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Review . — -Giffbrd ' s Remonstrance of a Unitarian . 639
tttidef any fc > Tni approach ing- the Satisfaction-scheme , better enable us to perforjpoi our Christian duties ? If we can rid ourselves of the burden of our sins , t > y laying it upon Jesus Christ , and satisfy ourselves of a free discharge through his merits , does this doctrine bind us to responsibility , and
secure us in the path of righteousness , better than that of the Unitarian , which holds him in himself accountable to God for every action of his life ? Impossible I And we hare yet to assure ourselves that these doctrines are not directly opposed to the plain sense of Scripture . "
Acute observers of systems and their supporters have long seen that Trinitarians are giving way with regard to a part of the Trinity , and that in fact they are practical Dualists * On this subject the author inquires ,
" Again , prayer and praise being- the only acceptable worship men can offer to the Almighty , is it not elearly manifest , as the Gods in the Trinity are perfectly equal , that each one is entitled to be thus glorified precisely in the same degree ? Yet , with this understanding , is it not strikingly
obvious to the most common observer , what a deficiency of homage , comparatively , appears to be paid to the third God of the Trinity , God the Holy Ghost ? Whether we search the Scripture , or look into the forms of devotion established by the Church ,
does not the same insufficient worship appear ? Is it not remarkable , that ( with the exception of the Litany ) the whole Liturgy does not contain one prayer distinctly addressed to God the Holy Ghost , when it contains none in which God the
Father is not adored , arid many addressed to God the Father alone without even naming * God the Holy Ghost ? And , when he is addressed , is it not in short and comparatively incompetent dpxoiogies , supplied as it were for the purpose of keeping- up a seeming equality ? It is difficult to conceive that there can be a member of the
Church , who must not bey conscious of the great distinction in homage paid to God the Father , and God the Holy Ghost . "P . 54 . We have rarely met with a more solemn appeal against error , or a more animated vindication and exhibition
of truth , than in the following passage taken from a section entitled , ** On the apparent degradatioa of the Almighty : * t The manner in which we are obliged to
speak concerning the Almighty , on many occasions , in this controversy , and the terms of necessity frequently applied to him , are truly distressing to every reflectingmind : ttilHt i « unavoidable ; since other .
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wise , were we not to examine , in order to see if these things are so , truth might be supplanted by error , and the glory of God given unto another . To uphold the system of the Trinity , we are to believe , that the mighty Jehovah , the Creator and supreme God of the universe , was born in a stable and laid in a manger , that he hung , an
infant , at bis mother ' s breast , and , as there is no evidence to the contrary , that he engaged in all the puerile amusements incidental to children ; that from twelve to thirty years of age , the great God of heaven lived promiscuously , and undistinguished , amidst the common herd of mankind ; that he underwent every indignity 3 was driven
about from place to place , reviled , spit upon , tempted by the devil , scourged , and ignominious ] y crucified as a criminal , between two thieves ; and all this , that he might offer up himself a sacrifice to himself , to appease himself of his wrath against the children of men , the dependent creatures of his own formation .
" On reviewing only such schemes of Christianity , well may the Deist have exclaimed , he could find no system worthy of God , no mode of worship that does not degrade the Almighty . The system which the unbeliever has looked for , he may now find in Unitarianism , which ; while it upholds the honour and glory of God , offers no
violence to the best feeliags and understanding of man . Yet there are those who , with vplifteH hands , cry out , How is it possible to be a Unitarian ? With uplifted hands do I rejoice that I am one ; and with a cheerful and grateful heart do I acknowledge my obligation to the many great and good men who , unsubdued by difficulties ,
have nobly exerted themselves to free mankind from such a distressing and painful tyranny . I doubt if the virtuous and good man who has raised his thoughts throug-h nature up to nature ' s God , can contemplate such an apparent degradation of infinite power and wisdom , with any possible satisfaction to himself . I doubt if he can lay
Ins hand upon his heart , and say it freely beats in unison with such things . 1 suspeot his nature revolts aaid stands confounded , and I feel for his perplexity . He may seek relief by dismissing and deferring- the harassing meditation ; still , conscience must remain unappeased : for if Christ was God supreme , the consequences are now deduced inevitable . How , then , does the
heart rejoice to be set free from the necessity of uniting such confounding * ideas with o-ur contemplation of the Great Supreme , — -to be at liberty to glorify , in . prayer and praise , the omnipotent God of tliis beautiful creation ., whose lowest works will ever present a standing miracle to the mind of man ^ that God to whom our thoughts are known Jongf before , and without whom a sparrow does not fall to the grounii f - ~ who » its upon
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1818, page 639, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2481/page/39/
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