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to think and judge for themselves , the day will coine when pure and simple Christianity will prevail wherever Christianity is professed . The doctrine taught from the pulpit will be just conceptions of the attributes tot the Deity ; of the character 4 fr& destiny of man ; of the rights and duties of men to each other \
tiiatexiflteuce here , though attended with trial , change , and sadness * was meant to hef when duly regulated , a beneficent gift ; that every thing ou the earth which can ; produce innocent , rational , and chastened pleasure , was intended for the enjoyment of man ; that the , whale of life passes within the view of , aiid under accountableaess to , a gracious and compassionate Parent , and not an austere
and merciless tyrant ; that the sentiment , which should ascend from earth to heaven in grateful recognition of the mission from heaven to earth , is not one of mystery , dismay , and terror * but of cheer * fulness ,, resignation , tranquillity , and hope . If such were the religion of the world , how many of the deformities which exist in society would be u nk no « n \ how much would the evils of life be decreased , and its blessings augmented !
So far as such a system of religion has found its way iu the world hitherto , observed Mr , § ., much may be ascribed to the efforts of the Unitarian clergy ; and it . must be preserved , and further diffused , by the same means . It does not become the friends of free inquiry and of rational religion to stand still and see their ministers reviled by any
combination of wen , by whatsoever motives or impulses such combination may be governed . Qn the contrary , we are bound by every sense of duty and interest to strengthen < their hands and encourage their hearts . Their purpose is to make the world wiser and better j not for themselves , but for the human race . IJheyapbly their teaching to the
uuderstanding and to the heftrt ; their avenueB are those of plain common sense , the ear , and the eye . They make the Sabbath a day of sadness to those only whom they can bring to contrition ; to others ^ a day of social meeting , in which the audience are to be called away from the cares and anxieties of transitory life , and warned of " the uncertainty of death ,
and of the uncertainty of the hour / ' . As the Sabbath is the appropriate , and perhaps the only proper stated day of general meeting for social religious instruction , U k > of the highest import , that learning , latent , zeal , £ nd efFedtiveaesa should be brought into the services of that day . The means of doing this well
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deserve the care of tfrose who are able to aid in making the day precious to the interests of individuals aud of society . All who are interested in this very serious call to aid the clergy in their labours , must give their own labour , and must contribute the means of making labour effective . Same sectarians , who regard the purposes which w ^ e uphold
with no friendly eye , shew us that labour and-money are the means . But who will labour , and who will give ? We know fchat the clergy will labour , but who will give ? All should give who wiah to \ w prove the condition of the age * and lay the foundation for future and successive Improvement . This is the debt which we owe to posterity for the acts of those through whom we are at home , in a land of civil and religious liberty .
The young should give . They are entering the world ; deeply are they interested that it should grow wiser aqid better . TJiey desire to escape from follies and extravagancies ; from vain , and worse than profitless pursuits , and to
know how to choose and value what may be pursued . They can contribute' their example , and spare- something from their means to raise the standard of moral and social worth ; and they may leave the world with the assurance , that they do leave it better jthan they fouud it . -
The middfe aged should , give . , Thef have lived long enough to know how much more valuable life would have been , if they had found in it settled aud acknowledged principles Iu morals and in religion , to serve as guides iri its
perplexing and difficult paths ; the middle aged have long enough to live , to permit their latter years to redeem the former ones . They will not miss , nor regret * whatever they may give to promote the common object of making human life rational , satisfactory , and profitable .
Those who have passed the meridian should give . They feel how fast thc ^ years run round ; and haw soon all which they cau call their own will be numbered . All of them will admit , that their retrospect oXlife would be far mare grateful ! if they had lived , and if all around them had lived , under that moral and religious influence which the Unitarian faith inculcates . Are there none
among them who feel that if life were to be given over again , they woujd do something more than they have done to increase the moral and religious light of their fellow- men , and something less for those things that perish in the using ? If it be too late for them to make the world better for themselves , it ia not too
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VOL . III . 3 E
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Intelligence . —American Unitarian Association . 737
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1829, page 737, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2577/page/65/
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