武
​ARTES
LIBRARY
1817
VERITAS
SCIENTIA
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
PLURIBU
TIEBOR
QUER S PLMINSULAM AMORAM.
CIRCIMSPICE
'
BX
5202
.P45
FAMILIAR LETTERS,
ADDRESSED TO
THE INHABITANTS OF BIRMINGHAM,
IN
REFUTATION OF SEVERAL CHARGES,
ADVANCED AGAINST
The Diffenters and Unitarians.
BY THE REV. MR. MADAN.
ALSO,
LETTERS TO THE REV. EDWARD BURN,
In Anſwer to HIS on the Infallibility of the Apoftolic
Teſtimony concerning the Perfon of Chrift.
AND
Confiderations on the Differences of Opinion among
Chriftians, which originally accompanied the Reply
to the Rev. Mr. Venn.
THE SECOND EDITION, WITH SOME ADDITIONS
AND CORRECTIONS.
BY JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, L.L.D. F.R.S.
To ſpeak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, fhewing all
meeknefs unto all men. TITUS iii. 2.
MR. MADAN'S TEXT.
Ne fævi Magne facerdos. VIRGIL.
BIRMINGHAM,
PRINTED BY J. THOMPSON;
AND SOLD BY J. JOHNSON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD, LONDON.
MDCCXC.
English
#1
10-17-33
27344
BOTH
THE PREFACE.
OTH the writing of thefe Familiar Letters,
and the demand that has been for them, were
equally unexpected by me. I fhould certainly have
contented myſelf with the publication of my Sermon
on the Corporation and Test Acts, if I had not been
called forth to ſay ſomething more by the injurious
repreſentation that was given of the Diffenters in
general, with manifeſt alluſions to myſelf in par-
ticular, by Mr. Madan, a clergyman highly and
juſtly reſpected in the place where I live.
Alfo, as his reflections were not confined to the
fubject of the above mentioned Acts, there was an
evident call upon me to give light on thoſe other fub-
jects on which he appeared to me to have thrown
darkness. I therefore thought it highly proper to
correct the views that he had given of the principles
of the Diffenters, and eſpecially of the Unitarians,
and alfo to fhew my neighbours the real conftitu-
tion of that church of which he was fo ftrenuous an
advocate. If the principles of the Diffenters, and
of the Unitarians, appear to advantage on the com-
pariſon, it is an advantage which they derive from
truth, and the occafion of giving it was not fought
for by myſelf.
Though thefe Letters were never advertiſed in
any London Newſpaper, they have, by ſome means
or other, been more generally known, and read,
then moſt of my publications. In confequence of
this, befides a republication of all the feparate Parts
(five in all) of which they originally confifted, I have
now thought proper to republiſh the whole in an uni-
form manner, with a few additions and corrections.
The demand for the Letters to Mr. Burn, occa-
fioned by his to me, has been nearly equal to that
A
for
iv
THE PREFACE.
for the Familiar Letters, especially on account of
Extracts from the Preface having been printed fepa-
rately, and ſent from this place to every member of
the Houſe of Commons, and to all the bifhops, im-
mediately before the late debate on the fubject of
the Corporation and Teft Acts. Highly unfair and
fhameful as that proceeding was, it is even ap-
plauded by Mr. Madan in his Letter to me; fo blind
can party fpirit make men to the true colour of
their own conduct, and that of their friends.
Letters to Mr. Burn being, in feveral reſpects, fimi-
lar to the Familiar Letters, and the fubject being
reſumed in them, it has been thought adviſeable to
reprint them together, rather than feparately. It
muſt be remembered, however, that the publi-
cation of them preceded that of the Familiar
Letters.
Thefe
Though this is properly a local controversy, yet
on this republication, for more general ufe, it has
been thought proper to retain moſt of the local cir-
cumſtances; partly becauſe it would not have been
eaſy to ſeparate them from the reſt, and alſo becauſe
they tend to intereſt the reader in the difcuffion;
and the names only being changed, the defcriptions
will equally fuit other perfons, and other places.
The circumſtances relating to the Diffenters at Bir-
mingham are by no means peculiar to this place;
and fuch clergymen as Mr. Madan, and Mr. Burn,
are to be found in many places. Bigotry and preju-
dice abound too much even in this enlightened age,
and affect many characters in other refpects truly
valuable. With theſe confiderations, which candour
and juſtice require, the obſervations in theſe Letters
will be of as much uſe in one part of the kingdom
as in another.
It is to be wiſhed, however, that the friends of
religious liberty and free inquiry, would take ad-
vantage
THE PREFACE.
V
vantage of all local circumftances, to draw the at-
tention of their particular neighbours to important
fubjects. For where writers and their connections
are known, more perfons will read, and of courſe
will be impreffed, by their publications, than where
they are altogether unknown. A pamphlet, or a
fermon, that deferves no notice with refpect to its
general argument, and the knowledge of which will
never reach the nation at large, may with great pro-
priety be anſwered in the place, or neighbourhood,
in which it was publiſhed. Thus may a whole
country be inſtructed by parts, in a number of local
publications, when no one treatiſe, though ever fo
ably written, would fufficiently engage the attention
of all. Befides, there are prejudices againſt fome
men, and their writings, which do not affect others.
What I have done at Birmingham, may be con-
fidered as a ſpecimen of what I wiſh to ſee done by
other perfons in other places.
To what I have written on the fubject of ſubſcrip-
tion, I would add that, judging by appearances, the
clergy are now made to fubfcribe to what it is im-
poffible that many of them can be acquainted with,
and what, I will venture to fay, they would all con-
demn if they were.
CC
In the thirty fixth Article, they are made to af-
fert that "the book of confecration of the arch-
biſhops, &c. lately fet forth in the time of Ed-
"ward the VI. doth contain all things neceffary to
"fuch confecration and ordering; neither hath it
(C
any thing that of itſelf is fuperftitious and ungodly.
"And therefore whofoever are confecrated, or
"ordered, according to the rites of that book
"fince the fecond year of the forenamed king Ed-
"ward unto this time, or hereafter fhall be confe-
"crated, and ordered, according to the fame rites,
"we
vi
THE PREFACE.
"we decree all fuch to be rightly, orderly, and
"lawfully, confecrated and ordered."
It ſhould feem, therefore, that it was the first edi-
tion of this book, printed A. D. 1549, that is even
now afferted to contain nothing fuperftitious; and it is
faid that no copy of this edition is to be found in the
libraries of Oxford or Cambridge, or in the Britiſh
Muſeum. But by favour of the Rev. Mr. Jofiah
Thompſon, whoſe property it is, I have one now in
my poffeffion, as it was formerly in that of Dr.
Furneaux, who gave an account of it in the ſecond
edition of his Letters to Dr. Blackstone, Note, p. 89, &c.
In this book the oath of fupremacy, to be taken
by the perſon ordained, contains a folemn promiſe,
to obferve all the Acts of Parliament that were then
made, or to be made," in derogation of the autho-
"rity of the bishop of Rome, and in corroboration
"of the king's power, as head of the church ;" con-
cluding with " fo helpe me God, all faintes, and the
"holy Evangelift." See p. 8, 9.*.
If, therefore, this be the edition approved of by the
thirty fixth Article, the clergy who fubfcribe it do,
in fact, declare their approbation of any Acts of
Parliament that may ever be made on the ſubjects
above ſpecified;, and, that there is nothing ſuperfli-
tious in fwearing by the faints, and the holy evan-
gelift, which ever of the four was meant.†
* At the end of this edition is,
RICHARDUS GRAFTON
typographus Regis excudebat
Menfe Martij
A. M. D,XLIX.
Cum privilegio ad imprimendum folum.
+ This is probably a mifprint for evangelifts. The form of an oath
in the Roman Pontifical, publiſhed at Venice, in 1710, is Sic me Deus ad-
juvet, et hæc fan&ta Dei evangelia. So help me God, and theſe his holy
gofpels. p. 55, and other places. I have not obſerved in it any fwearing
by the faints.
It
THE PREFACE.
vii
It is true that the Act of Uniformity enacts, that
"all ſubſcriptions to this Article fhall be conftrued
"to extend to the book of Charles II. in fuch fort
"and manner as the fame heretofore extended to
"the book of Edward VI." But if the approba-
tion of both the books was not intended, why does
the Article, as now fubfcribed, make any mention
of the book of Edward VI? If the fubfcription
does not extend to this alſo, why is it not ftruck
out, and that of Charles II. put in its place?
It appears, however, from Bishop Burnet's Hiftory
of the Reformation, Vol. II. p. 189, that an act of
parliament was made in 1552, to authorize a new
Common Prayer Book, according to ſome alterations
that had been agreed on the year before, and to this
was annexed the form of making biſhops, prieſts, and
deacons, but without the intimation of
any alteration
being then made in this office. If theſe objection-
able paffages were then left out, it will not be fo
evident that every thing in the former edition is
now to be approved, though perfons confecrated ac-
cording to it be declared to be rightly confecrated.
It certainly behoves all who fubfcribe the thirty-
nine articles to inform themfelves how the cafe
really ſtands.
How dangerous and enfnaring a thing is this bu-
fineſs of ſubſcription, and how little care has been
taken by the legislature to prevent even uncertainty
with refpect to it. I mention this circumſtance in
order to apprize thoſe who have ſubſcribed, but ef-
pecially thoſe who intend to fubfcribe, of their ſitua-
tion; that they may fatisfy themſelves what it is
that their fubfcription really implies. I mean thoſe
who wish to fubfcribe bona fide, and not with any
of the fourteen miferable fubterfuges which I have
enumerated at the cloſe of my Defences of Unitarian-
iſm for the Years 1788 and 1789, which imply no
A 4
belief
viii
THE PREFACE.
belief in any of the articles. To fuch it muſt be a
matter of perfect indifference what is implied in any
of them. They are ready, for the fame emolument,
to fubfcribe any thing, even unfeen. For what fig-
nifies ſeeing, or reading the articles, if, after all, they
are to be fubfcribed without being believed?
Many perfons into whofe hands theſe Letters may
fall, eſpecially at fome diftance of time, will hardly
be able to underſtand what is faid in them of my
compariſon of the progrefs of free enquiry, to the
action of gunpowder; and it makes me fmile to
think there fhould be any occafion to explain it.
It may be of uſe, however, to fhew how ready fome
people are to cavil at the moſt innocent things, when
they have a previous, though ill-grounded, fufpicion
of a man's intentions. The almoft incredible num-
ber of times that this fimple compariſon has been
quoted, or alluded to, by the enemies of the Dif-
fenters, fhews alfo how tremblingly alive they are to
the apprehenfion of danger to their fyftem, and
gives me an idea that I own I had not before, of the
weakneſs of it. To us this affords no unpleaſant
profpect, and it may tempt us to ſport with their
fears on other occafions.
To my Sermon on Free Enquiry, preached Nov. 5,
1785, I added fome Reflections on the prefent State of
it in this Country, and in them may be feen the fol-
lowing unfortunate paragraph, which, when I read to
a friend before it went to the preſs, he prophetically
told me would make much noife; but I believed
him not.
"Let us not therefore be difcouraged, though,
"for the preſent, we fee no great number of
"churches profeffedly unitarian. It is fufficiently
"evident that unitarian principles are gaining
"ground
M
THE PREFACE.
ix
(6
"ground every day. Every attempt to fupprefs
"them, by writing or otherwife, has hitherto been
"favourable to their ſpread, and we may be con-
"fident it ever will be fo. We are now fowing
"the feeds, which the cold of winter may prevent
"from fprouting, but which a genial fpring will
"make to fhoot and fpring up; fo that the field
"which to day appears perfectly naked and barren,
may to-morrow be all green, and promife an
" abundant harvest. The prefent filent propagation
"of truth may even be compared to thofe caufes in
"nature which lie dormant for a time, but which,
"in proper circumſtances, act with the greateſt
"violence. We are, as it were, laying gunpowder,
grain by grain, under the old building of error
"and fuperftition, which a ſingle ſpark may here-
"after inflame, fo as to produce an inftantaneous
exploſion; in confequence of which that edifice,
"the erection of which has been the work of ages,
cc may be overturned in a moment, and fo effectu-
ally, as that the fame foundation can never be
"built upon again." Difcourfes, p. 184.
cc
cc
cc
Let the reader now judge whether any thing
violent was intended, or in the moſt diſtant manner
alluded to by me; and yet this very paragraph did
I hear Sir William Dolben (prompted, no doubt,
by fome of thoſe biſhops, whoſe fears our magna-
nimous prime minifter acknowledged that be alfo
had caught) read with great folemnity in the houſe
of Commons, as an unquestionable proof of the
dangerous defigns of the Diffenters with refpect to
the conftitution of this country. Rifum teneatis
In addition to my vindication from the malicious
defamation of the author of Theodofius, furniſhed
me by the narrative of Dr. Bancroft, it is now in
my
X
THE PREFACE.
¿
my power to add the following teftimony volun-
tarily offered to me by Mr. Dexter, a Baptiſt mi-
nifter, who was on board with Mr. Deane when he
died. It will appear as follows in the next Gen-
tleman's Magazine.
<
C
MR. URBAN,
C
Canterbury, July 18.
Seeing the extract from Theodofius
in your Magazine for May laft, relative to the
' death-bed converfation of Silas Deane, I have to
'obſerve, that, on the 22d of September laſt, about
' nine o'clock in the morning, Silas Deane came on
'board the Boſton packet, with the captain, the ſhip
lying off Gravesend, which failed immediately. In
about an hour's time, Silas Deane was taken ill,
and in a few minutes quite fpeechlefs, and con-
'tinued ſo near four hours, and then died. I was
'the only cabin-paffenger then on board, and the
only perfon perfectly at liberty to attend Silas
Deane, and was much with him from the time of
'his going on board till his death. I am confident
no fuch clergyman as mentioned by Theodofius
(
C
.
C
'
was with Silas Deane during his illnefs, and that
the relation of Theodofius is a palpable impo-
'fition on the publick.
Yours, &c.
• MATTHEW Dexter.'
In my Letter relating to this fubject I intimated
a fufpicion that the author of Theodofius was "a
"clergyman of the church of England, who formerly
" wrote me a confidential letter." Left any perſon
fhould fuffer unjustly in confequence of this hint, I
fhall now fay that I meant DR. WITHERS, who
lately died in Newgate. I am of opinion that he
was the writer, becauſe the author of Alfred and
Caffandra was not incapable of it, and the hand
writing of the Note I received figned Theodofius,
fufficiently
1
THE PREFACE.
xi
fufficiently reſembles that of the letter I had from
Dr. Withers.
As this letter cannot now do him any injury
(which I was apprehenfive it might have done
while he was alive, and for that reafon forbore to
publiſh it) as it is a curiofity in itſelf, and as the ſpirit
and manner of its compofition will be an additional
evidence of its having the fame author with Theo-
dofius, I fhall fubjoin it. That the fentiments of this
letter and thofe of Theodofius are different will not
be thought an unanfwerable objection to their hav-
ing the fame author. I have no note of the anſwer
I returned; but I believe it was fuch as did not
encourage a continuance of the correfpondence.
Whether that circumftance contributed to his
change of conduct with refpect to me, I leave others
to conjecture. If the author of Theodofius was
not Dr. Withers, and he have any remains of moral
principle, he will avow himſelf, and fave the me-
mory of the dead. To myſelf it is a matter of
perfect indifference who he is.
SIR,
Tho' a perfect Stranger to your Perfon,
I offer no Apology for addreffing you on a Sub-
'ject fo interefting to the Rights of Mankind.
I am by Birth and Profeffion a Churchman; but
' when civil and religious Freedom are in Queſtion,
I drop all Diſtinctions of Sect and Party. And,
' without Referve, I declare that wewe Pro-
' teftants---we Proteftant Diffenters, have too long
degraded ourſelves by abject unavailing Entreaties.
'Vile Indignity, that Men, that Engliſhmen ſhould
folicit Permiffion to enjoy the firft Privileges of
human Life! Should be denied Accefs to every
< Office of Honor and Emolument, unleſs they pre-
'viouſly
<
C
xii
THE PREFACE.
1
،
viouſly inſult their Reaſon and wound their Con-
• fcience! Should be menaced with a Dungeon, if
they prefume to utter their native Conceptions of
the Deity!
<
(
C
<
<
But if Diffenters will be faithful to themſelves,
'will form a Committee to defray the neceffary
Expences, and will act with a Dignity and Refo-
lution fuitable to the great Occafion, I promiſe to
'emancipate them from their cruel captivity. And
here I muſt inform you (in the fulleft Confidence
' of perpetual Secrefy) that I am the Author of a
'Pamphlet, entitled CASSANDRA.* It's Object was
'to carry Mr. Baftard's ecclefiaftical Bill thro' the
'upper Houſe-it fucceeded; I wrote it without
the Aid or Concurrence of any Man living, and at
the Hazard of Profecution. I fent a Copy to the
Biſhop of London, and one to Lord Thurlow, fo-
lemnly declaring, if they threw out the Bill, I would
inſtantly exhibit Articles againſt the Chancellor for
'Fornication, at the fame Time intimating what I
'fhould expect on the next Application to Parlia-
ment†, concerning the Teft, and other abfurd and
oppreffive Acts of Power. Now mark what God
does, in his own Time, and in his own Way; how
'he uſes the Simple to confound the Wife, and with
'the Foot of a leprous Man puts the Syrian Armies
to Flight- -that VERY BILL, which the Chan-
'cellor and the Biſhops had lately treated with Con-
tempt, as ridiculous, unfcriptural, and totally unne-
ceffary, was now fuffered to pafs without the
flighteſt Cenfure!!! In Fact, fuch is the Situa-
tion of Lord Thurlow and fome other leading
Men, that we may do what we pleaſe. They are
obviouſly deſtitute of thoſe noble, liberal, and
C
(
،
،
،
<
<
<
* Publiſhed by Ridgway, Piccadilly. I would fend you a Copy if I
'knew the Conveyance. Shall I leave one at Johnſon's?'
+ Mr. Beaufoy's Motion was loft before I came from the Prefs."
• enlightened
C
THE PREFACE.
xiii
C
enlightened Sentiments, which characterize great
' and good Minds. But if the Chancellor will not
'grant Freedom to others, neither fhall he enjoy it
• himſelf.
'In Caffandra you will read my Heart. We dif-
fer in many Points, and we will agree to differ.
As to Chriſt, I depart from you toto Calo. In
' civil and religious Liberty, I am confident we have
' but one Wiſh.
،
C
'As the Mode of fwearing in Courts*, and the
Marriage of Diffenters, by their own Paftors, form
a Part of my Plan, the Scotch Seceders will be
' ftrenuous in the Caufe. Our Meaſures, at pre-
'fent, ought to be fecret. I fhall be happy to be
'favoured with your Thoughts on the Buſineſs, as
'early as poffible. Meanwhile, I remain
< (Addrefs)
C Dr Sir, Your obed. Servt.
'Dr. Withers, Sloan-Square,
• Chelfea.'
، < PHILIP WITHERS.'
* A Bill to this Effect had paffed both Houfes, when the former Par-
<liament was diffolved.'
N. B. The Letter is without a date, but the Poft
Mark is Auguft 4, 1787.
I fhall take this opportunity of informing my
readers, that in the late controverfy concerning the
Test Act, I wrote nothing anonymously except
Remarks on two Letters addreffed to the Delegates of
the feveral Congregations who met at Devizes, Septem-
ber 14, 1789, which is fubjoined to another piece,
written by a different and very able hand, entitled
The Spirit of the Conftitution and that of the Church
of England compared. I alfo wrote the Preface.
This Pamphlet, and my Sermon on the fame fubject,
may be properly bound with thefe Letters.
CONTENTS.
FAMILIAR LETTERS.
PART I. (March 4, 1790.)
LETTER I. Of the feditious Tendency afcribed by Mr.
Madan to the late Public Meetings of the Diffenters
Letter II. Proofs from Hiftory and recent Facts, that
neither the Diffenters in general, nor the Presbyte-
rians in particular, have been fuch Enemies to Mo-
narchy as Mr. Madan has repreſented.
Letter III. The Inconclufiveness of Mr. Madan's Rea-
foning on this Subject demonftrated from a Variety of
Confiderations.
PART II. (March 11, 1790.)
Letter IV. Of the Corporation and Teft Alts.
I
7
་
16
24
Letter V. Of the Defeat of the Diffenters in the
Houfe of Commons, March, 2, 1790, and the Con-
duct of the Clergy in procuring it.
35
PART III. (March 25, 1790.)
Letter VI. Of a Complete Toleration.
43
Letter VII. Of Religious Eſtabliſhments in general.
51
Letter VIII. Remarks on what Mr. Madan has ob-
ferved on this Subject.
72
In this interval Mr. Madan publiſhed his Letter to me.
PART IV. (April 8, 1790.)
Letter IX. Of Mr. Madan's Letter to the Author.
Letter X. Of Mr. Madan's Apology for his Treat-
ment of the Diffenters.
80
86
Letter XI.
CONTENTS.
Letter XI. Of Mr. Madan's farther Arguments in
Support of his Pofition, that the Principles of the
Diffenters are unquestionably Republican, and of the
Decifion of the House of Commons against the Dif
fenters.
Letter XII. Of the Ecclefiaftical Conftitution of Ire-
land.
Letter XIII. Of Controverſy.
Letter XIV. Of the Principles of the Church of
England.
Letter XV. Of Subscription to the Articles, &c. of
the Church of England.
Letter XVI. Of Mr. Madan's Idea of Unitarianifm.
91
100
104
107
119
123
In
In this Interval Mr. Burn publiſhed his ſecond ſet of Letters to me.
the fame ſhort ſpace of time, a great part of which I ſpent in London,
no less than eight other publications relating to this controverfy
appeared in Birmingham: fo much attention was there given to it.
PART V. (June 7, 1790.)
Letter XVII. Of Unitarianiſm.
126
Letter XVIII. Of Mr. Burn's Letters, in Anfwer
to mine.
138
Letter XIX. A ſhort History of the Diffenters, and
an Account of their General Principles.
148
Letter XX. Of the Situation of the Clergy of the eſtab-
lifhed Church.
153
Letter XXI. Of the Calumnies contained in a Pam-
phlet intitled THEODOSIUS.
173
Letter XXII. The Conclufion.
185
Poftfcript. Of the Author's Intercourfe with the late
Mr. Badcock.
190
LETTERS TO THE REV. EDWARD BURN.
(February 17, 1790.)
The Preface.
Letter I. On the Principle of Mr. Burn's Objection
to my Reasoning concerning the Perfon of Christ.
201
215
Letter
CONTENTS.
Letter II. Of the Argument for the Divinity of Chrift
from Heb. i. 8.
Letter III. Of the Reaſons for appealing to Early Opi-
nions concerning the Perfon of Christ.
Letter IV. Of the Doctrine of Inſpiration.
228
233
237
Letter V. Of the immoral Confequences of my Opi-
nions.
242
Letter VI. The Conclufion.
246
CONSIDERATIONS
ON
DIFFERENCES OF OPINION
AMONG CHRISTIANS.
Section I. Of latent Infincerity, and direct Preva-
rication.
Section II. Of the Source of Bigotry, and Perfecution.
Section III. Of the practical Tendency of different
Syftems of Doctrine.
Section IV. Of the Causes of Difference of Opinion,
and the Reading of the Scriptures recommended.
Section V. General Advices.
251
258
260
267
270
FAMILIAR LETTERS, &c.
LETTER I.
Of the feditious Tendency afcribed by Mr. Madan to the late
Public Meetings of the Diffenters.
My generous Townſmen and Neighbours,
HAY
AVING lived very happily near ten years in this
part of the country, and being defirous to acquire,
and preſerve, your good opinion, I take the liberty to ad-
dreſs you on a ſubject to which your attention has of late
been very frequently called, viz. the application to parlia-
ment for the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, and alſo
on various other fubjects relating to the Diffenters, and the
eſtabliſhed Church, eſpecially by the juftly refpected rector of
St. Philip's, in his Sermon, intitled, The principal Claims of
the Diffenters confilered, in which he has advanced many
things tending to give you a very unfavourable opinion of
the Diffenters in general, and, not very obliquely, of myſelf
in particular.
Mr. Madan's excellent character will lead you to give
him entire credit for whatever he ſhall think proper to de-
clare, eſpecially from fo facred a place as the pulpit. For
you will naturally conclude, that, fpeaking with fuch folem-
nity, he must have carefully confidered what he afferted;
and his fincerity would not have been called in queſtion,
even if he had not thought neceffary to declare, p. 6, that
what he delivered were the fettled principles and conviction
of his heart, as he hoped for mercy from the God of truth.
This
B
2
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
This is fuch a folemn form of an oath, or an appeal to God
for his fincerity, as is not very common, and fuch as is
never used except in cafes in which a man fuppofes that
there may be fome cauſe to fufpect his veracity; and how
Mr. Madan fhould conceive that this could be his cafe I
cannot imagine. Recourfe fhould not be had to fuch pe-
culiarly folemn forms of affeveration without neceſſity, be-
cauſe it tends to make them too common, by which means
they come at length to loſe their effect.
Beſides, I cannot help wifhing that the preacher had kept
up to the ſpirit of his text a little better than he has done.
This adviſes us to speak evil of no man, to be gentle, and to
fhew meekness towards all men. But how is this confiftent
with his imputing to a numerous fect of his fellow-citizens
(with many of whom he must have had, I doubt not, a
pleafing and uſeful intercourfe) fome of the very worst and
most dangerous defigns, for which he can have no evidence
befides his own furmifes. He calls the late proceedings of
the Diffenters to procure the repeal of the Teft and Corpo-
ration A&s, p. 4, clamorous and violent; and he intimates
that our final views are of a feditious tendency. What fa-
vourable inference, fays he, p. 27, "can be drawn from the
"alarm which their leaders are founding through every part
"of Great Britain about their common caufe; how are we
"to underſtand their voluntary contributions for national
meetings, and for other public ufes," direting your parti-
cular attention, as you fee, to the last words, as being of a
more fufpicious nature, by printing them in italics.
Certainly, my good friends, the preacher, in bringing
thefe railing accufations, has quite loft fight of his text—
This is fpeaking evil. It is not being very gentle, or fhewing
much meekness. But I account for it by his imagination
being ſtrangely diſturbed with groundleſs terrors, on ac-
count of the intereft that he and his friends have in the
ſyſtem for which he is fo very apprehenfive; ſo that he fears
where no fear is, and where no other man, except one in a
fimilar fituation, can fee any cauſe of fear at all. But per-
ceiving
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
3
ceiving how much he is agitated on the fubject, I fhould
not wonder if he fufpected an enemy to be concealed in
every bush, or to fee him ftart at his own ſhadow.
