PART II.

CHRISTIAN NAME AND CHARITY..

LETTER I.

Import of the Christian Name, and the Evils of confining it to

particular Sects.

Names how far to be regarded, 77. Important when they affect the reputa-

tion of those to whom they are applied, ib. The name Christian is dear

to every professed believer in Christ, 78. First applied at Antioch, 79.

Has two significations as pertaining to faith, and practice, ib. Injustice of

denying this name to Unitarians, 80. Hartley's definition of the term

Christian, 81. President Davies' remarks on the christian name, 82. No

warrant in scripture for calling any of our brethren no Christians, who

claim to be followers of Christ, 83. False estimate of the essence of

christianity, 84. Bishop Watson quoted, ib. Every sect may with equal

justice deny the name of christian to all others, 85. Consequences of ex-

ercising this liberty, 86. Hostile to peace and goodness, 87. Unitarians

have been the ablest defenders of christianity, 88. Lardner, Clarke,

Priestley, Chandler, Lowman, Whiston, Foster, Clayton, Hoadly, Wake-

field, and a host of others, have written in express defence of the christian

religion, 90. American Unitarians, who have written in defence of chris-

tianity, 94. Excellent treatise of Socinus, 96. Absurdity of denying to

these men the christian name, 97. Emlyn quoted, 98. Popish infallibility

outdone, 99. Chillingworth, 100. Bold assumption magisterially to decide

on the faith of another, ib. An encroachment on Christian liberty, 101.

LETTER II.

On Charity as explained in the Scriptures, and practised by the first

Christians.

Charity earnestly inculcated by the Saviour and Apostles, 101. Calvinistic

notions of charity, 102. Inconsistent with other principles of Calvinism,

B

103. Scriptural meaning of the word charity, 105. Three general signifi-

cations, 106. In its common acceptation it relates to the thoughts, feelings,

and actions of men in their mutual intercourse, 107. Essential difference

between charity and love, 109. This illustrated by examples from scripture,

110. Evil consequences of making charity and love the same, 111. Cha-

rity has its origin in the imperfections of men, 112. Its proper exercise is

exclusively towards errors and innocent defects, ib. It relates to opinions

more than to actions, 114. Curious quotation from Dr. Brett, 115. Reli-

gious persecutions have arisen out of a want of charity to the opinions of

sincere christians, 117. Our Saviour censured no man for what he thought

or believed, 119. He condemned the Pharisees for their wicked conduct,

and not for their erroneous opinions, 120. Exclusive notions of charity

prevent free inquiry, 121. Texts explained, by which some christians

think themselves justified in calling others heretics, 122. Whitby and Le

Clerc, 125. Unitarian views of charity, 128.

PART III.

TRINITY AND ATONEMENT.

LETTER I.

Various Opinions concerning the Trinity.

Trinity and Atonement considered doctrines of the first importance by their

advocates, 129. A faith in them is said to be essential to salvation, 130.

Necessary to know what they are, 131. Trinity held in an infinite variety

of forms, 132. Bishop Stillingfleet speaks of five general ones, 133. Ano-

ther writter tells of forty, ib. Scholastic mysticism of Cheynel, 134.

Sherlock, Barrow, South, and Waterland, 135. Various opinions of seve-

ral English divines on the trinity, 136. Modal and tripersonal trinities, 140.

Mystical trinity, 141. Tripersonal trinity defined, 142. Strange language

of Dr. South, ib. A mystery cannot be plainly taught in the Scriptures,

144. Modes of the divine existence, 145. As various as the attributes of

God, 146.

LETTER II.

Doctrine of a Trinity not taught in the Scriptures.

Trinitarians discourse of the plainness with which their doctrine is taught in

the Scriptures, 149. This is a modern notion 150. The Jews never found the

trinity in the Old Testament, 151, The people to whom our Saviour

preached understood no such doctrine, 152. The Apostles preached it not,

154. Many of the early trinitarian Fathers expressly state, that the doc-

trine was not found in the Scriptures, 155. They believed it was kept out

of the Bible for wise purposes, 156. Bishop Horsley's unavailing attempt

to weaken their testimony, 158. Distinguished writers in the Catholic

church have declared the trinity not to be a doctrine of scripture, 159. The

same has been proved by learned Arminians, 162. By Watts and other

English divines, 164. Trinity entirely a doctrine of inference, 167. Has

no authority, nor value, as an article of faith, 168. Jeremy Taylor on

articles of faith, 169. Origin of the trinity, 170. Rammohun Roy, 171.

Moral Tendency of a Belief in the Trinity.

