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

630 Orthodox Chrifiians worpipped Book I.him. As thofe fathers imply, the Pagans themfelves to have given muchan inferiour worfliip to their ttoAAoi ytw?.o\ Stol, their many godsy whomthemfelves looked upon as creatures, than they did h\ dyvmro!, to th:itone uncreated -God.Now if the Arians, vi^ho zealoufly contended for the unity of the Gad'head, were neverthelefs, by the fluhers, condemned as guilty of idolatry,for beftowing but an inferiour kind of religious wordiip upon Chrifl-,the Son or Word of God himfelf, as he was fuppofcd by them to be acreature ; then certainly cannot they be excufed from that guilt, whobeflow religious worfhip upon thefe other creatures, angels and fouls ofmea, though inferiour to what they give to the fupreme omnipotentGod, the Creator of all. Becaufe the Son or Word of God, howeverconceived by thefe Arians to be .a creature, yet was looked upon by themas the firft, the moft glorious, and moft excellent of all creatures, andthat by which, as an inftrument, all other creatures, as angels and fouls,were made,; and therefore, if it were idolatry in them, to give an inferiourkind of religious worfhip to this Son and Word of God himfelf,according to their hypothefis, then can it not pofTibly be accounted lefs,to beftow the fame upon thofe other creatures, made by him, as angekund men deceafed. Befides which, the Word and Son of God, however fuppofcdby thefe Arians to be a creature, yet was not really fuch; and is in Scriptureunqueftionably declared to be a true objecft of religious worfliip, {worJJnphim all ye gods \\ fo that the Arians, though formally idolaters, according totheir own talfe hypothefis, yet were not materially and really fo : whereasthefe religious angel and faint-worfliippers muft be as well materially asformally fuch. And here it is obfervable, that thefe ancient fathers madeno fuch diftin6tion of religious worfliip, into Latvia, as peculiar to the fupremeGod, it being that, whereby he is adored as felf-exiftent and omnipotent,or the Creator of all -, and Doulia, fuch an inferior religious worfliip,as is communicable to creatures : but concluded of religious worfhip univerfally,and without difl:infl:ion, that the due objedt of it all v/as the Creatoronly, and not any creature. Thus Athannfins plainly in his third oration ',Tou VTrepiy(0])TX Trpoirxu'jfju* aXA vn i^iv KTWf, •a.tki'Ij^xti yct-p UTiTfAX a Trfojxuvei^uXXoi >cTiVju,a Siov If the Soil or Word of God were to be iverfyipped, (thougha creature) becaufe tranfcending us in glory and dignity, then ought every inferiourbeing to worfliip what is fuperiour to it : whereas the cafe is otherwife jfor a creature doth not religioufly wor/Ioip a creature, but only God the Creator.Now they ,who diftinguifli religious worfhip, into Latrin and Doulia^mufl; needs fuppofe the objed: of it in general to be that, which is fuperiourto us, and not the Creator only ; which is here contradiifled by Athanafms.But becaufe it was objeifled againft thefe orthodox fathers by the Arian?,that the humanity of our Saviour Chrifl:, which is unqueftionably a creature,did fliare in their religious worfhip alfo; it is worth the while to leeAd Adelph."what account Athanafms gives of this :»' uTta-fj-a. k^oitk'jwia.iv^ y.ii yi-* jry. Mils' ESvihuu yx^ xou 'ApcimSd 7} ToioiuTJj TrXoc'jfi' «AA« roll JL'j^iov T-/?f urieiwq[Tom. I. !riicPY.M^'i\«, 7iv tb ^iS Aoyov Trgoo-xwaijwEU' il yx§ hx) n ml^'^ ot,\nr\ r.aS' 'txS\-A\)Fag. 394. Tom. I. Oper.