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of condemiiatioii against I know not whatimmens ^ proportioa of the Christian world —JVlethodists , Calviniste , Orthodox , Evangelical , Catholic , — and that by * A Catholic Christian , " one trho " ffete ashamed of such a professed friend , but real enemy to jutfae , truth , and candour , " as I . V ) fiel One ! ¦
When I say , that the note-writer , having hazarded such an extraordinary assertion concerning Mr- J . and jiis book , " did not know his nvin , " » A Catholic Christian" only replies , that it is a vulgar expression . " I
am sorry for as much vulgarity as the expression contains ; but it is of rather greater consequence whether it be true or not . I reprobated the manner in which Gibbon and Unitarianism are associated by the note-writer—having observed this sort of policy to be very
prevalent among the orthodox—and I queried if the simple and ignorant are not necessarily deluded by such unael I can yet conceive of no better causes to account for such conduct than those mentioned : " want of charity—or of knowledge—or of honesty /' "A Catholic Christian" may be greatly
pleased with this ruse de guerre ; but when I , and perhaps some other Unitarians , observe writers discover a fondness for such juxtaposition ,- ^ -Voltaire and Priestley , Bebham and Hume , Unitarianism and Infidelity , Socinianwna and Scepticism , we are no longer
imposed upon by false professions of liberality and candour . Such fair drapery cannot disguise the cloven foot of bigotry . When I pointedly ask , " what are w puerilities of Unitarianism ? " and observe that " we have no bells nor
other » uCh good things , " I am sur-Prwed that " A Catholic Christian " Wl 1 * not answer the question , but I protly admire his panegyric on bells , am sorry he should suspect me of ' *** n * gm but the truth really is that i * ve lately been reading Drv Magee , * & * if I have caught a little of his the is
^» er , I hope fault venial . M V ** * noticed all the remarks of A ^ atholic Christian , " especially to T ? examined him " paragraph by ££ ^ ph , as he did me , would have trov 8 Uch an ^ considerable conknJk ^ m ? th ^ to an unreaaonable cJ £ r The main question is auffi-•^ Wy WfttlecJ | > hd with that I am
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fully satisfied . After destroying his main pillar , I shall not carry my resentment so far as not to leave one stone upon another . I should like to see more of this forbearance in
disputes of this nature , A bad spirit is the worst of all errors , and let Unitarians guard against this most vigilantly . My antagonist , indeed , has charged me with a superabundant portion of it ; but his remarks and mine are
before your readers , it is their business to compare and judge for themselves . To give my opponent a fair word at parting , and to convince him , if I can * that I part without ill blood—I thank him for correcting my misnomer . The conclusion , however , which he draws
from the mistake , and the pun which he says is contained in the words quoted from the scriptures , I leave to the consideration of our readers . I may now , Shy I hope , without too much presumption , adopt my former signature of A Friend of Justice , Truth and Candour .
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Mr : Cogdn on tfie Popular Tluology . 143
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HiyhamHill , March 1 , 1815 . Sift , THE reason why I addressed you a a little while ago [ x . 76--73 . ] was , that I wished for once to enter my protest as an individual against a doctrine which is as dishonourable to God a » ,
were it true , it would be fatal t 6 the happiness of man ; and I did not think that a better opportunity would offer than that of which , through your indulgence , I availed myself . Nor do I know aay evasion by which the force of the observations which I then
made can be eluded , except the following , that man is incompetent to pronounce upon the plans of an infinite Being . This as a general proposition will be admitted . But let the character of tKis infinite Being be defined , and let a certain conduct be attributed to him which I can
distinctly comprehend , and I shall be able to judge whether there is or is not a consistency between thq acknowledged attributes of * tfyis ^ lpreat Being and the conduct ascribed to him .
JLqttliis observation be applied to the Calvinistic system of theology . Gbji is represented " as a Being infinite in . power , wisdom , goodness , holinefci and juatice . But it is maintained that his human oflfspijfcg , in co * is £ quefiC 6 of the transgression of their first f ) a «
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1815, page 143, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1758/page/15/
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