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^ cfe ^ $ jffle # d < Hj -mtlte qmHti ^ efSHI , « t ^( qf , another principle , whieb mk 4 eri $ iorilkey caMefl Jtfisdomi tSfautA , <> r ra * Mother of aU . things . The refonaers of Gnosticism relected this fiction ,
with the exception of the divipity of Christ , and gave to this divinity the aiame of Logos , making him thereby one with the Father . Thus far they were , countenanced by tlie Gospel of John ; and only one step more was 3 * # cessary to complete tlie scheme .
TUew . whole strench of the antichm-Jiaa teachers was levelled against the Holy Ghost or the Spirit of God , which animated the holy Jesus duriag his ministry , and afterwards descended an , his apostles , enabling them to work miracles , and thus to prove his divine
mission and simple humanityv To answer , their , end , the reformers had only to make the Holy Ghost , like the Logos , a real being , and then assert his unity with the Father and the Son . Thq text in the Epistle of John seemed thus far to be their guide ; and
they , had only to interpret the clause , "These three are one /* to mean unity of essence and not - unity of consent or testimony , to make their system complete . . By this interpretation the words of the Apostle were diverted from their original object , without any
apparent violence ; and the supporters © f the new-fangled Trinity had the Strongest possible motive to quote the verse in support of their new system . But the original design of the Apostle was natural and obvious ; and the abettors of the scheme could not dare
to produce the very passage on which it was founded , without the certainty of immediate explosion . What then was tp be done ? The reformers had powerful inducements to repress the text , and they had inducements equally
powerful to cite it , or their doctrine might appear a baseless fabric . What , I again ask , was to be done ? The advocates of the Trinity at first , when the danger was most imminent , were compelled to be silent , to refer only
to the disputed text , and suppose its notoriety , its authenticity and its purport in their favour . Then , as the danger diminished with the lapse of time , they felt themselves , free t ; o . quote it , but quote it in part , and that pirt only which , detached from the
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resV ^ thus carefuHvy guafdaag ^ ber « j $ Bfaak a& ft serpent does f its tead > & # ainsfc l > e ~ ing crushed nnder the broad and ponderous foot ;« jf Unitarianis m * ] N < w , the clauses in the disputed ; text and
its context , fatal to the , Trmifcama faith , are the two foliowiag ? , j the-opespreaentation of the Father , Word and Holy Spirit as three witnesses ,, and the clause in the eighth verse , whielr explains the unity ' asserted ia the seventh to be unity of evnsentor te&
t \ m&toy ,+ For if it be asked , as it is natural to do , What were * btey . wit * nesses * @f , or what did they bear tesli * inony to ? The wbota Epbtle sup p lies the answer , That Jesus is the Christ
or the Son of God . The testimony of the Father in the beginning of tJie Gospel answers , That Jesuo is the heiloved Son of God . The Logos of God , which became flesh , answers ,: v 39 mt Jeaus is the Son of God . The descent
of , thei Holy Spirit on the . apostles answers , That Jesus is the Christ , now siUing at the right hand of God . And if it be furlber asked , Jn what respect are these three witnesses tmeB ^ The testimony which , each giv « s supplies the true answer , that they are vug in
cmsent : and the same answer is ; # iv < m by the clause in . the next vemse ^ wlik h s ^ ys , ( hat they " agree in w *® J * ^ * W e are then to expect that these clauses , one or both of them , should , as much
as possible , be kept out of sight by the ancient advocates of the Trinity whenever they notice this celebrated text .. I propose next to examine briefly their writings without much regard to the order of time .
Porson , in his Letters to Travis , p . 155 , gives the following quotation : 64 Abbot Joachim compared the final clauses of the seventh and eighth verses , whence be inferred , that the same expression ought to be interpreted in
the same manner . Since , therefore , said he , nothing" more than unity of testimony and consent can be meant by tres unum sjunt , in the eighth verse , nothing noore than unity of testimony and consent is meant in the seventh .
This opinion the Lateran Council and Thomas confuted , by cutting out the clause in the eighth verse . Thomas tells us that it vvas not extant in the true copies ; but th ^ t it was s aid to hav e been added by the Arian . heresies , to
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92 Bm - Ito ^ &mliJblak itaR
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1826, page 92, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2545/page/28/
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