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ground which you dread to step ' upon . But out of defereiice to your feelings ; J " would rather leave the question to be decided by your own experience . If , as I believe , I am right , a time will come , either in the present or a future
state , when the truth of the restitution of all things , as spoken of by all the holy prophets , will be made manifest to you . r I doubt very much , on various accounts , ( my own failings and infirmities among the rest , ) whether I shall ever be made instrumental in the
correction of what , with my views , I must necessarily regard as your errors . On the other hand , I promise you that I will not treat lightly the passages of Scripture which you point out ; and that I hold myself liable to reproof for any levity or laxity which you or other good men may observe
in my conduct or conversation . As to the young inen to whom you allude , whatever else they may have learnt from me , I trust that of making light of the consequences of sin , is not among the number . I must beg of you to look about you , and to ascertain whether such things as levity and dissolute conduct are not to be found
in . the families of persons who hold and inculcate the doctrines which you believe to be true . Let me tell you , that the circumstance of being the father of a family , is one great reason why I cannot be so much at ease as you appear to be ,
as to what may become of the rest of mankind so long as you are assured of your own safety . The command to love our neighbour as ourselves , is not opposed to , but implies : a primary regard to our own happiness . I have
no fears for the ultimate happiness of my children ( and . this , is no small comfort to me ); but this persuasion does not . diminish my anxiety foi ; their immediate deliverance from the tyranny of vicious habits , <
I really think that , upon the whole , it will be better to allow this correspondence to , terminate while we are in a disposition to regard each other with feelings of complacency , i have witnessed many controversies in my
time , and ; scarcely remember an instance in which the contending parties were led to alter their opinions . At a certain age this & nearly a hopeless expectation , I . .
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P . S . I cannot refrain from making one observation upon a passage m your last communication . You seem to think that the bjessed spirits will have ao wish for the deiiTOCawie of those who are tormented . Now ; I . must beg you to recollect the saying
of our Lord , that " there is more jtfy in heaven over one repentant sinner , than over ninety-nine just persons /? J know that an attempt has been made to make our Lord say , that there is more pleasure over one sinner that
repents than over ninety-nine persons that are self-righteous ; but this will not do . If our Lord had any such meaning * , he surely could have ex ~ pressed it as plainly as men of modern times . The context distinctly shews that he meant what he said , according
to its literal sense . He has put this , in my humble opinion , beyond doubt , by the parables of . the lost sheep , o £ the lost piece of silver , and of the prodigal son . In all these cas . es a temporary feeling of mind , perfectly
natural , is alluded to ; namely , an extraordinary feeling of pleasure attendant upon the recovery of f that which was lost . If another sheep had strayed from the fold , or another piece of silver had been ; lost , or the eldest soil
had left his father ' s house , all pleasure from the possession of the remaining sheep , ( the recovered one included , ) and so far of the rest , would have been superseded by anxiety to recover the lost ; and the delight consequent upon the recovery would have
been the same in the subsequent as in the first case . The recovered good would have excited ninety-nine times the joy ( for the t | me ) derivable frorn the larger possession ; and thus we are taught that the happiness of the blessed is capable of increase , by every addition that shall be made to the number from the ranks , of sinners .
A most reasonable ^ nd consolatory doctrine ! , Kven Dives , bad as he -w&s » had not lost all his philanthropy . Ho was most anxious for the welfare of his brethren , and so far from having ' a wish to see them tormented , he
prayed that a miracle might Be wrought to warn them of their danger . lie wished that they might live so as to ga to heaven . No wonder that Abraham recognized his relationship to a being , who , while writhing in acute pain , could bestow a thought upon
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A Friendly Correspondenve between an Unitarian and a ^ alviwse . 105
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vol .. xix . r
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1824, page 105, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2521/page/41/
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