Peter. I am fo far from being of your opinion, that, I profefs, I don't understand you. Dr. Trapp. Not understand me! why nothing is plainer: you are to believe no more than this, that there are three perfons and one God, and that every perfon is very God. Peter. So you only modeftly defire me to believe that there are four Gods. Dr. Trapp. Sir, you intirely mistake the matter; for tho' every perfon is God, yet every person is not a particular God; for they all fubfift in the fame effence, which conftitutes the unity; and the trine personality, subsisting in the unity, conftitutes the Trinity. Sir, this is fo clear and eafy, that we do not scruple to teach it our women and children. Peter. Tho' your women and children are fo eafily fatisfied, I must be much better inftructed, before I can be fatisfied; wherefore I fhall take the liberty of defiring you to explain what you mean by person and effence? Dr. Trapp. With all my heart, Sir: Why perfon, Sir. is a nominal idea of an unsubstantial, uncreated, incomprehensibly begotten, or proceeding fubfiftence; purely and fimply taken in itself, a non-entity, but really and potentially distinguishing entities. And effence, being an occult, immaterial substance, neceffarily containing all those accidents, without which it could not poffibly subfift, the perfon subsisting in the effence, dialectically C 3 cally and logically speaking, may be faid to be the accident of the fubftance, differing in name and nature indeed, tho' co-equal, co-effential, and coeternal. Wer't thou a teacher in Ifrael, and knoweft not these things? Peter. Is that to be wondered at, if thefe things have been invented fince I was a teacher? For the people in my time had too much fenfe to be the inventors of fuch unintelligible ftuff, and too much honefty to fuffer it; but thy tribe, &c. Judge. Gentlemen, it will be impoffible to come to a conclusion, unless we put a stop to this fenfeJefs, unmeaning jargon of the fchools; wherefore, as it is my bufinefs to keep you to the point, I will propofe the question myself. Dr. Codex. With humble fubmiffion, my Lord, as the prifoner ftands indicted for blafphemy against the Nicene and Athanafian creeds, as explained by the Rev. Dr. Trapp, I infift upon it, that the witnefs's evidence muft fpeak directly to that; and must declare to the court, whether he thinks Trapp's Trinity an orthodox trinity, or not. Mr. Peter, pray tell my Lord what you think of Trapp's Trinity. Peter. Though I was bred but a poor fisherman, there is no reafon I fhould be ridiculed, and have a ftrange jumble of ftuff proposed to me, because I was not brought up to learning. How indifferent foever thefe great doctors may think of my understanding, Chrift did not think me unworthy of matters of the greatest importance. I never understood quibbles and riddles, nor do I understand thefe. When thefe gentlemen are in earnest, and will ask me any thing that I can make any fenfe of, I will give them as fatisfactory an answer as I am able; for this feems to be nothing but jingling with words. Surely, my Lord, these fellows must be a pack of impudent cheats; for they cannot poffibly believe, what they would impose upon the reft of mankind. Have you no laws against fuch hypocrites? Dr. Codex. If your Lordship can hear the facred character of churchmen thus fcurriloufly treated, I cannot. We are likely indeed to expect juf tice, when the court is corrupted against the priesthood! It is not the first time that the earth has opened, and fire from heaven has confumed fuch, &c. Judge. Jailor take away that mad, perfecuting bell-weather, and let us go on with the trial. Mr. Peter, the court has too great a regard for your character, to countenance any ludicrous impofitions upon you: And thefe divines are in earnest, I affure you; for let it appear ever fo unintelligible and abfurd to you, this is the faith which we must subscribe to, or fuffer the most rigorous perfecution here, and be devoted by the church to eternal tortures hereafter. Peter. My furprize, my Lord, is fo astonishing, that I must beg a moment's indulgence, till I recover myfelf---Am I afked, if this creed is apoftolical? If the most glaring nonsense, and the most manifeft contradictions be apoftolical! Is there a man of common fenfe, common modesty, or common honefty, that could ever have imagined, or promulged, fuch filly and impious notions of the Deity? Have not all the prophets, evangelifts and apoftles continually afcribed all might, majesty and power to the Father alone? And has not Chrift as often declared to you, that he never did any thing, nor ever could do any thing, without the authority and affiftance of the Father? And does not he take hold of every opportunity of afcribing every action to the Father only? Or can any man fhew me, where he has given the least hint, that he himself was the fupreme God? And fince I am called upon for my opinion, upon this occafion, both for the fatisfaction of mankind and for my own justification, I will now repeat a part of what I have formerly wrote relating to this fubject. In a public affembly at Cæfarea, I spoke thus: "Ye know Jefus of Nazareth, whom God hath anointed with the Holy Ghost, and with power; who went about doing good, and healing those that were poffeffed by the devil, because God was with him. This perfon God raifed from the dead the third day, and commanded us to preach, and testify to the people, that this very person was decreed decreed and determined to be the judge of the living and the dead." Is this defcribing Christ as the fupreme God? Is not here a strong affertion of a power delegated to him from the Father, to enable him to perform those works for which he was fent into the world? Had he been God-man, he could neither have wanted nor received fuch power. It is abfurd, therefore, to fuppofe it to be fent where it could be of no use. If Chrift had been the fupreme God, I must have described him in a manner directly contrary to this. Then I must have faid, Jefus Chrift is God of Gods, he is the omnipotent, has all power originally in himself, and cannot poffibly derive it from any other Being. But how manifeftly would this contradict and clash with what went before? Nay, it would not only contradict what I have faid of him, but give the lie to every description of him through the whole New Testament. And I do here infift upon it, that the affertions of the Trinitarians, in refpect to Chrift's divinity, are abfolutely incompatible with the defcriptions of him in the gofpel. Another paffage in confirmation of the fame principle, is as follows: "We made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift; we were witnesses of his majefty, for he received from God honor and glory." I shall not trouble you with any more proofs; but only beg leave to put this last into the form of an argument, as thus: The omnipotent God cannot receive ho C 5 nour |