,transcribed from the #ahdf ,william    
,pickering edition by ,david ,price1    
email  ccx#jgdpglaf4org                 
,,christian ,,sects ,,in ,,the          
,,nineteenth ,,century                  
,,in ,a ,,series ,,of ,,letters         
,,to ,a ,,lady                          
,picture3 ,decorative graphic           
8,by this shall all men know that ye are
 my disciples if ye      have love one  
to another40--,,john xiii4 #ce4         
,picture3 ,decorative graphic           
,,london                                
,,william ,,pickering                   
#ahdf                                   
99 99 99 99 99        8,heaven and ,hell
 are not more distant1 than the         
benevolent spirit of      the ,gospel1  
and the malignant spirit of party4  ,the
 most impious wars      ever made were  
called--#8,holy ,wars4'0                
,,lyttleton4        8,let those         
ill-invented terms whereby we have been 
distinguished from      each other be   
swallowed up in that name which will    

lead us hand in      hand to heaven--the
 name of ,,christian40                  
,,bishop ,,ryder4                       
,picture3 ,decorative header    ,the    
following letters grew out of a         
conversation between one of the  editors
 of the 8,small ,books10 and a lady of  
his acquaintance2 and as  there are     
probably many who have felt the want of 
the information they  contain1 it has   
been thought that by publishing them in 
a collected form  they may be useful4   
,the views of the writer are            
sufficiently explained  in the letters  
themselves4  ,all lament the small sum  
of ,christian charity  to be found among
 religionists in general1 but few when  
they begin to  write have kept clear of 
a severity of comment which but prolongs
  differences4  ,the writer1 himself a  
member of the ,church of ,england1 is   
anxious to show that it is possible to  
be attached to one persuasion  without  
imputing either folly or ill intention  
to others2 and it is with  a view of    

promoting the loving fellowship of all  
whom ,god disdains not to  create and   
support1 that this slight sketch is     
given to the world4                     
,picture3 ,decorative graphic           
,,letter ,i4      ,you some time ago    
requested me to give you the result of  
my inquiries  into the tenets of the    
different religious sects which ,i had  
been  acquainted with2 and respecting   
which we had at different times         
conversed4  ,in the time which has since
 elapsed ,i have been endeavouring1     
both to ascertain them more completely1 
and to compare them with what ,i        
conceive to be the true spirit of       
,christianity2 but the subject has so   
grown as ,i proceeded1 that even now ,i 
can only give you a very short1 and  ,i 
fear1 in some cases1 an imperfect notion
 of them4  ,yet the subject is  one of  
deep interest2 and as ,i feel convinced 
that if we looked a little  closer into 
the differences between the established 
church and those who  separate from it1 

both parties would find them smaller and
 less important  than they imagine1 and 
that ,christian charity would be        
increased by the  examination1 ,i do not
 shrink from the task however           
inadequately ,i may  execute it4    ,i  
propose therefore to show you by        
extracts from the works of the          
principal writers among the different   
religious sects1 how they all agree  in 
most of the fundamental doctrines of    
,christianity2 at the same time  that ,i
 point out the evil consequences which  
,i conceive would ensue were  some of   
their tenets fully carried out into     
practice3 and also to state  wherein    
their peculiar opinions appear to me to 
be opposed to 8the truth  as it is in   
,christ ,jesus10 so far as to prevent me
 from adopting them2  though ,i can     
fully believe that those who hold these 
opinions in the  abstract1 may1         
notwithstanding1 be excellent practical 
,christians4    ,firmly attached as ,i  
am to the ,church of ,england1 whose    

form of worship  7allowing for the      
imperfections which naturally cling to  
all human  institutions71 ,i consider   
preferable to any other2 ,i can still   
see much  to admire in other persuasions
 and other ceremonies1 mixed up1 though 
it  be1 with some imperfections and     
error2 and my love to the established   
church does not blind me to some matters
 which might be better otherwise1  and  
which ,i shall point out as ,i proceed4 
8,of all the ,christian graces10 says a 
quaint writer1 8zeal is the most  apt to
 turn sour20 and the observation is no  
less true than it is sad1  for men too  
seldom remember that they must add to   
their faith knowledge1  and that both   
are of no avail without the crowning    
gift of charity1 #c  or in other words1 
brotherly love for all mankind4  ,the   
real ,christian1  it seems to me1 should
 imitate the liberality of ,st4 ,paul1  
who1 after  having been bred up in the  
habits of the 8strictest sect0 of the   
,jews1  scrupled not to quit all his    

former prejudices1 in order to preach   
,christ  to the ,gentiles1 without      
disgusting them by ceremonies which were
 no  fundamental part of the religion he
 taught1 and was content to become 8as  
a ,jew1 that he might gain the ,jews1   
and to them that were without law1 to   
become as without law 7being not without
 law to ,god71 that he might by  all    
means save some40 #d    ,we are too apt 
to hold each other accountable for all  
the consequences  which can be logically
 deduced from an opinion1 however       
extreme they may  be3 and then having   
persuaded ourselves that those abstract 
tenets which1  by straining them to an  
extreme point1 may have an evil effect1 
must  have an evil effect on all who    
profess them1--we avoid those who differ
  from us on religious subjects1 because
 we have assumed that they are  actually
 immoral by virtue of their opinions2   
and thus we miss the  opportunity of    
convincing ourselves of our mistake by a
 more intimate  knowledge of their      

lives4  8,by their fruits ye shall know 
them10 says our  ,lord2 but we seldom   
approach them closely enough to see the 
fruits4    ,if we would be content to   
sink minor differences1 and be satisfied
 that  8in every nation he that feareth 
,god and worketh righteousness is       
accepted with him10 we should soon meet 
on better terms2 for we do not  hold at 
a distance from those on earth whom we  
expect to meet in heaven2  and thanks be
 to ,god1 there is no religious         
persuasion that cannot boast  of many   
such as ,cornelius4    ,st4 ,paul       
recommends to the churches that they be 
8kindly affectioned one  towards        
another1 in honour preferring one       
another30 #e;a 8by this shall  men know 
that ye are my disciples10 says our     
,great ,exemplar1 8if ye have  love one 
to another20 but alas6 if we contemplate
 what is called the  ,christian world1  
where shall we find ,christ's true      
disciples8  ,grievous  indeed it is1 as 
has been well observed1 that that       

religion1 which  8should most correct   
and sweeten men's spirits1 sours and    
sharpens them  the most40  ,but surely  
8we have not so learned ,christ40  ,let 
us for a  moment contemplate ,his       
conduct towards those who differed from 
him in  religious opinions2 his         
compassion towards them2 his meek       
reproofs not  only to the ,sadducees and
 the ,samaritans1 but even to the more  
hardened2  #e;b and then let us turn to 
our own hearts and confess with shame   
that  we have fallen miserably short of 
that charity without which 8whosoever   
liveth is counted dead before ,god40    
,so clear is the command to exercise    
universal benevolence1 that whatever    
obscurity there may be in other parts of
 ,scripture1 however men1 even  wise    
ones1 may differ as to the real         
signification of certain passages in    
the ,bible1 here at least there can be  
no cavilling4  ,it is intelligible  to  
the most ignorant as well as the most   
learned1 so that 8the wayfaring  man1   

though a fool1 shall not err therein40  
,archbishop ,tillotson relates of ,mr4  
,gouge1 an eminent nonconformist1 that  
he allowed men to differ from him in    
opinions that were 8very dear to  him20 
and provided men did but 8fear ,god and 
work righteousness10 he  loved them     
heartily1 how distant soever from him in
 judgment about things  less necessary3 
8in all which10 observes the            
,archbishop1 8he is very  worthy to be a
 pattern to men of all persuasions40    
8,i abhor two  principles in religion10 
says ,william ,penn in a letter to the  
same  archbishop1 8and pity them that   
own them4  ,the first is obedience upon 
authority without conviction2 and the   
other1 destroying them that differ  from
 me for ,god's sake3 such a religion is 
without judgment1 though not  without   
truth4  ,union is best1 if right2 if    
not1 charity40    ,i have given the     
opinion of these two eminent men of     
different  persuasions1 partly to show  
that the evil ,i complain of is one of  

long  standing2 partly to justify my own
 opinion as to the remedy2 namely1 the  
paying more attention to the fundamental
 doctrines of ,christianity2  less1 to  
those minor differences which1 from the 
very obscurity of the  texts on which   
they are founded1 come more frequently  
under discussion1  and thus1 from a     
mental operation somewhat analogous to  
that of the laws  of perspective1 seem  
large and important because they are    
close under our  eyes1 though they are  
in fact minute in comparison with those 
which we  have not been examining so    
closely4  ,thus men inadvertently       
reverse the  order of things1 and zeal  
for the maintenance of peculiar tenets  
too  often supersedes the far more      
important virtue of ,christian          
benevolence1  to the scandal of all good
 ,christians and the mockery of         
unbelievers4    ,the ,quakers1 in their 
address to ,james ,,ii4 on his          
accession1 told him  that they          
understood he was no more of the        

established religion than  themselves4  
8,we therefore hope10 said they1 8that  
thou wilt allow us  that liberty which  
thou takest thyself30 and it would be   
well if we took  a hint from this1 and  
reflected that we differ as much from   
other sects  as they do from us1 #h and 
that the greatest heresy is1 as a       
,christian  ,father declared it to be   
long ago--8a wicked life40    ,it is1   
however1 needful to distinguish between 
the ,christian spirit of  forbearance   
towards those who differ from us in     
religious opinions1 which  ,christ and  
his apostles so strongly inculcate1 and 
the indolent  latitudinarianism which   
induces many to declare that 8a man     
cannot help  his belief10 that          
8sincerity is everything10 that 8all    
religious sects  are alike10 c43        
positions which1 as you well observed on
 one occasion1  ought rather to be      
reversed2 for when men are not sincere1 
all sects  certainly are alike3 for then
 it is but a lip service which will     

never  influence the life1 and it       
matters not what opinion is professed2  
it will  be equally powerless4          
,sincere belief must be the consequence 
of proof1 without which we cannot       
believe truly2 with it1 we must4  ,if   
then we content ourselves with the  mere
 ipse dixit of others without seeking   
proof1 our belief is the  result of     
indolence1 and for that indolence we    
shall be accountable when  we are called
 on to give an account of the talent    
committed to our  charge1 if error has  
been consequent upon it4  ,he1 on the   
contrary1 whose  education or whose     
means have not put proof within his     
reach1 although he  may wish earnestly  
for it1 may be wrong in understanding1  
but he will  never be wrong in heart3   
his tenets may be wrong1 but his life   
will be  right4  ,it behoves us         
therefore to be cautious how we pass    
sentence on  one another in religious   
matters1 since1 as has been well        
observed1 we  are ourselves amenable to 

a tribunal where uncharitable conduct   
towards  others1 will bring down a just 
and heavy sentence on ourselves4  ,we   
are  not to erect ourselves into judges 
of other men's consciences1 #aj but     
leave them to the judgment and disposal 
of ,,one who alone can see into the     
heart of men1 and alone can ascertain   
the real nature and ultimate            
consequence of all questions which admit
 of 8doubtful disputation40    ,there   
will be some danger of losing our way   
among the almost numberless  divisions  
and subdivisions of sects1 which present
 themselves as soon as  we begin to     
consider the subject at all narrowly4   
,i therefore propose to  simplify my    
task1 and make our course a little      
plainer1 by adopting the  two great     
divisions into which the reformed       
churches may have been said  to have    
arranged themselves at the era of the   
,reformation1 as a  foundation for the  
classification of ,christian sects at   
present4  ,calvin  and ,melancthon may  

be considered as the prototypes and     
heads of these two  divisions1 which    
however they may sometimes vary and     
sometimes  intermingle1 are continually 
reproduced1 because they are grounded   
upon  two great natural divisions of    
human kind1 the stern and the gentle4   
,my  own leaning is to the latter1      
because it appears to me most in        
accordance  with the spirit of that     
gospel whose great ,promulgator made    
universal  benevolence the test of his  
disciples2 but at the same time ,i must 
acknowledge1 and shall indeed prove     
before ,i have done1 that the sterner   
theoretical view may coexist in the mind
 with a large share of true  ,christian 
charity and benevolence4  ,be the       
abstract belief of the  ,christian what 
it may1 if he be really at heart a      
disciple1 the example  of his mild      
,master will always influence his life  
and feelings1 and he  will tread in the 
steps of his ,lord1 even if his judgment
 should  sometimes have mistaken the    

true meaning of some of his words4      
,these two views of the ,divine         
dispensations towards man were first    
arrayed in actual hostility at the      
,synod of ,dort in #afah1 where the     
doctrines of ,james ,arminius1 professor
 of divinity in the ,university of      
,leyden1 who had followed the opinions  
of ,luther and ,melancthon1 were        
condemned1 and those of the ,calvinistic
 church of ,geneva affirmed4  ,from     
that time the various sects of the      
reformed church have generally been     
known as ,arminian or ,calvinistic1     
according as they embraced the peculiar 
tenets of either party on the subject of
 man's salvation3 ,i shall  therefore   
thus distinguish the two classes into   
which ,i propose to  arrange them1      
though they may not follow out either in
 the whole of their  opinions4          
,i4  ,,arminian4    #a4  ,quakers4      
#b4  ,socinians and ,unitarians4    #c4 
,wesleyan ,methodists4    #d4  ,general 
,baptists1 ,moravians1 ,swedenborgians1 

,plymouth ,brethren4                    
,,ii4  ,,calvinistic4    #a4            
,presbyterians1 ,independents4    #b4   
,particular ,baptists1 ,sub and         
,supralapsarians1 ,sandemanians4    #c4 
,calvinistic ,methodists4  ,evangelical 
or ,low ,church4                        
,picture3 ,decorative graphic           
,,letter ,,ii4  ,,quakers4      ,the    
sect which ,i have placed first upon my 
list1 arose about the middle  of the    
seventeenth century1 when a number of   
individuals withdrew from  the communion
 of every visible church 8to seek10 #ad 
as they expressed  it1 8the ,lord1 in   
retirement30 and ,george ,fox1 their    
leader1 or as they  termed him1 their   
8honourable elder10 went about preaching
 their opinions  in fairs and markets1  
in courts of justice1 and steeple       
houses1 i4e4  churches4  ,he denounced  
the state worship as 8superstitious10   
and warned  all to obey the ,holy       
,spirit1 speaking by him4  ,he was in   
consequence  brought before two justices

 of the peace in ,derbyshire in #afej1  
one of  whom1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 called ,fox1
 and his hearers 8,quakers10 in derision
 of  their frequent admonitions to      
8tremble at the ,word of ,god20 and this
  appellation soon became general1      
though they themselves took then1 and   
still preserve1 the title of 8the       
,society of ,friends40    ,the rigid    
peculiarities of phrase1 c4 which ,fox  
added to his religious  sentiments2 the 
regular discipline which he enforced2   
and the zeal with  which he maintained  
and propagated his tenets gave          
consistency to this  sect1 although he  
was not1 as has been supposed1 the      
originator of their  doctrines4  ,he    
conceived himself forbidden by divine   
command to pull off  his hat to any one1
 or to address any one excepting in the 
singular  number1 or to 8call any man   
master20 and for these peculiarities as 
well  as for the refusal to give or     
accept titles of honour1 or to take an  
oath1 the 8,friends0 suffered the most  

cruel persecutions2 for we are told     
that 8they tortured with cruel whippings
 the bodies of both men and women  of   
good estate and reputation20 #ae;a and  
were further punished by  impounding of 
their horses2 by distress of goods2 by  
fines1  imprisonments1 whipping1 and    
setting in the stocks3 #ae;b yet1       
notwithstanding these severities1 the   
sect increased and spread far and  wide1
 and great numbers of people were drawn 
together1 many out of  animosity1 to    
hear them4    ,the ,declaration of      
,indulgence in #affc stopped for a short
 time the  persecution of the ,quakers1 
but by the ,conventicle ,act of #affd1  
numbers  of them were condemned to      
transportation3 in #afff1 however1 their
  condition improved1 when the          
celebrated ,william ,penn1 the son of   
,admiral  ,penn1 joined them4    ,the   
discipline of this society is kept up by
 monthly meetings1 composed  of an      
aggregate of several particular         
congregations1 whose business it is  to 

provide for the maintenance of their    
poor1 and the education of their        
children2 also to judge of the sincerity
 and fitness of persons desirous  of    
being admitted as members2 to direct    
proper attention to religion and  moral 
duty2 and to deal with disorderly       
members4  ,at each monthly meeting      
persons are appointed to see that the   
rules of their discipline are put  in   
practice4  ,it is usual when any member 
has misconducted himself1 to  appoint a 
small committee to visit the offender1  
to endeavour to convince  him of his    
error and induce him to forsake it4  ,if
 they succeed1 he is  declared to have  
8made satisfaction for his offence10    
otherwise he is  dismissed from the     
society4  ,in disputes between          
individuals1 it is  enjoined that the   
members of this sect should not sue each
 other at law1  but settle their        
differences by the rules of the society4
    ,marriage is regarded by the        
,quakers as a religious1 not a mere     

civil  compact4  ,those who wish to     
enter into that state appear together1  
and  state their intentions at one of   
the monthly meetings1 and if not        
attended by parents or guardians must   
produce their consent in writing  duly  
witnessed2 and if no objections are     
raised at a subsequent meeting1  they   
are allowed to solemnize their marriage1
 which is done at a public  meeting for 
worship2 towards the close of which the 
parties stand up and  solemnly take each
 other for man and wife4  ,a certificate
 of the  proceedings is then read       
publicly and signed by the parties1 and 
afterwards by the relations as          
witnesses4  ,the monthly meeting keeps a
  register of the marriages as well as  
of the births and burials of the        
society4    ,children are named without 
any attending ceremony2 neither is it   
held  needful that there should be any  
at burial1 though the body followed by  
the relatives and friends is sometimes  
carried into a meeting house1 and  at   

the grave a pause is generally made to  
allow of a discourse from any  friend   
attending if he be so inclined4    ,the 
women have monthly1 quarterly1 and      
yearly meetings of their own sex1  but  
without the power of making rules4  8,as
 we believe10 they say1 8that  women may
 be rightly called to the work of the   
ministry1 we also think  that to them   
belongs a share in the support of       
,christian discipline2 and  that some   
parts of it wherein their own sex is    
concerned devolve on them  with peculiar
 propriety40    ,but what1 you will ask1
 are the religious tenets of this sect8 
,the  question will perhaps best be     
answered by an extract from their       
8,rules of  ,discipline10 a work        
published under the sanction of the     
society4  8,the  original and immediate 
ground of the religious fellowship of   
the early  ,friends10 says the writer of
 this manual1 8was union of sentiment in
  regard to ,christ's inward teaching40 
,they were firm believers in all  that  

is revealed in ,holy ,scripture         
respecting our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus
  ,christ2 nor would they have allowed  
that any one held the truth who  denied 
his coming in the flesh1 or the benefit 
to fallen man by his  propitiatory      
sacrifice4  8,we believe that1 in order 
to enable mankind to  put in practice   
the precepts of the gospel1 every man   
coming into the  world is endued with a 
measure of the light1 grace1 or good    
,spirit of  ,christ1 by which1 as it is 
alluded to1 he is enabled to distinguish
 good  from evil1 and to correct the    
disorderly passions and corrupt         
propensities of his fallen nature1 which
 mere reason is altogether  insufficient
 to overcome4  ,for all that belongs to 
man is fallible1 and  within the reach  
of temptation3 but the divine grace1    
which comes by ,him1  i4e4 ,christ1 who 
hath overcome the world1 is1 to those   
who humbly and  sincerely seek it1 an   
all-sufficient and present help in time 
of need 4 4 4  whereby the soul is      

translated out of the kingdom of        
darkness1 and from  under the power of  
,satan into the marvellous light and    
kingdom of the ,son  of ,god4  ,now as  
we thus believe that the grace of ,god1 
which comes by  ,jesus ,christ1 is alone
 sufficient for salvation1 we can       
neither admit  that it is conferred upon
 a few only1 while others are left      
without it2  nor thus asserting its     
universality1 can we limit its operation
 to a  partial cleansing of the soul    
from sin even in this life40    ,baptism
 and the ,lord's supper are regarded by 
this sect as mere types or  shadows1    
representing in a figurative manner     
certain great particulars of  ,christian
 ,truths1 but not intended to be of     
permanent obligation4  ,they  consider  
the former to have been superseded by   
the baptism of the ,spirit3  of the     
latter they say1 8the emblem may be     
either used or disused as  ,christians  
may consider most conducive to the real 
advantage of the  church3 the only      

needful supper of the ,lord is          
altogether of a  spiritual nature40     
,they conceive that a reliance on the   
eucharist as a  #8viaticum or saving    
ordinance1' is a dangerous tenet1 as    
well as the  connecting the rite of     
baptism with regeneration4  ,they think 
that  8ordinances so liable to abuse1   
and the cause of so many divisions and  
persecutions1 cannot truly appertain to 
the law of ,god40    ,quakers consider  
all holidays as 8shadows0 which ceased  
with the shadowy  dispensations of the  
law1 and that neither the first day of  
the week1 nor  any other1 possesses any 
superior sanctity2 #bj but as a society 
they  have never objected to 8a day of  
rest10 for the purpose of religious     
improvement4  ,they consider the        
,christian ,dispensation to have        
superseded  the use of oaths1 and       
contend that our ,lord's precepts       
#ba;extend even to  the swearing of     
witnesses in courts of law4  ,war they  
hold to be  altogether inconsistent with

 the spirit and precepts of the gospel1 
and  urge that the primitive ,christians
 during two centuries maintained its    
unlawfulness4  ,they object on the same 
principle to capital punishments1  and  
the slave trade4    ,the members of the 
society are bound by their principles to
 abstain  entirely 8from profane and    
extravagant entertainments10 from excess
 in  eating and drinking2 from public   
diversions2 from the reading of useless1
  frivolous1 and pernicious books2 from 
gaming of every description2 and  from  
vain and injurious sports 7such as      
hunting or shooting for  diversion72    
from unnecessary display in funerals1   
furniture1 and style of  living3 from   
unprofitable1 seductive1 and dangerous  
amusements1 among  which are ranked     
dancing and music2 and generally from   
all 8such  occupations of time and mind 
as plainly tend to levity1 vanity1 and  
forgetfulness of our ,god and ,saviour10
 and they object to all  complimentary  
intercourse4    ,in the sketch ,i have  

now given of the tenets of this sect1   
you cannot  have failed to observe how  
closely their notions with regard to the
  fundamental doctrines of ,christianity
 tally with those of the great body  of 
the church2 the differences being all on
 points of minor import1 if we  except  
the ceremonies of baptism and the       
,lord's supper2 which1 being the        
appointment of ,christ himself1 we are  
not at liberty to reject4  ,and yet1  be
 it observed1 the ,quaker does not      
presumptuously reject them1 but  merely 
acts upon1 as we suppose1 an erroneous  
view of their nature4    ,on points of  
minor difference it may be observed1    
that ,he who was the  ,,prince ,,of     
,,peace1 and came to establish it1 never
 specifically forbad war1  7for there   
may be cases where it is merely self    
defence17 but left it to  the spirit of 
the gospel to remove the causes of war4 
#bb  ,we all know  the appellation      
bestowed on the ,centurion1 ,cornelius3 
and when soldiers  came to ,john the    

