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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
he a true disciple af the Redeemer . Il is peculiarly incumbent upon tia to maintain the character bequeathed to us , by resisting every kind and degree of unscriptural encroachment amongst Presbyterians ; by evincing our determined abhorrrence of all religious persecution ; by a generous sympathy towards those of our brethren who may suffer tinder this unchristian yoke ;
and by keeping amongst ourselves the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace /'—Pp . 21 , 22 . " The chief source of the abuse of ordination , " says Mr . A ., " has sprung from the notion , that by laying on of hands is conveyed some spiritualgift , property , or endowment , —a notion totally unwarranted by any scripturaTauthority . Even in the apostolical age , when the extraordinary influence of the Holy Spirit was imparted to chosen converts , though this divine gift was sometimes bestowed at the time of the laying on of the hands of inspired men , yet it no where appears to have been the consequence of that action :
on the contrary , the gift of the Holy Spirit appears to have been generally bestowed antecedently to ordination ; and the laying on of hands was merely the customary form of witnessing the appointment to a special office in the church , and of blessing the person so appointed . "—P . 17 . The assertion in this passage has somewhat surprised us , recollecting what is said of the apostles , ( Acts viii . 17 , 18 , ) " Then laid they their hands on them , and they received the Holy Spirit ; and when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles * hands the Holy Spirit was given , " &c . Again ,
2 Tim . i . 6 , " Stir up the gift that is in thee through the putting on of my hands . " A text on which great stress appears to be laid is 1 Tim . iv . 14 , " Neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by prophecy , with the laying on of the bands of the Presbytery . " But as this is the only place where the laying on of any other hands than those of the apostles appears to be represented as the instrumental cause of conferring spiritual gifts , there seems good reason for adopting the construction of which the
words will admit , ( inclosing fAtrot vtci&urtuq tuv % 6 ipw in a parenthesis , ) Neglect not the gift that is in thee through the previous recommendation of the presbytery , with the laying on of hands ; i . e . of my hands . Vide Mr . BeLsham ' s note on the passage . Our objection , therefore , to this practice is , that since in the New Testament it does appear to have been the occasion or instrument of communicating spiritual gifts , it is naturally associated in the
minds of Christians in general with the assumption of some such authority in those who now use it ; it is not required , it cannot answer any imaginable purpose , and is extremely liable to be misunderstood . Having expressed on the part of the Presbyterian Synod of Munster their concurrence in the proceedings of the congregation , which he says they have " sustained as regular , " he then calls on Mr . Martineau to declare !
his views in undertaking the important office on which he was about to enter . Mr . Martineau's reply gives a distinct and judicious account of his sentiments on the natural and moral perfections of Jehovah , the only scriptural object of worship , —on the office and message of Jesus Christ , the chosen representative of the Most High , —on the consequent duties of the Christian minister to awaken devotion to God , obedient faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ , and the practical expectation of eternity . He proceeds to express his sense of the necessity of human learning , and consequently of diligent study and research on the part of the Christian minister in order duly to understand the Sacred Volume , and the duty imposed on him to impart to his people , and more especially to the young , the knowledge he may acquire , and the conclusions to which his investigations conduct him * The
Untitled Article
Ordination Service 413
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1829, page 413, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2573/page/45/
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