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fection and blessedness of man made divine . Such is the way in which he would lead his followers . If so , then to be a Saviour he must be a Patriot , His salvation consists in perfecting every human and social virtue . He is not by nature above , but of us ; and by being of us , he would lead us to his own likeness , taking our love of parents to deepen and guide it—taking our friendship to make it tender and disinterested like his own—taking our
benevolence and converting it from a sentiment into a principle—taking our patriotism and at once giving it energy and allying it with universal philanthropy . The process of Christian salvation is not , as many think , from heavea to earth , but from earth to heaven . The means by which we are to ascend to future bliss is not the sheet let down in Peter's vision , but Jacob ' s ladder resting firmly on this globe , and hence making a pathway to the skies . Jesus saves the world by transforming the world into his own image . Jesus was a Patriot . His words and his tears attest the love he bore to the land of his
nativity , and in the whole course of his short but important ministry he sought , with the utmost earnestness , to promote its welfare . And yef the virtues of a Christian and the virtues of a Patriot are by many thought incompatible ; and so great is the discord imagined to reign between them * that the more a man aims to follow Christ , the more he commonly thinks himself bound to abstain from what concerns his country . A grievous error . If the best Christian is likest to Christ , the best Christian is also the best Patriot . And yet those who are specially set apart for the defence of the
gospel , are those who , by the world's law , are of all others most strictly interdicted from the pursuits of patriotism . A Minister and a Patriot—the two words scarcely occur in juxtaposition but to have the unholy alliance , as it is thought , denounced . Yet what but a union of the same nature is the alliance between church and state , and the intermingling of the hierarchy with the nobility of the realm ? The prejudice has arisen , as do most , in interested feelings . The rulers of the earth associated the clergy with themselves , and
to prevent any portion of the clerical influence being turned against them , gave out the fallacy that it was wrong for the ministers of Christ , that it was inconsistent with their profession , to interfere with politics . If by this term be meant the petty yet often furious squabbles of rival parties , the minister of Christ , as well as every other good man , would do well to keep aloof ; but if it apply to questions which relate to a nation ' s destinies , which involve her freedom or her thraldom , and therein the happiness or misery of millions , and no less their future than their present condition , then the Christian ,
whatever his station in the church , who remains indifferent , neglects his duty and forgets the example of his Master . Let those who reproach the servant or the minister of Christ for engaging in the struggle of right against wrong principles of government , turn to him who is the Christian's exemplar , and ask if there ever appeared on earth one who so largely influenced the destinies of his country as did Jesus Christ . The life and the death of a whole nation were in his hands . With them lay the choice ; but it was a choice between these two . Life or death—no alternative . They made their
election , and destruction came like a whirlwind . When one calmly considers how much the happiness of nations is placed in the hands of their rulers , what misery a wrong measure may entail , and what blessings may ensue from a wise enactment—how myriads may have their lot brightened or darkened by legislation—how it has happened that the few have too often battened on the corruption which they had spread among the many , making a gain npt only of godliness , but of wickedness ; when one sees that the science of go-
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Christian Patriotism , $ 7 ?
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VOL . v . 2 E
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1831, page 377, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2598/page/17/
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