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ttiat God is to try the heart ? Men was only capable of judging by the fruits which were ^ produced ; but not of jncl g-t iugthe heart . For the last 1500 yearftj men have ^ been * working at standards , and have inadef nothing of it . * There cannot be a ' staqtdard of man's setting up , nor cat ) there be owe formed by-God and man conjointly . Is God , therefore ,
to set up one standard , and man another ? « I ( - so , man ' s staudard cannot stand . We , said Mr > G ., know ofvuo standard l ) ut the Scripture—the written Word of C | od . In trying a man for the ministry , we ought to try Mm by < the Word of G « od- ^ if he be Igo ^ er , learned , apt to teach . But we have no-right-to lord it over another : we are all brethren
—all on a footing of equality . It is the right of every member of the Christian community to judge of the Word of God for himself . He regretted tharthis right should be ridiculed by a Presbyterian minister in hobbling rhyme . He regretted to have to say that in a Presbyterian assembly , he had heard a Presbyterian
minister ask what was meant by private judgment . Those men knew well what wa 3 meant by the right of private judgment . We have no hesitation in telling it openly—it is the right of every man to read the Scripture , and to interpret it for himself ; and it was not for any church or any body of men to say , You must believe so and so , or you will be
damned . Every man feels that he ought to be -independent of another , but the young men that-are to be examined have to satisfy the Synod's Committee , and not themselves . Every man ought to judge for himself , and not allow another to judges for him— -we are commanded to try the spirits :- Paul says , Those having no law are a law unto themselves . The
Committee lord it over their fellow-men , because they are the stronger . He contended for their inalienable rights—he could ^ not give them up . ' * The right of private judgment wafc deemed essential by the , reformers who withdrew from the Church of Rome—yet ,-- I am sorry to say ; they did not , at all times , concede to others what they claimed ) for themselves . Luther aud
the-originaliProtestants separated from that > Church be ~ cause it denied the right of private judgment ; but searce » ly -had they done so > when they began ta dictate articles-of faith themselves ^ H « re , eays Uuj ^ Church of Rome , in the decrees of ttoe Council of Trent , fere the true doct * ine »( of CUristianity , which you : mu » t believe . " No , waid the Lutherans , you have , no Tight to dictate to us ; here is the confession of
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Augsburgh—that ' s what ought to be believed . Soj also ; the s Calvinists say , Here are the articles of the Synod of Doii ^—these * contain the true doctrines of the Bible . « Then comes the Church of England and declares that none of these haVe any right td ttfetate to it ; he re are' bur ^ Tbirty-nhie ^ Article ' s— these contain * fhe -truth . Then the
Presbyterian Church of Scotland' propounds the WeHtoffr ^ te ^/ Coii fe s ^ ion of Faith as containing 7 thtr true" meaning of Scripture . Thus they all claim the rfghfc of judgmenfr foV thenisfclves and deny it to othersv Ir is said , however , that the Syutfd of Ulstevbelieves the Bible to be a sufficient rule 6 f faith . Suppose that one of us went into the Synod with a
Bible m his hand , and said 'that he believed in that , aad would" subscribe it , yet Would he not be received unless he would ' subscribe to their interpretation of it . The Synod contend that their interpretation is infallible , and that all others are fallible—that if every man was at liberty to interpret the Scriptures
there would be an endless variety of opinions , and that their object is to produce an uniformity in essentials or fundamentals . Are they sincere in wishing for uniformity ? We were told in the Syuod , that all the land was before us to choose . Go you to the right , aud we will go to the left , and let us have no strife . Was this said with candour
and honesty ? We were to sustain no injury in our characters , our prospects ; or our property . They said they merely wanted a separation ; for God ' s sake go away , and we shall then have uniformity . Now , it could not be forgotten that we had a sworn declaration from some of
them , that there were about thirty-five Arian ministers in the Synod . Where are they now ? They are not air here . Where then are they ? Are we to believe that this was sworn falsely , or are there not some of them still in the Synod ? We all know that in the Synod
there are Calvinists and Annjmans , -who differ materially in doctrinal points , and yet they hold up uniformity ! . Was there uniformity amongst the apostles ? No ; there was not uniformity there , and yet they did not break up ; they -made a charitable allowance forrotheiV
infirmities . The Synod are hunting to obtain what > $ not to be found even in the Bible . There roust be fundamentals in Christianity ; but what are ; th « y ? The differences of . opinion t as i % o < these are interminable ; and there is no earthly tribunal capable of tryiug them . Every man must judge and act for himself .
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Intvitigence . —Remonstrant Synod of Ulster 497
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1830, page 497, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2586/page/65/
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