For do but confider the thing coolly, and ſee what our
proceedings have actually been. Have they not been the
very fame that, without any cenfure, have been again and
again adopted by the most peaceable claffes of people in the
country, manufacturers for instance like yourſelves, who
have no other wiſh than quietly to follow their own buſineſs,
whenever they have imagined themſelves to be aggrieved
by any particular law, or meaſure of government? Have
they not held their meetings by public advertiſement? Have
there not been many of them in this very town, many in
London, and other places, to confider of proper meaſures
to obtain redreſs, to folicit parliament, &c. and when thefe
meetings are, as indeed they neceffarily must be, attended
with expence, must not funds be eſtabliſhed to defray thoſe
expences? Have not theſe things been done a thouſand
times in this country, without any body ever imagining
that there was any thing feditious, or hoftile to government in
them? Now candour would fuppofe that we Diffenters,
like other bodies of men who have held fimilar public
meetings, have had no farther view than to relieve our-
felves in a legal way from what we confider as hardships.
By printing the words other public ufes in italics, Mr.
Madan certainly meant to infinuate that, befides what we
express, we had fome farther concealed and dangerous views;
as if there were not many public ufes of a very innocent
nature, for which money was neceffary, befides merely de-
fraying the expence of public meetings. You fee that we
print and publish many pamphlets, as well as infert the Re-
folutions of our meetings in the public papers, in order to
give our countrymen the information which we fee they
want concerning our fituation, and the reafons for our ap-
plication to parliament. This bufinefs alfo requires a very
extenſive correſpondence, which is neceflarily attended with
expence.
B 2
Now
4
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
Now, might not Mr. Madan's imagination, if it had not
been of a very ſuſpicious turn indeed, have led him to fup-
pofe that by other public ufes were meant fuch expences as
theſe, and others equally neceffary, but not deferving to be
particularly ſpecified in a printed reſolution? What a
ftrange ſuſpicious turn muſt that man's mind have who
could imagine that under fuch an innocent expreffion, any
dark defigns were concealed; as if we were ready to take
arms in order to overturn the government. He muſt be a
mere Don Quixote who can believe any fuch thing, and
worſe than a Quixote who could infinuate it without be-
lieving it. But as Mr. Madan folemnly declares that he
ſpeaks from the ſettled principles and conviction of his heart,
as he hopes for mercy from the God of truth, I am willing to
think, that ſtrange as this notion is, and bordering even
upon infanity, it has actually got poffeffion of his mind.
For can it be fuppofed that a minifter of the gofpel of
peace, in the perfect ufe of his reafon, could, on fuch a
trifling ground as this, endeavour to raiſe your indignation
againſt perſons with whom you have lived in good neigh-
bourhood from your infancy, and whom you know to be
as well affected to government, and as peaceably diſpoſed,
as himſelf?
Whatever the Diffenters be with reſpect to their religious
principles, which concern only God and ourſelves, you ſee
that we are not abfolutely mad; and that we muſt be to
think of overturning a government fo well eſtabliſhed as
that of this country, even if we were not friends to it.
But the Diffenters have given clearer proofs of their value
for it, and eſpecially of their attachment to the reigning
family, than the generality of the clergy, whofe loyalty,
though they now make fo great a parade of it, is well
known to be of very late date; whereas ours was always
zealous and active from the first acceffion of the preſent
reigning family, as the moſt authentic documents teſtify.
As to our public meetings, which have given fuch umbrage
to Mr. Madan, have not the Quakers always been in the
habit
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
5
habit of doing the very thing that he confiders as of fo
feditious a tendency in us? Have not they their diftrict
meetings every month, and their national meetings in London
every year; and have they not a common fund to defray
the expences attending them, and for other purpoſes alſo
not particularly ſpecified? As to what we do in our diſtrict
meetings (for as yet we have not held any national one) are
not our Refolutions made public? You ſee them in all the
newſpapers, ſo that you may read, and examine them your-
felves, and fee whether they contain any thing of a feditious
nature. It is for your information, and judgment of them,
that we are at ſo much expence to make them public. Our
with is to give you information, to lay our cafe clearly be-
fore you, to invite the accufations of our adverfaries, and
to make you our judges.
Mr. Madan could not write as he has done, without.
ſuſpecting that, befides our printed Refolutions, we have
others which we do not publiſh, like the fecret articles in
public treaties between ſtates and fovereigns. But ſo very
heterogeneous a body as the Diffenters are, agreeing in
nothing but a defire of equal liberty, could not well have, or
keep, fecrets. Mr. Madan himſelf fays, p. 27, that "we
"betray our final views indiſcreetly." And truly, if we
were not honeſt men, we are very indifcreet indeed. You
never heard of rogues and traitors going to work as we do.
If they did, they would have very little chance of fucceed-
ing in fuch defigns as Mr. Madan imputes to us.
You have been told in a variety of publications, that I
have threatened to blow up the church, if not the ſtate alſo,
with gunpowder, and Mr. Madan (who, if the church be
blown up, muſt take his fate along with it) has infinuated
p. 26, that I in particular have dangerous views. Now,
my good friends and neighbours, I am not actually a mad-
You know too much of me to believe this. You
ſee me walk about the streets very compofedly, without
molefting any body, and always behaving civilly to thoſe
who behave civilly to me, and therefore I hope you will
man.
B 3
not
6
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
not think I have any fuch diabolical intention. In fact,
all the gunpowder that I manufacture is contained in fuch
pamphlets as this that you are now reading; and though it
may ſerve for wadding to a gun, it can do nothing elſe to-
wards fhooting birds, or killing men. My gunpowder is
nothing but arguments, which can have no force but what
you yourſelves fhall be pleafed to give them, from your own
conviction of the reafonablenefs of what I lay before you.
Like all people, who think themfelves in the right, I
wiſh, no doubt, to bring others to think as I do on every ſub-
ject of importance. But the pains I take in this way is
for your own good, and not for mine; and though I ſhould
be ever fo much mistaken, my intention is friendly, and no
harm can ariſe from it. If the conduct of your clergy be
juftifiable, and even commendable, as I acknowledge it to
be, in endeavouring to bring Diffenters into the church,
provided they make uſe of no other means than arguments, it
cannot be wrong in me to endeavour by other arguments
to bring you from it. We equally mean to conduct you to
heaven in the way of truth, and the practice of virtue.
After all, you hear us both, and judge for yourſelves; and
we have no reaſon to expect that you will go one way
or the other till you think you have good reaſon for ſo
doing. What then is it that your clergy would frighten
you with?
I am, &c.
LETTER
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
17
LETTER II.
Proofs from Hiftory and recent Facts, that neither the Diſ-
fenters in general, nor the Prefbyterians in particular,
have been fuch Enemies to Monarchy, as Mr. Madan has
reprefented.
My good Friends and Neighbours,
MR. Madan is pleaſed to fay, p. 13, "Is there no reaſon
to fee with fufpicion their declarations of reverence
"to the government, and of loyalty to the king, however
"ſpecioufly and pompously announced, when the amount
"of that reverence has been exactly aſcertained by a woful
experience of republican tyranny, and the extent of that
"loyalty has been exactly delineated with the blood of a
"king."
<C
In his extraordinary paragraph, Mr. Madan, with what
views are best known to himfelf, confounds the cafe of
the prefent king George III. with that of Charles I. as
if they were kings of fimilar characters, and governed by
fimilar maxims, fo that whoever could take it into their
heads to riſe againſt the one, and dethrone him, would do the
fame by the other if they could. He too plainly infinuates
that all Diffenters, at leaſt fuch as met at Leicester, whoſe
Refolutions he quotes, and which are fimilar to thoſe that
have been adopted in all other meetings (fo that, in fact, he
muft mean to comprehend the great body of them in his
cenfure) are in their hearts haters of kings in general, and
of the preſent king in particular, that they would certainly
murder them all without diftinction, if they had opportu-
nity; and that all our declarations to the contrary are not
to be regarded.
Now, not to ſay that our declarations of reverence for
the prefent government, and of loyalty to the prefent king,
are no more liable to fufpicion than his own declarations,
that what he tells you to our prejudice (leading you to
B 4
confider
C
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
confider us as a band of traitors and rebels) is from his
Settled principles and the conviction of his heart, as he hopes for
mercy from the God of truth (which mercy, if he fincerely re-
pent, I doubt not he will obtain) let us confider what reafon
he can have for this injurious accufation of us, as king-haters,
and king-murderers. Let us fee if we can trace where he got
theſe fettled principles and conviction of his heart, though I
fear we ſhall not eafily find it. It must be from ſome very
obfcure quarter indeed, inacceffible to all mankind, and of
which I fufpect he will not be able to give any clear account.
himſelf. It is certain that the notions he has taken up con-
cerning the death of Charles I. admitting that the preſent
Diffenters, at the diſtance of near a century and a half from
the time of that tranfaction, were all the lineal defcendants
of thoſe who put him to death (inheriting their eſtates,
names, and charaters, and confidering all kings, and the
preſent king, in the fame light as they did him) were not
taken from any hiftory of England that is now extant, at leaſt
any that I have ever feen, or heard of. But when he is
called upon, he will perhaps be pleafed to produce it.
The hiſtory that I ſhould have thought to be moſt to his
purpoſe is that of Clarendon, of what he calls the grand re-
bellion. But even there he will fee that the parliament,
which began the war with the king, was not a prefbyterian
one. It was called, though reluctantly, by the king himſelf,
and the members were chofen by the nation at large, and
as freely as any members of parliament ever were; and if
the neceffary confequence of that war was the death of the
king (fince caufa caufæ eft caufa caufati) they are Epiſcopa-
lians, and not Prefbyterians, to whom the death of this
bleffed martyr is to be ultimately afcribed. But to what was
he a martyr, but to his own tyranny and duplicity? He
would have governed in an arbitrary manner, without any
parliament, and actually raiſed taxes by his own authority;
and for this it was that an epifcopalian parliament (for the
majority of the members were fuch) declared war against
him. And would not ſuch meaſures as thefe juftify reſiſtance
to any king? Is there nothing facred in the rights of the
people;
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
9
people; and are they to be wantonly trampled upon by any
perſon, merely becauſe he is called a king? And if in ſuch
a caufe a king make war upon his ſubjects, and occafion the
death of thouſands of them, is his fingle life of ſo much
value, as that he ought to be ſpared for fuch an enormity?
But without confidering the justice of this meaſure, let us
fee in what manner this tragical event came to paſs, and we
fhall find that, according to all hiftorians, it is not to be at-
tributed to the Prefbyterians, who were by far the majority
of thoſe who diffented from the church of England at that
time.
It is fomewhat remarkable that the parliament which
took up arms againſt Charles I. though originally Epifco-
palians, became in general Prefbyterians. But this muſt
have been the effect of their own conviction, and not of any
compulfion. Prefbyterians, however, as they were, it is well
known that the members of this parliament continued to
the laſt well wifhers to the king, and he was not put to
death till by an armed force they were overpowered. This
armed force was headed by Independents, and againſt the
wiſhes and earnest remonstrances of the Prefbyterians, now
upon record, they beheaded the king. After that event, the
Prefbyterians were the moft active in bringing in his fuc-
ceffor Charles II. and without their concurrence he could
not have been brought in at all.
So much was Mr. Love, and fome other zealous Pref-
byterians, fufpected of favouring the king, that Oliver
Cromwell thought it neceffary to put him and one Gibbons
to death before his expedition to Scotland. He protefted
that he would not march till they were cut off. See An
Hiftorical Effay on the Loyalty of Prefbyterians in Great
Britain and Ireland from the Reformation to the Year, 1713.
4to. p. 304.
Though the Independents who killed the king, might be
called Diffenters, as well as the Prefbyterians, who remon-
ſtrated againſt that meaſure, they were but a ſmall minority
of them; and therefore, on the fuppofition that the preſent
race
10
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
race of Diffenters are defcended alike from both, and ve
were reſponſible for the conduct of our anceſtors, it ought
not to be imputed to us as a body, but only to a ſmall part
of us. Befides, the Independents of that day did not be-
head the king from any principles peculiar to their religious
perfuafion. Cromwell, and the reft who joined him in that
action, would have cut off the king, whatever had been
their religion or his. They confulted not their religion, but
their fafety and their ambition. And in all theſe meaſures
the Independents were joined by the Deifts, and men of no
religion at all. It can therefore only anſwer the purpoſes of
fallion and of bigotry, and by no means that of truth, to
accufe the Diffenters of putting king Charles to death. Had
it been confidered as an action highly meritorious, I doubt
not, our pretenfions to it would be far enough from being
admitted.
If you read any hiftory of England whatever, you will
find this to be the truth of the cafe, though the very reverfe
is more than infinuated by Mr. Madan, and he may have.
authorities unknown to all the world befides. But then he
ought not to affert what he has done without producing
them. Without this he has no right to expect that the
fettled principles and conviction of HIS heart ſhould become
thoſe of YOURS.
Mr. Madan, however, having got his hiftorical and poli-
tical principles from fome fource or other, is pleaſed to
affert, p. 8, as a general maxim, that "the prefbyterian
"principles are unquestionably republican." As he calls it
unquestionable, I imagine he has never queftioned it himſelf,
or made any inquiry into the foundation of it; but as you
are not bound to adopt his principles without questioning,
or examination, let us fee how they accord both with the
hiftory of former times, and with the preſent ſtate of things,
which Mr. Madan, though he may fhut his own eyes, can-
not conceal from you.
At the time of the civil wars, or, as Mr. Madan will fay,
during the grand rebellion, the Scots were unquestionably
Prefbyterians,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
II
Prefbyterians, if ever there were any fuch people in the
world. But though they joined the English till the king
was effectually fubdued, they remonſtrated againſt putting
him to death; and when, after this, England was governed
by a republic, the Scotch Prefbyterians, whoſe principles
Mr. Madan fays were unquestionably republican, were fo at-
tached to monarchy, that they not only received Charles II.
and made him their king, but, in order to affift him in re-
covering what they deemed to be his right, they marched
an army into England, but were defeated at Worceſter, as
every perſon who has read the hiftory of England well
knows. Where then, is the evidence from history of the
principles of Prefbyterians being unquestionably republican?
Mr. Madan, however, afferts this to be the fettled convic-
tion of his heart, and therefore he muft either have read fome
other hiftories of England, or none at all.
Let us now ſee whether it appears from the prefent flate
of things, that the principles of Prefbyterians be, as Mr.
Madan afferts, unquestionably republican; and for this pur-
pofe let us look towards Scotland; and whether Mr. Madan
be acquainted with the fact or not, it is well known to
others, that prefbyterianifm is as much the eſtabliſhed religion
of that country, as epifcopacy is of this. Now, are the Scots.
at all fuppofed to be inclined to republicanifm, or have they
ever been accuſed, even in the greateſt violence of party, of
difaffection to the prefent government, or of any want of
attachment to the prefent royal family? On the contrary,
the only people difaffected to government in Scotland,
thoſe who joined the Pretender in that country were Epiſ-
copalians, and very few of them Prefbyterians*.
* A few, but not many, Scotch Prefbyterians, men of defperate
fortunes, joined the late Pretender. Of the English Diffenters, I be-
lieve, there was not one that took his part. In the first rebellion
Mr. Wood, the diffenting minifter at Chowbent in Lancashire, took
the field himſelf at the head of his congregation. In the fecond the
members of my former congregation at Leeds were regularly exerciſed,
and prepared to march. One of my uncles, who had been a captain
in the army, was an officer. When the rebellions were fuppreffed, thefe
friends
12
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
If Mr. Madan's maxim be true, that the principles of
Prefbyterians are unquestionably republican, no nation of
Prefbyterians would ever have had a king, except one that
was forced upon them. But the Scots always had kings,
and as much of their own choice, as we in England. In all
the civil wars, during the time of Mary Queen of Scots, it
does not appear that they ever thought of abandoning mo-
narchical government, and erecting a republic. While
Mary was a prifoner in England, they made her fon their
king. That king became afterwards king of England, and
they have been the defcendants of this prefbyterian king,
who have reigned in this epifcopalian country, from that
time to the preſent day.
Let us now confider a little the conduct of the Scotch
lords and commons fince the union of the two nations.
Are they more hoftile to monarchy, and the meaſures of
government, than the Engliſh members of parliament?
The contrary is generally fuppofed. For though many
Engliſh lords and commoners oppoſe the meaſures of go-
vernment, there is hardly an example of any Scotchman,
either lord or commoner, ever doing it. And yet Mr.
Madan, ignorant, I fuppofe, of all this, will have it that the
principles of Prefbyterians are unquestionably republican.
Mr. Madan will perhaps fay that he meant the Preſby-
terians in England, exclufive of thofe in Scotland. But ori-
ginally they were the very fame; and till long after the time
of Charles I. in which he charges them with maintaining
republican principles, there was no difference whatever be-
tween them; and whatever Mr. Madan may think, the
friends of the family upon the throne (unquestionably Republicans, as
Mr. Madan, who was not then born, ſays they were) were graciouſly
pardoned for what they had done.
In cafe of a third rebellion, I myſelf would undertake to raiſe a
company of young men in my prefent congregation, able and willing
to defend his preſent majeſty, though he might not be fo ready to par-
don us for fo doing. It is not the man, but the king, and the preſent
reigning family, as an effential part of the conftitution, for which we
should fight,
English
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
13
Engliſh Preſbyterians at this day are no more attached to a
republican government than thoſe of former times, or thoſe
in Scotland; and I challenge him to produce any evidence
of his confident affertion. That fingle fpeculative men,
Preſbyterians or others, may give the preference to that
mode of government in theory, is not the question. Mr.
Hume evidently had a predilection for it; but was he
therefore diſcontented with this government, or in the leaſt
difaffected to it? There never was a more obedient ſubject.
But the Diffenters, as a body, have never fhewn any pre-
ference of a republican government; though it is eaſy to
affert this, or any thing elfe, in order to throw an odiumn on
thoſe whom we wish to render generally obnoxious.
In fact, Mr. Madan might with as much truth fay,
that all Preſbyterians are Negroes*, and that we paint our
faces and hands, in order to conceal it, as maintain that we
are republicans. Let him, or, fince he will not, do you, read
my own writings of a political nature, viz. my Eſſay on the
first Principles of Government, or Dr. Price's Eſſay on Civil
Liberty, which are generally confidered as the boldeſt, and
the moſt exceptionable, of any thing on the ſubject in the
English language; or look into my Lectures on Hiftory and
General Policy, in which I particularly confider all the forms
of government, and weigh their advantages and defects,
and fee whether you can diſcover any traces of a preference
for republican government. On the contrary, you will
* In the famous contefted election at Bristol between the late Lord
Nugent (as he afterwards became) and Mr. Beckford, his Lordship told
me that he gained his point with the populace, by his friends afferting
that Mr. Beckford (who had an eſtate in Jamaica, and, as I remember,
was at that time there) was a Negro, and the popular cry on his Lord-
ſhip's fide was "No Negro; no woollen hair.' They had even (as I
think he added) a painted figure of a Negro with fuch hair carried
about the ſtreets. When I aſked him how his friends could affert ſuch
abfurd falsehoods, he replied that all was fair at an election. Mr.
Madan may perhaps think it equally fair in the prefent contest, to call
the Diffenters republicans, but then he fhould not have declared that
what he afferted was from the fettled principles and conviction of his
heart, as he hoped for mercy from the God of truth. This was much
farther than Lord Nugent went.
there
14
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
there find a decided preference given to our own, and per-
haps as good reafons for this preference as Mr. Madan
himſelf is able to give. What then muft you think of fuch
calumny as he, in this random inconfiderate manner, and yet
with fuch uncommon folemnity, has thrown out.
The truth is, that we Diffenters are friends to a limited
monarchy, in which a king may do much good, and can do
but little harm, whereas the clergy in general have always
had a leaning to a more arbitrary form of government, in
which the king fhall have much to give, and themſelves as
much to receive. Hence their deep rooted attachment to
the family of the Stuarts, and ours to that of Hanover. It
is well known that the clergy in general were never well
affected to what is ufually called government, but generally
oppoſed the measures of the court, in the reigns of king
William, and thofe of George I. and George II. while the
Diffenters, out of gratitude for the liberty they enjoyed
under them, went perhaps too eagerly with the court, and
abetted with too little diftinction the meaſures of govern-
ment.
Now it has unfortunately happened, that another king is
arifen, who knoweth not Jofeph, or the obligations that his
family are under; a prince who, with the beſt intentions,
has the truth hidden from him by churchmen like Mr.
Madan, who, without reminding him that the Diffenters
were the ſteadieft friends of his grandfather, and great
grandfather, will perfuade him that they are his enemics,
and wiſh to overturn his government; and we have not the
fame acceſs to him that they have, and fo have no oppor-
tunity of informing him better. And though he ſhould
give us a hearing, his attention has been pre-occupied by
fuch men as Mr. Madan, who have told him that our de-
clarations are not to be trusted. But, my generous coun-
trymen, we think it cur happineſs that we have acceſs to
you, and perhaps finally, through you, to the king himſelf.
Before your tribunal I arraign Mr. Madan, of evil ſpeaking
and calumny; and whether it be intentional, or not, the
injury
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
15
injury that we receive from it is the fame. So far he ad-
vances his accufations as unquestionable axioms. I demand
his proofs, and do not wiſh for more impartial judges than
yourſelves.
Mr. Madan is a young man, and may not have had
leifure to read much Engliſh hiftory; but he has heard and
feen fomething; and there is a fact fo recent, as to be within
his memory, which demonftrates that the Diffenters in
general were as ready as the members of the eſtabliſhed
church to expreſs their approbation of the meaſures of the
king, when they imagined (whether juftly or not) that his
prerogative was in danger of being trampled upon. This
was the memorable period of the coalition, when the Dif
ſenters were particularly forward in their addreffes to give
their fanction to the meaſures of a court which had always
been unfriendly to them. Would they have done this if
they had been, from principle, hoſtile to the king, and diſ-
poſed to take a pleaſure in thwarting him?
But what has been the return for this unquestionable
proof of our loyalty and zeal? Has it fecured to us the
gratitude of the king, or the minifter, whofe cauſe we
eſpouſed? We are ftill, however, ready, as on many former
occafions, to do good for evil, and to fhew our loyalty on any
future occafion, whenever we ſhall think the juft prerogative
of the king, as well as that of the commons, really violated.
We confider not what others ought to do, but only what
becomes ourſelves, as good citizens, and friends to the
genuine principles of the conftitution.
I am, &c.
LETTER
16
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
LETTER III.
The Inconcluſiveneſs of Mr. Madan's Reaſoning on this Subject
demonftrated from a Variety of Confiderations.
My good Friends and Neighbours,
ADMITTING that Mr. Madan was right in his ſtrange
notion, that they were the Prefbyterians who put king
Charles to death, and that this was in itſelf the most crimi-
nal of all tranſactions, an enormity never to be expiated by
all the public calamities that ever befel a nation; can he be
juftified in charging it upon us, or in imputing to us the
fame maxims, at the diſtance of more than four generations,
becauſe we bear the fame name? Do not bodies of men,
and whole nations, change their principles, in a courſe of
years, even much more than individual perfons; and muſt
they who are now innocent ſuffer for the fins of their re-
moteſt anceſtors? I fhall mention a few well known facts,
to fhew how unreaſonable ſuch imputations would be.
The moſt turbulent of all religioniſts at the time of the
reformation were the Anabaptifts in Germany. But the
Mennonites, who are much more properly defcended from
them, than the Preſbyterians of this age from thoſe in the
time of Charles I. are the moſt peaceable and inoffenſive of
mankind. They are perfect Quakers. The clergy of this
country do not, in feveral refpects, hold the fame principles
now that their anceſtors did at the time of the reformation.
Their doctrines were then Calvinistic, as the thirty-nine
articles, and all the writings of that age, abundantly fhew.
But Arminianifm came in with archbishop Laud, and has
been prevalent among the clergy to this day. Then alfo
they, as well as almoſt all the chriſtian world, were intolerant.
But happily all Europe, and England, has fince that time
received much light on this important fubject, fo that no
perfon
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
17
perſon will now openly avow himſelf a friend to perſe-
cution.
Admitting then that, contrary to all evidence of facts,
the old Preſbyterians were the perfons principally concerned
in the killing, or the murder, of king Charles I. that they
were then determined enemies of all kings, and that Scot-
land, occupied chiefly by Prefbyterians, never had a king,
it does not follow but that the Prefbyterians of this day,
and eſpecially thofe of England, who have ſeen many good
kings (far better, in their opinion at leaſt, than either of the
Charles's, or their father James, before them) may not be
very well reconciled to kingly government. Allowing all
that Mr. Madan has faid, notoriously falfe as it is, of the
old Prefbyterians, it will not follow that we now, all of us,
carry daggers about us, ready to strike at every king we
meet with, or that we are in any fenfe, thofe dangerous
people that Mr. Madan reprefents us. The very terms of
Prefbyterian and Independant have changed their meaning
fince the last century; fo that nothing that may be alleged,
though with truth, concerning them, can be any juſt ground
of accufation against us.
If Mr. Madan means that the prefent Prefbyterians, or
Independants, are the lineal deſcendants of the old ones, and
that the fame king killing principles have been tranfmitted
from father to fon, he will find himſelf ſtill more embar-
rafted in his argument. For many perfons, we ſee every
day, adopt principles unknown to their anceſtors. My own
grandfather was a Churchman, and bishop Horfley's was a
Diffenter. But do I, on that account, retain any of the
principles of Churchmen, or the bifhop thofe of Diffenters.
I do not believe that any fuch thing is fufpected of either
of us. Our worthy rector of St. Martin's is in the fame
predicament. But who entertains the leaft doubt of the dif
intereſted purity of his zeal for the church, or thinks that
he ever looks back to the principles of his family? King
Charles himſelf, like Bishop Horiley's father, was the fon
of a Preſbyterian, who for the fake of preferment conformed
C
to
18
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
to the church of England, which is a coincidence of
circumſtances not a little remarkable; and I mention it as
what may farther recommend my friend the bifhop to the
admirers of the royal and bleffed martyr. If the fons of the
biſhop, like thoſe of this king, fhould become Catholics,
the parallel will be ftill more complete.
It is true that more is required of new converts, as a
proof of their fincerity (on the fame principles that miracles
require stronger evidence than ordinary facts) but the king
gave theſe abundant proofs, and the bishop has done the
fame. Though no perfon, I believe, ever queftioned the
fincerity of king Charles's attachment to the church of
England, notwithſtanding his father had been a Preſbyte-
rian, there are fome, however, fo unreaſonable as to require.
more evidence than they have yet feen of the bishop's dif
intereſted attachment to it. But then there are perfons
whom the evidence of miracles will not fatisfy.
To make Mr. Madan's accufation at all probable, he
fhould point out fome connection between the principles of
Diffenters, and the republican, or king killing principles that
he afcribes to them. Now, though I have frequently turned
the ſubject over in my own mind, I cannot fix upon any
religious principles that we are either known, or fuppofed,
to hold, that could lead him to imagine that we have any
predilection for a republican government, or entertain a
greater antipathy to kings than any other claffes of men.
Beides, our principles are fo various, and fome of them fo
directly opposite to thoſe of others, that if fome were favour-
able to republican government, others must be as favour-
able to monarchical.