,baptist saying1 8,what shall we do80 he
 merely sought to  retrench the         
disorders and injustice which those who 
follow the  profession of arms might be 
tempted to commit2 but did not condemn  
their  necessary employments4  ,we may  
therefore fairly conclude that the      
sweeping condemnation of all war by the 
,quakers1 is not warranted by           
,scripture1 although it is in many and  
indeed most instances1 entered upon  far
 too carelessly4    ,one of the main    
distinctions of the ,quakers is the     
rejection of certain  amusements and    
pursuits1 which others on the contrary  
consider as  innocent1 believing that   
the religion of ,christ rather          
encourages than  forbids a cheerful     
spirit1 and allows by the example of the
 ,saviour1 a  participation in social   
pleasures3 and that 8an upright1        
religious man1  by partaking in such    
pleasures1 may be the means of          
restraining others  within due bounds1  
and by his very presence may prevent    

their  degenerating into extravagance1  
profligacy1 and sin20 #bd;a and such do 
not feel in their hearts that these     
#bd;b are the 8pomps and vanities  of   
the world10 which by their baptismal vow
 they renounce4  ,but surely it  is     
possible that different persons may     
regard the same pursuits and  amusements
 in a very different light1 and yet both
 may be conscientious  in their views1  
and both1 whether in abstaining or      
enjoying1 be equally  doing that which  
is lawful and right in the sight of     
,god4  ,that very  amusement or pursuit 
which is a snare to one1 and therefore  
to be avoided  by him1 may be a source  
of innocent1 and perhaps profitable     
recreation to  another4  ,it is the     
intention1 the animus with which an act 
is done1  and not the act itself which  
constitutes the sin4  8,let not him that
  eateth despise him that eateth not2   
and let not him that eateth not judge   
him that eateth3 to his own master he   
standeth or falleth40                   

8,christianity10 says an excellent      
prelate of our church1 8forbids no      
necessary occupation1 no reasonable     
indulgences1 no innocent relaxation4    
,it allows us to #8use' the world1      
provided we do not #8abuse' it4  ,it    
does  not spread before us a delicious  
banquet1 and then come with a #8,touch  
not1 taste not1 handle not3' all it     
requires is that our liberty  degenerate
 not into licentiousness2 our amusements
 into dissipation2 our  industry into   
incessant toil2 our carefulness into    
extreme anxiety and  endless solicitude4
  ,when it requires us to be #8temperate
 in all things1'  it plainly tells us   
that we may use all things temperately4 
#bf  ,when  it directs us to #8make our 
moderation known unto all men1' this    
evidently  implies that within the      
bounds of moderation we may enjoy all   
the  reasonable conveniences and        
comforts of this present life40    ,i   
have noticed this1 in my opinion1       
erroneous practice of the ,quakers at   

the more length1 because it is not      
confined to them4  ,asceticism1 of      
which this is one branch1 has been the  
bane of the church and of  ,christianity
 generally2 and few sects are entirely  
free from the notion  that holiness     
requires a withdrawal from amusements1  
and a certain degree  of seclusion from 
the world4  ,yet1 if the world is to be 
improved1 the  leaven must be placed in 
it2 and a good man probably never does  
his  ,father's work more effectually    
than when he spreads the sanctifying    
influence of his example through all the
 relations of life2 showing that  there 
is no position in society where         
,christianity does not add a grace  and 
a relish unknown without it3 spreading  
refinement of manners and  delicacy of  
thought1 and insensibly rendering social
 intercourse more  polished1 and more   
delightful1 by banishing from it all    
that can offend4    ,the ,quakers adduce
 ,matt4 v4 #cc-cg1 ,james v4 #ab1 c4 in 
support of their  objection to all      

oaths1 even judicial ones1 and consider 
that the  ,christian dispensation       
abrogated their use4  ,but in answer to 
this we may  observe that even the      
,almighty is represented as confirming  
his promises  by a solemn oath4         
8,because10 says the apostle1 8,he could
 swear by no  higher1 ,he sware by      
,himself20 and ,st4 ,paul on particular 
occasions  expresses himself thus1 8,as 
,god is true30 8,before ,god ,i lie     
not30 8,god is  my record10 c4 all which
 expressions undoubtedly contain the    
essence and  formality of an oath2 and  
the ,apostle upon some occasions        
mentions this  solemn swearing with     
approbation1 8an oath for confirmation  
is the end of  all strife30 the         
swearing1 therefore1 which our ,saviour 
absolutely  forbids1 is common or       
unnecessary swearing1 and we are        
recommended to  affirm or deny in common
 conversation without imprecations4     
8,let your  conversation be yea1        
yea1--nay1 nay40    ,the repugnance     

entertained by the ,quakers against     
paying tithes appears  to me to arise   
from an error in their mode of viewing  
the question4  ,the  assertion made by  
them 8that all the provision made for   
ministers of the  gospel in the first   
ages was made by the love of their      
flocks10 is true1  though that love very
 soon produced endowments1 even before  
,christianity  was established as the   
law of the empire4  ,but allowing this1 
it does not  follow1 as they go on to   
assert1 that 8since we are under the    
same  dispensation of love as the       
,apostles were1 the principles which    
governed  the church then are to govern 
it now40  ,tithes were originally given 
to  the church as a corporation1 by the 
owners of the soil2 and since that  time
 estates have been transferred from hand
 to hand subject to that  charge1 till  
no man has any plea for refusing it4    
,the question is not  one of religion   
but of property4  ,if my estate devolve 
to me chargeable  with an annuity       

payable either to a corporation or an   
individual1 ,i have  no right to set up 
his religious opinions in bar of his    
claim3 for ,i have  paid less for the   
purchase in consequence of the existence
 of that claim1  which in common honesty
 therefore ,i am bound to satisfy1 be   
the annuitant  who he may4 #bi          
,having now noticed the points wherein  
,i consider the peculiar tenets of  the 
,quakers to be erroneous1 ,i shall      
conclude with the more agreeable  part  
of my task1 and prove by extracts from  
one of their writers how much  of true  
,christian feeling exists among them4   
,the following is from a  little book   
given me by a ,quaker1 from the pen of  
,j4 ,gurney1 entitled 8,an  ,essay on   
,love to ,god40    8,still more         
completely than the provisions of nature
 fall in with our  bodily state1 and    
supply our temporal wants2 still more   
properly than the  air agrees with the  
functions of the lungs1 and the light   
with those of  the eye1 does the gospel 

of our ,redeemer suit the spiritual     
condition of  man4  ,we are a fallen    
race1 alienated from ,god by our sins1  
justly liable  to his wrath3 in the     
gospel we have pardon1 peace and        
restoration4  #8,christ made all things 
new1' says ,grotius1 #8and the latter   
creation is  more divine than the       
former4'  ,if then the first creation of
 mankind  and all the bounties of nature
 are the result of ,love1 that attribute
 is  far more gloriously displayed in   
the scheme of redemption and in the     
works of grace4--,the love of ,god the  
,father is ever represented in          
,scripture as the origin of all our     
hopes1--as the eternal1 unfathomable    
spring of the waters of life and        
salvation1 and this love is plainly     
described as extending to the whole     
world4  #8,god so loved the world1 c4   
#cj;a  ,god was in ,christ reconciling  
the world to himself' #cj;b--#8,god     
would have all men to be saved1 c4'     
#cj;c  ,do we ask for an overwhelming   

evidence of the love of ,god8  ,let the 
,apostle satisfy our inquiry4  #8,in    
this was manifested the love of ,god    
towards us1 because ,god sent his only  
begotten ,son into the world that we    
might live by him4  ,herein is love2    
not that we loved ,god1 but that he     
loved us1 and sent his ,son to be the   
propitiation for our sins4' #ca;a  ,do  
we ask whether ,god thus loved the      
whole or only a part of the world8--,let
 the same ,apostle answer3 #8,he  tasted
 death for every man--,he gave himself a
 ransom for all1 c4'  ,even the         
,gentiles1 who were without the benefit 
of an outward revelation1  were by no   
means destitute of an inward knowledge  
of the law of ,god1 and  some of them   
showed #8the work of the law written on 
their hearts1 their  consciences also   
bearing witness4' #ca;b  #8,christ is   
the true light which  lighteth every man
 that cometh into the world4' #ca;c     
,hence we may  reasonably infer that as 
,god appointed the death of ,christ to  

be a  sacrifice for the sins of the     
whole world1 so all men receive through 
,christ a measure of moral and spiritual
 light1 and all have their day of       
gracious visitation4  ,if the light in  
numberless instances be extremely       
faint1 if the darkness fail to          
comprehend it1 we may rest in the       
conviction that ,god is not only just   
but equitable1 and that those #8who     
know not their ,master's will and do it 
not shall be beaten with few  stripes4' 
#cb  ,the gospel of our ,lord ,jesus    
,christ1 as it is revealed in  the ,holy
 ,scriptures1 is intended for the       
benefit of the whole world3 it  is      
adapted to men of every condition1      
clime1 and character3 all are  invited  
to avail themselves of its benefits3 all
 who will come may  come1 and #8take the
 water of life freely4'0                
,picture3 ,decorative header            
,,letter ,,iii4  ,,socinians ,,and      
,,unitarians4      ,when the first great
 movement which led to the ,reform of a 

large part of  the ,christian ,churches 
in ,europe1 awakened men's minds from   
the lethargy  in which they had slept   
whilst learning was confined to the     
cloister1 the  questions with regard to 
the nature of the ,deity which had      
distracted the  early church began again
 to be mooted2 and as early as the year 
#aebd1  8the divinity of ,christ was    
openly denied by ,lewis ,hetyer1 one of 
the  wandering and fanatical            
,anabaptists1 who was put to death at   
,constance40  #cc;a  ,he was succeeded  
by ,michael ,servede or ,servetus1 a    
,spanish  physician2 who1 for his wild  
notions on the same subject1 was        
apprehended  on his road through        
,switzerland at the instigation of      
,calvin1 accused of  blasphemy1 and     
condemned to the flames4 #cc;b  ,but    
doctrines were never  yet crushed by    
persecution1 unless indeed it were so   
wholesale as to  exterminate all who    
held them2 and though these opinions    
were thus fatal  to their professors1   

the main points were reproduced by      
others2 and  finally assumed form as a  
sect1 under the titles above named4     
,the term  ,socinian was taken from two 
of its most distinguished promoters1    
,llius  and ,faustus ,sozinus1 or       
,socinus4  ,they were of an illustrious 
family at  ,siena in ,tuscany1 and      
,llius1 the uncle of ,faustus1 having   
taken a  disgust to popery1 travelled   
into ,france1 ,england1 c4 to examine   
into  their religious creed1 in order1  
if possible1 to come at the truth4  ,he 
was a man distinguished for his genius  
and learning1 no less than for his      
virtuous life2 he settled at last at    
,zurich1 embraced the ,helvetic         
confession of faith1 and died at ,zurich
 in #aefb1 before he had reached  his   
fortieth year4  ,his sentiments1 or     
rather doubts as to certain  points1    
were embodied1 and more openly          
propagated by his nephew ,faustus2  who1
 as is supposed1 drew up from his papers
 the religious system  afterwards known 

under the name of ,socinianism4  ,there 
is however a  considerable degree of    
obscurity hanging over the rise of this 
sect1 and  no one has given a           
satisfactory history of it4    ,the     
first appearance of ,unitarians1 as a   
distinct congregation1 was in  ,poland1 
where they obtained a settlement in the 
city of ,cracow in the  year #aefi2 and 
in #aege they published at ,cracow the  
8,catechism or  ,confession of the      
,unitarians20 #ce;a but ,faustus        
,socinus having settled  among them in  
the year #aegi1 soon obtained so much   
influence as finally  to remodel the    
whole religious system of the sect1 and 
a new form drawn  up by ,socinus        
himself1 was substituted for the old    
,catechism4    ,the following is an     
abstract of the doctrines taught in this
 ,catechism4  ,after affirming that the 
,christian religion is 8a road for      
arriving at  eternal life1 divinely made
 known10 the pupil is told that the will
 of  ,god on points essential to        

salvation was revealed by ,jesus        
,christ4  ,the  ,catechism then goes on 
to affirm the entire unity of the       
,deity2 since if  he is one essence1    
then must he also be individually one1  
#ce;b and  therefore ,christ cannot he  
truly said to be a separate person or   
individual1 partaking of the essentia of
 the ,deity1 since that  essentia is    
necessarily one4  ,that the ,spirit of  
,god1 being an  essential part of the   
,deity1 cannot be a separate individual 
7for in this  sense the ,catechism      
interprets the word persona #cf71 any   
more than  his wisdom or his goodness is
 a separate individual1 and that        
therefore  the manifestations of the    
,spirit of ,god are manifestations of   
the ,deity  himself4    8,christ10 says 
the ,catechism1 8is a man1 according to 
,rom4 v4 #ae1  conceived by a virgin1   
through the power of the ,divine        
,spirit1 without  the intervention of   
man in the ordinary course of           
generation4  ,he was  first subject to  

suffering and death--afterwards         
impassible and immortal1  ,rom4 vi4 #i4 
,it is in the sense of his existence    
derived immediately from  ,god1 that he1
 though man1 is called the ,son of      
,god--as ,adam is so termed  from the   
same cause4  ,jesus ,christ was the     
immediate instrument of ,god's          
communications to man2 and being1 whilst
 on earth1 the voice of ,god1 he  is now
 the anointed ,king1 or ,christ1 over   
the people of ,god40    ,the passages   
where he is said to have existed from   
the beginning3 to have  created all     
things1 c4 are laboriously explained    
away1 as referring to  the regeneration1
 or new state of things introduced by   
,christ's mission  on earth3 and in this
 part there is much forced              
interpretation4  ,i shall  annex some of
 the passages in the language of the    
original1 #cg as a  proof that ,i have  
given a fair account of the real        
,socinian doctrine1  which is very      
little understood at present4  ,writers 

from whom we might  expect greater      
accuracy1 have very generally confounded
 ,socinians and  ,arians1 although      
,faustus ,socinus was at the pains to   
write a laboured  refutation of the     
,arian doctrine1 and although a         
reference to the  doctrines of the two  
sects would show that they are the      
antipodes of each  other4  ,arius taught
 that ,christ was not of the same nature
  771 with the ,father1 but of a like   
nature 77 and  therefore individually   
separate--separate in will1 and capable 
of  differing4  ,this is a direct       
assertion of two ,gods4  ,socinus on the
  contrary strenuously asserts the unity
 of the ,deity to the extent of  denying
 the pre-existence of ,christ3 which    
,arius though acknowledging  that there 
was a time when he began to exist1      
nevertheless refers to a  period remote 
beyond human calculation4  ,thus upon   
their characteristic  doctrines1 the two
 sects are diametrically opposed to each
 other4    ,having now given you the    

real opinions of ,socinus1 from his own 
works1  for the book is lying beside me 
as ,i write1 ,i shall pursue my plan of 
examining how far they accord with what 
was taught by those who certainly  ought
 to be best informed on the subject1    
namely1 ,christ himself1 his  ,apostles1
 and their immediate successors2 as well
 as with the deductions  of reason4     
,the unity of the ,deity is so          
frequently and so decidedly  asserted in
 ,scripture1 that it is impossible to   
consider any man as  unorthodox who     
professes to make this the groundwork of
 his belief--so far  therefore the      
,socinian is in accordance both with    
,scripture and the  general voice of the
 ,christian church1 for the early       
,apologists for  ,christianity1 who had 
to address polytheists1 are full of     
declarations  that they worship ,one    
only ,deity1 who by various             
manifestations has made  himself1 at    
different times1 known to mankind4 #ci;a
  ,there is not a  writer of the first  

and second centuries who does not       
anxiously assert  the one-ness of the   
,god whom the ,christians worship3 but  
then they as  anxiously assert the      
identity of their ,teacher and ,lord    
with that ,god4  ,from ,christ himself1 
who says1 8,before ,abraham was1 ,i am20
 #ci;b 8,i and  the ,father are one20   
#ci;c 8,he who hath seen me hath seen   
the ,father20  8the ,father that        
dwelleth in me1 ,he doeth the works20   
#ci;d to ,st4 ,paul1  who tells us that 
8,god was in ,christ reconciling the    
world to ,himself10  #ci;e down to the  
fathers of the early church1 to whom ,i 
may refer  passim for the same doctrine2
 all have distinctly asserted that the  
message of peace to man was delivered by
 ,god himself1 making use of a  human   
form as the mode of communication with  
his creatures1 and dwelling  in 8the man
 ,christ ,jesus10 #ci;f as in a temple  
built up for his especial  use2 the     
human nature1 to use the expression of  
the church1 8having been  taken into    

,god10 not the ,godhead circumscribed in
 man4  ,i will not swell  the length of 
my letter with quotations from the      
fathers which may be  found elsewhere2  
,i think the texts ,i have quoted with  
many more of the  same purport1 which   
you will readily call to mind1 suffice  
to prove that  when ,socinus asserted   
the ,christ to be merely a man1 he      
erred2 for  though ,jesus 8the          
,carpenter's son10 as his contemporaries
 called him1 was  to all intents and    
purposes a man 8of a reasonable soul and
 human flesh  subsisting20 #dj and      
though this may be proved from          
numberless passages  in the ,scripture1 
where the man ,jesus speaks of his      
inferiority to the  ,father and bestower
 of his human frame and spirit1--yet if 
we do not  entirely distort the meaning 
of words1 that man at times uttered     
declarations of divine power which could
 only have proceeded from the           
indwelling ,deity1 otherwise they must  
have been the assertions of  imposture1 

which ,socinus by no means teaches to   
have been the case4  ,i  know not1      
therefore1 how the believer in the      
,gospel can avoid  acknowledging that   
,christ was a compound being3--perfectly
 a man1 and  speaking as such on some   
occasions2 but1 at the same time1 the   
temple of  the ,ever-living ,god1 whose 
words flowed from his lips like the     
answer  from the ,mercy seat3 8,heaven  
and the heaven of heavens0 no doubt     
8cannot  contain0 the ,infinite2 and no 
true believer will assert that ,god can 
be  circumscribed in a human body--but1 
if so mean a comparison may be          
permitted--as the crater of the volcano 
is but the mouthpiece of the  mighty    
agents operating within for the         
fashioning of the earth1--so the        
manifestation of the ,deity in the form1
 and from the lips of a man1 is  but    
that spot of the material creation where
 the ever blessed ,divinity  allows     
himself1 as it were1 a vent2 and gives  
forth a visible and  tangible sign of   

his existence4    8,he that has seen me 
has seen the ,father10 says the ,christ4
  8,i can of  my own self do nothing0   
#da says the man3 and this distinction  
which  the ,christ who necessarily knew 
something of the composition of his own 
nature so frequently asserts1 has       
probably been the groundwork of the     
mistaken views of this class of         
,christians1 and we may well look with  
charitable indulgence on the errors of  
men1 who dreading lest they should      
incur the penalty of giving the         
incommunicable glory of the ,mighty ,god
 to  another1 have not allowed their due
 weight to the passages1 which assert   
that ,mighty ,god to have undertaken the
 task of bringing his creature man  back
 to ,himself4    ,having thus given you 
a fair account of the creed of ,socinus1
 ,i must next  notice the modern        
,unitarians1 who on some points differ  
from him4  ,where  there is no          
acknowledged creed or catechism1 #db    
which may be quoted as  authority1 it is

 difficult to give the doctrines of a   
sect with any  precision2 but as far as 
it is possible to judge from the        
writings most  in repute among the      
,unitarians1 they disclaim the notion of
 the  miraculous conception1 and believe
 ,christ to have been to all intents and
  purposes a mere man4  ,at the same    
time they allow him to have been so     
inspired and guided by ,god1 that it is 
difficult to see where they draw  the   
line between their own creed and that of
 the church1 which allows the  perfect  
humanity of ,jesus1 but asserts that    
8,god and man make one  ,christ10       
namely1 that the message of peace was   
that of ,god speaking by  human lips1   
and that the ,anointed prophet who      
declared it1 was1 when so  anointed1 the
 temple and place of manifestation of   
the living ,god4  ,they  disclaim the   
doctrine of atonement1 and believe that 
the mission of  ,christ had for its     
object the reform of the world1 and the 
restoration of  man to a sense of his   

true relation towards ,god1 and even    
here ,scripture  and the early church   
speak a language which differs not very 
greatly from  theirs4  ,for the language
 in which our redemption is spoken of1  
is that  of a master purchasing a slave1
 as will be seen on a reference to ,rom4
  vi4 in the original4  ,the ransom by  
which man was purchased to be the       
servant of holiness instead of that of  
sin1 was paid to his former  master1    
sin2 by the purchaser2 and the purchaser
 is ,god4  8,i speak after  the manner  
of men10 says ,st4 ,paul1 8because of   
the infirmity of your  flesh40 i4e4 ,i  
adopt the phraseology of a common       
transaction because your  minds are not 
sufficiently accustomed to the          
contemplation of higher  things to      
understand them without a metaphor2 but 
the ,unitarian forgets1  when asserting 
that the ransom was not paid to ,god1   
that it was paid  by ,god3 and that man1
 the slave1 was bought from sin1 the    
master1 at no  less a price than the    

condescension of the ,deity himself to  
the infirmity  of our flesh1 by making  
himself visibly and tangibly known to   
his  creatures1 through the medium of a 
human form4    ,i have now endeavoured  
to give a dispassionate view of the     
doctrines of  these sects1 hitherto so  
much misunderstood1 and having marked   
the points  wherein they appear to me to
 recede from ,christian truth1 ,i have  
the  pleasanter task before me1 of      
showing by extracts from their writings1
  how large a portion of the religion   
which we all profess1 they still        
retain1 and ,i may say from experience1 
on most occasions conscientiously  act  
upon4    8,if with the ,apostle we glory
 in the cross of ,christ1 or in that    
religion  which could not have been     
confirmed without his death1 let us not 
only be  careful to govern our lives by 
the precepts of it in general1 but more 
particularly be prepared to suffer what 
the strictest profession of it  may call
 us to4  ,let us remember that our      

