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Untitled Article
comfiture and disgrace , is a position whifch may command a ready assent . But that , if he had teen quite satisfied with his own interpretation ; of OMgeii ' s words , he
would gratuitously , and without any motive whatever , have stepped out of his way for the sole purpose of calumniating the character of one of the mast respectable of the Christian fathers , by charging him with notorious falsehood in saying
what he himself proved that he never did say , may possibly be believed by a pious and dutiful son , laudably jealous for his father ' s reputation , but he must excuse others , who may not be so deeply interested in the bishop ' s
vindication , if they indulge a little scepticism in so extraordinary a case . That the bishop was not satisfied that his own interpretation was correct aud that of Dr . Priestley erroneous , is evident from his own reluctant confession , " I give him
Origen . "—Remarks on Dr . P . Part 2- c . 2 . * The object of the bishop was to tax the veracity of Origen in what ' be says only of the faith of the Hebrew Christians of his own
time . " So saith the son and advocate of the learned prelate . But this is not the language of the prelate himself . It was it seems from Mosheim that the venerable dig- * Hilary t € first learned to rate the testimony of Origen at its true valuev" but unfortunately , Mosheim
did not supply him with the facts upon which that estimation was f 6 unde $ . Having however adopted the charge , he was compelled to And evidence to support it . And lifter all his laborious researches for this pious and charitable purpose , the learned prelate can discover only two passages in
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Origeri ' s writings which are relevant to his otrject , and these are such as to a tess willing or less ^ pepspicacious accuser wdulcf appear totally inadequate "to esfeifelisii so
heavy a charge . I shall cite them in the bishop ' s own words , as they stand in the first chapter of the Second Part of the Remarks upon Dr . Priestley ' s Second Series of Letters . '
Celsus , in his treatise against the Christians , introduces a Jew- reproaching his countrymen for having deserted the law of their ancestors . u And how confusedly , " says Origen in his reply , " does
Celsus ' s Jew speak upon this subject , when he might have said more plausibly , some of -you have have relinquished the old customs , upon pretence of expositions and aUegories : some again , expounding as you call it spiritually , nevertheless observe the institutions
of our ancestors : but some , not admitting these expositions / are willing to receive * Jesus as the person foretold by the prophets ^ and to observe the law ot Moses according to ancient customs /* Here the bishop charges the learned father with falsehood and
self-contradiction in acknowledging the existence of a sect of J&ws professing Christianity , who had relinquished the ceremonies of the law . Common readers , however ^ can
only discover , that Origen'declares that his opponent would hare expressed himself more pldty&ibty ) if he had charged only a ? part of the Jewish believers , and rtbt fbe % hole
body , with h ^ vitlg des ^ fcted the law . In this they see nothing approaching to falsteHojid or contradiction . And yet tipon thisjfrivolpus pretence , tHte right jfev ^ rend prelate ' adopts the harsh tefiguage of
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29 f 6 Mr . Betshanfs Reply to the Rev . H . Horsley .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1813, page 296, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2428/page/12/
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