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Bristol * S , tt , Feb . 13 , 1822 . THE bill of total exclusion which was long ago passed against the introduction of religion into general conversation , and the decree in which t at ; il observe it adhered to , and even
defended as judicious , by serious persons has often both surprised and crrieved me . I have thought of expressing my sentiments on the subject through the medium of the Repository , but having met with a passage in the excellent sernion of Zollikofer
on " The difference between . Enthusiasm and Real Piety , " perfectly suitable to my purpose , and far preferable to any thing that I could have composed , I request the favour of its insertion .
" I proceed to a consideration with respect to which we are apt to confound enthusiasm and godliness together . I meau such conversations and speeches as turn upon God his decrees , his providence , the connexion of our tempers , our future destiny , and , in short , religion < md Christianity . Indeed the enthusiast and
the rational votary of God and religion possess this in common , that both are prone to converse on those topics which they deem most important , on which they most frequently medicate from inclination and choice , by which they are most forcibly affected and penetrated . Hut were this to he a characteristic of
enthusiasm , how many should we be able to acquit of that fault ? Perhaps none , except those to whom all is indifferent , who are insensible to all ; whose souls : ire sunk in a sort of lethargy ! For who would not fain entertain himself , and
especially his friends and acquaintance , with discourse on subjects which he best understands , on which he is chiefly employed , in which he \ s chiefly interested , the idea of which procures him most p leasure and satisfaction , or on which he is most in want of the sagacity and advice of others ?
" And who does not thus act frequently witn a warm and susceptible heart , wirh a livel y interest in what he sees and hears , without the least apprehension of being taxed with enthusiasm ? This is the way with the merchant , the artist , the man of letters , the master , the mistress of a family , the citizen , when they converse together on what relates to thrir najj its of lifo , their station , their affairs ; an « it is this alone that gives their conv <»* ation interest and animation ! And u tell me , 1 pray , my pious friends ,
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why it should then only be enthusiasm , when the votaries of Ood 9 when Chris * tians converse together with the same zeal , the same interest , tbe same pleasure , on God , on religion , on the Founder of their faith , on his doctrines and precepts ; when they talk upon subjects
which are equally important , equally necessary and profitable to us all , however different our station and calling may be , which , consequently , should most occupy our minds , most forcibly affect us ; on subjects of which ail that surrounds us , all that befals us , is adapted to remind
us , and which then onlg can be truly beneficial and consoling to us , when they are so strictly combined with the whole mass of our ideas and sensations , and so knit into one web , that they spontaneously present themselves to our mind on all occasions , and have an influence on all that we conceive and do ?
" How ! Shall we enjoy in common the bounties of our heavenly Father , and at the same time be ashamed to mention him , or mutually to encourage each other to love him , to obey him , to put our trust in him ? How ! Shall we be
Christians , and studiously avoid as it were to name the name of our Lord and Saviour , to recount the advantages for which we are beholden to him , and which we have still to expect from him , and to urge one another to the resolute and faithful
imitation of his example ? How ! Shall we be called to one common everlasting happiness after this life , and now be busily employed in capacitating and qualifying ourselves for the enjoyment of ir , and
shall we reckon it as it were a disgrace to exult in common in these glorious prospects and expectations , to soothe and cheer each other witli them , and , by kind suggestions and warnings , to remove the manv obstacles and difficulties which lie
in the way to that happiness ? " Ah , my friends ! I fear the total avoidance or the careful interruptions oi such conversation in companies of welleducated and polished persons , proceeds
much rather from a lamentable indifference and insensibility to all that concerns God and religion , or from a false and culpable shame of being taken for a devout and godly man , than from the abuse and mistakes to which such conversations
may be liable . " Ought , then , the abuse of a thing to prevent the proper use of it ? Should I , to avoid the appearance of an affected sanctity and enthusiasm , assume in my discourses and actions the character of the Infidel or the Atheist ? Should I , because it is wrong to bring forward such conversation by all kinds of forced ap-.
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On Religious Canversection . W 9
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1822, page 199, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2511/page/7/
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