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formerly published , I now submit from my deliberate opinions , t »» e undermentioned internal corroborative testimony . Firstly . Because , although I devoutly assert that the S mi of Man was the Messiah , or the anointed teacher of the Gentiles , predicted in Daniel ix . 26 ; yet I solemnly deny that the Son of Man was the Messiah Prince , or the anointed ruler of Israel , looked for by the Jews , and predicted in Dan . ix . 25 . I devoutly assert that the prophecy in the 26 . h verse was fulfilled in the death of the Son of Man , and I solemnly deny that the prophecy in the 25 th verse has been fulfilled . ; but I ardently believe , by faith in the predictions of the Son of Man , that he is destined to be the Messiah Prince , or the anointed ruler of Israel , at his Second Advent .
Secondly . Because I solemnly deny that the Son of Man has any legitimate claim to the supreme attributes of Lord , and Saviour ; and I devoutly assert that it is profane in any one to assume either ; and I fervently believe that they belong justly to the Creator alone . Thirdly . Because I solemnly deny that it is laudable in mankind to give up wife , children , home , friends , property , libert y , and life , by taking up their cross and following Jesus . And I devoutly assert that the requisite and praiseworthy destiny of mankind is expressed in the words to do justly , to love mercy , and to walk humbly with their Creator . This divine character , I fervently believe , may be achieved by a conscientious endeavour to act up to the religious and moral duties enumerated under the head of " A
New Reformation . " Now that I have given utterance to the above candid expression of my opinions , I think I have plainly established my indubitable right to the undisturbed possession of the title of Antichrist . I have attentively perused the letter upon the doctrine of atonement , signed Benephilus , and as I warmly admire the sentiments it conveys , I have eagerly amalgamated them with the sequence previousl } r proposed . I fervently reassert that I shall joyfully associate myself with any one in an endeavour to have those elevating , equitable principles universally published , maintained , and defended as truth . I have much pleasure to remain an Unitarian believer of the Priestleyan School , and your constant reader , Antichrist .
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REPLTES TO ATTICTJS . London , Bury , Nov . 5 , l ^ SO . Sik , —With deference to the high talent of your correspondent , Atticus , I would venture to suggest that the torpidity which he ascribes , in his third letter , to the Unitarians as a sect , may be the effect of a very different part of their belie ! ' from materialism and necessity , which arc not , I believe ,
fundaall of good that we can in our limited sphere , an 1 we need never apprehend that our finite power and excellence , even when most developed , can have suffered from , the restrictions of Infinite Goodness and Omnipotence!—I remain , Sir , yours obediently , Claba Walbet .
mental articles of Unitarian faith—namely , then reliance on remedial punishment in a luturo state . This consolatory doctrine of balancing so exactly the action and its reward , while it transforms in the mind of the believer the great hope of everlasting happiness into a certainty of ultimata bliss , also eternal , and consequently virtually , though not relatively , imdiminishable , rests , it appears to me , on unsound bases .
