On this page
-
Text (1)
-
Untitled Article
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
IN Wu # valuable journ ( al for the I month of June last , p . 333 , ) find the following extract from the American Synopsis of the Monthly R epository for May , 1825 ; upon
which I beg permission to offer a few re niarks , and also to propose a question of some importance to Unitarians , as well as to members of the Peace Societies . i ( ThrushLetterWhen
Captain ' s . other denominations value themselves on the useful institutions which they have established and promoted in the present age , let it not be forgotten that Peace Societies derived their original support in America and England almost exclusively from the sect of Unitarians /'
As far as relates to the American Unitarians , the author of the Synopsis is not , I believe , incorrect ; at least most Unitarians distinguished for learning or talents , whether ministers or laymen , have been zealous and
active in promoting these societies . But the English Unitarians , with a few exceptions , as far as my knowledge goes , cannot value themselves on being either the promoters or friends of these " useful institutions / ' So
far from this being the case , some even of their ministers with whom I have lately conversed , have never seen any of the valuable tracts of the London Peace Society , or even heard of
its existence . Had the ingenious author of the Synopsis said this of the female Unitarians in England , he would have been more correct ; Mrs . j ' appe and Mrs . M . Hughes , names justly dear to all Unitarians , were
steady friends and warm supporters of the Peace Societies . I am desirous , Sir , through the medium of your miscellany , to submit the following question to the consideration of ministers and learned men
< imon £ the Unitarians . The prophecy ° f Zeehariah which says ( speaking of the latter days ) , that " Jehovah shall ta One and his name One , " is frequently , I may say generally ,
prouucea by Unitarians as affording a proof , or at least a strong presumpll 0 n , that their views concerning the unit y of the Deity are correct ; and , therefo re , that this prophecy ought ( o be considered in the light of a di-
Untitled Article
vine command or admonition . Is the inference a justifiable one , or . ia it not ? If the inference is a valid one , the Unitarian , to he consistent , must admit that the prophecies of Isaiah
and Hosea which tell us ( alluding to the same period ) that men " will beat their swords into ploughshares /* and that they will cease to learn war , are to be likewise considered aa divine
commands or admonitions , pointing out very plainly that war will not be permitted , or that it will be unlawful , under the reign of the Messiah . Whether these interesting prophecies are
to be regarded as merely collateral proofs of the truth of the Christian revelation , or as divine commands or admonitions , is a question of equal moment to the Unitarian and to the
member of a Peace Society . If the first prophecy establishes the doctrine of the unity of God , the latter , by the same kind of evidence , establishes the unlawfulness of war , even of all war , defensive as well as
offensive . We may safely infer from the latter prophecy , as well as from others pointing from the same period of time , that peace , plenty , and the knowledge of the Lord , will ultimately go hand in hand . From hence it appears a
fair inference , justified by woeful experience , that war , poverty and ignorance are destined by the wise Governor of the world to be inseparable companions . In promoting , therefore , universal peace , we effectually promote that which establishes
religious knowledge on a secure basis ; we also take the most efficient step to banish from the world poverty , the parent of ignorance and of many vices and evils . So long as wars prevail , the spread of knowledge will be subject to interruption , and more than a
possibility will exist that , instead of advancing in our present glorious career of knowledge , we may return to the state of gross darkness from which we are only emerging . Notwithstanding the elevated station in which we are at present placed , war , either
by means of foreign or domestic foes , may place us on a level with Greece or Rome , may hurl us from the lofty pinnacle on which we are placed ; our boasted liberty become an empty name , and knowledge , and even rdi-
Untitled Article
American and English Peace Societies . J 3 > 9
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1826, page 739, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2555/page/39/
-