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the best form of creed that we have ; and , with it in our hands ^ we should move on fearlessly to clear the church . A gentleman asks , where is the comfort that we used to eujoy £ Does he mean the pleasure of laying hands on the head of an Arian , and ordaining him to go out to preach error ? Perhaps he alludes to the delights of meeting : his brethren after the ordination , around the social board . If he thinks the comforts of the table a
sufficient cause why we should not adopt means to remove Arians frqm amongst us , I wish him joy of his gratification . Another gentleman contends that Presbyteries are the only proper bodies to be entrusted "with power . — His idea of a Presbytery seems to betaken from some geographical definition , which makes it to consist in a certain extent of country . With this notion , nothing can be found in the Bible to Coincide . It never limits
nor localizes a Presbytery . It is not , therefore , any consideration of localities that can constitute a Presbytery , as this gentleman seems to allege . Now , this Committee are met to do just the same thing that the geographical Presbytery would do , and even scarcely so much , for they are not invested with the power of ordination . But we are told that the
Committee is opposed to the principles of Presbyterianism * Now , what are those principles ? Is it not stated , in the Acts of the Apostles , that the Church are to examine that a man entering into the ministry is not a novice ; and what other power does the Committee assume ? Religious liberty , we have been
told by Mr . Gray , in his very eloquent speech , has been invaded . Such a complaint does very well for declamation ; but that gentleman has not been careful enough to discriminate between latitudinarian laxity and salutary restriction . An invasion oi religious liberty can only
take place when one part of a body assume a power to themselves , which the minority have not agreed to concede . Is there any thing in the constitution of your Committee corresponding with this description ? We claim no authority whatever , but that with which you raay choose to invest us : and whenever we
trausgress beyond that , you may divest us of our authority . Oar busiuess is to ascertain the personal piety and religious knowledge of your young men ; to provide those who may labour in the cause of Christ ; and surely this cannot , in auy sense , be regarded as infringing on religious Liberty . The same gentleman tells us that Presbyteries have the right to do all this , if they will only chouse to
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exercise it . This , I grant , is a very just observation , and but for the if , would be entitled to some weight . The simple answer , however , Is obvious . The Presbyteries did not do their duty . Is it their duty to admit Arians into the ministry , or not ? Most certainly it is not their -duty ; but they did send forth Arians under their authority , and , therefore , they have not discharged their doty . Nay , more ; they sent forward young men to college , who were scarcely able to read or write ; and the consequence was , that the Synod was forced to appoint a Committee , who might discharge that duty efficiently . That Committee
was appointed chiefly by our Arian friends , and it included no lay elders . Thus these men placed themselves at the very door of the ministry , assuming the absolute power of rejecting at the entrance ; but as soon as religion comes to be the subject of examination , the cry of intolerance is immediately raised . Mr . Gray represents this measore as ouly one of expediency , and complains of it as unconstitutional . He seetas not
to understand the meaning of the word expediency , unless , perhaps , he thinks it would be expedient to retain Arians amongst us . He is like a man in a house covered with cobwebs , looking for some method to have them removed ; and when the house-maid comes with a
broom to sweep them away , he calls out to her , throw down that broom , it is all expediency . " What is the plan , then , that would be proposed to obviate this expediency ? We are told that we should force Presbyteries to do their duty . But how are we to force them ) If Arians were in a Presbytery , they would not readily comply with your instructions ; and even if they were inclined to pass none but orthodox young men , they would not be able to discover those who
were , and those yho were not . Mr . Gray tells us that this Committee has power superior to a Presbytery . What difference is there between a Committee and a Presbytery ? Do you not appoint a Committee to take charge of a congregation ; and does it not regulate the affairs of the congregation , aud ordain a minister into it , precisely in the same
way that Mr . Gray ' s geographical Presbytery would do ? Away , then , with this idea of a geographical Presbytery . It is a thing no where to > be found in Scripture . Besides , are there not men connected with Presbyteries , independently of local conveniences ? The gentleman's argument reminds me of a person who was asked to become a member
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intelligent . —Synod of Ulster . 197
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1830, page 197, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2582/page/53/
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