,saviour hath said1 if any man  will be 
his disciple he must 8take up his cross1
 and follow him40  ,that  is1 he must be
 ready to do it rather than abandon the 
profession of the  ,gospel1 or whatever 
the strictest purity of it may require4 
,a true  ,christian is no more of this  
world than his ,lord and ,master was of 
it4  ,with him every thing here below is
 but of secondary consideration1        
c4--but this we must remember for our   
consolation1 that if1 in time of        
persecution 8,he that keepeth his life  
shall lose it10 8,he that loseth his    
life0 for the profession of the ,gospel 
8shall keep it to life eternal40  8,if  
we suffer with ,christ1 we shall also   
reign with him and be glorified         
together40 #dg    8,the truths which    
relate to ,jesus himself are among the  
most important  which the ,gospel       
reveals4  #8,we preach ,christ1' says   
the ,apostle1 #8warning  every man and  
teaching every man1 that we may present 
every man perfect  in ,christ ,jesus4'  

,from this passage we derive a most     
important  sentiment1 confirmed by the  
whole ,new ,testament--that the great   
design of  all the doctrines and        
precepts of the ,gospel1 is1 to exalt   
the  character1--to promote eminent     
purity of heart and life1 to make men   
#8perfect as their ,father in heaven is 
perfect4'  ,we must preach not to  make 
fiery partizans1 and to swell the number
 of a sect2 not to overwhelm  the mind  
with fear1 or to heat it with feverish  
rapture2 not to form men  to the        
decencies of life1 to a superficial     
goodness1 which will secure  the        
admiration of mankind4  ,all these      
effects fall infinitely short of  the   
great end of the ,christian ministry4   
,we should preach that we may  make men 
perfect ,christians3 perfect1 not       
according to the standard of  the world1
 but according to the law of ,christ2   
perfect in heart and in  life1 in       
solitude and in society1 in the great   
and in the common concerns  of life4    

,here is the purpose of ,christian      
preaching4  ,in this1 as in a  common   
centre1 all the truths of the ,gospel   
meet2 to this they all  conspire2 and no
 doctrine has an influence on salvation1
 any farther than  it is an aid to the  
perfecting of our nature40 #dh          
8,christ is a great ,saviour1 as he     
redeems or sets free the mind1          
cleansing it from evil1 breathing into  
it the love of virtue1 calling  forth   
its noblest faculties and affections1   
enduing it with moral power1  restoring 
it to order1 health and liberty40 99 99 
99 99 8,christ has revealed  to us ,god 
as the ,father1 and as a ,father in the 
noblest sense of that  word4  ,he hath  
revealed ,him as the author and lover of
 all souls1  desiring to redeem all from
 sin1 and to impress his likeness more  
and  more resplendently on all2 as      
proffering to all that best gift in the 
universe1 his #8holy ,spirit2' as having
 sent his beloved ,son to train us  up  
and to introduce us to an #8inheritance1

 incorruptible1 undefiled1 and  unfading
 in the heavens4'0 #di    8,i confess   
when ,i can escape the deadening power  
of habit1 and can  receive the full     
import of such passages as the          
following1 #8,come unto me1  all ye that
 labour and are heavy laden1 and ,i will
 give you rest4'  #8,i am  come to seek 
and to save that which was lost4'  #8,he
 that confesseth me  before men1 him    
will ,i confess before my ,father in    
heaven4'  #8,whosoever  shall be ashamed
 of me before men1 of him shall the ,son
 of ,man be  ashamed1 when he cometh in 
the glory of the ,father with the holy  
angels4'  #8,in my ,father's house are  
many mansions2 ,i go to prepare a place 
for  you2' ,i say1 when ,i can succeed  
in realizing the import of such         
passages1  ,i feel myself listening to a
 being1 such as never before and never  
since  spoke in human language4  ,i am  
awed by the consciousness of greatness  
which these simple words express2 and   
when ,i connect this greatness with  the

 proofs of ,christ's miracles which ,i  
gave you in a former discourse1 ,i  am  
compelled to speak with the ,centurion1 
#8,truly this was the ,son of  ,god4'   
#ej;a    8,in reading the ,gospels ,i   
feel myself in the presence of one who  
speaks  as man never spake2 whose voice 
is not of the earth2 who speaks with a  
tone of reality and authority altogether
 his own2 who speaks of ,god1 as        
conscious of his immediate presence1 as 
enjoying with him the intimacy of  an   
only ,son2 and who speaks of heaven1 as 
most familiar with the higher  states of
 being40 #ej;b    8,go to ,jesus ,christ
 for guidance1 inspiration1 and strength
 in your  office40 99 99 99 8,the       
privilege of communing with such a      
spirit is so  great1 and the duty of    
going from man to ,christ is so solemn1 
that you  must spare no effort to place 
yourself nearer and nearer to the       
,divine  ,master40  8,my brother1 go    
forth to your labours with the spirit   
and power  of ,him who first preached   

the ,gospel to the poor40 #ej;c    8,to 
,jesus the conqueror of death we owe the
 sure hope of immortality40 99  99 99   
8,is that teacher to be scorned1 who in 
the language of conscious  greatness    
says to us1 #8,i am the resurrection and
 the life'80 #ea;a    8,what are we to  
understand by the ,divinity of ,christ8 
,in the sense in  which many            
,christians1 and perhaps a majority     
interpret it1 we do not  deny it1 but   
believe it as firmly as themselves4  ,we
 believe firmly in  the ,divinity of    
,christ's mission and office1 that he   
spoke with ,divine  authority1 and was a
 bright image of the ,divine            
perfections4  ,we believe  that ,god    
dwelt in him1 manifested himself through
 him1 taught men by him1  and           
communicated to him his spirit without  
measure4  ,we believe that  ,jesus      
,christ was the most glorious display1  
expression1 and  representative of ,god 
to mankind1 so that in seeing and       
knowing him1 we  see and know the       

invisible ,father2 so that when ,christ 
came1 ,god visited  the world and dwelt 
with men more conspicuously than at any 
former  period4  ,in ,christ's words1 we
 hear ,god speaking2 in his miracles1 we
  behold ,god acting2 in his character  
and life1 we see an unsullied image  of 
,god's purity and love40 #ea;b          
,picture3 ,decorative header            
,,letter ,,iv4  ,,wesleyan ,,methodists4
      ,towards the beginning of the last
 century1 two young men at ,oxford1 the 
one a fellow of ,lincoln ,college1      
struck by the thoughtlessness or        
lukewarmness of those about them1       
resolved to devote themselves to closer 
and more profitable study4  ,they were  
brothers1 by name ,john and ,charles    
,wesley2 and two other students joined  
them in their evening readings of  the  
,new ,testament in the ,greek3 the elder
 of the brothers was at this  time about
 twenty-six4 #eb  ,after a year of this 
kind of life1 they  admitted two or     
three of the pupils of the elder        

brother1 and one of  those of the       
younger1 to their meetings2 and the     
following year1 being  joined by yet    
more of the students1 the regularity of 
their lives  obtained for them the title
 of ,methodists from those who were not 
inclined to follow their example4    ,in
 #agce another name was added to their  
number1 which has also become           
celebrated3 this was ,george ,whitfield 
of ,pembroke ,college1 then in his      
eighteenth year2 but of him ,i shall    
have occasion to speak by and by4  ,i   
shall therefore confine myself to the   
,wesleys4  ,a difference of opinion  on 
the subjects of ,freewill and           
,predestination separated them from     
their  younger coadjutor in #agda1 and  
their respective friends1 adopting      
strongly the distinctive opinions of the
 two1 the grand division of the  sect1  
which sprung up from their preaching1   
into ,wesleyan or ,arminian1  and       
,whitfieldian or ,calvinistic           
,methodists1 ensued4  ,all three        

received  holy orders according to the  
ceremonial of the ,church of ,england1  
and  ,wesley never ceased to hold his   
spiritual mother in high estimation4    
8,the ,church of ,england10 he says in  
one place1 8is the purest in            
,christendom40  ,but the singularity of 
their proceedings raised suspicion1  and
 though both brothers continued to      
profess the fullest assent to the       
articles and liturgy of the established 
church1 yet their manner of  preaching  
and form of worship had something in it 
which led the bishops  and clergy in    
general to consider them as verging on  
,sectarianism4  ,in  many places they   
were refused the use of the pulpit2 and 
then1 in the  perhaps enthusiastic      
belief that they were the appointed     
instruments of  rekindling religion in  
hearts where it had been dead hitherto1 
they began  a system of field preaching4
    ,there were at that time large      
districts slumbering in utter darkness  
and  ignorance of the saving truths of  

the ,gospel3 and it was to these that   
the ,wesleys especially directed their  
attention1 with a success  proportioned 
to their zeal2 and had the then heads of
 the church availed  themselves of the  
assistance of these earnest men in the  
way they might  have done1 by           
sanctioning their missionary labours    
among the poor and the  uninstructed1   
the benefit would have been             
incalculable4  ,but the harsh  treatment
 #ed they met with1 drove ,john ,wesley 
at last into complete  schism3 and then 
the ambition1 which had perhaps animated
 his first  exertions almost unknown to 
himself1 assumed a bolder flight1 and he
  aspired to the distinction of being   
the head and leader of a sect which     
grew so rapidly1 that at the time of his
 death in #agia1 8the number of  members
 in connexion with him in ,europe1      
,america1 and the ,west ,indian         
,islands1 was #hj1jjj4  ,and at the last
 conference in #ahca the numbers        
returned were1 in ,great ,britain1      

#bdi1aai2 in ,ireland1 #bb1dgj2 in the  
,foreign ,missions1 #db1gdc4  ,total    
#cad1ccb4  ,exclusive of more than half 
a  million of persons in the ,societies 
in the ,states of ,america40 #ee    ,you
 are probably aware that1 besides the   
public preaching1 ,wesley  instituted   
among his people several kinds of       
private meetings4  ,to the  public      
prayer meetings1 which were generally   
held in private houses1  persons not of 
this sect were often invited1 and on    
these occasions a  hymn was first sung1 
then they all knelt1 and the first who  
felt 8moved0  made an extempore prayer3 
when he had finished1 another commenced1
 and so  on for about two hours4  ,these
 prayer meetings were held in such high 
esteem among the ,methodists1 that they 
asserted more were 8born again0  and    
8made free10 as they termed it1 8from   
all the remains of sin0 than at  any    
other meetings1 public preachings1 c4   
,there was much in this kind of meeting 
which was likely to lead to  enthusiasm1

 which is universally found to be most  
easily awakened where  numbers are      
congregated2 and according to an author 
formerly of their  persuasion1 #ef the  
consequence was such as might have been 
expected4  8,it is impossible10 says he1
 8to form any just idea of those        
assemblies  except you had been present 
at them4  ,one coaxes the ,divine       
,being1  another is amorous1 and a third
 will tell the ,deity1 #8,he must be a  
liar  if he does not grant all they     
ask4'  ,they thus go on working up each 
other's imagination until they become as
 it were spiritually intoxicated1  and  
while in this state they sometimes      
recollect a text or two of  ,scripture1 
such as #8,thy sins are forgiven        
thee'--#8,go and sin no more'--#8,go  in
 peace1' c4 and then declare themselves 
to be #8born again' or  #8sanctified4'0 
,the love feast is also a private       
meeting of as many members of the       
community as choose to attend2 and they 
generally assemble from all parts       

within several miles of the place where 
the feast is held4  ,they then          
alternately sing and pray1 and some     
among them1 who think that their        
experience1 as they term it1 is         
remarkable1 stand up1 and narrate all   
the  transactions which they say have   
taken place between ,god1 the devil1 and
  their souls4    ,there is a curious   
propensity to egotism in human nature   
which frequently  shews itself in       
religious matters4  ,men love to talk of
 themselves3 and  the ,romanist finds   
pleasure in the power of pouring forth  
all his  feelings and thoughts to his   
father confessor1 whenever he is        
strongly  excited by passion3 of this ,i
 have become aware from personal        
knowledge4  ,other enthusiasts enjoy no 
less satisfaction in talking of the     
interior  conflicts they have sustained2
 for all ungoverned feeling loves to    
vent  itself in speech1 and the lover   
who talks of his mistress1 or the       
penitent who talks of his sins1 is for  

the time being in the same state  of    
restless excitement4  ,governed feeling1
 on the contrary1 as far as  my         
experience goes1 is silent4    ,in these
 ,love ,feasts those present have buns  
to eat1 which are mutually  broken      
between each 8,brother and ,sister10 and
 water to drink1 which they  hand from  
one to another4  ,these meetings        
commence about seven o'clock1  and last 
till nine or ten4    ,each society is   
divided into smaller companies called   
8classes0 according  to their respective
 places of abode4  ,there are about     
twelve persons in  every class1 one of  
whom is styled 8the ,leader10 whose     
business it is to  see each person in   
his class1 at least once a week1 to     
advise1 comfort1  or exhort1 as occasion
 may require1 and to receive what each  
is willing  to give towards the support 
of the ,gospel4    ,it is expected that 
every member should continue to evince  
his desire of  salvation by abstaining  
from 8the taking of the name of the     

,lord in  vain02 8the profaning of the  
,lord's day1 either by ordinary work    
thereon1  or by buying and selling02    
8drunkenness1 buying or selling         
spirituous  liquors1 or drinking them1  
unless in cases of extreme necessity2   
fighting1 quarreling1 brawling2 going to
 law with a brother2 returning  evil for
 evil1 or railing for railing2 the using
 many words in buying or  selling4 #ei;a
  ,the buying or selling uncustomed     
goods2 the giving or  taking things on  
usury1 i4e4 unlawful interest2 the      
putting on of gold or  costly apparel2  
the taking such diversions as cannot be 
used in the name  of the ,lord ,jesus   
,christ2 the singing those songs or     
reading those books1  that do not tend  
to the knowledge or love of             
,god2--softness and needless            
self-indulgence1 c4 #ei;b    ,among the 
duties expected and required of the     
members are all kinds of  beneficence1  
diligence1 frugality1 #ei;c self-denial1
 and attendance on  all the ordinances  

of ,god1 among which is specifically    
mentioned fasting4  ,if any member      
habitually break any of these rules he  
is admonished2 and  if he do not then   
repent1 expulsion follows4  8,marrying  
with  unbelievers10 and bankruptcy1 if  
the party has not kept fair accounts1   
are also followed by expulsion4    ,no  
one ,i think can doubt that much good   
was effected by the first  preaching of 
,wesley and his disciples1 for at that  
time our church was in  a lethargic     
state1 and the lower orders shamefully  
neglected in spiritual  matters in many 
parts of ,england4  ,yet there are some 
things which excite  one's regret in    
their practices1 and of these none      
displeases me more  than the familiar   
use of ,scripture language1 which when  
properly and  judiciously applied is    
striking and solemn2 but to hear every  
notion of  enthusiastic ignorance1 every
 rise and fall of the animal spirits1   
expressed in the language of the        
,apostles and ,evangelists1 and even of 

our ,lord himself2 to witness their     
familiarity with the ,almighty1 their   
full trust and confidence in the reality
 of small miracles wrought at  their    
request2--must always be painful to a   
soberly religious mind4  ,in a  book    
entitled 8,the ,bank of ,faith10 the    
author asserts1 that a dog brought  him 
mutton to eat1 that fish died at night  
in a pond on purpose to be  eaten by him
 in the morning1 and that money1        
clothes1 c4 in short every  thing he    
could desire he attained by prayer4 #fa 
,an old woman of ,wesley's society1     
named ,mary ,hubbard1 would often wash  
her linen1 hang it out to dry1 and go   
away to work in the fields or to        
,taunton ,market four miles from her    
house1 and when blamed for thus  leaving
 her linen unprotected1 she would reply 
that 8the ,lord watched  over her and   
all that she had1 and that he would     
prevent any person from  stealing her   
two old smocks1 or if ,he permitted them
 to be stolen1 ,he  would send her two  

new ones in their stead40  ,i seriously 
assure you1  says the author who relates
 this tale1 and who at one time went    
even  greater lengths #fb than this old 
woman1 8that there are many thousand    
,mary ,hubbards among the ,methodists40 
,it may be added1 that their strict     
abstinence from the common amusements   
of the world1 even where innocent in    
themselves1 has its evils1 as ,i have   
already noticed when speaking of the    
,quakers2 for the mind cannot always  be
 kept in a state of tension1 and if we  
refuse ourselves recreation  altogether1
 there is danger that we shall find the 
yoke of ,christ a  wearisome instead of 
an easy one1 and cast it off in disgust2
 nay1 ,i am  afraid that if we were to  
inquire closely1 we should find         
instances  enough of this result to     
demonstrate1 what indeed wants but      
little proof1  i4e4 that ,god knows     
better than we do 8whereof we are made10
 and that it  is not wisdom to bind a   
heavy burthen on our shoulders when     

,christ  himself has declared that his  
is light4  ,still1 though tinged with a 
degree of enthusiasm which we may       
regret1 the doctrine of the ,wesleyan   
,methodists retains the fundamental     
parts of ,christianity1 and after       
reading the following extracts from     
,wesley's ,sermons1 ,i think you will   
hardly forbear asking1 ,why is this a   
separate sect8    8,justifying ,faith   
implies not only a ,divine 1 evidence or
  conviction1 that #8,god was in ,christ
 reconciling the world to himself1'  but
 a sure trust and confidence that       
,christ died for my sins1 that he  loved
 me1 and gave himself for me2 and the   
moment a penitent sinner  believes this1
 ,god pardons and absolves him40 #fd;a  
8,christian  perfection does not imply1 
as some men seem to have imagined1 an   
exemption either from ignorance1 or     
mistake1 or infirmities1 or             
temptations2 indeed it is only another  
term for holiness3 thus every one  that 
is holy1 is in the ,scripture sense     

#8perfect4'  ,we may yet observe  that  
neither in this respect is there        
absolute perfection on earth40  #fd;b   
8,if the ,scriptures are true1 those who
 are holy or religious in  the judgment 
of ,god himself1 those who are endued   
with the faith that  purifies the heart1
 that produces a good conscience2 those 
who live by  faith in the ,son of ,god2 
those who are sanctified by the blood of
 the  ,covenant may nevertheless so fall
 from ,god as to perish everlastingly1  
therefore let him who thinketh he       
standeth take heed lest he fall40  8,in 
strictness neither our faith nor our    
works justify us1 i4e4 deserve the      
remission of our sins1 but ,god himself 
justifies us of his own mercy  through  
the merits of his ,son only40 #fe       
,picture3 ,decorative header            
,,letter ,v4  ,,general ,,baptists1     
,,moravians1 ,,swedenborgians1          
,,plymouth ,,brethren4      ,among the  
sects which arose about the period of   
the ,reformation of the  church in the  

sixteenth century1 we find the          
,anabaptists #ff playing  rather a      
conspicuous part1 by exciting political 
tumults in ,saxony and  the adjacent    
countries4  ,for this1 ,munzer1 their   
leader1 after the defeat  of his forces1
 was put to death1 and the sect         
generally was proscribed1  and the      
profession of its doctrines punished    
capitally4  ,what those  doctrines were 
is not easy1 nor is it essential now1 to
 state1 since the  modern sect1 which we
 now term ,baptists1 retain only so much
 of them as  relates to baptism by      
immersion1 and of adults only1 and the  
rejection of  episcopal church          
government4    ,the more modern sect is 
subdivided into ,general and ,particular
 ,baptists4  ,the ,general or ,arminian 
,baptists admit 8much latitude in their 
system of  religious doctrine1 which    
consists in such general principles1    
that their  communion is accessible to  
,christians of almost all denominations1
 and  accordingly they tolerate in fact1

 and receive among them persons of      
every sect1 who profess themselves      
,christians1 and receive the ,holy      
,scriptures as the source of truth1 and 
the rule of faith40 #fg  ,they  agree   
with the ,,particular ,,baptists in     
this1 that they admit to baptism  adults
 only1 and administer that sacrament    
either by dipping or total  immersion2  
but they differ from them in another    
respect1 for they repeat  the           
administration of baptism to those who  
had received it1 either in a  state of  
infancy1 or by aspersion instead of     
dipping3 for if the common  accounts may
 be believed1 the ,particular ,baptists 
do not carry matters so  far4    ,the   
,general ,baptists consider their sect  
as the only true church2 in  baptism    
they dip only once and not three times  
as was the practice in the  primitive   
church3 and they consider it a matter of
 indifference whether  that sacrament be
 administered in the name of ,father1   
,son1 and ,holy  ,ghost1 or in that of  

,christ alone3 #fh;a they adopt the     
doctrine of ,menno  with regard to the  
,millennium2 many of them also embrace  
his particular  opinion concerning the  
origin of ,christ's body4 #fh;b  ,they  
look upon the  precept of the ,apostles 
prohibiting the use of blood and of     
things  strangled1 as a law that was    
designed to be in force in all ages and 
periods of the church3 they believe that
 the soul1 from the moment that  the    
body dies until its resurrection at the 
last day1 remains in a state  of perfect
 insensibility3 they use the ceremony of
 extreme unction1 and  finally1 to omit 
matters of a more trifling nature1      
several of them  observe the ,jewish as 
well as the ,christian ,sabbath4 #fh;c  
,in some of  their churches they have   
three distinct orders separately        
ordained1 i4e4  messengers1 elders1 and 
deacons2 and their general assembly     
7where a  minister preaches1 and the    
churches are taken into consideration71 
is  held annually in ,london on the     

