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    his Father , in these words : — My peace I leave you , my peace I give you . " To the establishment or preservation of this peace , the disputation mentioned would , in itself and in its effects , be directly opposed .

    Second , St . Paul says , ' * If any one be contentious or fond of disputes , we have no such custom , nor the church of God . " We would , therefore , deviate from the principles of God ' s church and the custom of the

    saints , as well as prove ourselves unmindful of the Apostle ' s suggestion , if we became fond of disputes . Thirdly , because all experience has proved the justice and truth of Tertullian ' s remarks , in his book on " Prescription , " wherein he says , that

    disputes with heretics weary the weak , create anxiety in the mind of others , and that the only thing we obtain by them is , to have our anger excited by their blasphemy . The reason assigned by him for thjs opinion is quite obvious ; it is , that heretics

    despise authority which alone can determine disputes ; that they disregard tradition , without which it is impossible to understand rightly that part of revelation which is written ; and because they appeal to the Scriptures , which are mute , and cannot therefore decide . In quibus ( scripturis ) incerta

    esc victoria aut par mcertce * Fourthly , because no general principle , to which the questions to be discussed could be finally referred , can be agreed upon between the parties ; for this reason , that the members of

    the Bible Society do not admit our creed , nor have they any creed of their own . They do not admit our creed , for they accuse the Church of having decreed error , and of having been sunk in idolatry , for upwards of eight hundred years : see the € ( Book of

    Homilies . " They also have long misunderstood that universal article of the Christian faith , as expressed in the Nicene Creed , amplified in the First Council of Constantinople , and which says , " I believe in one Holy

    Catholic and Apostolic Church ;'' nay , there is reason to apprehend that they have latterly endeavoured , though unconciously , to dissolve the entire religion of Christ into a system of Latitudinarianism , approaching * to utter infidelity . They have no creed of their

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    own ; for , from the reports of proceedings which , on a former occasion , took place between you and them , it appears that they maintained errors the most opposite one to the other

    and that , being invited to produce a common formula of faith , they were unable to do so . It also appears , that , though some of these men nominally belong to the Established Church , they disregard her discipline and authority as it is laid down in the

    ordinance of the King , prefixed to the < c Articles of Religion , ' as it is expressed or implied in the Articles themselves , and as it is recorded in the words of many of their Prelates ; they do so by advocating an unlimited right for themselves and others to

    judge in all matters of religion , regardless of all authority . With such men there can be no common principles to which they could be bound to adhere ; or , if there were any , they could be departed from by them as

    soon as their opinions underwent a change , but in no case would such principles express a form of religious belief binding upon others than those who might subscribe to them . You who are Catholics , professing a clearly defined faith , can never meet men

    who are thus tossed by every wind of doctrine , upon a footing of equality ; they may be worsted in argument , convicted of error , confounded at the exposure of their own contradictions or folly , but they alone can sufferno one is responsible for their errors ,

    no person need blush at their confusion , no man is a partner in their shame ; not so with you . If through error , mistake , ignorance or forgetfulness , you-leavean objection unrefuted ,

    or an aspersion not wiped away , such objection or aspersion stands recorded against your church , and the chaste spouse of Christ suffers in your person from the blasphemy of her apostate children .

    Fifthly , you are to avoid these disputes , because by entering into them you appear to call in question those truths which are already defined by the Holy Ghost and by us ; that is ,

    by the Bishops , the successors of the Apostles . You agree , as it were , to irnpannel a jury , of I know not what description of persons , to try the question whether Christ is with us teach-

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    542 Pastoral Letter of Dr . Doyle * s on Public Bible Discussions .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1825, page 542, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2540/page/28/