On this page
-
Text (2)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
who , after a life of study and inquiry , changed his opinions biS the doctrine of the Trinity , and published , in a book entitled his * Last Thoughts , " a retractation of the errors of his Coi * w rnentary ; an example which cannot be too much kept in view , and which no one is better able to appreciate , or has more closely and honorably followed than Mr * Belsham himself .
Mr . B . then proceeds to demonstrate , first , that the question concerning the person of Christ is of very considerable import- * ance : secondly , that the solution of it is attended with some difficulty : and , thirdly , that nevertheless complete satisfaction may be attained by those who are disposed to inquire seriously and impartially into the evidence of the case .
Under the first head , Mr- B- observes , that he can never believe , that it is a question of no importance to ascertain whether that Jesus whom we all agree to own and reverence as our Master , is a prophet or an ange ^ or a super-angelic being , or a
God-< c 1 . Tii £ determination of this question will clear away the rubbish of much useless controversy . 2 . Just notions concerning the person of Christ relieve the mind from much painful embarrassments 3 . Bight views concerning * the person of Christ preclude many objections against the Christian religion ^ and tend to facilitate its reception in the worlds *
He observes , under the second head—** In the present state of things , there Is real and considerable difficulty in impressing the minds ofthe bulk of professing Christians with just and rational views upon this subject , is evident from the erroneous opinions which so generally prevail ; and these difficulties originate principally in the following sources : prejudice , self-interest , indolence ^ authority , superficial and specious argument /'
It is shewn , under the last head , that these difficulties have been actually surmounted by many whose earliest and most cherished prepossessions have been in favor of the popular belief ; that neither great sagacity , nor profound learning , nor acute metaphysical subtlety is in any degree necessary for the
attainment of satisfactory information upon this subject ; that satisfaction is to be attained by studying the Scriptures , those passages , especially , upon which the erroneous doctrines concerning the person of Christ lean for support ; and that when , by these means , conviction has been obtained , in order to
retain it in the mind , and to secure the acquiescence of the affec ^ tions in the judgment of the understanding , * so that faith may become a practical principle , the argument must be kept constantly in sight , and for this purpose must be frequently reviewed . Mr . B . then infers the importance of bearing a grave and public testimony to the doctrines of the Unity and Supremacy
Untitled Article
Belsnav ' Cs Sermdm $% * $
Untitled Article
4
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1806, page 327, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1725/page/47/
-