Book Description

Excerpt from An Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 6: Ancient and Modern, From the Birth of Christ, to the Beginning of the Present Century, in Which the Rise, Progress, and Variations of Church Power Are Considered; In Their Connexion With the State of Learning and Philosophy, and the Political History of E II. The doctrines of Christianity have been propagated in Asia, Africa, and America, with equal zeal, both by the Protestant and Popish missionaries. But we cannot say the same thing of the true spirit of the Gospel, or of the religious discipline and institutions that it recommends to the observance of Christians, for it is an undeniable fact, that many of those whom the Romish missionaries have persuaded to renounce their false gods, are Christians only as far as an external profession and certain religious ceremonies go; and that, instead of departing from the superstitions of their ancestors, they observe them still, though under a different form. We have, indeed, pompous accounts of the mighty success with which the ministry of the Jesuits has been attended among the barbarous and unenlightened nations; and the French Jesuits in particular are said to have converted innumerable multitudes in the course of their missions. This perhaps cannot be altogether denied, if we are to call those converts to Christianity who have received some saint and superficial notions of the doctrines of the gospel; for it is well known, that several congregations of such Christians have been formed by the Jesuits in the East-Indies, and more especially in the kingdoms of Carnate, Madura, and Marava, on the coast of Malabar, in the kingdom of Tonquin, the Chinese empire, and also in certain provinces of America. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.