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    Untitled Article

    Jrchbish op Magee ' s Evidence on the Athanasian Creed . [ "The curious turn which the Exanimation of the Archbishop of Dublin took before a parliamentary

    committee on the state of Ireland , has excited much attention : we republish the following letter on the subject from The Morning Post , which is , we need not say , a ministerial journal . 3

    To the Editor of the Morning Post . Sir , HAVE read with some attention I evidence of the Archbishop of Dublin , given before a Select Committee of the House of Lords upon

    the State of Ireland , and in the course of the examination a minute disquisition is entered into upon the subject of the Catholic faith . The Bishop ^ a opinions are of considerable weight , and well merit the attentions of our

    governors , Great talents and acquirements are displayed throughout ; but here I stop , and take the present opportunity of entering my decided protest against a distinct part of his evidence , viz . —the Athanasian Creed , including the doctrine of exclusive salvation .

    The Bishop ' s evidence is , that Unitarians , Socinians , and other denominations of Christians , who deny the divinity of our Saviour , are by the terms of this creed excluded from the pale of salvation , and that they shall u PERISH EVERLASTINGLY . " His

    Grace ' s evidence is , that the creed is a faithful exposition of Scripture doctrine , and thai the above denominations of C / iristians must in consequence be for ever damned . The evidence is qualified by hopes and wishes , that the Deity may in his mercy be inclined to pardon their heresy ,

    Now , Sir , I assert , in contradiction to the above evidence , but with all flue respect for his Grace of Dublin , who no doubt is a conscientious expositor , that the Athanasian Creed is wot a faithful exposition of the terms and conditions of Christian salvation

    as delivered in Scripture , and that , being a mere human formula , it is entitled to no further respect than Miat arises out of its own intrinsic lnerit , if it have any . . Mark xvi . 16 , may possibly be al-¦ wed to , •< He that believcth not shall oe damned . " Believeth not what ?

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    Not surely the Trinity , and Trinity in Unity , fon such spiritualized phraseology has never once shewn itself in the text . Again , Matt , xxv , 41 , are the following words : " Depart from me , ye cursed , into everlasting

    fire , prepared for the devil and his angels . " But this denunciation has no reference to our belief in the Trinity , nor to any other species of belief . It is a forcible expression resorted to for the purpose of holding the rod of terror over those guilty of selfishness , uncharitableness , and other

    similar vices . I know not , therefore , from what part of Scripture the Bishop finds himself ahle to extract a doctrine on which to build the damnatory clauses of the Athanasian Creed , or the tenet of exclusive salvation .

    The relative position of the Unitarian to the Protestant Trinitarian , is precisely as the latter to the Papist in what regards the transmutation of the elements in the sacrament of the Lord ' s Supper . The Unitarian puts a figurative interpretation upon the Scripture doctrine of the Trinity , and

    the eternity of hell's torments—the Trinitarian a literal one ; and the great Judge of all is the only arbiter to determine which is in the right . lit the same manner the Protestant puts a figurative , the Papist a literal interpretation upon the words used b y ouf Saviour in the Sacrament of the

    Lord ' s Supper ; and who but the same Judge as to decide upon the orthodoxy of their respective faith ? { Supposing , however , that the principles of the Athanasian Creed may bo found in Scripture , I do not hesitate to say that such principles are in

    direct hostility with the attributes of the Deity , viz ., his goodness , his justice , and his mercy , and in such case I feel myself justified in preferring the honour of Goo to any human exposition of Scripture whatever . The great book of nature is before us , and in

    turning over its leaves our minds are unshackled by any form of metaphysical doctrine , or any system of human credence - y and should there exist a doubt upon the construction of the

    doctrines revealed in Scrip tare , our land-mark , our guide , and the firm support of our faith , are to be found in the attributes of the Deity , aa derived from natural religion . Belief or disbelief can neither be a

    Untitled Article

    Archbishop Magee ' s Evidence on the Athanasian Creed * 4 ? 5

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1825, page 475, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2539/page/21/