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And to examine the justice of another imputed imperfection of revelation , namely , the indefinite period of the day of judgment , we shall further quote the observations of the same ingenious commentator , from pp . 89 , , 90 . Many " probable ( reasons" may i ) c mentioned , why the precise time of this event was left so undetermined , or rather entirely unknown . "
" For as the gospel has fixed the time of judgment to the coming of Christ , and » uves men no promise or expectation of i . retribution before that period , to have
determined this coming to any particular jcra , would have been attended with two manifest inconveniences . First , the more remote any ages of men were from the period foretold , they would consider themselves as so much the less interested in
its approach ; and , therefore , the expectation of it would have a proportionably smaller influence upon their apprehensions and practice . Secondly , the nearer the world drew to its conclusion , men would be more strongly affected , and at last thrown into the utmost confusion .
The springs of human action would by degrees lose their force , the business of the world come to a stand , while all were intent upon the approaching revolution . These inconveniences are sufficiently provided against by the wisdom of heaven . For as we are cautioned to beware of
false prophets , who should pretend to tell us that Christ is in this or that place , and immediately to appear ; so we are warned against another abuse , proceeding from a contrary cause , namely , a presumption of its delay , by which too many would be led to set at defiance an event
which they thought afar off , and long in wining . Matt . xxiv . 48 . And further , Jhe suddenness with which it will take place is intended to prevent that disorder hi human affairs which the apprehension ( its near but slow approach would at any time occasion . —The uncertainty of this event bears a near resemblance to
the natural uncertainty of human life , and seems calculated to produce the same effect . Me who tells me that I am niorfal , tells me that death is near , that life ™ short and the days few , that L may die so or suddenly , that I should be continuall y expecting the end of life , and
" <> t be surprised if it should take place to morrow . And he is equally a true jjrophet , whether I die the next day or llv ^ beyond fourscore . Is not this the to"Kuage of Scripture , with respect to lh coming of Christ ?"
. * Uese remarks may , perhaps , be bought out of piaci ^ foreign to the
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subject : they will , however , shew , that the Materialist may have a most consistent belief in revelation , and that " Materialism and Atheism" do not " go hand in hand . " We considered it highly important to prove , that
Christianity is not endangered in these disputes on the vital principle ; and we shall , afterwards , shew from the orthodox wranglers themselves , how little they are , in fact , interested in establishing the separate existence of the soul .
The really interesting question , therefore , arises , How was this spurious doctrine foisted into the fundamentals of the Christian faith , and at what period was the simplicity of Christianity destroyed by its introduce tion ? It was the gift of Paganism to Revelation in that early defection of the Eastern and Western churches
from the simple tenets taught by our Saviour and his primitive disciples ; and the doctrine of Immateriality was the axis on which the doctrines of Purgatory , Transubstantiation and the " Hypostatic Union" revolved , and without which these ecclesiastical
mints could not have been worked to any pecuniary advantage . On this was founded the institution of masses and saintly shrines ; and was , indeed , the soul of that funding system of priestcraft , which ultimately saddled such a grinding weight of
unproductive labour on the industry of the people . In this subtle fluid was the credulity of the people steeped , and their whole faith was pinned on that crafty motto of monastic art— "Piu ci inetti , piu merifi "—the more you tnve , the more ' s the merit ! Dr .
Priestley ' s able pedigree of this natural child of Heathenism is well known , and here we shall leave it ; for no one , tolerably read in history , is ignorant how much more this doctrine owes its birth and existence to Plato and Eneas than to Christ or his apostles .
This controversy , both in its physiological and metaphysical relations , has been often agitated in Europe . Our limits will not , however , allow us to sketch any particular outline of
the systems which have successively supplanted each other . This will be found to have been performed in a very full and able manner by Dr . Barclay , in the 3 rd and 4 th chapters of his volume ( the kust article in our
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Reviews—Recent Controversy on Materialist . 173
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1822, page 173, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2510/page/45/
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