70 many exuaas from Mohammeds
Koran. When the words EldsrJ, Eldeyt6tp
and Pr<jSfOy, as they were ulsd BY the
comoilers of the Platform, by DR.. Mathef
and Others, in the quotations you have
made. lhall in propriety offpeech, be sP-
plicab'e to Jingle miniffer OF congTega
tional church, then, and not before, It will
appear from them, that fame Of :" the fpi-
ritual fathers of this country believed" that
Ouch mnilier had full power and authority
TO negative the votes of the church and,
conf.oueu,ly, that +" Mr.. Adams is not
fingular in his fentiments." But how ar
roeantly foever fome men in the PrslsHt ia,
have talked, and Others have Gt7ed, for aughs
YOU have produced from the New Eoslan
fathers. he may be coniidered as angular,
with refpea to his claim of 8 negative
voice though you ffrangely imagine you
have fhswn that he is far from being 10.
The contemptuous treatment 10 literally
beloved on the vindicator of tbojf tOb0 call
sbsmElves the church in Bolton; the bold
aGcrtion that the powers claimed BY the an
fwerer Of his pamphlet, in behalf of himielf,
and Others of The order, belong to chrihian
minitftrs, by divine right ;joined with all his
parade, putting, and EMULATION over MS adj
vsriary, as If plenary proof had been brought
from the facred fcripsures, and the exer-
size of fuch powers was agreeable to the
contribution of our churches, cannc; certain.
" terify any man who might be dilPoled to
reply But peace to his lEmbrs, while In
his gratis he dreams that his performance is
unanlwerabIe In my opinion, ne who
fhoald attempt to treat Ihefe ridiculous
claims with ferrous augmentation, would
be guilty of fuch proltitution of the art of
peafoning as would be objectionable.
Belides the two fugitive pieces aboVemen-
I toned, I have read the platform over and
over, and leVersl other treaties on church
government; and from ihefe tracts, fat
tor myief, have collected information fuf-
fcient to enable me TO figure pretty tolera-
I hly in dilpuie W h 70 y0zng man But
from coniUl,ing my bible, much better
book than any Of chem, | hnI that when
me Apofile wa plcsiSnr on the marble and
wooden deities of the Pagaas, he did not
vouchl4fe to brIag Jingle pIOof Of The u
nnv and iucorpcreity of the divine efience,
10 make it eviden, that they rVsrs no GsGs
svlir5 soers made sOif5 bands. And in the
preient cafe lhould as foon think Of prov
i1g in mood and 6gpre, hat iiaiue formed
rs; the Hune.euI;sI is not omnipoient, or