wherein all the reason and philosophy of atheism is confuted, and

andCh'ap, IV. wlih Pagan Idolatry. 629hypoftafes, affirmed by him to be ali uncreated, were by them looked upononly as one entire divinity.But the principal thing?, which we fliall obferve from this paflage ofAthanqfius, and thofe many other places of the fathers, where they parallelthe Arians with the Pagans, making the former guilcy of the veryfame idolatry with the latter, even then, when they worfhipped our SaviourChrift himfelf, or the Word and Son of God, as he was by themfuppofed to be nothing but a creature, are thefe following ; firif, thatit is here plainly declared by them, that the generality of the Pagansdid not worfiiip a multitude of independent gods, but that only one oftheir gods was uncreated or felf-exiftent, and all their other many godslooked upon by them as as his creatures. This, as it is exprefly affirmedby Aibanafius here, that the Greeks or Pagans did £^1 iyvj-nu y.x\ TroXXoTiyivivo'^g Xxlaiviiv, Korfljip only one uncreated, and many created gods ; lb is itplainly implied by all thofe other foremention:d fathers, who charge theArians with the guilt of Pagan idolatry: becaufe, had the Pagans worfliippedmany uncreated and independent gods, it would not therefore follow,that the Arians were idolaters, if the Pagans were. But that thiswas indeed the fenfc of the fithers, both before and after the Nicene council,concerning the P.igan polythcifm and idolatry, that it confided not inworlhipping many uncreated and independent gods, but only one uncreatedand many created, hath been already otherwife manifcfled -,itmight be further confirm.ed by fundry teftimonies of them ; as this of St.Gregory Nazianzen in his 37rh oration »; Ti' (^al -iyj y.x\ nx^' "ExXricrt (pxTcv £vJiAtx 0£OTj;c, uf 01 ra -fXsuTtfa Traj' ly.snoi? QiXoiTc(p^v7ec; fVhat then ixciddfome fayAsthere not one divinity alfo amonyfl the Pag/'ns, as they, who pbilofophize morefully andferfetl'y amongji them, uo declare? And that full and remarkable oneof Iren.eus, where he plainly afikmeth of the Gentiles , Ita crealum po-L. z. eg.tins quam Creatori ferviebant, £5" his qrr ncn funt dii, lit priminn deitatis lo- l^f- ','9 ^^^cum attrihuerent uni alicui ^ ftimmo fabri.a'.ori hujus iiniverfitatis Deo : ^^Jg'^ pj^"That they fo ferved the creature, and thofe who are not gods, rather than the MafTueci ']Creator \ that notiaithflanding they attributed the firjl place of the Deity toone certain fiipreme God, the maker of this univerfe. The fccond thino- is,that Athayiafius, and all thofe other orthodox fithtrs, who charged the A-rians with Pagan idolatry, did thereby plainly imply, thofe not to be uncapablcof idolatry, who worHiip one fbvereign Numen, or acknowledgeone fupreme Deity, the maker of the whole world ; fince not only the A-rians unqueftionably did fo, but alio, according to thefe fathers, the very Pagansthemielves. The third thing is, that in the judgment oi AthanafmSjand all the orthodox Anti-Arian fathers, to give religious worfhip to anycreated being what.'bever, thoiTL,h inferiour to that worfhip, which is given tothe fupreme God, and ri: reiore according to the modern diftinflion, notAalfEia, but