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Christian duty bad been constantly borne in mind by the teachers and the taught in the Christian church , we should have heard of the arrogant decisions and loud pretensions of successive councils of ecclesiastics , from a very early time ? That we should have read of the gradual establishment of a most enormous antichristian
power , under the pretence of securing uniformity of opinion , claiming the exclusive and the infallible right to decide in matters of doctrine , and to legislate in matters of discipline , for those whose onlv Master forbade such
presumptuous interference ? Or should we , after the measure of spiritual iniquity had been filled up , and several of the most enlightened nations of Europe had separated themselves from the connexion of the Pope—should we , if this precept of the Saviour had not been most deplorably forgotten , have beheld the Protestant leaders
framing the creeds and articles for the observance of their followers , to which such extravagant deference has been paid in every succeeding period ; which are still suffered to remain in their full force in the two Establishments of
our island ; and subscription to which —I will not compromise truth out of an affected and false regard for chanty —subscription to which is required of candidates for the ministry , in preference to a declaration of belief in the Holy Scriptures ?
To place the subject of this Essay in a more striking light , I will address , in imagination , some young persons hitherto occupied with the necessary elementary processes of education , which cannot be too carefully or exclusively attended to , before the endeavour is made to store the mind
with that various collection of knowledge which human ingenuity and human labour have amassed in the field of theological literature , I will suppose that lam addressing some young persons whose early wishes have been fondly directed to the sacred duties of the Christian ministry , and whose
time has been hitherto faithfully devoted to the necessary preparation . It is no hazardous conjecture that such may be ignorant of the facts winch lie at the basis of my present reasonings , and I must be allowed to enter into detail on first principles . * ° u are fond , I ardently cherish the
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belief , of the perusal of the Holy Bible , especially of those simple narratives and moral and religious precepts which you can most easily understand . Your hearts , imbued with that excellent spirit which the Holy Scriptures breathe , are anticipating the period
when it shall be your sacred and delighted employment to unfold to your fellow-creatures the treasures of wisdom and knowledge which they contain . You feel the powerful impulse which this anticipation gives to the most abstract and intricate studies to
which your minds are directed , from a full reliance on the connexion which your instructors affirm to subsist be * ttveen these introductory pursuits and the sublime end to which your thoughts , your wishes and your hopes are tending . While you peruse the monuments of Roman learning , you recollect the extent of the Roman
influence and authority at the time that your venerated Master assumed the character of man's guide to immortality—you will be convinced of the value of even the minutest information respecting the history of that eventful period , to the knowledge of which , it is
obvious , that few things can be more necessary than an intimate acquaintance with the language , and , by means of the language , with , the institutions and policy and influence of the Roman government ; , but more particularly as you ascend the ordinary steps of
education , to the elements of that highly polished , most copious , and truly noble language in which the Christian evangelists and apostles have transmitted to posterity the faithful record of u the wonderful works of God , " you naturally feel your enthusiasm
enkindled , in the immediate view of that most valuable employment which you expect to make of your acquisitions in the personal and critical perusal of the very sentences in which the aacred penmen have uttered "the
word of life . " You justly imagine that after having bestowed your utmost diligence in the acquisition af theological knowledge , and having attained to a strong and well-grounded conviction of the heavenly origin of that revelation which the Bible
contains , you will be introduced at once to the character of a Christian teacher , in which capacity your highest poiyqrs and your beat affections will find their
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Thd Nonconformist . No . XXIX . 131
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1826, page 131, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2546/page/3/
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