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Untitled Article
" Q . If the Church of England did not separate from the Church of Rome , what do you call our national Reformation ? " A . An abjuration of Popery , a renunciation of the Pope ' s jurisdiction , a rejection of the unscriptural doctrines and usages of the Church of ^> me , and therefore a reformation of the Church of England , and not a separation from the Church of Rome . "
Well , then , Dissenters are not separatists—what do they more than abjure Episcopacy—renounce the King's jurisdiction—reject the unscriptural usages of the Church of England ? But what pew light have we here ! I may abjure , I may renounce , I may reject 9 and yet not separate from that which I abjurey renounce , and reject . No , rather than allow that a separation took place , the good-natured bishop will bring on the Church of England all the charges that have been levelled at Popery . Before this reformation , spoken of , trjis
reformation of the Church of England , she , not the Papal church , was all that was bad and shameful ; she , the Church of England , was idolatrous , the mystery of iniquity , and a number of pther very naughty things , which our modesty forbids us to mention . This is to defend the church with a witness , and reminds us of the old saying , " Defend me against my friends , and I will defend myself against my enemies . " Well may the church remonstrate with the bishop in the words of Hecuba : —
Quac mens tarn dira * * Irupulit his ciijgi telis * * * Non tali auxilio , nee defensoribus istis Tern pus ( ecclesia ) eget . The Christian Remembrancer , in a review of a work entitled , " What is the One True Faith ? " the author of which has the presumption to doubt if the doctrines of justification by faith , election and reprobation , original sin ,
and other kindred dogmas , are r $ al ) y and expressly tpqght ia * the Scriptures , remarks , " There are other inconsistencies which we cannot find leisure to enumerate , but they are chiefly to be reconciled with the * Book of Common Prayer according to the plan of the late Dr . Samuel Clarke , and some other Pelagian or Arian publications . The author says he commenced his subject in ignorance on many points , but whether or not his intentions are pure , he has sadly soiled his reputation as a biblical critic by slipping into the mud of
Socinian absurdity . " There was little reason to cast a slur on the ignorance with which the inquirer set out Provided his mind was teachable , ignoranoe was no impediment to the reception of truth ; and that it was teachable , the inquiry on which the author entered proves beyond a question . Ignorance combined with docility is of all states of mind that which the Scriptures can most easily and most assuredly benefit . A tabula rasa is thus presented to the sacred penmen ; on it they can inscribe what they will ; there are no previous impressions to erase , or in remaining to confuse and confound lheif
teachings . Ignorance ! What teacher is there of any science that would not infinitely prefer an ignorant to a prejudiced disciple ? The Beueans w ere ignorant when they searched the Scriptures daily to discover whether the things which had come to their ears were or were not the revealed will of God . But , perhaps , the Bereans would not be exactly to the taste of the Reviewer ; for teachable ignorance is an abomination in his si ght * But then there is a question whether or not the author was actuated by pure intentions . Raised by whom ? The Reviewer . On what grounds ? Diversity of religious opinion : this , from the language used , is the only supposable
Untitled Article
The Watchman . £ 267
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1829, page 267, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2571/page/43/
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