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persons or principles which he felt it his duty to denounce ; and at first the results appeared to be disastrous . He was blamed by tirnid friends for his imprudence ; he was assailed by open enemies for his presumption ; he was
exposed to the attacks of adverse parties ; to the high church intolerance otHx ) £ ^ y , _ JU 3 dJ& ^^ Gibbon : a half religious , half political mob destroyed at Birmingham his scientific property ; a social persecution followed him to London with
unremitted virulence , and he was at length driven from a country of which he was an ornament , to seek for shelter in a foreign land . But what was the ultimate effect of all this ? We may read it in the flourishing state of Unitarianism in England ; and in the cheering progress which it has made in America , to which the storms of
persecution carried the seeds of truth . Channing has done much , but he entered in some degree into the labours of Priestley , in the new world , where Unitarian , principles promise to be as permanent as the phenomena of her external nature ; and those who seek to overthrow them might as well attempt to shoulder the Andes from
their base , or turn again the Mississippi to its source . I trust that the friends of truth in this country will be animated by the same decided spirit . Depend upon it , temporizing will serve us nothing . Instead of conciliating opposition , it invariably increases dogmatism . If , whilst our ; opponents are bold , confident , and sweeping in their statements , we begin to doubt , and hesitate and draw distinctions , and
advocate the truth as if we were apologizing for error , the truth will win no conquests . Are your opinions false ? Speak out : they will be the more easily refuted . Are your opinions true ? Speak out : they will be the sooner recognized . May our ministers universally be convinced that it is their duty to attach their flocks by the enduring bond of principle , and that all ties of a nature merely personal , are at best but flaxen cords ! May they
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universally perceive that a community of feeling , and , on some important points , a community of faith , are the only cement which can bind a church permanently together ; and that when we endeavour to substitute any other preparation , we do but daub the wall with untempered mortar . In my opinion , we should canvass the errors
which surround us with charity and freedom . We cannot do justice to our own views without contrasting them with those of others . The part of Moses naturally precedes the part of Joshua . You must first lead out the people from the house of bondage , and then introduce them to the pro * mised land . 4 1 cannot sit down without adverting for an instant to a circumstance
connected with the interests of the Society whose anniversary we celebrate . My reverend friend , Mr . Martineau , sits amongst us as its secretary for the last time . I would willingly prophesy smooth things if I could ; but I cannot contemplate without anxiety the departure of the individual who has been , since its establishment , the very breath
of its nostrils . I will not enter upon any extraneous topics . But when I call to mind the qualities which distinguish the man , the minister , and the secretary / I may be allowed to participate in a wish which is felt by many in this city , that he had been allowed to remain amongst us . God knows we need him /
The Rev . Dr . Prummond moved the following resolution : — " 3 . That the Unitarian faith is embodied in the " Bible and the whole Bible ; " that consequently it intimately connects itself with the great principle of the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures ; that in the dissemination , of the
sacred writings its professors ] have rejoiced to find an object _ oj ^ pligious benevolence , in which tHey could cordially unite with all other denominations of the Protestant world ; and that , while we regret the recent attempt to exclude them by a doctrinal test from the continuance of this union , we obr
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tJNlTABrlAN CHRONICLE . " 73
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 1, 1832, page 73, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1813/page/9/
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