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    undertheijpfitl ^ iiagp the civil power * it mo $ tr h * some way or other , be incorporated w ^ it must makefpart ; 6 f the fajsr of th , e land . Tb what degree of minuteness , to what number of particulars the provisions of the law should descend , are points

    concerning which thpre will be great difference of opinions and practices : but this diversity does not affect the general question . In any community , therefore , whfere Christianity is thus patronized , or , in other words , established , to hold up its doctrines and the character and claims of its divine

    Founder to insult and scorn is , without question , to be guilty of a civil offence , not less heinous than that of libelling and calumniating the constituted authorities of the state , and , regard being had to its pernicious effects , much more so . If I injure wilfully and maliciously the character of a fellow-citizen , the

    law defends his right and punishes my wrong . If by the publication of improper prints or books , I corrupt the morals of the rising generation , no one will deem the law unjust , or the judge unmerciful , that visits me with suitable punishment ; shall I then be considered as an unfit object of civil penalties , if I endeavour to remove the

    restraints of religion from the head long propensities of the young , and the savage passions of the desperate , and by taking away all hopes and fears of futurity , do them a thousand times greater injury than can be incurred by the loss of reputation , or property , or liberty , or life ? If these remarks are correct , and the

    closest attention I can give the subject does not enable me to detect tneir fallacy , I am afraid we must regard some part of what Mr . B . has in his third Sermon urged with so much force and eloquence , as irrelevant . Certainl y our Lord and his apostles did not teach

    " that the Christian religion was to be guarded by pains and penalties ; " but neither have they forbidden that it should be so guarded , any more than they have forbidden € < the civil power to [ protect and patronize the Church . "

    Three Sermons , p . 40 . ] I cannot help considering thfe case of Elymas as applicable , for the reasons assigned by the Inquirer , which I think are n 6 t ^ validated by the remarks of your Heviewer : but on this I have touched u * my former letter .

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    The duty of the first Christians , or of Christians of every agei meekly to submit to I persecution for conscience * sake , is doubtless well established : biit this seems to me to be a lopic very little connected with the matter in hand . The circumstances axfe so

    different , that the obligations resulting from them can hardly be compared . To y ield quietl y to a superior and irresistible force is not only a duty of positive obligation , but a measure of prudence : but that , in points vitally affecting the stronger , concessions should be made to the weaker , seems to be what neither duty nor expedience requires .

    Between salutary restraints on a licentious and irreligious press , and the most barbarous and unjustifiable persecution , there is every intermediate degree and shade of blame . The darkest shade of ail falls on that savage intolerance which aims at extorting a

    man ' s private opinion on religious subjects , and compels him to profess according to some supposed standard of orthodoxy . Somewhat less dark than this is that persecuting spirit than this is that persecuting spirit

    which would silence by the penalties of the law , calm , fair and decent arguments adduced against any religious opinions . The cause of genuine Christianity is much advanced by the discussions and defences which such

    objections call forth ; but invective , ribaldry and falsehood , as they are not supported by argument , cannot be overthrown by it . They obtain an easy victory over the minds which they

    aim to subdue , and they defy all the neglect and scorn which they may incur from characters of an opposite description , and which have been thought by many wise and good men the only punishment proper for them .

    Those of your readers , Mr . Editor , who have been accustomed to do justice to the purest virtue and most perfect wisdom that Paganism can boast , hardly need to be reminded of some

    circumstances which preceded and led to the prosecution and death of Socrates , and to which we may refer as not inapposite to the present subject . In the apology of that great man , as given by Plato , * we are told that he consi-* ' JLtAov yocg ttoXXo * K&TYjyQgoi yeydi / oiari Tfocq vfAocqt koci nooKoci Tct fKhcL r ^ y \ ixy \ % koci

    Untitled Article

    On the Right * f the Magistrate to punish Unbelievers . 293

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1820, page 293, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2488/page/37/