On this page

• Text (1)

  Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

  • 

    Untitled Article

• Transcript

  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

    Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

    Untitled Article

    the preaching bear any affinity to that of the apostle ? fs it any wonder then that they are deserted , and that the indifference of the people keeps pace with that of the preacher . It . being'an

    avowed tnaxim of the latter , that faith is of no importance , the people \ havfc no inducement for inquiry , and consequently become wholly destitute of religious principles . The consequence of this , is an indifference to the forms of

    worship , and to the sanctification of the sabbath « The censure passed upon our ancestors by your Liverpool correspondent , on account of the strictness with which

    they observed that day , confirms my opinion more strongly upon the tendency of Socinian principles . Considering that portion of time as set apart peculiarly for

    religious . improvement , it is no wonder that they preferred seri - ous books , and serious conversation to subjects which , however innocent in themselves , were not so well calculated to cherish

    religious dispositions , nor to improve the sacred hours of the sabbath . Religious duties to them were not < x intolerably tedious ; " nor will they be so to us when we are equally concerned in preparing for a future existence . It is this

    growing indifference to religion , that occasionsv ^ those other evils complained of by your correspondents , such as late hours of rising and meals ; frivolity of dress ; and iuxuriousness of

    manners . The only way , as it strikes * ie , to remedy these evils , and to revive the expiring cause of Presbytertanism , is to revert back to the principles of our forefathers ; to imitate their method of preaching ; and to imbibe more of that

    Untitled Article

    spirit of seriousness which distinguished the whole of their conversation . Then , indeed , will this denomination flolirish , and realize a measure of that prosperity , which distinguished the duys of a Baxter , a - Vincent , and a Doolittle .

    One word more upon the subject of free inquiry , the abuse of which is stated by your correspondents to be one cause of the alleged evil . In this I fully concur ; and am strengthened in my ideas by every Socinian publication that I meet with . It is

    customary for authors of that stamp to monopolize free inquiry to themselves ; and your correspondents invariably restrict it ^ the Presbyterians . Is this liberal ? Will any man in his senses believe that all besides Socinians take up

    their religion upon trust ; or that they do not use equal freedom and diligence in their inquiries ? Is a rejection of the Trinity , the Atonement , Divine Influence , and other doctrines conceived by some Christians to be revealed in the

    New Testament , the criterion of free inquiry ? Alas , Mr . Editor , I am afraid this boasted liberality is mere sound ; or rather that it is something worse—the essence of bigotry ! Though no Socinian , I am nevertheless as warm an

    advocate for the right of private judgment , and of free inquiry upon all subjects , whether civil or religions , as any of your correspondents . This disposition I do not shew by appropriating any

    exclusive terms of liberality or rationality to those who think with myself ; nor by setting down a man fox a fool or a bigot because he happens to differ from me . Without any dereliction of

    Untitled Article

    68 On the Decline &f Presbyterian Congregations *

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1810, page 62, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2401/page/14/