What is the prize which the Apostle Paul so often calls our attention to , in his Epistles , with such intense earnestness , which we arc to strain every nerve to win , make every earthly sacrifice for the acquisition of ? Surely , not a degree of happiness , or an exemption from a limited duration of pain ; his soul was too daring to fear corrective punishment—his enthusiasm too generous to be awakened by the hope of a superior share of bliss or exaltation ! No ! there in but one cau e adequate for the result produced on his mind and those of the early martyrs—namely , that ho believed in and promulgated the awful alternative of eternal life or eternal death , according to obedience or disobedience to the will of God . He does not in his writings conjure up fiends of torture to terrify into obedience ; for the horrible ,
blasphemous idea of attributing everlasting vindhtiveness to the Deity , manifested in the bestowment of eternal torments for temporal sins , is an adopted remnant of the fabulous lore of idolatry : he merely places the stupendous prize before us to gain or lose ; nnd this , i contend , is the only faith that can developc the true nmrtvr sp irit ! This , confirmed by the words of Serintuic * of course disproves the doctrine of the immortality of the soul ( for which wo are also indebted to Pagan systems and theories ) , of which , indeed , the recognition of the resurrection from the d ' . atl ( which wo are expressly assured , on Divine authority , is not a corporeal resurrection ) alono is a manifest confutation , since there can bo no restoration of life where there is no cessation of perceptive
existence . , . . e In conclusion , I must add one word m favour of necessity , as distinguished from fatalism , which I f . innot but consider to be far preferable , as a belief , to freewill , in which we limit the power of God in extending that of man ; aa whatsoever He foresees must bo predestined , while whatever restraints tie ismy impose on human volition we maybe certain are to facilitate human improvement . Let us but effect
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THE LEEDS REDEMPTION SOCIETY . Paisley , Nov . 2 , 1850 . Sir , — It seems evident to me that of all the experiments now in operation in Britain , to give a practical demonstration of the utility of cooperation , the Leeds Redemption Society is the best . It is the only one , keeping out the pauper experiments in Sheffield , Cork , &c , which possesses the three essential elements in the production of wealth—Labour , Land , and Capital . True , it has them as yet in a very limited degree . But I hope to see a speedy encrease ; and that the conditions
for this purpose I beg to suggest upon which persons , living at a distance from any of the branches , or , like myself , continually travelling from place to place , can be admitted as members , should be published in the Leader , I think that many more would be induced to join , and thus encrease the speed and magnitude of its operations . I wish this Society to prosper , that the world may see how much better it is for men to work and live in concert , than to keep up an incessant struggle of competition—every man against his neighbour . Homo .
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ON UNITARIANISM . Oct . 28 , 1850 . Sir , — In reading the valuable letters of your correspondent Atticus , I ventured to hope that you would insert a few remarks on Unitarianism from one who has been a pretty attentive observer of its various phenomena for the last few years . And I am confirmed in this hope by thinking that you and all the friends of truth and progress regard the opinions and movements of Unitariatis with curiosity Atticus admits that
and expectation . As a sect , they have been honourably connected with many reforming movements , religious , social , and political . But besides this , they have paved the way to a greater extent than they generally have credit for , for the diffusion of a deeper , wider , and more truly religious philosophy , such as you , Sir , so ably advocate . They have , I believe , in greater proportion than any other sect , furnished guides to that better state of things to which we aspire ; whether these guides have remained in their sect , as ( Jhanning did , or have left
it , like Emerson and Theodore Parker . But , great as their service to the cause of truth has been in this respect , it has been greater in another way—that of providing recipients of the better and more Christian ideas which are demanding men ' s attention at the present day . And here I think facts will bear out the assertion that wherever a preacher of a more comprehensive interpretation , and a more thorough application of religious ideas has arisen , he
has received a greater accession of followers from Unitarians , in proportion to their numbers , than from any other sect . Mr . Dawson , of Birmingham , could , I imagine , bear witness to the truth of this statement . The common charge , that " Unitnrianism is the halfway house to infidelity , " will be considered no slight proof of my position by any who remember what kind of opinions and what kind of men it lip been the fashion to brand with the word " infidel . "
At the same time it is certain that the majority of the Unitarian public is averse to change . This majority , too , comprises , us is natural ( though with some exceptions ) , the men most influential from age , wealth , and social position . It is not , generally , from this class that reformers must expect to recruit their numbers . Their appeal must bo made , n < t to the preoccupied minds of the habitues of our churches , wondering at any complaint against a religion which is " good enough for them , " but to the aspirations of those amongst us ( and I believe they arc many ) who are unsatisfied by the stale and scanty diet of an effi'to system , and hungering for a more complete fulfilment of their ideas of truth and justice .
Thus much in regard to the position of Unitarians generally , towards the onward movements of the time . On another occasion I hope , with your permission , to describe more in detail some particular features of what I conceive to be the present aspect of Unitarianism . I remain , Sir , yours truly , Gl . OUCJSSTllKNSIS .
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The Fkudal System . —The scheme of the feudal uystem was to sustain a territorial government ., based on the possession of land . Thi « system should have passed away lonj ? ago- * hould have been dead and buried in the tomb of all the Capuleta in the time of Charles II . But the effect , the spirit , nnd the bent of laws survive their uses-survive even their proved , notorious , and mcmi mischievous abuwn . The benuty ami the safety of all commercial dealings lie in their perfect siniplicity-in their absolute , unrestrained , and unfettered freedom . Why should not , to use the language of lawyers , a 1 ke case produce a like rule in reference to land ?—British Quarterly , No . 24 .
