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der * as they turn , bufc they roll on with a gentleness equalled only by the power that moves them . Christianity , hi our view , accords most beautifully with the spirit of nature and providence . The ends at which he aims are sublime ; how simple and gentle are the means ! It would fashion man—this poor fabric of
dust , to the glorious image of the Invisible God . But it erects no imposing apparatus to effect this object . It bids us cultivate faithfully our natural affections and discharge our plain duties quietly and without ostentation ; and in this way the wonderful process of spiritual creation is carried on , and the human soul becomes a partaker of the
diviue nature . " We cannot refrain from subjoining the concluding sentence : " There is nothing so beautiful as the pure and uncorrupt religion of Jesus Christ . Would you look upon its beauty , fill yourself with its quiet , gentle and glad spirit , and in the still chambers of
your owu soul , God will make unto you a great revelation . Truth in her own divine and eternal form shall appear there . « He who doeth God's will shall know the doctrine / The tongue of an angel could not give you such a sense of its worth and glory as you shall have when it has thoroughly sanctified you . "
Few persons could afford to write in so simple a style as that of this tract , because there are few who do not need to eke out their , scanty thoughts with high-sounding words . Unitarians have been charged with denying the Diviuity of Christ . Without sufficient . attention to things which differ , some of our body have admitted the alleged fact . Hence has been strengthened the absurd idea that we are
unbelievers . The Divinity of Christ is not the Deity of Christ . He who denies the latter says Christ is not the Eternal God . He who denies the former mav be uuderstood to deny the diviue excellencies of his diameter and the divine original of his commission . These things Unitarians do not deny , and the author of the piece designated " The Divinity of Jesus Christ , " has done well to shew ,
that we hold the Divinity , whilst we deny the Deity of Christ . * You perceive , " he saySj " from the discussion in which we have engaged , the fallacy of the charge which is sometimes brought against us , that we regard our Saviour as a mere man . You may have been told that this is our belief . But as you have now seen , the assertion is groundless . You understand that in rejecting the unscriptural doctrine of our Saviour ' s
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Deity , we by no means deny the scriptural doctrine of his Divinity , You perceive that there is a medium between regarding Jesus as the Eternal God and as a cotnniou man . You perceive that he sustains relations , appointed to him by his Father in heaven , which elevate him far above the ordinary level of humanity , and make him next to God , the nuost worthy object of our confidence , admiration , and love . "
The existence in America of the body of Unitarians designated Christians is yet but partially known among at least the humble classes of our community in this kingdom . The following details are given respecting them in the tract termed ' * Evangelical Unitariatiism adapted to the Poor and Unlearned , " with a
view to establish , together with other arguments and instances , the fact implied ia the title : " It may not be generallyknowu , that since the beginning of the present century there has sprung up in this country a very uumerous sect , who , abjuring all distinctive names , call themselves the Christian
denomination Originally they were seceders from the Presbyterian , the Baptist , and the Methodist bodies . Of course they 'were all nominally Trinitarians , having "been educated in that doctrine . The doctrine , however , was soon canvassed , "brought to the test of revelation , and ¦ universally rejected with all its concomitant doctrines as unscriptural . Within tweuty-five years their growth has becu wonderful , particularly in the Western
states of the Union , and chiefly among the common people . They have now 500 ministers , from 700 to 1000 churches , and they number about 200 , 000 persons who have embraced their principles and doctrines . Oue of their principal preachers says , ' We are Evangelical Unitarians in preaching and applying the Unitarian doctrine , and it is this mode of preaching and applying it which has crowned our labours with vsuch a rich
harvest . It is this which gives us access to the common people , who constitute the greatest part of our congregations . ' " The following information is interesting : " My last instance is the success which has attended the labours of the Unitarian missionary among the poor in
Boston . Into whatever families he has entered he tells us he has uniformly been received with great kindness . His public services have , for tlie last four years * been regularly and fully attended , anil appear to have excited great interest among those for vvliom they are designed . In a public meeting , some time
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700 Critical Notices . —Theological .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1830, page 700, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2589/page/44/
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