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406 Lear 7 ied and Unlearned Ministers *
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have engaged in the work of constant preaching / ' He then asks , " art such as these the men , who are to new model our scheme of divinity , and our method ofpreachincr p are such creatures as these fit to instruct us in points , as to which they proudly say , men for hundreds of years have been mistaken , or have not much thought off are a set of men who , for the greatest part , are illiterate and ignorant mechanics or labourers , to set all matters right ?' ' So much for Dr . Abraham Taylor , whose language might have suited a benefited high church clergyman , for a castigation of the Methodists , who had ( in 1 738 ) just made their appearance . LAICUS .
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Learned and unlearned Ministers . Sir , I have lately been present at some discussions relative to the learning of ministers , and have heard a distinction made of them into two classes , one of the learned , and the other of the unlearned . The former class too , I perceive , is inclined to arrogate to itself a superiority , which I can by no means think justifiable in those who profess themselves to be the disciples of one common Lord , who said . Be ye not called Rabbi implying that they were not to conceive themselves entitled to that respect and deference which was claimed by the Rabbis in his time . I am by no means
• f inclined to disparage the benefits of learning ; but you will permit me to observe , that it has been more employed to vindicate the corruptions , than to maintain the simplicity of the Gospel . Learning may be beneficially employed , and it is ornamental to the person
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t who possesses it ; bu £ we must ; take care not to allow it an undue ; preference . The mathematician . the metaphysician , the botanist , the astronomer , the classical seho . ; lar , are all useful in their respective departments ; but a man may be an excellent Gospel minister without being a mathematician , & metaphysician , a botanist , an as .
tronoiner , or a classical scholar . I will not trespass on your time by expatiating on the impropriety of introducing into the pulpit the doctrine of centripetal and cen . trifugal forces , the abstruse difficulties of the necessarian dispute , the sublime discoveries on the electrical and galvanic fluids , or a discussion on the beauties of classical literature . These are all displayed with great advantage in their proper spheres ; but he who cares for the salvation of souls has higher objects in view , and cannot allow the thoughts oi his hearers to be diverted from the great end of preaching to what I must call very inferior concerns .
I do not object to a classification of ministers , and both the learned and the unlearned , as they are called , may be equally instrumental in tlie support and the propagation of the truth ; but for the latter purpose I am inclined to give the preference to the latter class . Let me explain myself . By an unlearned minister , I mean one who is unacquainted with the scriptures in their original languages ; but who , being animated with zeal for the cause of our Lord and Saviour , and having used with diligence all the means in his power , has from application to the scriptures in the vulgar tongue , attained full knowledge of our salvation , and is capabLe
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1811, page 406, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2418/page/22/
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