In consequence of this leading point in their theology, they maintained that God, who is infinitely more perfect than man, though of a similar nature in some respects, exerted an act of that power by which he governs all things ; in conse quence of which, an extraordinary person was born of the Virgin Mary. That per son was Jesus Christ, whom God first translated to heaven by that portion of his divine power called the Holy Ghost. So• cirrus and some of his followers entertain ed this notion of Christ's having been, in some unknown time of his life, taken up personally into heaven, and sent down again to the earth, by which they solved these expressions concerning him : " No man has ascended to heaven but be that came down from heaven, even the Son of Alan which is in heaven," (John iii. Thus Moses, who was the pe of Christ, before the promulgation of the law, as cended to God upon 14ount Sinai. So Christ, before he entered on the office as signed him by the Father, was, in conse quence of the divine council and agency, translated into heaven, that lie might see the things he had to announce to the world in the name of God himself. Be ing thus fully instructed in the knowledge of his counsels and designs, he sent him again into this sublunary world, to promul gate to mankind a new rule of life, more excellent than that under which they had fbrmerly lived, to propagate divine truth by his ministry, and to confirm it by his death.
That those who obey the voice of this divine teacher (and this obedience is in the power of every one whose will and in clination lead that way) shall one day be clothed with new bodies. and inhabit eternally those blessed regions w here God himself immediately resides. Such, on the contrary, as are disobedient and re bellious, shall undergo most terrible and exquisite torments, which shall be suc ceeded by annihilation, or the total ex tinction of their being. • Faustus Socinus supposed that, in con descension to human weakness, in order that mankind might have one of their own brethren more upon a level with them, to whom they might have recourse in their straits and necessities, Almighty God, for his eminent virtues, had confer red upon Jesus Christ, the Son of Mary, some years after he was born, a high di vine power, lordship, and dominion, fbr the government of the christian world only ; and had qualified him to hear and answer the prayers of his Ibllowers in such matters as related to the cause of the gospel. The chief foundation on which Socinus founded the opinion of Christ's being an object of religious worship, was the declarations in the scriptures con cerning the kingdom and power bestow ed upon him. The interpretation which he put on those passages which speak of angels and heavenly powers being put under him, and worshipping him ; his having a knowledge ofthe secret thoughts of men imparted to him, and the like, ' which, with some presumed instances of the fact, of prayer being actually made to him, he maintained to be a sufficient though indirect signification of the divine will, that men should invoke Christ by prayer. But he constantly acknowledg
ed that there was no express precept fur making him an object of religious wors, ship.
Socinut allowed that the title of true God might be given to Christ ; though all he meant by it was, that he bad a real divine power and dominion bestowed upon him, to qualify him to take care of the concerns of christians, and to hear and answer their prayers, though he was originally nothing more than a human ,creature.
There were some among the early Socinians who disapproved and rejected the worship paid to Christ, as being without any foundation in the Holy Scrip tures, the only rule of Christian faith and worship.
This is a general outline of the doc trines of the Socinians.
The Unitarians, of the present day, are principally divided into Arians and Huma nitarians, or believers in the simple hu manity of Christ. For an account of the .first of these two classes, see the article Aais.ss. The 'summary of doctrines held by modern Unitarians is as follows : The capital article in the religious sys tem of this denomination is, that Christ • was a mere man. But they consider him as the great instrument in the hands of .God of reversing all the effects of the fall; as the object of all the prophecies from _Moses to his own time ; as the great bond of union to virtuous and good men, who, as christians, make one body in a peculiar sense ; as having communications with God, and speaking and acting kom God, in such a manner as no other man ever did, and therefore, having the form of God, and being the Son of God in a man ner peculiar to himself; as the mean of spreading divine and saving knowledge to all the world of mankind ; as, under Gad, the head of all things to his church; • -and as the Lord of life, having power and authority from God to raise the dead, and judge the world at the last day. They -suppose that the great object of the whole scheme of revelation was to teach men how to live here so as to be happy hereafter ; that the particular doctrines they taught, -as having a connection with this great ob ject,' are those of the unity of God, his universal presence and inspection, his placability to repenting sinners, and the certainty of a life of retribution after death. They suppose, that to be a Chris tian implies nothing more than the belief that Christ and his apostles, as well as all preceding prophets, were commissioned by God to teach what they declare they received from him ; the most important article of which is the doctrine of a resurrection to immortal life.