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النشر الإلكتروني

LETTER XI.

SIR,

In your catalogue of religious denominations, you have mentioned a society of Universalists; but you have not noticed them afterwards, as you have most of the others. I shall therefore supply your deficiency. The Universalists are a sect who maintain that all mankind will be finally saved, and that the scheme of revelation has this for its ultimate end. But, Sir, they will not easily persuade many persons to embrace their sentiments, and acquiesce in their arguments, who read and form their judgments on the sacred Scriptures. These words of truth expressly declare that the punishment of the finally impenitent shall be eternal. "It is better for thee to enter into life, halt or maimed, rather than having two hands, or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. *-Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.-These shall go away into everlasting punishment. †-If thy hand offend thee, cut it off; it is better for thee to enter into

* Matth. 18. 8. ↑ Ibid 25. 41, 46.

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life, maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.* -And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. †-The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men; neither in this world, nor in the world to come."No hypotheses, however in some respects plausible, can' possibly be admitted to be of any weight against these and many other positive declarations of revealed truth. The small society in Reading of this denomination have no pastor. The last minister they had, is said to have been a Universalist and an Antinomian united; and it is farther. asserted, that in his conduct such fruit as might have been expected, was produced from these corrupt principles. On the defection of the pastor, the congregation determined to have no more connexion with pastors; a few families, therefore, have since continued to meet together without a minister. The same arguments which led them to dispense with the pastoral office, would have been equally valid for a rejection of Christianity, for the man was a professed Christian as well as a professed minister. This however they have not done; and how far they hold the sentiments attributed to their last minister, I presume not to determine. But if this or any other denomination of professing Christians should be injured or mis*Mark 9. 43. † Rev. 14. 11. Matth. 12. 31, 32.

represented by any mistakes of mine, I shall be ready to make a public acknowledgment of my error; for, Sir, whatever mistakes there may be in my book, you may rest assured there are no lies.

You next proceed to speak of the Quakers, whom, on the whole, you have treated respectfully. By your intimation, however, that they do not enter into the speculations of modern reformers, you probably think that their sentiments are favourable to Socinianism, as it is generally imagined the author of the "Sketch of Denominations"* has taken pains to prove, and that therefore they are approaching towards Deism, which indeed is a necessary consequence. If you take the doctrines of the Friends from their own standard writers, you will certainly find that they do not in the least support Socinianism. Their sentiment, however, of exalting the inward light afforded to every man above the written word of God, with some others of their opinions, has always been considered by the orthodox as erroneous. I can cordially unite with you, Sir, in adding my tribute of approbation to the morality which marks the general conduct of this denomi

* I take this opportunity of recommending to those who wish to see a display of the different sects of Christianity, a "View of Religions, by Hannah Adams," a work far preferable to the "Sketch," which has undoubtedly acquired a popularity greatly beyond its deserts.

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nation; but in relation to the excommunication for which you censure the Society of Friends at Reading, I am too much unacquainted with the merits of the case to offer any opinion concerning it. I cannot conclude my remarks on the paragraph you have devoted to the Quakers, without noticing again your constant and marked hostility to orthodox sentiments. You here assert that their "virtues are more advantageous to society than the boasted refinements of modern reformers, who confine their actions to speculative opinions of virtue, that must ultimately end in a dereliction of every thing that has hitherto been considered as the criterion of a true Christian."-This passage, Sir, is a mixture of nonsense, falsehood, and error. -The men whom you erroneously style “modern reformers" do not, according to your accurate reasoning, confine their actions to speculative opinions of virtue. Their opinions certainly are not merely speculative; and so far are they from ending in a dereliction of virtue, that they are the only certain and efficacious means of producing that morality which you affect so highly to esteem, as well as that "holiness without which no man shall see the Lord." Their opinions are the doctrines of the word of God-that word in reference to which the Saviour of mankind offered up this prayer for all those who should believe on him to the end of time, "Sanctify them through thy truth thy word is truth."

After speaking of the Friends, you assert there are a great many Jews in Reading.-When first I read your book, I began to look around to find them, and puzzled myself for some time without being able to ascertain that an individual Jew resided in the borough. But here you will probably ask me, how I could be so excessively stupid as not to discover that you did not literally intend Jews, but men whose practices coincided with such as are generally attributed to the people of this nation. Why, Sir, my stupidity arose from your classing a fictitious denomination among those real ones which you were professing to describe. But having discovered my mistake, I have only two remarks to make on the paragraph. In the first place, You have for once afforded some sort of testimony for Christianity, by implying that it produces better effects than Jewism, though you will not admit it to be at all preferable to Mahommedism or Paganism.* Secondly, You have in this passage libelled " a great many" of the inhabitants of Reading, by charging them with a very high species of dishonesty and fraud; for. which, you should be unable to substantiate your assertions by facts, you merit the most severe reprehension. Why, Sir, as a mad-man you have been casting about fire-brands, arrows, and death," and then exclaiming, "Am not I in sport ?"-But why do I speak of your libelling many of the *See Stranger, page 156.

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