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Untitled Article
wofeht fertnetitntion was excited in ^^ fj parts of this kingdom , which partook of the character both of a political and of a religious persecution . Jiiid ft is not a little remarkable that , although our religious views are entirely detached from all political considerations , yet it pleased some persons
in this country to identify Umtarianjsm with a freedom of thinking which is inconsistent with the safety of the state . There is oni ^ r oneway in which I can conceive sucn a mistake to have originated . It is this : —The grounds upon which we form our religious
opinions are the inductions of reason and the plain dictates of common sense . By these -we interpret the word of God . And it is probable that by these also we interpret the word of man ; and that we are not previously disposed , as all time-serving men around us are , to
submit our wills to the will of those in power , and to believe that only to be politically true and right which men in power have imperiously announced for the public approbation and support . There cannot oe a doubt that , when
a man dares to think freely and honestly upon subjects of the very first importance , upon those grand questions of duty which connect him with his God ; anq to act up to his thoughts and his principles on these ; he will not for a moment hesitate to examine with
freedom , and , if there is occasion for it , to expose without ceremony , the unjust pretensions of men in power . And therefore it may with the greater reason be admitted , that , amongst the
class , of Kng ; lish dissenters who have bear ) generally known by the denomination of Rational Christians , there have been found very few who have been inclined to flatter the vices of
great men , and avow themselves the approvers and the patrons of plans or " government which would trench upon the liberties of the people , and lessen that influence which every good subject has a right to enjoy in a well-ordered society . There are some
members of society who are naturall y timid ; there-are others who are fawning a , nd n > een ; there are many who are ahx * loaij to obtain the profits of civil government , of * afraid of losing what they alread y hold , * arid there is , perhaps ,
If those men who cloajt their sentime nt * , anct bane ? their reliripua principle ! w a maintenance , < Jo not bcu&y f he best
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yet a larger pof tion of the community who wish < only to reritturrquiet , tfitd peaceably pursue the line they have marked out for themselves , in which they may exist and breathe out , with * out commotion , the few years which are allotted to them upon earth ., I
scarcely feel myself authorised to give to any one of those the honourable denomination of the righteous m £ n . Jf to do the duty of an enlightened itiett * - ber of society be to be righteoud- ^ -and what can be right but to do our duty in its fullest extent ?—neither he- who
is afraid of saying what he believes to be right , nor those who crouch before the great and powerful , nor those who sacrifice the slightest duty for the sake of reward , nor t ho ^^ whp will spend their lives like moles or like bats , in . an ignoble , iir a despicable privacy , can possibly merit the title of the
rignteous man . He only can be righteous , » - whether we consider the question in an , economical , in a political , or in a religious point of view , who says and » does all that he believes to be right , * after that he has taken pains to inform * his mind , and to imbibe the principles of truth and of the sreneral welfare ;
\ I believe that , not the great body of seriou 3 thoughtful Christians alone , but also the great body of thinking people in this country , indulged , at the period to which I nave allu ^ td , ah
excessive joy upon the occasion of thb French Revolution ; -f * in which they saw the promise of a mighty people , shaking off the yoke of ignorance , of ' superstition , andof slothfulness , aboutto form a constitution in which the * rights of man , but more especially , in
interests of society , I cannot conceive wh £ t men do so . All human duties are marked upon a scale , which distinctly points out their relative importance . Some are of greater influence than others ; and those of the greatest influence demand the great * st care and the steadiest fulfilment . And who will say that the duties of religion are of the feast importance ? They are indeed placed , by some men very low £ q the scale ; and , while other duties are deemed imperious , the duties of religion and the support of truth may be tampered with at pleasure , or . laid altogether aside . Precept is neglecte > d ( by them , and their example is hurtful : — - as though the world ought ^ o be diligently taught the commandments of men , bitf it is no matter whether of no they are informed " what the Lord their God has said ndt # them . " ! ! 7 ¦ t Which took qJace in 17 B 9 .
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Puhlic Character cf the late Re * . Joshua Toulmin , D . D . lg $
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1816, page 195, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2451/page/7/
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