Tracts on the Unitarian controversy, published in 1815 ...

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Book Xg

TRACTS

Preface

WHEN" such radical and essential changes take place in the religion of a country, as have been witnessed in some parts of New-England, particularly in Boston and in the region round about it, during the last thirty years, it is gratifying to inquiring minds to know, from correct and undisputed sources and documents, in what manner and by what steps such changes have been effected. The Publishers of this pamphlet are happy that they have it in their power to satisfy the inquisitive on this subject. The information desired will be found in the following pages.

It is proper in this place to admonish the reader^ that it is not our object to decide the great question, which has the preference, the old faith of the fathers of New -England, which Unitarians (to give them their own title) reject as irrational and unscriptural, or that which they have desired, under the idea of a reform, to introduce in its place. On this question. every one in this land of freedom of opinion, and of abundant means of information, must judge for himself. To his own Master each must stand or fall* We mean here to offer no opinion of our own ; to troduce nothing of controversy ; but merely to give a plain history of very important facts, derived from unquestionable sources, disclosing the instruments and operations by which these great and visible changes in the religious faith of so many of our Clergy, of the Churches, and of the University in this part of Newj£ngland, have been accomplished. This publication seems now to be required, and even necessary f because those who have been chiefly concerned m conducting these operation's, have deemed it expedient, till this stage of their process, to conceal from the mass of the Christian community their ultimate designs. The history, therefore, which we now lay before the public, in its most material parts, will be new to most of its readers, and, as we believe, interesting to all. Though this history is now before the public, we are not quite certain that all the advocates of the changes in the religion of our country which it relates, are agreed as to the expediency and seasonableuess of the present disclosure, or are disposed to commend Mr.

Belsham for making it, in the manner he has done, on the other side of the Atlantic. The care which has been manifested to limit the knowledge of this interesting work, during many months, (probably two years) since its arrival in Boston, indicates pretty plainly the unwillingness of those who have possessed copies of it, to have its contents generally known. On this subject, however, we would not be positive. Appearances may have deceived us. The gentlemen who received this work from its Author, may have had other and very satisfactory reasons for this apparent concealment of it for so long a period. If so, we may, and we hope we shall, receive their thanks, and the thanks also of other American Unitarians, for bringing before the public their own history, in so unexceptionable a form, from the pen of a man, considered deservedly as standing at the head of their denomination, who derived his facts and information confessedly from gentlemen in this country, who were best acquainted witk the subject ; who have been principals in the history which they narrate ; and who, moreover, wrote evidently not for the public eye, but only for the information of private, confidential friends, and of course what they conceived to be naked and undisguised truth. Rarely indeed has the Christian public been favoured with a portion of history, which has had as high claims to attention and credit, for the reasons above stated, as that which is contained in the follow, ing pages. We may, therefore, without presumption, anticipate the pleasure we shall afford to all denominations of Christians, by giving them, in a cheap form, this very interesting portion of ecclesiastical history.

We have another reason for making this publication. Many complaints have been made that the Boston Clergy have been " slanderously reported" to be Unitarians. This pamphlet will shew Who are their " slanderers," if indeed they are entitled to this character, and exculpate some who have been falsely accused in this thing.*

To evince the impartiality of Mr. Belsham, as respects the body of Christians in this country, whose history he has written, and to shew that his testimony concerning them is entitled to full confidence, his religious creed, (for English Unitarians have creeds, and long ones too, though their American brethren profess to have none) and from his own pen, is subjoined, and is as follows : —

" I shall now proceed to exhibit a concise view of Rational Christianity in its connexion with Natural Religion.

" Of Rational Religion, the first and fundamental principle Js, that the Maker of the universe is infinitely powerful, wise.

• See pages 38, 41, and 44, of this pamphlet.

and good, and that it is impossible for him to act in contradiction to his essential attributes.