,tuesday in ,whitsun week1 and they     
afterwards dine together4  ,they have   
met thus for upwards of a century4      
,the propriety of the exclusive         
application of the term 8,baptists0 to  
those who baptize adults by immersion1  
has been questioned2 and for this       
reason they are by many styled          
,antipdobaptists1 #fi namely1 opposers  
of  infant baptism2 but the term        
,anabaptist should not be applied to    
them1 it  being a term of reproach4     
,the old ,general ,baptists have been on
 the decline for many years2 their      
churches are principally in ,kent and   
,sussex4  ,the ,english and most        
foreign ,baptists consider a personal   
profession of faith1 and immersion  in  
water1 essential to baptism3 this       
profession is generally made before  the
 church at a church meeting4  ,some have
 a creed1 and expect the  candidate for 
baptism to assent to it1 and give a     
circumstantial account  of his          
conversion3 others only require him to  

profess himself a  ,christian4  ,the    
former generally consider baptism as an 
ordinance which  initiates persons into 
a particular church1 and they say1 that 
without  breach of ,christian liberty1  
they have a right to expect an agreement
 in  articles of faith in their own     
societies4  ,the latter think that      
baptism  initiates into the ,christian  
religion generally1 and therefore think 
that  they have no right to require an  
assent to their creed from such as do   
not join their churches4  ,they quote   
the baptism of the ,eunuch in ,acts     
viii4 in proof4    ,the first mention of
 the ,baptists in ,english ,history is  
as the subject of  persecution in the   
reign of ,henry ,,viii4  ,during that of
 ,edward ,,vi4 a  commission was issued 
to bishops and other persons 8to try all
  ,anabaptists1 heretics1 and despisers 
of the common prayer10 and they were    
empowered1 in the event of their        
contumacy1 to commit them to the flames4
  ,the same inhuman policy was persisted

 in under ,elizabeth4  ,the last        
,baptist martyr burned in ,england was  
,edward ,wightman2 he was condemned by  
the bishop of ,lichfield and ,coventry1 
#gj;a and burned at ,lichfield ,april   
#aa1 #afab4 #gj;b    ,the celebrated    
,whiston became a ,baptist towards the  
close of his life1  retaining           
nevertheless his ,arian belief4         
99 99 99 99 99    ,the ,,moravians are  
supposed to have derived their origin   
from ,nicholas  ,lewis1 ,count          
,zinzendorf1 a ,german nobleman1 who    
died in #agfj4  ,the  society however   
assert that they are descended from the 
old ,moravian and  ,bohemian ,brethren1 
who existed as a distinct sect sixty    
years prior to  the ,reformation4  ,no  
sooner had these ,moravian ,brethren    
heard of ,luther's  bold testimony to   
the truth1 and of the success which     
attended his  labours1 than they sent in
 the year #aebb two deputies to assure  
him of  8the deep interest which they   
took in his work20 giving him1 at the   

same  time1 an account of their own     
doctrine and constitution4  ,they were  
most  kindly received2 and both ,luther1
 and his colleague ,bucer1 recognised   
the  ,moravians as holding the same     
faith2 and bore honourable testimony to 
the  purity of their doctrine1 and the  
excellence of their discipline4  ,the   
chief doctrine of the ,moravian society 
is1 that 8by the sacrifice for sin  made
 by ,jesus ,christ1 and by that alone1  
grace and deliverance from sin  are to  
be obtained for all mankind30 and they  
stedfastly maintain the  following      
points3    #a4  ,the divinity of        
,christ4    #b4  ,the atonement and     
satisfaction made for us by ,jesus      
,christ2 and that  by his merits alone  
we receive freely the forgiveness of    
sin1 and  sanctification in soul and    
body4    #c4  ,the doctrine of the ,holy
 ,spirit1 and the operations of his     
grace4  ,that it is he who worketh in us
 conviction of sin1 faith in ,christ1   
and  pureness of heart4    #d4  ,that   

faith must evidence itself by willing   
obedience to the  commandments of ,god  
from love and gratitude4    ,the        
internal constitution of the ancient    
church of the ,moravians1 which  is     
still substantially adhered to1 was     
originally adopted in #adeg1 and  more  
definitely settled in #afaf by the      
,synod of ,zerawitz4  ,its principal    
peculiarities are1    #a4  ,every church
 is divided into three classes1 i4e4 #a4
 ,beginners or  ,catechumens4  #b4  ,the
 more advanced or communicants1 who are 
considered as members of the church4    
#c4 ,the perfect1 consisting of  such as
 have persevered for some time in a     
course of true piety4  ,from  this last 
class are chosen in every church the    
,elders1 from three to  eight in number4
    #b4  ,every congregation is directed
 by a board of elders1 whose province   
it is to have a watchful eye over its   
members with respect to the  doctrine   
and deportment4  ,once in three months  
these elders are bound to  visit the    

houses of the brethren1 in order to     
observe their conduct1 and  to ascertain
 whether every one is labouring         
diligently in his calling1  c4 of which 
they make a report to the pastor4  ,they
 also are required to  visit the sick1  
and assist the poorer brethren with     
money1 contributed by  the members of   
the church1 and deposited in an alms    
box4    #c4  ,the ministration of the   
,word and ,sacrament is performed either
 by  members who have received          
ordination from the bishops of the      
church of  the brethren1 or by those who
 have received that of the ,calvinist or
  ,lutheran church4  ,the deacons1      
according to the ancient constitution of
  the church1 are the chief assistants  
of the pastors1 and are considered  as  
candidates for the ministry4  ,the      
bishops1 who are nominated by the       
ministers1 appoint the pastors to their 
stations1 and have the power of         
removing them when they think fit1 and  
of ordaining the deacons as well  as the

 ministers4  ,every bishop is appointed 
to superintend a certain  number of     
churches1 and has two or three          
co-bishops1 who1 if necessary1  supply  
their place4  ,the ancient church       
appointed some of its members to  the   
business of watching over the civil     
affairs of the congregation1  under the 
name of ,seniores ,civiles1 who were    
ordained with imposition  of hands4     
,this office is still continued4  ,the  
synods1 which are held  every three or  
four years1 are composed of the bishops 
and their  co-bishops the ,seniores     
,civiles1 and of 8such servants of the  
church and  of the congregation as are  
called to the synod by the former       
elders'  conference1 appointed by the   
previous synod1 or commissioned to      
attend it  as deputies from particular  
congregations40  ,several female elders 
also  are usually present at the synods1
 but they have no vote4  ,all the       
transactions of the synod are committed 
to writing1 and communicated to  the    

several congregations4    ,a liturgy1   
peculiar to the ,brethren1 is regularly 
used as a part of the  morning service  
on the ,sabbath2 on other occasions the 
minister offers  extempore prayer4  ,the
 singing of hymns is considered as an   
essential  part of worship1 and many of 
their services consist entirely of      
singing4  ,at the baptism of children1  
both the witnesses and the minister     
bless the  infant1 with laying on of    
hands immediately after the rite4  ,the 
,lord's  ,supper is celebrated every    
month3 love feasts are frequently held1 
i4e4  the members eat and drink together
 in fellowship3 cakes and tea are       
distributed during the singing of some  
verses by the congregation4  ,the       
washing of feet is practised at present 
only at certain seasons by the  whole   
congregation1 and on some other         
occasions in the choirs4  ,dying        
persons are blessed for their departure 
by the elders1 during prayer and        
singing a verse with imposition of      

hands4  ,at funerals1 the pastor        
accompanies the corpse to the burial    
place with the singing of hymns2 and  an
 address is delivered at the grave4     
,marriages are1 by general  agreement1  
never contracted without the advice and 
concurrence of the  elders4 #ge;a  ,the 
casting of lots is used among them to   
know1 as they  express it1 8,the will of
 the ,lord40 #ge;b    ,with regard to   
discipline1 8the ,church of the         
,brethren have agreed upon  certain     
rules and orders4  ,these are laid      
before every one1 that desires  to      
become a member of the church1 for his  
consideration4  ,whoever after  having  
voluntarily agreed to them1 does not act
 conformably1 falls under  congregation 
discipline40  ,this has various degrees1
 and consists in  admonitions1 warnings1
 and reproofs1 continued until genuine  
repentance  and a real conversion become
 evident in the offender1 when he is    
readmitted to the holy communion1 or    
reconciled to the congregation1  after a

 deprecatory letter has been read1      
expressing the offender's  sorrow for   
his transgression1 and asking           
forgiveness4  ,the ,brethren  assert    
that the church government in the       
established ,protestant churches  8does 
not apply to the congregations of the   
,brethren1 because they never  were     
intended to form a national             
establishment3 for their design is no   
other than to be a true and living      
congregation of ,jesus ,christ1 and to  
build up each other as a spiritual house
 of ,god1 to the end that the  kingdom  
of ,jesus ,christ may be furthered by   
them40  ,hence the doctrine of  ,jesus  
and his ,apostles1 and the order and    
practice of the ,apostolic  churches1   
are the models by which they wish to be 
formed4  ,it may be  added1 that they   
are generally the most successful       
,missionaries1 and that  their society  
seems the most nearly to realize the    
practice of the early  ,christians1 of  
any sect now remaining4                 

99 99 99 99 99    ,the ,,swedenborgians 
take their name from ,emmanuel          
,swedenborg1 who was born  at ,stockholm
 in #afhc4  ,his father was ,jasper     
,swedberg1 bishop of ,west  ,gothland4  
,he received his education chiefly in   
the ,university of ,upsala2  and in     
#agaf was appointed by ,charles ,,xii4  
,assessor of the ,royal ,college  of    
,sciences2 he was ennobled by ,queen    
,ulrica ,eleonora1 and received the     
name of ,swedenborg4  ,he published     
scientific works on various subjects1   
but in #agdg he resigned his office1 in 
order1 as he himself states1 that  he   
might be more at liberty to attend to   
that new function which he  considered  
himself called to1 and the rest of his  
life was spent in  composing and        
publishing the voluminous works which   
contain his peculiar  doctrines4  ,he   
died in #aggb4  ,he was a man of        
blameless life and amiable  deportment1 
and was distinguished for his           
attainments in mathematics and          

mechanics4    ,his writings are so very 
obscure1 that it is difficult to state  
what are  the opinions contained in     
them2 he taught1 however1 that by the   
,new  ,jerusalem which came down from   
heaven1 was intended a new church as to 
doctrine1 and that he was the person to 
whom this doctrine was revealed1  and   
who was appointed to make it known to   
the world4  ,swedenborg made no  attempt
 to found a sect2 but after his death1  
his followers1 in #aghh1  formed        
themselves into a society under the     
denomination of 8,the ,new  ,jerusalem  
,church40  ,they have several places of 
meeting1 both in ,london  and           
,manchester1 and send delegates to a    
8,general ,conference10 under whose     
direction a liturgy has been prepared1  
from which ,i shall make a few  extracts
 to shew the peculiar doctrines of this 
sect4    ,the following are some of the 
questions asked of the candidate for    
ordination1 which is performed by       
imposition of hands1 of course of a     

minister of their own communion4        
8,min4  ,dost thou believe that ,jehovah
 ,god is ,one both in ,essence and in   
,person2 in whom1 nevertheless1 is the  
,divine ,trinity of ,father1 ,son1 and  
,holy ,spirit2 and that these are1 his  
,essential ,divinity1 his ,divine       
,humanity1 and his ,divine ,proceeding1 
which are the three ,essentials of  ,one
 ,god1 answering to the soul1 the body1 
and the operative energy1 in  man1 and  
that the ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus      
,christ is that ,god8    ,dost thou     
believe that by his temptations1 the    
last of which was the  passion of the   
cross1 the ,lord united1 in his         
,humanity1 ,divine ,truth to  ,divine   
,good1 or ,divine ,wisdom to ,divine    
,love1 and so returned into his         
,divinity in which he was from eternity1
 together with1 and in1 his  ,glorified 
,humanity8    ,dost thou believe that   
the sacred ,scripture1 or ,word of ,god1
 is ,divine  ,truth itself1 and that it 
contains a spiritual and celestial      

sense1  heretofore unknown1 whence it is
 divinely inspired and holy in every    
syllable2 as well as a literal sense1   
which is the basis and support of  its  
spiritual and celestial sense8    ,dost 
thou believe that the books which have  
the internal sense and are  truly the   
,word of ,god are1--the five books of   
,moses1 ,joshua1 ,judges1 the  two books
 of ,samuel1 the two books of ,kings1   
the ,psalms of ,david1 the  prophets1   
including the ,lamentations of          
,jeremiah1 the four ,gospels1 and  the  
,revelation80 #gi    ,it is further     
stated in their eleventh article of     
faith1 8,that  immediately after death1 
which is only a putting off of the      
material  body1 never to be resumed1 man
 rises again in a spiritual or          
substantial  body1 in which he continues
 to live to eternity40    ,on these     
doctrines it may be observed that the   
forms of worship founded  on them are   
not such as ,christ and his apostles    
ordered4  ,the doxology  is1 8,to ,jesus

 ,christ be glory and dominion for ever 
and ever20 the  blessing1 8,the grace of
 our ,lord ,jesus ,christ be with you   
all40  ,the  prayers are addressed to   
the 8blessed ,lord ,jesus40  ,whereas   
,christ1 when  he gave us a form of     
prayer1 bade us address 8our ,father in 
heaven20 and  bade us ask of the ,father
 in his name2 and the form of the       
apostolic  doxology is1 8,to ,god only  
wise be glory through ,jesus ,christ for
 ever02  #hj;a and the blessing1 8,grace
 be unto you and peace from ,god our    
,father1  and from the ,lord ,jesus     
,christ40 #hj;b  ,as at this time       
,christ had  ascended from the earth1   
had the human nature been entirely      
merged in the  ,divine1 as this sect    
asserts1 ,paul the ,apostle would not   
have made this  distinction1 which      
implies that the ,lord ,jesus still     
existed somewhere in  his human form as 
the everlasting visible temple of the   
,invisible father  of all things1 for   
8no man hath seen ,god at any time10    

says the beloved  ,apostle1 #ha;a and   
this is confirmed by ,christ himself4   
#ha;b  ,if the man  then be lost in the 
,deity1 it follows that the ,lord ,jesus
 exists no more  for us4  ,i am aware   
that this consequence is denied by the  
sect1 but it  is a self evident         
proposition3 for their creed runs thus1 
8,i believe in  one ,god in whom is a   
,divine ,trinity1 c41 and that this ,god
 is the ,lord  and ,saviour ,jesus      
,christ who is ,jehovah in a glorified  
human form40  ,now  a human form must   
have some properties of matter2 it must 
be visible1 and  circumscribed1 or it is
 not form2 and what is circumscribed and
 visible  cannot be ,god1 who1 of       
necessity1 is uncircumscribed1 and      
therefore  invisible4  ,the infinite    
,eternal ,omnipotent ,deity must be     
where that  glorified body is not2      
therefore1 the ,great ,father of all    
things must  always be the object of    
worship1 through ,jesus ,christ1 who is 
the  visible image of his glory4  ,the  

form of baptism is retained by this     
sect1 though they assert that the rite  
was 8constantly administered by  the    
,apostles in the name of ,christ alone02
 an assertion contradicted by  the whole
 testimony of antiquity from the        
earliest times2 adding1  8nevertheless  
it is well to use the express words of  
the ,lord1 when it is  known and        
acknowledged in the church that the     
,father and the ,son and the  ,holy     
,spirit are not three separate persons  
but three ,divine ,essentials1          
constituting the single ,divine ,person 
of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ40 #hb  ,with
 regard to the 8internal sense0 of      
,scripture it is sufficient to  observe 
that if 8every syllable0 were to be     
considered as inspired and  holy1 the   
long list of various readings would     
grievously shake our faith1  though     
these are quite immaterial as to the    
general meaning4    ,there are serious  
objections to the distinctive tenets of 
this sect1 yet1  in justice to them1 it 

must be allowed that the unguarded      
language of  some preachers does so     
split up the ,deity into separate       
individuals as to  make the doctrine so 
taught a complete tritheism1 and that a 
serious mind  returning to the express  
declaration of the ,scripture1 that ,god
 is ,one1  may be so far shocked by such
 unmeasured expressions1 as to run into 
the  extreme which ,i have condemned4   
,unitarianism on the one hand1 and the  
doctrine of ,swedenborg on the other1   
have equally sprung from a want of      
proper caution when speaking of the     
different manifestations of the  ,deity1
 and an unmeasured itch for the         
definition of things too far beyond  the
 reach of our finite faculties to admit 
of any precision of terms4  ,words were 
formed for the things pertaining to     
earth2 how then can they  ever exactly  
express the nature of the ,deity8       
,notwithstanding the faith professed by 
this sect1 their teaching1              
nevertheless1 returns to the doctrine of

 the ,gospel4  ,in a tract 8on the  true
 meaning of the intercession of ,jesus  
,christ10 published at  ,manchester by  
their own religious tract society1 we   
have the following  passage3 8,the      
,humanity named ,jesus is the medium    
whereby man may come to  ,god1 because  
the ,father1 heretofore invisible1 is   
manifested and made  visible and        
approachable in him4  ,this is meant by 
our coming unto  ,god by him20 and      
elsewhere1 as we cannot obtain this     
8light of life0  without following the  
,lord1 and doing his will1 as he did the
 will of the  ,father1 agreeably to his 
own saying1 8,if ye keep my             
commandments1 even as  ,i have kept my  
,father's commandments1 and abide in his
 love20 so neither  can we obtain that  
divine food by which our spiritual life 
is to be  sustained1 unless we labour   
for it1 as the ,lord himself instructed 
us  when he said 8,labour for the meat  
which endureth unto everlasting life02  
and is it not of the greatest importance

 clearly to understand what this  labour
 implies8  ,let the reader be assured   
that he must labour in that  spiritual  
vineyard which the ,lord desires to     
plant in his soul1 in order  that it may
 bear abundant fruits of righteousness  
to the glory of his  heavenly father40  
#hd  ,thus we see again that the        
fundamental doctrines  of ,christianity 
will find their way1 however men may    
speculatively  disclaim them4  ,why then
 do we differ outwardly1 when at heart  
we agree8                               
99 99 99 99 99    ,the ,,plymouth       
,,brethren1 so called probably from the 
place where this  society first arose1  
do not allow themselves to be a sect1   
though in  their practices they differ  
considerably from those of the          
,established  ,church4  ,they meet      
together on the morning of the first day
 of the week  to celebrate the ,lord's  
,supper1 when any 8,brother0 is at      
liberty to speak  for mutual            
edification4  ,in the afternoon and     

evening1 when they have  preachers1 the 
services are similar to those in the    
,congregational  ,churches              
7,independents73 the desk1 however1 for 
they condemn pulpits1 is  not occupied  
by one man1 but used as a convenient    
place for speaking1  being alternately  
occupied by the 8,brother10 who reads   
the hymn1 the one  who prays1 and the   
one who teaches or preaches the ,word4  
,there are also  8,meetings for         
,prayer10 and what are technically      
called 8reading  meetings20 when a      
chapter is read1 and those 8,brethren0  
who have made it  matter of reflection1 
speak upon it clause by clause for their
 mutual  instruction4    ,before a      
person is acknowledged a 8,brother10 his
 name is announced at one  of the times 
of 8meeting together to break bread10 as
 it is termed1 and  if nothing occurs in
 the interval1 he takes his seat with   
them the next  ,sunday4#he  ,any one is 
admitted to their communion whom they   
believe to  be 8a child of ,god20 but   

they do not receive or acknowledge him  
as a  brother1 8while in actual         
connection with any of the various forms
 of  worldliness10 i4e4 the other       
churches of ,christ4  ,their preachers  
move  about from place to place1 forming
 different congregations1 which they    
again leave for other places where their
 services are required4  ,none of  their
 ministers receive any stipulated       
charity4  ,the 8,brethren0  disapprove  
of any association of ,christians for   
any purpose whatever1  whether civil or 
religious1 and therefore discountenance 
all ,sunday  ,school1 ,bible1           
,missionary1 or even purely ,benevolent1
 ,societies4  ,they do  not disapprove  
of sending either ,bibles or            
,missionaries to the heathen2  but they 
say that if they go at all1 8,god and   
not the church must send  them40  ,they 
do not think that the ,gospel is to     
convert the world1 but  that it is to be
 8preached as a witness to0 or rather   
against 8all  nations40  ,the world1    

they say1 8is reserved for judgment1 and
 therefore  it is wholly contrary to the
 character of a ,christian to have any  
thing  to do with it or its government40
  ,when a child of ,god is born again1  
8he  lays10 say they1 8all his worldly  
relations down at the feet of ,christ1  
and he is at liberty to take up none but
 those which he can take up in  the     
,lord40  ,they neither pray for pardon  
of sin1 nor for the presence and        
influence of the ,spirit1 and carefully 
exclude such petitions from their       
hymns4  ,many of them think it          
inconsistent with the ,christian        
character  to amass wealth1 or to       
possess furniture or clothing more than 
is  necessary for health and            
cleanliness2 and very great sacrifices  
have  been made by the more wealthy of  
them4    ,these are most of them        
unimportant peculiarities2 but the great
 feature  of this sect1 for so          
notwithstanding their protest1 ,i must  
call these  8,brethren10 is a degree of 

self approbation and uncharity for      
others1  which1 to say the least1 is not
 what ,christ taught4  8,no sect10 says 
,rust1 #hg;a 8is more ,sectarian1 and   
none more separate from ,christians of  
all denominations than 8,the ,plymouth  
,brethren40  ,the ,church of ,rome they 
consider 8bad40  ,the ,church of        
,england 8bad40  8,a popish priest and a
  parish priest1 both bad20 8but        
infinitely worse10 says one of the      
,brethren 7a ,captain ,hall71 8is a     
people's preacher40  ,they occasionally 
indulge in what they term 8biting jests 
and sarcastic raillery10 of the         
ministers of our church1 and of those   
who differ from them1 which evince  but 
little of the meek and peaceable spirit 
of the ,gospel2 #hg;b for1 as  ,lord    
,bacon has well observed1 8to intermix  
,scripture with scurrility in  one      
sentence2--the majesty of religion and  
the contempt and deformity of  things   
ridiculous1--is a thing far from the    
reverence of a devout  ,christian1 and  

hardly becoming the honest regard of a  
sober man40  ,if ,i  have appeared to   
speak harshly of this sect1 it is       
because they seem to  me to have        
abandoned so much of the spirit of the  
,gospel4  8,if the tenets  of the       
,plymouth ,brethren be consistent with  
themselves10 observes ,mr4  ,rust1 8they
 necessarily withdraw them from all     
society1 and every  existing form of    
,christianity1 shutting them out from   
all co-operation  with the holy and     
benevolent1 for the relief and blessing 
of their poor  or sinful fellow         
creatures1 making it sinful to fulfil   
the duties of a  subject1 a citizen1 c40
  ,but ,i hope and believe that these   
tenets must  be and are counteracted by 
the instinctive love of our kind1 which 
for  the benefit of the world ,god has  
implanted in man4  ,the human race is so
  essentially social that they who      
endeavour to dissociate mankind1 stand  
in much the same situation as he would  
do who should hope to dam up the  ocean4

