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Untitled Article
sion derived from it is deduced with the same logical precision from the same premises . That the pure word of God has been grievously corrupted b y the inventions and traditions of men , we fully believe ; that this corruption TvilU in due time , be cleared away , and will then appear to have been a
necessary step for the attainment of most important and excellent purposes , which are , however , as yet concealed from our view , we cannot reasonabl y doubt ; bat in the mean time it appears evident that the suspension of that rapid success with which in the apostolic age the knowledge of the gospel was spread abroad among men , is in some considerable measure to be ascribed to this cause . But this cannot be converted into an argument against the truth of the gospel itself *
It seems to me that no valid objection against the divine authority of the gospel can be derived from this consideration , except on one supposition ;—a supposition altogether unauthorized by scripture , and in no way implied in the Christian dispensation when rightly understood , though it is true it receives some countenance from the narrow-minded and illiberal views which are entertained of Christianity by perhaps the majority of believers . The supposition I allude to is , that professors of the gospel , and they alone ,
can be partakers in its blessings . If this principle be admitted in all its extent , it follows , of course , that a future state of happiness and all the advantages and blessings prepared for the children of God in that state , the existence of which is made known to us through Christ , are the exclusive privilege of the favoured few who have heard the sound of the gospel message . All heathens , both those who lived before the promulgation of the gospel and the inhabitants of uncivilized and other pagan countries at the present day , are for ever shut out from all participation in its benefits . Not only is
the prospect of a future life here , but the reality of it hereafter , completely denied to them . The best hope we can form for them is , that they may be Teduced at death to a level with the brutes that perish . If this be a correct view of the efficacy of faith in the gospel , no doubt the circumstances in the history of the world which have prevented its more extensive diffusion , to say nothing of the comparatively late period at which it made its appearance at all , must be admitted to argue a sort of partiality in the dealings of the Almighty Father towards different portions of his great family , very contrary to what the notions we naturally form of his wisdom and justice would lead us to expect .
But too many professing Christians , as is well known , go further than this , and contend that a belief not only in Christ , but in their own peculiar creed , is essential to salvation . This notion , however , is so obviously contrary to the liberal and benevolent spirit of the gospel , that it is difficult to conceive how any one who professes to have studied in the school of Christ and to have partaken of his spirit , can adopt it . But the other appears to me to be equally void of foundation . We Christians unquestionably derive or ought to derive great benefits from the knowledge we have been enabled
to attain by the discoveries of the gospel , of the plan and purposes of Divine Providence . It is a message of grace and truth , revealing to us the most amiable perfections of the Divine character , which we could only have faintly discerned in the book of nature as expounded by the unassisted lig ht of human reason . It is manifested in the great and glorious expectations Tield out to the children of men ; in the admirable precepts and perfect example which are p laced before us , to be our guide through life and our preparation for eternity ; in the new and powerful motives it has suggested to a life df holiness and virtue ; in the many anxious doubts , corroding cares ,
Untitled Article
658 Limited Spread of Christianity no Objection to its Divine Jluthority .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1830, page 658, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2589/page/2/
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