What juſt now perhaps diftinguiſhes us the moft is, that
fome of us are Trinitarians, fome Arians, and others Uni-
tarians. If Mr. Madan judge by the majority, the Trinita-
rians only muſt be the Republicans, and myfelf and friends,
who are the minority, muſt be good royaliſts. Or, ſince
the great body of Diffenters pray extempore, and myſelf and
a few more uſe our own pre-compofed forms (and I have even
declared
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
19
declared a preference for a liturgy) I ought on this account
alſo to be excepted from the charge of republicaniſm,
which falls on Diffenters in general. Moft diffenting mi-
niſters pray in a plain black coat. If the republicanifm lie
in that, I and a few others, who conform ſo far as to wear
a gown and caffack in the pulpit, becauſe we find it conve-
nient (eſpecially as a cover for a ruſy coat, or a tattered pair
of breeches) have a third ground of exception from a charge
that affects the rest of the Diffenters.
But, my good friends, to be ferious, though it is difficult
to be fo in replying to a charge fo abfurd and ridiculous as
that of Mr. Madan; what have any notions about the
trinity, what have modes of prayer, or modes of dreſs, or
any thing elſe belonging to Diffenters, to do with ſyſtems
of civil government?
Mr. Madan will, no doubt, fay that our difloyalty ariſes
from fome principle that is common to all Diffenters, though
we differ ever fo much in other refpects. Now, we agree
in nothing but this, that we equally reject all human autho-
rity in matters of religion. But furely that does not imply
that we reject all authority in civil matters, fince the things.
are in themſelves totally different. It is a maxim with us to
render to God the things that are God's; but then there is
another maxim, the counterpart of this, which is equally
facred with us, viz. to render to Cæfar the things that are
Cafar's. Our Saviour faw no inconfiftency in thefe maxims,
neither do we.
If it be a general ſpirit of diſobedience and revolt that
neceffarily feizes all Diffenters, our wives and children,
whom we endeavour to make as good Diffenters as our-
felves, muſt partake of it; and that would fhew itfelf in the
diforder of private families, in the difobedience of wives to
their huſbands, children to their parents, and fervants to
their mafters. But if Mr. Madan vifited any families of
Diffenters, he would find them as well regulated as thoſe
of the eſtabliſhed church, where the principles of paſſive
obedience
C 2
20
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
obedience and non-refiftance, no doubt, keep all in perfe
fubjection to one head.
Now, what becomes of an hypothefis, when there are no
facts to fupport it? If there be no confpiracy of Diffenters
againſt the government, no peculiarly refractory diſpoſition
of the wives of the Diffenters againſt their huſbands, or
peculiar obftinacy in Diffenters' children towards their
parents, what evidence is there of the exiſtence of a turbu-
lent difpofition in Diffenters at all? Mr. Madan fhould at-
tend more than he has done to the connexion of cauſes and
effects, and then he will find himſelf compelled to give up
his favourite hypothefis of the univerſal difpofition to re-
publicaniſm, and confequently, as he will ſuppoſe, to anarchy,
in the principles of the Diffenters.
It was particularly fortunate for the Anabaptifts, that there
were but few of them in England at the time of the civil
wars, and that the mention of them does not occur in any
civil tranſactions of the times. For as they had been the
moſt turbulent of all the fectaries in Germany, they would
certainly have come in for their fhare of Mr. Madan's cen-
fure, who would never have been perfuaded but that they
had brought their feditious principles with them into this
country. They now fall under his cenfure (which includes.
them as well as all other Diffenters) merely becauſe they
keep bad company, and go by a bad name. For this reafon
too, the Quakers alfo, and the English Catholics, ought to
bear their thare of this cenfure, and the calumny being di-
vided among ſo many, it will hardly be felt by any indivi-
dual. This, I flatter myfelf, will be the cafe when, as claffes
of men equally aggrieved by the laws now exifting, we ſhall
all join in one petition for the repeal of all penal laws in mat-
ters of religion, and, without fwords in our hands, demand,
as our natural and juſt right, the civil privileges of other
fubjects.
If the fins of remote ancestors are to be imputed to
people now living, and Mr. Madan had been a Welſhman,
he
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
21
he might urge his countrymen to make war upon the
English, for driving them out of their lawful poffeffions in
the time of Hengift and Horfa. Do not then follow Mr.
Madan in looking for the guilt of the prefent generation in
that of another, one hundred and fifty years ago, but con-
fider our conduct at prefent; and of this, without having
recourſe to hiſtory, you can judge yourſelves, and you will
not be miſled by preachers, who, by taking advantage of
your ignorance, may impofe upon you.
However, after all that has been urged a thouſand times
and from the cleareft evidence of hiftory, to exculpate the
preſent Diffenters from the horrid crime of cutting off
king Charles's head, this guilt, like original ſîn, is ſo en-
tailed upon us, that I believe, it must defcend to our lateſt
poſterity, and even to the day of judgment. It is even
ready to feize all the profelytes we may make, whether
they be the pofterity of Charles himſelf, or of his execu-
tioners. The clergy have repeated the accufation fo often,
and in fuch ftrong modes of affeveration, as the fettled
principles and conviction of their hearts, that they ſeem to
believe it as firmly as they do any of the thirty-nine articles ;
ſo that in time it may take its place among them, and make
a fortieth; though they will then exceed the number of
forty Stripes fave one, which was the limit of caftigation in
the Jewish law; and many who muſt ſubſcribe them or
ftarve, I am perfuaded, would rather chufe that one were
taken away, than that any more were added to them. We
are the ſheep, and our accufers are the wolves, and, ſay what
we will, we muſt be guilty.
Indeed, the more I reflect on the temper with which Mr.
Madan muſt have written, the more concern it gives me,
as an unpromifing feature of the times we live in; reafoning
as follows. If his good fenfe can be thus blinded, and if,
notwithſtanding the fweetnefs of his temper, and his po-
liſhed manners, his paffions can be fo violently inflamed, as
to abuſe us innocent Diffenters in the manner that he has
done, what muſt be the ſtrength of thoſe principles which
C 3
have
22
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
have produced fo unlooked for an effect? And what have
we not to dread from them in perfons of inferior under-
ſtandings, of leſs liberal education, and of harfher difpofi-
tions? I ſhould not even wonder if, in underſtandings
more clouded, and tempers more irraſcible, this extreme
bigotry ſhould produce the effects of abfolute infanity.
If Mr. Madan can really confider all the Diffenters of
the preſent day as unquestionably republicans, and ſo ſtrongly
infinuate that we are all ready to treat the preſent king as
Oliver Cromwell did Charles I. I have reaſon to rejoice in
the Act of indemnity. Without this I fhould now expect
that, though my anceſtors, being churchmen, might have
fought under the ftandard of Charles I. I, being a Diffenter,
fhould be actually indicted for the crime of murdering that
bleſſed martyr, and that myſelf and my three fons (for the
politeneſs and mildneſs of which Mr. Madan makes fuch a
boaft would perhaps fpare my daughter) might be hanged,
drawn and quartered, for our fhare in that horrid tranf-
action.
The philofophical world has of late been amuſed with a
ftory of a poiſonous tree in the iſland of Java, that would
not ſuffer any plant to grow, or any animal to approach,
within twelve miles of it. But the murder of this king
has a far more baneful and extenfive influence; and ac-
cording to appearance, we can never remove far enough
from it. I fhould think, however, that the clergy ſhould
fix ſome time, a thousand years for example (for I would
not be unreaſonable in fixing too fhort a term of probation)
after which, if the Diffenters ſhould behave like other fub-
jects, and kill no more kings, it ſhould be deemed illiberal
in ſuch preachers as Mr. Madan to charge us with the
crimes of republicaniſm, and king-killing. However, it ſeems
hardly fair to infer a habit from a ſingle act, and we are not
charged with killing any more kings than one.
The great merit, however, of this king Charles was his
attachment to the church of England, to which the clergy
confider him as having been a martyr; and for this reafon
it
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
23
it is that they purſue with fuch indifcriminate vengeance all
perfons, whom they can have any pretence, how impro-
bable foever, for charging with it. For this reafon I ſhall
in a future Letter confider the nature and value of civil
eſtabliſhments of religion in general, and then proceed to that
of the church of England in particular, that you may judge
whether it be reaſon, or merely intereſt and paſſion, that dic-
tates fuch Sermons as thofe of Mr. Madan. Hoping a
more favourable hearing than we have hitherto had, I
remain,
My good friends and neighbours,
Yours, &c.
P. S. My next Letter will relate to the Corporation and
Teſt Acts, and I shall prove to you that neither the ſtate,
nor the church, have any thing more to fear from the repeal
of them than from the repeal of the old ftatutes concerning
witches, or from making any new ones concerning canals
or turnpike roads, but that both would be gainers by the
meaſure. Nay, I fhould not wonder, if, when theſe acts
are repealed, the clergy ſhould take to themſelves the merit
of all that has been done to promote it, as they do with re-
ſpect to the act of toleration, after all the averfion they
fhewed to that meaſure.
C4
LETTER
24
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
•
LETTER IV.
Of the Corporation and Teft Acts.
My generous Townſmen and Neighbours
THE
HE nature of the Corporation and Teft Ats, which have
occafioned all this writing and preaching, has been
ſtrangely miſreprefented to you, and Mr. Madan's Sermon
has no tendency to clear it up. But plain men may judge
of plain things, at leaft by their effects, without much deep.
reaſoning on the fubject. Mr. Madan fays, p. 12, that
"the Diffenters are under no difability which can poffibly
"be avoided confiftently with our own fecurity," that is,
the fecurity of the church. Now, without confidering what
the Corporation and Teft Acts are in themfelves, you fee
that, according to Mr. Madan, they are things without
which the church cannot be fecure, if it could exiſt at all.
But, though I am not of your church, and therefore you
cannot fuppofe that I think it to be the best of all poffible
churches, I have a much better opinion of it, in fome
reſpects, than Mr. Madan has, or any of thofe high church
men, who, on this occafion, are fuch zealous fticklers for it.
They must think it a poor weak, and infirm thing, indeed,
of no ftrength at all, in its own conftitution, or they would
never fancy fuch fupports as theſe to be neceffary to it. I
can clearly fhew them from history and fact, that it is much
better eſtabliſhed than their fears will allow them to think
it is.
If theſe acts were really neceffary to the fecurity of your
church, it is plain that it could never have done without
them. And I dare fay that, after reading Mr. Madan's
Sermon, and every thing elſe that has been written by
your clergy (men of great courage no doubt, but who are
frightened
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
25
frightened to death on this particular fubject) you take it
for granted that your church never was without theſe Cor-
poration and Teſt Acts, being its neceffary body guards; and
leaft of all that it was without them in its tender infancy,
when it muſt moſt of all have wanted fupport. But through
all the reigns of Henry VIII. Edward VI. Elizabeth,
James I. Charles I. and till the latter end of that of Charles
II. viz. 1672, in all which time it rofe from nothing to its
full ftrength and glory, there was no Teſt Act at all. All
thoſe princes were allowed to employ whom they thought
proper in all buſineſs of a civil nature, and no inconvenience
whatever aroſe from it. Nor when the Teft act was made
was any evil dreaded from the Proteftant Diffenters. Nay
they themſelves moſt zealously concurred in paffing it. The
danger then was from the Catholics only, on account of the
next heir to the crown being a Catholic. Before this, viz.
in 1661, mere party ſpirit, and not any regard to the ſafety
of the state, had given birth to the Corporation Act.
If theſe Acts be really neceffary in England, they must be
much more fo in Ireland, where the church eſtabliſhment is
much weaker than it is here, not more than one in ten of
the inhabitants of that country being of it; and yet in this
very reign, viz. A.D. 1779, the Teſt Act has been repealed
there; and though, according to Mr. Madan, the church
muſt neceſſarily have fallen with it, it ftill exifts, and there
is even lefs danger of its being overturned than before.
Becauſe the Diffenters, being conciliated, and put into good
humour by the meaſure, are lefs than ever difpofed to be
hoftile to the church. Being, in all civil matters, equally
favoured by government with the members of the eſtabliſhed
church, and not lying under the reproach of being unfit to
be trusted with power, though they have not in fact any
more power than they had before, they confider themſelves
as in a more reſpectable fituation, and are difpofed to be
contented with it; leaving the clergy to manage their own
affairs, and enjoy all their emoluments as before. But
when men are treated like dogs, they will fnarl at thoſe who
hold
26
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
hold the whip over them, whether they receive a blow or
not.
You will naturally afk, how came the church to be fo
liberal to the Diffenters in Ireland, and fo hoftile to them
in England. I will explain the whole in a very few words.
There was no liberality in the cafe. But the Diffenters in
Ireland are much more numerous in proportion to the
members of the eſtabliſhment in that country than they are
in this; and therefore, notwithſtanding the meaſure muſt
have appeared much more hazardous (which is the plea for
refufing us) the court, and of courſe the clergy, did not think
it prudent to refuſe their requeſt. There were no meetings
of the clergy on the occafion, no fuch fermons as Mr.
Madan's were preached, and lords and commons were, I
believe, unanimous in paffing the bill. But here the court.
is at prefent against us, and the clergy (though the church.
would not receive a fhadow of harm from the meaſure, as
the experience of Ireland for the laft eleven years abun-
dantly proves) indulge themſelves in fhewing their diſlike to
us, becauſe they can do it with impunity.
For the fame reaſons we were twice repulfed when we
petitioned to be relieved from the obligation we were moſt
unreaſonably laid under to ſubſcribe the greater part of the
articles of your church, a church with which we have no-
thing to do, and from which we receive no emolument.
But the court, wishing to fhew fome favour to the Catho-
lics; and fearing left a clamour would be raiſed by the more
fober part of the nation, if fomething was not done for us
too, thought proper at length to grant our requeſt; and then
nothing more was heard of any oppofition from the clergy.
Such is the policy of a court, and fuch the operation of
the fundamental principle of paſſive-obedience, and non-re-
fiftance in the clergy, ever true to the terms of their alliance
with the ftate.
If thefe Acts were repealed, there would be no visible
change whatever in the afpect of public affairs, reſpecting
church or ſtate. It would not, in fact, give any additional
power
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
27
power to the Diffenters, nor, if it did, could that power be
employed to the injury of the church. It is not reaſon, or
even felf defence, or felf interest, that has driven the gene-
rality of your clergy to this violence against us; but merely
bigotry and paffion. Many men of the beſt underſtanding
among them clearly fee this, and wonder as much as I do,
at the general infatuation.
Befides, is it for the credit of the church of England to
ſuppoſe it to be naturally weaker, and to ſtand in more need
of foreign ſupport, independent of a voluntary attachment
to it, as founded in truth, than other eſtabliſhed churches?
No other national church (and they are found in almoſt all
parts of the chriſtian world) has any fuch fecurity as this,
or has ever found the want of it. Mr. Madan, indeed,
quotes Dean Swift, p. 26, in ſaying that "in Holland none
are admitted into civil offices who do not conform to the
"legal worship." But Swift*, like the late Dr. Johnſon,
debaſed a good natural underſtanding with the loweft
bigotry. He neither knew, nor cared to know, any thing
<<
66
:
* The contemptuous manner in which Swift always mentions Dif
fenters, as if they were not even of the human ſpecies, fhews the defpi-
cable narrowness of his mind and yet a paffage of his writings, in
which this is the most confpicuous, is quoted with approbation by Mr.
Madan. The offer of their abilities,' fays Mr. Madan, p. 26, integ-
• rity and learning, and all that may be intended by their quick-fighted
' talents' (alluding in a fneer to an expreſſion in one of my publications)
⚫ for the ſervice of the ſtate, will be fufficiently noticed by a fhort extra&
• from Swift. "Their zeal, fays he, is commendable, and when em-
ployments go a begging for want of hands, they fhall be fure to have
"the refufal; only upon condition that they will not pretend to them
upon maxims which equally include Atheiſts, Jews, Turks, Infidels,
"and Heretics, or which is ftill more dangerous, even Papiſts them-
"felves." This is the contempt of the contemptible, which fhews the
writer not worthy to rank with any of the claffes of men he here enu-
merates. When I read fuch ſtuff as this, and find it the language of this
day, as much as it was in the time of Sacheverel, I blefs God that I was
born a free Diffenter, not manacled by the chains of ſo debafing a fyftem
as that of the church of England, and that I was not educated at
Oxford or Cambridge. My education, in this at leaſt unſpeakably more
liberal than theirs, has taught me to efteem Papifts, Jews, Turks,
Infidels, Heretics, and even Atheists if they be honeſt men, and the Church-
of-England-man too who defpifes me. It is becauſe he has been no
better taught, or becauſe God has not given him a better underſtanding.
about
28
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
1
about the Diffenters, and he paid no regard to truth or de-
cency in his invectives against them. What he faid of the
Dutch Mr. Madan might eafily know not to be true in
fact. For though every burgomaſter, and thoſe who admi-
nifter juſtice, muſt have ſubſcribed the national confeffion
of faith, no teft is requred of thoſe who ferve in the army.
or navy, which are offices of infinitely more power; and
in theſe there are inftances of their employing even Roman
Catholics.
It is plain, however, that Mr. Madan was not able to
quote any other inftance of ſuch illiberality as difgraces this
country. Before the late revolution in France a Proteſtant
had been at the head of the French army againſt other Pro-
teftants, and another had been their prime minifter in civil
affairs, without any apprehenfion being entertained by the
moſt bigoted of the Catholics for the fafety of their efta-
bliſhed church. Lord North told us that this was one of
the accidental advantages of an arbitrary government. But
this liberal fyftem is continued now that that government is
become more free than ours. The catholic religion ſtill
continues in France, though Proteftants are admiffible into
all places of truſt or power.
Is there not an eſtabliſhed church in Scotland, as well as
in England? and does not that ſubſiſt yery well without any
Teſt Act, even with the diſadvantage of its king being of
another religion? Yet they allow that king to employ
whom he pleaſes in all offices of truft and power in Scot-
land, without ſhewing any fear for the fafety of their na-
tional religion. It is plain, therefore, that the Scoth clergy,
who have never made any complaint or remonstrance on the
ſubject, have far more confidence in the goodneſs and ſta-
bility of their ecclefiaftical eſtabliſhment than the Engliſh
clergy, who are fo miferably and fo univerfally panic ftruck,
have with reſpect to theirs. You, brave Engliſhmen, muſt
be ashamed of fuch cowards.
But what is this Teft Act, and what can it do for your
church, or for any church? If it cannot be fupported with-
out
ช่า
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
29
out it, I am very fure that it cannot with it. For it is no
more than a cobweb, which any fly may break through. In
order to qualify for a civil office, it requires that a perſon
ſhould receive the communion according to the rites of the
church of England. But this is what moſt Diffenters now
do without violating their confcience at all. You ſee that
both Mr. Ruffell and Mr. Taylor in your own neighbour-
hood, have done it, and in confequence hold the office of
justice of the peace. Theſe are men of honour and principle,
proper to be truſted with any degree of power. But bad
men, againſt whom alone you ought to be upon your guard,
even Atheiſts, men of no religion, who laugh at your
church, and who will fupport it no longer than it ſupports
them, make no fcruple at all of conforming to this Teſt.
They are ready to kneel at the rails of your chancel when-
ever they are called upon, and laugh in their fleeve all the
time.
To make this Teft any thing like a real guard to the
church, and exclude from offices of truft and power, all who
are not bona fide members of it, you ſhould infift upon their
communicating habitually, and not only that, but on their
attending your public worship every Lord's-day. Whereas,
the fact is, that very few perfons in any confiderable office
attend the ſervice of your church at all, except when the
duties of their office abfolutely require it. This Teſt Act,
which you now make your ſheet anchor, the main pillar
within the church, and the great buttress without it, can
in fat do nothing for it. It only excludes fome fcrupu-
louſly confcientious men, who in general are not much
qualified for public bufinefs, and who might be very inno-
cently admitted into any place. We chiefly object to this
act becauſe that it is difgraceful to us, though much more fo
to the country which impofes it.
The existence of this A&t is not of a piece with the libe-
rality of the country in other refpects. For Diffenters may
be peers, or they may fit in the houſe of commons. There,
you fay, there is no danger from them, becauſe their num-
ber is inconfiderable. But would not that be the very
fame
30
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
fame with reſpect to any other places of truſt and power.
If the obnoxious Acts were repealed, Diffenters would not
be admitted into offices but at the nomination of the crown,
and certainly not in ſuch numbers as to make them formi-
dable. For if perſons of all religious perfuafions were em-
ployed alike, in proportion to their numbers, there would
always be the fame over-balance of officers belonging to the
eſtabliſhed religion; which would be fufficient to counter-
act the attempts of their brother officers of all the different
fects, eſpecially as theſe would, of courſe, be divided among
themſelves.
If, for example, there fhould be an hundred officers in
the army or navy belonging to the eſtabliſhed church, and
ten, or even twenty, of half a dozen different ſects, what is
it that could be apprehended from them? In fact much.
lefs than now. Becauſe as things now are, all Diffenters
have a principle of union among themſelves, in their com-
mon cxclufion from civil offices, which would not then
exiſt. All would rather be difpofed to pay their court to the
chief magiftrate, who had the power of giving to each par-
ticular perfon what he wished to obtain, which would na-
turally give him a bias in favour of his religion, viz. that
of the ſtate. Confequently, the preſent ſyſtem is as impolitic,
as it is unjuſt, if the ſafety of the church be the object; and
on this principle fome Diffenters prefer their prefent fitua-
tion. Admiſſion to civil offices at the nomination of the
court would, as they ſay, diſpoſe men to favour the court,
and to become lefs zealous as Diffenters; and the clergy
themſelves, if they were not blinded by their rage againſt
the Diffenters, might fee this. But in this and in many
other refpects, their conduct favours of a kind of infatuation,
fuch as generally precedes ruin. If you, who are tradeſmen,
ſhould act with no more judgment in the conduct of your
affairs, than they do with reſpect to theirs, you would ſoon
become bankrupts.
Mr. Madan fays, p. 17, that " the legislature has en-
"deavoured to provide for the fecurity of the ftate by thoſe
means which ought to be effectual with every man, as the
" ſtrongeſt
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
31
"ſtrongeſt and moſt awful which can poffibly be uſed."
But certainly this is faying a great deal too much. I have
ſhewn you very plainly how it might have been made much
ftronger; and if what I have above propoſed ſhould not
be thought fufficient, let every civil officer be made to
fwear allegiance to the church of England. Make them vow
perpetual enmity to all Diffenters, and hoftility even to the
prince upon the throne if he ſhould ever be hoftile to the
church, or be diſcovered to look with the leaſt degree of
complacency upon a ſingle Diffenter. This method would
be much more effectual, and certainly more decent, than
the proſtitution of a facred ordinance of religion to ſo pro-
phane and foreign a purpoſe as the qualification for a civil
office.
An oath exprefsly declares the purpoſe for which it is
adminiſtered. A man is thereby made to profeſs ſome
ſpecific thing, which it may be proper for the government
that he ſhould profefs, in order that, if he was found to
violate his oath, he might be fubject to a certain penalty.
But the mere act of receiving the Lord's-fupper, without
any declaration annexed to it, expreffive of the purpoſe for
which it is received, implies no civil obligation at all.
The communicant may confider the action in his own light,
and many will do it as a token of chriftian fellowſhip with
other chriftians of a different communion. On this idea
the famous Mr. Baxter, though a ſteady Diffenter (having
refuſed a biſhopric that was offered him) choſe to commu-
nicate once a year with the church of England; and other
Diffenters have voluntarily done the fame; not as members
of the church of England themſelves, but to fhew their
brotherly reſpect for it.
If the ſenſe of the legiſlature may be admitted in the in-
terpretation of any law, a Diffenter may have lefs fcruple
in communicating with the church of England in order to
his admiſſion into any civil office, becauſe it is well known
that the law was not meant to exclude Diffenters, but only
Catholics.
According
F
32
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
According, therefore, to the manner in which the Lord's
fupper is required to be received by candidates for civil
offices, it is no fecurity at all to the church of England;
but an horrible prophanation of one of her facred rites, and
fuch as must be the occafion of much fcandal to the truly
pious members of your church. If a man perform any
religious act, whatever it be, he fhould be left to his own.
liberty to perform it when he finds himſelf in a proper dif-
pofition for it. But in this cafe, whether a man think him-
felf qualified or unqualified, whether he be difpofed or in-
diſpoſed to the religious exerciſe, the ceremony must be
performed. What pain then muſt this give to ſerious
clergymen, who are directed by the canons of the church.
not to give the communion to perſons whom they deem to
be unworthy, and yet are compellable by act of parliament
to adminiſter it, without diſtinction, to all who are appointed
to public offices *?
Now, though I differ from you who are of the church
of England with refpect to fome of your tenets, and the
form of your church government, I truſt we feel alike for the
honour of what is common to us as chriftians; and this,
you must confefs, is difgraced by the ſtatutes which we peti-
tion to have repealed. They are fuch ftatutes as unbe-
lievers would have made, in order to turn your facraments,
and your religion, into ridicule. If, therefore, you really wifh
to exclude us Diffenters from all civil offices, do it effectu-
ally, but in a more decent and proper manner, fuch as will
fhew that it is your religion that you value, and that you
wish to guard by this provifion. But if you find, as you
muſt have done already, that no inconvenience has in fact
ariſen from Diffenters (among whom are to be reckoned
Scotchmen, who, though Preſbyterians, muſt take the Teſt
* A ſerious member of the church of England happening to attend
prayers in a church where, without his knowing it, it was the cuſtom
to adminifter the Lord's-fupper for the fake of qualifying perfons to
receive civil offices, chofe to communicate with them. But when he
was afterwards taking his hat to walk out, the clerk ſtepped up to him
and faid, "Sir, it will do you no good if you have not a certificate.”
35
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
33
as well as we) being in civil offices, and there are perhaps
as many of them in ſuch offices now, as there would be if
the Telt was abolished, throw it afide at once, as a thing,
that is equally disgraceful and uſeleſs, and provide no ſubſti-
tute for it at all.
How weak then, you fee, is this barrier which Mr.
Madan fays, p. 23, "the wifdom of a former age has
" erected for its defence," viz. that of your church, "and
"which the experience of a century has proved to be effec-
"tual." I think, however, that I have abundantly fhewn
that this is afcribing a great deal too much to this boaſted
ftatute, whereas it is only like a fly upon the chariot wheel,
ſaying What a duft I raife. If the experience of a century
has proved this barrier to be effectual, the experience of two
preceding centuries, and alſo that of Ireland at preſent,
proves it to be perfectly infignificant.
If you look into the Refolutions paffed by the clergy at
their ſeveral meetings, to defeat our application to parlia-
ment, or into the pamphlets that have been written by the
friends of the eſtabliſhment on the fubject, you will find
them triumphing moft of all in afferting the right that all
men, and all focieties of men, have to chufe their own fer-
vants, and to fay who they are that they think proper to
truſt with any degree of power. This country, they ſay,
has even laid fimilar reftrictions on the exerciſe of kingly
power, by making a Roman catholic ineligible to that office.
