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near sufficiently clear and satisfactory to him That was the ooiy way by which anv man could arrive at a fair conviction . Relfaioa most be implanted in the mind ; and nothing but plain argument , —nothing but the free discussion of points which an individual conceived to be doubtful , —could either alter his mind , with respect to any new doctrine , or
confirm him in the truth of that which he had been accustomed to uphold . Physical force could have no effect whatever , either in eradicating new , or establishing old opinions . If there were any thing unreasonable in his proposition , he should
not have brought it forward ; but , looking over the pages of the Holy Scriptures , he could not find a single sentence that authorized punishment on account of difference of opinion , or that called on the civil magistrate to interfere . The conduct of the Divine Founder of the
Christian religion was entirely at variance with this prosecuting spirit . When he was pursued with bitter hate , because he preached new opinions , his prayer was , " Father ! forgive them ; for they know not what they do . " It-was in consequence of that mild spirit of forbearance , that the Christian religion spread and flourished . It
was net propagated by the great and the powerful ; no , the meek , the lowly , and the humble , were its advocates ; and its mild tenets made their way where force and violence must have failed . That religion had advanced in spite of the efforts of power , in defiance of every species of persecution ; and , with that great example before their eyes , he demanded , ought they now to renew those scenes of
persecution and oppression , which the earlier Christians had suffered with so much fortitude ? Were they to immure individuals in dungeons for doing that which their own ancestors had done—for adopting new opinions ? He might be told , "Those persons may express their opinions , but it must be done m a proper
way . Now , for his own part , he knew not where the line of distinction was to be drawn , at whidi ribaldry began and sound discretion ceased * With respect to blasphemy , he would ask a * iy one who referred to the Act of James I ., whether on that subject a great change bad not taken place in the pubHc mitid ? That act sets forth— " That anv stafire-olaver .
performer at May-games , or at any pageant , who shall use the uame of God , ot Jesus Christ , or ot * he Trinity , shall t lrl ^ guilty of blasphemy , and snail be subjected to all the penalties by tnis statute mad ** and provided . " Would ™ V ™ * fifty , after reading this , that > a gyeat difference ^ opinion Jiad not taken KT . k tm P * W ^ 9 » p 6 * fiiWe " » t the pronafetf ^ f « that fctatttfe Ofcttld
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now be carried into effect , einea if it were attempted by the most rigid sectarian ? Again , by the 9 th and 10 th of William , it was provided , that " any person de ^ nying the doctrine of the Trinity , or contending that there are more gods than
one , or impugning the truth of the Christian religion , shall be adjudged guilty of blasphemy . " But they had themselves done this provision away by an act of the legislature . When this was the case , — when such an alteration was effected in
public opinion , —he was prevented from seeing clearly what was to be considered blasphemous ribaldry , indecent discussion , or calm and dispassionate reasoning . He knew not what line of discussion was to be tolerated , and what ought to be allowed , unless the legislature would define what blasphemy really was . Where there
was no definition of that kind , how could any man who reasoned on a religious subject be satisfied that in his argument he avoided blasphemy ? How could he tell , let his intentions be ever so pure , that he did not expose himself to the visitation of the civil magistrate ? He ,
therefore , submitted that the uncertainty which prevailed , with respect to what was and what was not blasphemy , ought to put an end to accusations of that nature , and to the punishment arising from them . Doubtless it would be said , that individuals had no right to express opinions which were different from those
held by the great mass of the community : but if this principle had been always acted on , Christianity never could have made the progress which fortunately it had done . All the missionaries they employed in foreign parts , all the preachers they sent out to Hindostan , contradicted the correctness of this position . Those persons
were sent abroad to expose the follies and absurdities of religious creeds which were reverenced by millions . They declared their dissent from those superstitious doctrines ; and were , therefore , doing the same thing as certain individuals did in this country who could not believe all the tenets of Christianity .
He thought in this the legislature were holding out two very different measures of justice . On the one hand , they were sending out persons to various quarters of the globe , for the express purpose of calling on the natives to inquire , to investigate , and to ascertain the truth of
the doctrines they professed' ; while , on the other , a similar inquiry was treated here as an offence of very great magnitude . It was ottiy by such inquiry that they could hope W benefit either the Hindoo or Mahometan subjects in India . If they invited the Hindoos to enter iritb every kind of discussion the most extensive that could be imagined , wby sfiould
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[^ Uteenbe ^ Ckristiuna ? against Prosefrtirvh ^ f £ fefe £ &to * & 487
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1823, page 487, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1787/page/55/
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