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lig htened Christian opinion was the celebrated Erasmus , who never separated himself from the Romish Church ;
and that in these respects , though not certainly for a manly avowal of his opinions , he wa 3 greatly superior to his contemporary and correspondeat Luther . But ,
So early as the time of Bishop Burnet , the question of subscription to human articles was very fully and rationally discussed ; and this eminent person availed himself of his acquaintance with the clergy of Geneva , the cradle of the Reformation , to
recommend a plan for the abolition of such subscription , * which , to the honour of that body , was soon after carried into effect . And God hath rewarded this act of duty , by the present enlightened and rational state of Christianity at Geneva .
So long ago as the year 1719 , the question of subscription was brought into discussion among the ministers of the Three Denominations of Dissenters in the city of London . Their debates related principally , indeed , to subscription to the Article which
expresses the Trinity , but it is natural to suppose that many of the liberal men who voted on the side of free inquiry , must have been directed to the question of subscription itself , f
These proceedings were the immediate result of the differences among the Presbyterians at Exeter , arising from the adoption of Arian sentiments by the very learned and justly celebrated Mr . James Peirce , of that city , the author of a Vindication of the
Dissenters , a Paraphrase upon the Epistle to the Hebrews , &c . The whole force of the Dissenting Ministers in and about London was collected , and the discussion occurred in the place of worship known by the name of the Suiters' Hall , of great interest and frequent mention in the history
* See his History of his Own Times . This eminent prelate had in early life , during the short period of the estublishlueut of Protestant EpUcopacy in Scotland , been Professor of Theology in the University of Glasgow . An interesting account of his plan of teaching is given by Professor Jaidine , in his " Outline " of Lectures . t That this was the case , see Peirce ' s Animadversions on the True Relation of Proceedings , &c .
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of English Dissent- The numbers of the subscribers and non-subscribers were nearly equal * but iu the 4 b ?« Iy expression of Archdeacon Rlaekburne * " the Bible carried it by four . " " This was the first Synod since the days of the apostles that de ~ cided in favour of liberty . "
Several applications , on the part of the Universities , for relief in the matter of subscription , have been made tQ the supreme authority in the English nation . Several applications have been made to the University of Cambridge . The . first grace for this purpose was
proposed by the late Mr . Tyrwhitt , of Jesus' College , A . D . 177 * ^ the last , by Mr . Edwards , in 1787 : both were rejected by the Caput . * In the years 1772 and 1773 , the English Protestant Dissenters presented petitions to the House of Commons to be
relieved from subscribing to any Articles of the Church , f At that time every Dissenting Minister was obliged to profess his belief of thirty-six Articles and a half . They have since been relieved from that oppression , and now profess their belief in the Scriptures only .
The year 1772 is also remarkable for an application to Parliament on the part of a very large proportion of the most learned and cultivated clergy of the Church of England for relief in the matter of subscription . J This application failed , and this failure was the immediate occasion of
the determination of Theophilus Linclsey to leave the Church . He was followed by Jebb , Disney , Frend , Dyer , Hammond , Wakefield and others . § ? Jebb ' s Works , Vol . I . p . 207 , and Fiend ' s Thoughts on Subscription , both referred to by Mr . Dyer , in his valuable " Inquiry iuto Subscription . "
+ See Arcana , or the Principles of the JDissenting Petitioners , by Mr . Robiuson . It was on this occasion that the celebrated speech of Sir George Saville was delivered iu the House of Commons . See Belsham ' s Memoirs of Lindsey .
§ Robertson had previously left his living in the Irish Church , aud was resident at Wolverhampton . See the Apology of Theophilus Lindsey , ( p . 196 , 12 mo ., )
who owns that " the example of that excellent person had been a secret reproach to him ever since he heard of it . ' * The upright and noble spirit of these confessors has been recently finely exhibited by the Rev . S . C . Fripp .
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The Nonconformist . ' No . XXIX . 133
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1826, page 133, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2546/page/5/
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