What then, fay they, have Diffenters to complain of more
than other claffes of perfons, even the higheſt?
Now, my friends, we never queſtioned the abfolute right
of the legislature to país any act refpecting Diffenters, or
any other deſcription of men, but only the wisdom of their
conduct. It will not be denied but that any man has a
right to employ one of his hands to cut off the other, but
would not all the world call him a fool for ſo doing?
The legislature of this country may, no doubt, carry their
plan of diſabilities, in a variety of refpects, much farther
then they have done. They might exclude all officers of
the army or navy, all lawyers, all tradefinen, and even all
bishops,
D
34
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
biſhops, from a feat in either houfe of parliament. An act
may be made to prevent the king employing in his fervice
all men who have red hair, or, if that be complained of as
a natural incapacity, all who fhould wear wigs. But the
queſtion is whether it would be wife to act in this manner,
whether it would be confulting the good of the country to
fubject the executive power to fuch reftrictions. Now we
think it as unwiſe, and therefore, ſtrictly ſpeaking, as wrong,
and as contrary to proper and natural right, to ſay that
the king and the country fhall not be ferved by Diffenters,
if, in other refpects, they be well qualified to ferve them.
I would farther obſerve that this bufinefs would be
better conducted if Diffenters as fuch, were abfolutely pro-
hibited from being admitted into civil offices; fo that their
nomination and election fhould be null and void, and not
permit them, as is the cafe at prefent in corporate towns,
to have a regular nomination to an office, and to allow the
validity of their acts while they are in it, and then ſubject
them to a dreadful penalty, ſuch as nothing but the greatest
of crimes can juftify, for having accepted it. For the pen-
alty is the payment of five hundred pounds, being difabled
from ſuing or profecuting in any court of law, being guar-
dians of any child, being executors or adminiſtrators of any
perfon, and being incapable of receiving any legacy or deed
of gift. There is nothing in the civil policy of any other
country fo cruel, and at the fame time fo infidious as this.
This is in a country the laws of which, and eſpecially its
criminal law, is fo much the boaft of its inhabitants! How-
ever, great numbers of the members of your church are juſt
now in the fame fituation, fo that, if the Diffenters were fo
difpofed, they might take ample revenge. For if the profe-
cution be begun before the act of indemnity (which from the
general neglect of complying with the Teft is always found
neceflary every feflions of parliament) be paffed, the law
muſt have its courfe. But I hope no Diffenters will follow
fuch an example, if it fhould be fet them by any members of
the church of England. I truft we are better chriftians.
I am, &c.
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
35
LETTER V.
Of the Defeat of the Diffenters in the House of Commons,
March, 2, 1790, and the Conduct of the Clergy in pro-
curing it.
INCE I wrote the preceding letter, your clergy (for
SINC
it has been their meaſure and not yours, and in the
purſuit of it they have confulted their enmity to the Diffen-
ters rather than either their own reafon, or your intereft)
have gained their point. After a full difcuffion of the quef-
tion before the houfe of Commons a great majority ap-
peared against the repeal. The clergy have had their
triumph, and, no doubi, exult in our defeat; nor do we
envy them. For we are not in the leaft difcouraged. We
know mankind too well to expect that, impofed upon as
they have been fo long, they will hear the plaineft reaſons
the first, or the ſecond time that they are prefented to them,
Affure yourſelves that they will be prefented again and
again, a fourth, a fifth; and if neceflary, a fiftieth time,
We ſhall give abundant exercife for the talent your clergy
appear to have for invective, and many more inflammatory
fermons, fuch as Mr. Madan's, will be preached and pub-
liſhed. We alſo, while we are able to ſpeak, fhall preach,
and while the prefs is open to us, we fhall not fail to write,
in our own defence; and after a few years more the nation
at large muſt be ſtupid indeed, if they do not perfectly under-
fland the ſubject. And as we are more than ever confident
that reaſon, juſtice, and found policy are clearly on our fide,
we have no doubt but that the final decifion will be in our
favour. We fhall even aſk more than we have hitherto
done, and ſhall not be refuſed.
When we confider how many more friends we have
now, that all the influence of a popular king, and all the
D 2
arts
36
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
arts of an infidious minifter are against us (no ftone having
been left unturned to defeat our application) than we had in
the two laſt reigns, when the court was uniformly in our
favour, we are convinced that liberal fentiments, favourable
to our juſt claims, have gained much ground; and we are
confident, from the encreafing liberality of the age (the pro-
grefs of which all the clergymen in England can no more
put a stop to, than they can prevent the fun, after he is rifen,
from afcending to his meridian altitude) will gain ground
more and more. As to the clergy, we make ourſelves per-
fectly eaſy about them. For fhould the court once more
fmile upon us (and courts you know are changeable things)
ſhould the minifter of the day only give a fingle nod, their
oppofition will vanifh as by a charm. It will be like throw-
ing a few drops of Dr. Franklin's oil upon the waves, which
will make their troubled waters as fmooth as a looking
glafs. Mr. Madan may preach again from the fame text
to ſpeak evil of no man, and to be gentle towards all men; but
it will be a very different ſermon from that which is now
before you, and much more agreeable to the ſpirit of the
apoſtle. The bishops of this reign would, in ſuch a caſe,
inftantly become as liberal as thofe of the laft; and as to
the inferior clergy, they would wheel about as quickly as
foldiers on a parade when the word of command is given in
the preſence of the king in St. James's park. Indeed, to
be confiftent with themſelves, they must obey the higher
powers whatever they are. For the powers that be are or-
dained of God, and therefore to refift the power, as Mr.
Madan has been careful to remind you, is to refift the ordi-
nance of God.
Should the king, like Ahafuerus in the book of Efther,
vi. 1. not be able to fleep, and call upon one of the lords of
his bedchamber to read to him out of the book of the records of
the chronicles of the kings of England, and ſhould there find
who had been the moſt zealous for the revolution under
king William, for the acceffion of the Houſe of Hanover,
and for the ſuppreffion of the rebellions in 1715 and 1745,
and
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
37
and who took his part even in a late change of adminiftra-
tion, and then inquire what honour and dignity (ch. vi. 6.)
had been done to his friends, and the friends of his family,
and learn that, inftead of any thing having been done to re-
ward, much had been done to mortify and punish them;
that to this very day they had been perfecuted by lies and
calumnies, as men whofe laws were diverse from thoſe of all
other people, and who do not keep the king's laws, and there-
fore ſay, that it is not for the king's profit to fuffer them (ch. iii.
8.) poor defpifed Mordecai may be advanced, and fome
other uſe be made of the gallows that was erected for him.
In the mean time, we Diffenters are perfectly fatisfied
with the uprightneſs of our views, and the juftneſs of our
caufe, and fhall patiently wait till the nation fhall coolly re-
confider the queſtion; unleſs the clergy rifing as (if they re-
ceive no check from above) they naturally will, in their
violence against us, fhould, in order the better to ſecure the
intereft of their church, procure a law to banish (for they
will hardly now think of burning) us all; and then, as fome
of them are now known to boast that they have no Diffen-
ters in their parishes, they may join in one general Te Deum,
that there are none in the nation; and that we are all driven
to France or America, where they fuppofe we ſhall meet
with ſpirits congenial to our own. If, in confequence of this,
as the Diffenters have always been an induftrious people,
another Birmingham and another Manchester fhould be
eſtabliſhed there, they will only rejoice the more, that all
the taxes, and all the tithes, then perhaps doubled, will be
paid chearfully by the genuine fons of the church, and that
their pockets will be no more contaminated with the fees
of Diffenters. Then will church and state congratulate each
other, and be as fociable and happy as the tuo kings of
Brentford, dreading no gunpowder, real or metaphorical.
With respect to your intereft as a trading nation, and the
feveral articles of your manufacture, what are they compared
to the articles of religion? Any one of the thirty-nine is of
more value than an hundred of thofe in your invoices. The
D 3
church
38
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
church is even before the king, and the king, no doubt, be-
fore his fubjects. Let the church therefore, that is, the
clergy, be by all means gratified in the first place, the king
in the next, and you, the people, keeping your proper order,
in the laſt.
The zeal of your clergy for the church may best be eſti-
mated by the facrifices they make to it; and I can fhew you
that, in order to prevent the repeal of the Corporation and
Teſt Acts, which they confider as neceffary to the fecurity
of the church, they have facrificed a thing of far more value
to them than their temporal intereft. For they have thought
the cauſe ſo good, that it deferved to be promoted at the
expence even of truth. You will alfo fee, by the account
which I ſhall give you of their conduct, that mere zeal for
the church is not the whole of their merit. They have
fhewn great ability in the management of their affairs, and
are as fit for minifters of ftate, as for the fervice of the
church.
Thinking it of fome confequence to their purpoſe, that
fome Diffenters, whofe names are known to the public (fo
that it might be imagined that their fentiments would be
thoſe of ſome confiderable number at leaſt of the body to
which they belonged) fhould be reprefented as factious men,
and enemies to government in church and ftate, they fent,
too late to be diſcovered and counteracted, to every member
of the House of Commons, and to all the bishops, a printed
paper (a copy of which I have in my hands) containing Ex-
tracts from the preface to my Letters to Mr. Burn, ſo diſpoſed,
and mutilated, as to give a very unfair view of my real prin-
ciples and conduct; and of this paper a moft important
ufe was made by Mr. Burke in the courfe of the debate,
raifing the indignation of the houſe againſt me, and the
Diffenters in general, as being fuppofed to avow fentiments
equally violent with myſelf.
I ſhall give the following paragraph as a ſpecimen of the
whole, that you may judge of their proceedings yourfelves.
That which is printed in the Roman chara&er is their
extract,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
39
extract, but what immediately follows in Italics, they
omitted, evidently becauſe it was not calculated to anſwer
their purpoſe.
66
"Whether I be more pleaſed, or difpleafed, with their
preſent violence, let them now judge. The greater their
"violence, the greater is our confidence of final fuccefs.
Because it will excite more public difcuffion, which is all that
"is neceſſary for our purpoſe." Preface, p. 15.
Without the latter claufe of this paragraph, which they
artfully kept out of fight, it was natural to conclude, as the
Houſe no doubt did, that to the violence of the clergy, I
was ready to oppofe ftill greater violence, and not fo inof-
fenfive a thing as mere argument.
That my mode of promoting reformation, and of procur-
ing redrefs of grievances, is of the moft pacific nature, you
may fee in the following paragraph, which is part of a Note
(p. 12) in the fame Preface, but which you will not won-
der that they omitted to quote, becauſe it would no more
have anſwered their purpoſe, than the laft clauſe of the pre-
ceding paragraph.
CC
CC
"It has always been my opinion that Diffenters fhould
not accept of any civil offices for which the majority of
"their countrymen have pronounced them difqualified, but
patiently acquiefce in their exclufion from them, till it
"fhall pleaſe God, in the courſe of his providence, and by
"means of our peaceable reprefentations and remonftrances,
"to open the eyes, and enlarge the minds, of our country-
"men, and thereby give them more just ideas of the natural
"rights of men, and of the true intereft of their country."
This printed paper, thus artfully managed, ferved Mr.
Burke as a text, from which he declaimed, in his eloquent
manner, againſt myſelf, and all the Diffenters, juſt as Mr.
Madan has done in his Sermon, with this difference, that
Mr. Burke was impoſed upon, and ſuſpecting no fraud, kept
to the text that was given him; whereas Mr. Madan ſoon
loft fight of his. But what will Mr. Burke, and the reſt of
D 4
the
40
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
the honourable houfe of Commons fay, when they find
how they have been taken in?
Mr. Burke is a perfon with whom I have been well ac-
quainted more than twenty years, and till this affair, he
always profeffed much reſpect for me, as I had for him.
The last time he came through Birmingham, he called at
my houſe, and we had much free and confidential conver-
fation. But how fhall we meet after this? He will blame
his want of fagacity, in being over-reached; but he will fay,
"how could I expect any deceit from fo holy a quarter.
Now my friends, you need not be told that they who could
do this, or knowingly permit others to do it, would do almoſt
any thing elſe to gain the fame point. They must have had
an intent to deceive, and this it is that conftitutes the crimi-
nality of any wilful violation of truth.
How great, then, must be the value that your clergy (for
the fufpicion will naturally fall on fome of this body) have
for the cauſe of the church, when they rifque even their
own ſalvation for the fake of it? The conduct of the apof-
tles themſelves was never fo difintereſted as this. But, like
the immortal Curtius, they confidered that, if they did not.
leap into the gulph, the church itſelf, and all you who belong
to it, must have been ſwallowed up. Now, had there been
any purgatory in your church, this conduct would not have
been fo meritorious. For out of purgatory there is re-
demption, but none from that place to which whosoever
loveth and maketh a lie (Rev. xxii. 15.) muft go. But this
being a place only mentioned in fermons, and by polite
preachers not even there, I muſt refer you to your Bibles,
if
you
wish to know any thing more about it. It is poffible,
however, that as thoſe of the clergy who diſtinguiſh them-
felves the moſt by their oppofition to Diffenters approach a
little to the church of Rome, they may think to fave them-
felves by confeſſing and abfolving one another. And as life
is always uncertain, if they be as wife in the affairs of the
next world as they are in thoſe of this, the ceremony is by
this
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
41
this time probably over, and their confciences entirely at reſt.
Think not, however, that they would recommend fuch
conduct to you, and thereby rifque your falvation; fince it is
only for the fake of the church, in which your falvation,
your lives and fafeties all, are embarked, that they who are
a few, chuſe to run this rifque for you who are many.
When the miſchief is done, the proverb fays we may as
well laugh as cry, becauſe both are equally unavailing, and
the former is more pleaſant, as well as more conducive to
health. I hope, therefore, you will excufe me, though I
have not been quite ferious on a very ſerious fubject. In-
deed, as a ſerious one, it concerns your clergy and your-
felves, much more than it does me. I fhall, however, con-
clude this letter with perfect feriouſneſs.
The temper which your clergy have ſhewn in preaching,
without any provocation whatever, fo long, and fo violently,
against the Diffenters, and the meaſures they have taken to
oppofe us, fome of them, you fee, the moſt artful and
wicked, give us real concern; and we have the lefs hope of
any return of liberality in our favour from feeing fuch men
as Mr. Madan joining the party of the bigots, and retailing
with apparent glee the low and malignant fcurrility of Swift
against the Diffenters of his day.
As to Mr. Burn's being willing to have a gird at me, as
Falstaff fays, it may eafily be accounted for. He has a
laudable view to rife in his profeffion; and being a man of
good natural underſtanding, and good elocution, but having
had no advantage of education, or family connexions, he
may think it neceffary to do ſomething in order to make
himself confpicuoùs. And he might fuppofe he could not
do better than follow the fure footsteps of thofe who had
fucceeded in the fame chace before him. This might ap-
pear the more neceffary in his cafe, as, having been a preacher
among the Methodifts and Diffenters (which, as I am well.
known highly to reſpect the Methodifts, little as they reſpect
me, and as I am a diffenting miniſter myſelf, I cannot men-
tion with any contempt) his attachment to the eſtabliſhed
church
42
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
church might, without doing fomething of this nature, have
been liable to be queftioned.
But Mr. Madan is in very different circumftances. He
is a gentleman born. His family and connections are re-
ſpectable; he has had the moſt liberal education that his
country can give. He is a man of a natural good temper,
of poliſhed and engaging manners, and the door of prefer-
ment is ſo open to him, that he hardly needs to knock in
order to enter. For fuch a man as he, without any pro-
vocation, to deal out fuch grofs abuſe, and with fuch un-
common folemnity, fhews what we have to expect from the
times. If fuch men as Mr. Madan can diveft themfelves
of all liberality of fentiment, and treat as rebels, and hypo-
crites, men with whom they have frequent intercourfe, and
whom they ought to know better, and confequently to re-
ſpect, we fee that, as things are now fituated, there is no
hope left. If not from fuch men as he, from whom are
we to expect decent treatment? It is a proof that the
ſtandard is raiſed against us, and that all the clergy, and
other friends of the court, whether naturally difpofed to it
or not, must join their ranks, in oppofing us.
And what is it that they are purfuing? It is a mere
fhadow, an unrefifting fubftance. We have neither the
power, nor the will, to make any oppoſition, except in a
field in which they cannot meet us, the open field of reaſon
and argument. Out of this we can never be forced; and
as to this, or any particular country, we are citizens of the
world; and if we be perfecuted in one place, we muſt en-
deavour, as our Saviour recommends, to flee to another.
Hoping, however, to be permitted to ſtay a while longer in
a fituation fo perfectly agreeable to me in other refpects, and
not having very long to continue in any,
I am, &c.
P. S. The ſubject of my next Letter will be Toleration,
which being a thing that Mr. Madan has no want of him-
felf, I fhall fhew you he has thought little about, and cer-
tainly does not underſtand.
Inbabitants of Birmingham.
43
LETTER VI.
Of a Complete Toleration.
My Friends and Countrymen,
MR. Madan, like other writers on the fame fide of the
queftion, willing to reprefent the church to which he
belongs in the beſt light that he can (and toleration being
fortunately at this time a reputable thing) gives it the praiſe
of tolerant. Now this we Diffenters readily and thankfully
acknowledge to a certain degree. The Act of Toleration,
paffed in the time of king William, which reſcued the Dif-
fenters from ſtarving or rotting in dungeons, and which,
under certain, though hard, reftrictions, allowed them to
worship God in the forms they most approved, was a valu-
able thing. But for this we do not confider ourſelves as at
all indebted to the church, though the bishops might not
vote against it. It was the liberality of the ſtate, in ſpite of
the church. The fame was the cafe with reſpect to the laſt
boon that we obtained. For it was not till after two
repulfes, in which the bishops, as ufual, voted on the into-
lerant fide of the queftion, that we got excufed from fub-
fcribing many of the articles of the church of England by
which we had been bound before. But ftill it is well known
that another act of parliament remains in force, which
makes it eventually confifcation of goods and impriſonment
for life for any man, educated a chriftian, to declare his dif
belief of the doctrine of the trinity.
Now, as many of us Diffenters do feriously difbelieve this
doctrine of the trinity, and even think it our duty to en-
deavour to bring others to believe as we do, viz. in the
doctrine of the divine unity, as oppoſed to that of the trinity,
it is evident that, while this law fubfifts, there is no proper
toleration in this country for us. And yet Mr. Madan,
knowing
44
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
**
(C
knowing this, and expreſsly mentioning it, can infult us,
as others of the clergy are perpetually doing, by ſaying,
p. 12, that we have "the fulleft liberty of confcience and
"opinion." "This doctrine," (viz. the trinity) fays he,
p. 19," the Diffenters think proper to reject, and they
are at liberty to reject it," that is at the rifque of the
penalty above mentioned, which, if any perſon ſhould be
bigot enough to inform againſt us, neither Mr. Madan, nor
any other clergyman, let his difpofition towards us be ever
fo friendly, can prevent being exacted to the uttermoft.
This certainly is no toleration. It is mere connivance, and
ſuch as ány felon may enjoy while ncbody thinks proper to
profecute him.
(C
Mr. Madan himfelf fays, p. 21, "I will admit that the
rigorous execution of this law would certainly be in-
“tolerant.” Is it not then plain, that though Englishmen
may be merciful, the laws are unmerciful, and therefore
ought to be repealed? You will naturally think that after
Mr. Madan himfelf had taxed the law with intolerance, if
carried into execution (which is certainly faying nothing at all
in favour of the law) he would be for the repeal of it. But
this by no means follows. Without calling this law any
guard of the church, or of the principles of it, which how-
ever it was intended to be, and even making a merit of its
not being executed, he fays, p. 21, "the deliberate repeal
"of it would certainly operate as a virtual fanétion for that.
" conduct which it was enacted to refrain." That is, if
there had been any law which made it death to ſteal an apple,
it ought not to be repealed, becauſe that would be a virtual
fanction to the ſtealing of apples. Is not this moſt curious
reaſoning? Your clergy, I hope, give you better from the
pulpit than in ſuch publications as thefe. If the reaſoning
of Paul (Acts xxiv. 25.) had been no better than this, Felix
would have been more diſpoſed to laugh than to tremble.
It is, indeed, fomething extraordinary that Mr. Madan's
ingenuity fhould not be able to find fome medium in this
caſe, either by proportioning the puniſhment to the crime,
or
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
45
cute.
or by repealing a law, which, however well intended, is
found to be of no uſe, and which they are aſhamed to exe-
Is it not poffible to abrogate what is acknowledged
to be wrong, without authorizing another wrong? What
a poor legiflator would Mr. Madan be? You muſt certainly
fee, though Mr. Madan cannot, that the repeal of the law
of king William, by which we are now forbidden, under
the penalty of confiſcation of goods and impriſonment for
life, to declare our diſbelief of the doctrine of the trinity,
would only give us the liberty of avowing our principles,
and would by no means imply an approbation of them.
Will Mr. Madan fay that the Act of Toleration implied any
approbation of the principles of Diffenters? If fo, he him-
ſelf muſt approve of them. On the contrary, the legif-
lature would by this generous conduct express their con-
fidence in the folid reaſons on which the eſtabliſhed faith
was founded. It would be faying, "We have no occafion
"to enforce our principles by penal laws, having no doubt
"but that the clergy, the proper defenders of them will be
"able to ſupport them by reafon and argument,"
But, my friends, this has not been the conduct of the
legiflators, or of the clergy. Not trufting to reafon, or the
fcriptures, they must enact laws, with heavy penalties,
to enforce the belief of their doctrines. And though,
through the liberality of the times, and not any particular
generofity of their own, they are aſhamed to execute them,
and we, confiding in this, and not in any proper moderation
of theirs, even turn their obfolete laws into ridicule, yet
you ſee that, like the laws of the Medes and Perfians, they
muſt remain unaltered, together with every thing elſe that
bears the leaſt aſpect towards the church. This looks as if
they themſelves confidered it as no better than a castle of
cards, which they are afraid of touching, left it ſhould all
fall to pieces. If good reaſons cannot be alleged for retain-
ing what is moft manifeftly abfurd, and what they them-
felves are aſhamed to execute, yet you ſee that ſomething
muſt be faid; and weak as it is, I do not know that any
thing
46
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
thing better can be alleged, than what is here advanced by
Mr. Madan, viz. that the repeal of this improper and un-
just law to defend the doctrine of the trinity, would be to
give a virtual ſanction to our conduct in writing againſt it.
There is another curious and inconfiftent circumſtance in
what Mr. Madan advances on the fubject of this famous
law. All who believe Chrift to be a man, and not God,
muft neceffarily think it idolatry to pay him divine honours.
We have no other definition of idolatry, than to worship as
God that which is not God. Do not all Proteftants ſay it is
idolatry in the Catholics to pray to the Virgin Mary, to
Peter, Paul, or any other faints, or even to angels and arch-
angels? Do you not continually charge the Catholics with
idolatry on this principle? Now, it is upon the very fame
principle, and no other, that we, who confider Chrift as
being a man, ſuch as Peter and Paul were, ſay that it muſt
be idolatry to worſhip, or to pray to him. This is only the
neceffary conſequence of avowing our belief. Yet Mr.
Madan will allow us the one, without the other; as if he
would allow us to think Trinitarians to be idolators, with-
out permitting us to call them fo. "They infult us," he
fays, p. 19, "with the charge of idolatry, on account of
"this doctrine," viz. the trinity," they are at liberty ſo to
"do, through the mildneſs of our principles, though per-
"haps they have not a right to do it, upon any principle
"whatever;" that is, we have no right to ſay what we can-
not help thinking. Where then is our toleration? Alas, it
exiſts only in the mildness of men's principles, that is in their
good nature, which is a very changeable thing, and not in
the laws. If this mildness which Mr. Madan boafts of was
any thing of a ſtable nature, and was meant to be perpetual,
it would certainly lead them to repeal the law, and not
merely to ſuſpend the execution of it.
If this law against thoſe who declare their disbelief of the
doctrine of the trinity is never defigned to be executed,
common fenſe will fay that it ought to be repealed, and that
it ought not to remain as a diſgrace to our ftatute book
any
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
47
any longer. While it is ſuffered to continue there, it will
always be thought by us that it is intended to be carried
into execution, though not at prefent, yet at fome convenient
opportunity. If I be abfolutely determined never more to
correct my child, and wiſh that he ſhould know my refo-
lution, I burn the rod. If I keep it, I certainly do it with
the idea that ſome time or other it may be wanted. We
Unitarians ſhould never think that any proper toleration is
intended for us, while a law, by means of which it is in the
power of any man to perfecute and puniſh us as fuch, fhall
remain unrepealed. And yet you fee very clearly that the
clergy, boafting of their mild and tolerating principles,
would not fail to make as ftrenuous an oppofition to the
repeal of this law of king William, which makes it confif-
cation of goods and impriſonment for life, to declare our
disbelief of the doctrine of the trinity, as to the repeal of
the Corporation and Teſt acts. Though neither of them
are in fact, of any ſervice to their church at all, yet tremb-
ling at every ſhadow, and dreading they know not what, they
are determined to oppofe every thing that we apply for.
Imagining, as it should feem, that we are much more quick
fighted than themſelves, they ſuſpect that there is ſomething
more in any thing that we aſk for than they are able to ſee.
Mr. Madan, quoting my Letter to Mr. Pitt, p. 26, en-
deavours to alarm you with our farther claims, when thoſe
we are now making fhall be granted; and as he drops the
quotation, he leaves you to imagine that thoſe claims are
abſolutely endleſs, and might lead to the total ruin of the
conftitution in church and ftate. Now in that Letter,
which I would with you all to look into, I have diftin&tly
marked what are all our claims as Diffenters, diftinct from
thofe improvements which I imagine might ftill be made in
the laws relating to religion in this country, after every
thing that we can wifh for as Diffenters fhall be granted.
Theſe are, firft, admiffibility to all civil offices at the nomi-
nation of the crown, the difcretion of which we are not dif-
poſed to queſtion; fecondly, full liberty to profefs, and
teach,
48
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
teach, all our religious principles, without the fear of fuch
laws as that of king William; and lastly, to celebrate mar-
riage among ourſelves, as the Quakers are allowed to do.
Now this is the full extent of all our claims as Diffenters;
and what is there fo very alarming in it? And till thefe
three articles be granted, our toleration is manifeftly incom-
plete, becauſe we remain expofed to civil penalties on ac-
count of our religious principles, which is the precife defi-
nition of perfecution. And if all the three claims above
mentioned were granted, your established church would
ftand not the leis, but in reality the more, firm for it. Your
church is guarded by its peculiar laws, and no perſon can
derive any emolument from it, but thoſe who ſubmit to
thote laws, and fubfcribe to its articles. When we Dif-
fenters ſhall aſk for any thing that your church has to give,
without fubmitting to its laws, or fubfcribing its articles,
then, but not before, fay that we are attacking the eſtabliſh-
ment. We do not defire the repeal of the A&t of king
William any farther than it refpects ourfelves. As the doc-
trine of the trinity is unquestionably an important article of
your faith, let your clergy by all means be bound in the
fristet manner to the profeffion of it. They receive their
emoluments on that condition. But why fhould we, who
do not receive thefe emoluments, be bound to their duty,
or be fubjected to their laws?
