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of which it was composed and in the necessity of guarding carefully , by every variety of position and expression , the uitity of the church against the confusion which these heresies have introduced . Something perhaps is to be attributed to
the hasty views and rash conclusions of ( lie objectors themselves , who are not careful to inquire sufficiently into the real meaning and intention of the terms , and are apt , as our author truly says , to hnagine that , instead of being an exposition of the doctrine , it is offered as an
explanation of it . But , whatever may be the source of these objections , they are eminently entitled to our consideration , for they are connected with some of the best principles of our nature , and particularly with Christian charity ! And
as we are heartily anxious , with Mr . Bennell , * for the interchange of mutual concession , and for the unity and peace of the church / we are glad to present these observations to our readers , because they are , we think , admirably calculated to promote them /*
Now take the following quotation from the amiable Rennell : " The first objection generally urged agaiust this Creed is , that in attempting to explain what admits not of explauation , and to define what is incapable of definition , it is at once confused , obscure and unintelligible . That the doctrine of
the Trinity is beyond the grasp of the human mind to comprehend , is fully and universally allowed ; it is ever at the same time to be remembered , that because it is above , it is not therefore contrary to , reason . We are not to refuse assent to the truth of a proposition if we ascertain that its terms include not an
actual contradiction , because we are unable to comprehend its mode and extent . Every proposition respecting the attributes of the Deity , that is , every application of a finite mind to an Infinite Being , is subject to this rule . We assert the
eternity of God , although of eternity we have but a faint and unsatisfactory idea . We doubt not of the ubiquity of the Divine Presence , though of infinite space our notions are equally limited . Why then should we feel any hesitation in admitting , as an article of our belief , that though the Almighty appears in three d
ifferent and distinct persons or char ticf ern \\\ his dispensations towards man , these three are but the self-same existent Hoiug , whose Godhead is essentially and and necessarily One ; or in other words , what reason can be adduced why we ^ ioul < l not believe the existence of One (; ' > d \ n Trinity , aud Trinity in Unity 7
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There is nothing in the nature of the proposition that confounds the powers d \ our belief , though it defies the force of
our comprehension . It is a proposition that is clearly to be deduced not from a few insulated passages but from the whole tenor of Scripture and the whole scheme of Christianity : it therefore demands our
assent . Confusion only follows when we are anxious to explain the mode of its existence—when the temerity of man attempts to fathom the mysteries of the Godhead . He maketh darkness Ms secret
place ; his pavilion roundabout him were dark waters and thick clouds to cover hi ? n Mr " . Rennell endeavours to render the doctrine of the Athanasian Creed more palatable , by stating the Almighty to have appeared in three
persons or characters , which are by no means synonymous terms . This latter appellation reduces his Trinity to the Sabellian heresy , which has been pronounced to be Unitarianism in a fog 1 However , the Reverend Divine has afterwards more wisely retreated
into the old covert of mystery * Robinson somewhere says , that mystery is a fine article for manufacture , can be made into any thing " , and is absolutely inexhaustible ! Here , indeed , and here only , modern orthodoxy ,
defended by the first talents , or embellished by the most brilliant attainments , caa repose in safety . Entrenched within this fortress , it defies all the researches of the religious world . But now let us listen to the
charitable Mr . Rennell on the damnatory clauses of the Athanasian Creed : " The second and most serious objection to this Creed , in the eyes of many good and charitable men , is the doctrine contained in what are usually termed the damnatory clauses . Shall a fallible man ( say they ) frame his system of belief on a . most difficult and in some manner
incomprehensible subject , and condemn to eternal destruction all those who differ from him in so tender and questionable a point ? And shall the mild and tolerant Church 1 /)/ f in gland sanction such an unwarrantable temerity ? Let us consider what the : assertion really is to which we so strongly object , and then let us con - sider whether that assertion is not
warranted by the whole tenor of the Christian dispensation . When then we say in the strongest clause of the whole , that i this is the Catholic faith , which except every one do keep whole and undefiledj
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The Athanasian Creed . t 07
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1825, page 607, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2541/page/31/
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