  ,it is in fact to these silent        
tendencies of human nature1 whose  force
 we never know till we attempt to check 
them1 that we owe much of  the          
innocuousness of false or overstrained  
opinions3 the reason is  deluded1 but   
the feelings which the ,creator has made
 a part of our very  being1 generally   
correct the false argument2 and the man1
 if not  previously corrupted by vice1  
acts right though he argues wrong4      
,picture3 ,decorative header            
,,letter ,,vi4  ,,calvinism4      ,i    
have already noticed that the sects into
 which the reformed churches  are split1
 may be classified generally under two  
great divisions1 the one  adopting      
mainly the milder views of ,melancthon1 
whose advice was much  used in the      
reform of the ,anglican church2 the     
other following those of  ,calvin1 which
 were chiefly carried out1 at ,geneva1  
the birthplace of that  reformer1 and   
among the ,huguenots of ,france4  ,it   
may be well1 therefore1  before we      

proceed to notice the particular sects  
which profess to combine  in a greater  
or less degree the doctrines usually    
termed ,calvinistic1 to  examine what   
the opinions are which pass under that  
name4 #ij    ,it was at the ,synod of   
,dort1 which was assembled in the year  
#afah1 that  these opinions received a  
decided form2 for ,james ,arminius1     
professor of  divinity in the           
,university of ,leyden1 having rejected 
some part of the  ,genevan doctrine     
respecting predestination and grace1    
this synod was  called in order to      
settle the disputed points4  ,after much
 debate the  opinions of ,arminius were 
condemned1 and the doctrine of ,calvin  
was  summed up in five points1 which    
gave name to what has been called the   
,quinqueticular controversy between the 
,calvinistic and ,anti-calvinistic      
divines of ,holland4  ,they related to1 
#a4  ,predestination or ,election4      
#b4  ,the extent of redemption4    #c4  
,moral depravity and impotency4 #ia     

#d4  ,effectual calling4    #e4  ,final 
perseverance of the sanctified4         
,calvinists are understood to maintain  
that predestination is absolute2        
redemption limited2 moral impotency     
total2 grace inevitable2 and the        
salvation of the believer1 certain4     
,but among ,calvinistic as among        
,arminian divines1 there are many shades
 of difference indicated by the  terms  
high ,calvinist1 and moderate           
,calvinist1 sub lapsarian and  supra    
lapsarian1 scholastic ,calvinism and    
popular ,calvinism2 which  latter has   
been described as 8the ,augustinian     
theology strained off from  its         
mathematics40  ,these all differ so     
materially that ,bishop ,horsley  found 
it necessary to admonish his clergy 8to 
beware how they aimed their  shaft at   
,calvinism before they knew what it is1 
and what it is not20 a  great part of   
what ignorantly goes under that name1   
being 8closely  interwoven with the very
 rudiments of ,christianity40  ,i       

believe1 however1  that though          
differences may subsist among           
,calvinists themselves1 as to  the      
explication of their doctrines1 they    
generally allow1    #a4  ,that ,god has 
chosen a certain number in ,christ1 to  
everlasting glory  before the foundation
 of the world1 according to his         
immutable purpose1  and of his free     
grace and love2 without the least       
foresight of faith1  good works1 or any 
conditions performed by the creature2   
and that the  rest of mankind he was    
pleased to pass by1 and ordain them to  
dishonour  and wrath for their sins to  
the praise of his vindictive justice4   
#b4  ,that ,christ by his death and     
sufferings made an atonement only for   
the sins of the elect4 #ic;a    #c4     
,that mankind are totally depraved in   
consequence of the fall4    #d4  ,that  
all whom ,god has predestined to life1  
he is pleased in his  appointed time    
effectually to call by his ,word and    
,spirit out of that  state of sin and   

death in which they are by nature1 to   
grace and  salvation by ,jesus ,christ4 
#e4  ,that those whom ,god has          
effectually called and sanctified by his
  ,spirit1 shall never finally fall from
 a state of grace4    ,the prominent    
feature then1 of the ,calvinistic       
system1 #ic;b is the  election of some1 
and reprobation of others from all      
eternity2 but to  this we may answer1   
that if all mankind are really appointed
 to sin and  punishment1 holiness and   
salvation irrespectively to any act of  
their  own1 then they will be judged in 
exact opposition to our ,saviour's      
declaration1 that he will reward every  
man according to his works3  #ie;a and  
again1 that it is 8not the will of      
#8our' ,father which is in  heaven that 
one of those little ones10 i4e4         
children1 8should perish40  #ie;b       
,these declarations would1 ,i think1    
sufficiently prove that ,st4  ,paul's   
expressions on the subject relate to    
national1 and not individual  election1 

even had the ,apostle himself left his  
meaning unexplained3 for  the servant is
 not greater than his master1 and it is 
not possible that  an inspired ,apostle 
should preach a doctrine different from 
that of ,him  who commissioned him2 but 
if ,i mistake not1 he has himself taken 
especial  care that his meaning on this 
important subject should not be         
misunderstood4  ,for first1 it is a     
notorious fact1 though often  overlooked
 in argument1 that the very passage1 8,i
 will have mercy on whom  ,i will have  
mercy1 and ,i will have compassion on   
whom ,i will have  compassion10 which is
 the main support claimed for the       
doctrine of  absolute decrees1 is quoted
 from ,exodus1 and forms the assurance  
given by  ,god himself to ,moses1 that  
,he had separated the ,hebrew nation    
from all  the people on the face of the 
earth4 #if;a  ,again ,st4 ,paul has     
asserted  that ,god will render to every
 man according to his deeds1 for there  
is no respect of persons with ,god4     

#if;b  ,god will have all men to be     
saved1 c4 c4    ,god forbid that we     
should consider that a man may not be a 
sincere  ,christian1 who believes       
himself irrevocably called1 8elect10 and
  inevitably secure of his salvation2 or
 declare that a strict ,calvinist       
cannot be attached to our church3 but   
,st4 ,paul teaches that 8,christ died   
for all20 that grace instead of being   
irresistible may be received in  vain2  
that those who have been once justified 
instead of being sure of  8final        
perseverance0 and salvation1 may 8sin   
wilfully after they have  received the  
knowledge of the truth10 and 8draw back 
to perdition10 so  that it behoves every
 one 8who thinketh he standeth to take  
heed lest he  fall40 #if;c    ,in regard
 to 8irresistible0 7special7 8grace10   
,scripture assures us that  grace       
sufficient for salvation is denied to   
none2 for ,st4 ,paul in every  passage  
of the ,epistles1 which relates to      
grace1 declares that the ,spirit  works 

in the souls of all1 enabling them1 if  
they do not obstinately  resist it1 8to 
work out their salvation40  ,the        
following passage is taken  from the    
work of a teacher of the doctrine of    
,special ,grace4  8,the reign  of sin   
consists not in the multitude1 greatness
 or prevalency of sins1  for all these  
are consistent with a state of grace1   
and may be in a child  of ,god1 in whom 
sin doth not and cannot reign2 but in   
the in-being of sin  without grace1     
whether it act more or less violently1  
yea1 whether it  acts at all or no3 yet 
if the habit of sin possess the soul    
without any  principle of grace         
implanted1 which is contrary to it1 that
 man may be  said to be still under the 
dominion of sin4  ,this mortification   
then of  sin1 as to its reigning power1 
is completed in the first act of        
conversion and regeneration40 #ih;a     
,but this language is by no means  that 
of ,st4 ,paul3 for the writer makes     
grace the test of holiness2  whereas the

 apostle1 following therein the doctrine
 of his master1--8by  their fruits ye   
shall know them10--makes holiness the   
test of grace4  ,indeed the obscurity   
and perplexing nature of the doctrine   
above quoted1  stands in no favourable  
contrast with the simple and clear      
declaration of  the ,saviour1 that we   
8do not gather grapes of thorns1 nor    
figs of  thistles10--and that therefore 
the heart must be known by the words and
  actions3 and the no less decided and  
simple exposition of the doctrine of    
,christ1 by the beloved disciple1       
8,little children1 let no man deceive   
you3 he that doeth righteousness is     
righteous 4 4 4 he that committeth  sin 
is of the devil4  ,whosoever is born of 
,god doth not commit sin 4 4 4          
whosoever doeth not righteousness is not
 of ,god40 #ih;b    ,the doctrine of the
 total depravity of human nature1 it    
appears to me1  cannot be proved from   
,scripture any more than the two former4
  ,st4 ,john1  whilst asserting that no 

man is wholly without sin1 exhorts to   
efforts1  and supposes a possible state 
of ,christian perfection in his         
converts1  wholly incompatible with a   
state of entire corruption3 and ,st4    
,paul1  though he clearly states that   
sin has brought all men under           
condemnation1  and that the             
unspirituality of the flesh can only be 
successfully opposed  by the influence  
of the ,holy ,spirit1 does not declare  
the consequences of  the ,fall in terms 
such as we find in the ,calvinistic     
writers--as 8,man1  instead of the image
 of ,god1 was now become the image of   
the ,devil2  instead of the citizen of  
heaven1 he was become the bond-slave of 
hell1  having in himself no one part of 
his former purity1 but being altogether 
spotted and defiled--now he seemed to be
 nothing else but a lump of sin40  ,and 
again3 8,man is of his own nature       
fleshly and corrupt1 c4 without any     
spark of goodness in him2 only given to 
evil thoughts and evil deeds40  ,even   

human nature1 if closely examined1 does 
not bear testimony to this  as truth3   
for either the grace of ,god is accorded
 in such large measure  to man from his 
birth1 that none can be considered as   
wholly bad2 or the  utter corruption    
preached by ,calvin does not exist4     
,all experience may  be appealed to on  
this point1 even that of the persons who
 use the above  language2 for if they   
search their own hearts in sincerity1   
they will  become conscious of amiable  
affections1 and admiration of what is   
good  and right3 neither1 probably1 are 
they guilty of any such gross and       
habitual sins1 as must mark a nature so 
wholly depraved4  ,the ,calvinist       
therefore can only use these strong     
phrases with certain grains of          
allowance3 and he would be wiser if he  
were to avoid offending his--if he      
prefer so to call him--weaker brother1  
by technical terms which he himself     
cannot use in their full force before   
the ,searcher of hearts4                

,picture3 ,decorative header            
,,letter ,,vii4  ,,presbyterians4       
,,independents4      ,when the preaching
 of ,luther and his coadjutors had      
effectually called  men's attention to  
the affairs of the church1 it was       
natural that  questions with regard to  
its government no less than its         
doctrine1 should  be freely mooted4     
,the usurpations of ,rome had a tendency
 to disgust the  ,reformers with        
episcopal government1 and accordingly we
 find both ,calvin  and ,luther         
establishing a more republican form2 and
 instead of giving the  ecclesiastical  
power into the hands of one man1 they   
judged it proper to  delegate it to the 
elders 7presbyters7 of each church      
respectively2  subject only to the      
control of the majority of a general    
synod4  ,such was  the origin of what we
 now term ,presbyterians as a sect3 for 
in ,england  more moderate councils1 and
 the circumstance that the reformed     
tenets  were embraced by many of the    

bishops1 led to retaining the ,episcopal
 form  of church government4  ,in       
,scotland1 after a struggle1 the        
,presbyterian  form was finally         
established1 and the church or kirk of  
that part of  ,great ,britain is        
regulated upon that system4  ,a         
secession has lately  taken place on the
 question of the right of presentation  
to livings1 but  the doctrine taught in 
both is nearly similar1 i4e4 that of the
  ,calvinistic churches4    ,the        
,general ,synod of ,ulster 7originally a
 branch of the established kirk  of     
,scotland71 is the principal body of    
,presbyterians considered as  dissenters
 from the establishment3 and there also1
 there is a  ,presbyterian ,synod1 or   
,church of 8the ,apostolic ,seceders10  
formed by  seceders from the ,general   
,synod1 which is thoroughly             
,calvinistic1 and  which maintains the  
same discipline that is usually observed
 among the  seceding 8,scottish         
,presbyterians40  ,in the reign of ,geo4

 ,i4 ,arianism  #ajb was openly embraced
 by some of the more speculative of the 
,presbyterian ministers in ,ireland1 and
 in consequence1 a theological          
controversy was carried on for twenty   
years 7from #agje to #agbe71 which      
ended in the secession of eight ,arian  
ministers1 and the formation of the     
,presbytery of ,antrim4  ,some who were 
secretly inclined to ,arianism had  not 
the courage to follow the example of the
 eight seceders1 and the  leaven        
continued to spread among the general   
body during the latter part  of the     
eighteenth century1 till at length      
inquiries were instituted in  the       
,synod1 which led to a fresh separation4
  ,seventeen at length seceded  out of  
thirty-seven ministers1 holding ,arian  
or ,socinian tenets in the  year #ahcj1 
and they subsequently formed themselves 
into a distinct ,synod1  under the name 
of 8the ,remonstrant ,synod of ,ulster10
 and the ,presbytery  of ,antrim has now
 become incorporated with this ,synod4  

,these ,arian  congregations are chiefly
 situated in the counties of ,antrim and
 ,down1 in  the north and eastern part  
of the province4  ,there are ten or     
twelve  congregations in the south of   
,ireland forming the ,synod of ,munster1
 which  were also1 till within a few    
years1 ,arian or ,socinian4  ,the total 
number  of ,remonstrant and ,socinian   
congregations is between thirty and     
forty4  ,all the ,presbyterian          
bodies1--,orthodox and ,arian1 share in 
the  ,government grants known under the 
name of 8,regium ,donum40  ,this royal  
bounty was originally dispensed among   
the ,presbyterian clergy of ,ulster  in 
lieu of the tithes which were taken from
 them at the ,restoration1 and  bestowed
 upon the ,episcopal conformists4  ,it  
was withdrawn towards the  close of the 
reign of ,charles ,,ii42 but at the     
,revolution1 letters patent  passed the 
great seal of ,ireland1 granting #abjj  
per annum to seven  ,presbyterian       
ministers1 during pleasure1 for the use 

of the ministers of  the north of       
,ireland1 to be paid quarterly out of   
any of the revenues of  the kingdom4    
,this grant was renewed1 under certain  
limitations1 in the  reign of ,queen    
,anne3 and in the reign of ,geo4 ,i4    
#hjj per annum was  divided in equal    
shares between the ministers of the     
,ulster ,synod and  those of the        
,southern ,association4  ,in #aghd an   
additional grant was made  to the       
,ulster ,synod of #ajjj per annum4  ,in 
#agib the grant was augmented  to #ejjj 
to be divided among the ministers of the
 ,synod1--the ,presbytery  of           
,antrim1--the ,seceders1--the ,southern 
,association1--and the ministers of  the
 ,french church1 ,dublin4  ,in #ahjc    
some fresh regulations were made1 by    
which the distribution of the bounty was
 taken immediately into the hands  of   
,government1 and the ,presbyterian      
clergy were thus rendered more          
ostensibly what they had previously been
 only in effect1 i4e41  stipendiaries of

 the state4  ,the congregations under   
the care of the  several ,synods and    
,presbyteries are now arranged in three 
classes  according to the number of     
families and the stipend of each        
minister2 and  the allowance to the     
ministers of the three classes was fixed
 at #ej1  #ge1 and #ajj per annum4  ,the
 members of the congregation feel under 
no  obligation to contribute much1 if   
anything1 to their pastor's support1    
who is therefore often compelled to have
 recourse to farming1 grazing1 or  some 
other secular employment1 for the       
support of his family4    8,in #ahcd the
 ascendant party in the ,synod succeeded
 in carrying a  resolution enforcing    
unqualified subscription to the         
8,confession of  ,faith10 which had not 
previously been enforced4  ,the         
ostensible motive  for this is a desire 
to bring about a closer union with the  
,established  ,church of ,scotland4     
,the ,irish ,synod being now so far     
connected with the  state as to form a  

species of ecclesiastical establishment1
 a feeling has  been generated in favour
 of the established church of both      
countries3 a  strong protest1 however   
has been made against the decision1 but 
without  avail40 #ajf    ,the increase  
of the ,presbyterians in ,ireland from  
whatever cause has  borne no due        
proportion to that of the general       
population4    8,presbyterianism        
received as a scheme of policy1 though  
admirably adapted  to the exigencies of 
the times in which it originated1       
partakes of the  essential defectiveness
 of the incipient reformation of the    
sixteenth  century1 embodying these     
erroneous principles which were adopted 
by the  founders of most of the         
,protestant churches1 and which soon    
proved not  less fatal to the cause of  
scriptural truth than to the internal   
peace of  the ,christian communities40  
,the first ,presbyterian church was     
founded in ,geneva by ,john ,calvin1    
about  ,a4,d4 #aeda1 and the system     

afterwards introduced into ,scotland1   
with  modifications by ,john ,knox1     
about the year #aefj1 but not legally   
established there till #aeib4  ,it has  
never flourished greatly in ,england1   
and the ,unitarian doctrine has now been
 almost universally received among  the 
quondam ,presbyterian congregations4    
,the theory of discipline in the        
,,scottish ,,church does not differ very
  widely from that of the ,english      
episcopacy1 but the practice of the two 
churches1 as modified by the habits of  
the two nations1 is totally  different4 
,in order to reconcile the ,anglican and
 ,scottish confessions  of faith1 it    
would be requisite that the ,church of  
,england should consent  to suppress    
,articles ,,iii4 ,,vii4 ,,xxxv4 and     
,,xxxvi4 also that part of ,art4  ,,vi4 
which sanctions the public reading of   
the ,apocrypha1 and the first  clause of
 ,art4  ,,xx1 attributing to the church 
a power to decree rites and  ceremonies1
 as well as authority in controversies  

of faith4  ,agreeing1 as  the ,english  
and ,scottish ,churches do substantially
 in the doctrines of  the ,protestant   
faith1 they nevertheless differ widely1 
#a4  ,as to the nature of holy orders   
and the power of ordination4    #b4  ,as
 to the hierarchical constitution of the
 ,anglican ,church4    #c4  ,as to      
matters of ritual1 especially the use of
 liturgies which the  ,church of        
,scotland rejects4    #d4  ,as to the   
doctrines of sacramental grace and      
sacerdotal absolution1  implied in the  
offices of the ,anglican ,church4    #e4
  ,as to the whole system of discipline1
 ,ecclesiastical ,courts1 c4    #f4  ,as
 to certain points of ,calvinistic      
theology4                               
99 99 99 99 99    ,the ,,independents   
differ from the ,presbyterians chiefly  
in three points1  namely3    #a4  ,as to
 ordination1 and the liberty of         
preaching4    #b4  ,as to the political 
form and constitution of church         
government1 and  the conditions of      

church communion4    #c4  ,as to the    
grounds and limits of religious liberty4
    8,ordination alone10 say the        
,independents1 8without the precedent   
consent  of the ,church by those who    
formerly have been advanced by virtue of
 that  power they have received by their
 ordination1 doth not constitute any    
person a church officer1 or communicate 
office power unto him40  ,the           
,presbyterians on the other hand deny   
that the mere invitation and choice  of 
the people could confer the pastoral    
office1 or that it was even a           
pre-requisite4  ,the ,independents seem 
to have identified the ministerial      
function with the pastoral office2 and  
argued that it was absurd to  ordain an 
officer without a province to exercise  
the office in4  ,their  opponents viewed
 the ,christian ministry more as an     
order invested with  certain inherent   
powers2 a faculty or profession endowed 
with peculiar  privileges1 the admission
 into which required to be jealously    

guarded2  and this power and authority  
they conceive could be transmitted by   
those  of the order4  ,all approved     
candidates for the ministerial office   
among  the ,presbyterians1 are ordained 
without reference to any local change2  
among the ,independents no probationer  
is ordained till he has been  appointed 
to the pastoral office4  ,the first     
,independent or  ,congregational ,church
 in ,england was established by a ,mr4  
,jacob1 ,a4,d4  #afaf1 though it is     
asserted that a ,mr4 ,robinson was the  
founder of this  sect1 of which ,dr4    
,john ,owen1 ,dr4 ,isaac ,watts1 ,dr4   
,doddridge1 and ,job  ,orton were       
members4    ,the following extracts are 
from the discourses of ,robert ,hall1   
who1  though a ,baptist1 dissented from 
most of his brethren on the subject of  
strict communion4  ,he was a preacher   
both of ,baptist and ,independent       
congregations1 but he did not hesitate  
to avow that 8he had more  fellowship of
 feeling for an ,independent or a       

