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not sit first view that obviaua relation to the J subject which might have been ^ rfflcm&fe& ^ Md £ iel nSoreWer , scattered tip arid down amidst V a diversified t ^^ WUWmm ^ Wt &i ( Jincidentaldkci&sibaV ^ "I-- ^ : T - " " T % f SJg ^ fficutei ^ Vlil ^ Tpr ^ iti ^ sm a ^ t nave ielt l « -ttie cdm . mm ^ mmwm ^ ffws ^ m inquir ies ? - &na m the * mi * m * & ; tbew what explanation can be offered . * In what light must we be taughfc-ta'tfie ^ lthe fra ^ ni
ScriptiirBS : ? ; , N pfhij ^ g , surely is further frotn their true character than a ^ ystein of ethical ^ nd doctrinal Instruction - Were we to say- tfetf thW babks of 1 ^ Nl ^ ^ ei ^ r ^ it # 8 ^ <^ B ^ ti () ti of li ^ torital ent ^ \ ve toigto be misunderstood ; a ' s ' fc&cfrse | iitta 1 # waiting is complete by itself ; but viewed in relation : to tWe f £ reat 4 ) ody 6 € writings , ( historical and controversial ; which the apostolic age ^ rodiieedj and to thfi existence of which the preface- ; Qf < Hike's Gospel bears derisive testimony , they are only ; yeonnapt ^ vyh iclijinae jias preserved for usand which the discrimiaatinffknowledofe animdffoientof
ahti-, , ; quityha ^ stamped > yitlt it § sanction , as possessing indubitable tokens : cjf . authenticity . .. They exhibit extracts ojF our Jtiord * s /' disebu ^ esVv ' glintpses of his actions an& character , ¦' . and specimens of tis 'tiisiipTyl TheyVcbntain' ab ' uridaht evidence of tjhe spirit of hi ^ teachings ^ of the ientieii&y of -tb ^ ' dispensation which he caine" to establidh , and of the ^ gtQ&t facets of his death ; resuf rectioh , ascension , and spiritual influence , tvthitfi formed the main subjecis of apostolical testimony after his removal froni the world : but it is equall y evident
that insulated texts and detached passages cannot be quoted from them , in the matrner they frequently are > for the decision of modern controversies and for the minute regulation of our opinions in the present 8 ay . * This will be still plainer if we consider the medium through which' the instructions of the New Testament are conveyed to jus . It is a Jevyish Iristory of a Jewish reformer , specially raised up by God for the ^) urpose of fulfillin gin his person a previous train of prophecies , of carrying intp full effect the provisions of a long course of preparatory dispensations , and of introducing
amongst men , by direct authority from heaven , those great ap <^ etern al principles of religious belief , vvhic ] i tUe subsequent arrangements of Proviuence have been gradually diffusing , through various agencies , over , all the ^ arth . K < The hi 3 tory proclaims its own authenticity in its , exact correspondence with the manners , language , and modes of thinking prevalent in Judaea at the time , when the events which it records are stated to have taken place . *^ 11 h . e example of the first preachers of the Gospel conveys a very instructive lesson to us- They spoke directly to the moral wants , to t , he ( JfeeVn ^ gs and
opinions , of the age in wliich they lived . They would have bee ^ les ^ povyerful and efficient preachers of the truth , had their mocles of representing and enforci ng it been less Jewish . The very same circumstances wlucli enabled our Lord and his apostles , in conjunction with their miraculous agency , to produce such wonderful effects in preaching to the people , unavoidably occasion embarrassment and obscurity to us , who read , after the lapse of nearly tw ® tbousand years , und ^ r all the influence of our modern metaphysics and Inherited prepossessions ^ what , at the time of its delivery , found a ready interpretation , . and a no less ready application ^ in the existing state , of . public
'? ont * niom .., > - ; ,:. •( . . ; . : . i , . , , . , ..- ., . . - <; t >^ - ) If lit should be thouglit extraordinary that we are thus compelled tp work ibiiir wa ^ yhx tlie truth through the medium of Jewish idioms and Jew ^ h i ( Je aa , i ^ toib be recoll e cted Ith at , by this means a s alutary exercise of the intellect is ^ ihi ^ ljrMr ^ av the pursuit Of moral tind religious improvement , and that on no ' ^ th ^ b tduditianla i without a perpetual miracle , could we ^ ave possessed the same evidence of the historical truth of Christianity . ii the
fVfi > By 2 ali these cop ^ ideratidns I ain confirmed ^ inference which I have ^ Mt >^ d ^ idrawiri , thit our great object tnust now be , to separate , ffbhi . what is f ^ irtdyiijisWifical 4 » d : adventitious , 4 be essential truths of the Christ f ian Disptkia&imti ; Ua draw them into all their consequences ; to . compare them with theautiial phenomena of nature , providence ., and society ; -to point out the
Untitled Article
532 Tafjlefs Sermon *
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1830, page 532, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2587/page/28/
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