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that the soil of the human mind Siould-not be suffered to lie fallow or to produce only tares . That the seeds of truth may be sown , is all we ask . The harvest we leave to Heaven . "—P . 5 . The Doctor considers the tjnity of
God and the humanity of Christ as doctrines totally distinct , and ( p . 68 , ) retracts an opinion which he formerly advanced " that the proper humanity of Christ shquid be a necessary article of Relief in a Christian society . " On this controverted point , he says ,
** In a conversation which I once , had with Dr . Priestley en the very point , I took the liberty of telling him that his definition of Unitarianism in excluding those who hold the pre-existence of Christ appeared to my inind an illogical definition , and that Dr . Price , with whom I then coincided in opinion , was as much a Unitarian as himself . At that time I
did not foresee that prejudice would proceed so far as to affix an odium to tlu ^ very word . I thought that the definition itself was incorrect ; that justice was not done by it to those who hold the pre-t'xistence
of Christ , but do not worship him , and that their exclusion was 'dividing and weakening a party , the union and strength of which could not be too sedulously promoted . I once for all enter my protest against the exclusive use of the word : and what I alin
ways mean by it is expressed ^ following definition . " A UNITABIANr ISA PERSON WHO BELIEVES IN AND WORSHIPS ONE GoD ONLY . " I add another definition , for the denial of which , or the substitution of any other for it , I demand the authority of Scripture . " A Christian is a person who
believes THE DIVINE MISSION OF JESUS Christ . " In the sense of these definitions , I claim for myself , and I doubt not that each of you will claim for himself , the appellation of a Unitarian Christian . "Pp . 25 , 26 .
The following observations on the miraculous conception appear to us worth y of attention : < i The authenticity of the two first chapters of St . Matthew and St . Luke , on which so much has been written , and on one side with so much acrimony , has
nothing to do with the subject of Unitananism . And even the pre-existence of Christ , a doctrine which many Unitarians "old , is no more connected with the miraculous conception than it is with the miraculous appearances which were seen , or the miraculous voice which was heard at * H © baptism of our Lord . Many Unita-
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rians have believed the miraculous conception , and others from some interesting texts in the narrative , and an apprehended consistency in the circumstance , that the second Adam should have been produced without an earthly father as the first was , have wished it to be true . Griesbach ,
however , it is thought by some , has not proved these chapters to be authentic : nor do Unitarians profess to follow him implicitly , although they have a high opinion of his learning , his assiduity and his impartiality . See Dr . Priestley ' s History of Early Opinions , Vol . IV ; and Grundy ' s Lectures on this subject . "—Pp . 33 y 34 .
The reader will peruse with some interest , Dr . Estlin ' s explanation of his view of the Sabbath : il Unitarians can agree to differ . I am not a materialist , and I disagree ia opinion with Mr . Belsham and my nephew , Mr . Grundy , on the subject of the Sabbath ,. The statement of my particular view of
the case will probably not be deemed a digression , as I have been informed that what Mr . Belsham has said on this subject in his Letters to Mr . Wilbei force , has injured the cause of Uuitarianism in Wales . I beg leave then , just to state , that it appears to me , that the institution of a Sabbath has made a part of every dispensation
of Revealed Religion ; that there was a Patriarchal and a Jewish Sabbath ; and that there is a Christian Sabbath called the Lord's Day ; that Christ himself instituted a rite in commemoration of his death , and that his Apostles after his ascension , when they were authorised legislators in
his kingdom , appointed a day to be set apart to commemorate his resurrection as well as to answer the general purposes of a Sabbath ; and that they instituted it by their conduct ^ which speaks a language stronger than words , at a tirne when any other mode of institution would have
subjected them to endless disputes with the Jews . "—Notes , pp . 62 , 63 . Referring to Bishop Burgess ' s arguments , Dr . Estlin says , in a beautiful passage with which this article must
conclude" If such are the weapo n * of orthodoxy , Unitarianism may stand unarmed before her without fear of injury . I express njy-Belf with confidence , because I know , that if in the intellectuaV world it is still -
twilight , it is the twilight of morning-. The fogs which linger in the West will be scattered by the rays of the rising Sun . The Eastern horizon is clear , and bright will be the day . "—Notes , p . 48 .
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Ilevie ? v . — Estlin s Discourse in Defence of Unitarianism . 54 b
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1816, page 545, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2456/page/45/
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