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ministers at that time held a kind of annual synod , which assumed great authority , and disowned Mr . Pierce from all connexion with the other ministers . . Now , however , both these chapel *? in Exeter are occupied by Unitarians , as are most of the
congregations whose ministers formed that synod . * At the same time with Mr . Pierce , a few other Arian ministers were obliged to leave their situations . Among them was Mr . Foster , who removed to London , and was afterwards celebrated by Pope in the well known lines ,
u Let modest Foster , if he will , excel Ten metropolitans in preaching well . " He has left behind him four volumes of very admirable sermons- From this period the Arian doctrines spread rapidly among the more learned of the . Dissenting ministers . The doctrine of the simple humanity of Jesus
had yet but few supporters , but among them must be reckoned the learned Dr . Lardner , himself a host . The last year of George the First ' s reign was distinguished by the trial of Mr . Elwall , for publishing a book intitled , " A True Testimony for God and his Sacred Law , being a plain honest Defence of the First
Commandment of God against all the Trinitarians under Heaven . Thou shalt have no other Gods but me . For this he was prosecuted at the Stafford nssizes , in the year 1726 . No copy of the indictment had been given him , and the judge offered to
put off the trial , if he would give bail , but lie refused arid desired liberty to plead . This Being given , after pleading many texts from the OKI Testament , he told them that our Lord Jesus Christ , the Prophet Irke to Moses , held f ^ rth the same
doctrine that Moses had done , and particularly mentioned , as very remnrkable and worthy of all their observation , the words which are recorded in John xvii . 3 , that Christ used in solemn prayer to his Father , ' * This is life eternal to know thee the
only true God 9 and Jesus the Christ whom thou hast sent j" and then turning to the priests his prosecutors , he said , " Since The lips of the blessed * Can any of your Devonshire correspondents give us a more particular account of this synod ?
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Jesus , which always spoke the truth , say his Father is the only true God , who is he and who are they , that dare set up another in contradiction to iny blessed Lord , who says his Father is the only true God ? " And here he stopped to see if any would
answer , but none of them spoke . He then warned the people not to take their religious sentiments from men , but from God . The judge asked him , if he had ever consulted any of the bishops . He said he had exchanged several letters with the Archbishop of Canterbury , but had received no
satisfaction ; " for in all the letters I sentto the Arch bishop , " said he , " I grounded my arguments upon the words of God and his prophets , Christ and his apostles , but in his answers to me , he referred me to acts of parliament : and whereas I told him , I wondered lie should be so weak as to turn me over
to human authority in things of a divine nature ; for though in all things of a temporal nature 1 will be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord ' sake , yet in things of a spiritual nature , and which concern my faith , I
will call no man Father upon earth , nor regard popes or councils , prelates or priests of any denomination , nor convocations nor assemblies of divines , but obey to the best of my judgment , God and his prophets , Christ and his apostles , "
The judge wished him to promise not to write on this subject again , but this he nobly and spiritedly refused to do . Then the judge laying hold- of some informalities in the proceedings against him , declared him at liberty , and the priests perceiving his boldness and the
temper of the bench to favour him , did not choose to renew the prosecution , though certainly Mr . Elwall was legally liable to three years' imprisonment and outlawry . This is the last trial which has taken place on the laws against Unitarians . A few prosecutions of this nature have been
attempted since , but they have been frustrated before they came into court . The laws , however , on which those prosecutions were founded , remained a disgrace to the statute book of this
country till the year 1813 , when they were repealed . Mr . Elwall published an -account of his trial , which has been often reprinted and is well known . The beginning of the reignof George the
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3 S 6 Brief History , of the Dissenters from the Revo lulion .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1817, page 386, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2466/page/10/
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