1817 Oct 14

Not Paul

Note continued

History

Ch Period before Conversion

§. 8. Deacons chosen - Priests converted

On the present occasion /instance/ the Greek word rendered by the English word priest is - not πρεσβυτερος but ιερευς.

From this confusion on various occasions no small profit has been made. Ιερευς is the word which in all /the two / /those/ religions, Pagan for example and Jewish, in which a particular order of men were employed in sacrifice, that is in the roasting of meat for their own eating meat which the Gods or God was /were /supposed to eat or smell at is employed for the designation of the man belonging to that order. By such sacrifices /offerings/ the favour of the God or Gods to whom they were made was conciliated the God or Gods were rendered favourable to those by whom the offers were made, favourable and disposed to forgive any transgressions which it may /might/ have happened to them to committ.

Roast meat sacrifice being by the religion of Jesus put out of credit and out of date when priestcraft took possession of it something which without being roast meat should be a sacrifice and as far as concerned the interest of the priests money and power together should answer the same purpose was to be devised. Hence to the distorted […?] of Jesus’s last supper the name of sacrament and the quality of a sacrifice was to be added /[…?]/: hence by so simple an expedient /a contrivance/ /an operation/ as the eating of a piece of bread and the drinking of a few drops of wine the drinking to be performed according to some by proxy according to others in person, sins in any number that had been committed were caused never /not/ to have been committed, or what comes to the same thing the sinner put into the same plight as if this had been the case.

And thus it is that in this as in so many other instances priestcraft has contrived to turn to account (and to such account!) the very word that constitutes the denomination of the every where impressive[?] tribe. The πρεσβυτερος made himself ιερευς: taking for his fee, besides what other good things were to be had, instead of roast meat, wine.