Mr. Madan has thought fo little on this fubject, that he
is not able to diftinguith the claims of Diffenters as fuch,
which would leave the church juft as it is, from thofe claims
which affect the very vitals of it. His confufion of ideas on
this fubject is evident in the following paragraph p. 21,
"The last pretended grievance which I fhall at preſent no-
"tice (and perhaps it is the chief of their grievances) is the
payment of tithes, and fees to the minifters of the church
" of England; that is, the Diffenters complain that the pro-
"vifion which is appropriated to the ſupport of thoſe minif-
"ters who difcharge the offices and duties of the religion of
this country as established by law, may be reduced, and
" withdrawn,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
49
"withdrawn, at the caprice of fetaries, for the fupport of
"nonconformiſts.”
To lay nothing of the contemptuous language, unworthy
of a gentleman, and a ſcholar, and much more of a chriſtian,
in which this paragraph, like the rest of the Sermon, is
written, it is evident from the whole of it, that Mr. Madan
mistakes the very nature and object of our complaints.
While there is a religion fo eſtabliſhed by law as to be fup-
ported by any public fund, to which all fhall equally con-
tribute, the appropriation of that fund cannot be changed
without affecting the eſtabliſhed religion. If we fetaries,
as Mr. Madan contemptuously calls us, demand that our
proportion of the tithes be given to our own minifters,
how equitable foever the thing may be in itſelf, it is no-
thing that we could aſk as Diffenters. We, and others, mem-
bers of the eſtabliſhed church, may be convinced that ſuch
a meaſure as this would be reaſonable in itſelf, beneficial to
our country, and favourable to the interefts of religion (as
I fhall proceed to fhew that it would be) but then this is a
fpeculation of a very different nature from any thing that
concerns Diffenters as fuch. The whole body of them
formerly, and a great proportion of them at prefent, ap-
prove of an eſtabliſhment; and fince it cannot be that of
their own religion, they think that the prefent may do as well
as any other, and would even prefer it to that of many other
Diffenters; and therefore they have no farther with than
fuch a full toleration as Mr. Madan fays they actually have,
but which they find they have not, and which they would
be very glad if he could procure for them.
In my opinion, however, and that of many others it
would be much better for the country, and for chriftianity
in general, if there was no fuch thing as any civil eſtabliſh-
ment of religion at all, but that every man ſhould be left to
provide for himſelf with refpect to religion, ufing his own
beit judgment, as he does in things of a different nature.
I ſee no reaſon why any one man ſhould be compelled to
pay for the religion of another man, any more than for his
instruction
Ε΄
50
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
inftruation in grammar, philofophy, or any thing elſe. But
this I do not advance as a Diffenter, but on the principles.
of political philofophy in general. And that thefe principles.
of mine (though they are by no means peculiar to myself)
which Mr. Madan would repreſent as infinitely alarming,
have nothing in them at which you need to be alarmed, I
ſhall clearly fhew in my next letter, and let Mr. Madan, or
any of your clergy, refute my arguments if they can.
Mr. Madan's Sermon being my Text, I fhall think my-
felf authorized by his example, to take the fame liberties
with it, that he has done with his, that is, to preach the
very contrary doctrine. From a text which inculcates meek-
neſs and forbearance, and which diſcountenances all evil
Speaking, he has endeavoured to infame your paſſions by
the groffeft and moſt abfurd calumnies. The ftorm that he
has raiſed I have endeavoured to allay, preaching the very
doctrine to which his text ſhould have led him, by endea-
vouring to remove thoſe prejudices, which lead you to
think ill of your neighbours, and thereby bring you to a
better temper than that which he has manifefted. I fhall
continue to do the fame in the remaining Letters, and for
this purpofe fhall go over all the articles that he has touched
upon. But as a man may fow more weeds in an hour, than
another can root out in a month, I muſt be allowed more
time and space than Mr. Madan has taken; fo that it may
happen that a fingle fentence in his Sermon, fhall give oc-
cafion to a long Letter of mine. But I fhall not think much
of my trouble in writing, provided you have patience to
read; and I fhall endeavour to write in fuch a manner as
to put you into better humour, and make you feel more
pleasantly, than you did after hearing Mr. Madan's Sermon.
For the feelings of a man who is angry, though ever fo
jufly, are never comfortable.
I am,
My good friends and neighbours,
Yours, &c.
LETTER
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
51
I
LETTER VII.
Of Religious Eftablishments in general.
My Townſmen and Neighbours,
SHALL now bring before you a ſubject which, from
the manner in which it has been generally confidered,
you may imagine to be of a peculiarly difficult nature, and
to which your underſtandings are not equal. I mean the
connection between the church and the ſtate, or the uſe of civil
eftablishments of religion. But notwithstanding this, I have
no doubt but that I fhall make it as perfectly intelligible to
you, as any thing that I have yet treated of. I fhall prove
to you that thoſe very principles which your fuperiors would
have you take for granted, as axioms, or certain truths, on
which they build others of very great confequence, have
themſelves no foundation at all, if either the fcriptures, or
common-fenfe, be your rule of judging concerning things.
Mr. Fox himſelf, who with reſpect to magnanimity, force,
and comprehenfion of mind, is at leaft equal to any of our
ſtateſmen, and whofe liberality of ſentiment has led him re-
peatedly to defend the cauſe of the Diffenters in the houſe of
Commons, ftill takes it for granted that there ought to be
a civil eſtabliſhment of religion in every country, thinking
it, no doubt, abfolutely effential to good government. But,
great as Mr. Fox's abilities may be, he may not have given
fufficient attention to this particular fubject. Indeed, if he
had, many doubts could not but have arifen in his mind
with respect to it. The generality of Diffenters themſelves
as I have faid, allow the propriety and uſe of ſome eſtabliſh-
ment of christianity, and formerly they were univerfally of
this opinion, though it is contrary to a juſt and received
maxim of theirs properly interpreted, viz. That human
authority
E 2
52
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
authority ought not to be interpofed in matters of religion, and
indeed to our Saviour's own declaration, that his kingdom is
not of this world.
If men are not to interpofe their authority in matters of
religion, they ought to refrain, not only from making arti-
cles of faith, and rules of moral conduct, to bind the con-
ſciences of men (which they allow to be within the pro-
vince of God only) but they ought not to enforce any de-
crees of men reſpecting religion by civil penalties. For this
is evidently ſetting up a kingdom of this world, and applying
human authority to matters of religion, things with reſpect
to which Diffenters heſitate not to ſay that every man ſhould
be left to himſelf, to be guided by the dictates of his own
conſcience, of which God is the only ſovereign.
If I break the peace of ſociety, if I injure my neighbour,
in his perfon, property, or good name (things which human
laws were intended to guard) I ought to be punished by
thoſe who adminifter fuch laws. But if I do any thing by
which I offend Ged only, and not man, I fhould be left to
the judgment of God, in this world or the next. Theſe
are very plain rules, and yet they are evidently violated
whenever any body of men, clergy or laity, lay down rules
reſpecting religion, and enforce them by civil penalties.
It follows from thefe plain principles, that whether I
chufe to profeſs any particular mode of religion, or to have
no religion at all, my neighbours and fellow citizens have
no right to compel me. I do not moleft them, and there-
fore they ought not to diſturb me. If, therefore, I do not
chuſe to give any part of my property to the maintenance
of religion, it does not concern them; and to compel me to
pay money on a religious account, is real injuftice, though
fanctioned by law. The civil magiſtrate has the power of
the ſtronger, and I, as the weaker, muſt ſubmit; but it is
on the fame principle that I fubmit to an highwayman, or
a robber, at whofe mercy I neceffarily am. He may ſay that
he has a right to take my money, but he makes himſelf the
judge, and to me his decifion may appear unjuſt.
If
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
53
If we interpret the fcriptures by the conduct of the apof-
tles and that of the early chriftians for three centuries, you
will be fatisfied that I do not carry this principle too far.
In the New Teftament you will find that, whatever any man
gave to the ſupport of religion, it was perfectly voluntary.
The primitive church had biſhops, deacons, and other of-
ficers, who, giving their whole time to the inftruction, &c.
of others, were maintained from the common ſtock; and
the chriftians of thofe times must have been at great ex-
pence in building places of public worship, maintaining their
poor, &c. But all theſe expences, great as they were, were
defrayed by voluntary contribution.
It will be faid that, in that age, there was no civil power
that could be applied in favour of chriftianity. But neither
our Saviour nor the apoſtles gave any directions about ſuch
a thing as a civil eſtabliſhment of christianity, when chriftians
Should have the power of making one. And yet, as our Sa-
viour diftinctly forefaw, and frequently referred to, the uni-
verfal prevalence of his religion, he muſt have known that
it would be wanted, if that change in the external circum-
ſtances of his religion would authorize fuch a meaſure.
But what apprehenfion could the apostles have of the uſe
of a civil eſtabliſhment of chriftianity, when they found no
want of it in their own times? Read all their epiftles, and
you will find no wish expreffed by the writers of them, of
any civil power to inforce the laws of Chrift. Nay, with-
out the aid of any civil power, chriftianity gained ground in
the world, to the over-turning of the long-eſtabliſhed ſyſtem
of heatheniſm, which was fupported by that power. With
what face, then, can any chriſtian at this day fay that civil
power is neceſſary to chriſtianity, when it never flouriſhed fo
much as when it was entirely deftitute of it, and oppoſed
by it?
Chriftians fhould confider their religion as difgraced by
any alliance with civil power. The voluntary zeal of the
fincere profeffors of chriftianity would at this day, as well
as in former times, fupply all the funds which are really
wanted
E 3
54
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
wanted for the ſupport of religion; and if men offend againſt
the laws of religion, they ſhould, as our Saviour preſcribed,
and the apostles practifed, be cut off from chriftian fo-
cieties, and be confidered as perfons with whom they have
no religious connexion; but not puniſhed by fines, impri-
fonments, or any civil inconveniences whatever, fuch as are
the confequence of your excommunications. In this man-
ner chriſtianity is actually ſupported by all Diffenters, com-
pelled as they are to bear their fhare in the ſupport of a
much more expenfive fyftem, by which they are oppreſſed.
It will hardly be ſaid that the authority of the civil ma-
giftrate was neceffary for the appointment, as well as the pay-
ment, of biſhops, and other miniſters in chriſtian churches.
For not only in the time of the apoſtles, but long after the
undue interference of the civil power in matters of religion,
it would have been thought an intolerable grievance; if all
chriftian focieties had not had the free choice of their own
miniſters of every kind. But men who have been uſed to
fervitude of any kind, get in time a habit of acquiefcence,
and fometimes fancy that there is a real advantage in what
is moſt diſgraceful to them. Thus you are very well con-
tent to have no vote at all in the nomination of your own
fervants. For minifters of the goſpel are no other than
their title imports, being perfons who are employed by chrif-
tian focieties for a certain ftipend, to do a certain duty.
Theſe are the pure and rational principles of chriftian
churches; fuch as we find in the ſcriptures, and in all the
primitive times. But how have we deviated from them;
and in confequence of it, how has the church of Chriſt
adopted the maxims of the kingdoms of this world? Men
have affumed authority, fuch as your church expreſsly
avows, to determine controverfies of faith. They have made
numberleſs regulations about religion, and they have en-
forced the obfervance of them by fines, impriſonments,
and dreadful puniſhments of various kinds, fo that what is
now called the church is as much a kingdom of this world, as
the fate.
The
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
55
The great argument for theſe civil eſtabliſhments of chrif-
tianity is that religion promotes good morals, and that
good morals are neceffary to the well being of civil fociety.
Now I am far from denying the uſefulneſs of religion, and
eſpecially of chriftianity, in this refpect; and on this account.
I have written ſo much (more, I believe, than any other
perfon in this country) to prove its divine authority, and to
explain its principles. But the friends of church eſtabliſh-
ments have made a great deal too much of this argument.
Civil fociety has fubfifted very well under all forms of reli-
gion, even the heathen ones. For the Roman empire was
well regulated before the knowledge of chriftianity, yea
better than feveral chriftian countries fince. And chrif-
tianity will operate in favour of good morals without being
established, and even more fo than when it is. The man
who truly fears God, and believes a future ftate, will be a
good moral man, and an uſeful member of ſociety, though
the prince and the ſtate ſhould not concern themſelvs about
it. Nay he will be virtuous, when they are wicked.
Befides, though religion, or the belief of a God, a pro-
vidence, and a future ftate, have its ufe with reſpect to ſo-
ciety, it is not abſolutely neceſſary for that purpoſe. Good
laws, and a proper adminiftration of civil government, will
be ſufficient to keep men from injuring one another. It is
a common intereft to reſtrain thofe vices which are inju-
rious to the community, and the force of the community
may eaſily be applied for this purpoſe. Only let there be
a good legiflature, good judges, and good civil officers
(which the temporal intereſt of all ſtates will provide) and
you need not fear but that the internal peace of any coun-
try, which is the only proper object of civil government,
will be fufficiently fecured.
Great numbers of perfons in this country, and many
more abroad, are actually without religion. They believe
in no God, or future ſtate; they frequent no place of public
worſhip, and they know no more of the Bible than they do
of the Koran; and yet, with reſpect of the peace of society,
they
E 4
56
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
they behave like other people, and are no more difpofed to
disturb others, than others are to disturb them.
Beſides, there is no danger of mankind in general being
without religion. Nay, I am well perfuaded there would
be much more of it without any eſtabliſhment than with
one; and that religion which men will voluntarily adopt
and ſupport, will have more influence on their morals, and
be more favourable to the good of fociety, than any which
any ſtate will adopt and enforce.
Be perfuaded, my countrymen, to think a little for your-
felves, on this fubject, as well as on every other in which you
are intereſted, as the reformers from popery did before you,
and confider not fo much what you find eſtabliſhed, as what
is right in itſelf, and beneficial to fociety; and whether inno-
vations, which your clergy dread ſo much, may not be im-
provements. Time was when chriſtianity itſelf was an in-
novation. The reformation by Luther was a great inno-
vation. At one time prefbyterianiſm was eſtabliſhed by law
in this country, and then the introduction of epifcopacy was
an innovation. The Act of Toleration, which the clergy
now think to be an honour to their church, though they
were very much averſe to the meaſure, was an innovation.
The Corporation and Teſt Acts, which they now conſider
as the great bulwarks of their church, were originally
nothing more than innovations; and if the repeal of them
be an innovation alfo, there is nothing to be apprehended
from the meaſure as fuch. Whenever things are got into
a bad ſtate, there can be no amendment without innova-
tion; and furely you will not fay that any thing human is
perfect, and requires no amendment, that is, no innovation.
Do not then partake of the fears of your clergy, who feel
for themſelves more than for you; and if you find abuſes,
either in the church or the ftate, have the good fenfe, and
the fpirit, to rectify them, without any dread of innovation.
The conftitution, they tell you, conſiſts of two parts, the
church and the ſtate. In fact, it confifts of many parts,
and the laws relating to the prerogatives of the king, the
privileges
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
57
privileges of the lords, thoſe of the people, even thoſe relat-
ing to the poor, to debtors, and to criminals, are as much
parts of the conftitution, as thofe relating to religion, and
the clergy. There are as many parts of the conſtitution as
there are different objects which government embraces; and
why ſhould any one of theſe be confidered as more facred,
and exempt from innovation, than another?
But admitting for the prefent, that the conftitution has
but two parts, the church and the ſtate; all that can be pre-
tended is that they are equally facred, and not one more
than the other. But the clergy would perfuade you that
the church is infinitely more facred than the other part of
the conftitution. It is a thing that must never more be
touched by the hand of man, though it was as much the
crcature of man, as the ftate; and this requires continual
alterations. For never a year paffes without many acts of
parliament calculated to reform abufes in the ftate; and
abuſes, we find, will creep in, let men do all they can
to keep them out.
Formerly we had many acts of parliament to reform
abuſes in the church alfo. This part of the conftitution,
the liturgy, and the articles of the church of England, were
not fettled at once, but at different periods, and all by Acts
of parliament. Your preſent hierarchy was not the imme-
diate appointment of God, or of an angel, but the produc-
tion of fallible men; and can you fee nothing clearer than
your anceſtors, juſt emerging from the darkness of popery?
In their moſt difadvantageous circumftances, had they the
wiſdom to fettle every thing in fuch a manner, as that there
ſhould never more be any occafion for change or im-
provement ?
Your church of England was not a thing that exifted
from the beginning of chriſtianity. Our anceſtors were all
Roman Catholics, and at the time of the reformation had
been fo for many centuries; fo that Churchmen are only
Diffenters from the church of Rome. Now in this ancient
and long eſtabliſhed church of Rome (to which, according
to
58
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
to Mr. Madan, you ought to have remained in quiet fub-
jection to this very day) were many corruptions of pure
chriſtianity, which had been accumulating for ages; and
ſome reformed churches corrected fome of them, and others
more. In like manner, we are Diffenters from your church;
but we did not arrive to what we now are all at once. My
ancestors did not teach me what I teach others; and I am
far from fuppofing that all improvement will end with me.
In all cafes in which men determine, room ſhould be left for
the revifion, and fubfequent determinations, of other men,
who may fee farther than they do.
Suppofing that at the fame time in which your preſent
ecclefiaftical eſtabliſhment was fixed, which was about two
centuries ago, laws had been made to determine in what
manner all houſes fhould be built, grounds cultivated, and
all manufactures carried on. Suppofe that when public
provifion was made for an order of clergy, to take care of
your fouls, as it is called, an order of phyſicians had alſo been
eſtabliſhed to take care of your bodies (in which the ſtate
is certainly as much concerned) and that theſe ſtate phyſi-
cians had been obliged to adminifter certain preſcribed me-
dicines in all difeafes; and the king and parliament who
fixed your church eſtabliſhment were certainly as well quali-
fied to judge of matters of this kind as of thoſe of religion.
If this fyftem had actually taken place, it is moſt probable
that the great bulk of the nation, having been accuſtomed
to theſe inftitutions, and ſeeing no others, might have ap- -
plauded the wiſdom of their ancestors, and might have ex-
[ claimed as loudly againſt all innovation in things temporal,
as your clergy now do with reſpect to things fpiritual.
The ftate physicians would certainly have been as much
alarmed at any alteration in that part of the ſyſtem which
refpected them, as the clergy have always been about things
in which they are intereſted. They would have exclaimed
that the conftitution was in danger of being violated, if fo
much as a new medicine had been introduced; faying that
if innovations once began to be made, no man could tell
where
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
59
where they would ſtop; and that if fo material a part of the
conftitution as that in which medicine, and the bodily health
of all the ſubjects of the ſtate ſhould be changed, the whole
fyſtem being ſettled at the fame time, and being firmly
compacted together, it would fall at once, and univerſal ruin
be the iffue.
This is the very thing the clergy are faying now. But,
my friends, there is no more reafon in their cafe at prefent,
than there would have been in that of the phyficians I have
been fuppofing. As to the court, and the minifter of the
day; having had the appointment of theſe phyſicians, and
having of courfe been ferved by them (as, for the fame
reaſon, they now are by the generality of the clergy, who
must look up to the court for any great preferment) they
would have found as good reaſons for ſupporting the ſyſtem
which fupported them, as Mr. Pitt can now find for the
ſupport of the church, and the continuance of the Corpora-
tion and Teſt Acts.
But when changes have begun to be made in things of
greater or leſs confequence, and mankind are at liberty to
make uſe of their reaſon, and confult their own convenience,
they will foon find that, having had the experience of others
before them, they will be able to do better for themſelves
than their wife anceſtors did.
After the eſtabliſhment of fuch a fyftem as I have before
ſuppoſed, if, in confequence of any great convulfion of ſtate
(for great and beneficial changes are feldom made without
them) you had been at liberty to pull down your old
wooden houſes, and to build more convenient and elegant
ones, of brick or ftone, or whatever materials you pleaſed;
if you had been allowed to make a few trials of new methods
of cultivating your grounds, to diverfify your manufactures,
and to employ what phyſicians you pleaſed, giving them
liberty to try new medicines, and new modes of treating
diſeaſes; you would wonder at your ftupidity in bearing
with the aukward and inconvenient fyftem of your fathers
fo long as you did.
Now,
60
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
Now, depend upon it, the very fame will be the cafe
when this old church eſtabliſhment of yours, to which
you have been ſo long attached, and which conſequently
many of you think fo facred, and fo much admire (but
which others of you, who have feen a little more of the
world, I well know, begin to think looks rather old fashioned)
fhall be thought a proper fubject of examination, and you
fhall be allowed to think and act for yourſelves, as you now
do with refpect to your buildings, your grounds, and your
manufactures. You will find that, with refpect to religion,
as well as other things, wiſdom did not die with your ancef-
ters, and that you yourfelves will be able to do better than
they did.
Let every pariſh be left to its own liberty, and every man.
give his tithes (or what ſhall be deemed an equivalent for
them) to whatever chriſtian miniſter he pleaſes, let him con-
dut your public worthip in whatever manner you your-
felves fhall moft approve; and let him be chofen, or dif-
miffed, according to your own judgment of his character
and behaviour, and you will foon have much better minif-
ters, and much better religious fervices, than you now have;
and you will wonder at your own ftupidity, and that of your
wife fathers, in going on fo long as you have done, fubmit-
ting to be guided and oppreffed by others.
As to the different methods into which different pa-
riſhes, or different parts of the fame parish, might fall,
you would foon find that there was no more reaſon why
you should quarrel with one another about them, than
about the different methods of building your houſes, making
your clothes, or any thing elfe that you now look upon with
perfet indifference. Befides, as you would then fee each
others different methods in every thing relating to religion
(and the ſtate taking no concern in it, and not favouring
one party more than another, there would be no improper
bias upon your judgments) that mode which in time fhould
appear to be the beſt would be generally adopted; and
thus at length a better foundation might be laid for unifor-
mity,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
61
mity, if there be any advantage in it, than upon any other
plan whatever. As to your rulers, who feldom think much
about religion, for them to tell you what you are to think,
and what you are to do, in order to go to heaven, where
they have very little intereſt, is moſt impertinent. Let them
content themſelves with taking care of your intereſt in this
world, and that is rather more than they are equal to, for
they often make fad blunders, and bring you into greater
difficulties than you would ever have brought yourſelves.
But as to a world to come, tell them that you will think more
about it, than they ſeem to have any leiſure, or difpofition,
to do, and that you will provide for yourſelves as well as
you can.
You will be told that the queſtion of the alliance between
church and flate is of a deep political nature, and that you
can be no judges of it. But in the ſame manner you are told
that the are many deep myfteries in religion, and there-
fore that your clergy muſt teach you what to think, or rather
what to say, about them. But be perfuaded to think better
of yourſelves, and of your own underſtandings. Theſe
things are not, in reality, of ſo difficult a nature as many
things in your common trades and buſineſſes. The moſt
important queſtions relating to religion are the plaineſt things
in the world, and require nothing but a common under-
ſtanding honeſtly applied, to comprehend them. The whole
of the goſpel was at firſt preached to the poor, perſons of no
education whatever, and therefore it muſt have been a very
plain thing. Were not the apoftles as plain men as your-
felves, moſt of them having followed laborious and com-
mon occupations till they were confiderably advanced in
life, when they could not have been taught any thing very
deep or myſterious? Indeed, all that they had to learn, or
to teach, conſiſted of a very few exceedingly plain, but very
important articles; as, if you will give me the hearing, I
ſhall clearly fhew you in the courſe of theſe Letters; and
could they fee the ftrange long creeds recited in your
churches, and in the acts of folemn chriſtian councils, they
would
62
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
would not have been able to make any thing of them. The
very terms in which they are expreffed would have been un-
intelligible to them. And if they had been told that men
would ever be required to give an unfeigned affent to ſuch
things under pain of everlaſting damnation, they would have.
ſhaken their heads, and held up their hands, unable to ex-
preſs their aſtoniſhment.
As to the uſe of religion, or of church eſtabliſhments, to
any ſtate, you are as able to judge of it as your governors.
The only ufe of government itſelf is to enable men to live in
fociety uſeful to one another, and without any apprehenfion
of danger, either from perſons of their own community, or
thoſe of others. The real ufe of religion to a fate is only
to promote good morals among the members of it, to re-
mind you of your duty as honeft men and good citizens,
and difpofe you to do good offices, and not ill ones, to each
other. If you had been heathens, and had been obedient
to good laws, and ready to defend your country againſt in-
vaders, it would not have been the buſineſs of your gover-
nors to teach you chriſtianity. If they had thought it to
be true, they would have acted a commendable part in en-
deavouring, like other well meaning men, to convince you
of its truth; but they ought not to oblige you to give fala-
ries to the preachers of the new religion, whether you ap-
proved of it or not, and to lay taxes upon you in the form
of tithes, or in any other manner whatever, for that purpoſe;
becauſe the end of civil fociety was already anſwered without
it, fince you lived in peace among yourſelves, and were not
difpofed to moleft others.
I have no doubt of the truth of chriftianity myſelf, and,
as I have told you before, and you may fee with your own
eyes whenever you pleaſe, I have written more than any
other perſon now living in this country to convince others
of the truth of it; and the reaſon why I have taken ſo
much pains to do this, is becauſe I am convinced of the
great value and ufe of it. I have alſo written a great deal to
prove that that mode of chriſtianity which I profeſs myſelf
is
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
63
is preferable to any other, being more agreeable to truth,
and better calculated to anſwer the great end of religion,
which is to make men virtuous here in order to be happy
hereafter. But what is of moft ufe in chriftianity, that be-
fides which every thing elſe is a mere trifle, is the belief that
Chriſt will certainly come again to raiſe the dead, and judge
the world, and to give unto every man according to his
works; and this is what all chriftians believe. Confe-
quently, with reſpect to the great use of christianity to fociety,
there is no occafion for the ftate to give any preference
whatever to one denomination of chriftians more than to
another, becauſe they all anfwer the purpoſes of government
equally well; and they would do it ftill better if the civil
magiſtrate would leave them to themſelves, and give no pre-
ference to one more than to another.
This you fee to be the caſe in fact. In this very town
there are Churchmen, Diffenters of various denominations,
Preſbyterians, Independants, Anabaptiſts, general and parti-
cular; there are Catholics, Quakers, and Methodiſts, &c.
You are told that this man is of one perfuafion, and that
man of another, and on a Sunday you fee them going to
different places of public worship; but you would never
have found this difference in their common dealings, and
in their lives. In general they are all equally fober, induf-
trious, and well behaved; and if there be bad men, as there
are in all places, they are not, in general, of one perfuafion
more than of another.