,presbyterian than for a  close         
communion ,baptist40  ,his system of    
theological tenets was on the  model of 
what has come to be denominated         
8,moderate ,calvinism40  ,with  regard  
to the distinctive ,calvinistic doctrine
 of ,predestination1 8,i  cannot10 says 
his biographer1 8answer for the precise 
terms in which he  would have stated it1
 but ,i presume he would have accepted  
those employed  by the ,church of       
,england4  ,in preaching he very rarely 
made any express  reference to that     
doctrine40    8,jesus ,christ did not   
come1 let it be remembered1 to establish
 a mere  external morality1 that his    
followers might be screened from human  
laws  and human justice1 for human laws 
will take care of this4  ,the holy      
institution of ,christianity has a      
nobler object1 that of purifying our    
hearts and regulating our behaviour by  
the love of ,god4  ,in the most         
practical accounts of the proceedings of
 the last day given in the  ,scriptures1

 the excellency which is represented as 
being a criterion and  distinguishing   
feature of the disciple of ,christ1 and 
which ,he will  acknowledge1 is3        
,christian benevolence--love to man     
manifested in the  relief of the poor4  
,the ,apostle ,st4 ,john has given us a 
most sublime  description of the love of
 ,god1 when he says1 #8,god is love2'   
love is not  so much an attribute of    
,his nature as ,his very essence2 the   
spirit of  ,himself4  ,christian        
benevolence is not only the #8image of  
,god1' but is  peculiarly an imitation  
of ,christ40  8,i do not ask1 my        
brethren1 what  particular virtue you   
have1 but how much are you under the    
influence of  ,him8 for just so much    
virtue we have1 as we have of ,his      
spirit and  character40  8,our ,saviour 
places the acceptance of men1 not upon  
their  dispositions1 but upon their     
actions2 upon what they have done1 not  
upon what they have merely believed or  
felt1 or in any undefined  state of     

mind40--8,i am persuaded that the cause 
of the ruin of professing  ,christians  
does not arise so much from a mistake of
 the doctrines of  ,christianity as from
 a low idea of ,christian morals2 in    
abstaining from  certain crimes and     
disorders through fear of the loss of   
character and of  punishment1 without   
reflecting on the spirit of that holy   
religion which  we profess40--8,christ  
went about doing good1 not as an        
occasional  exercise1 but as his        
employment2 it was the one thing which  
he did4  ,though possessed of infinite  
power1 he never employed it in resenting
 or  retaliating an injury4  ,he was    
pre-eminently devout4  ,his was an      
active  life2 it was not the life of a  
solitary monk4  ,that devotion which    
terminates in itself is a luxury which  
sometimes perverts the principles  of   
benevolence to a pernicious purpose4    
,let us rather recede from being  called
 ,christians than forget the great      
symbol of our profession1 love to  one  

another40                               
,picture3 ,decorative header            
,,letter ,,viii4  ,,particular          
,,baptists1 ,,sub ,,and                 
,,supralapsarians1 ,,sandemanians4      
,having now given some account of the   
principal ,calvinistic sects1 ,i shall  
conclude by mentioning a few of those   
less numerous societies1 which1  whilst 
agreeing in the peculiar doctrines of   
,calvin1 differ upon other  points4     
,,the ,,particular ,,baptists1 agreeing 
with the ,general ,baptists on  most    
other practices and doctrines1 differ   
from them on this4  ,the  separation    
took place in the year #afaf1 when a    
controversy on the subject  of infant   
baptism having arisen among the         
,baptists1 one portion calling  itself  
the 8,independent ,congregation0        
seceded1 embraced the ,calvinistic      
doctrine1 and became the first          
,particular ,baptists3 others1 who were 
in  general attached to the opinions of 
,calvin1 concerning the decrees of ,god 

and ,divine ,grace1 were not entirely   
agreed concerning the manner of         
explaining the doctrine of the ,divine  
decrees4  ,the greater part believed    
that ,god only permitted the first man  
to fall into transgression1  without    
particularly predetermining his fall3   
these were termed  ,,sublapsarians4     
,but others again maintained that 8,god 
in order to  exercise and display his   
justice and his free mercy1 had decreed 
from all  eternity the transgression of 
,adam1 and so ordered the course of     
events1  that our first parents could   
not possibly avoid their fall4  ,these  
were  termed ,,supralapsarians4         
,there is a modern sect that originated 
in ,scotland about #agbh1 termed        
,glassites1 from its founder ,mr4 ,john 
,glass1 who was expelled by the ,synod  
from the ,church of ,scotland1 for      
maintaining that 8the kingdom of ,christ
  was not of this world40  ,his         
adherents then formed themselves into   
churches1 conformable in their          

institution and discipline to what they 
apprehended to be the plan of the first 
churches recorded in the ,new           
,testament4  ,soon after the year #agee1
 ,mr4 ,john ,sandeman 7an elder in one  
of these congregations in ,scotland7    
attempted to prove that 8,faith is      
neither more nor less than a simple     
assent to the ,divine testimony1        
concerning ,jesus ,christ delivered for 
the offences of men and raised  again   
for their justification1 as recorded in 
the ,new ,testament40  ,he  also        
mentioned that the word ,faith or       
,belief1 is constantly used by  the     
,apostles to signify what is denoted by 
it in common conversation1  i4e4 a      
persuasion of the truth of any          
proposition1 and that there is no       
difference between believing any common 
testimony1 and believing the  apostolic 
testimony1 except that which results    
from the testimony itself1  and the     
,divine authority on which it rests4    
,this led to controversy  among the     

,calvinists and ,sandemanians1          
concerning the nature of  justifying    
faith2 and the latter formed themselves 
into a separate sect4  ,they administer 
the sacrament of the ,lord's supper     
weekly1 and hold 8love  feasts10 of     
which every member is not only allowed  
but required to  partake1 and which     
consists of their dining together at    
each other's  houses1 in the interval   
between the morning and afternoon       
service4  ,they  interpret literally the
 precept respecting the 8kiss of        
charity10 which  they use on the        
admission of a new member1 as well as on
 other occasions1  when they deem it    
necessary or proper3 they make a weekly 
collection  before the sacrament of the 
,lord's supper2 use mutual exhortation2 
abstain from blood and things strangled2
 wash each other's feet2 hold  that     
every one is to consider all that he    
possesses to be liable to the  calls of 
the poor and the church1 and that it is 
unlawful to 8lay up  treasure upon      

earth10 by setting them apart for any   
future use4  ,they  allow of public and 
private diversions1 so far as they are  
not connected  with circumstances really
 sinful2 but apprehending a lot to be   
sacred1  they disapprove of lotteries1  
playing at cards1 dice1 c4  ,they       
maintain  the necessity of a plurality  
of elders1 pastors1 or bishops in each  
church1 and the necessity of the        
presence of two elders in every act of  
discipline1 and at the administration of
 the ,lord's supper4  ,second  marriages
 disqualify for the office of elder4    
,the elders are ordained by  prayer and 
fasting1 imposition of hands1 and giving
 the 8right hand of  fellowship40  ,in  
their discipline they are strict and    
severe1 and in  every transaction esteem
 unanimity to be absolutely necessary4  
,picture3 ,decorative header            
,,letter ,,ix4  ,,calvinistic           
,,methodists4  ,,evangelical ,,or       
,,serious ,,christians4      ,i noticed 
the name of ,george ,whitfield when     

speaking of ,wesley and his  followers1 
for during a time they acted in unison2 
,whitfield1 however1  soon embraced the 
,calvinistic tenets1 and then the       
friends separated with  much of unkindly
 feeling4  ,wesley held the doctrines of
 ,calvin in  abhorrence1 as altogether  
unchristian and unfounded in ,scripture4
  8,i  defy you to say so hard a thing  
of the ,devil10 said he with            
characteristic earnestness1 when        
speaking of the notion that ,god could  
arbitrarily create any for eternal      
reprobation4  ,this separation between  
the leaders soon extended to their      
congregations1 and from that time       
,calvinistic and ,wesleyan ,methodists  
became distinct sects1 differing1       
however1 but little on any other point1 
excepting in the greater tendency  to   
enthusiasm among the followers of       
,whitfield4    8,wesley and ,whitfield10
 says ,mr4 ,sidney in his life of       
,rowland ,hill1  8were men of widely    
different characters1 both in respect to

 their  natural dispositions as well as 
the discipline of their minds2 and      
painful frailties were visible in the   
midst of their true greatness4  ,an     
ambitious love of power was evidently   
the besetting weakness of ,john         
,wesley2 aspiration to the honours when 
he had no prospect of the  suffering of 
martyrdom1 was that of ,whitfield40  ,in
 his letters to  ,rowland ,hill1 it is  
evident how he courted and enjoyed      
persecution2 and  whenever 8the fire 7to
 use his own expression7 was kindled in 
the  country20 he was not satisfied     
unless 8honoured0 by being scorched a   
little in its flame4  ,this was a wrong 
spirit1 and did injury to his own  mind1
 and to his followers1 by encouraging a 
morose and morbid carriage  towards the 
world1 giving needless offence1 and     
provoking animosity in  those who might 
have been attracted and endeared to     
truth by the lovely  graces of pure     
,christianity40    ,at the time when he1
 and his early friends the ,wesleys     

began their  ministry1 the piety of all 
classes was at a very low ebb4  ,the    
earnestness of these men gave a new     
impulse to religious feeling1 and  after
 a time a considerable number of other  
episcopally ordained  ministers of the  
church1 together with a portion of the  
laity1 became  influenced by the same   
sentiments4  ,without seceding1 they    
formed a party  in the church1 leaning  
to ,calvinism to the extent they thought
 justified  by the ,,xxxix ,articles2   
and this party soon became designated by
 several  distinguishing terms4  ,they  
called themselves ,evangelical first1   
afterwards when that became a cant term 
of misapplied reproach1 they took  the  
title of ,serious ,christians1 and by   
others were called ,low  ,church1 and   
,methodistical4  ,besides distinguishing
 themselves by an  especial name1 they  
avoided public amusements1 used a       
peculiar  phraseology1 and seemed to    
delight in wearing their religion       
externally  in the sight of all men1    

thinking perhaps to reform the          
thoughtless by  the example of their    
greater strictness4  ,but herein1 in my 
opinion1 they  made a net for their own 
feet1 for that very aspiration after    
greater  exaltation which is implanted  
in us as a spur to strive after glory   
and  immortality1 is soon by            
mismanagement perverted into a love of  
earthly  distinction4  ,hence comes     
ambition2 but the ambition for worldly  
honours  has in it this alleviation1    
that the man who toils after a title or 
a  fortune1 knows that he is1 after all1
 seeking but a mean object2 and if  ever
 his mind is awakened at all to a sense 
of the world to come1 the  soul springs 
back to its true ambition1 and launches 
into the career  natural to it3 but the 
man who seeks to be distinguished among 
his  brethren for superior holiness1 and
 wears it externally1 that it may be    
seen and honoured by men1 blinds his    
better nature1 and fetters it to  earth 
by chains forged in heaven2 he sees not 

that he is ambitious2 he is  not aware  
that while seeking1 as he imagines1 to  
honour ,god in his life1  he is enjoying
 at his heart's core the respectful     
homage of men2 and  whilst attending to 
his outward deportment1 and making a    
display even of  his humility1 he too   
frequently leaves the inner heart       
unchastened4  ,our  ,saviour knew the   
frailties of man1 and his injunction    
that our religion  should chiefly be    
manifested by our benevolent feelings   
towards our  fellow creatures1 while the
 communing with ,god should be carried  
on in  silence and secrecy1 is the only 
safe guide in these matters4    ,i have 
no doubt that there are many of the ,low
 ,church party1 whose  conscientiousness
 sets at defiance the dangers of the    
system they have  adopted3 indeed my own
 private friendships warrant me in      
saying so3 but  it is not well to lead  
others into dangerous paths where our   
own skill  indeed may enable us to walk 
safely1 but where the hindmost1 whom we 

are  not leading by the hand1 are in    
continual hazard of deviating from the  
true course2 and therefore whilst       
honouring individual virtues1 ,i        
continue to consider the whole system   
erroneous3 one whose tendency is to     
create spiritual pride1 and lower the   
standard of ,christian benevolence  by  
restricting to a party that fellowship  
which should be universal4  ,it  does   
but substitute the excitement of the    
crowded church where a popular  preacher
 charms with all the graces of rhetoric1
 of the committee room1  of the speakers
 at ,exeter ,hall1 for the ball room and
 the theatre2 with  this difference1    
that in the first case the instinct     
which makes the mind  seek this         
excitement1 is overlooked2 the man      
believes himself performing  a          
meritorious action1 and looks with some 
contempt on his weaker  brethren1 who   
cannot exist without worldly amusements2
 on the other he  knows what he is      
about1 and if he be well-intentioned1   

guards against  excess4  ,it would be   
wiser therefore to acknowledge the      
instinct2 not bad  in itself1 for ,god  
implanted it1 and if it be denied a due 
indulgence1  the mind sinks into        
hopeless imbecility2 and not to blame   
those who seek  other1 but innocent     
means of gratifying it4 #abb;a    ,the  
extracts that ,i am about to give1 from 
the writings of two men of  note1 in    
that party1 distinguished also for their
 genuine ,christian  feeling1 will show 
that they saw the dangers ,i have       
pointed out1 and were  anxious to guard 
against them4  ,the following extracts  
are given in ,mr4  ,sidney's 8,life of  
the ,rev4 ,rowland ,hill40 #abb;b    8,i
 hate dry doctrinal preaching1 without  
warm1 affectionate1 and  experimental   
applications4  ,oh6 'tis most pleasant  
to love one another  with pure hearts   
fervently4  ,love is of ,god1 for #8,god
 is love4'  ,the  summit of our         
happiness must be the perfection of our 
holiness4  ,by this  blessed grace we   

have the brightest evidence that we are 
#8born of ,god4'  ,if we allow that     
little shades of difference may exist1  
we ought to #8love  as brethren1' and   
where ,christian candour and love are   
found to reign1  the odious sin of      
schism1 according to its general        
interpretation1 cannot  exist40  8,it is
 no sign that we value the blessings of 
,god1 if we can  part with them0 7i4e4  
dear friends7 8without regret4  ,that   
mind is badly  framed that prefers      
stoical indifference to ,christian      
sensibility1 and  though the pain is    
abundantly more acute where those finer 
feelings of  the mind are found to      
exist2 yet who deserves the name of a   
human being  who is without them80      
8,while a soul within our reach is      
ignorant of a  ,saviour1 we must        
endeavour to win it to ,christ4  ,how   
weary ,i am of a  great deal of what is 
called the #8religious world6'  ,high   
and ,low  ,church ,sectarianism seems to
 be the order of the day2 we are much   

more  busy in contending for parties    
than for principles4  ,these evils are  
evidences of a lack of genuine          
,christianity4  ,oh6 when shall that    
happy  day dawn upon us1 when real      
,christians and ,christian ministers of 
all  denominations shall come nearer to 
each other40    ,the next extracts shall
 be from the writings of one who was    
scarcely  appreciated by the world in   
general1 but of whose excellencies ,i   
was  enabled to judge1 during my        
residence at ,cambridge2 ,mr4 ,simeon4  
8,religion appears in its true colours  
when it regulates our conduct in  social
 life2 your religion must be seen1 not  
in the church1 or in the  closet only1  
but in the shop1 the family1 the field3 
it must mortify  pride and every other  
evil passion1 and must bring faith into 
exercise4  ,try yourselves by this      
standard3 see what you are as husbands  
or wives1  parents or children1 masters 
or servants40 #abd    8,the             
self-righteous1 self-applauding moralist

 can spy out the failings  and          
infirmities of those who profess a      
stricter system of religion2 but  let me
 ask such an one1 #8,are there not in   
thee1 even in thee1 sins  against the   
,lord thy ,god8'  ,verily if thou       
wouldst consult thy own  conscience1    
thou wouldst see little reason1 and feel
 little inclination  too1 to cast stones
 at others4  ,professors of religion    
also are but too  guilty of this same   
fault1 being filled with an overweening 
conceit of  their own excellencies1 and 
a contemptuous disregard of their less  
spiritual neighbours4  ,but ,i would ask
 the professed follower of ,christ1     
,are there not sins with thee too as    
well as with the pharisaic formalist8   
,are there not great and crying evils in
 the religious world1 which prove  a    
stumbling block to those around them8   
,are there not often found among        
professors of religion the same covetous
 desires1 the same fraudulent           
practices1 the same deviations from     

truth and honour1 as are found in       
persons who make no profession8  ,are   
there not many whose tempers are so     
unsubdued1 that they make their whole   
families a scene of contention and      
misery8  ,yes6  ,though the accusations 
which are brought against the whole     
body of religious people as             
#8hypocrites1' are a gross calumny1     
there is  but too much ground for them  
in the conduct of many40  8,nothing is  
more  common1 and nothing more delusive 
than a noisy1 talkative religion4  ,true
  religion is a humble1 silent1 retired 
thing2 not affecting public notice1  but
 rather wishing to approve itself to    
,god4  ,it is not in saying  #8,lord1   
,lord6' but in doing the will of our    
heavenly ,father1 that we  shall find   
acceptance at the last day4  ,happy     
would it be if many who  place all their
 religion in running about and hearing  
sermons1 and  talking of the            
qualifications of ministers1 would      
attend to this hint1  and endeavour to  

acquire more of that wisdom which       
evinces its ,divine  origin by the      
excellence of its fruits40 #abf         
,picture3 ,decorative header            
,,letter ,x4  ,,on ,,romanism ,,and     
,,ceremonial ,,religion4      ,i        
promised that as the completion of my   
task1 ,i would notice those  differences
 which have occurred in the bosom of the
 church itself1 even  though they can   
scarcely be called sects2 ,i therefore  
propose to  conclude my correspondence  
with a short survey of the above-named1 
which  ,i think should rather be viewed 
as the working out of great principles1 
than as parties distinguished by        
particular creeds or opinions on        
abstract subjects4  ,i may run counter  
to some prejudices1 perhaps1 in so      
doing2 but the truth is well worth      
running a tilt for3--you may sit by as  
umpire1 and decide when ,i have done1   
whether ,i have carried my spear in a   
knightly fashion4    ,though ,i shall   
not think it necessary1 like ,racine's  

advocate in ,les  ,plaideurs1 to go back
 to the ,assyrians and the ,babylonians 
to illustrate  my proposition1 yet ,i   
must begin from a very distant period1  
in order to  make my views thoroughly   
comprehensible4  ,i must therefore beg  
you to  notice that the tendency of     
man's mind always is1 and always has    
been1  towards the visible and the      
tangible4  ,the pure abstraction of a   
,governing ,will without any perceptible
 presence1 has in it something too      
remote from the common habits1 powers1  
and feelings of human nature1 ever  to  
be thoroughly embraced by the heart of  
man2 and we find that the ,deity  has   
always condescended so far to the       
weakness of his creatures1 as to  give  
the imagination some resting place4     
,thus the patriarch had his  altar of   
sacrifice1 where the fire from heaven   
marked the present  ,deity--and the     
,israelite had first the pillar of the  
cloud1 and then the  tabernacle1 where  
the mysterious ,shechinah dwelt over the

 mercy seat4  ,yet even this indistinct 
representation of an embodied ,deity1   
did not  satisfy the people3 they       
required a form1 tangible1 visible1 and 
,aaron  yielded to the wish2 because he 
thought it a prudent and allowable      
compliance with the weakness of human   
nature4  ,he was wrong1 and was         
punished for it2 and this transaction we
 shall find the type and  foreshadowing 
of every thing that has since happened  
in the world with  regard to religion4  
,the ,almighty gives man just enough to 
rest his  thoughts upon3 it is the fire 
on the altar1 the cloud1 the temple1 and
  last of all the man1 in whom our      
devotion may find also an object of     
affection3 but he requires that we shall
 not go beyond this4  ,we must not      
return to earth1 and make for ourselves 
a worship less spiritual than he  has   
instituted2 on the contrary1 he requires
 us to pierce through the  veil as we   
advance in knowledge1 and discern the   
spiritual through the  visible4  ,hence 

the perpetual denunciations of the      
prophets against the  ,jews for their   
adherence to forms1 which latterly they 
did adhere to1  instead of giving       
attention to the purification of their  
hearts4    ,among all but the           
,israelites1 the progress of the        
tangible was much more  rapid3 idolatry1
 with all its gross rites1 had          
established itself among  the people1 at
 any rate1 in ,egypt1 at a very early   
period2 and spread  from that old and   
luxurious empire1 through the more      
simple states which  sprang up around   
and from it4  ,the ,exodus was a warning
 from on high1  that there was a ,being1
 unseen and intangible1 whose fiat      
governed all  things3 and this lesson   
was not wholly without fruit3 yet still 
the human  race reverted to the objects 
of the senses1 till1 in ,god's good     
time1 he  sent his ,son3 presented a    
tangible form on which the mind could   
dwell--then removed it from the earth1  
and said1 8,you may now think on  this1 

and give your imagination a resting     
place3 this form you shall see  again2  
but in mean time you must purify your   
hearts from earthly desires3  that form 
will only greet your eyes when you have 
cast off the burthen of  the flesh1 and 
have entered upon a spiritual           
existence40  ,the first  ,christians    
remembered and loved the man2 his       
precepts1 his example1 his  smallest    
words or actions were recurred to with  
the fondness of personal  friendship2   
and this carried ,christianity through  
the first two  centuries2 but then this 
remembrance began to have a character of
  abstraction1 and again the human heart
 called for tangibility4  ,then  came1  
step by step1 gorgeous ceremonies1      
pictures1 representations of the        
personal presence and sufferings of the 
,saviour4  ,the very requirements  of   
those who quitted the splendid and      
sensual rites of heathenism for the     
faith of ,christ1 led the ,christian    
doctors to endeavour to replace the     

festival of the idol by something       
analogous in the ,christian church3 and 
thus without well knowing what they were
 tending to1 the heads of the  church   
yielded one point of spiritualism after 
another2 sought to  captivate and awe   
the people by impressive ceremonies2 and
 finished by  the sin of ,aaron3 they   
set up the image and said1 8,these be   
thy ,gods1 ,o  ,israel6 that brought    
thee out of the land of ,egypt40 #aca;a 
,for be it  observed here1 that ,aaron  
set up this image merely as a tangible  
representation of the true ,deity2 a    
help to the devotion of the people1  who
 could not worship without seeing       
something4    ,this then is ,romanism2  
it is not transubstantiation1 nor the   
mediation of  the ,virgin and the       
,saints1 #aca;b nor the infallibility of
 popes and  councils2 these are natural 
consequences indeed1 but the distinctive
  character of the ,romish church is    
tangibility4  8,there is the actual     
flesh10 it says1 8there is the          

representation of the actual human      
presence of saints and martyrs2 there is
 the actual man enthroned1 who          
represents the power of ,god30 but it   
might have fifty other ways of          
satisfying this restless craving of the 
human mind1 and it would be  equally    
pernicious in any of these forms4       
,man's great struggle has  always been  
between the animal and the spiritual    
nature1 and when  religion goes one step
 farther towards tangibility than the   
,deity himself  has allowed1 the animal 
nature gains strength2 and vice and     
licentiousness follow as naturally1     
among the mass of the people1 as rain   
follows the cloud4    ,observe1 ,i do   
not here deny that many may profess a   
religion of sense1  and remain          
spiritually-minded themselves3          
,heathenism had its ,socrates1  its     
,xenocrates1 c4--,romanism has its      
,pascal1 its ,fenelon1 and a train of   
other great names3 but look at the      
people during that period1 and the      

