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by a change of name , both because the word Atonement is unscriptural , ( as used of Christianity , ) and because , if retained , it mny prove deceptive to the unthinking , and a bone of contention even to the well-informed . What Dr . W . ' s views of the doctrine he calls the Atonement may be , it is not easy to learn from the work before us . He speaks of our Lord as the ee meritorious cause" of our salvation ; and yet of the whole of Christianity as proceeding from the spontaneous benignity of God—phraseology which to
us wears at least the appearance of heing somewhat inconsistent . It would have been well for society at large , if the truth contained in the following sentence of this Essay had been and still were recognized and acted upon by Dr . W . ' s church : " Whenever we teach for gospel truths any thing which the gospel does not warrant , we are answerable for the effects produced , not only on those who adopt our opinions , but also on those who dissent from thern . And for the instruction of his church , Dr . W . might also have learnt from the assertion which he makes , " if three or four perhaps of those who are accounted sound divines should be consulted as to the
doctrine of Justification , it is not unlikely they would give as many different accounts of it , "—that articles of faith are useless to the end for which they were designed , and by a reference to which it is frequently attempted to justify them , namely , to secure and preserve unity of faith . Towards the close of the volume , Dr . Whately has an Essay on apparent contradictions in Scripture , that is , on expressions which , if taken literally , would be at variance with each other , and which consequently must be
mutually explained and modified by each other in order that they may be reconciled . Both in doctrinal and practical points , it is requisite to compare and balance as it were against each other different parts of Scripture , if we would gain a correct view of what it is intended to convey . And where a literal compliance or interpretation of precepts involves inconsistency , where that literal compliance would be " wrong" or " absurd , " it is manifest it could not be intended . " Conscience" and u common sense" must judge of the nature of the precept and of its compatibility with others . One thing must be set against another , and from the two the truth will be inferred . The doctrine thus laid down is good and just , and not the less good and just because now at length recognized by one who , we suppose , deems himself not an Unitarian . But , nevertheless , the principle set forth is one which Unitarians constantly observe in their scriptural investigations , and the only difference between them and Dr . W . on this head is , that they
use it always , he sometimes . If he was as consistent in the use of it as they , we doubt not he would speedily be led to renounce the Trinity , the Deity of Christ , and the doctrine of the two natures . Let us try the efficacy of the rule . Jesus is called a Lion and a Lamb . Is this to be interpreted literally ? Obviously not , says Dr . W , ; the terms imply contradictory qualities . He is called a man and a vine . Is he both ? No ; the qualities of the two are incompatible . He is called a God ( granting this for the sake of argument ) — he is called a God and a man . Is he both ? Yes , says Dr .
W ., though the qualities implied are , of all others , most incompatible . To the personality of the Holy Ghost , in favour of which the writer argues , this mode of interpreting the Scriptures suggested by Dr . W . himself , is decidedly hostile . We hope that he will make the application of his princip le which we have now suggested , or shew cogent reasons why it is not to be used on these as well as on other points . Unitarians have been accused of explaining away the difficulties adduced against their tenets , but they have never , we venture to say , gone farther in reference to doctrines than Dr . W .
Untitled Article
616 Whately 8 Essays on the Writing * of St . Paul .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1829, page 616, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2576/page/16/
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