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fecttyhar ' foless Indeed , if the State did not make them otherwise by interfering * and interfering moreover , as it always lias done , to give importance to what Mr . Butler ' s process wHl shew to be the non-essentials , instead of t ? he essentials * of religion .
The first point to be considered by those who meditate the project of reunion , is , its practicability . Those who are disposed to contend for the affirmative will observe the number of important articles of Christian faith in which all Christians are agreed , and the proportionally small number of those in which any Christians disagree .
" All Christians believe , 1 st , that there is one God—2 nd , that he is a Being of infinite perfection—3 d , that he directs all things by his providence—4 th , that it is our duty to love him with all our hearts , and our neighbour as ourselves—5 th , that it is our duty to repent of the sins
we commit—6 th , that God pardons the truly peuitent—7 th , that there is a future state of rewards and punishments , when all mankind shall be judged according to their works—&th , that God sent his Son into the world to be its Saviour , the author of eternal salvation to all
that obey hiiu- ^ yth , that he is the true Messiah—10 th , that he taught , worked miracles , suffered , died , and rose again , a $ is related in the four Gospels—11 th , that he will hereafter make a second appearance on the earth , raise all mankind &OU 1 the dead , judge the world in righteousness , bestow eternal life on the virtaows , and punish the workers of iniquity .
" In the belief of these articles , all Christians , the Roman Catholic , and the Oriental churches , all the members of the Church of England , all Lutherans , Calvinists , Socinians , and Unitarians , are agreed . In addition to these , each division and subdivision of Christians has its
own tenets . Now let each seitle , among its own members , what we the articles of belief peculiar to them , which , in their cool , deliberate judgment , they consider as absolutely necessary that a person should believe , to be a member of the
Church of Christ ; let these articles be divested of all foreign matter , and expressed in perspicuous , exact , and unequivocal terms ; and above all , let each distinction of Christians earnestly wish to find an agreement between themselves and their fellow-christians . The
result of a discussion conducted on this plan , would most assuredly be , to convince all Christians that the essential articles of religious credence in which
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X ^ UkfUNiiw ^ Ml
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ther £ is a real differeftce among Christian * , are not so numerous as the verbal disputes and extraneous matter in which controversy is too often involved ^ make them generally thought . " Still , some articles will remain , th £ belief of which one denomination of Christians will consider to be the ob ^ Hgation of every Christian , and which other Christian denominations will condemn . On some of these a speedy re * union of Christians is not to be
expected ; but , to use the language of Mr . Vansittart in his excellent Letter to the Rev . Dr . Marsh and John Walker , Esq , ' There is an inferior degree of reuniou , more within our prospect , and yet , per ^ haps , as perfect as human infirmity allows us to hope for , wherein , though all differences of opinion should not be extinguished , yet they may be refined from all party prejudices and interested
views j — so softened by the spirit of charity and mutual concession , and so controlled by agreement on the leading principles and zeal for the general interests of Christianity , that no sect or persuasion should be tempted to make religion subservient to secular views , or to employ political power to the preju * dice of others . ' — * If we cannot re * concile all opinions , let us reconcile all hearts / "
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Art . V . — Caesar and God : a Sermon preached in the Parish Church of St . Martin in Leicester , be / ore the Worshipful tha Mayor and Corporation . By Edward Thomas Vaughan , M . A ., Vicar of St . Martin ' s . Leicester . 1826 .
The Corporation of Leicester made themselves sufficiently notorious in the late general election , and the clergy were equally remarkable by the eagerness with which they lent themselves to a spirit which would have done ho * nour to the best days of High Church and Tory ascendancy . Mr . Vaughan'S
" very able and excellent sermon , is a fit sample of the tastes of the patrons and of the spirit of their tools * Wishing to chronicle the age faithfully , and being therefore bound to exhibit some of its harsh as well as favourable characteristics , we shall content ourselves with a few specimens of this evangelical divine ' s reasoning and eloquence *
"As God is no anarchist , and man not only evil but specially a rebel , —^ an . unwilling , discontented , turbulent subject , —he must have the Ruler ' s eye upon him continually . As he believes not
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1827, page 441, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1797/page/49/
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