account will be very different4  ,when  
an ignorant man imagines that he  can   
remove the ,divine anger by a sacrifice 
or a penance1 he avoids the  trouble of 
curbing his passions1 and compounds1 as 
he thinks1 for  indulgence of the one1  
by the performance of the other2 but    
when he is  told that purity of life and
 thought is the only road to ,divine    
favour1  if he sins1 he sins at least   
with some feelings of compunction1 some 
dread that he may not have it in his    
power to remove the stain he is         
incurring4  ,the preaching of ,wesley   
reformed multitudes1 all enthusiastic   
as it was2 but it would be difficult to 
find a parallel in the annals of        
,romanism4  ,as great a movement of the 
public mind was made by the  preaching  
of ,peter the ,hermit2 but how different
 was the object and the  result6  ,the  
personal pilgrimage to the ,holy        
,sepulchre1 as a mode of  wiping out    
sin1 was undertaken by thousands1 who   
perished miserably1 or1  if they lived1 

came back not better men than they went3
 under a system of  less tangibility1   
and a preaching as effective1 they might
 have staid in  their homes1 and        
glorified ,god by a life such as ,christ
 came to teach and  to exemplify4    ,it
 is so much easier to make a pilgrimage1
 or endure a long fast1 than to  subdue 
and tame the animal nature till it      
becomes obedient to the  rational will1 
and seconds instead of resisting its    
wishes1 that it is  not surprising that 
in all ages a religion of outward       
observance should  be more popular than 
one of inward purification4  ,those even
 which set  off with the highest        
pretensions in this way have            
degenerated1 and the  outward and       
visible form is too often substituted   
for the inward and  spiritual grace1    
which it was intended to represent not  
to supersede4  ,that religion therefore 
has the best chance of influencing the  
soul1  which1 as far as is possible1    
renounces outward demonstrations which  

human indolence is so glad to rely on1  
and preaches boldly and  effectually the
 uselessness of ceremonies1 farther than
 as they tend to  preserve the          
remembrance of ,,him who came to call   
the world back to  ,,himself1 to trample
 on the sensual and the animal1 and to  
raise man to  his pristine1 or rather1  
to what is to be his future state4  ,a  
public  acknowledgment of ,christ as our
 ,master and ,lord1 and a compliance    
with  his own few and simple ordinances2
 are all that ,christian duty requires1 
and nearly as much as ,christian        
prudence will permit4  ,the rest is a   
matter of worldly expediency1 and should
 be so regarded4    ,no doubt rests on  
my own mind--,i leave others to think as
 they may--that  ,episcopacy was the    
established form of the ,church as soon 
as the  ,christian communities began to 
assume enough of regularity to admit of 
any settled order2 and ,i think it a    
wise form4  ,as far as any institution  
can1 it secures unity and decency in the

 church3 and as far as any  institution 
can1 that was not positively established
 by ,christ himself1  it possesses1 in  
my mind1 the sanction of antiquity4  ,it
 gives the  concentration of purpose and
 regularity of effort which is bestowed 
by  the discipline of an army2 for as in
 an army a detachment acts upon the     
same system of tactics1 and obeys       
officers constituted by the same        
authority1 and thus assists the efforts 
of the main body1 and falls into  rank  
with it when they meet2 so the church1  
under such a form1 may send  detachments
 to the ends of the earth1 who may meet 
after long years1 as  brothers of the   
same communion1 and find that though the
 individuals have  passed away1 others  
have stepped into their place in the    
ranks1 and are  teaching what their     
predecessors taught4  ,the benefit of   
church  discipline1 therefore1 in my    
mind is great2 but ,i do not suppose    
that  salvation depends on it1 because  
,god has repeatedly declared that       

,christ  died for all1 #ace;a and that  
he is not willing that any should       
perish2  #ace;b consequently he can     
hardly have made our eternal state      
dependent  on what no man can accomplish
 for himself4  ,a person may not have it
 in  his power to receive baptism from  
an ordained priest1 but he may live as  
,christ taught2 or1 having never heard  
of ,christ even1 he may1 like the       
gentiles1 win glory and immortality1    
#ace;c if1 having not the law1 he be  a 
law unto himself4  ,i would not receive 
,christ's ordinances from the  hands of 
any but an ordained priest1 myself1     
because if a doubt exist in  my mind1 ,i
 sin in doing the doubtful thing2 but   
herein ,i speak only for  myself2 let   
every man do as he is 8persuaded in his 
mind0 #acf in  matters of secondary     
import1 as all ceremonial matters must  
be4    ,you will now be prepared for my 
opinion with regard to the late movement
  made in the church by the             
,anglo-,catholics1 as they term         

themselves2  ,puseyites1 or ,newmanites1
 as they have been termed by others4    
,they have  been thought to have        
introduced innovations--they have       
not3--there is not  one of the          
ceremonies or practices which they have 
recommended1 which was  not very early  
practised in the church2 but it was from
 the undue  importance attached to these
 ceremonies1 which came to be regarded  
with  reverence from having been        
instituted by apostles and martyrs1 that
 the  after growth of ,roman            
superstition sprang up so rankly4  ,i   
believe the  first promoters of this    
movement were as remote from actual     
,romanism as ,i  am1 when they first    
began it2 but when once reason is       
submitted to any  human dictum1 in      
matters of religion1 there is no resting
 place till we  arrive at the           
8infallible0 guide which the ,romish    
church claims to be4  ,there alone can  
the soul which will not think for       
itself1 find a ready  and confident     

director4  ,accordingly1 we find that   
some of those very men  who but a few   
years back exposed the errors of        
,romanism1 have now yielded  themselves 
blindfold to the guidance of that very  
church1 which1 as long  as they allowed 
themselves to reason1 they acknowledged 
to have departed  from the truth4  ,yet 
it is perhaps fortunate for the people  
generally1  that this declension of its 
pastors has been as rapid and complete  
as it  has been3--they were going back  
towards the sin of ,aaron--they were    
insisting on ceremonies as necessary to 
salvation1 thus rendering  religion     
gross and tangible1 and the people thus 
taught would soon have  forgotten what  
those ceremonies were intended to       
represent1 and have  depended for       
salvation on what could not avail them  
in the hour of need3  for the repetition
 of prayer is not necessarily praying1  
nor is the  reception of the eucharist  
necessarily sanctification1 though these
 may  be the outward and visible signs  

of the inward and spiritual grace which 
is working in the heart4  ,once teach a 
man that any ceremony is  requisite to  
salvation1 and he will soon go a step   
further by himself1  and think the      
outward ceremony sufficient without the 
inward grace4  ,this  indeed is but a   
necessary corollary2 for if the ceremony
 be requisite to  salvation1 then the   
inward grace working purity of life1    
avails not  without the ceremony2 and   
thus purity of life is no longer a      
substantive  virtue2 it cannot stand    
alone2 and the prop which it requires   
being so  very strong1 why should not   
the prop itself be all in all8  ,this   
will be  the course of ratiocination in 
the mind of the mass of mankind1 whether
  avowed or not2 and however the        
promoters of a ceremonial religion may  
shrink from such a consequence1 it is so
 certain1 as all experience  shows1 that
 they might as well throw a man who     
cannot swim into the  water1 and        
recommend him not to drown1 as give a   

half instructed man a  ceremony1 which  
he is told is requisite to salvation1   
and expect that he  will not cling to   
that1 as the more convenient and least  
difficult  observance2 and whilst       
perfect in complying with every         
ordinance of the  church1 forget that he
 has overlooked the weightier matters of
 the  law--judgment1 justice1 and mercy4
    ,this may sound harsh1 but it is    
true2 and ,i appeal to the calm judgment
  even of the excellent ,dr4 ,pusey     
himself1 who has so unintentionally     
drawn  many into a course from which1   
haply1 he would now gladly draw them    
back1  whether it be not so8  ,his      
learning will show him how1 through all 
ages1  the spiritualism taught from     
heaven1 has been counteracted by the    
visible  and the tangible contrived by  
man2 and in the step from the           
patriarchal  religion1 to the idolatry  
of ,greece and ,rome2 from ,christianity
 as  preached by ,christ and his        
,apostles1 to the gross superstitions of

 the  twelfth1 thirteenth1 and          
fourteenth centuries1 he may see a type 
of what  would be the consequence of    
again enforcing a ceremonial religion4  
,picture3 ,decorative header            
,,appendix4      ,the following are     
extracts from the 8,christian           
,religionis ,institutio10  of ,faustus  
,socinus3    ,q4  ,quid igitur de ,dei  
natura1 sive essentia1 nosse omnino nos 
debere  statuis8    ,r4  ,hc duo in     
summa4  ,quod sit et quod unus tantum   
sit4                                    
99 99 99 99 99    ,q4  ,verum quid quso 
saltem de ,spiritu ,sancto nunc mihi    
dicis de quo  isti similiter affirmant  
eum esse divinam personam1 nempe        
tertiam1 et  unum atque eundem numero   
,deum cum ,patre et ,filio8    ,r4      
,nempe illum non esse personam aliquam a
 ,deo cujus est spiritus1  distinctam1  
sed tantum modo 7ut nomen ipsum         
,spiritus1 quod flatum et  afflationem1 
ut sic loquar1 significat1 docere       
potest7 ipsius ,dei vim et  efficaciam  

quandam1 id est eam1 qu secum           
sanctitatem aliquam afferat4            
99 99 99 99 99    ,q4  ,quid censes de  
,christi natura sive essentia nobis     
cognitii esse  necessarium8    ,r4  ,id1
 ut antea dixi1 sine cujus cognitione   
voluntas ,dei erga nos per  ipsum       
,christum patefacta1 a nobis vel sciri1 
vel servari nequeat4    ,q4  ,quid      
igitur ex iis qu ad ,christi naturam    
sive essentiam pertinent1  ejusmodi esse
 censes8    ,r4  ,vix quidquam4  ,nam   
qudam1 qu ad ipsius ,christi personam   
alioqui  pertinent1 et nobis omnino ob  
prdictam causam cognita esse debent1 non
  naturalia illi sunt1 sed a ,deo       
postmodum ipsi data et concessa1 et sic 
ad  ,dei voluntatem sunt referenda1 et  
quidem ad primam quam fecimus ejus      
partem1 id est ad ,dei operationes4     
,q4  ,qu nam sunt ista8    ,r4  ,divinum
 imperium quod in nos habet4  ,rom4 xiv4
 #i42 et suprema illa  majestas4        
,ephes4 i4 #bj1 c42 qua quidquid usquam 
est1 aut excogitari  potest1 prter unam 

tantum ipsius ,dei majestatem longe     
excellit4  #a ,cor4  xv4 #bg4  ,phil4   
ii4 #h1 #i4  ,heb4 ii4 #i4  ,hc enim    
,christo haud naturalia  esse1 sed a    
,deo ,patre illi data fuisse1 ipsumque  
ea per et propter mortem  atque         
obedientiam et resurrectionem suam      
adeptum esse1 apertissime  scriptura    
testatur4    ,q4  ,cur vero hc de       
,christo cognoscere omnino debemus8     
,r4  ,quia1 ut ,christum divino cultu   
officiamus vult ,deus4  ,joh4 v4 #be4   
,psal4 xlv4 #ab4  ,heb4 i4 #f4  ,philip4
 ii4 #aj42 ejus generis1 inquam1 cultu  
cujus is est1 quem ipsi ,deo exhibere   
debemus4                                
99 99 99 99 99    ,q4  ,quid de ipsa    
tamen ,christi essentia seu natura      
statuis8    ,r4  ,de ,christi essentia  
ita statuo1 illum esse hominem4  ,rom4  
v4 #ae42  in virginis utero1 et sic sine
 viri ope1 divini spiritus vi conceptum 
ac  formatum4  ,matt4 i4 #bj4 #bc4      
,luc4 i4 #ce42 indeque genitum1 primum  
quidem  patibilem ac mortalem4 #b ,cor4 

xiii4 #d42 donec1 scilicet munus sibi a 
,deo  demandatum hie in terris obivit2  
deinde vero postquam in clum ascendit1  
impatibilem et immortalem factum4  ,rom4
 vi4 #i4                                
99 99 99 99 99    ,q4  ,quid enim primum
 sibi vult1 quod innuis hoc quod        
,christus ,dei  filius sit proprius et  
unigenitus non omnino ad ejus naturam   
pertinere8    ,r4  ,divina ista ,christi
 filiatio1 eatenus tantum ad ejus       
naturam aliquo  modo referri potest1    
quatenus id respicit quod ,christus     
divini ,spiritus  vi sine viri ope in   
virginis utero conceptus et formatus    
fuit4  ,nam  hujusce rei causa eum ,dei 
filium vocatum ire1 ipsius ,dei ,angelus
 ipsimet  virgini1 ex qua natus est1    
prdixit4  ,luc4 i4 #ce2 et quidem       
consequenter  ,dei filium proprium et   
unigenitum1 cum nemo alius hac ratione1 
et ab ipso  primo ortu ,dei films unquam
 extiterit4                             
99 99 99 99 99    ,r4  ,quod attinet ad 
primum testimonium quod habetur 7i4e4 of

  prexistence7 ,joh4 i4 #c4  ,dictio    
universalis omnia non prorsus           
universaliter accipienda est1 sed ad    
subjectam materiam restringenda1 ut     
scilicet ea tantum omnia complectatur1  
qu ad ,evangelium pertinent4    ,q4     
,sed quid dices1 quod in loco isto apud 
,johannem additur2 sine  verbo1 id est  
,deo filio1 nihil esse factum8    ,r4   
,immo cum certum esse videatur1 mox     
sequentia verba quod factum  est        
7quidquid nonnulli contra sentiant7 cum 
additione ista conjungenda  esse3       
dicendum potius videtur1 voluisse       
,evangelistam cum ista addidit  indicare
 se de quibusdam nunquam antea et nova  
ac mirabili ratione factis  loqui4  ,nam
 ad docendum simpliciter se loqui de iis
 qu sunt facta nec  semper fuerunt1     
satis habebat illa verba addere1 et sine
 ipso factum est  nihil4  ,itaque       
mysterio non videtur carere1 quod       
prterea addit quod  factum est2 subaudi 
novum et mirabile1 ad mundi ipsius      
statum pertinens1  c4 c4                

99 99 99 99 99    ,jam dictum est 7est  
de pnis persolvendis primum agamus7 pnam
 quam  uniusquisque nostrum propter     
delicta sua pendere tenebatur1 mortem   
ternam esse4  ,hanc profecto ,christus  
non subiit2 et si cam subiisset1        
universi salutis nostr et liberationis a
 peccatorum pna spes1 et ratio  funditus
 eversa fuisset4  ,immo si jam ,christus
 non resurrexisset1 vana1  ut inquit    
,paulus4  #a ,cor4 xv4 #ad1 #ag42 esset 
,evangelii prdicatio1 et nos  adhuc     
essemus in peccatis nostris4  ,et tamen1
 si idcirco nos servasset  ,christus1   
quod pnas nostris peccatis debitas ipse 
sustinuisset1 et nobis  ejus rei fides  
quoad ejus fieri poterat facienda       
fuisset2 eum nunquam  resurgere1 sed in 
morte perpetuo manere oportuisset3 ,op4 
,vol4 p4 #aig1  fol4 ,edit4    ,ac      
dicitis1 ut conjeci potest1             
animadvertendum esse1 aliam in ipsa     
essentia divina personam patris esse1   
aliam personam filii3 et ,patri         
potuisse a ,filio satisfieri seu ut     

satisfierat1 vim suppeditari3 nec  tamen
 aliquid quod satisfactioni per         
solutionem facienda adversetur1         
committi4  ,sed dicite obsecro1 nonne   
ipsius filii person non minus quam      
patris satisfaciendum fuisse affirmatis4
  ,si filius patri satisfacit1 hoc  est1
 quod illi debetur solvit3 quis ipsi    
filio1 quod ipsi debetur1 dabit8        
,respondebitis1 ut arbitror1 si patri   
satisfactum fuit1 filio quoque          
satisfactum esse2 cum eadem sit         
utriusque voluntas 4 4 4 ,quomodo patri 
a  filio quidquam ullo parto solvi      
potuisset si quod unius aut est1 aut    
fit1  alterius reipsa esse necesse      
foret8 4 4 4 ,at vero quis deinde       
ambigere  queat filium patri nihil dare 
posse3 cum quidquid filius habet patris 
revera sit1 et ipse ,christus disert    
dixerit1 ,joh4 xvii4 #aj1 omnia qu  sua 
erant patris esse8  ,annon ex ipsa      
disciplina vestra1 hoc est ,dei         
essentiam non distinguere1 sed partiri3 
si prter personarum  proprietates1      

aliquid unam personam habere velitis    
quod alia non habeat4  ,filii autem     
personam proprietates suas patris person
 pro peccatorum  nostrorum satisfactione
 solvisse1 cui unquam in mentem venire  
poteret8  ,ib4 p4 #bjb4                 
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,finis4                                
99 99 99 99 99                          
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,charles ,,whittingham1 ,,chiswick4    
99 99 99 99 99          ,footnotes4     
#c   which is the word generally        
translated charity in the ,new          
,testament means affectionate regard4   
,the distinction between charity  and   
almsgiving is well laid down by ,st4    
,clement of ,alexandria4  8,charity10   
says he1 8leads to the sharing our good 
things with others2  but this is not in 
itself charity1 but only our outward    
sign of that  feeling40    #d  ,see #a  
,cor4 ix4 #ai1 #bj4    #e;a  ,rom4 xii4 
#aj4    #e;b  8,no national prejudices1 
no religious differences could hinder   

our  ,saviour from doing good4  ,we     
should consider that men's              
understandings  naturally are not all of
 the same size and capacity1 and that   
this  difference is greatly increased by
 different education1 different         
employments1 different company1 and the 
like4  ,no man is infallible4  ,we  are 
liable to errors perhaps as much as     
others4  ,the very best men may         
sometimes differ in opinion1 as ,st4    
,paul #8withstood ,st4 ,peter to the    
face2' and if there was such a          
difference between two of the chiefest  
of  the ,apostles1 well may there be    
between inferior mortals4  ,about modes 
of  faith there will always be dispute  
and difference2 but in acts of mercy    
and kindness all mankind may and should 
agree40--,newton4    #h  8,in fact1 all 
the religious persecutions in the world1
 all the  penalties and inflictions upon
 those who differ from ourselves1       
however  conscientiously1 take their    
rise from an imperfect and erroneous    

notion  of what really constitutes the  
glory of ,god1 and the manner in which  
we  best can assist its display and     
extension4  ,the angels at the birth of 
,christ sang that the glory of ,god was 
in unison with #8,peace on earth1 and   
good will towards men4'--#8,no6' said   
the ,schoolman1 #8the glory of ,god     
consists in thinking of the ,deity as we
 think4'--#8,no6' said the  ,inquisitor1
 #8the glory of ,god consists in        
worshiping as we  prescribe4'--#8,no6'  
said the ,covenanters1 #8the glory of   
,god consists in  exterminating those   
whom we call his enemies4'  ,mistaken   
men6 who thus  propose to honour the    
,god and ,father of the universe1 the   
merciful ,god1  and the gracious ,father
 of all his rational creatures6         
,instead of  perusing with delight and  
conviction the plain declaration        
contained in  our ,sacred records1 too  
many ,christians have in almost every   
age passed  over the characteristics of 
kind design throughout nature3 they have

  mistaken or forgotten the clear       
delineations of ,divine ,mercy and      
,goodness  in the ,book of ,grace1 and  
have had recourse to the narrowed circle
 of  their own prejudices40--,maltby's  
,sermons4    #aj  ,it would be well if  
,rom4 xiv4 were more attentively studied
 and  more universally practised among  
,christians4    #ad  ,they have in      
consequence been sometimes called       
8,seekers40    #ae;a  ,gough's ,history 
of the ,quakers4  ,vol4 i4 p4 #aci4     
#ae;b  ,probably their resolute refusal 
to pay tithes and other dues  brought on
 them some of these punishments4    #bj 
8,keep the ,sabbath holy10 says ,luther1
 8for its use both to body and  soul2   
but if any where the day is made holy   
for the mere day's sake2 if  any where  
any one sets up its observance upon a   
,jewish foundation1 then  ,i order you  
to work on it1 to ride on it1 to dance  
on it1 to feast on it1  to do any thing 
that shall remove this encroachment on  
the ,christian  spirit and liberty40    