This doctrine injurious to morals and piety in proportion as it gives us wrong

notions of the Deity, 172. Its iniquity consists in its consequences, 173. De-

stroys the simplicity, and divides the object of worship, 174. Unitarians

worship God as one being, Trinitarians as three, 176. Trinity deprives

God of his glory by elevating the Son above the Father, 177. Makes the

example of God without force, 178. Dangerous tendency of the doctrine

of two natures, 180. Humility of Christ, 181. Dr. Channing quoted, 182.

Trinity deprives the death of Christ of all force as an argument in favour

of a future resurrection, 183. Renders this death unavailing as a motive

to obedience and holiness, 184.

LETTER IV.

General Remarks on the Doctrine of Atonement, with a brief out-

line of the Opinions of Unitarians on this Subject.

Object and importance of the doctrine, 186, Charge against Unitarians con-

cerning this doctrine, 187. Belief in it not essential to salvation, 188.

Such a belief must be the same in all, but in the case of the atonement it

is not, 189. Unitarians regard the death of Christ as in the highest degree

important, 192. Unitarian views of atonement, 193. Polish Socinians, ib.

Unitarians at Geneva, 194. In England, Emlyn, Clarke, Taylor, Price,

Priestley, 195. In the United States, Dr. Channing, Dr. Ware, Evangeli-

cal Lutheran churches, 197. Three general opinions on atonement, 199.

LETTER V.

Trinitarian Views of Atonement.

Great differences among the orthodox, 200. Calvinistic doctrine, 201. Near-

ly the same as that of the Universalists, 203. Hopkinsians, 205. Scheme

of Mr. Worthington, that all moral and physical evil is removed by atone-

ment, 206. Arminian scheme, 207. English Church, 208. Magee's views,

the same as those of many Unitarians, 210. Witsius quoted, 212. Ortho-

dox notions of atonement run into every imaginable form, ib. Recapitula-

tion, 213. The whole reduced to two general classes, 216.

LETTER VI.

On the popular Doctrine of Atonement, as affecting the Character

of God.

This doctrine defined, 218. The same as the doctrine of satisfaction, 219.

False principle on which it is founded in regard to divine justice, 220. God

may forgive sin without satisfaction, and still be just, ib. Two kinds of

justice, 221. Calvinistic atonement takes from God the power to forgive.

222.
This scheme wholly at variance with the true nature of justice, ib.

Gives false impressions concerning what is called the wrath of God, 223.

Influence of these impressions on piety, 224. Imputed sin and righteousness,

ib. Impossible in themselves, and inconsistent with the attributes of God,

225. Sufferings of Christ not in the nature of punishment, 226. Opinions of

Dr. Clarke and Bishop Stillingfleet, 228. Satisfaction scheme leaves no

room for the free grace and mercy of God, 229. These repeatedly incul-

cated in the Scriptures, 231. Merits of Christ, 232. By the Calvinistic

scheme no satisfaction is made to the second and third persons of the trini-

ty, 233. Makes the Son a more adorable object than the Father, 234,

Christ's love to the world, 235. Infinite sin, 236. Election and reproba-

tion, 237. Tendency of the doctrine of satisfaction on piety and worship,

238.

LETTER VII.

On the popular Doctrine of Atonement, as affecting the practical

Virtues.

Influence of the doctrine on the social relations, 242. As it lends feeble aids

to piety, it cannot exert much power on morality, 243. Renders unavail-

ing the example of the Deity, 244. Case of mercy and forgiveness, 245.

Justice the same in God, as in man, 247. Personal responsibility,

moral obligation, and the precepts and sanctions of the Scriptures not ac-

cordant with atonement, 248. The doctrine resolves all moral duties into

motives of expediency, 249. Leaves no value in the practical rules of the

Gospel, 251. Proves the innocency of evil, 252. Edwards quoted, 253.

Infinite sin, 254. Objections answered, 255.

LETTER VIII.

On the practical Tendency of Unitarian Views of Atonement.

All Christians look for salvation through Christ, 261. They differ respecting

the manner in which Christ is the author of salvation, ib. This has not

been revealed, 262. If Unitarians err, their error cannot affect their moral

character, 263. Three opinions of Unitarians respecting the influence of

the death of Christ, 264. First, it is considered as a means by which par-

don is procured, ib. Secondly, reasons are annexed why these means are

effectual, 265. Views of Emlyn, 266. Benson, 267. John Taylor, 268.

Thirdly, the death of Christ is considered as operating on men alone, and

not on God, 270. The divine love prompts to salvation, 271. God saves

men freely when they repent, 272. Goodness of God in making known the

terms of pardon, 273. Christ did not save men by his death alone, but by

all his works, doctrines, and sufferings, 274. Tillotson quoted, 276. Uni-

tarian views rigidly moral in their tendency, 277. Human merit, 278.

Calvinism points out a way to salvation without morals, 279.