that ever was published amongst men. I am persuaded, that those who writ it were very well informed of all they relate, and that they had not the least intention to deceive us; insomuch that it was impossible they should fall into any considerable error; as neither can we do, in believing what they have said. And, that there may be no equivocation, by a matter of importance I mean all the commandments that the sacred historians assure us were given to the Jews by God; all the miracles that are found in the history of the Scripture; all the principal events in that history, and, generally, all the matters of fact on which our faith is grounded. "In the third place, I believe, with all Christians, that all the doctrines proposed by the authors of the Scriptures, to Jews and Christians to be believed, are really and truly divine doctrines, although it may be supposed that they did not immediately learn them from heaven; I am as much persuaded as any man, that there is no sort of reasoning made use of in the dogmatical places of the Holy Scripture, (where the prophets and apostles instruct us concerning the promises or the will of God,) that can lead us into error, or into the belief of any thing that is false, or contrary to piety.

"I believe, in the fourth place, that Jesus Christ was absolutely infallible as well as free from all sin, because of the Godhead that was always united to him, and which perpetually inspired him: insomuch, that all that he taught is as certain as if God himself had pronounced it.

"In the last place, I believe that God has often dictated to the prophets and to the apostles the very words which they should use. Of this I have also given some examples.

"In these things I agree with all Christian divines; and I believe, farther, as well as they, that these five heads of our belief may be undeniably proved against libertines and atheists, by the authority of Jesus Christ and his apostles; to whom God has borne testimony by an infinite number of miracles, which are more clearly demonstrable to have been really done, than any fact whatsoever of all ancient history. For example, it may be proved, by positive testimonies of matters of fact, that Jesus Christ did really rise again from the dead, and that the

apostles had the gifts of miracles, more clearly than it can be proved that ever there was a Roman Emperor called Trajan.

"The authority of the Holy Scripture being thus settled, I will now shew you wherein it seems to me that the generality of divines are deceived, and in what I am not of their opinion.

"They affirm, that all that is in the sacred books, histories, prophecies, &c. has been immediately inspired, both as to the matter and the words: that all the books in the Jews' catalogue ought to be reckoned amongst the inspired books: that when the apostles preached the gospel, they were so inspired that they could not be deceived, not even in a thing of no consequence at all; and that they knew at the very first, without any exercise either of reason or of memory, what they were to say.

"On the contrary, my opinion is, that it is only in prophecies and some other places, as in the sermons of Jesus Christ, and where God himself is introduced as speaking, that the matter or things have been immediately revealed to those who spoke them: that the style, for the most part, was left to the liberty of those who spoke or writ: that there are some books that are not inspired, neither as to the matter nor the words, as Job, Ecclesiastes, &c.: that there are some passages which passion dictated to those that writ them, as many curses in the Psalms : that the sacred historians might commit, as they have actually committed, some light faults, which are of no moment that the apostles, in preaching their gospel or in writing their works, were not ordinarily inspired, neither as to the matter nor the words; but that they had recourse to their memory or their judgment, in declaring what Jesus Christ had taught them, or framing arguments, or drawing consequences from thence: that the apostles, while they lived, were only looked upon as faithful witnesses of what they had seen and heard, and as persons well instructed in the Christian religion, whereof no part was unknown to them, or concealed by them from their disciples; but not as men that preached and taught by perpetua! inspiration. I believe, indeed, that they were not deceived in any point of doctrine, and that it was very unlikely they should be so; because the Christian religion is

easy, and comprised in a few articles: that they pretended not to enter into deep argumentations, and to draw consequences remote from their principles; and, that they never undertook to treat of nice and controversial matters, as is plain by reading of their writings. Or, if it happened sometimes they were mistaken in any thing, as it seems to have happened to St. Peter and St. Barnabas, it has been in things of small consequence, and they soon perceived their error, as did these two apostles. This sort of infallibility is easy to be conceived, if it be considered that a man of sense and integrity, who is well instructed in his religion, and who does not much enter into argumentations and drawing of inferences, can hardly err, so long as he continues in that temper and observes that conduct.

