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>*< » . ¦ ¦¦¦ .- . ¦ strong than his , because luch a sentiment can only imply an ex << - treme and lamentable depravity in those who _ are capable of it . t , IF this description correctly expressed our sentiments , they wouldd justly call forth the severest reprobation ; but , knowing as we doo that it is totally inapplicable , we can ^ only be sorry that sco r € sp € ctable _ a ^ pexsjpjnL _ h a £ ^ ffo t taken the pains to be better informedj and calmly leave his ~ eol ^ in ™ ailW
concern . * - At the same time , however , that we are thus- indifferent to the unfounded censures of our brethren * I think we owe it to them as well as to ourselves to avoid what might give unnecessary countenance to such unfounded prejudices against either our characters or our doctrines . : On- this account I have often observed wlttr pain the tendency of some of the most eminent and deservedly respected Unitarian writers to express themselves in language
which is calculated to mislead or causelessly offend those who differ from us , and which I am well convinced is likely to give a very incorrect impression of their own real sentiments . May it not be doubted , for example * whether Mr . Belsham , in some passages of his Calm Inquiry , ' and occasionally , if I mistake not , in some of his other publications , has not expressed himself on the subject of love to Christ , in a way which , to say the least of it , is liable to "be" misconceived / and exposes the Unitarian doctrine Jo
very great and undeserved odium ? Perhaps the expressions I refer to have been misconstrued ^ by some objectors , and yet it seems difficult to understand them in any way which does not imply what most sincere Christians , whose religion is any thing better than a mere refined philosophical speculation , affecting not their understandings only , but their hearts , will be inclined to consider as great coldness , I had almost said apathy and indifference . In his remarks on 1 Peter i . 8 , { Whom having not seen ye love / &c . we have the following observations :
' Ouj ? Lord has so explicitly and repeatedly declared , that all the love which he requires of his disciples is to obey the precepts of his gospel , that it seems surprising that personal affection to Christ should be so often represented and insisted upon as a Christian duty of the highest importance . The apostles , and other immediate followers of Christ , who knew him personally , and had derived personal benefits from him ,
in addition to the greatest veneration for his character , could not hut feel the most affectionate attachment to his person . But it is impossible that Christians of later times , who haye had no personal intercourse with Christ , and have received no personal benefits from Him , can love him in the same sense in which the apostles and his other companions did . ' - ~ Calm Inquiry , p . 227 , second edit .
Surely this is a very unreasonable and unwarranted inference from such passages as are here referred to . Because our SavioiH says , ' If ye love me ye will keep my commandments / does it follow that he meant , your love to me is to be manifested in no
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300 ON LOVE TO CHRIST ON UNITARIAN PRINCIPLES . .,
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 1, 1833, page 300, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2623/page/12/
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