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Untitled Article
source of misery . The man who spreads such feelings and convictions is the true preacher of righteousness . In these times the preacher must carry controversy into the pulpit if he would keep scepticism and error out of the congregation . The extent of the necessity must , of course , depend upon the peculiar character and circumstances of his auditory . Even in the most favourable situation , some
exposure of error may have its use , and be required , for the sake of producing a more clear comprehension and just appreciation of truth . The peculiarities of Mr . Belsham ' s situation at Essex Street , were evidently such as to justify , and even render obligatory upon him , a more frequent pulpit discussion of controverted points than would be expedient in any other settled minister of our denomination . He did not fail of his duty ; nor does it appear that he exceeded its requirements .
Mr . Belsham shewed the judgment and zeal which were so prominent in his character , in the advantage which he took of particular occasions , such as the meetings of societies , public events , the deaths of eminent individuals , &c . Amongst his occasional compositions , the sermon on " The Importance of Truth , " preached in behalf of the Hackney College , has been deservedly and pre-eminently distinguished * There are few of them * if any , which do not richly merit preservation . However local or temporary the
circumstances which led him to discourse on a subject , he so treated it as to produce an intrinsic and permanent interest . Sermon XIIL of the second volume , occasioned by the extraordinary weather of the winter of 1813-14 , may be referred to , as an instance of this kind , in addition to many which were separately published . His published Funeral Sermons are , in general , masterly delineations of the characters of the individuals whom he thus
commemorated . To this class also belong his publications in favour of Religious Liberty , which always had in him a strenuous advocate . He claimed it as well for the Catholic at the one extreme , and the Unbeliever at the other , as for all those whose opinions fill up the intermediate space . And his efforts in this sacred cause were always made when they were most needed . He was in the field with the foremost ; he was in the conflict when
it was at the hottest . There is one point on which it must be conceded that he erred , though his error has been by many overrated and misrepresented . He thought that the State might usefully patronize the gospel . His notions on this subject first appeared in his Letter to Lord Sidmouth ^ on the famous attempt of that minister in 1811 ; and they were fully developed in the three sermons occasioned by the prosecution of Carlile in November , 1819 , and entitled ,
" Christianity Pleading for the Patronage of the Civil Power , but Protesting against the Aid of Penal Laws . " It is true , that his project of an Establishment is as comprehensive and as inoffensive as an Establishment can well be ; and that the principle for which he contends is , ni fact , conceded b y those of the Dissenting body who are parties to the reception of the Megiunt Donum > even in its present form of a Parliamentary Grant ; but it is ,
nevertheless , surprising that he should ever have lost the strong conviction which he once felt , that the magistrate can only injure religion by his interference—that his patronage is pollution . On this subject his first thoughts are , in our estimation > much better than hia second thoughts . And it is remarkable , that he republished the passage , which we are about to quote , after the Letter to Lord Sidmouth . It is in the third edition of the Review of Wilberforce , published in 1813 . " Mr . W . ' s assertion is nevertheless true . ' Christianity has always thriven
Untitled Article
170 On the Character and Writings of the Rev . T . Belsham .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1830, page 170, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2582/page/26/
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