"This is the sum of what I have said in my writings concerning the inspiration of the sacred penmen; and it is herein precisely that I differ from the common opinion of divines."

SIR,

PE

London, 1821.

ERHAPS no circumstance has a stronger tendency to keep religious people of different denominations aloof from each other, than the want of a thorough and mutual knowledge of their respective fundamental principles. We are most of us too apt to form our judgment of the religious opinions of others on hearsay evidence, and if that conveys any thing opposed in reality, or even in appearance, to our own religious views, to treat such opinions and the professors of them with asperity, coldness, or neglect and thus deprive ourselves and them of that pleasing and profitable intercourse, which as professing Christians we might and ought to have with each other. "Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us?" And bath not he, whose followers we profess ourselves, declared that it is by our love one towards another, we shall be best known as his disciples? Then let Christians of every denomination act like his disciples; let us lay aside all little party prejudices; let us freely and candidly communicate our own religious opinions, and candidly examine those of others; above all, let us compare them with the pure, unadulterated religion of Jesus Christ,

as set forth in the Scriptures, with a sincere view to discover the truth; and I am persuaded, that whatever difference of opinion may ultimately remain amongst Christians, there will be no bitterness of feeling one towards another on that account; but a readiness mutually to acknowledge, that in "every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him: this is a broad, apostolic, Christian principle, and grants no exception to the members of any particular sect or party; "there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision," Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Calvinist, Quaker, Methodist or Unitarian, "but Christ is all and in all. Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering;-and, above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."

I have been led to these reflections by the following circumstance: a junior member of the society of Friends (with whose friendship and correspondence I am favoured, and of whose liberal sentiments I cannot doubt) has taken some pains to convince me, that he does not hold Unitarian principles, and with that view forwarded me a summary of his religious belief or creed, and, in a subsequent letter, adduced no less than fourteen quotations, as a

scriptural illustration" of his opinions. In a parenthesis in this creed he has expressed his opinion, though rather doubtingly, that Jesus Christ is subordinate to God. From this expression, and the texts chosen as illustrations, I was convinced that he held the fundamental principles of Unitarians, without being aware of it, and objected to them, because on hearsay evidence he had concluded them to be contrary to the letter and spirit of the Scriptures.

It is a matter of importance that young persons should be so directed in their first religious inquiries, as to lead them early to form right notions respecting the fundamental principles of the Christian religion, and I apprehend these are, that there is one GodHear, Ó Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord," Deut. vi. 4. 66 I am the Lord, and there is none else; there is no God besides me," Isa. xlv. 5. "To us there is but one God, the Father,"

1 Cor. viii. 5, the sole Creator, Supporter and Governor of the universe: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," Gen. i. 1. "I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone, that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself," Isa. xliv. 24.

That this God, this great Creator of all things, is the only proper object of religious worship : 'Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve," Matt. iv. 10. "The true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him," John iv. 23.

That it pleased God, in his great mercy and loving-kindness, to send Jesus Christ into the world to instruct us in our duty, in the most extensive sense of the word, and to reveal the doctrine of a future life. That for his (Jesus Christ's) obedience unto death, God raised him from the dead, made him Lord over all, and hath appointed aim to be our final Judge, as is expressly declared in various parts of the New Testament.

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It cannot be denied, that the foregoing are fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion; neither can it be denied, that they are the fundamental doctrines of Christian Unitarians; from which it necessarily follows, 1st, that Unitarianism is (so far as it goes) the doctrine of the gospel; and, 2nd, that every person holding these doctrines is (so far) an Unitarian; and of this class is my correspondent, as I will further shew by a few observations on the texts he has selected, as scriptural illustrations" of his opinions, which, though not intended to illustrate these doctrines, for the most part really support them. They are numbered in the order in which he sent them; and if this communication be thought worthy a place in the Monthly Repository, I hope my young friend will also be indulged with a corner in a subsequent Number, wherein he may not only animadvert on these observations, but may shew us more at large on what particular points his own religious society differs from Unitarians.

