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    « afflrf ^ ] Rrt ^ i 0 perscm iriOba ; aiicl become , fe ' Sabellteo ' . If tfafe ffimL he witt make each o£

    t \} £ supposed divine persohs only thi 3 third pftrt of a divine being , or of God ; and it will follow that no one of the persons in the trinity is by himself God . I lealve him to free himself from this dilemma in

    the best manner he can . Perhaps he will do it by crying mystery 5 and saying the doctrine of the trinity cannot be understood ; but then he ought to blush for having written on a subject which he acknowledges he does not understand .

    12 . This writer further asserts , under the same head , that the scriptures contain the only real knowledge of creation ! So then , natural philosophy , astronomy , chemistry , and every other science which unfolds the works of

    God * or discovers to man the na- » * ufe of things , must be found in the Sacred Scriptures , or they can convey no real knowledge of creation ! Ye experitneatadi ^ ing philosophers , how futile are all your labours ; quit your laboratories , ami learn philosophy as * devotees learn their creed . Ye celebrated

    divines , how mistaken ye have been in supposing the scriptures were designed to teach theology , not the knowledge of the , material world ! Paul too it seems must have been mistaken when he said

    the invisiblethings of God are understood by the things that are made ; ' at least , if this writer be correct : and , no doubt , the court of Inquisition was . of his opinion when it condemned Galileo to its

    duiigeohs , for pretending to know Something of creation which coul , d toot'foe found in the scriptures . 13 . Under flic same head , my

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    opponent makes some attempt at supporting the . trinity by scrip * ture . He tells us , that the Hebrew word by which the Creator is designated signifies a pluralitj ^ y and might be translated gods-What then ? Would he wish to proceed on this ground , and ex ., change his favourite notion of

    three persons for three godsi This would render his scheme more consistent with itself . He does not say it might be translated a plurality of persons in one God ; but that it might be translated

    gods . It must then either be God or gods ; but as trinitarians are compelled to say , in dissonance with some parts of their own system , that there is but one Go < i , it follows the Hebrew word

    referred to is nothing to their purpose My opponent will not venture \ o assert that the Hebrew word fcbo ^ plural in form is necessarily so in sense ; yea that it is not sometimes absolutely singular in its meaning * Jesus Christ himself has settled this point ; the Evangelists represent him as quoting the passage ^ which this defei > der of the trinity quotes to prove a plurality , to prove the absolute unity of God- ; and the word used by the writers

    of the New Testament , when the passage is quoted in their writ , ings ^ cannot mea n a pl urality . As to the terms us and our being ap *» plied to the Dtu , ty ? my opponent ought to have known that this is merely a Hebrew idiom retained by the translators , and thoqgh plural terms may be used , and

    are used xvk many languages , when but one is meant , singular terms , as 7 " , me , mj / j mine , & c . cannot be use ^ to express more than one , awd Jtjhfcse are . jttq prongum gene * rally used when God is supposed

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    but brte ' * v Mepiy to a DtfeHceoftAe Trinity . 729

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1809, page 729, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1707/page/23/