" God is love. Infinite benevolence alone prompted him to actiou. And infinite benevolence, combined with unerring wisdom, and supported by irresistible power, will infallibly accom^ pli-«h its purpose iu the best possible manuer. It appears in fact, that a limited quantity of evil, both natural and moral, was necessary to the production of the greatest possible good. Whence this necessity arises, we know not ; but that it could not be avoided iu a system upon the whole the best, we are well assured; for God would not choose evil for its own sake. Evil therefore is introduced and permitted, not because it is approved, but because it is unavoidable. It is in its own nature temporary and self-destructive ; and in the view of the Deity it is absorbed and lost in the contemplation of its ultimate beneficial effects, so that to him the whole system appears wise, beautiful and good.

" God is the Former, the Father, and Benefactor of the human race, whom for wise reasons, unknown to us, but perfectly consistent, no doubt, with his magnificent plan of universal order and happiness, he has been pleased to place in circumstances of frailty and danger, the natural consequence of which, in their progress through life, is the contraction of a certain degree of moral pollution, which, in the nature of things, and by the divine appointment, exposes them to a proportionate degree of misery here or hereafter.

" But this fact by no means proves a preponderance of vice and misery in the world; otherwise we must conclude that the Maker of the world, whose character we learn only from his works, is a weak or a malignant being. The truth is, that although the quantity of vice and misery actually existing is very considerable, there is nevertheless, upon the whole, a very great preponderance of good in general, and, with few, if any exceptions, in every individual in particular.

" The almost universal desire of life and dread of dissolution, amounts to a strong presumption, that life is in general a blessing. And the disgrace universally attached to flagrant vice, proves that such vice is not common. Character is the sum total of moral and intellectual habits, and the proportion of virtuous habits, in the worst characters, exceeds that of vicious ones. But no character takes the denomination of virtuous unless all the habits are on the side of virtue : whereas one evil habit is sufficient to stamp a character vicious.

"God cannot be unjust to any of his creatures. Having brought men into existence and placed them in circumstances of imminent peril, though in the nature of things misery is necessarily connected with vice, we may certainly conclude that none of the creatures of God in such, or in any circumstances, will ever be made eternally miserable. Indeed it is plainly repugnant to the justice of God, that the existence to any of his intelligent creatures, should be upon the whole a curse.

"The light of philosophy affords a few plausible arguments for the doctrine of a future life : there are some appearances physical and moral, which cannot be satisfactorily explained upon any other supposition. But since the sentient powers are suspended by death, and admit of no revival but by the revival of the man, a fact the expectation of which is entirely unsupported both by experience and analogy, the speculations of philosophy would commonly, and almost necessarily, terminate in the disbelief of a future existence.

" Here divine revelation offers its seasonable and welcome aid. God has commissioned his faithful and holy servant^ Jesus of Nazareth, to teach the universal resurrection of the dead, and by his own resurrection to confirm and exemplify his doctrine.

" Jesus hath authoritatively taught, that the wicked will be raised to suffering; nor could it possibly be otherwise, if they are to be raised with the same system of habits and feelings with which they descended to the grave, and without which their identity would be lost. But since eternal misery for temporary crimes is inconsistent with every principle of justice, and since a resurrection from previous insensibility to indefinite misery, to be succeeded by absolute annihilation, is a harsh supposition, contrary to all analogy, and not to be admitted but upon the clearest evidence, we are naturally led to conclude, that the sufferings of the wicked will be remedial, and that they will terminate in a complete purification from moral disorder, find in their ultimate restoration to virtue and happiness. In this conclusion we seem to be justified by those passages in the apostolical writings which declare, that the blessings of the gospel shall be far more extensive than the calamities of the fall, and that Christ shall reign till all things shall be subdued unto him. (Rom. v. — 1 Cor. xv.)

" The apostles were commanded to preach the gospel to the idolatrous heathen as well as to the chosen family of Abraham, and they were authorized to confirm their doctrine by miracles. These extraordinary powers are in the Scriptures called the Spirit of God, and the Holy Spirit ; and the great change which took place in the views, feelings, and character of pharisaic Jews and idolatrous heathen, when they sincerely professed the Christian faith, is called, a new creation, regeneration, rising from the dead, and the like. And as conversion to- Christianity was usually produced by the evidence of miracles, this new creation, regeneration, sanctification, or passing from death to life, is in this sense ascribed to the Spirit of God.

