Table Of ContentCovtentonderce: ondve.
“Trimiborien Ast usitaries
Carcbeovenny’” Ak tavertoas,
Wetarpara Jos kasnon pots
Gove, of Woot Beoaah
CORRESPONDENC
TREINITARIAN AND UNITARIAN CONTROVERSY
LIVERPOOL
To all who nll themscloee Usitarians in the town and neighbourhood of
Esverpoct.
“And when they ho apponted ania dey, thare cue many to us moh dg
to shom he expounded ea ‘he Kingdom of God, PereaolNo Te cox
Senne af Mout and out of the Brophety fom mereing
erat
‘Men and Brethren, —T ana owarg hat the term “‘ Religious Contro-
verey" is « phrare poculrly revoltiog to many mond, that it presenta
te them noting spect but tat wh has bain sential cle
the * Acetens Theoloyicum,” « something biter and distasteful, of more
then common offeamrencts and aspersty Tt an for thiu reason that, in
proposing a courve of lectares on the subjects in oontroversy between,
{he Gers of Sngasdand tae oo al taemeies Uneaetinm, od
‘who, by thxt very form, soem to smpate to the great ragjorty of pro
Teasing Ohandaca, of stnort a denominations, © polyeorato ceed,
an in reqnewsing your aiteniaoce on these Iestures, and inviting your
sudet golenan attention to those eubjecte, [wiah, entecedeatly, to remove
®)
2 | GonMEAPONDENCE ON THE TRINITABIAN AND UNITARIAN
from myself every eemicion of uukindness towards you, and to take
‘away any supposition of unchristinn esperity in my feelings, oF of & de-
sire to infict upon the bunmbeetindividaal amonget you unnecessary priv,
‘Thet no mere pobitical digerence of opinian, much less that eny appre-
hension of danger to the Established Churab, hevy originated thismore-
‘ment, will be suficiently evident from the fact, that while we nve mur-
vied hy many other classes of diasenters, equally opposed to the
ciple of our eatablistment, and much more Iikely to draw sway the
embers of our focks to their commanian, I and my reverend brethren,
who are awociated with me, on the present occasion, bate limited oor
aclves exclusively to an inquiry ioto, and an endeavour to expose, the
{alee philosophy and dangerous ansoundness of the Unrrancan Srarea.
‘Nove whet the cause of thie dicnetion Tein simply thi, thet
awhile we believe the other dissenting bodies to have arranged an eccie-
Snatioal systetn, in our judgment not eleatly Scriptural, end deBcient in
‘those particulars which constitute the perfactia, though they may not
after the ernence ofa church, we do at the dame time acknowledge thet
‘hey generally hold, av artiches of faith, thos. great fundamental Gorpet
insite oil: are the substance of the enfety or vous jtruthe which, while
te hel give them pat in thee. grafous coven in Christ wits
sekich God hes revealed a way of salvation for all aud ou of which he box
not reveled a may of marcy to ay. Thea fandamental truths arn the
very doctrines which aro controverted between 7 und. those whom we
call incourteny, but not ax of right, Unrtautaxa; vig, the Trinity, the
city of Christ, the atoning socrifce, tho delty and personality of the
Healy Spirit, the fal of our nature, and the gracious renovation of the
bbaaman sou!, through his supernatnrel operation, Ascured aa I em that
these truths (which, without a deeperate mutilation, or an awfal tamper-
ing with the plain language of the Word of God, it seems impomible to
‘siclude from that divine record) are of the entence of our souls’ safety, I
sak you, men ail brethren, T put it to your consciences, init not of the
nature of the tendercet charity, of the purest love, of the most eifec-
Uonate sympathy with thoee in the extreme of perl, and that an efernal
peri, to supplicito to these doctrines the attention of wach aa have not
‘yet reotived thems, t0 pray thom (o come and ‘" ecarch with us the
Seriptures, whether these things be so ?"—Aets avii,1. Shallhe who,
unwittingly, totters blindfold on the edge of a precipice, deem it « rade
o an uncharitable violence which would snatch bim with « etrong and x
‘ventarou: hand, or even it may be with « painful grasp, fron che farted
sui over which he impends? Ie it not to sour own strong
_ autecedant ground of presumption, that you are alarmingly and perilously
“ mistaken in this suntter, when you tee tach nansbers of highiy-gifted and
Hintallectial men, men of studj—of genera) infortmation and of pray
‘holy men, men who.‘ Count pot theit lives dear wate thes,” eo that
they meey bonour God and proach thi gospel, and that not in one par-
Gonlar place, bot over the whole aurfeee of the clmrch ; who yet sceount
‘Ghee truths, which you reject, as the sientin! trazhs of salvation; tratha
‘built, you will remember, i their minds, uot on the traditions or antho-
tity of men, bot on the Hvaly ormclea of God ?
