INTRODUCTION. THE Religious World is divided into four grand Systems, viz. Judaism,—Paganism,-Christianity,-and Mohammedism. Judaism comprehends under it, all those who still expect and look for a promised Messiah. Paganism, all those who have not the knowledge of the true God, but worship idols. Christianity, all those who believe that the promised Messiah is already come, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, and the Saviour of the world; and, Mohammedism, all those who acknowledge Mohammed to have been a Prophet. The only people who may not be classed under one or other of these four divisions, are, the Deists and the Atheists;-the latter differing from them all, in owning no religion; and the former, in owning no revelation as the foundation of their religion. The inhabitants of the world may be supposed to amount, at the present time, to about Of whom we may suppose 800,000,000 1. The Greek and Eastern Churches. 2. The Roman Catholics, who acknowledge the authority of the Pope; and, 3. The Protestants, or Reformed Churches and Sects, who reject it. Their numbers may be thus, The Greek and Eastern Churches, The Roman Catholics, The Protestants, 30,000,000 80,000,000 65,500,000 175,500,000 Note. In the former table, Deists and Atheists are comprehended, but not specified, as they are no where distinct, and as it is not possible to ascertain their numbers. To give a view of these four general systems of religion, and of their various subdivisions, together with the two anomalies, Deism and Atheism, will be the object of the following work; and, for the sake of distinction, each system, denomination, sect or party, will be considered, as far as the subject will admit, in the following order :— 1. Definition of the Name, or Names. 2. Rise, Progress, History, and Remarkable Æras. 3. Distinguishing Doctrines, or Tenets. 7. Eminent Men, Authors prò et contra, Countries wherein found, Numbers, &c. 8. Miscellaneous Remarks. Note. Some of these heads will frequently be enlarged upon, and others wholly omitted, as occasion may require. OF JUDAISM AND THE JEWS. NAMES AND LANGUAGE.-Judaism is the religion of the Jews, a term which was at first the appropriate denomination of the descendants of Judah, but soon included under it the Benjamites, who joined themselves to the tribe of Judah on the revolt of the other ten tribes from the house of David. After the Babylonish captivity, when many individuals of these ten tribes returned with the men of Judah and Benjamin to rebuild Jerusalem, the same term was made to include them also; or rather, was then extended to all the descendants of Israel, who retained the Jewish religion, whether they belonged to the two, or to the ten tribes, whether they returned to Ju-. dea or not. From hence not only all the Israelites of future times have been called Jews; but farther, all the descendants of Jacob are so called by us at present from the very beginning of their |