Draft notes on early Church rites and the Creed Isaac Newton c. 1,818 words The Newton Project Falmer 2009 Newton Project, University of Sussex

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 probably 1710 or later, in English, c. 1,841 words, 4 pp. on 2 ff.

Watson's letter printed in NC, 7: 383.

Discusses the times of Easter and Lent, prohibited meats, the Creed of Lucian the Martyr (312 AD) and its account of the relationship of the Father and the Son. Written on the back of and around a letter to Newton from George Watson, dated 4 March (no year), asking him to take over a £500 mortgage on which Catherine Barton had defaulted.

 4 pp. on 2 ff.

in English

 Ms. 438, The Babson College Grace K. Babson Collection of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California, USA USACaliforniaSan MarinoThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical GardensThe Babson College Grace K. Babson Collection of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton Ms. 438 SL uncertain

Possibly part of SL249 along with what is now Yahuda Var. 1 Ms. 15 and the Bodmer Ms.; possibly part of SL254 along with what is now Yahuda Var. 1 Mss. 16 and 17. In 2006, following the closure of the Dibner Institute, the holdings of the Babson Collection were transferred on permanent loan to the Hungtington Library, San Marino, California.

42

The document is written on the back of and around a letter from George Watson to Newton.

 probably 1710 or later England English Latin Holograph George Watson ReligionDoctrine Catalogue information compiled by Rob Iliffe, Peter Spargo & John Young Tagged transcription by Abdul Q. Sami Checked against digital facsimile by John Young Proofed by Robert Iliffe Catalogue exported to teiHeader by Michael Hawkins

And aAs for the rites, & ceremonies & & of the churches of the first ages forms of worship & & disciple & discipline & or rules not & devotion & dsicipline there was very great variety. in them And as for practical things in the practise of the Churches of yethe first ages as wthwithout breaking communion about them. Of wchwhich Socrates a These things being indifferent in their nature the Apostles left the churches at liberty about them, & every Church set her self such rules as she thought fit. Whence it came to pass Particularly by For Socrates & Sozomen relate at large that in their days & long before that there was great variety in the times of keeping Easter & Lent, & in the number of weeks & days in yethe week in wchwhich they fasted in Lent & in the sorts of meat from wchwhich they absteined in fasting, & as great variety in the Collects, & times of celebrating of the Eucharist & in other circumstances of & times of & celebrating the Eucharist & expounding the scriptures so that amongst all the Churches scarce two agreed perfectly in the rites of praying besides other & in cir & in other circumstances of wor religion worship so that to put in writing all the forms rites of the Churches in single wchwhich were variously observed by the Churches in every city & province, saith Socrates, would be very difficult or rather impossible. And yet the Churches kept in communion wthwith one another notwithstanding all these differences. Men might vary in rites & ceremonies, men might vary They might vary & in opinions not necessary to Baptism. The union of the Church consisted in one faith. By one baptism into that faith, men were admitted into one church & continued in it by living according to that faith.

Also auricular confession & pennance began to be in use soon after the days of Iulian persecution of Decius & were in use in almost all the Churches in the 4th century till latter end of yethe 4th century till Nectarius BpBishop of Constantine untill a matron in doing pennance in a Church confessed that at Constantine was defiled by a Deacon by & by confessing the crime brought a reflexion upon that Church, & Nectarius thereupon Nectarius yethe Bishop of Constantinople abolished the use of Confessors in that city, & several other bishops followed his example in other cities.

Lucian yethe Martyr who suffered at Antioch in the 10th persecution A.C. 312 left a creed in writing wchwhich was subscribed by the Council of Antioch A.C. 341 & again by the Council of Seleucia A.C. 359 & is as follows. Credimus

We are not commanded in scripture to worship him as God Almighty (for by the first the first commtcommandment we are to have no other Gods in orour worship then him who in according to the fourth CommtCommandment is s made heaven & earth & the Sea) but we are to worship him & give him honour & glory in respect of his humanity. Because he humbled himself to death even the death of the cross therefore God hath highly exalted him & gaiven him a name above every name that at the name of Iesus every kne should bow, of things in heaven & earth & under the earth & that every tongue should confess that Iesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father. We are therefore to bow to him as the Lord Iesus Christ the Prince of the kings of the earth. Vnto him that loved us & ga washed us from our sins in his own blood & hath made us kings and Priests unto God even his father to him be glory & dominion for ever & ever. We are to worship him give him glory as the Lamb of God who redee was slain for us

