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ouality of the action , in what form the offence is committed- But does not the moral evil which abounds in the world countenance the doctrine of the original depravity of man ? Does not this hypothesis well explain the wickedness which deforms the
moral creation , and afford the solution of a p henomenon which no one , whatever be his views of theology , can refuse to admit ? No doubt , the hypothesis that the human heart is totally and ' radically corrupt , will account for all the sin ( if sin it ought
to be called ) which man does or can commit ; but there is another phenomenon for which it does not account , and with which it can never be reconciled , and that is , the quantum of good which is found in the
actions of men together with the evil , and which , whatever this quantum may be , completely sets aside the hypothesis . Will the Calvinist say that there is . nothing morally good in those acts which mankind have
denominated virtuous , when performed by the unregenerate man ? Would the chastity of a Joseph and the benevolence of . the good Samaritan have no quality of moral excellence in an
Unitarian Christian ? Then will I in my turn deny that there is any moral turpitude in the deeds which are ascribed to an Heliogabalus and a Nero . To what sad extremities are
men driven -in reasoning , when they oppose hypothesis to fact I But let us pass from the unregenerate to the regenerate man . Were any thing surprising in the business of theology , it would be surprising that intelligent Calvinists should not see that the effects which they ascribe
to the operation of the Holy Spirit , may easily be accounted for without having recourse to supernatural interposition . Let a man who sincerely admits the principles of Calvinism be also disposed to reflect much upon these principles , ( and this he surely may be , without a divine influence , ) and his conversion seems to follow of
course . When he is once convinced that , without flying to the righteousness of Christ , he is undone for ever , nothing is more natural than that he should ardently embrace what he is taught to consider as the gospelmethod of salvation ; and in the contemplation of what he regards as the
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scheme of redemption , his religious feelings yvill be wrought up to a tone which the undiseerning mind may easily be led to ascribe to the agency of the Spirit of God ; especially when possessed of an opinion that the human heart is naturally incapable of
raising its affections to things above . And hence it is not to be wondered at , that men of a sanguine temperament should at length attain an undoubting conviction that they have experienced that operation of divine grace , which alone can save them from the wrath to come .
But what is it after all that is effected by regeneration ? Does it purify the heart altogether from the corruption of sin ? This will hardly be affirmed . There is then an infinite
evil still lurking within , and which must occasionally burst forth into actual trangression . ; so that it -would be difficult to prove that the regenerated soul is better fitted for heaven
after regeneration than before . And though the moral disposition and conduct may be in the main consistent with the pure precepts of Christianity , this is no more than what is found in many whom Calvinism dooms to everlasting perdition . So that , judging
from fact , the human heart , which is by hypothesis radically and totally corrupt , is capable of as much moral excellence in its natural and depraved state , as \ yhen it has been wrought upon and purified by the Spirit of God ! E . COGAN .
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Liverpool , Sir , June 18 , 1819-YOUR Correspondent Mr . Tlios . Moore , [ p . 297 , 3 wishes to know what legal protections are necessary for such of our brethren as may be desirous of conducting public worship in the absence of regular ministers .
In reply I beg to state that no licence is now requisite . The 4 th and 5 th clauses of the 52 d George III . C 155 , declare , that any person may preach in a place duly registered , who hns taken the oaths and made
the declaration ] , prescribed by the Act of the 1 st William and Mary . No preacher , however , is liable to any penalty who has not complied with the above , nor need he do so , unless Called upon by a justice of the
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Legal Protection of Preachers * 405
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1819, page 405, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1774/page/5/
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