,this is language which may be easily   
misunderstood  and perverted from       
,luther's meaning2 but it was uttered by
 him from a  jealousy of ,sabbatical    
superstition4    #ba  ,matt4 v4    #bb  
8,there is an unreasonable1             
uncharitable1 and superstitious notion  
that a soldier1 so far as his profession
 is concerned1 is #8of the world2'  and 
that a man who dies in the field of     
battle is necessarily less  prepared for
 his change than one who dies in his    
bed4  ,these feelings1  which have sadly
 tended to degrade and impoverish the   
mind of modern  ,europe 4 4 4 to make   
armies what they are told they must be2 
and  therefore to make them dangerous by
 depriving them of any high  restraining
 principles1 have been greatly          
encouraged by the tone which  religious 
men of our day have adopted from the    
,quakers40  ,maurice's  ,kingdom of     
,christ4    #bd;a  ,moral education1 in 
spite of all the labours of direct      
instruction1 is really acquired in hours

 of recreation4  ,sports and  amusements
 are1 and must be the means by which the
 mind is insensibly  trained3 #8,men are
 but children of a larger growth2' they 
will have their  pleasures2 and unless  
care be taken1 the sermon of the church 
or chapel  will be neutralized by the   
association of the tavern and the       
raceground4  ,there must be safety      
valves for the mind1 i4e4 there must be 
means for  its pleasurable1 profitable1 
and healthful exertion2 those means it  
is in  our power to render safe and     
innocent2 in too many instances they    
have  been rendered dangerous and       
guilty40  ,dr4 ,taylor4    #bd;b  ,every
 creature of ,god is good1 and nothing  
to be refused if it be  received with   
thanksgiving4 7#a ,tim4 iv4 #d47        
,extend this maxim1 apply it  to the    
several means of enjoyment1 either      
supposed or real1 that the  world       
presents to us4  ,those pleasures from  
which we cannot unreservedly  arise1 and
 thank our ,maker2 those pursuits which 

mar our devotions1 and  render us       
unwilling or afraid to come before ,him1
 cannot be innocent4  ,it  would be no  
easy matter to lay down1 as applicable  
to all1 a rule as to  how far conformity
 with the world is admissible1 and where
 the ,christian  must stop3 for as the  
habits and tempers and propensities of  
men differ1  so also do their           
temptations and their danger4  ,thus    
through the rule by  which one would    
stand securely1 another would as        
certainly fall4  ,lectures on the       
,church ,catechism4    #bf  ,see #a     
,tim4 iv4 #d4    #bi  8,a reverend      
,doctor in ,cambridge was troubled at   
his small living at  ,hoggenton         
7,oakington7 with a peremptory          
,anabaptist1 who plainly told him1      
#8,it goes against my conscience to pay 
you tithes except you can show me a     
place of ,scripture whereby they are due
 unto you4'  ,the ,dr4 returned1  #8,why
 should it not go as much against my    
conscience that you should enjoy  your  

nine parts for which you can show no    
place in ,scripture8'  ,to whom  the    
other rejoined1 #8,but ,i have for my   
land deeds and evidences from my        
fathers1 who purchased and were         
peaceably possessed thereof by the laws 
of the land4'  #8,the same is my title1'
 said the ,doctor1 #8tithes being       
confirmed unto me by many statutes of   
the land1 time out of mind4'0  ,fuller's
 ,church ,history1 ,book ,,ii4    #cj;a 
,john iii4 #af4    #cj;b  #b ,cor4 v4   
#ai4    #cj;c  #a ,tim4 ii4 #d4    #ca;a
  #a ,john iv4 #i1 #aj4    #ca;b  ,rom4 
ii4 #ae4    #ca;c  ,john i4 #i4  ,see   
also #a ,john ii4 #a1 #b4  #b ,heb4 ii4 
#i4    #cb  ,luke xii4 #dh4    #cc;a    
,mosh4 ,ecc4 ,hist4 ,cent4 xvi4 ,sect4  
iii4    #cc;b  ,ib4    #ce;a  ,some of  
the passages of this ,catechism are     
quoted by ,mosheim1  which differ very  
little from the doctrine of the         
primitive church3 all  that can be      
noticed is1 that they omit a distinct   
recognition of the  divinity of ,christ4

    #ce;b  8,fausti ,socini ,senensis   
,opera omnia10 vol4 i4 p4 #efa4  ,these 
works  form a part of the 8,bibliotheca 
,fratrum ,polonorum qui ,unitarii       
appellantur40  ,irenopoli post anno dom4
 #afef4    #cf  ,it is remarkable that  
persona should so often be confounded   
with  individual4  ,persona in its      
original sense was the mask of the      
actor1  through which the sound came4   
,the same actor might wear many  person4
  ,if ,socinus had recollected this1 he 
might have spared himself  the trouble  
of controverting a notion never         
maintained by the orthodox1  i4e4 that  
the ,deity was individually divided4    
#cg  ,vide ,appendix4    #ci;a  ,small  
,books c4  ,no4 ,,vii4 p4 #ba1 c4       
#ci;b      4    #ci;c  ,john4 x4 #cj4   
#ci;d  ,john xiv4 #i1 #aj4    #ci;e  #b 
,cor4 v4 #ai4    #ci;f  #a ,tim4 ii4 #e4
    #dj  ,athanasian ,creed4    #da     
,john v4 #cj4    #db  ,the following are
 extracts from the 8,book of ,common    
,prayer  reformed10 professing to have  

been a selection made by 8the late ,rev4
  ,theophilus ,lindsey for the use of   
the congregation in ,essex ,street0--and
  as a liturgy is generally allowed to  
be a fair exponent of the doctrines  of 
those who use it--perhaps we may assume 
that the violent and  reprehensible     
expressions made use of by some few     
persons of this  persuasion1 are not    
such as would be acknowledged by the    
congregations of  ,unitarians in        
general4    ,form of baptism4  8,i      
baptize thee into 77 the name of the    
,father and  of the ,son and of the     
,holy ,spirit40    8,almighty and ever  
blessed ,god1 by whose providence the   
different  generations of mankind are   
raised up to know thee and to enjoy thy 
favour  for ever2 grant that this child 
now dedicated to thee as the disciple of
  thy ,son ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 may
 be endued with heavenly virtues 4 4 4  
and that we may daily proceed in all    
virtue and goodness of living1 till  we 
come to that eternal kingdom which thou 

hast promised by ,christ our  ,lord40   
,order for the administration of the    
,lord's ,supper4  ,confession1 the same 
as in the liturgy of the ,english church
 as far as 8we do heartily repent  and  
are heartily sorry for these our        
misdoings1 the remembrance of which  is 
grievous unto us4  ,have mercy upon us1 
have mercy upon us1 most  merciful      
,father2 forgive us all that is past3   
and grant that we may ever  hereafter   
serve and please thee in newness of life
 to the honour and  glory of thy name40 
,the absolution is the same with the    
trifling change  of us for you4  ,the   
sentences following are the same till   
8,hear also  what ,st4 ,john saith10    
where the text #a ,john i4 #h1 #i1 is   
substituted4    ,prayer before the      
minister receives the communion4        
8,almighty ,god1 our  heavenly ,father1 
by whose gracious assistance and for our
 benefit1 thy  beloved ,son our ,lord   
,jesus ,christ1 was obedient even to the
 death upon  the cross2 who did         

institute1 and in his holy gospel       
command us to  continue1 a perpetual    
memorial of his death until his coming  
again2 hear  us1 we most humbly beseech 
thee2 and grant that we may receive this
 bread  and wine in grateful remembrance
 of his death and sufferings1 and of thy
  great mercy to mankind in sending him1
 thy chosen messenger1 to turn us  from 
darkness to light1 from vice to virtue1 
from ignorance and error to  the        
knowledge of thee1 the only true ,god1  
whom to know is life  everlasting40     
,form of administration4  8,take and eat
 this bread in remembrance of           
,christ0--8,take and drink this wine in 
remembrance of ,christ40    ,in the     
daily service many prayers are omitted1 
so as to make the service  much shorter4
  ,the exhortation and confession are   
the same2 for the  absolution is        
substituted 8,almighty ,god1 unto whom  
all hearts are open1  all desires known 
and from whom no secrets are hid2 purify
 the thoughts  of our hearts that we may

 perfectly love thee1 and worthily      
magnify thy  holy name through ,christ  
our ,lord40--,it would be useless to    
multiply  extracts--enough has been     
given to show the doctrine of the       
,unitarian  congregations who use this  
liturgy4    #dg  ,priestly's            
8,discourses on ,various ,subjects10 p4 
#dai4  ,see also p4  #ad1 c4 and        
,prefatory ,discourse1 p4 #ic4    #dh   
,channing's ,discourse on preaching     
,christ4    #di  ,channing's ,works4    
,on the great purpose of ,christianity4 
#ej;a  ,channing's ,character of        
,christ4    #ej;b  ,channing's ,sunday  
,school4    #ej;c  ,channing's ,charge  
at the ,ordination of ,rev4 ,r4 ,c4     
,waterston4    #ea;a  ,channing ,on     
,infidelity4    #ea;b  ,channing's      
,system of ,exclusion4    #eb  ,john    
,wesley was born in #agjc4    #ed  8,i  
rode over to a neighbouring town10 says 
,wesley1 8to wait upon a  justice of    
peace1 a man of candour and             
understanding2 before whom ,i was       

informed their angry neighbours had     
carried a whole waggon load of these    
new heretics40  ,but when he asked1     
8what they had done10 there was a deep  
silence1 for that was a point their     
conductor had forgot4  ,at length one   
said1 8,why they pretend to be better   
than other people1 and besides they     
pray from morning till night40  ,mr4    
,s--- asked1 8,but have they done       
nothing besides80  8,yes1 ,sir10 said an
 old man1 8an't please your worship     
they have convarted my wife2 till she   
went among them she had such a  tongue1 
and now she is as quiet as a lamb40     
8,carry them back10 replied  the        
justice1 8and let them convert all the  
scolds in the town40--7,wesley's        
,journal47    #ee  ,watson's ,life of   
,wesley1 page #dhd4    #ef  ,lackington4
    #ei;a  8,who does as he would be    
done by1 in buying or selling8          
particularly selling horses8  ,write him
 a knave that does not1 and the         
,methodist knave is the worst of all    

knaves40--,wesley's ,large ,minutes1 ,q4
  #ac4    #ei;b  ,snuff-taking and drams
 are expressly forbidden4    #ei;c  ,in 
,may #aggf1 an order was made in the    
,house of ,lords1 8,that the            
,commissioners of ,his ,majesty's       
,excise do write circular letters to all
  such persons whom they have reason to 
suspect to have plate1 as also to  those
 who have not paid regularly the duty on
 the same40  ,in consequence  of this   
order the ,accountant-general for       
household plate sent a copy of  it to   
,john ,wesley4  ,the answer was as      
follows3        ,sir1        ,i have two
 silver teaspoons in ,london and two at 
,bristol3 this is      all the plate    
which ,i have at present1 and ,i shall  
not buy any more      while so many     
round me want bread4                    
,i am ,sir1 your most humble servant1   
,,john ,,wesley4    #fa  8,i used my    
prayers10 says the author of the #8,bank
 of ,faith1' 8as  gunners do swivels2   
turning them every way as the cases     

required40  ,wesley relates in his      
,journal that 8,by prayer he used to    
cure a violent  pain in his head10 c4   
#fb  ,this writer1 the celebrated       
,lackington the bookseller1 relates the 
following occurrence soon after he      
turned ,methodist4  8,one ,sunday       
morning  at eight o'clock1 my mistress  
seeing her sons set off1 and knowing    
they  were gone to a ,methodist meeting1
 determined to prevent me from doing the
  same1 by locking the door2 on which in
 a superstitious mood ,i opened the     
,bible for direction what to do1 and the
 first words ,i read were these1  8,he  
shall give his angels charge concerning 
thee1 lest at any time thou  dash thy   
foot against a stone40  ,this was enough
 for me1 so without a  moment's         
hesitation ,i ran up two pair of stairs 
to my own room1 and out  of the window  
,i leapt to the great terror of my poor 
mistress4  ,my feet  and ancles were    
most intolerably bruised1 so that ,i was
 obliged to be put  to bed2 and it was  

more than a month before ,i recovered   
the use of my  limbs4  ,i was then      
ignorant enough to think that the ,lord 
had not used  me very well2 and ,i      
resolved not to put so much trust in him
 for the  future4  ,my rash adventure   
made a great noise in the town1 and was 
talked  of many miles round4  ,some few 
admired my prodigious strength of faith2
  but the major part pitied me as a poor
 ignorant1 deluded1 and infatuated      
boy40    #fd;a  ,wesley's ,works1 vol4  
xii4 p4 #di4  ,some of ,wesley's        
expressions1  when confronted with each 
other1 appear incompatible2 in such     
cases the  main drift of the writer must
 always be considered2 for it is much   
more  usual to fail in expressing our   
meaning than to express contradictory   
opinions3 since the latter implies a    
cerebral defect verging on insanity1    
the former merely results from a faulty 
style4  ,scripture does not any  where  
warrant us in saying 8the moment a      
penitent sinner10 c42 but  requires from

 us a proof of this belief by actions   
conformable to it4  ,god has promised us
 immortality through his ,son1 only if  
we not merely  believe1 but 8do that    
which is lawful and right40    #fd;b    
,wesley censured some of his preachers  
for pushing the doctrine of  perfection 
too far4    #fe  ,wesley's ,works1 vol4 
viii4 p4 #bai4 and vol4 xi4 p4 #dae4    
#ff  ,so called from their habit of     
rebaptizing those who entered their     
communion4  ,they were afterwards called
 ,antipdobaptists1 from their  objection
 to pdo or infant baptism2 and finally1 
the ,english habit of  abbreviation of  
words at all commonly used1 contracted  
the word into  ,baptist4    #fg         
,mosheim4 ,ecc4 ,hist4 ,cant4 ,,xvi4    
,sect1 iii4 ,part #b4    #fh;a  ,milton 
belonged to the class of                
,anti-,trinitarian ,general ,baptists4  
#fh;b  ,that the body of ,jesus was not 
derived from the substance of the       
blessed ,virgin1 but created in her womb
 by an omnipotent act of the ,holy      

,spirit4    #fh;c  ,v4 ,mosheim's ,ecc4 
,hist4    #fi  ,all who baptize infants 
may be termed pdo-baptists2 the word is 
derived from the ,greek  a child or     
infant1 and  to baptize4    #gj;a  ,yet 
the bishop ought to have known that     
baptism by immersion was  practised in  
the church for many centuries1 and the  
rubric of our common  prayer leaves the 
option of immersion or aspersion4       
#gj;b  ,condor's ,view4 p4 #chj4        
#ge;a  ,marriage is enumerated in one of
 the ,moravian hymns amongst the        
services of danger1 for which the       
,united ,brethren are 8to hold          
themselves  prepared40        8,you as  
yet single are but little tried1        
,invited to the supper of the bride1    
,that like the former warrior each may  
stand      ,ready for land1 sea1        
marriage1 at command40    #ge;b  ,see   
,latrobe's edition of ,spangenburgh's   
,exposition of ,christian  ,doctrine4   
#gi  ,litany of the ,new ,church4       
,office of ordination1 p4 #aea4    #hj;a

  ,rom4 xxi4 #bg4    #hj;b  #a ,cor4 i4 
#c4    #ha;a  ,john i4 #ah4    #ha;b    
,john vi4 #df4    #hb  ,liturgy of the  
,new ,church ,office of ,baptism1 p4    
#eh4    #hd  8,jesus the ,fountain of   
,life and ,light10 p4 #ab4    #he  ,in  
some places it is not till the end of a 
fortnight4    #hg;a  ,examination of the
 opinions of the ,plymouth ,brethren4   
#hg;b  ,the following is a sample from  
one of their published works3 8,the     
first eclogue of ,virgil has always     
appeared to me to express most          
felicitously the pleasures of a pastoral
 life as we too frequently see  it in   
these days4  ,with what force the       
following lines describe the  grateful  
feeling of a young clergyman1 who is    
recounting the benefits  conferred on   
him by his patron3        ,o ,melibe1   
,deus nobis hc otia fecit4      ,namque 
erit ille mihi semper ,deus--      ,ille
 meas errare boves1 ut cernis1 et ipsum 
,ludere1 qe vellem1 calamo permisit     
agresti4    ,my patron shall always be a

 divinity to me1 for he put me into this
 life  of ease when he gave me this gem1
 the prettiest living in ,england4  ,he 
gave me this easy duty1 so that ,i can  
let my flock wander  wheresoever it may 
please them1 as you see they do2 while  
,i myself do  just what #a like1 and    
occasionally amuse myself with a        
pianoforte by  ,stoddart1 that cost     
eighty-five guineas40    8,he 7the      
congregational minister7 is now1 in his 
own opinion1 the ,,one ,,man  of the    
whole body of believers in all the      
services of the sanctuary4  ,he  utters 
all their sentiments of faith and       
doctrine1 and offers up all  their      
prayers6  ,how can he justify the       
position he has assumed as an  usurper8 
yea as a grievous wolf6 in that he has  
swallowed up all the  gifts of the ,holy
 ,ghost in the voracity of his          
selfishness10 c4  ,it  is not thus that 
the 8unity of the church10 which they   
profess to desire  is likely to be      
cemented4    #ij  ,bishop ,jewel1 in his

 8,defence of his apology for the       
,church of  ,england10 says1 that 8the  
term ,calvinist was in the first        
instance  applied to the ,reformers and 
the ,english ,protestants as a matter of
  reproach by the ,church of ,rome40    
#ia  ,whatever difference may have      
subsisted between ,luther and ,calvin on
  the subject of ,divine decrees1 no    
language can be stronger than that in   
which ,luther insists upon the moral    
impotence of man's depraved nature in   
opposition to the ,pelagian doctrine of 
freewill4    #ic;a  ,it is difficult to 
reconcile this doctrine with #b ,cor4 v4
 #ad1 #ae4  #a ,tim4 ii4 #f4  #b ,pet4  
iii4 #i4  ,rom4 viii4 #cb4  #a ,tim4 iv4
 #aj4 c4    #ic;b  ,the best account of 
their system is to be found in 8,the    
,assembly's  ,catechism10 which is      
taught their children4  ,to this sect   
belongs more  particularly the doctrine 
of ,atonement1 or1 8that ,christ by his 
death  made satisfaction to the ,divine 
justice for the ,elect2 appeasing the   

anger of the ,divine ,being1 and        
effecting on his part a reconciliation40
  ,that thus ,christ had1 as they term  
it1 8the sin of the ,elect laid upon    
him40  ,but some of their teachers do   
not hold this opinion1 but consider     
,christ's death as simply a medium      
through which ,god has been pleased to  
exercise mercy towards the penitent4    
8,the sacrifice of ,christ10 says ,dr4  
,magee1 8was never deemed by any 7who   
did not wish to calumniate the  doctrine
 of atonement71 to have made ,god       
placable3 but merely viewed as  the     
means appointed by ,divine wisdom by    
which to bestow forgiveness40  ,to  this
 it may be further added1 that the      
language used throughout the  ,epistles 
of ,st4 ,paul with regard to the        
redemption of man1 is that of the  then 
familiar slave market4  ,man is 8bought 
with a price0 from his former  master1  
,sin1 for the service of ,god4  ,the    
scholar who will consult ,romans  vi4   
will see immediately that all the       

metaphors used are those of  purchase   
for military service2 8,your members10  
says he1 ver4 #ac1 8shall  not be the   
arms 77 of unrighteousness used for the 
service of sin2  but the arms 77 of     
righteousness for ,god40  ,and ver #bc1 
1      1 1        4 i4e4 ,the rations of
 sin are death1 but the donative  of    
,god is eternal life1 by means of ,jesus
 ,christ our ,lord4  ,it is  impossible 
to express more clearly that it was not 
the wrath of ,god which  required to be 
appeased by the great sacrifice--the    
slave was bought by  ,him for           
,himself--the price was of course paid  
to another4  ,much  misunderstanding has
 arisen from the careless interpretation
 of these and  the like passages1 whose 
phraseology has become obsolete along   
with the  practice of buying and selling
 slaves1 at least in this country4      
#ie;a  ,matt4 xvi4 #bg4    #ie;b  ,matt4
 xviii4 #ad4    #if;a  ,vide ,exod4     
xxxiii4 #ad1 et seq4    #if;b           
,according to the ,calvinistic doctrine 

above stated1 character has  no concern 
whatever with their call2 ergo1 if this 
is right1 ,st4 ,paul is  wrong1 and     
mankind are called with respect of      
persons4    #if;c  8,this system        
7,calvinism7 by setting aside the idea  
of a human  will1 leaves the doctrine of
 ,divine ,will barren and unmeaning2 the
 idea  of a personal ruler disappears1  
and those most anxious to assert the    
government of the ,living ,god have been
 the great instruments in  propagating  
the notion of an atheistical necessity40
  ,maurice's ,kingdom  of ,christ4      
#ih;a  ,hopkins on the ,new ,birth4     
#ih;b  #a ,john iii4 #g-aj1 see also v4 
#ba of the same chapter1 where our      
confidence towards ,god is shown to     
depend on the judgment of our own       
consciousness of wrong or well doing4   
,the whole chapter is well worth  the   
study of every ,christian4    #ajb  ,i  
take this from books1 not having        
personal acquaintance with the          
,presbyterians of ,ireland3 and such is 

the confusion generally made by  authors
 between ,arianism1 ,socinianism1 and   
,unitarianism1 that it is  difficult to 
know which is meant4  ,as a large       
proportion of the modern  ,presbyterians
 have embraced ,unitarian doctrines1 it 
seems improbable that  the ,irish should
 have adopted those of ,arius1 though my
 author uses the  term ,arian as applied
 to the doctrine of the seceders4       
#ajf  ,see 8,the ,use and ,abuse of     
,creeds and ,confession of ,faith10 by  
the  ,rev4 ,charles ,james ,carlile1    
,dublin1 #ahcf4  8,the ,irish ,church   
and  ,ireland10 p4 #ff-fh1 and 8,a      
,narrative of the ,proceedings of the   
,associate  ,synod in ,ireland and      
,scotland in the affair of the ,royal   
,bounty10 by  ,james ,bryce4  ,belfast1 
#ahaf4    #abb;a  ,although the         
excellent ,bishop ,heber's mind was     
deeply imbued with  devotional feelings1
 he considered a moderate participation 
in what are  usually called worldly     
amusements1 to be allowable and         

blameless4  8,he  thought10 says his    
biographer1 8that the strictness which  
made no  distinction between things     
blameable only in their abuse1 and the  
practices which were really immoral1 was
 prejudicial to the interests of  true  
religion2 and on this point his opinion 
remained unchanged to the  last4  ,his  
own life indeed was a proof that        
amusement so participated in1  may be   
perfectly harmless1 and no way interfere
 with any religious or  moral duty40    
#abb;b  8,rowland ,hill1 in his         
theological opinions1 leaned towards    
,calvinism1 but what is called          
,hyper-calvinism1 he could not endure4  
,in a  system of doctrine he was        
follower of no man1 but drew his sermons
 fresh  from a prayerful reading of the 
,bible4  ,he was for drawing together   
all  the people of ,god wherever they   
could meet1 and was willing to join in a
  universal communion with ,christians  
of every name4  ,when1 on one  occasion1
 he had preached in a chapel1 where none

 but baptized adults  7i4e4 baptized    
after attaining years of discretion71   
were admitted to the  sacrament1 he     
wished to have communicated with them1  
but was told  respectfully1 #8,you      
cannot sit down at our table4'  ,he     
calmly replied1  #8,i thought it was the
 ,lord's table4'0  ,sidney's ,life of   
,r4 ,hill1 p4 #dbb1  #crd ,edit4    #abd
  ,simeon's ,works1 ,vol4 ,,iii4 p4     
#aja1 c4    #abf  ,simeon's ,works1     
,vol4 ,,iii4 p4 #ccc4    #aca;a  ,exod4 
xxxii4 #d4    #aca;b  ,vide ,colossians 
ii4 #ah1 #ai4    #ace;a  #b ,cor4 v4    
#ae4  #a ,tim4 ii4 #f4    #ace;b  #b    
,pet4 iii4 #i4    #ace;c  ,rom4 ii4     
#f-aa4    #acf  ,rom4 xiv4 #e4