" The Jews, having been chosen by God to peculiar privileges, entertained a very high notion of their own dignity, and expressed themselves in the most contemptuous language of the idolatrous gentiles, who were not in covenant with Jehovah. Of themselves they spoke as a chosen and a holy nation, sons of God, and heirs of the promises. But the heathens were represented as sinners, as aliens, as enemies to God, and the like. In allusion to which forms of expression, the converted gentiles being entitled equally with converted Jews, to the blessings of the new dispensation, they are therefore said to be forgiven, reconciled, and saved, to he fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.

" The death of Jesus is sometimes called & propitiation, because it put an end to the Mosaic economy, and introduced a new and more liberal dispensation, under which the gentiles, who were before regarded as enemies, are admitted into a state of amity and reconciliation ; that is, into a state of privilege similar to that of the Jews. It is also occasionally called a sacrifice, being the ratification of that new covenant into which God is pleased to enter with his human offspring, by which a resurrection to immortal life and happiness is promised, without distinction, to all who are truly virtuous. Believers in Christ

Vffe also said to have redemption through his blood, because ihe^ &re released by the Christian covenant from the yoke of the ceremonial law, and from the bondage of idolatry. Dr. Taylor has in general vyell explained these Jewish phrases in his admirable Key to the apostolic writings, prefixed to his Com* mentary on the Epistle to the Romans.

" The Scriptures contain a faithful and credible account of the Christian doctrine, which is the true word of God: but they are not themselves the word of God, nor do they ever assume that title : and it is highly improper to speak of them as such, as it leads inattentive readers to suppose they were writ* ten under a plenary inspiration, to which they make no pretension, and as snch expressions expose Christianity unnecessarily to the cavils of unbelievers.

" Christianity sums up the whole of human duty in the love of God and our neighbour ; and requiring that all our time should be employed to the best account, and that every action ,should be consecrated to God, lays no stress upon ritual observations, and expressly abolishes that distinction of days, which, formed so conspicuous a feature in the Mosaic institute. To a true Christian every day is a Sabbath, every place is a temple, and every action of life an act of devotion. A Christian is not required to be more holy, nor permitted to take greater liberties upon one day than upon auother. Whatever is lawful or expedient upon one day of the week is, under the Christian dispensation, equally lawful and expedient ou any other day. Public worship, however, must be conducted at slated intervals ; and it has been usual from the earliest times for Christians to assemble together, on the first day of the week, to commemorate the death and to celebrate the resurrection of their Master.

" This appears to me to be the true doctrine of reason and revelation, in which the God of nature is not represented as frowning over his works, and like a merciless tyrant dooming his helpless creatures to eternal misery, with the arbitrary exception of a chosen few 3 but as the wise, benevolent, and impartial parent of his rational offspring, who is training them all) under various processes of intellectual and moral discipline, to perfect virtue and everlasting felicity. Such is the God of my faith and adoration, the God of nature and of revelation, the

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that God whose existence, attributes, and government are the joy and confidence of every enlightened and virtuous believer.*-*

" Jesus is indeed now alive. But as we are totally ignorant of the place where he resides, and of the occupations in which lie is engaged, there can be no proper foundation fur religious addresses to him, nor of gratitude for favors now received, nor yet of confidence in his future interposition in our behalf."!

MR. LIXDSEY'S CREED.

<< There is Oxe God, one single person who is God, the sole Creator and Sovereign Lord of all things.

"The holy Jesus was a man of the Jewish nation, the servant of this God, highly honoured and distinguished by him.

" The Spirit, or Holy Spirit, was not a person or intelligent being, but only the extraordinary power or gift of God, first to our Lord Jesus Christ himself in his life time, and afterwards to the Apostles and many of the first Christians, to impower them to preach and propagate the Gospel with suecess." {

The above Creeds are strictly Unitarian ; or more properly what divines in this country would denominate Socinian. They do not embrace the Arian idea of the pre-existence of Christ's human soul, or that he originally possessed a super-angelic nature ; or that his suSerings and death were in any sense to be considered as propitiatory, or that divine honours were due to him. The English Unitarians reject these opinions as absurd, and maintain the simple humanity of Jesus. § . Of this character is the Unitarianism, the history of whose progress in this country is given in the following pages. April 3d, 15 13.

