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REVIEW. " Still pleased to praise, yet not afraid to blame.'* — ^Pope,
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Art . \ , —An Account of the Rise and Progress of the Unitarian Doctrine , in the Societies at Rochdale , New Church in Rossendale , and other plates formerly in connexion with the late Rev . Joseph Cooke ; in Ten Letters to a Friend . By John Ash worth . Pp . 80 . Westal ) , Rochdale ; Hunter and Eaton , London .
ONE of the strongest presumptive arguments in favour of Unitarianism , arises from the fact , that many of its ablest defenders and brightest ornaments have been converts from the ranks of its opponents . Examples are not rare , of serious and
well-informed Trinitarians who have sat down to an examination of this subject , with the fullest conviction of the truth of their own sentiments ; but who , in the course of the inquiry , have been so overpowered by the force of opposing evidence , as to be compelled ,
at all events , to avow a change of opinion . Against such avowal , the prejudices of education , the influence of early and friendly association , the tenderest affections , the best feelings and the dearest interests , have often pleaded with an earnestness and a
power irresistible to every thing but the strongest impulse of religious duty . Every obstacle has given way to the Energy of what we believe to be truth ; and it has frequently been found , that when its voice has been listened to with calmness and
seriousness , though it may have demanded the most painful sacrifices , yet those sacrifices have graced its triumphs , and at the same time borne witness to the integrity of its converts , and cast a beam of glory on the human character . For instances of this , we need not travel to the Churches of
Geneva , whose " sad example" is so pathetically held up in " The Christian Observer , " of November last , as an * ' awful warning" to the members of our own establishment . Everyone ,
acquainted with the history of Unitananism , will immediately recollect the names of a Priestley , a Lindsey , a Disney and a Vidler ; not to mention several of our most eminent and use-
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ful ministers still living , against whose characters calumny itself dare not breathe a reflection , and whose conversion , rendered necessary in order to preserve the testimony of a good
conscience , has been , in every worldly point of view , their greatest misfor tune . Their sincerity cannot be questioned for a moment , and if their piety , their learning , and their facilities for a full examination of the
controversy be considered , surely , the most determined opposer of Unitarianism must allow , that a system of Christian doctrine which can win over such men to its interests , possesses strong claims to the notice , and demands the careful attention of every impartial inquirer after truth .
Let it not be said , that this is an argument which may be brought forward in favour of all the systems of Christian doctrine , however opposed to each other ; and that , therefore , its force is neutralized in favour of any system in particular ; for were it true
that as many Unitarians had become Trinitarians , as vice versa , still there would be a presumption on the side of Unitarianism , because there are many circumstances which might naturally incline the judgment to such a change ; but this is far from being the case . The exultation which has been
manifested , almost indecently , on a late instance of this kind , is a proof that such instances are extremely rare . These remarks have been suggested by a perusal of the pamphlet under our present consideration , which has given us almost unmingled satisfaction . The case of the Rossendale
Unitarian church has been laid before our readers , in a former volume , [ X . 313 , ] by Dr . Thomson , and has excited an interest highly creditable to their Christian sympathy . At the close of that account the Doctor promised that he would introduce to the
public a more particular narrative , to be written by one of their own ministers , and this publication redeems his pledge . These Letters present us with the pleasing spectacle , not of an individual merely , but of two whole
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; 270 )
Review. " Still Pleased To Praise, Yet Not Afraid To Blame.'* — ^Pope,
REVIEW . " Still pleased to praise , yet not afraid to blame . ' * — ^ Pope ,
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1818, page 270, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2475/page/46/
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