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Critics are not the legislators , but the judges and police of literature . They do not make laws—they interpret and try to enforce them . —Edinburgh Review .
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The talk of the day is certainly not running upon topics of Literature . Go where you will , the engrossing subject is the Catholic " aggression "; open any journal and you are sure to meet with some earnest recommendation to " make a stand for the Religion of our Fathers . " We cannot share the alarm ; still less can we reciprocate the desire to rally round the "Religion of our Fathers . " We have the highest respect for our ancestors , but why we should obstinately espouse their doctrines
has never been made clear to us . Why not ask us to stand by the Science of our Fathers ? Why not maintain the Politics of our Fathers ? Why not uphold all their Social views ? Why not despise Railroads , patronizing Post-chaises and the Mail Coach ? The answer is ready —( unhappily , it is wrong)—viz .,. that " Religion is not a progressive Science . " Speaking with accuracy , it is not a Science at all ; but , taking the phrase for what it means , we distinctly say that Religion is a
progressive Science , and that the whole history of man is a demonstration of the fact . Polytheism is a progress onwards from Fetichism ; Monotheism is a progress onwards from Polytheism ; and in Monotheism itself there are marked epochs of progress commensurate with the enlargement of men ' s conceptions . Thus Christianity is an obvious and avowed progress from Judaism—a new Law to supersede the old , and even in Christianity
itself — waiving , for the present , our right to consider the Reformation as a progress—it is surely keeping within the strict limits of truth to say that , of late years , the moral element has become preeminent over the more metaphysical and argumentative—John , rather than Peter and Paul ., has become the " favourite disciple "; and Christianity has assumed , even to orthodox minds , a different aspect from that which it presented to our fathers . Unless we are to be bound down to the strict letter
of Scripture , it stands to reason that , if we are to exercise our own judgment in interpreting Revelation , our interpretations must advance with the advancing culture of our age ; and , if we are not to exercise our liberty of thought , we must pass over to Catholicism , accepting the interpretation settled by the early Councils . So that the talk of standing by the religion of our fathers logically ends in embracing the very dog in as which that war cry is raised to combat ! SLran ;<« that men should see
the fallacy of the stationary doctrine when applied to politics or science , and yet not perceive that unless " man ' s large discourse of reason" is to be peremptorily closed the same fallacy lurks in orthodoxy . For ourselves we iterate and reiterate the proposition that there is no alternative from absolute Authority other than absolute Freedom ; but we have touched on this subject elsewhere , and for the moment only refer to the topic , as one overriding all literary gossip .
Not that literature is without its hopeful signs . Read the number of Blackwood just out , and in the review of Alton Locke see how candid an admission is made of the extent and profundity of the social evils which that book so eloquently depicts ; read also the British Quarterly , with its sterling paper on the feudalism of our laws respecting land —a paper to startle even the most bigoted upholder of our " glorious constitution , " allowing that the forms of the feudal system and
the inconveniences consequent upon a strict compliance with these forms , arc this day in operation precisely as they existed five centuries ago , nnd that , in spite of all the progress which the industrial spirit has effected , it has not been able to free land from the traditions and habits of feudalism , nor to render it an article of commerce iti the way of plain bargain , sale , and transfer . But then this was the politics of our fathers—the wisdom of our ancestors—to whisper a desire for change is to outrage the cause of " order !"
In the same number of the British Quarterly there is an elaborate and valuable paper on Neandeh , and a searching criticism , from the orthodox side , of Mackay ' s Progress of the Intellect . In the North British Review we notice for especial admiration a comprehensive , thoughtful , ana philosophic estimate of Ca . rl . yle , superior , perhaps , to anything that has yet been written on him ; also an admirable article on the Agricultural Crisis . Signs of hope that this generation will not pass
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Nov . 9 , i 85 o . ] mtfe SLea&er . 783
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 9, 1850, page 783, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1858/page/15/
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