Illustration 1st. Rev. iv. 11: "Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

As this text is intended to prove that God is the creator of all things,

and I admit the fact, this view of the subject may be dismissed by observing, that if God created "all things," he necessarily created Jesus Christ-and as every created being is inferior to its Creator, so Jesus Christ must be inferior to God.

Illustration 2nd. Acts xvii. 28: "In him we live, and move, and have our being."

In whom do we live and move? In "God that made the world and all things therein," and will judge it by that man whom he hath appointed and raised from the dead, and not in any inferior or subordinate agent.

Illustration 3rd. Mal. iii. 6: 66 I am the Lord, and change not.”

Here God, the creator of all things, is evidently the person spoken of by the prophet, who, nearly all through his book, speaks of the wickedness of his countrymen the Jews, and in the preceding chapter, ver. 10, appeals to them thus-Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us?" This gives us another opportu nity of illustrating the superiority of God to Jesus Christ; for we are assured above, that God changeth notbut Jesus Christ changeth! He was subject to the common changes and vicissitudes of human life; he was a child, a man, he hungered, he thirsted; be underwent many tribulations in this life, and died a peculiarly painful and ignominious death; he was afterwards raised from the dead, and ordained to judge the world in righteousness. Can Jesus then say, "I am the Lord, and change not”?

Illustration 4th. Rom. xv. 4: "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."

This scripture appears inapplicable to the subject under discussion; but the verses immediately following it strongly illustrate the doctrine that Jesus Christ is not God. Vers. 5 and 6: "Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus; that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." And again, ver. 30: "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with ine in your

prayers to God for me." Here again we find God and Jesus Christ spoken of as two distinct beings, in terms as clear and full as language can furnish. Illustration 5th. Gen. iii. 15: "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." This scripture I also think inapplicable to our subject.

Illustration 6th. 2 Cor. v. 19: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself."

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Here Christ appears in his mediatorial office, reconciling us to the Father. Ver. 18: All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;" from which it appears, that God was in St. Paul and other men reconciling the world to himself, in the same manner that he was in Jesus, though not in the same degree; for in the following verses he says, "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ; as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God." From all which it evidently appears that Christ was the minister of God to us, and not God himself.

Illustration 7th. 1 John v. 7: "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one."

This text has been admitted to be an interpolation, not by reputed heretics only, but by many learned men who were deemed orthodox divines. The Eclectic Review, that grand repository of reputed orthodox divinity, has given it up as untenable. The very learned Dr. Adam Clarke, and the late Dr. Doddridge, have both expressed their doubts of its authenticity; and the present Bishop Tomline has declared it as his opinion that it is spurious.

It has been omitted as spurious in several editions of the New Testament; viz. by Luther, in his German Version; by Erasmus, in two editions; by Aldus, Griesbach and Newcome; it does not appear in the most ancient versions; it is not in any Latin MS. earlier than the 9th century, nor in any Greek MS. earlier than the fifteenth. in the old English Bibles of Henry VIIIth, Edward VIth, and Elizabeth,

it was either printed in small types or included in brackets, to denote its being of doubtful authority, and was not printed as it now stands in the generally-received version, till some time about the years 1570 or 1580: therefore, with such a weight of evidence against it, and seeing also that the doctrine it inculcates stands opposed to the greater part of the Old and New Testaments, surely its divine origin ought not to be insisted on, neither ought it to be quoted as a standard of faith, or as a test to determine controversies.

Illustration 8th. John xvi. 28: "I came forth from the Father and am come into the world; again, I leave the world and go to the Father."