* See Bclsliam's Review of Wilberfbrce's Treatise, Letter II. f Sec Letter VIII. in the Forementioned work. $ See Memoirs of Lindsey, p. 212-

§ Sec Dr. Lardner's opinion on this subject, as quoted hy Mr. Belsliam 'Life of Lindsey) p. 212—220, note.

AMERICAN UN1TARIANISM, &c.

Unitarian Liturgy adopted by the Congregation at the ICing's Chapel at Boston, in JSTew -England.

•Mr. Lindsey corresponds with Dr. Freeman, Mr. Vanderlcemp, §c. Progress and present state of the Unitarian Churches in America.

THE grand theological controversies which excited so much attention, and were conducted with so much animosity, in England, could not fail to attract notice in America, and especially in the New-England States, where a manliness of character, a decency of morals, and a serious though not universally enlightened spirit of piety, dispose iho. minds of considerable numbers to religious enquiries, and where freedom of investigation suffers no restraint from the civil power. It was with great pleasure that Mr. Lindsey received information in the year \JH§, from a respectable correspondent, (the Rev. I. Smith, afterwards Librarian to the University of Cambridge, in N.England,) that the principal Episcopalian Church iu Boston had consented to the introduction of a Li turgy reformed nearly upon the plan of that which had been adopted in Essex-Street and perfectly Unitarian.* The Minister of this congregation, which

* In Mr. Freeman's first letter to Mr. Lindsey, dated July y, 17S6, lie U'lls his venerable correspondent, "The Liturgy of our church was during a long time unpopular. But your approbation, the note of Or. Price annexed to a letter of Dr. Lush, and the mention which Dr. Priestley is pleased to make of it in his sermon upon the fifth of November, have raised it in esteem. It now seems to be acknowledged that that book cannot be very absurd which is praised by men of such great learning and abilities, and who have been so long known and so justly admired in this country. 1 wish the work was more worthy oi your approbation. I can only say that I endeavoured to make it so by attempting to introduce your Liturgy entire. But the people of the Chapel were not ripe for so great a change. S assembled a( what was called the King's Chapel, was the Rev. James Freeniau, and is described by his friend as " a vouus; man of a ere at deal of knowledge and good sense, and of an excellent disposition-" Some of his hearers left him on account of the change introduced into the service ; hut the majority adhered to him, and the congregation flourished under him. He was for some time under considerable embarrass-

defects and improprieties I was under the necessity of retaining, for the sake of inducing them to omit the most exceptionable parts of the old service, the Athanasian prayers. Perhaps in some future day, when their minds become more enlightened they may consent to a further alteration."

The writer of this memoir is happy to add, that the day of increased light and liberality, predicted by this enlightened reformer, is now arrived, and that Dr. Freeman has himself lived to see his own prediction verified. In a new edition of the Boston Liturgy, printed in the year 1811, a copy of which the writer has had the honour to receive as a present fro^p the Ministers, Wardens, and Y r estry of the King's Chapel, nothing is to be found which is inconsistent with the purest principles of Unitarian worship as such, and with a very few alterations, chiefly verbal, it might be made perfectly unobjectionable. May it long be the efficacious means of supporting the purity and simplicity of Christian worship, and diffusing a spirit of rational piety !

Tvlr. Freeman further proceeds to state the progress which Unitarian principles were making in the United States, and particularly in New-England. This he imputes to the many excellent books published in England, and to Mr. Lindsey's Works in particular, which were much read and with great effect. The sermons and conversation of some Clergymen in New-England al«o contributed their share : and amongst these lie mentions the Rev. Mr. Hazlitt, a pious, zealous and intelligent English minister, who since his return to England is settled at Wem in Shropshire. Mr. Freeman speaks of himself as particularly indebted to the instructions and conversation of this respectable person. " I bless the day,*' says he, " when that honest man first landed in this country." In another letter dated June, 1789, Mr. Freeman writes,' "Before Mr. Hazlitt came to Boston, the Trinitarian doxology was almost universally used. That honest, good man prevailed upon several respectable ministers to omit it. Since his departure, the number of those who repeat only scriptural doxoiogies has greatly increased, so that there are now many churches in which ths worship is strictly Unitarian.

