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the hope that is in the Christian , wherefore should they not be gratified ? The gospel precept is to give an answer to every man that asketh a reason of the " hope that is in him , with meekness and fear , " 1 Pet . iii . 15 ; not to reply with a volley of invectives . Trust me , my Lord , the conversion
of an Infidel or Deist to the belief in the saving truths of Christianity , would be an achievement worthy of more praise than any of the boasted conversions from one erring creed to another , of which the age is said to be so prolific . Were not most of the converts made by the apostles from among Deists and Infidels , publicans and idolaters ?
In illustration of your argument respecting the conduct of Deists and Infidels , you affirm , that " a Socinian named Drummond has thus made a tool of the Rev . Mr . Maguire . " This Reverend advocate of the Roman Catholic cause and his friends will not be much flattered by your Lordship's declaration , that I * have made " a tool" of him . The Rev . Mr . Pope , his eloquent antagonist , could assure your Lordship that Mr . Maguire is not a
man who can be made a tool of , even by hands of far superior strength to mine . I must , therefore , understand the expression in a complimentary sense , and thank your Lordship for entertaining so lofty an opinion of my powers as to suppose that I have been able to make a tool of one by whom the most vaunted champion in the arena of modern polemics has been " cloven down . "
I am desirous , however , of knowing in what mode I have made a tool of the Rev . Mr . Maguire . What have I done more than avail myself of an argument which Mr . Maguire did not invent , but only revive , * in support either of Unitarianism or the infallible church ? It has often been stated by the advocates of the latter , that without the aid of tradition and church authority it is impossible to prove the doctrine of the Trinity ; for that not only reason and common sense , but the plainest and strongest
declarations of holy writ 5 are in direct hostility to that doctrine . All Unitarians are fully persuaded of the truth of this statement , and rejoice that it is not only admitted , but confidently advanced by the most powerful supporters of the Roman Catholic faith . They know its strength , and wield it with a dexterity which no orthodox Protestant can withstand . It is prudent , therefore , to proscribe the use of such a weapon . But will they who wield it forego their advantage ? Will they lay aside their artillery , their lightning , and their thunderbolts , to combat on equal terms an enemy that comes
against them with staves and reeds ? We have your Lordship ' s testimony , that " Liberty allows us to reason on religion . " Why was this reasonable allowance not granted to the Roman Catholics who opposed the Reformers at Fermoy ? Wherefore was a quarrel excited which had to be quelled by the introduction of an armed force ? You say , you " regret that any thing disagreeable should have occurred at the meeting ; it was improper to push the people out of the Court-house ;
* The Jesuit Maimbourg , in his History of A nanism , says , that Socmus maintained the word of God to be the only judge of controversy , and that , admitting this principle , no Protestant can reasonably condemn the Socinian . " Et certes , il ' y a point de Protestant , qui agissaiifc sur son principe , puisse raisonnablement condamner un Socinieii , puis que celui-ciagit toujours contre Jui , soit en attaquant , ' soft en se defendant , par l'Ecriture interpre ' te ' e comme il lui plait , de la mGme mantele que le Protestant agit contre nous , quand il nous attaqqe , ou qu'il » e defend par la in&me Ecritureexplique ' e selon le sens qu'il trouve bon de lui donner . " r—Maimbourg , Histoire de IMrianiame . Paris , 1682 . 12 mo . Vol . III . p . 374 .
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436 Dr . Drummond ' s Letter to Lord Mountcashell .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1828, page 436, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2562/page/4/
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