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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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ftat cau be accomplished- ? Of vjhat use then ^ are the others ? Or atre they almighty only in concert ? a » d being eg , ph of them absolutely perfect in v isdpm and goodr n * ess , cjo they always invariably will the same things ? If so , are they not all resolvable into one being ? Or how shall we Hjake any distinction ?
But if -the other explanation of this 4 doctrine be atfoitted and the divine Being do not exist in three real and distinct agents ^ but only in three incomprehensi - ble distinctions represented tp ps under such an idea ; is it not
equally absurd to regard him as existing in thre $ distinct minds , when in reality he is but one ? Or can a * u y distinction of attri - butes or properties be a just ground for representing the
Almighty as cpnstittftin ^ three distinct and separate agents ? Much more might be s ^ iid on this subject were it necessary , but tp our present opponent , 1 presume , it canriot . For as he thinks"
XJnit ^ nafts , have uq better pretensions to reason tha& their brethren of other churches , " be roost probably , thinks that . " their brethren of Other church . es have * no better
pretensions to yeasou'' then they . Deism , denies tl-x ^ t any revelation has ever b < een n } ftd $ to mankind , tb&ygh . the Christian religion is at present professed ,-and must have had an origin . If we
inquire into the accounts of its first establish men t , we find that its professors were severely persecuted . Surely they would not have endured persecution for t ( fye
sake of a profession which they kn $ w to . be fe ^ se . T ^ ejr ^ us , t t ^ ere / o ^ ^ e fe ^ n <^ cei , y ^ 4 W \ - Af $ » . tfcs . r ^ k * Q » 1 ^ 9 true . But ¦
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, w 3 ^ n > op l ^ p \«[ could ^ dec ^ p ^ tion tafee place ? W ^ ere nojt . the immediate follpwe ^ s of Jg £ frs , < #£ - pable of testifyji > g what tljey , s ^ y and heard ? ^ , rc their na ^ rati ; % es ipcoheren ^ visionary or a&surdj ? Do they exhibit any symptoms o ^ f mental dera ^ g ^ i ? ient : ? Why thea should Ave suspect that they were deceived ? Could the accounts of
Christ which are now extant , h % ve been , forge 4 long after his d ^ eatlj ? How then could th& pee , glo hj ^ ye been persuaded that they had been received from the beginning ?
Or who would be likely to forge such . accounts for no other en 4 than to expose himself to sufferings of < Jeath unnecessarily 5—r-Deism , is unreasonable because it
gives no sati 3 jfactory answer to these inquiries * \ Nor is Deis ^ unattended wkji difficulties ii > other respects , U
i $ . liable to several obje ^ ptjoiis which are urged against Urutwia ^ ism . If Go 4 bje goo , d tb ^ e Iiei ^ t may likewise ^ be as , ked whence came evil ? And if God be not
good , to whom are we indebted for all that we enjoy ? If God be no * good , or only partially good [ , is he not imperfect ? a . nd is it reasonable td ascribe imperfection to the Being who created ^ and who governs the universe ? %
Should it however be affijrmea that the universe never was creatr ed , but is liece ^ Sjaiiiy existentr ; tha ^ the course of nature proceeds necessarily , without an intelligent superintendent ; * ve might ask ,
whence then all the -appearances pf design with which we are surrounded ? Did they proceed from a series of unintelligent causes ? f ^ ut hovy couM such causes product ; effects whiqh manifest skill ^ p dcanK ^ ' ^ P ^^? ^ i , 1 » aore re ^ r
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Mr . 4 ^ M ^ nmcp Ch % rcfcw& * *^ S
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1808, page 433, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2395/page/33/
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