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removed as any from liability to the reproach we are examining ^ so ob viously so Indeed , as to h&vfc bee ¥ i dfteii accused of irreligion by the lovers df austerity and affected sanctity * But though the spirit of Nonconformity have , in fact , nothing in tt sour , morose or unfriendly to innocent cheerfulness and rational enjoyment , it must be conceded , that it has
characteristics which enable us pretty readily to account for such accusations being brought against it by individuals Of a certain class ; for it is , first , an independent spirit . It is the Jriumph of conscience and of the love of divine
truth over worldly interests and human authorities . It is the assertion of a sacred and invaluable right in spite of the allurements and in defiance of the frowns of unjustifiable
power . It therefore naturally communicates dignity and strength to the character ; it makes the mind familiar with the resistance of impositions , and teaches reliance on our own judgment , rather than submission to the
direction or influence of others ; it gives character and importance to individuals , and delights to disturb that even surface of the social sea which indicates the dull atmosphere of submissive ignorHftce . What wonder , then , If it appear harsh and repulsive to
those whose beauty is uniformity , and who know nothing so amiable or pleasing as a graceful acquiescence in established notions , and a quiet suppression of our own thoughts and feelings , whenever they vary from the appointed standard !
Secondly , Nonconformity is not according to the maxims and spirit of the world . It implies sacrifices of interest already made , and constantly persevered in , for the sake of a good conscience , and a seriousness in the business of religion , which is opposed
. *_ _ _ . ^ * lf •• ^» « « t -m . up to prevailing vices and follies . Not , of course , that we wish to represent & serious attention to religion as at all peculiar to our body , but that , as we are called upon to make sacrifices to which , we cannot in general be
indifferent , and cannot well have other than conscientious motives f $ r making * our religious profession , it is reasonable to expect that worldl y and irreligious men will rather attach themselves to the church which enjoys the advantages of fashion and patronage *
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and consequently , that the proportion of sincere and consistent religious characters will be much greater among Dissenters than among Conformists and such we may safely assert to be the fact . In the first age of Nonconformity when it wass a new cause , and the
sufferings attendant on adhering to it were great and various , there could be few connected with it , but from really conscientious motives and upon serious conviction . In these peaceful times many only follow the example of their
predecessors , and a large * proportion hardly feel the injuries to which they are subjected . But still it is usual for the more worldly-minded among our members to desert our ranks , and our
recruits are nearly always respectable ; so that , allowing for every reasonable exception , we have alright , on theory and frdm experience , to consider the body of the Nonconformists as eminently religious , and no characteristic of the spirit of Nonconformity can be more certain than thut it is a sober ,
serious , anti-worldly spirit . Now , though all this really imply no more than a preference of the sources of truest enjoyment , and an opposition to vice , folly and corruption , and be by no means inconsistent with a ebeer * -
ful participation in the innocent pleasures of life , and a proper and becoming attention to its concerns , yet there is so large a class in society , chiefly , if not entirely , devoted to worldly pursuits and advantages , with whom fashion and interest are the ruling
principles , and with whom obedience to human power is servile * unthinking and not limited by the demands of religion *? duty , ihat the very seriousness and earnestness in the business of religion , which is an honourable distinction of Nonconformity , must appear to the world &t large as morose *
ness , or the want &f a conciliatory disposition and pr&p&T respect fot constituted authorities . Thus , from the thoughtlessness aftd irreligion of one portion of society , and the servility and bigoted timidity of another * that very quality which ought to be a source of honour and respect to us , has come to be a cause of ridicule and
contemptuous accusations against Us , and we must call up the principles which enabled u& to triumph over tne solid temptations of the world * to tow
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Otis The Nonconformist . No . XXII .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1821, page 662, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2506/page/30/
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