The only reaſon that can with any plaufibility be alleged
why the ſtate ſhould give a preference to one mode of reli-
gion rather than to another, is to prevent confufion. But is
this confufion worth preventing at the price that muſt ne-
ceffarily be given for uniformity? For notwithſtanding all
that the ſtate can do for any one particular mode of religion,
many people will think for themſelves, and many will pre-
fer another. Of courſe, they will be offended by any pre-
ference given to others, to which they will think themſelves
equally entitled. For the fake, then, of diſtinguiſhing one
fet
64
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
fet of fubjects, no better than the reſt in a civil capacity, all
the reft must be difgraced, at leaft, if not fubjected to cruel
perfecutions, and compelled to fupport what they do not
approve. Now this is certainly a great evil in a country,
fubjecting great numbers of perfons to real hardſhips, and it
ought to be great good indeed, that can counterbalance it.
But, on the contrary, if you examine all the evils that
muſt neceſſarily ariſe from civil eſtabliſhments of religion,
you will find that, for the fake of preventing an evil of
the moſt trifling nature, and which, after all, never can be
prevented (for in the eſtabliſhed church itſelf there are per-
fons who, if they think at all, will think very differently,
and though they fubmit to authority, will do it with much.
reluctance) evils of a moſt ſerious nature are introduced,
viz. the greater or lefs oppreffion of many members of the
ftate, generally the moft confcienticus men in it; becauſe,
notwithſtanding the hardships to which they are expoſed,
they chufe to diffent from the eſtabliſhed worſhip. And,
what ought to concern every body, the eſtabliſhment of
religion is neceffarily attended with a great diminution of
public liberty. For the civil governor, by favouring the reli-
gion of ſome of the ſubjects, and diſcountenancing that of
others, acquires a fource of corruption and influence which
would not otherwiſe be open to him. If the teachers of the
favoured religion be of his appointment, and if they muſt look
up to him for any confiderable emolument, he will certainly,
if they be men, command their fervices, and thereby fecure
to himſelf more power than the good of the whole requires.
Thefe are unquestionably great and ferious evils; and if
nothing but the real uſe of a religion to a country was con-
fidered, and not the intereſt of the court and of the ministry,
which is generally oppofite to that of the people, you would
not heſitate a moment to decide againſt the ſyſtem.
Perhaps you will underſtand this fubject, of the real uſe
of religion to a country, a little better by confidering the ſtate
of your town of Birmingham in this refpect. There are
in it five places of worſhip for members of the church of
England,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
65
England, and fourteen for the different claffes of Diffenters
and Methodists. Of about feventy thouſand inhabitants, it
is not ſuppoſed that more than five thouſand attend any
place of public worship on any one day, ſo that perhaps not
much more than twice this number, that is ten thouſand,
attend any public worship at all, or can be faid to have, or
at leaſt much to value, any religion. On the whole, it is
pretty clear, from the beſt accounts that I can collect, that
there are more perfons attend public worship in this town.
out of the eſtabliſhed churches, than in them. Confe-
quently, of the feventy thousand inhabitants of this town,
fixty-five thousand (including the five thousand who have
fome religion, and the fixty thoufand who have none) are
compelled to pay a very great annual fum, to fupport the
religion of the other five thousand. Now, is there any na-
tural reaſon, or equity, in this? And do theſe five thousand,
who do not pay a tenth part of the expence of their own
religion, behave better, as citizens, than the other five
thouſand, who, befides paying for their own religion, pay
inuch much more towards that of their neighbours ?
do they behave ſo much better than thofe who profeſs no
religion at all, as to make it worth the while of the com-
munity at large to be at that expence for them? Were all
the inhabitants left to their free votes, there can be no doubt
but that the fixty-five thousand would bid the five thousand
pay for their own religion, if they choſe to have any. Con-
fequently they are taxed and oppreffed to ferve a minority.
If thoſe who attend public worship more or lefs, be efti-
mated at twenty thoufand, ftill as more of this additional
number worſhip out of the churches than in them, the great
majority will be made to pay for the minority.
Or
As to thoſe who confcientiously worthip God in places
which Mr. Madan contemptuously calls conventicles, they
certainly behave as well in fociety as thoſe who frequent the
churches. Few or none of the criminals whom you are
continually carrying to Warwick ever belong to any of our
focieties, and we ſeldom trouble you with our poor. Look
F
into
į
66
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
into your jails and workhouſes, and you will find very few
Diffenters in them. Inftead, therefore, of being treated with.
contempt and inſult, as we continually are by fuch preachers
as Mr. Madan, we are intitled to your thanks; as our re-
ligion, which teaches us to behave fo well, and be ſo little
burthenfome to you, not only costs you nothing, but as we
contribute our full ſhare to the maintenance of yours.
In fact, you members of the church of England are, in
the eye of reaſon, greatly in debt to the Diffenters. If what
we have given to the ſupport of your religion from the time
of the eſtabliſhment of it were reckoned up, it would amount
to a very great fum; and that this is a debt, which ought to
be repaid, is moſt evident, becauſe it is money advanced by us
for your ufe. If this fum was repaid, as in equity it ought to
be, it would fupply all the expence of our religion for cen-
turies to come.
You will fay that you are under no obligation to do this,
becauſe what we have paid for your benefit was by Act of
parliament. But can an Act of parliament authorize a
manifeſt injuſtice? And when you are taxed with oppreffing
your neighbours in exacting of them that for which you
have given them no equivalent, will it be fufficient, at the
great day of judgment, to ſay that you had an act of parlia-
ment for doing it? They were acts of parliament that au-
thorized the burning of Proteftants in bloody queen Mary's
time. But will thoſe acts of parliament juſtify Bonner and
Gardiner, and other popiſh biſhops and popiſh ſtateſmen,
who promoted that horrid perfecution? You do not be-
lieve that they will. And if fo, neither will any act of par-
liament, paffed before or fince that time, excufe you in the
fight of God, for exacting of any man more than, in the eye
of reafon and equity, he ought to pay. If an act of par-
liament will not juſtify the taking men's lives, neither will
it juſtify the taking their money.
Whatever, therefore, you may think about this matter,
the church of England, as a body (without confidering the
cruelties inflicted upon the Diffenters during all the reigns
of
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
67
{
of Elizabeth, James I. Charles I. Charles II. and James II.)
ftands a debtor in the book of God's account to the Diffen-
ters, for their proportion of tithes, for whatever has been
exacted from them for the repair of churches, and for every
other expence from which the Diffenters as ſuch derive no
advantage. And yet, inſtead of contributing to the expence
of building or repairing our meeting-houſes, in return for
what we do for yours, you think you do us a great favour
in permitting us to build them with our own money, and
that we are allowed to live peaceably among you, promoting
the good of the country, by our induſtry and ſobriety, which
in general are confpicuous and exemplary.
This you call toleration, and make a mighty boaſt of it,
as if it was a great favour that you do us, and much more
than you are obliged to grant. But thus many other debtors,
inſtead of paying what they owe, abuſe their creditors; and
many more would do it if an Act of parliament would clear
them, and authorize their infolence. Acts of parliaments,
to be fure, can do wonders.
kings. They changed the
from popery to proteſtantiſm,
proteſtantiſm to popery again.
your liturgy, and from a trinitarian, can make it an unita-
They can abolish tithes, and order that the fala-
ries of the clergy, like thofe of civil officers, be paid out of
the public treaſury. They can reduce the emoluments of
fome livings, and by that means raiſe the value of others, fo
that every man's falary would bear a juft proportion to his
duty. And fuch things as thefe, which the parliament can
do, if you were unanimous in petitioning for, you would
certainly have.
They can make and unmake
eſtabliſhed church of England
and they can change it from
Acts of parliament can alter
rian one.
But there are fome things that king, lords, and commons
cannot do; and as they cannot make white black, nor black
white, fo neither can they make vice to be virtue, or virtue
vice. Conſequently, they cannot make that to be honest,
which, in the eye of God and of reafon, is effentially
dishonest.
F 2
An
68
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
An act of parliament may give all my property to my
next neighbour, without alleging any reafon for it, and I,
having no power of refiftance, muſt ſubmit. But in that
cafe, would not king, lords, and commons be as great
rafcals as a highwayman who fhould do the fame thing in
the fame arbitrary and violent manner? Do not then de-
pend too much upon acts of parliaments, eſpecially in mat-
ters of religion. In all things of this nature obey God and
Confult the dictates of your own natural reaſon
and conſcience, and then you need not fear what man can
do unto you.
not man.
If all who really labour in God's great harveft, and ef
pecially thoſe who preach the gospel to the poor (who ftand
in the greateſt need of inftruction) were to receive their
wages, in proportion to the real uſe of their labours, out of
the tithes, and other public funds, from which the clergy
are now paid for doing (or rather for not doing) the fame
work, it would be no ſmall fum that would go out of their
pockets into thofe of the methodist preachers, who have
civilized, and chriftianized, a great part of the uncivilized,
and unchriftianized part of this country. But if they be not
recompenced out of that fund, they will be recompenced out
of another, fomething more permanent. When this great
globe, and all that it inherit, fhall diffolve, I had rather be
found in the company of fuch humble labourers in God's
vineyard than in that of the generality of your dignified,
and beneficed clergy, who have had their good things in this
life.
From the veneration with which Mr. Madan would in-
fpire you for civil eſtabliſhments of chriftianity, and the ab-
horrence and contempt with which he treats Diffenters, you
would naturally imagine that fuch eſtabliſhments of chrif-
tianity have been from its firft promulgation, and that our
mode of religion is quite an upstart thing; whereas the very
contrary is well known to be the truth of the cafe. In every
article in which we differ, our fyftem is the antient one, and
yours modern.
What
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
69
What is it that diftinguifhes Diffenters from the mem-
bers of eſtabliſhed churches? They are the following parti-
culars, and no other whatever. They chufe and they pay
their own minifters, without burdening the ftate with any
expence on that account. They alſo difmifs their miniſters
whenever they are diffatisfied with them, and they acknow-
ledge no authority in any man, or in any body of men, to
fettle articles of faith, or rules of difcipline for them. In all
theſe things they judge and act for themſelves, holding
themſelves to be anſwerable to God and their own con-
fciences only.
Theſe principles are common to all Diffenters, though
we differ much from one another in other things, and in all
of them we differ from eftablished churches, like that of
England. Your creeds and forms of public worſhip are
dictated by acts of parliament. Your minifters, at leaſt moſt
of them, are appointed either by the king, or particular
patrons. You have only a right to complain in caſe of their
misbehaviour, but without any other controul over their
conduct. You have no power either to chufe, or to diſmiſs
them, and their incomes are fixed by the law; ſo that whe-
ther you approve of their fervices, or not, they can enforce
the payment of their dues, to the uttermost farthing by a
regular well known courfe of law. They can levy a diſtreſs,
and throw you into prifon, for the non-payment of tithes,
as well as for that of any other debt.
Now all theſe things are comparatively of late date in the
hiſtory of chriſtianity, and they took place not all at once,
in confequence of any proper alliance with the ftate, which
is entirely a fiction of modern times, but one after another,
as circumſtances were favourable to the clergy. For they,
like other bodies of men, never loft fight of their intereſt ;
and the ignorance and fuperftition of former times were
exceedingly favourable to them.
When the emperors became chriftians, they gave power
to the bishops, whom they were then diſpoſed to favour, to
enforce the decrees of their councils, with refpect to articles
F 3
of
70
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
་
of faith, and points of difcipline. But the church funds, from
the voluntary contributions of chriftians, being fufficient.
for the purpoſe of them, they made no farther provifion for
the ſupport of the clergy. They only fhewed their piety,
as other rich individuals did, by building churches, making
prefents of plate, and veftmer.ts, and grants of lands to
ſome of them. By their example they encouraged theſe
donations, and thus the church grew rich, and was fup-
ported by its own proper funds, as any other corporate
body might be.
But the emperors never interfered in the choice of bishops,
till the bishops of Rome becoming very wealthy, and from
their peculiar fituation having great power, the emperors
affumed a negative on the choice of the people, though there
is hardly any example of their making a real uſe of it.
They feldom or never prefumed to recommend any parti-
cular perfon antecedently to the choice of the people.
the appointment of the ordinary bifhops and clergy they
never interfered at all, directly or indirectly.
In
When, upon the irruption of the northern nations, and
the eſtabliſhment of the feudal fyftem, churchmen got pof-
feffion of eftates in fee, thoſe eſtates were fubject to the fame
laws as if they had been held by other perfons. And as the
bishops and abbots had no natural heirs, the princes be-
ftowed them, at least the temporalities, as the eſtates were
called, on whom they pleaſed. By this means the greater
biſhops and abbots became temporal lords, and in confe-
quence of this obtained a right to fit in the great council of
the nation, along with other peers of the realm. But this
did not better the condition of the ordinary clergy, or pro-
vide for their maintenance by law.
Tithes, by which they are now legally maintained, took
place very gradually, and were firft given voluntarily, fome-
times to the poor, and fometimes to the church, at the
pleaſure of the donor. By degrees, however, the clergy ex-
cluded the poor, and appropriated all the tithes to them-
ſelves; and about A. D. 600, tithes, from being eſtabliſhed
as
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
71
as a custom, became in fome inftances legal rights; becauſe
many eſtates were bequeathed with an obligation to pay
tithes to particular churches. When tithes were left to
diftant churches, the priests of the parish in which the eftate
lay uſed to complain; and at length, but fo late as the
reign of our king John, the pope made a law that all tithes
ſhould be paid to the parish priest; and after fome time they
were levied by law, in all parifhes without exception*.
Thus you ſee that this boaſted eſtabliſhment of yours,
venerable, as you think, for its antiquity, is in fact but of
yesterday, and derives its being from a fucceffion of innova-
tions, all of them departures from the genuine principles of
chriſtianity; and all together they form a ſyſtem of which
the apoſtles could not have had any idea. On the contrary,
all our cuſtoms are exactly thofe of the primitive church,
and fuch as were univerſal in the chriftian world before any
eſtabliſhment was known.
I am,
My good friends and neighbours,
Yours, &c.
*There was much more reafon for an univerfal tax upon the king-
dom to fupport religion in former times, than there can be at prefent.
But the times, or circumſtances of things, change, while the inftitutions,
to which they gave birth, continue. When this tax was impoſed, there
was no other religion then one in the country. At leaſt, avowed fe&taries
were very few; and as the particular inconvenience of tithes was not
then attended to, and all derived what they deemed to be a benefit
from the eſtabliſhment which was fupported by them, no perfon com-
plained. But now the cafe is widely different. Great numbers are ſo
far from deriving any advantage from the eſtabliſhed religion, that they
are oppreſſed by it, and yet they are compelled to fupport and enforce
that oppreffion. They have, therefore, great cauſe of complaint, whether
there be any fenfe of equity in the nation to attend to the complaint
or not.
LETTER
F 4
72
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
LETTER VIII.
Remarks on what Mr. Madan has obferved on this Subject.
My Townſmen and Neighbours,
MR. Madan reprefents the cauſe of churchmen, in op-
poſing the repeal of the Corporation and Teſt Acts,
as a great conflitutional caufe, and this, he fays in his Pre-
face, is the chief motive for the publication of his Sermon.
But be affured it is conſtitutional only with respect to the
clergy, and not to yourſelves. For it is only a power of
compelling you to pay them for what inftructions they are
pleaſed to give you, and to pay them in the moft burthen-
ſome manner poffible; which often operates to defeat the
end of all their inftructions, and which leaves you no con-
troul upon their conduct, whether you approve of it or not.
This, indeed, is the caſe of almoſt all eſtabliſhments; but it
is evidently a diminution of your liberty, and an augmenta-
tion of their power. It is, befides, an infult upon you, as
it implies that, if you were not thus compelled to have ſuch
a religion as the government provides for you, you would
have none at all.
But in the primitive times, religion, and the maintenance
of it, were, as I have fhewn, voluntary things, and the com-
pulſory payment of tithes, &c. (of which no hint is given in
the New Teſtament) introduced the tyranny of the clergy,
and the oppreffion of the laity; and this kept increafing, till,
at the time of the reformation, no tyranny was ever fo
dreadful. The heathen emperors themſelves never carried
on a more bloody perfecution than did chriftians who had
power against other chriftians who had no power, and all for
the ſupport of an antichriftian hierarchy. And all that was
done in England by Henry VIII. and queen Elizabeth, was
ſetting up another hierarchy in its place. Mr. Madan, how-
ever, quite forgetting the primitive and apoftolic ſtate of
things,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
73
(c
CC
things, in which all perfons were perfectly free to ſupport
their religion in whatever manner they pleaſed, ſays, p. 6,
"the indiſpenſable neceffity of ſome national church," (that
is, a church to which men are compelled to contribute)
"is ſo clear in itſelf, fo capable of abundant proof, that it
may be rather affirmed as an axiom, than offered as a
propofition." Indeed, it is much more eaſy to affirm
this, than to prove it; and in fact, the very reverſe of what
he affirms as an axiom, may be demonftrated from the New
Teftament (to which ſuch a conſtitution is altogether un-
known) from the nature of things, and from actual fact. But
Mr. Madan, taking his axiom for granted, fays, p. 7,
<< every ſtate and its national church have a mutual con-
"nexion, and a reciprocal intereft." But here the national
church means nothing more than the national clergy, and
not the chriſtian people of which that church confifts. For
your interefts, as I have fhewn, are facrificed for theirs.
The affurance with which churchmen continually repeat
their favourite maxims, without the leaft regard to the actual
ſtate of the world, which is a ftanding refutation of their
affertions, is aftonishing. Thus Mr. Madan fays, p. 7.
"what civilized ſtate was ever known permanent and
"flouriſhing, unconnected with fome fyftem of religious
"tenets." To fay nothing of this maxim being equally
capable of being urged in favour of heathenifin, mahome-
taniſm, popery, or any ſyſtem of religion whatever, Mr.
Madan certainly never thought of America, when he wrote
his Sermon. For that country has been permanent and
flourishing for near two centuries, without any ſuch ſyſtem,
as he imagines to be abfolutely necessary. In many of thoſe
provinces no man was ever compelled to pay to the ſupport
of any particular fpecies of religion approved by the ſtate:
for the ſtate left every man to chufe his own. And in Pen-
fylvania, which, unfortunately for Mr. Madan's hypothefis,
was from the firſt, and ever continued to be, the moſt
flouriſhing of them all, no man was compellable to fupport
any religion, and yet there never was any want of religion,
or of good morals, in that proyince.
All
74
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
All the ftates of America are now in the ſame fituation.
They have no national religion at all. In that reſpect every
man does what is right in his own eyes, and all perſons,
without diſtinction, are admiffible to every civil office;
and yet they ſee no caufe to apprehend that ruin and de-
ftruction which Mr. Madan forebodes will be the confe-
quence of the diffolution of our national eſtabliſhment.
Since their emancipation from the power of this country,
the North Americans are imitating our civil inſtitutions,
and adopting a form of government fimilar to our excellent
one; but they wifely avoid every thing like the ecclefiaftical
part of it, as the clergy always affect to speak.
If theſe eſtabliſhments of chriftianity were fo neceffary, as
Mr. Madan reprefents, the American States could not have
fubfifted a ſingle year without one; and in the late unfettled
ſtate of their civil government, when the ecclefiaftical con-
ſtitution was certainly, as Mr. Madan himſelf would fay,
moſt wanted, they found no want of it at all. They have
now done without one, in a ſtate independent of England,
fourteen years, and for any thing that appears, they may do
as well fourſcore, or four hundred, years. Now, why may
not Engliſhmen on this fide the Atlantic do without a
national church (this appendage, or rather excreſcence, of
our conſtitution) as well as Engliſhmen on the other fide
of it?
To fubdue your minds to a diſpoſition to ſubmit to every
thing that you find eſtabliſhed, and to oppoſe all innovation,
Mr. Madan brings into one view, p. 14, all the paffages in
which the apoſtles urged fubmiffion to the Roman govern-
ment in their time; without confidering the peculiar fitua-
tion of chriſtians at that time, and without confidering that
his application of thoſe maxims would inculcate fubmiffion
to every government, however tyrannical, that happens to
be once eſtabliſhed, be it heathen, mahometan, or popiſh. If
the powers that be are ordained of God, was not Henry VIII.
guilty of a great fin in refifting them? For certainly he
found the power of the pope as fully eſtabliſhed in this
country
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
75
country as the preſent hierarchy is now. According to this,
it would be a fin to refift any government. But is not this
ſtrange doctrine? Would it not even ſhake
not even ſhake your belief in
the Bible itſelf, if you faw that this flaviſh and abſurd tenet
was really contained in it? It might do very well as a Bible
for the Turks, but ought to be rejected with indignation by
Englishmen.
Another text that Mr. Madan quotes as an argument
againſt all innovation, is Proverbs xxiv. 21. My ſon, fear
thou the Lord and the king, and meddle not with them that
are given to change. But would not this have been a much
better text for cardinal Pole before the Reformation, than
for Mr. Madan after it? He means by this quotation, and
on the authority of Solomon, to give you a bad impreffion
of us Diffenters, as a people that are continually reflefs, and
given to change, whom nothing reaſonable can fatisfy; whofe
demands, therefore, are never to be regarded, but who are
always to be kept under by proper authority. But what
are all the changes that we propofe, compared to that great
change in conſequence of which Mr. Madan now enjoys
the valuable livings of Ipſtock and of St. Philip's, in Bir-
mingham, and a prebend at Lichfield, befides being chaplain
to the king, and having by that means, no doubt, fome
much more confiderable preferment in profpect. If he
really condemn all changes, he muſt condemn that of the
reformation from popery; and then he ought to refign his
livings, and become a catholic Diffenter, with a falary of
twenty or thirty pounds a year. If he did not mean to
condemn all changes, why did he quote this text without
explanation or limitation; and if fome changes be proper
and lawful, why may not others?
If Mr. Madan expounds the fcriptures in the uſual
courfe of his Sermons no better than he has done in this,
by putting together a number of texts in an arbitrary man-
ner, without any regard to their connexion, he may lead you
into many ftrange mistakes. He may tell you from the
fcriptures, that there is no God, for that fentence is found
there
76
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
there (Pfal. xiv. 1.) and after giving an account of Judas
hanging himſelf, he may add from the fcriptures, Go thou and
do likewife (Luke x. 37.) Without fome comment, or at
leaft the context (or what goes before and after any particular
fentence) the mere words of Scripture give you no ſolid in-
ftruction, or fafe direction. Though the apoftle does fay, as
Mr. Madan quotes, p. 14, Let every foul be fubject unto the
higher powers, for there is no power but of God, The powers
that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore refifteth the
power refifteth the ordinance of God, and they that reſiſt ſhall
receive to themſelves damnation, Mr. Madan himſelf, in an-
other fituation, would no more preach obedience to all
powers that be, than he would adviſe you to hang your-
felves. Do you think that he would approve of obedience
to Oliver Cromwell; and would he ſay that it would have
been unlawful to depofe him? And yet his power was at
one time, to all appearance, as well eſtabliſhed as that of the
church of England at this day, of the permanency of which,
I own, that I now begin to have ſome doubts.
If Mr. Madan mean that we ſhould explain the text
above mentioned by what immediately follows, and which
in this cafe he has honeftly fubjoined, For rulers are not a
terror to good works but to the evil, and that this power is the
minister of God for good, allowing us to judge for ourſelves,
whether it be good or not, his argument for fubmiffion is
impertinent; becauſe we ſhall then be required to fubmit
to no government but what we ourſelves are convinced is
a good one, and therefore fhall be at full liberty to reſiſt
whatever we conceive to be a bad government, or ſuch as
we fee does not anſwer its proper end. This Mr. Madan
could not but have ſeen; and therefore, if he have any
meaning at all, that is to his own purpoſe, he must mean
that all governments that we any where find actually efta-
bliſhed are good ones.
What extravagant things the advocates for eſtabliſhments
can ſay, we fee in Mr. Madan's Note from Wollafton's
Religion of Nature, p. 25, "Were it not for that fenfe
" of
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
77
"of virtue, which is principally preferved, as far as it is pre-
"ferved, by national forms and habits of religion, men
"would foon lofe it all, run wild, prey upon one another,
"and do what elſe the worst of favages would do.”
This was written many years ago, when every country
had an eſtabliſhed religion, and therefore a ſenſe of public
virtue might, with fome plaufibility, be afcribed to it. For
ſince both exiſted together, one of them might appear to be
the cauſe of the other. But Mr. Madan has feen more,
and he ought to have reflected on what he had feen. He
might fee that in America men do not lofe all fenfe of
religion and public virtue, by lofing an eſtabliſhment. The
people of that country do not run wild, prey upon one an-
other, and act like the worst of favages. Mr. Wollafton
could not ſee much of this. At least he might fay, that,
though there was no proper eſtabliſhment of chriftianity in
America, yet that the people of that country were more or
leſs controlled by this, in which there is an eſtabliſhment of
religion. But Mr. Madan might have feen America inde-
pendent of England, and though without an eſtabliſhment, as
virtuous as this; but he has turned his eyes another way.
A man may as well fay that the rifing of the fun, or the
falling of the rain, is owing to ecclefiaftical eſtabliſhments,
as that a general fenfe of religion, and of virtue in a coun-
try depends upon them. They are, I doubt not, great ob-
ſtructions to true religion, and the cauſe of much of the
infidelity of the Great at the preſent day. What is moſt
confpicuous in religion, is, of courfe, that which is established,
and what is eſtabliſhed they fee to be abfurd, and therefore
they make no farther inquiry about it. They conform to
it in public, but laugh at it in private. For the fake,
therefore, of religion, and public virtue, I wiſh to ſee an end
of theſe corrupt enabliſhments; and I fhall not fail to do
the little that may be in my power towards accompliſhing
this great and moſt defirable end.
I am, &c.
P. S. Having
78
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
P. S. Having, in the two laft Letters, confidered eſtabliſh-
ments in general, I fhall in fome future Letters, take a view
of that of the church of England, fo highly, and for ſuch
good reaſons, admired by Mr. Madan, whofe Alma mater
it is. After this I fhall proceed to give an account of thoſe
turbulent fectaries, and that dæmon of herefy, which feems to
have terrified him fo much, and by which he prays, p. 24,
that our unrivalled conftitution may not be contaminated. And
perhaps, in his animadverfions on this part of my correfpon-
dence, he may be pleafed to explain in what manner it is
that dæmons do contaminate fuch things, as well as how they
may be shaken by diffenfion. In the latter, I fuppofe he
alludes to fome danger from within, and in the former to
fomething from without.
Perhaps, on a nearer view than Mr. Madan has yet had
the courage to take, this damon may not appear quite
fo hideous and frightful a thing as, from a diſtant view, it
appears to him. However I will fhew you what this dæmon
really is, and then you may judge for yourſelves. The fight
ſhall not coft you much, nor will the exhibition take up
much of your time. As to myfelf, I fhall attend you with
pleaſure, and as I ſhall go very near it, you will fee that it
does not actually devour all that come in its way.
