PROTESTANTS, a term now applied to all christians who in any country or of any sect dissent from the principles and discipline of the church of Rome. This name was first given to the following princes of the German Empire ; John, Elector of Saxony; George, Elector of Brandenburg, for Franconia ; Ernest and Francis, Dukes of Lunenbgrg, the Landgrave of Hesse, and the Prince of Anhalt. These princes, being seconded by thirteen imperial towns, viz. Stras bourg, Ulm, Nuremberg, Constance, Rot tingen, Windseim, Memmingen, Nordin gen, Lindau. Kempten, Heilbron, Wissem berg, and St. Gall, solemnly protested against the decree of the Emperor Charles the Fifth, and the diet of Spires. by which it had been decreed to prohibit any fur ther innovations in religion. This Protest was made in the year 1529; from which time all who have renounced, or never agreed to, the doctrines of the Romish church have been denominated Protes tants. This class of christians conse quently includes the Huguenots in France, the Refugees in Holland, the Presbyteri ans in Scotland, as well as the Episcopa lians and Nonconformists in England ; together with a numerous body of chris tians in America. The principal deno minations of Protestants in England, are the Episcopalians or church of England, the Presbyterians, the Independents, and the Baptists, general and particular. These, however, have divided themselves into innumerable sects and parties ; the principal of which are denominated Arians and Socinians, or, more properly speaking, Unitarians, Sabellians, Calvinists, Sub lapsarians and Supralapsarians, Armini ans, Baxterians, Antinomians, Brownists, Pxdobaptists, Quakers, Methodists, Uni versalists, Sabbaterians, Moravians, San demanians, and Swedenborgians. Con cerning these, and other christian sects, the reader will find very impartial ac counts, drawn up in a popular and per spicuous manner, and accompanied with many pious and sensible reflections on the nature and extent ofchristian candour, in the Rev. J Evans's " Sketch of the De. nominations of the Christian World," ele venth edition. But for more elaborate accounts of the christian sects, the reader is referred to Dr Rees's Cyclopedia ; the theological, as, indeed, every other de partment of which is conducted in a man ner every way worthy the literature of a country where the genuine principles of religious liberty are clearly understood, and extensively encouraged. The sects and parties into which the Protestant re ligion is divided, have furnished the Ro man Catholics, on some occasions, with matter of triumph ; asserting that the Pro testant faith is deficient in the first mark or characteristic of a true church, viz. that of unity ; and unbelievers have not neglected to avail themselves of this cir cumstance to vilify the christian religion altogether; as affording no sufficient data for truth, but engendering only strife, animosity, division, and bloodshed : and, it most be confessed, that when the enemies of the Protestant faith behold the rancour, the bigotry, and the malice of many sectaries, and particularly of those sects which are the most numerous and popular, they have but too much ground for their triumphs. When the spirit of Chillingworth shall have influ enced the hearts, and directed the lives of all Protestants, their professions will be as consistent as their leading princi ples are rational and scriptural. That au thor addressing himself to a Romish writer, speaks of the religion of Protes tants in the following terms. "Know then, Sir, that when I say the religion of Pro testants is in prudence to be preferred be fore yours ; as, on the one side, I do not understand by your religion the doctrine of Bellarmine or Baronius, or any other private man amongst you, nor the doc trine of the Sorbonne, or of the Jesuits, or of the Dominicans, or of any other particular company among you ; but that wherein you all agree, the doctrine of the Council of Trent ; so accordingly, on the other side, by the religion of Protestants Ida not understand the doctrine of Luther, or Calvin, or Melancthon ; nor the con fession of Augsburg or Geneva ; nor the catechism of Heidelberg, nor the arti cles of the church of England—no, nor the harmony of Protestant confessions ; but that wherein they all agree, and which they all subscribe with a greater harmony, as a perfect rule of faith and action, that is, THE BIBLE! The Bible, I say, the Bible only, is the religion of Protestants. Whatsoever else they be
lieve besides it, and the plain, irrefraga ble, indubitable consequences of it, well may they hold it as a matter of opinion; but as a matter of faith and religion, neither can they with coherence to their own grounds, believe it themselves, nor require belief of it of others, without most high and most schismatical presumption. I, for my part, after a long (and I verily believe and hope) impartial search of the true way to eternal happiness, do profess plainly, that I cannot find any rest for the sole of my foot, but upon this rock only. I see plainly, and with my own eyes, that there are popes against popes, and coun cils against councils ; some fathers against other fathers, and some fathers against themselves ; a consent of fathers of one age against consent of fathers of another age ; traditive interpretations of scripture are pretended, but there are few or none to be found: no tradition but that of scripture can derive itself from the ffiun tain ; but may be plainly proved either to have been brought in in such an age after Christ, or that in such an age it was not in. In a word, there is no sufficient cer. tainty but that of scripture only, for any considering man to build upon. This, therefore, and this only, I have reason to believe. This I will profess ; accord ing to this I will live ; and for this, if there be occasion, I will not only willingly but even gladly, lose my life ; though I should be sorry that christians should take it from me. Propose me any thing out of the book, and require whether I believe it or no, and seem it never so incompre hensible to human reason, I will sub. scribe it with hand and heart, as knowing no demonstration can be stronger than this: God bath said so, therefore it is true. In other things I will take no man's liberty of judging from him, neither shall any man take mine from me. I will think no man the worse man, nor the worse christian ; I will love no man the less for differing in opinion from me. And what measure I mete to others, I expect front them again. I am fully assured that God does not, and therefore men ought not, to require any more of any man than this : to believe the scripture to be God's word; to endeavour to find the true sense of it, and to live according to it " Such are the genuine principles of Protestantism ; such the spirit by which all christians ought to be actuated. Those men, who, calling themselves Protest ants, are of a contrary spirit (and it is a lamentable fact that their number is daily increasing) are a disgrace to their pro fession, and bring dishonour on the com mon cause of christianity. Their devo tion is enthusiasm, and their zeal mad ness; while their increasing number por tends one of the greatest of all public cala mities; threatening to rekindle the latent embers of persecution,—again to light up those fires which the united efforts of reason, philosophy, and the principles of rational religion have conspired to ex tinguish for ever. See ARMINIAN% PRES BYTERIANS, PURITANS, REFORMATION, and ROMAN CATHOLICS.