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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
q u&WJ&Kfc 1 ( ttfetei | lie r appears < tesirous to m ^ fds ^ teem to tne to adroit of no disp # t £ . He hafc challenged me to pro ^ e , that " the spirit of Infidelity aud the spirit of Christianity are utterly incompatible ; " he calls upon me to produce proofs that Christ-arcd
his apostles drew a line of distinction between believers and unbelievers ; he asks me to point out " the immense gulf which subsists between the believer and the unbeliever ;"—demands which the serious disciples of Christ must bt&sh that any one bearing his name should make . If the
distinction here be not sufficiently obvious , without an elaborate display of ability and information , ray pen is at rest ; I contend no further . If the difference between faith in Christ and a rejection of his gospel be so slight as
this writer would have us to believe , my voice is silent ; for I spend ray strength for a thing of nought . It is difficult to imagine what this Writer is aimiug at ; he sets at defiance and desp ises any opinion which our Trinitarian brethren may entertain of us j and he seems to think that there is
no great choice between Christianity and Deism . Pray what does he wish to prevail ? He has , in common with other ^; expressed an opinion as to tie salvation of Unbelievers . The
holding' otit of any thing which can < # Lttee a greater feeling of security in sfuHi characters is not countenanced by the N ^ w Testament . The sal vation which we hope for is that revealed ih'tb& gttepel ; what salvation may be
reserved for those who reject that gospel , no believer or disbeliever knows any thing" about . Any weight from the New Testament is against their safety , and it is a vain affectation of candour to exceed Christ and
the apostles . Such opinions as these will probably , to some readers _ , furnish proofs of my " ignorance" of mental * ' philosophy ; " but ,, is it not perfectly reasonable and philosophical
to conclude , that when the Supreme Wisdom gave a revelation of his will to men , and proposed it to their acceptance , he also furnished it with evidence sufficient to convince the upright and earnest inquirer , and to leave the gainsayer without excuse ?*
* Dr . Priestley it ? reported to have said , that he believed he should meet in
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Befgte I ^ r ^ lti& ^ f ^ teav <* ^ protest agajflstlbfe cofrstfuQtion & \ A £ U has very unwarrantably been put upotf my language , as If I wished the setou ration contended for to extend to social intercourse and the exchange of friendly offices in life . Is there m my letter the least ground for the
following observations : Should a man make ' confession of Christ , ' Mr . J . is willing to be his associate , and to * allow him all ' the privileges * a * society of Christians . ' If he be a Gardiner , a Bonner , or a Horsley , will give him the * right hand of ' fellowship : * but should he be a Hobbes
Antony Collins , the friend of Locke , 1 Voltaire , the intrepid advocate of Calas , a Hume , or a Dr . FrarvTdin , he must be excluded from Unitarian society , and told , ' iu ' a manner that shall
be attended to / todepart in peace * " ? Here the writer studiously endeavours to convey the impression , that I would not give the * right hand of fellowship * to such men as members of society . To his endeavours I oppose my onVii words : ( the members of a Christian
Church are addressing the Unbeliever : ) "To any one who believeth in our Lord Jesus Christ we will give the right hand of fellowship : as a man , we refuse it not to you . We respect
you as a member of society . " This I could say to several such persons as there mentioned ; could this * liberal and enlightened Christian say to Hobbes , Voltaire and David Hume ,
' * We will give you the right hand of fellowship" as members of our Christian society ; we respect you as a part of our church" ? It is something remarkable , that whilst much has been said about tests , no notice whatever has been taken of
the previous question , which I have expressly said is necessary to be disposed of : cf Let it be decided whether our societies are designed to be Christian expressly and exclusively . " The inquiry which your correspondent hopes my communication will induce the present generation of
Disa bettor world an Unbeliever , who , with all his great and amiable qualities , manifested so great iodifference respecting revelation , that he could never 6 ud time to read a work by whicb hi 8 anxious friend hoped to convince nitn . What reason could he have for * believing thte ?
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288 On Unbelievers joining Ifnitarian Congregations
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1826, page 288, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2548/page/36/
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