If you
fear being contaminated by it, at firſt only look at it, and be
careful not to touch it. But really you will find this ſame
herefy, to be as gentle, clean, and harmleſs a thing, as a
young lamb, and no frightful, contaminating, dæmon at all.
•
You may fafely venture to approach and ftroke it. It
has neither the fierceness of the tyger, nor the filthineſs of
the hog; if it was this unclean animal that gave Mr. Madan
the idea of its contaminating property. If it was fuggeſted
to him by the account of the unclean fpirits in the hiſtory of
our Saviour and the apostles, let him, and let the rest of the
clergy, prove their genuine fucceffion from the apostles by cafté
ing them out. According to Mr. Madan, the number of
perfons poſſeſſed is of late much increaſed, and therefore, if
they can do any thing (Mark ix. 22.) in the buſineſs, they
fhould
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
79
ſhould exert themſelves, and that foon. As to myſelf, Mr.
Madan, I imagine, will conclude that I have within me not
lefs than a legion of thefe unclean fpirits, cum jufto equitatu
(he will underſtand me, and in his next Sermon explain it
to you.) But let him, and his brother exorcifts, take care
left, by proceeding incautiously in this bufinefs, the poffeffed
ſhould cry out, as in Acts xix. 15, Jefus we know, and Paul
we know, but who are ye; and thus fome miſchief fhould
ariſe to themſelves, and their ſyſtem, in conſequence of the
attempt.
This day, I obſerve Mr. Madan is to publiſh one final
reply to thefe Letters, including, no doubt, theſe which he
has not yet feen, and thoſe which I have not yet written,
as well as the former. As I do not pretend, to fuch a
gift of fecond fight, I must wait till I have an opportunity of
feeing his performance; and as I find by his fecond adver-
tiſement, that it is to be a Letter addreffed to myſelf, you
may depend upon my reading it, and giving you all the in-
formation I can concerning it. Having begun this corref-
pondence, I do not mean to cloſe it very ſoon. I have been
flow to fpeak, but having long forborne, now that I am urged
to it, by Mr. Burn and Mr. Madan, I thall not ſtop till, as
Pope fays,
I've pour'd out all myſelf, as plain
As downright Shippen, or as old Montaigne.
f
I am, &c.
LETTER
80
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
1
LETTER IX.
Of Mr. Madan's Letter to the Author.
My generous Townſmen and Neighbours,
SI promiſed you the beft account that I could give
you of Mr. Madan's Letter to me, and you will pre-
fume that before this time I muſt have peruſed it, you will
naturally expect to know my opinion of it; and I will tell
you in a few words. It is a very angry one, intended rather
to hurt me, than to instruct you; and after all, as I fhall
clearly fhew you, is nothing to his proper purpoſe, which
was the vindication of himſelf from the moſt injurious and
unjuſt aſperſions of a large body of worthy men and good
citizens.
He was charged with repreſenting the principles of the
Diffenters as inimical to government, and therefore, as unfit
to be truſted in any place of profit, or power, even at the
nomination of the crown itſelf; and he has neither retracted,
nor ſufficiently vindicated, his accufation. He has hardly fo
much as noticed, or hinted at, thofe of my arguments in
vindication of myſelf and my brethren, to which it behoved
him moſt of all to have particularly replied; fo that he had
much better have written nothing at all.
To judge from the tenor of the Letter itſelf, Mr.
Madan's object in it was the fame with that of Bishop
Horſley, and Mr. Burn, viz. to difcredit me, and throw an
odium upon my character, that you might not think it
worth your while to look into any of my writings, or regard
any thing that I might fay. And that is certainly the-
ſhorteſt way with me, and the moſt effectual, next to hang-
ing me up, to which Mr. Madan alludes in his Note p. 47,
and collecting and burning all the copies of my publications,
which might prove a troubleſome, expenfive, and uncertain
buſineſs.
As
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
81
As I have been much uſed to fuch charges as Mr.
Madan brings against me, and fometimes amufe myſelf with
them; and as they appear to most advantage when brought
together, and properly difpofed, I have collected the different
parts that Mr. Madan has given of his delineation of my
character, that you may fee at once what kind of perfon it
is that is addreffing you, and be upon your guard accord-
ingly. If Mr. Madan had done the fame, it would have
better anſwered his purpoſe, which was that of deterring
you from reading my publications; but being a young
writer, he might not be ſufficiently aware of the effect of
fentiments properly concentrated. Behold then, my friends,
and neighbours, who it is that, according to Mr. Madan,
writes theſe Letters.
:
I am infected, he ſays, p. 1, with a cacoethes fcribendi, or
an incurable itch of writing. "Controverfy," p. 34, "is
neceffary to my ſupport, if not to my existence" (and
yet I was near forty before I wrote any controverſy at all)
"I am perpetually immerfed and floundering, in the
"troubled waves of controverfy*." I deal in "low wit-
"ticifms," p. 38. I am actuated by "a blameable and blind
"impetuofity," p. 41. Notwithſtanding my "artful mif-
"reprefentations and virulent invectives," p. 41. I am "a
CC
paffionate and diſappointed affailant," p. 39. I am "an
"evafive Proteus," p. 17. I deal in "unjuft invectives,
"and unfounded affertions," p. 37. My "blindneſs is
"wilful," p. 27. My "perverfions artful," p. 23. I am
even "killed in the art of mifreprefentation," p. 5, ſo that
I might be able to teach this art to others. I have recourſe
to "the deliberate mifrepreſentations + of an old and fubtle
* If there be any thing of a fifling nature in theſe muddy waters of
controverſy, it is a miracle that I furvive fo long as I have done. I fancy
Mr. Madan fuppofes that I have the nature of a fish, or at leaſt that
of a frog, or perhaps he would fay a water ferpent.
+ Biſhop Horley not only calls me a wilful liar, but alſo the great
Origen, the moft eminent chriftian in all the early ages, becauſe his ac-
count of things does not correfpond to his views of them.
He fays,
in a manner as folemn as that which Mr. Madan adopts, to make you
believe that the Diffenters in general are rebels and hypocrites, that he
would
G
82
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
"C
""
"polemic, whofe only fettled principle is that of litigation,'
p. 39, and to complete the whole, the motive that actuates
me is nothing lefs than "malevolence," p. 35. The refult
of all this is, that my "cenfure is innocent calumny,"
p. 38. Such is my obftinacy, that I "never acknow-
ledged a ſingle miſtake," p. 38; and yet he deſcribes me,
P. 47, as an avowed wanderer in points of the firſt confe-
quence, where uncertainty is at prefent dreadful, and
"where error would in future be fatal *;" quoting what I
have faid of my frequent change of opinion, and having
no fixed creed, in my Letter to Dr. Price.
tr
((
As Mr. Madan fays, in his Sermon, p. 9, that "few will
ſay it was written with an uncharitable and unchriſtian
cc temper†," as well as that what he delivered was from
"the fettled principles and conviction of his heart," he
would, no doubt, fay the fame concerning his account of
of me in this Letter. You fee, therefore, who it is you.
have to do with, and if you read any farther it is at your
peril. You have fair warning both from Mr. Madan and
myſelf. Well may he fay, p. 34, that I throw out
“handſome and unneceffary ſarcaſms againſt characters at
"leaſt as refpectable as my own, and which I moft illiberally
"introduce into my Letters." For if this picture be a juſt
CC un-
would not take either my evidence, or that of Origen, upon our oath.
To call their adverfaries wilful liars feems, therefore, to be a clerical
faſhion. But do not you, my good neighbours, imitate your fpiritual
guides in this.
* In my laſt Part only I acknowledged four errors in the preceding,
and all who are acquainted with my writings (which Mr. Madan is
not) well know that no writer has more frankly acknowledged fo many.
How can I "wander from one opinion to another," with which Mr.
Madan himſelf charges me, without, virtually at leaſt, owning the opi-
nion that I abandon to be an error. The fatal error that Mr. Madan
here ſpeaks of muſt be my disbelief of the doctrine of the trinity, the
neceffary confequence of which, according to the Athanafian creed is,
that I muſt without doubt periſh everlastingly. But the fcriptures fay
that hereafter all will receive according to their works, not their opinions.
†This reminds me of what is reported of the old duke of Marlbo-
rough, who faid, that whatever faults he had, his enemies could not
charge him with ambition or avarice. The duchefs (who knew him
much better than he knew himself) faid fhe was obliged to bite her
lips when ſhe heard him ſay it.
one,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
83
ene, and if I do throw out ſarcaſms againſt any perſon, it
muſt be a character much more refpectable than my own.
For being poffeffed of fuch powers as he afcribes to me, and
actuated by fuch malevolence, I can be no other than Satan
himſelf. A Biſhop in Ireland, as I have been credibly in-
formed, very ſeriouſly maintained that I was antichrift, and
that my experiments on air were thofe prodigies that he was
to exhibit. But even this is fhort of the tremendous idea
that Mr. Madan exhibits of me.
tr
You will naturally afk what foundation Mr. Madan can
have for charges of fo ferious a nature as theſe, eſpecially
that of wilful miſrepreſentation, and perverfion of his mean-
ing. He gives two inftances of this, and I will mention
them both, that you may judge how ſo very heavy a charge
is fupported. When I quoted him as faying that the
"Diffenters were under no difability, which could pof-
fibly be avoided, conſiſtently with our fecurity," I added,
as thinking it to be his meaning, that of the church, whereas
it appears that he referred to the ſtate, or the civil govern-
ment. But how did the infecurity to the flate arife, but
through the church, which he ſuppoſed to be connected with
it? Now, will this authorize the violent exclamations
quoted above? It is not, in fact, any mifrepreſentation at all;
and certainly it is far from having the appearance of a
wilful one.
The other inftance is my inadvertently ſpeaking of the
corporation act as following the teft act*, whereas it pre-
ceded it, when it was of no confequence at all to my argu-
ment which of them was the firft. But fo high an opinion
does Mr. Madan affect to have of my knowledge, and fo
little of my integrity, that he fays, p. 26, "I feel it juftly
"due to your acknowledged learning, to confeſs, that when
"I fee any blindnefs in any point of hiftory, I much fufpect
"it to be wilful." This mistake I was ſoon fenfible of, and
corrected, as you will fee in the third Part of theſe Letters.
This was in the first edition of one Part of theſe Letters.
G 2
Now
$ +
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
Now the most notorious liar muit have fome motive for
violating truth; and in this cafe there could not be any at
all. Mr. Madan often favs that, "when I confider what
"I have written I thall be ashamed of it;" and I hope that
he will be ashamed of this. I am very far from fuppofing
him to be fo deitute of all moral principle as he makes
me to be; but, like many others, he has been misled by
popular opinions concerning my principles and character;
opinions which, if he would read my writings himſelf, even
my controverfial ones, he would find to be void of all foun-
dation.
Mr. Madan charges me with want of refpect to himſelf;
when all that I have faid by way of difparagement of him,
amounts to nothing more than that he is a young man, ig-
norant of fome points of history; and even in this he might
perceive I was not ferious; meaning only that he had been
inattentive to them, and did not properly apply them. I
alto hinted that his imagination was a little disturbed. But
this applies to the whole body of the clergy; and what lefs
can any man, in his fober fenfes, think of thofe who really
apprehend the fafety of the church and ftate to be in immi-
nent danger from the repeal of the Corporation and Test
Acts, which I clearly demonstrated to you, could not do
any harm to either? Yet Mr. Madan can fay (Sermon p.
11 that this repeal would be "opening the conftitution to
the interference of the Difenters, and eventually truding
"to their moderation," as if upon this every thing would
be in our power, though the king, the ministers of fate, the
nobility, and almoft all the members of parliament, ſhould
countinue to be of the establishment.
Can this be any
thing less than infanity?
As to Mr. Madan himielf, I could give him fufficient
evidence of the real refpest with which I once conûdered
him. But this, I own, is much changed since the publica-
tion of his Sermon, though he is by no means funk io lɔw
in my esteem as I am in his, when he fays, p. 35, that in
viewing me, he "experiences a mixed fentiment of pity
•· and
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
85
1
"and contempt, pity for fuch a degradation of my talents,
"and contempt for fuch a proof of my malevolence.'
Now I confider him as a perfon of ability, not at all inferior
to what he is pleaſed to afcribe to me, and of a naturally
ingenuous and good difpofition, but miſerably miſled by high
church prejudices; in confequence of which he has haſtily
taken up a buſineſs to which neither his talents, nor thoſe
or any other man, are equal. I have, however, ſo good an
opinion of his candour, as to be perfuaded that, after fome
time, he will ſee theſe matters in a very different light from
what he does at prefent; and if, when he is perfectly cool,
he would read even my controverfial writings, he would
entertain a very different opinion both of them, and of myſelf,
than he does at prefent.
For
Notwithstanding the frightful pi&ure Mr. Madan gives
of me, he fays, p. 6, that he can "meet me, except in the
"light of cavil and diſputation, not only with civility, but
"with pleaſure and good will." 1 hope, therefore, that he
was not perfectly ferious in what he has faid of me.
if I knew any perſon of ſuch a character as he deſcribes
mine to be, I ſhould certainly never with to meet him at
all. I ſhould always fufpect him of fome miſchievous in-
tention or other, and be continually in dread of his power.
After ſuch a picture as he has drawn, I fhould naturally
look for the horns, the tail, and the cloven foot, as proper
accompaniments of the character. Nay I fhould not chufe
to have much to do with any perſon who confidered me in
fuch a light; confcious as I am to myfelf, that my charac-
ter and conduct are very different from what he conceives
them to be.
I am, &c.
G 3
LETTER
86
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
LETTER X.
Of Mr. Madan's Apology for his Treatment of the Diffenters.
My Friends and Neighbours,
MR.
R. Madan is willing, in his fecond publication, to
foften, in ſome meaſure, his cenfure of the Diffenters
in general, as perfons of a turbulent difpofition, feditious,
republicans, and king killers, by repeatedly afferting that he
only meant the chief leaders of the party. But the expref-
fions that he particularly quotes, as moſt liable to ſuſpicion,
are thoſe of the Refolutions of the district meeting at Leiceſter,
which were by no means the language of the heads of a
party, but were approved, and unanimouſly adopted, by a
very large body of Diffenters, of all denominations, in no
leſs than nine contiguous counties. Thefe Refolutions he
has annexed at large to his Sermon, by which he certainly
did not mean to give any favourable idea of them.
Now theſe Reſolutions are exactly fimilar to thoſe that
were paffed in all other parts of England; fo that any cen-
fure of them, muft neceffarily apply to the great body of
Diffenters, and not to a few only. We do not thank Mr.
Madan for excepting ſome individuals among the Diffenters
from his virulent accufation of the whole body, becauſe it
is well known there are no large bodies of men without
fome well difpofed individuals; and I appeal to the whole
town, and to Mr. Madan's own hearers, if the impreffion
left by his Sermon was not in the higheſt degree unfavour-
able to the whole body of Diffenters, and therefore whether
it was not deſerving (confidering his juſtly reſpected cha-
racter) of particular and indignant notice. However, his
charges appeared to me ſo very abſurd, that I treated them,
as you have ſeen, rather with ridicule, than with anger;
whereas
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
87
whereas though his Letter abounds with wit, yet anger evi-
dently predominates in it.
Upon the whole, I cannot help comparing Mr. Madan's
conduct to that of a boy*, who should wantonly thruft his
ſtick into a hive of quiet and induftrious bees, and then
think to walk off unhurt; not recollecting, that, inoffenfive
as they naturally are, they have ſtings, and are capable of
refentment. Had he caught a few ſingle bees by themſelves,
he might have cruſhed them without alarming the reft, and
without any risk to himſelf at all. He does not, however,
deny but that he alluded to myſelf in particular, as one of
thoſe more violent Diffenters, on whom his cenfure was in-
tended to fall; and if he really took me to be that malicious
Being above defcribed, he ſhould not have trodden upon my
cloven foot, or have kicked me ſo near to my tail, without
remembering that I had horns, and he had none.
Befides, who are the violent Diffenters that Mr. Madan
refers to, and how far can he be juftified in afcribing their
particular fentiments to the whole body of Diffenters? My
own ſentiments, eſpecially my religious ones, which are all
that are concerned in this caſe, have been no where ſo un-
popular as among the Diffenters themſelves; and what Mr.
Madan will not fufpect, but what I know to be true, they
gave the greatest offence to thoſe who are commonly diftin-
guiſhed by the appellation of rational Diffenters; and it is
only of late that the cafe has begun to be a little otherwiſe.
At one time there were not more than two or three pulpits
in England that I confidered as open to me.
* Mr. Madan will perhaps conftrue this as a reflection upon him, on
account of his youth, fince he thinks, p. 20, that I meant fomething
contemptuous by mentioning that circumſtance both with respect to Mr.
Pitt, and himſelf before; whereas any impartial reader will fee that I
had no idea of the kind with reſpect to either of them. It is true,
however, that I do not fee any thing fo tranſcendant in the abilities of
Mr. Pitt, as Mr. Madan does, p. 20, nor have I at preſent the favour-
able opinion that I once was willing to entertain of his heart, becauſe
I do not think that his condu& in his high office fufficiently correfponds
to his profeſſions before he arrived at it.
With
88
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
#
With reſpect to my political publications, my late Letter
to Mr. Pitt greatly diſpleaſed the Diffenters in general; and
many of my own particular friends, thofe whom I have rea-
fon to value the moſt, have not yet forgiven it. But my
whole hiſtory ſhews that it has not been my cuſtom to court
popularity, even among the Diffenters, much leſs to aſpire to
the emoluments, as Mr. Madan infinuates, p. 22, of the
eſtabliſhed church. If I did, my conduct has been ill
adapted to gain my end.
As to the late application to parliament, I had nothing to
do in ſuggeſting it, and very little in promoting it. Nay, ap-
prized of my extreme unpopularity, it is well known to all
my friends, that I purpoſely kept out of the way, left my
preſence ſhould impede the bufinefs. All that I ever thought
of doing was delivering the Sermon on the 5th of November
laft. And a difcourfe on fome topic relating to public liberty
being always expected on that day, and the ufual topics of
that kind being pretty much exhaufted among us, I thought
I might as well make choice of that ſubject, as any other;
and when I fat down to write, I was far from having any
thoughts of publiſhing the diſcourſe.
If Mr. Madan would have proved my real principles to
be dangerous, he ſhould have confidered what I have written
without a view to controverfy, on the fubject of government,
eſpecially my Lectures on the Study of Hiflory and General
Policy, which I particularly pointed out to him. There he
will find the principles that I taught when I was tutor at
Warrington, thoſe that are now taught at the new college
in Hackney, at Northampton, and as I am informed in the
colleges in North America. If Mr. Madan had looked
into thoſe Lectures, which, from the circumstances above
mentioned, he may ſuppoſe bid fair to contain fuch principles
of government as will generally be taught to young men of
fortune among us, he would have found them, indeed, to be
favourable to liberty, but unfavourble to republicanifm; and
all my acquaintance know that I am even a zealous friend
of a limited monarchy, fuch as our conſtitution is.
In
Inbabitants of Birmingham.
89
In a converſation I had laft fummer, at which Dr.
Jackſon, Dean of Chriſt Church, Oxford, was preſent, I
maintained the importance of three different powers in every
well balanced ftate, with fo much earneſtneſs, that, with
great good humour, he and the rest of the company rallied
me, as being a trinitarian in politics, though an unitarian in
religion. On this queſtion I always took the part of Mr.
Adams against Dr. Franklin, who was a favourer of a re-
publican government; though even be was ſo well ſatisfied
with our own, that I (who knew him well, if any man did)
know that he would have facrificed every thing for the pre-
fervation of it.
I fcruple not to fay that I think the power of the crown to
be at prefent much too great; but this does not affect my
idea of the real uſe of a king. I am an enemy to the biɛr-
archy, not only as antichriftian, but as a great means of
giving the crown the undue influence it now has; in con-
fequence of which the court can carry almoft whatever
meaſures they pleaſe.
While the clergy had a leaning to the Pretender, which
continued till there were no more hopes of his fucceeding
to the crown, they ferved as a balance to the power of the
crown? but, now they are wholly with it, and the influence
of the Diffenters, which in all the late reigns was intirely
with the court, has begun, in confequence of a ſeries of un-
provoked diſcouragements, to turn the other way, though
ftill it is not generally fo.
I am forry to find Mr. Madan approving of the Extras
that were made from the preface to my Letters to Mr. Burn,
and that "he thinks himſelf and the public, p. 12, indebted
"to the ingenious editor of them, as forming a neat fyllabus
"of my conſtitutional principles ;" and ſpeaking ironically,
"a fummary, yet full, evidence of my many public merits."
For by keeping out of fight every thing that ſhewed I had
nothing in view beſides public difcuffion, that editor, and his
abettors, muſt have meant to infinuate that I intended fome-
thing of a more violent kind. For what is there alarming
in
90
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
in merely advancing any opinion, and the reaſons on which
it is founded. Are not the clergy at full liberty to anſwer
thoſe reaſons? Was it worth their while to trouble every
member of the houfe of Commons, and all the bishops,
with an account of my wifhing only to reafon with them on
the ſubject? Will the clergy ſeriouſly ſay that they are
afraid of my arguments, and as much terrified at them, as
they would be at real gunpowder?
Mr. Madan ridicules, p. 16, our attempt to plead a pre-
cedent for "our diftrict meetings, our national meetings,
" and our common funds, from the admired ſyſtem of that
"peaceable ſet of men, the Quakers.' "But I believe,"
he fays, "every body will fmile at an example fo totally
"inapplicable to your prefent fubject. Your farther read-
“ing, it is true, may perhaps induce the next change of
your principles to coincide with thofe of that refpectable
fraternity, and I heartily with it may."
CC
(C
Now, fhould not Mr. Madan have fhewn in what
reſpects our conduct has differed from that of the Quakers?
But it is much eaſier to affert and to calumniate, than to
prove a charge. I have clearly fhewn you, that our conduct
does not at all differ from that of the Quakers, and our
public papers fhew that from the first we had their conduct
in view. In a letter of Mr. Walker's, which was circu-
lated with a view to promote our late proceedings, copies
of which were printed here, and fent to all parts of England,
is the following paragraph, "The example of the Quakers,
"of whoſe union this plan is almoft an exact conterpart, is
"a complete anſwer to every objection that can be made to
"this intention, and this mode, of confolidating the com-
"munion of Diffenters through the kingdom.”
compliment Mr. Madan pays the Quakers, is evidently
meant to be at our expence, which is nothing but a poor
artifice, to engage them on his fide, against us. But I know
that body of men better than he does. I know that they
wiſh well to our application, and I do not deſpair of their
openly joining us when it ſhall be renewed.
cr
The
I am
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
91
CC
I am particularly forry to perceive that Mr. Madan is
not ashamed of retailing the low fcurrility of Swift. “Your
"virulent abuſe," he fays, p. 35, "of the writings and
(( memory of Dean Swift, cannot fail to return with in-
"creaſed force upon yourſelf; and his character is above
your reach.”
Now I faid nothing about his writings
and memory in general, but of his illiberal prejudices againſt
the Diffenters; and that I am not fingular in treating this
part of his character with contempt, Mr. Madan may fee
in the last Monthly Review, which I now have in my
hands, in which the following cenfure is paffed on the late
republication of the Dean's Tracts on the repeal of the
Test Act, p. 343.
"Dean Swift's hatred to the Diffenters
" is well known; and all calm and difpaffionate men are of
"opinion, that his hatred urged him even to grofs defama-
"tion. We are forry, therefore, to fee the preſent contro-
"verly on the Teft Act thickened by throwing into the
"cauldron any of his illiberality and virulence.
""
I am, &c.
LETTER XI.
Of Mr. Madan's farther Arguments in Support of his Pofition
that the Principles of the Diffenters are unquestionably Re-
publican, and of the Decifion of the House of Commons
against the Diffenters.
My Townſmen and Neighbours,
As
S Mr. Madan promiſed one final reply to all theſe
Letters, you would naturally expect that it would
have been an effectual one, ſo as to leave nothing of any con-
fequence to add to it. Now, in order to this he ſhould not
have
92
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
have contented himſelf with looking for the principles of
modern Diffenters in thoſe of the time of Charles I. but
have examined our late conduct, and the principles that we
now teach. For admitting that we did put to death one
king in the middle of the laſt century, we may have re-
pented of it before the conclufion of this. Now it does
not appear that we made any attempt upon the life of
William III. queen Ann, George I. or II. or that of his
preſent majeſty. Nay, the Diffenters entered into no con-
fpiracy against Charles II. or James II. And as their
loyalty to the princes of the houſe of Hanover ſtands unim-
peached, it ought in reafon to be concluded that, in their
proceedings againft Charles I. they did not confider him
merely as a king; for then they would have had the fame
diflike to all kings. Mr. Madan therefore, in his final
reply, ſhould by all means have anſwered this argument,
which I very particularly urged againſt his maxim that the
principles of the prefbyterians (meaning thoſe of the Dif
ſenters in general) are unquestionably republican.
He ought alfo to have replied to my argument from the
Scots (who always were, and ftill are, Prefbyterians) never
having fhewn any predilection for a republican form of go-
vernment, but having always had kings, and a proper at-
tachment to them. But though he intimates, p. 26, that
he could have explained this remarkable fact confiftently
with his accufation of all Prefbyterians being of courſe re-
publicans, he leaves you to gueſs at what he might fay; and
I am fure it is not in my power to divine what it could be,
Warburton may give what reafons he pleaſes for allowing
the Scots to retain their prefbyterian form of church go-
vernment; but the attempt to force epifcopacy upon them
in the time of Charles II. proves that it was a meaſure of
neceffity, not of choice.
But though Mr. Madan fays nothing in reply to my ob-
jections to this doctrine, he ſtill maintains his own, viz. that
the principles of Prefbyterians, both in the antient and mo-
dern fenfe of the word, are unquestionably republican; and
in
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
93
in proof of it he now alleges, p. 26, the cafe of Holland,
Geneva, and that of other foreign Proteftants, whoſe prin-
ciples he ſuppoſes to be prefbyterian, and whoſe governments
are republican. But in the fame manner he might prove
that the principles of the Catholics are republican. For in
Switzerland there are as many popifh cantons as proteftant
ones. Alſo, the religious principles of the natives of Hol-
land and of Geneva are materially different from thofe of
the Diffenters of this country: If they be Preſbyterians, the
French Proteftants are ſo too, and can Mr. Madan fhew
that they ever diſcovered a leaning towards a republican go-
vernment?
Even the Lutheran church may be faid to be prefbyterian,
fince its conftitution approaches much nearer to this fyftem,
than to that of the church of England. The circumſtance
that particularly diftinguishes Prefbyterians from the mem-
bers of the church of England, is that the latter are go-
verned by diocefan bishops. But among no foreign protef
tants are there any bishops with fuch powers as thoſe in
England. They do not there rank with the nobility, ſo as
to have feats in the fupreme council of the nation; and they
have no fuch temporal courts (very improperly called ſpiri-
tual) as, to your forrow and coft, you often find they have
The Lutherans, however, though in fact Preſby-
terians, compared with Epifcopalians in this country, are
not republicans; but have always acquiefced in the govern-
ment of the empire, and have fubmitted to the laws of it,
as much as the catholic fubjects.
here.