This text requires very little comment; for if Jesus came forth from the Father, then is he not the Father, and consequently not God, but a being as distinct from God, as any one being can be distinct from another.

Illustration 9th. 1 John ii. 6: “And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.'

By taking this in connexion with the preceding verse, we find that Jesus Christ is described as our "advocate with the Father:" here again we have two distinct and separate beings; one of whom is our advocate; he pleads our cause with the Father; he was made the minister of the new covenant unto us; by his holy life, and by his obedience, even unto death, he became a perfect example to us; by him we were instructed in all our essential duties to God and man; by the reve lation of his gospel, and by the operation of the spirit of truth on the heart or mind of man, communicated through him, we are brought to repentance and amendment of life, and to a knowledge of that "only true God," whom to know is life eternal. Therefore, as he is so eminently useful to us in a variety of ways, he may truly be said, in figurative language, to be propitious to us, or the propitiation for our sins.

Illustration 10th. Matt. xxviii. 18: "All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth."

This scripture also illustrates the superiority of God over Jesus Christ; for, if all power was given unto him, it proves that all power was not inhe rent in him, or possessed by him in his

own right; and it also proves that he did not possess all power from eternity; for as it was given unto him, it necessarily follows, that there must have been a time when he did not possess it: and as that being who possesses all power in his own right, is superior to any other being to whom he may delegate any part of his power; so in this sense also God is greatly superior to Jesus Christ. Again, God possessed all power from eternity, but Jesus did not, as is shewn above, neither will he to all eternity, for it is expressly declared, that when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto Him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." 1 Cor. xv. 28. Hence we find, that as the power so given to Jesus had a beginning, so it will have an end, and consequently that he is inferior to the Father, of whom it was emphatically declared, "from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."

Illustration 11th. John xiv. 6: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me."

True he is the way, the medium through whom, as his disciples, we have access to the Father by prayer. On that point, I suppose, we agree; and also on this, that if Jesus is the way to the Father, he is not himself the Father.

Illustration 12th. 1 Cor. xii. 7: "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal."

On this we are also agreed, provided it is allowed, as the preceding verses declare, that although there are "diversities of gifts, and differences of administrations, and diversities of operations, it is the same God which work eth all in all."

Illustration 13th. 2 Tim. i. 9: "His grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."

This passage is incorrectly quoted and pointed, and by thus bringing it to a close in the middle of a sentence, its meaning is very materially altered; for, as thus quoted, it appears to favour the idea of the pre-existence of Christ, which, I apprehend, it was intended to prove; but it no more proves his preexistence than it proves ours; for if God's grace was given us, in (or by) Christ Jesus before the world began,

and it necessarily followed that Jesus pre-existed to minister that grace unto us, then by the same method of reasoning we must conclude that we preexisted to receive it. But this will not be believed, neither is such a belief necessary for the explanation of the text, which appears to me only to mean that God purposed before the world began, to save us by his own grace or favour, through Jesus Christ; and that this purpose was manifested by Christ's appearance amongst men, his teachings, sufferings, death and resurrection. This appears to be a rational interpretation of the text, which says, "Be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace (or favour) which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."

Illustration 14th. Job xxxii. 8: "There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding."

This is the last of my friend's scriptural illustrations, and as I do not question its truth, and this paper has extended beyond the limits at first proposed, I shall summarily observe,

1st. That the texts selected by my correspondent contain generally the primary and fundamental doctrines of Unitarianism, as the above plain remarks upon them, are designed to shew.

2nd. That they are in strict unison with the greater part of the Scriptures, and more especially with the declarations of Jesus Christ himself, as recorded in the New Testament; and,

3rd. That they are very much in accordance with the sentiments of that respectable Society of which my friend is a member, may fairly be inferred from his making the selection.

To conclude: I believe that many in the Society of Friends, as well as in other societies of Christians, are actually believing the primary doctrines of Unitarianism, without being aware of it, and that it only requires a little more attention to their own principles,