conmmpyEasy a5 LIYERFOOL, a
Sesing, thon, men and brethren,
‘Thxt the pointe of ditfereace between us are of the very digest poe
sible importance, and not masters of were theoretical rpecaintion, e& come
of your writers have striven vainly to minke sppesr; thet, in short, if
‘Unitarians be sound interpreters of Holy Soriptare, we Tribiterians are
ally of the most heinous of al sina—idelatry ; und ¥f, on the other band,
tare be the crced of the apostle, saints, sod snartyrs, Uustatioas are
Bink im the moet Mapphesiat and deadly error. and are xblly unwokhy
of being considered Christians, in muy proper seoze of tho word.
And seeing,
9. Thet oonsiderable nombers, it is aggreheated, expecially, among
she middling end lower clastes,who outwardly profese Unitarian principles,
are in tote igaorance of the unseriptural uatare wad dsngerows cherester
of thors prizciples. And seeing,
2. That the eoatroversial discassion of disputed points was ungnet-
onably the practice of the epostalic and primitive, aa wolt as of all other
ages of religious revival, aitd ts. calculated as 8 means, under the good
Blessing of Almighty God, to * open men’s eyes, and to turn them from
darkneta to light.” We invite and baneech you, by He waroies of God
in Christ, to come and give ve at least m patient bearing, while we ene
dexvaur to ‘“perruada Fou conctrnisg Joou,” and by all means to
‘win some of you." It is imupomible that we oan have my base ot
‘worldly motive in thus addressing yor—any other motive, indeed, bo-
siden that which ie here avoushed, viz, aur soles fmprension nf the value
Of souls, aad of ihe. peril to vhich the false phiosoply of Unitariantem
expaves ther.
Brey if io a sweet and a pleasant thing,—a thing not to divide aud
sever, but fo wite wid to gotlier lato the bonde of denrest afection—thua
to tell and to bear together of the great things which our God has dons
for our soula: of His love t0 a» when He, *’ Who thought it not rab-
‘ery to he equal with God, did take upon him the form of « servant,
and, being found in fashion ex e moo, did humble himeelf, and become
obedient ‘nto death, even the death of a orfes."’—Phil. fi, 6—8.
Teie the intention of my reverend brethren atid myself to weet to-
sete onthe worming of Toenday, the Sb of Febrnry (the day imme,
lately preceding the commencement of the couree,) for the purpose of
solemn humilition before God, and exrimet prayer for the bleasiag of
om Heavenly Father, upon the work in which ee are about to engage,
that we may be esabled to exhibia end preserve ‘the mind of Christ”
while employed is“ contending for the faith,” end thet we may have
‘great success in ow éedsavours to be instromental in enlightening the
‘e7ee which we believe to have been blinded * by the gad of this world,"*
and curing “the light of the glorious gospel. of Christ, wao 1s 7s
waaox oF Goa, to abioe ato ther.” —-2 Cor. ie, 4.
And-oow, ten and brethes, humbly aad néiectimately praying your
sasions attention to these thinge, I commend you t the protection and
Deseing ofthe God and Father of oar Lord Jeays Crist. 1 remain
{your friend nod servant in ths goapit, for the Loni's sake,
Feuone Oot,
Christ Chareh, Jan. 21, 1839. Minister of Christ Church,
a2
