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when " the knowledge of the Lord shall cover Che earth ; " when learning and science are destined to be the companions of piety , and when reMjgioh , in- * stead of being a matter of interested speculation , will become a principle of 4
action and rale of life ; when . ' all , from the least to the greatest , shall know the Lord . " That these time * will arrive , that they are progressing with a steady though slow step , is a fact which every good man , who observes the signs of the tiroes , must bail with joy and Relight .
The progress of science , sveeringly denominated the march of intellect , has hitherto , it is to be regretted , outrun the progress of religious knowledge , of that knowledge which is destined by the allwise Ruler of the world to produce such magnificent results * This invaluable knowledge has long suffered under the iron and paralyzing grasp of monopoly ; and , instead of becoming a universal blessing , it has * like the false religions
of Greece and of Rome , been made subservient to the plans of ambitious , avaricious , and wicked rulers . Thus shackled , thus directed from the noble use for which it is designed , namely , the regeneration of a degenerate world , Christian knowledge has , as might he expected , advanced by slow steps , whilst physical knowledge , mounted on the eagle wings of liberty , has made the most rapid and wonderful improvements .
Estimating fntuve scientific discoveries and improvements by those of the last fifty years , it seems not unreasonable to suppose that , at no very distant period , the use of machinery will , in a very considerable degree , supersede the necessity of that severe labour which has hitherto
weighed to the earth the poorer clashes of mankind , and consigned them to a state of mental ignorance utterly incompatible with the spread of religious knowledge and the fulfilment of the glorious / prophecies concerning the triumphs of Christianity .
The progress of science with a step more rapid than religion , or the benevolence which religion inculcates , serves'at present to render the blessing of God upon human ingenuity and industry a . curse , rather than an advantage , to the poor and industrious . The few ace
enriched by these discoveries , but the poor , instead of being able to gain an honest livelihood , are thereby subjected to want , and , though able and willing to labour ,, are threatened with every evil that poverty cau inniot . The benevolent Wareufc of mankind hah , of his goodness ,
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blessed hi& chUdxen with the nseins of supplying the whole human family with food and raiment with infinitely less manual labour than was reoiifred of obi forefathers . So extensive ig this blesting , so great is the diminution of human labour , that it may be regarded as a partial annulling of the sentence pronounced
upon our first parents * ( Gen . iiL 19 w ) But this diminution of labour , instead of being experienced as a good , is found to be one of the very greatest evils the poor have to contend with . Whence arises this unnatural state of things ? Can we doubt , as Qod has graciously provided the means , that the wants of the poor are not to be attributed either to the
ignorance or the wickedness of men ? Can we doubt that existing institutions , political and religions , are not greatly deficient either in Christian knowledge or ro Christian benevolence ? Can we doubt that the degraded and suffering state of a large portion of the human family arises not
from physical knowledge having made a greater progress in the world tfcan reli * gious knowledge , —the knowledge of that religion which teaches its votaries * in acts of benevolence , to follow the example of the gracious Parent of mankind ; to be perfect as he is perfect ; to be merciful as he is merciful ? When
men shall in earnest endeavour to do this , and having food and raiment , be therewith content r which the apostle teaches , the poorest may not only have food enough and to spare , bat the whole of mankind , by devoting a portion of
their time to the acquisition of religious knowledge , may become so perfectly imbued with Christian knowledge and principles , as totally to preclude the use of the sword , and thus reader anticipated revolutions not only harmless , tout highly ; beneficial .
The various benevolent institutions that have in later times bevn established in our own and other countries , for the relief of the poor , are gratifying to the Christian philanthropist ; and , if we look back to preceding ages of ignorance and barbarism , we shall find cause to rejoice not only in the progress of religious knowledge , but ; of Christian benevolence .
Yet if , as Christians , we ^ contesi ^ late the privations of the poor , and look forward with the eye of faith , we shall discover that a very small portion of the triumphs of Christianity is yet accomplished . The poor , by poor-law * and various politico-eleemosynary institutions ' , are : preserved from positive want $ b »« instead of being considered as of one bloud with the rich — instead of being
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Mi $ ckiktneout CorrespeNd&tiM . 415
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1830, page 415, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2585/page/55/
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