tnent for want of episcopal ordination, upon which some of his hearers laid much stress, though in the estimation of the more judicious members of his congregation, as well as of Mr. Freeman himself, it was rather a matter of expedience than necessity. To avoid, however, giving unnecessary offence, lie applied for orders first to Bishop Seahury, who had lately been consecrated by the non juriog bishops of Scotland, and who exercised his jurisdiction over the episcopal churches in Connecticut. But this prelate, being a rigid Calvinist, would not lay hands upon his suspected brother. Application was then made to Dr. Provost, who had been elected bishop of the province of New- York, and who together with Dr. White had been consecrated to the episcopal office by the prelates of the church of England. This gentleman, who had been a pupil to Dr. Jebb, was a man of great learning, of liberal sentiments, and of deep piety. At the Convention of the episcopal clergy at Philadelphia, he had himself proposed a very important alteration in the Litany, viz. to leave out the invocations to the Son, the Holy Ghost, and the Trinity ; and to retain only the first, which is addressed " to God the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth." To this worthy prelate, therefore, the members of the congregation at the King's Chapel repeatedly applied to obtain episcopal ordination for their respected minister. . But the bishop, perhaps unwilling to give offence to his weaker brethren, referred the matter to the next Convention at Philadelphia ; which determined Mr. Freeman's friends, who had reason to apprehend, that whatever might be the information and liberality of some individuals, the majority would decide against him, to ordain their own pastor at home. This solemn rite, therefore, was performed, with the previous approbation of many persons of high character and worth who had been consulted upon the occasion, on Sunday the 18th of November, 1787? according to a form suggested by Governor Bowdoin, a gentleman, whose learning.

good sense, and merit, as Mr. Freeman expresses it iii his letter to Mr. Lindsey, u would give a sanction to any sentiment which he espouses," though the honourable Governor was not a member of the King's Chapel congregation. " The whole ceremony," says Mr. Freeman, " was performed with great decency and solemnity in the presence of a very numerous assembly. Deep attention was impressed upon every countenance, and many of the advocates for religious liberty, of our own and other churches, could not forbear expressing their sensibility by tears of joy." The form used upon this interesting occasion is published by Mr. Lindsey in Yindiciae Priestleiarise, who there expresses his entire approbation of it. All difficulties were at length surmounted : the remaining scruples of those who were advocates for episcopal ordination gradually subsided/* and the cause of the

* In tenderness to the prejudices of some worthy members of the congregation, a vote was passed by the Society, that Mr. Freeman's ordination should be confirmed by an episcopal imposition of hands, if it could be at any future time conveniently procured without sacrificing their own religious sentiments. But a circumstance occurred Shortly afterwards, which contributed more effectually to overrule the scruples of those who were unsatisfied, than any thing which Mr Freeman or his friends eouid say or write upon the subject. This was the ordination of a clergyman at Boston by Bishop Seabnry.

" If any prejudices remained upon the minds of my people in favour of episcopal ordination," says Mr. Freman in alelteer to Mr. Lindsey, dated October iff, 1788, " what you say in your book, the Vindicise Priestleianse, would effectually remove them. But they are already cured of all prepossessions of that nature. I mentioned in a former letter, that Bishop Scabury had ordained a priest in Boston. The members of my congregation in general attended. They were so shocked with the service, particularly with that part where the bishop pretends to communicate the Holy Ghost and the power of forgiving sins, which he accompanied with the action of breathing on the candidate, that they now congratulate me upon having escaped what they consider as little short of blasphemy. Few of them had ever read, or at least attentively considered, the Ordination service. Since they have heard it, 1 have frequently been seriously asked by them, whether I would have submitted to so absurd a form.

id

congregation continued to flourish under the auspices of this pious and exemplary preacher for upwards of twenty years. Since January, 1809, Mr. now Dr. Freeman lias been associated witSi a colleague, the Rev. Samuel 'Gary, who, if we may judge by the specimen of his talents and spirit in the sermon which he. delivered on the day of his ordination, and by the esteem and affection, expressed in the charge of his revered associate, is worthy of the honourable situation which he occupies, and is well qualified to carry on the cause in which his excellent colleague lias been so long and so successfully engaged. May this holy cause continue to prosper in their hands, and when the chief Shepherd shall appear, may they receive a crown of glory !

