couragement upon one, who, whatever his doctrinal sentiments were, appeared to be a real Christian.'

But to come nearer our own times, take the following observations of the late bishop of Landaff. There are, you will say, doubtless, some fundamental doctrines in Christianity. Paul, the apostle, has laid down one foundation, and he tells us, that other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus

The Christ.-But this proposition—Jesus is the Messiah includes, you will reply, several others, which are equally true. I acknowledge that it does. so; and it is every man's duty to search the scriptures, that he may know what those truths are; but I do not conceive it to be any man's duty, to anathematize those who cannot subscribe to his catalogue of fundamental verities. That man is not to be esteemed an Atheist, who acknowledges the existence of a God, the Creator of the universe, though he cannot assent to all the truths of natural religion, which other men may undertake to deduce from that principle; nor is he to be esteemed a Deist, who acknowledges that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world, though he cannot assent to all the truths of revealed religion, which other men may think themselves warranted in deducing from thence. Still, you will probably rejoin, there must be many truths in the Christian religion, concerning which no one ought to hesitate, inasmuch as, without a belief in them, he cannot be reputed a Christian.-Reputed! by whom?

By Christ, or by you?-Rash expositors of points of doubtful disputation! intolerant fabricators of metaphysical creeds, and incongruous systems of Theology! do you undertake to measure the extent of any man's understanding except your own; to estimate the strength and origin of his habits of thinking; to appreciate his merit or demerit in the use of the talent which God has given him, so as unerringly to pronounce that the belief of this or that doctrine is necessary to his salvation? It is undoubtedly necessary to you, if you are persuaded that it comes from God; but you take too much upon you when you erect yourself into an infallible judge of truth and falsehood.' *

Again, in a Charge delivered to the Clergy of his diocese, in 1788, he observes, 'The day, we trust is not far distant, when a profession of belief in the divine mission of Jesus Christ, as related in the authentic Records of the Bible, will be considered as a comprehensive bond of charity fitted to unite, (which is the main thing) in mutual forbearance and good will at least, if not in community of worship, all denominations of Christians.'

'I hold,' says Dr Parr, without professing any partiality for Unitarians, I hold that they who acknowledge Jesus Christ to be the promised Messiah, to have had a divine and special commission from the Almighty, to have been endowed supernaturally with the Holy Spirit, to have worked miracles, to have suffered on

* Preface to Theological Tracts, and Charge delivered in 1784,

the cross, and on the third day to have risen from the dead, I hold that men thus believing, have a sacred claim to be called Christians.'*

We have quoted these passages, not for the purpose of making a display of great names, for in matters of faith, we are not accustomed to defer to human authority, and have no dread of dissent, but we thought it might be gratifying to our readers to observe the contrast between the language of distinguished Trinitarians, who have gone to their rest, and that assumed at the present day. We suppose that few will be hardy enough to contend, that the individuals, whose opinions we have given above, were at all inferior, to say the least, in piety, in learning, and strength of intellect, to the advocates of the modern exclusive system. But, unless we misjudge, they were men of another spirit.

No reasoning would seem necessary to expose the hollow pretence under which the name of Christian is withholden from Unitarians of the present day. They hold all the faith, which has been pronounced necessary to constitute a believer by Trinitarian writers of the greatest worth and eminence, all that was deemed necessary by the ancient church, and preached as such by our Saviour himself, and his apostles. And why are they now denied the name of Christians? Under pretext, that they reject the distinguishing doctrines of the Gospel. Now to what does this charge

* See Christian Examiner, vol. v, p. 474.

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amount? Simply to this. We reject some doctrines which a class of our fellow Christians think matters of revelation, but which the Bible, properly understood, does not, in our view, teach. In other words, we reject certain human expositions of the language of the scriptures. We do not bow our understandings to any human guides. Having discarded the papal claims to infallibility, we do not see fit to take a Protestant Pope. We would as soon surrender our liberty to the church of Rome, as to any modern pretenders to infallibility. We have resolved that in matters of faith we will not be in bondage to any man'. We have the presumption to attempt to read the Bible, and decide upon its import for ourselves. This is our crime, and our only crime. For this we are stigmatized as infidels, and reprobates.

We have more reverence for Jesus, than for human teachers, who partake with us of a frail and fallible nature. We think ourselves bound to search his instructions, bound to seek truth at the fountain head. We cannot, in a matter of such moment, take our opinions on trust; we should feel guilty if we did so. We regard one as our master, even Christ; from him we would derive our faith. We view him as the true light, and we would seek illumination from him, conceiving that his doctrines have the sanction of divinity. This is our impiety, and the whole of it. For this our names are cast out as evil; for this we are told that we deserve, and shall find the hottest place in hell.

Unitarians believe that the Bible contains inspired truth, that it is a faithful record of the revelations which God has been pleased to make to the world, and that too much labor cannot, therefore, be expended in the attempt to understand and explain it. They yield to none in their reverence for the Bible, and as a body, have been inferior to no class of Christians in their exertions to defend and illustrate it. They have written much, and successfully, on the evidences of Christianity. They have stood forth its champions to turn aside the weapons of the unbeliever. Their writings bear abundant testimony to their deligence and zeal in the cause of revelation. The books and treatises they have furnished in support of the claims of the religion of Jesus, are read and appealed to by all classes of Christians. Yet these men are branded as the enemies of Christianity, blasphemers and impious!

But Unitarians, it is alledged, do not believe that every word, syllable, and letter of the Bible is inspired; they believe its doctrines inspired, but not, as it is said, its language; the matter, but not the style; the thought, but not the turn of expression in which it is conveyed; and therefore, it is dogmatically asserted that they are to be classed with infidels. Now we say, be the charge true or false, it does not in the least affect their claim to the name of Christians. The only article of faith necessary to constitute a Christian, as before shown, is à belief that Jesus is the Messiah or Christ, the sent of God. This belief, as we observed,