In all our prayers we must have but one God and one Mediator between God & man the man Christ Iesus & we must not slight his Mediatorship if we would be saved.. 2 In that day saith he ye shall ask me nothing, whatsoever ye shall ask the father in my name he will do it for you. 3 If we would have our petionspetitions granted we must not neglect the mediatorship of the man Christ Iesus. By the first commandmtcommandment we must are to have no other Gods then thimat God who according to yethe fourth commandmtcommandment made heaven & earth, but we not forbidden to have a mediator between God and Man the Man Christ Iesus, we are not forbidden to have him for our Lord & King or to give him that worship & honour & glory wchwhich is due to him as our Lord and King on that account. The Iews who were taught to have worship but one God were also taught to h expect a king & the Christians are taught to worship the same God & to beleive that Iesus is that King. For they are to beleive in one God the father Almighty the maker of heaven & earth & & in one Lord Iesus Christ. And if we are he is we he is outheir lord & king wthey may certainly without idolatry give him that worship which is the same due to him as outheir Lord & king & it is outheir duty to give him such worship; not yethe worship of an ordinary king but ytthat wchwhich is due to him as the king of kings & Lord of Lords, the immortal being of glory, the supreme king next unde over all the creation next under God Almighty, the King who sits at the right hand of God the father & is therefore next to him in glory, the Lamb of God whose eyes are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth & who alone of all beings in heaven & earth & under the earth was found worthy to receive the book of prophesy from the right hand of him God yethe f.father & whose testimony is the spirit of prophesy & who is therefore called faithfull & true witness & the word of God, that is, his Oracle the express image or oracle of God the invisible God, [in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth bodily,] whose testimony is the spirit of prohesy & who is therefore called the faithful & true witness & the Word of God. To this great king, this visible image of the invisible we are to give suitable worship. We are not forbidden by the first commandmtcommandment to worship him as the God Almighty who created yethe heaven & earth, (This would be to deny the father and the Son) but we are to worship him as the redeemer of the world the Lord Iesus Christ the Mess.Messiah The judge of all flesh, the Prince the mediator between God & man the man Christ Iesus.

Thus the Creed in describing the persons of the father & Son directs what worship we are to give to each. We must worship the father as Go the God, the Son as the Lord & Christ the father as the father almighty the first author of all things who hath life & all knowledge & power in himself originally & cannot dye the Son as the son of God who hath received life and knowledge & power from the father, the will of the father & was slain & exalted to yethe right hand of God

of things in heaven & earth & under the earth & every tongue confess that Iesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father. All the worship wchwhich we are directed in scripture to give to Iesus Christ, respects his death & exaltation over all to the right hand of God & is given to him as our Lord & King & tends to the glory of God the father. Should we give yethe Father that worship wchwhich is due to yethe Son we should be Patripassians & should we give the Son that worship wchwhich is due to the father as the father God the father Almighty the creator of heaven & earth our worship would not tend to the glory of God the father but injure thehim father & we should be Idolaters & in both cases we should practically deny the father and the Son. We must be careful therefore to give to each his proper worship, such a worship as is suitable to yethe character given to each of them in the primitive Creed, & then we are safe. We must beleive also that Iesus Christ shall come. We may give blessing & honour & glory & & power unto God & the Lamb but it must be in different respects, to God as he is the father Almighty who created all things & to the Lamb as he was slain for us & washed away our sins in his own blood & for humbling himself is now exalted to the right hand of God yethe Father.

H 2.2

Iesus Christ shall come to judge the quick & the dead – He comes to judgement not from the right hand of God but from heaven. For he sits at yethe right hand of God not only in this world but also in that wchwhich is to come untill all enemies shall be put under his feet. And this we must beleive that we may pray for the coming of his kingdom

The article whose kingdom shall have no end is being is equipollent to the article of life everlasting in the Creeds of the Latines, & exprest in the scriptures of both old & new testament, prayed for in the Lords prayer, hoped for by expected by all good Christians as the reward of their g a good life & allow not liable to be disputed.

Mrs Barton failing me off yethe payment off yethe five hundred pounds; if you wod be pleased to pay yethe money or take yethe assignement off yethe Morgage it wod be a great convenience to me; as you know ytthat yethe title is undoubtdly very good; I will waite on you any time to day, if you will name yethe time.

SrSir

March yethe 4th

I am yryour humble Servant

Geo: Watson

The article whose kingdom shall have no end is not in all the [expresly in all the Creeds but it is implied in the article life everlasting &] is exprest in the old & new Testament & generally received with any dispute in most of the Greeks Creeds & implied in others in the articles life everlasting & everlasting punishment & is generally received without any dispute.