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Liverpool , Sir , April 16 , 1826 . fTpHE unwise proposal of Mr . Noah JL Jones , ( p . 72 , ) to introduce tests and subscriptions to articles of faith
among" Unitarian societies , has met with that reception from Unitarians themselves which I confidently anticipated from their known liberality . Being myself one of that class whom he would exclude from the benefits of
social worship , and whom he charges with inconsistency , injustice and mischievous intrusion in seeking those benefits in an Unitarian place of worship , I felt myself strongly prompted to make an immediate reply ; but deemed it advisable ^ on further consideration , to await the result of his
appeal to the Unitarian public . I have not waited in vain ; for not only does his proposition remain unseconded , but calm reason and glowing eloquence , from the pens of persons equally sincere and zealous with himself in their profession of Christianity , have been called forth in opposition to it , and in vindication of those whom
he attacks . Though your correspondents , Mr . T . C . Holland , ( p . 156 , ) and the writer who subscribes " An Unitarian Christian , " ( p . 158 , ) to whom I more particularly allude , have left me little to urge on the same side ,
yet as it will naturally be expected that the objects of Mr . Jones ' s animadversions should come forward in their own defence , I venture , as one of that number , to solicit the attention of yourself and your readers to the following remarks . In the letter , which has given occasion to this discussion , Mr . J . sets out with declaring that he regards the
Christian revelation as the only source from which the human mind can gather satisfactory information respecting God and duty and futurity . He
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then talks of an immense fftil / # ab- * sis ting" between the Christian and the Unbeliever , and denies the possibility of any religious sympathy between them v from which language , coupled with the foregoing declaration , it would appear that he means to represent the
Unbeliever as being necessarily destitute , or nearly so , of all religious principle . Does Mr . Noah Jones then really think that Natural Religion is a mere empty name ? t > oes he think that this magnificent
creation displays no evidence of an all-wise and all-powerful Creator ? Does he see nothing of contrivance in the human frame ? Nothing of wise order and beneficent providence in the grand movements and laws of nature ? Ho
surely forgets , in the ardour of his zeal against Unbelievers , that some of the wisest and best of Christians have strenuously upheld the truth and importance of Natural Religion , and that Paul himself is related to have
declared , that * ' God hath not left himself without witness , in that he doeth good , and giveth us rain from heaven , and fruitful seasons , filling our hearts with food and gladness / 5 But if the voice of nature thus plainly declares
the existence of God , it cannot be considered as silent on the subject of a future state ; for the two doctrines , I contend , are inseparably connected ,. and the one cannot consistently be denied while the other is admitted ..
An all-powerful and intelligent Being-, such as the works of nature irresistibly lead us to believe in , cannot be otherwise than a benevolent Being ; for what conceivable motive can he have for wantonly inflicting- misery ? He must , moreover , have had a design
worthy of his wisdom and his benevolence , in bringing' us into existence ; and such design , I humbly but confidently submit , is not apparent , unless we consider the present world as a state of education , intended to fit us , by moral and intellectual culture , for higher scenes of action and enjoyment
in futurity . This brief and obvious train of reasoning , agreeing as it does with the leading circumstances of man ' s condition on earth , appears , to my mind , abundantly cogent and satisfactory . It may not appear so to Mr . Jones , nor do I require his assent to it in preference to what he thinks a better ground of his religious prin-
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I will conclude with an observation , of the ablest female writer of the present or the preceding century , not inapplicable to the subject before us , and which occurs in the Corinne of Madame de Stael : " Sans doute , le monde , tel qu'il est , eat un mystere que nous ne pouvons ni nier ni comprendre ; il seroit done fou , celui qui se refuseroit h croire tout ce qu' il ne peut expliquer . " Cl . er . icus Cantabrigiensis .
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Unbelievers in . Unitarian Churches . 193
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1826, page 193, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2547/page/5/
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