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Ood was jUaii ^ dr nufa God—he w&s both . I liev&f arraigned his creed , but the- use— -or abuse—made bf it . Mr . Canning one day quoted Christianity to sanction Negro Slavery , and
Mr . Wilberforde had little to say in reply , AircTviras Christ crucified , that black mea might be scourged ? If so , he had better beea born a Mulatto , to give'both colours an equal chance of freedom , or at least salvation . "
The belief of a God-man or Mangod is here put upon a condition which'renders it nugatory . "Your if is a great peacemaker" to conscience . Of the debate between Mr . Canning and Mr . Wilberforce \ v& have no
recollection ; and we doubt the correctness of the statement that the former gentleman " quoted Christianity to sanction Negro Slavery . " But suppose that he did , and that others admit his authority , it would not follow
that any Christians believe that Christ was crucified that black men might be scourged ! Here is , in fact , a complete non sequitur . The confusion of ideas is palpable . His Lordship ' s rhodomontade seems to have been
designed to bring in the poor joke in the last sentence , which means nothing , and is only a proof of the writer ' s propensity to slide back to old habits . We accept , however , from Lord Byron , a testimony , at least disinterested , to the " pure creed , " " Divine" character and exalted merits of
our Lord . He " never , " he declares , " arraigned his creed , but the use or abuse made of it . ' This disavowal of hostility to the Christian religion is so far good as it stops the mouths of smaller wits , who , under sanction of Lord Byron ' s name , have thrown out jests and sarcasms against Christianity ,
and supposed them to be arguments . May it not be further , a promise of " good things to come" ? May we not hope , that as this keen-eyed man begins to distinguish between the use and the abuse of Christianity , he may in the end be convinced of the trtith
and excellence of the gospel , and receive the consolation which his anxious mind is looking for , in the belief and profession of the pure doctrine of Jesus , and become , in a higher sense than he has yet been , the admiration &nd ornament of his species ?
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Bristol , Sin , February 4 ; 1824 . ALLOW ine , through the Btedium of your valuable Misceilk&y , tp lay before the Unitarian public a few observations on a ^ subject which I could wish had found , what it justly merits , an equally able , as it has in me a zealous advocate .
It is that of Sunday-Schools . As I am always solicitous to submit my sentiments with diffidence , 1 shall beg to offer them in the phraseology of inquiry : first adverting to the cause which actuated their forthcoming .
It is a fact , a lamentable fact , and to me no less a iriatter of regret than it is of sdrprise , that among u nitarian Christians there are to be found those , and I fear many , who , if not averse , are manifestly indifferent to the teaching of the poor , ^ in other words , to Sunday-Schools .
We are apt , and I allow with a degree of propriety , to expatiate on the palpable inconsistency which pervades the opinions and practice of modern orthodoxy . We are apt to indulge the smile of sarcasm , and the tear of
pity , at the absurdity of the means , and the enthusiasm of the manner , employed to propagate those opinions —opinions which we cannot but deem the mere offspring of deep-rooted prejudice , of a wild imagination , or of a tortured and debilitated judgment .
But , Sir , is there not too much room for a retort , though not to be identified in species , yet in character no less reprehensible ; when the Unitarian is heard to condemn , as prejudice or dissimulation , the credenda of
all who embrace it , not from convietiou , and yet at the same time himself withhold the means , and those the only means , by which that is to be accomplished—the means of instruction ? Here , however , I would remark , that it is not a Unitarian education which I mean ; that would be defeating the very end in view . It has ever been my most scrupulous regard to avoid the least inculcation of any system of Religion , For is it not as treasonable
to expect a conscientious , unprejudiced Unitarian , after an education in that doctrine , as it is to look for it in the man whose igfrofatice renders him incapable to judge for himsfelf ? Hence
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vol . xix . 2 d
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Appeal to Utiii&nafts , on Sund < iy * Scfio&ls < r 201
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1824, page 201, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2523/page/9/
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