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Untitled Article
the truth and importance of their respective opinions . An honest Trinitarian I respect . If he believes that Jesus Christ is the trueGodj he must be as much shocked at my disbelief of the doctrine , and at my zeal for the contrary opinion ^ ' as I should be at the zeal of a professed atheist . It is true charity > and not
the want of it ^ which induces him to state to me ^ what he apprehends to be the nature and the danger of the delusion under which he supposes me to lie . Far from being offended ^ I thank him for the kindness of his intention ^ though I remain . insensible to the force of his arguments . By parity of reason > when a Unitarian remonstrates with a Trinitarian that the
doctrine of three divine persons is polytheism , and that the worship of the son and spirit is idolatry , they do not mean to reproach , but merely to state what appears to them to be a serious and important charge , in order to rouse their mistaken bre-1
thren to examine the subject with becomingattention , in hope that the light of truth may dawn upon their minds . At the same time ^ they carefully distinguish between Christian idolatry which , though a grievous error , is perfectly consistent with purity and virtue , and heathen idolatry ? which authorized and often
required thepractice of the most abominable vices . And Trinitarians themselves , so far from regarding these allegations as false and uncharitable , are ever most ready to allow ^ that if the Unitarian doctrine be true , their worship is idolatrous and
unscnptural . See the Introduction to Whvtaker ' s History of Arianism , and Mr . Proud ' s late animadversions upon Unitarians * I hope therefore that when my friend's charitymay think itnecessary to " vaunt herself' upon any future occasion , she will do it , in a less unseemly" manner , than by casting unfounded an < I
injurious reflections upon her fellow christians ^ who with equal sincerity , and an equal right of private judgment ^ hold different opinions from her own . In a note , p . 1 J 6 , _ my friend relates an anecdote of Dr .
Priestley . iQ Conversing , says he ^ ** once with Dr . Priestley upon the subject , he observed that the pre-existence of Christ appeared to him an absurdity . I asked him to point out wherein the absurdity consisted : but he only said in reply , that it appeared in that light to him ; and to this no answer could be given / ' It is not very easy to see for what purpose my worthy friend introduces this anecdote- He could not surely mean to
insinuate that Dr . Priestley avowed an opinion without being able to assign ^ what was , in his own judgment at least , a competent reason for it . The truth probably is * that Dr . Priestley regarded the pre-existence of Christ as absolutely incompatible
Untitled Article
Mr . Behham ' s Strictures on Carpenier sLeetzires .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1807, page 539, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2385/page/31/
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