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in Reply to the Charges of D )\ J . Pye Smith . Lett . III . 667
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be greatly n ^ istgtken , rhpwever , we-re they to suppose , in consequence of Dr . Smith ' s misrepresentations , that the Pastors confined their public discourses to practical subjects . There
are services in two churches in Geneva , La Madelaine and St . Gervaise , every Sunday , which may be regarded as purely scriptural and doctrinal . These services comprise the
instruction and examination of the catechumens in the doctrines and evidences of Christianity . The fivst past consists of ' . wh&t may be styled a colloquial sermon , explainingcertain parts of the Christian doctrine in a familiar
manner ; the second consists of a , v < erbal examination of , the catecjbiimens . More interesting lessons on Christianity , I thinks can scarcely be given , and they are generally attendee ! by adults as . well as l > v the catechumens .
There is al ^ o a sermon every Thursday at 9 o ' clock , which is confined to 311 explanation of the Scriptures . Besides this , there is a service every Saturdefy , afternoon which is entirely devotional , and intended to prepare the mind for the duties , of the
following Sunday mprning . , The churches are all , v : ery fully attended ' : on the Sunday , * and in those where the more popular ministers preach , it is even
difficult for a stranger to procure ; a seat , unless he go half an hour before the service begins . Attention arid seriou ^ ixess strongly mark the countenances of the auditors . And as I do
not ( like Dr . Smith ) presume to see into their hearts , I could discover none of that " deadly indifference" which he lays to , their charge : sometimes they were evidently deeply affected ; and the younger members of the
audience were in te ^ rs . The style of preaching m ^ y be open to . cr iticism , and I have bes . towed five pages upon the subject in the 2 nd volume of . my Travels ; but it surely ought not to be ° bjectjed to the preachers as a crime , that they commit their sen * ions to
memory . Will Dr . Smith say that he preaches by inspiration and not by premeditation ?—I will beg leave . here to . repeat wjhat I have s < jLici respecting the character of the Geneyese Clergy
>¦ * he hours of public wovsfrip are ten , twe ve and , two : t ! ie latter service closes « l l Mvcy when { he city gates ate opened » ° r the remainder of the day .
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in the volume above referred to > p * 143 : —* I believe its truth cannot be controverted : ' * The Genevese Pastors are highly respectable : their salaries are top small to maintain a family f but most of those who have but little
private property , increase their in * comes by taking pupils ; others iparry the daughters of opulent citizens . The moral character and . attainments of the candidates for ordination are scrupulously examined before their
admission to the ministry ; and as they generally distinguish themselves in private life by the excellence of their example and their active zeal in promoting the cause of virtue and humanity , they justly possess the esteem arid confidence of their
fellow-citizens . . It may be proper to mention , that the Sunday services for the catechumens comprise a recapitulary explanation , of those sections of the catechism m which-they have been instructed in classes four days in the preceding
week . Young persons do not commence this course of religious instruction until about the age of fifteen ; t ^ e ., course lasts twelve months , but where catechumens appear deficient in their examinations , they pass through another course in the following year . The catechumens all write down in
their own language the instruction which they receive verbally in their classes . The-writing is carefully examined and corrected by the pastor ; The youth of both sexes , rich and poor , are expected to , attend this course of instruction : there ai * e evening classes for the apprentices .
I will not occupy the pages of your Repository with , what I have elsewhere described ; but if it were not presumptuous in a layman to " touch
the things pertaining to the temple , " I would strpngly press on the attention of Unitarian ministers and congregations the propriety of imitating their Genevese brethren in their mode of
religious instruction . The want of a system of instruction of this kind is the reason , I believe , why many persons fall away from the society when they enter into the workL Solitary
reading or private instruction possess not the impressive and sympathetic charm which is excited , by the { social exercise of our best" feelings and-faculties ; but , ne sutor , I am wandering
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1824, page 667, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2530/page/27/
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