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Untitled Article
that bears rule . There is something worse—a secularity of spirit which is hostile to deep and fervent piety , and , consequently , to enlarged success . The whole affair is too often more like a political than a religious meeting . There is abundance of eating and drinki ng , and there are toasts to give the wine a relish . Zeal rises in proportion as the feeling of comfort and hilarity prevails . Liberty is the ruling theme ; civil and religious liberty all over the world is introduced , welcomed , and enforced , amidst thunders of applause . The morrow comes , the spirit has evaporated , and the temperature is sunk to
Zero . And then , forsooth , conscious of the calmness of our own feelings , we can be critical on the fanaticism which prevails at the meetings of the orthodox , forgetful that the chief difference is , that they are heated in their bosoms , we in the head ; that the fire within them burns for a time , whilst ours is too often suddenly extinguished . In America these things are
managed much better , as our readers will observe by the account of the American Unitarian Association , which we intend to reprint entire , and which will be found in our Intelligence department . Let us learn of them , and our zeal will be kindled by a more enduring and a purer spirit .
Meanwhile , the circumstances which we have detailed injure us in the opinion of the religious world . We are in one extreme , the orthodox in the other ; we minister to the head , they to the imagination : and , therefore , we cannot understand each other . Their magazines are as much for the heart as ours for the intellect ; so with their pulpits , so with their associations . Seeing us to neglect what they deem of vital importance , they learn to shudder at the prevalence of our views ; seeing us lukewarm in cases where zeal in their judgment can hardly burn too strong , they come to question our
sincerity . The gospel , they argue , is a matter of infinite value . The Unitarians are sufficiently indifferent about it : little do they to put others in possession of its blessings ; how can they duly estimate its value , or have the spirit of Christ ? Nay , may they not even disbelieve that which they are by no means anxious to further ? The invalidity of this reasoning we are not at present concerned to exhibit . But , however great may be their misapprehensions ,
however exaggerated their view of our remissness , there is still a show of propriety in what they say , and a ground for their conclusions in our spirit and conduct . The fact is , we may both be mended by an exchange . We want their heartiness , they want our mental activity . The union of the two would make a perfect Christian . Alas 1 they exist apart , and hence arise mutual misconceptions , and the efficiency of each is diminished .
In consequence of the little time and the comparatively diminutive means which Unitarians have had to spread their views—in consequence also of the lukewarm ness of many , and the withholding of aid that ought to be available for the common cause , our chapels are in general but thinly attended , and our interest but slow in progress . Perhaps , if we advert to the increase of population in these kingdoms , we must speak , not of progress , but of
retrogradation . However , the orthodox look upon the day of small things , and , seeing the nakedness of the land , infer that the hand of God is against us , and that the brand of his displeasure is imprinted on our cause . This , especially among the people , is a prevalent feeling , and serves unhappily to close their hearts against all favourable impressions respecting us , and to lead them away from communion with us as from a devoted and dishonoured thing . There is another circumstance prejudicial alike to our cause , and to our standing well with the religious world . The fact of the change undergone
Untitled Article
The Watchman . 703
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1829, page 703, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2577/page/31/
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