As a further means of diffusing the important doctrines of the proper Unity of God, and the simple humanity of Jesus Christ, Mr. Lindsey made a present of his own and of Dr. Priestley's Theological Works to the Library of Harvard College, in the Uni-

I confess that I am convinced I should have acted wrong if I had done it. I shudder when I reflect to what moral danger I exposed myself in soliciting ordination of the American bishops, for I certainly never believed that they had the power of conveying the Holy Spirit."

Bishop Seabury might be, and probably was a very honest man. Mow far his wisdom kept pace with his honesty, the following anecdote may assist the reader to judge. This venerable prelate, after having been invested, or imagined himself invested, with extraordinary powers by the manual imposition of a few obscure and ignorant priests in Scotland, when he had returned to Connecticut, wrote to Dr. Stiles, the president of the College, the learned friend and correspondent of Dr. Price, that it was his intention to be at the annual meeting of the institution, but that he " hoped he should be received with proper distinction, and that his precedency would be allowed in the place alotted to him." To which the learned president sent back a courteous answer : " That they should be very glad to see Bishop Seabury, but that he could not promise him any such mark of distinction as he expected. One thing however he could engage for, and would assure him of, that he would meet with a hundred and ninety-one as good Bishops as himself."

sity of Cambridge in New -England ; for which* *'■' as a very valuable and acceptable present.*'" he re ceived the thanks of the President and Fellows, These books were read with great avidity by the students. But though there is great reason to believe that the seed thus sown took deep root, and that in many instances it produced an abundant harvest ; and though many persons eminent for rank and talent in the New-England States* openly avowed the Unitarian creed, it does not appear that any numerous societies of Christians have hitherto followed the example of the congregation at the King's Chapel in making a public profession of the Unitarian doctrine. In March. 1792? an Unitarian congregation was formed at Portland, a considerable town of the district of Maine, in the north-eastern part of the State of Massachusetts. The worthy founder of this society was the Reverend Thomas Oxnard, a man of good talents, of sincere piety and of ardent zeal, who had for some years officiated as minister of the episcopalian church at Portland, and who had been convinced of the truth of the Unitarian doctrine by reading the works of Dr. Priestley and Mr. Lindsey, with which lie had been supplied by his friend Mr. Freeman. Through the same means, and by the public and private instructions of this good man, in the. course of a few years, many other persons of property and respec-

* " Gov. Bowdoin," says Mr. Lindsey's worthy correspondent, " is a critic in biblical learning. Gen. Knox, one of the most distinguished officers in the late war, is an admirer oi such authors as Edward Search. General Lincoln, our present worthy Lieutenant-Governor, appears uniformly and open ly the friend of those doctrines that you approve. There are many others besides, in our Legislature, of similar sentiments. While so many of our great men are thus on the side <:f truth and free inquiry, they will necessarily influence many of the common people. As we have no establishment to oppose, the same zeal which is felt in England cannot be expected in this Country: but Rational Christianity will, I doubt not, make a rapid though not very visible progress. This letter was written in 17S»- tabiliiy of character embraced and avowed the same principles. " I cannot," says this worthy man in a letter dated November, 1/88, " express to you the avidity with which these Unitarian publications are sought after. Our friends here are clearly convinced that the Unitarian doctrine will soon become the prevailing opinion in this country ; which must afford great pleasure to those good men, Mr. Lindsey and Dr. Priestley. Three years ago, I did not know a single Unitarian in this part of the country besides myself : and now, entirely from the various publications you have furnished, a decent society might be collected from this and the neighbouring towns. When you again write to Mr. Lindsey, you may assure him in the most positive terms that his and Dr. Priestley's publications have had, and probably will have, great effects in this part of the country ; which. I am sure must afford him great satisfaction."