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superstition by a Protestant clergyman . Where is the error and folly in which a sentimentalist may not find some imaginary use ?] " When I asked the priest upon what ground they performed the ceremony , he
said , ' It was a tradition which they had received from their fathers , and it was his duty to perform it without seeking for a reason . '" [ This priest rightly understood his calling . The ministers of a superstitious church
are safe only when they go on in silence . ] " The composition which they burn is put up into small paper parcels and provided by the priests , who charge a few paras for each portion . A sort of money-till stands beside the basket . *
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Bloxham , Sir , June 14 , 1826 . YOU recollect my remarks on Tit . ii . 13 , which are in Mon . Repos . XX . 137—139 . Your sensible and acute American Reviewer
says , ( XXL 198 , ) " I cannot think Mr . Jevans has proved his point . There are various ways in which the glory of God may be made to appear without an exhibition of his person /' Granted . For the heavens declare
the glory of God , &c , Ps . xix . So does every miracle . € < Does Mr . Jevans suppose that the real person of the Deity was displayed in the numerous instances cited by him from the Old Testament ? Without resorting to the low physical explanations given
of such passages by Eichhorn and other German rationalists , how can an enlightened reader of the Scriptures understand the exhibitions in question as any thing more than comparatively very faint miraculous manifestations of the power of the Deity ?"
To which I would reply , that I know so little of the works of Eichhorn and the other German authors referred to here , that I wish not to enter on this part of the subject ; but though it may be difficult to give a
perfectly satisfactory solution of one or two of these divine appearances , the great majority of them are sufficientl y clear , and the intricate ones must be . illustrated by those that are wore obvious . But to prove that it was Jehovah himself that spoke and acted from the
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cloud of glory and not another person , I would observe , 1 . That God , who filleth heaven and earth with his presence , and therefore must be present at all times in
every place , could easily form such an appearance and speak and act from it , no one will deny . 2 . And that this might be very edifying and comforting to human creatures , especially in the more early and ignorant ages of the world , will not , perhaps , be disputed .
3 . And that there was nothing dishonourable in it to the Divine Being , nor inconsistent with his being invisible , will , I hope , be admitted , when it is observed that there is a fallacy in our reasoning when we say that if God spoke and acted from the cloud of glory , that he is no more invisible than man is , for that we do not see
the soul of man but only his body . But , Sir , when we see the body of a man , we , at least , see a very essential part of the man ; but when the cloud of glory was seen , the person
who saw it , saw no essential part of God ; he saw nothing but the cloud . Now supposing that when a person was approaching you , you could throw a cloud over your person , the dimensions of which were not defined , or if they were defined , would you admit that you were seen ? Certainly you would not . No more than you would
admit that you were seen when you were shut up close in a dark room alone . Though Moses had seen the bright cloud so often and heard the voice of God proceeding from it , yet he still says to God , I beseech thee , shew me thy glory . Exod . xxxiii . 18 . So that God , strictly spea ] king , was still invisible to him . Ye heard the
voice of the words , but saw no similitude . Deut . iv . 12 . 4 . The person that spake from the cloud called himself Jehovah and the I Am , without giving the least hint
that he was delegated to act the part of the Supreme Being and not the Supreme Being himself . Exod . iii . The miracles that Moses wrought were performed in the name of
Jehovah ; yes , and Jehovah was prayed to for assistance to perform them . Altars were built and sacrifices were offered up to him , covenants made , with frequent references that the per-
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Personal Manifestation of the Deity . 651
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1826, page 651, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2554/page/15/
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