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inspiring influence which a rational belief in the doctrines and precepts which it was theobject of his life to teach , a » d of his death to seal , should apeak in this manner , isr not only
surprising , it is lamentable and disgusting , and cati only be accounted for by ther difficulty which is always felt in rousing the attention of people to any thing- which does not immediately affect themselves . If it is of no
consequence whether we believe with the Unitarian in one God , with the Trinitarian in one God , consisting of three persons , or with the Hindu * in three hundred and thirty millions of Gods : if it is of no importance whether the Ruler of the universe be merciful and
benevolent in his dispositions , not willing that any of his creatures should perish , but that all should turn unto him and live j or whether he be full of wrath and thirsting for revenge on
the heads of his guilty creatures , for not doing what by nature he has not given them the power of performing : if it is a matter of little moment , whether , according to the code of laws which the Author of nature has
laid down , every man shall be rewarded or punished according to the deeds done in the body , or whether the son shall bear the iniquity of the father ; whether the soul that sinneth shall die } or whether the only soul that never knew sin , who , by his precepts ,
told us what we should do , and by his example shewed us how to do it , should bear the punishment due to all the sons of Adam , and all this * ' to the praise of God ' s glorious justice : if these things , I say , be of no importance , then let the Peruvian worship
the sun , and the Hindu his favourite river ; let the Roman Catholic trust to the efficacy of his wafer , and the Calvinist to the vicarious sufferings of Christ ; so long as their opinions do not disturb the peace or outrage the feelings of society , let them indulge
their delusion . But if they are of importance , and if such absurdities are prevalent , and one-half the world lend their shoulders to prop them up , shall we , who profess a more rational belief , rest upon our oars , and not by every fair means in our power endeavour to break the chains which have so long-* See last Number of the Edinburgh Review , p , 383 .
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fettered the human mind , and allow it to have the same rscope in religious matters as in every thing else ? Shall we , while our opponents turn heaven and earth to gain proselytes to their sentiments , sit tamely by , without making a single effort to rescue the
character of the Deity from such unhallowed misrepresentations ? While the monster Superstition , which was only crippled , not exterminated , at the Reformation , still rears his head , shall we gaze and stare , and wonder at the success of his ravages * while we
use not an effort to deprive him of his power ? No , Sir ! If we are satisfied of the truth of our opinions , let us , with the animation which the subject is calculated to inspire , embrace every opportunity of making them known , and extending their influence over the minds of mankind .
I have been led ^ o these reflections by the prevalence of this sort of indifference to religious truth , among the better-informed class of the inhabitants in this metropolis , who ,
moreover , reckon themselves very liberal in their sentiments . If you think them worthy of insertion in your valuable Miscellany , it will afford pleasure to your constant reader , T .
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History of a Religious Change . 43 f
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Christchurcjt , Sir , May S , 1818 .
ON reading your Repository , [ pp . 281—284 , ] to-day , I was very much struck with the similarity of my owi } Christian belief and that of the society at Rochdale , having been the work of conviction from
within . Some months past , \ turned my attention to the question of the divinity of Christ , in Jlie belief of which I was born and bred up ; and I found at every turn and view of the subject , my conviction that the Unitarian doctrines were the only true ones , became more and more strengthened . From without 1 received no
light : a natural aversion to religious controversy , hitherto made me turn away from every inquiry into the points of dispute , which the desire of proselytism may have obtruded upon
me . In practice , I am a Latitude narian - I I , and what grant to others , require for myself ; but do you hot know , Sir , that this cannot be always obtained from one ' s friends , who stiffly
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1818, page 431, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2478/page/23/
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