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exertions are directed to the maintaining and extending these peculiarities , and they acquire a narrowness of spirit and exclusiveness of character which extends over their other doctrines , and unfits them for the instructors and emancipators of mankind . ( Cheers . ) We differ from olTiers ~ becatIse we rej ' ecr ^ thFse ~ va :
fious peculiarities , and because the principles which we embrace are principles which were held in common by the earliest Christians , as well as by Christians of the present day , through all the diversities of the Christian world , and are susceptible of a useful and practical application in all the concerns of life . We
depart from these petty peculiarities of faith to take our position as the champions of those principles which all Christians should feel the power of , denying to no one the indulgence of any peculiar and minor notions which lie may think proper to mix up with them . Whilst we show
these general and enlarged feelings , and pursue this line of conduct , it may fairly be said of other sects , as compared with us , that they are employed in cultivating one little spot of ground bearing little but weeds and thorns , leaving" it to us to cultivate the boundless field of divine
grace , and to exhibit its fruits in all their beauty and richness . ( Cheers . ) To deviate from jtfois course , to disclaim aught that is good , aught that is beneficial to mankind , would be to imitate that sectarianism which it is our greatest glory to rise above . I never can hear without sorrow and shame any person say that any object of truth or benevolence is not an Unitarian
object ; ( cheers ;) every good , every great ) and every noble object in the world , must properly and essentially be an Unitarian object . ( Hear . ) How lamentable an inconsistency is it to hear a man say I am an Unitarian Christian , and when you call on him to exert himself to send abroad int ; o the country knowledge free from the burthen of taxation , to be told ,
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oh , that is a political and not $ h Unitarian object ! ( Immense cheering . ) Is it not preposterous to hear a man say he is an Unitarian Christian , and yet hear him refuse to interpose between the slave and those by whom he is held in bondage , to break and dash to the earth the fetters whieh—bind—his—linibsy—because—it
is a political and not an Unitarian object ? ( Cheers . ) Is it not preposterous that those who approve and adhere to a religion , of which the very spirit is freedom , and which places all rational beings on the same common ground of brotherhood , should- yet object to exert themselves for the promotion of those institutions which would tend to
raise man to the highest degree of physical , moral , and intellectual peiv fection of which his nature is capable ? ( Cheers . ) These are what I call Unitarian objects ; these connect our faith with that of the highest names in which the country glories . Look back at the characters ~ of those rhbst
distinguished for elevated devotion , power of intellect , profundity of knowledge , and brilliancy of imagination , and we shall be convinced that the more we seek to raise all men to the same level , the better shall we discharge our duties to God and to ourselves , and that the shortest
way to lead earth towards heaven is by creating a heaven upon earth . ( Loud cheers . ) I will not detain the meeting any longer . I trust I need not make a speech on these things , for I think my whole life , or I am much mistaken in the spirit , character , and tendency of that life , is a speech in favour of the princip les
advocated in this resolution . ( Hear , hear . ) To promote the objects there stated has been the purpose nearest and dearest to my heart , whether in addressing my congregation from the pulpit , or the public through ^ the medium of the press ; and , which I have maintained alike in the committee room of the Unitarian Association and at the council table ° *
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208 INTELLIGENCE AND
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 1, 1833, page 208, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2617/page/16/
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