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condescend to read this Chapter , they would save themselves the trouble of " beating the air" and fighting shadows , and the disgrace of repeating calumnies which have been times without number exposed to merited contempt .
Agreeing most cordially with Dr . Carpenter ' s general explanation of the Unitarian doctrine , we think that on one or two points he has represented that to be Unitarianism which is indeed the more common , but not the necestc
sary , belief of Unitarians . Unitarianism , " he says , ( p . 37 , ) " lays the axe at the root of all the abuses < jf the doctrine of Divine Influences ; but , with respect to the doctrine itself , it only teaches what Revelation teaches , he that what it will . " This latter
clause is an admission that the Unitarian doctrine , as such , includes nothing peculiar or distinct on the subject in question ; and we confess that we have known instances in which correct views of Unitarianism have been associated with what we consider an irrational
and even fanatical confidence in preternatural impulses und interpositions . The Unitarians have had their miraculous " Providences ; " and when we smile at Richard Baxter ' s stories of the old woman giving " breast-milk , " and of Mrs . Teat ' s finding " a suckbottle , full of new , sweet milk , in the
snow , out of all ways , upon the mountains , " ( Mon . Repos . IV . 207 , ) we may profitably recollect the " remarkubie example of God ' s Providence , visible during a journey of Christopher Crcllius" ( Mon . Repos . XI . 633 , and see XII . 217 ) .
We rejoice in the fact that the Unitarians are " universally agreed /' as far as our knowledge extends , in rejecting the doctrine of endless torments ; but we do not exactly see how Unitarianism is more incompatible with that dogma than with the notion of the final destruction of the wicked , for which some of the most able and
zealous Unitarians have been eager advocates . In truth , we are disposed to believe that the New Testament does teach the doctrine of indefinite , though not , properly speaking , eternal punishment . And may not the jarring systems of Christians be reconciled , andthe letter of the New Testament be interpreted agreeably to its spirit , by the supposi-
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tion that the period to which the Chris , tian scriptures refer beyond the grave is bounded , though by limits which are as yet hidden from our view , that there will be an age of retribution , and that during the whole extent of that age , ( i . e . in scriptural language , for ever , )
the wicked will be in a state of privation and dishonour ? Beyond this age , revelation may not be designed to carry us ; but by asserting the perfect character of the Almighty Ruler , it
furnishes sufficient ground for belief that the righteous will continue progressively happy , and for hope that the wicked , purified by retributive discipline , will be prepared for restoration to the visible favour of God . These
are conjectures , but we trust they are not presumptuous , and we submit them to our readers with deference . That Unitarians can differ from one another on this great subject with candour , Dr . Carpenter furnishes edifying examples in the following passage :
"It has been my privilege to be intimately connected in the important duties of the Christian ministry , and with unbroken unity of spirit , with two excellent persons who hold the doctrine I here refer to . United by the fundamental principle of Unitarian worship , the exclusive worship of the Father in the name of Jesus Christ , —the universal principles of Christian duty , —and the grand sanctions and hopes of the Gospel , —I went on , for twelve years , with increasing esteem and affection , ( and it was my own fault if it were without spiritual edification , ) with one who not only ranks
among the destructionists , but believes also in the pre-existence of our Lord . And with similar bonds of union , and the additional ties arising from mutual conviction in the proper humanity of our Lore ) , and of active zeal to promote the common principles of Unitarianism , 1 am
now engaged with another highly valued friend , who , from what he deems the evidence of revelation , believes that the sufferings of the wicked will end in final destruction . My respected friends , the Rev . James Manning , of Exeter , and the Rev . John Rowe , of Bristol , will , 1 trust , excuse me in this reference to their
opinions ; and also while I add , that I have experienced from them nothing to interfere with the fullest exercise of pr ivate judgment , or with the public statement and defence of the doctrines on which w e differ . When , in a course of doctrinal Lectures delivered by my present col-
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170 Review . ' —Dr . Carpenters Examination of Bishop Magee .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1821, page 170, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2498/page/42/
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