On the whole, Mr. Madan's favourite idea of the natural
connection between the principles of religion and thofe of
civil government, on which he charges the Diffenters with
being republicans, is altogether unfupported by any facts
in hiftory. He might juft as well infer that becauſe his
next neighbour was both a prefbyterian and a button-
maker, that therefore all prefbyterians were button-makers,
or all button-makers prefbyterians; as becauſe the people
of Geneva, or any other particular ſtate, are republicans and
prefbyterians,
94
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
prefbyterians, that therefore all other prefbyterians are re-
publicans. As, if he walk through this town he will find
button-makers of all religions, fo if he ftep beyond the
territory of Geneva, he will find republics compoſed of
zealous Catholics; and Mr. Madan himſelf will hardly fay
that the principles of the Catholics are unquestionably re-
publican.
Mr. Madan, a little confcious, perhaps, that his argu-
ments from preſent facts, and paſt hiſtory, ſuch as we uſually
call arguments a pofteriori, have but ill ſerved his purpoſe,
has recourſe to a new and very curious argument a priori;
inferring facts from principles; and in the following manner
he argues that republican principles must at this day exift
among Diffenters, notwithstanding all the changes which
he allows to have taken place among us fince the time of
Charles I. "Parties," he fays, p. 24, "change every day
"but principles are a long-lived generation. Where then,"
fays he, p. 28, "are the principles of fome of the leading
"characters who funk again into the general maſs when the
"Reſtoration happily took place." I ask him the fame.
queſtion. Let him find them if he can. Only I will fay
they are not among the Diffenters. Where are the prin-
ciples of the violent Anabaptifts in Germany? I do not be-
lieve that they exiſt any where; and yet according to Mr.
Madan they muſt be ſomewhere. Beſides, if theſe repub-
lican principles do exift among the Diffenters, they cannot
affect the great body of them; for the king-killers in the
time of Charles I. were very few.
But if there must be republican and king-killing princi-
ples among the Diffenters, must there not, for the ſame
reaſon, be the principles of paffive obedience and non-re-
fiftance among the clergy; fince they did exift, and were far
more general among them, and in a very late period too,
than republican principles ever were among the Diffenters?
And, in confequence of this are not the clergy as much to be
dreaded, becauſe friends to arbitrary power, as the Diffenters
are for being too great friends to the liberties of the people ?
With
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
95
With respect to the Corporation and Teft Acts, Mr.
Madan thinks his reafoning againſt the repeal of them, on
his principle of the Diffenters being republicans, and there-
fore unfit to be truſted with power, to be confirmed by the
late decifion of the Houſe of Commons in his favour. Of
this he makes fo great boaft, by repeating it ſo often, and
with ſuch an air of triumph, that I fancy he begins to think
it the best argument that he has to produce. "It would
"be idle," he ſays, p. 5, "impertinent and ridiculous, to
"refute any arguments from his pen, after fo deliberate a
"decifion for the third time, from the collective wiſdom of
"our prefent reprefentatives in parliament." He confiders
the propriety of what he had urged, p. 9, as "eftabliſhed
"by the late moft decided majority of the houſe of
"Commons." But had this been the three fold cord, of
all the three eſtates of parliament, as in this caſe it is only a
fingle one, there are many examples of fuch cords being
broken. For how often have acts of parliament been
repealed?
I wonder however, that recent facts ſhould not have taught
Mr. Madan how little force there is in his arguments
from acts of parliament, or rather the decifion of one houſe,
or both houſes. Did not the high church party boaſt as
much as they now do of the great ſtrength of their cauſe,
when the houſe of lords, at the inſtigation of the biſhops,
rejected our petition to be excuſed from ſubſcribing to your
articles of faith? As they afterwards relented, whether they
changed their opinion or not (and indeed it is moſt likely
that that remained the very fame) this may be the cafe
again. Many circumftances may occur to induce the
members of the houſe of Commons, even without their
thinking any more about the matter, to vote exactly con-
trary to what they have lately done; and then what will
become of Mr. Madan's great argument? His cauſe will
then want its chief fupport. Whereas my reafoning, ast
you fee, is altogether independent of acts of parliament; and
therefore
96
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
1
therefore I am not at all lefs confident of its ftrength on
account of the late decifion. For the members of the houſe
of commons in this cafe were not influenced by reafon. Let
her voice be once heard, as in time it cannot fail to be, and
their oppofition to our juſt claims will ceaſe.
As Mr. Madan lays much ftrefs on arguments from
authority, I will inform him of one with which he is pro-
bably unacquainted. The Diffenters have not only been
defeated in the houſe of Commons, but in the Royal Society allo.
A friend of mine was lately recommended to this philofo-
phical Society by myſelf, Mr. Kirwan, Mr. Watt, Dr. Craw-
ford, and Mr. Watfon. His knowledge of philofophy and
chemistry far exceeds mine, and I entertained no doubt but
that a certificate fo figned could not fail to be fuccefsful. But,
as my information goes, "the king's two librarians, and
"many church dignitaries came to vote against him," and
he was rejected, even by a majority of the votes, when one
third would have been fufficient. Unfortunately, he was
known to be not only a friend of mine, but to have been
active in the meaſures to procure a repeal of the Corpo-
ration and Teſt Acts, and was ſent to London as a delegate
from the Diffenters in a northern county. Had my own
election been depending, it would certainly have met with
the ſame fate. I will venture however, to ſay that, had the
clergy looked through the three kingdoms, they could not
have found an abler man to put an affront upon. It there-
fore fhews, what is much to Mr. Madan's purpoſe, the
fuperiority of thoſe who oppofe the repeal of the Acts in
queftion over thoſe who defire the repeal, not only in the
boufe of Commons, but even in the Royal Society*.
* In my firft accout of this tranfaction my information was not quite
correct, and fome are of opinion that my friend was rejected for fome
other reaſon than I firſt conceived. But let any impartial reader judge,
whether an atteſtation of philofophical merit, by Mr. Kirwan, Mr. Watt,
Dr. Crawford and Mr. Watfon (to ſay nothing of myſelf) all men of
ſcience, and ſeveral of whom were known to have been acquainted with
the candidate ſeveral years, could be treated as this was, without fome
manœuvres originating in party, political or religious?
On
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
97
(C
On the idea of the claims of the Diffenters being unjust,
and their principles unfavourable to the conftitution of this
country, Mr. Madan now juftifies the very harſh epithets
he gave us in his Sermon, and alſo becauſe "in the fcrip-
"tures themſelves," as he fays, p. 20, " many ftrong accu-
"fations are alleged againſt evil doers." He adds that they
are, expreffions of reproof, which are warranted by truth,
"and required by neceffity." Now, my good neighbours,
they who are called evil doers in the fcriptures, are wicked
men, or perfons of immoral lives, and not men of unfound
political opinions. Whether, therefore, Mr. Madan can
be juftified in applying the fame, or fimilar language, in
caſes ſo very different as theſe are, do you judge. Every
hiſtory will fhew you that there have been very many vir-
tuous men engaged in actual rebellions, from miſtaken prin-
ciples of policy. But furely, though theſe perfons are juftly
condemned by men in this world, they are not liable to the
wrath of God in the next, which will be the certain doom
of all thoſe whom the fcriptures call evil doers? It is happy
for us Diffenters that we are not at the mercy of Mr.
Madan, either in this world, or the next. He may fentence
all Diffenters, and all Unitarians, to the fate of evil doers
hereafter; but I hope he will not find any power to put his
ſentence in execution.
On the ſubject of the Corporation and Teſt A&s, Mr.
Madan makes a long quotation from bifhop Horfley's
pamphlet, recommending it to my particular notice. Now
I have read it, as I have done many other things of this
fame biſhop, with much more attention than I have found
they deſerve; and I fee nothing worth notice in it. All
that Mr. Madan has quoted from it goes upon the idea
that the Diffenters must be enemies to the ftate, becauſe they
are enemies to the church. But we are fo far from allow-
ing this confequence, that we are rather difpofed to main-
tain the direct contrary; thinking the principles of the
church to be in oppofition to thoſe of the ftate, as a free
and equal government, and giving the crown a very undue
H
degree
98
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
degree of power; a ſubject on which I fhall probably en-
large in the courfe of thefe Letters.
Biſhop Horſley fhould not have written about the Dif
fenters till he had known them better than he does, and
Mr. Madan fhould not have copied after him, till he had
read what myſelf, and others, have replied to him. He
quotes the biſhop (Sermon, p. 28) as "having fully proved
"that the genuine Calviniſts among our modern Diffenters
"are very few." Now, if he had read what Mr. Palmer
of Hackney, and myſelf, have repeatedly replied to him, he
muſt have been ſatisfied that no affertion was ever more
unfounded. This town of Birmingham alone is an abun-
dant refutation of his confident affertion.
There is no place, I believe, in England where the Dif
fenters who are not Calvinists, are ſo numerous in proportion
to thoſe who are as here. But in this place there are but two
congregations that are not profeffedly calviniftical, befides a
very fmall one of General Baptifts; whereas there are three
congregations of Independants, or proper Calvinifts, two
of them numerous, and a fourth is forming; and there are
two of Particular, or Calviniftic Baptifts, one of them very
numerous. In moſt other places, and eſpecially in London,
the Calvinists exceed all the other Diffenters in a much
greater proportion. It is, I believe, leffoning. But great
bodies of men do not change their opinions fo foon as the
biſhop's argument required; and hence his obftinacy in
not admitting fo evident a fact.
Mr. Madan, as well as the clergy in general, take it for
granted, that I am ſmarting, as he ſays (Letter, p. 5) under
the laſh of this bifhop. This is only a proof that he has
not read my laſt Defences of Unitarianifm. There he would
fee that this bishop's blows, fo far from being thofe of a whip,
or any thing that can give pain, are only thoſe of a feather
which tickles and amufes me, and that it would gratify me,
and all Unitarians, very much to have a few more of them.
If a general pretend to have gained a victory, you never
take his own word for it. You aſk for the trophies, the
flain
1
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
99
flain, and the prifoners. Now it is evident that there has
been a very great increaſe of Unitarians fince the commence-
ment of our controverſy, and that it has been in a great
meaſure occaſioned by it. I may venture to fay that it has
been thirty fold. It is an increaſe acknowledged by all, and
greatly lamented by the Trinitarians. Now is not this
more the ſign of his defeat, than of his victory?
I will venture to ſay that every publication on the part
of the Trinitarians, has been the occafion of the dimunition
of their party.
An anonymous correfpondent tells me
that, by accident, nay, he fays, from the fingularity of
"the circumſtance, by the direction of God, he met with
CC my Letters to Mr. Burn, and that if it had not been for
"them, he might have been glorifying God the Son, and
"God the Holy Ghoft, which he now thinks not to be
"founded on reafon, or fcripture." Many others, I have
reaſon to think, are under the fame obligation to Mr. Burn,
and many, I doubt not, will have reaſon to thank Mr.
Madan, and theſe Letters of mine, to which his Sermon has
given occafion.
In this very critical ſtate of things, would it not be wif-
dom in the bishops, the natural guardians of the church
and its doctrines, to interpofe, and not ſuffer young men
to engage in this important controverſy, left they ſhould do
more harm than good to the cauſe they wiſh to ſupport?
Injudicious friends often do more hurt than open enemies.
I am, &c.
H 2
LETTER
100
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
LETTER XII.
Of the Ecclefiaftical Conftitution of Ireland.
My Friends and Neighbours,
TH
HE pretences for civil establishments of religion, which
were the ſubject of fome of the preceding Letters, have
not always been the fame, but have changed with the
times. For if a thing must be fupported, and one buttress
is found to give way, another muſt be provided to ſupply
its place. Now till of late years it was always maintained
to be the duty of the civil magiſtrate to ſupport the cauſe
of God, and of truth, without any regard to the numbers
that might be for or against it. But as all religions were
maintained to be true, and therefore this maxim would fur-
niſh a pretext for continual hoftility (the partifans of each
pretending to fight in the cauſe of God) it has of late years
been held by all the friends of theſe eſtabliſhments, that
they are to be ſupported not becauſe they are founded on
truth, but because they favour the religion of the majority of
the inhabitants of any country. Confequently, they ac-
knowledge that, if a majority of the inhabitants of any
country were Mahometans, Catholics, or Prefbyterians,
theſe ought to be the perfons favoured by the ſtate; and
that, in order to preſerve peace, all the reſt ſhould be tole-
rated; meaning that as many privileges fhould be granted
them, as ſhall be neceffary to keep them quiet.
Now it ſo happened that the eſtabliſhment of Ireland was
fettled before this new principle was thought of. At leaſt,
no regard was then paid to it. For the great majority of
the people of Ireland are Catholics, and yet the eſtabliſh-
ment is that of the church of England, the members of
which are not ſo numerous as even the Preſbyterians. To
defend
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
ΙΟΙ
defend the eſtabliſhment of Ireland, therefore, on the new
principle of the eſtablished religion being that of the majority,
is evidently impoffible, and yet the old principle of eſtabliſh-
ments has been long given up; and as the attention of the
clergy has not been called to the ſubject, they are utterly
at a lofs what to fay about it. Since, however, I have
ſtarted the ſubject, Mr. Madan feems to have thought it
incumbent upon him to ſay ſomething; but (perhaps, not
having exactly fettled his own judgment) it is not eaſy to
develope his meaning.
"Should you be difpofed," he fays, p. 34, "to argue
"that by the fame mode of reaſoning, the number of Roman
"Catholics ſhould eſtabliſh popery in Ireland (becauſe the
"majority are Roman Catholics) you must first prove the
"pope to be a member of fome proteftant fect of chrif-
"tians." From the turn of this curious fentence, it ſhould
ſeem to be intended for wit, or humour; and, as ſuch, it
may, for any thing that I know, have great merit; but what
I am looking for is argument, and of this, as Mr. Madan
has not thought fit to explain himſelf, I do not find the
faintest trace. And as this is unfortunately his final reply,
we muſt gueſs at his deep meaning as well as we can. For
my part, I muſt own myſelf to be entirely at a loſs. I
cannot even imagine on what principle the eſtabliſhment in
Ireland ought to be proteſtant when the people are Catho-
lics; but fuch as would make it equally proper that the
eſtabliſhed religion of Scotland fhould be epifcopalian, when
the people are Preſbyterians; or that the eſtabliſhment in
England ſhould be preſbyterian, when the majority of the
people are Epifcopalians.
If there be any act of parliament (for ſuch things it ſeems
are reaſons with Mr. Madan) which makes it wrong to eſta-
bliſh the popiſh religion in Ireland, it muſt be unjuſt, and
ought to be repealed, as well as every thing elſe that is
violent and tyrannical. For what is an act of tyranny, but
that which is forced upon a people againſt their will? And
were the people of Ireland fairly polled upon the fubject of
eſtabliſhing
H 3
102
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
eſtabliſhing ſome fyftem of religion, the votes would cer-
tainly be in favour of the catholic, and not that of the
church of England.
દર
Suppoſe a catholic prince, the late pretender for example,
ſhould by an armed force expel the preſent reigning family,
and in all the forms of an act of parliament, eſtabliſh the
popiſh religion in this country, fhould we not pronounce
this proceeding to be tyrannical; and fuch as ought to be
reſiſted, whenever we ſhould have the power of doing it?
and ſhould this be deferred till we had "proved the pope
“to be a member of fome proteftant fect of chriſtians?"
Should we not laugh at fuch a propofal? Such, therefore,
must be the cafe of the people of Ireland. But when any
fyftem is established, and a particular fet of men derive ad-
vantage from it; be it ever fo contrary to reaſon and com-
mon ſenſe, it will by them be fupported, as this is by Mr.
Madan. There can hardly be a more evident caſe of the
kind than this, of the church eſtabliſhment of Ireland being
proteftant, when the great bulk of the people are Catholics.
If the people of Ireland were fairly at liberty to deter-
mine for themſelves, as all men, and all nations, naturally
wiſh, and have a natural right, to do, they would never
ſubmit to maintain at the public expence a fyftem of reli-
gion that was profeffed by not more than one in ten of the
inhabitants. But if not more than one in an hundred were
Epifcopalians, the preſent fyftem would, no doubt, be con-
tinued; and for the ſame reaſon, whatever it be, this might
be the caſe even if there was not one.
For in a great
number of the pariſhes in Ireland there is not a ſingle pro-
teſtant; and yet all the tithes go to the maintenance of the
clergy of the church of England, who have nothing to do
for it. This is a crying enormity, and public injuſtice;
and it is poorly palliated by Mr. Madan's faying with a
fneer, that it cannot be remedied till the pope become a
member of ſome proteftant communion. It is adding
mockery and infult to oppreffion.
As
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
103
As Mr. Madan's reaſoning is fo manifeftly inconclufive
on this and all other fubjects which he has touched upon,
or glanced at (for he has done nothing more either in his
Sermon or Letter) and I have fo clearly pointed out the in-
conclufiveneſs of his reafoning, you may wish to know
upon what principle he makes himſelf ſo eaſy about it. It
is, p. 36, becauſe I have charged the apoftle Paul with in-
conclufive reaſoning; as if it was enough for him to be put
upon a level with Paul, even in what is faulty in him.
But whether I be right or wrong in thinking that Paul may
have ſometimes reafoned inconclufively (and he himſelf
does not pretend to be exempt from error) will this be any
juftification of Mr. Madan? May I not be wrong in cen-
furing Paul, and yet right in cenfuring the rector of St.
Philip's. He will hardly pretend to inſpiration. If he do,
he fhould give fome proof of it. This, however, he threw
out not by way of wit or argument, but merely artifice, to
prejudice you againſt my reaſoning, as if becauſe it has no
force againſt St. Paul, it can have none againſt himſelf.
Another ftroke of artifice in Mr. Madan is his infinuat-
ing, p. 18, that I have a low opinion of your underſtand-
ings. But if that had been the cafe, fhould I have thought
of addreffing theſe Letters to you, ſo as to ſubmit to your
judgment important articles of religion and of government,
with respect to which I and Mr. Madan hold different
opinions, making you the umpire between us? I cannot
confider the aggregate body of any town, Birmingham or
London, as confifting of perfons of learning or education;
but they have not, on that account, the lefs good fenfe, or
the leſs capacity of judging on fuch fubjects as I am bring-
ing before you.
Your judgment and good fenſe were never ſo much
called in queftion as by your clergy, when they made the
violent oppofition that you have heard of to the introduc-
tion of my publications on theological fubjects into the
public library in this town, when the funds of it were
amply fufficient for the purpoſe. The pretence was that
H 4
they
104
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
would not have your minds diſturbed with theſe ſubjects;
as if you were not qualified to read and judge for yourſelves,
and at the fame time preſerve your good temper with reſpect
to thoſe who ſhould think differently from you. This,
however, was only a pretence, and a very fhallow one.
They with you not to read or think on theſe ſubjects at all,
left you ſhould entertain opinions different from thoſe which
are eſtabliſhed, and which it is their intereft to keep up; and
in confequence of this, left their fyftem, and themſelves,
ſhould eventually be diſturbed, and not you. But I truſt
that, in defiance of them, you will fhew the free ſpirit of
Engliſhmen, and that you will think and act for yourſelves,
following truth wherever you find it, and reſpecting it alike,
whether it be diſcovered in a church, or in a conventicle.
I am, &c.
My good Friends,
MR.
LETTER XIII.
Of Controversy.
[R. Madan fays, p. 45, that I have "difgraced my
"talents" which he is pleaſed to call (whether
ironically or not, I cannot tell) "fuperior," to unworthy
and diſgraceful purpoſes, and he defires me to "remember
"the higher point of view in which my profeffion as a
"minifter has placed me."
With respect to this, let Mr. Madan inquire of my con-
gregation. They will inform him, that I never trouble
them with diſcourſes of a political nature, except on a fifth
of November, and then never fay any thing that tends to
exaſperate them againſt their neighbours of the eſtabliſh-
ment, but to make all due allowance for the prejudices of
their education; whereas Mr. Madan's Sermon, which
has
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
105
has been obferved to inculcate no chriftian virtue, was de-
livered on a Sunday, which ought to have been devoted to
better purpoſes.
The greateſt part of my theological publications are of a
ſerious nature, enforcing the evidence and doctrines of chrif-
tianity; and thoſe of which Mr. Madan fpeaks with abhor-
rence and contempt, viz. my controverfial writings (with
which he is evidently very little acquainted) are in my own
opinion, calculated to affert and vindicate very important
chriſtian truths; and I do not know that I can employ
whatever talents I may have to a better purpoſe. With
what fuccefs, or with what ſpirit, I have written, I do not
appeal to Mr. Madan, but to you.
Befides, is the perſon who is wantonly attacked always
to be charged with a love of controverfy, when he defends.
himſelf, and his writings, and not rather the perſon who
wantonly attacks him? Mr. Burn, for example, charges
me with undervaluing, and rejecting, the teftimony of the
apoftles concerning the perſon of Christ; when all that I have
written on the ſubject, has been to fupport what I take to
be their teftimony. He alſo charges my theological princi-
ples in general, as "big with all miſchief." This he does
in the place where I live, and before the congregation to
which I preach. Am I then to be blamed if I repel with
the indignation that it deferves, fuch unmerited and unpro-
voked calumny?
Befides, my controverfial writings bear but a ſmall pro-
portion to the rest of my publications. I do not think all my
controverſial writings, properly fo called, that is, thoſe in
which I reply to particular perſons, would make ſo many
ſheets as I have printed this very year of works of a dif-
ferent nature. But controverſy, as far as appears, makes the
whole of Mr. Burn's and Mr. Madan's publications.
Theirs alſo are both on the offenſive ſide, whereas mine are
wholly defenfive. Indeed, there is nothing of any confe-
quence that I have written in this way but what was as un-
premeditated, as my replies to Mr. Burn and Mr. Madan.
What
106
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
<
What has contributed the moſt to get me the character of
a controverfial writer, is what I have written in defence of
myſelf, when attacked from a great variety of quarters, on
account of my Difquifitions concerning Matter and Spirit,
and my History of the Corruptions of Christianity. I fhould
never have written againſt biſhop Horfley, any more than
againſt Mr. Burn, if he had not firſt written againſt me. I
have not answered to one challenge in ten that has been
given me. If I do flounder, as Mr. Madan fays, in the
muddy waters of controverfy, he and Mr. Burn are among
thoſe who firſt tempted me in, by plunging in before me,
and keeping me company as long as it was convenient to
them, and yet they now infult me for it.
But I do not defire to make any apology for what is
called controverfy. For, how offenfive foever the term may
be to thoſe whofe principles fuffer by it, it means nothing
more than public difcuffion, without which no queſtion of
conſequence can be thoroughly, and generally, underſtood.
The apostle Paul was a great controverfial writer, and fo
was the meek St. John; all his epiftles being written againſt
the Gnoftics.
Befides, how can I eſcape blame in this cafe? If I make no
reply, I am faid to be unable to make any; and if I do, I am
fond of controverfy; fo that my fituation reſembles that of the
old man and the afs. Do what I will, I muſt diſpleaſe ſome.
Mr. Madan, you fee, challenges me to anſwer a pamphlet
written by bishop Horſley, about the Test Act, which he
ſpeaks highly of, but which I think undeſerving of any parti-
cular notice. On the whole, I have thought it moft manly,
and moſt favourable, to the cauſe of truth, after avowing
any opinion of importance, to difcufs it publicly with fuch
perfons as appeared to me the best qualified to do the con-
trary opinion juftice, and to continue the difcuffion till
nothing of confequence remained to be faid on either fide,
that the public might judge for themſelves on which fide
the truth lay. This I think is far better than, like Mr.
Madan, to throw my dagger, and then run away from the
perfon
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
107
perfon offended by it. However, it is by no means true
that I have always had the laft word. My rule has been to
ceaſe to write when I had nothing material to add to what
I had advanced before. I could name many perſons to
whoſe laſt publications I never made any reply.
Mr. Madan, you fee, binds himſelf to make no reply.
But as biſhop Horfley made the fame imprudent declaration,
and afterwards violated it, fo may he; and if he ſee it to be
in his power to reply with effect, 1 doubt not but we ſhall
have fome more last words of Richard Baxter. Do you
think that if he, or Mr. Burn, irritated as they evidently
are, had any hope, either of filencing me, or of convincing
you that I ought to be filent, they would not do it? Has
either of them fpared any thing to injure me in your opinion?
You well know they have not; and it is not probable that
their difpofition is changed in this reſpect.
I am, &c.
Of the Principles of the Church of England.
LETTER XIV.
My Townſmen and Neighbours,
ONE of the preceding Letters that I took the liberty to
addreſs to you, related to church establishments in general,
in which I fhewed you that in forming them the civil ma-
giſtrate went beyond the bounds of his proper province, and
incroached upon that of Chrift, and of God himfelf, to
whom alone we are accountable for our religious principles
and moral conduct; and yet men, without any authority
from God, have prefumed to fay what we fhall believe, and
what we ſhall do, in matters of religion; and they have en-
forced their decrees with heavy pains and penalties, info-
much that, without being guilty of any civil offence what-
ever,
!
108
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
ever, a man ſhall be liable to have his goods confifcated, be
difabled from fuing in any court of law or equity, being
guardian of any child, being executor or adminiſtrator to a
will, be incapable of any legacy or deed of gift, of bearing
any office, civil, military, or ecclefiaftical, and be fent to
priſon, as at preſent in this country of ours; and in others
they ſhall be liable to be put to death in the moſt cruel
manner, merely for avowing opinions different from what
other men have thought proper to decree to be true.
Now, many of you being engaged in other neceffary
purſuits, and not having had your attention drawn to theſe
fubjects, may know very little about church eſtabliſhments
in general, or of your own in particular, as little as many
perfons, for want of travelling or reading, may know of the
country in which they live. You very piouſly, as you have
been educated, go to church, fay your prayers on Sun-
days, and follow your feveral occupations diligently and
honeſtly in the courfe of the week; but many of you have
little leiſure to think about any thing farther. There is
however, much more implied in being a good churchman
than you may think of; as there are many things in the
laws of our country, which are binding upon all the ſub-
jects, whether they have taken care to acquaint themſelves
with them or not. For it is prefumed that men who have
the uſe of their reaſon, will make uſe of it in whatever parti-
cularly concerns them.
Now, if this be the cafe with refpect to the civil laws of
your country, it muſt be the fame with reſpect to the eccle-
fiaftical laws of it. Befides, when you go to church, you
do not go merely to hear what another perfon fays, which
a ftranger might do without bearing any part in the fer-
vice, or being reſponſible for the propriety of it; but you
go to pray yourſelves; and in your prayers you ſpeak to
God, and concerning God; and therefore ſhould deliver
nothing but what you have well confidered, and think pro-
per to be faid to him, and concerning him. Confequently,
if, upon that due confideration which you ought to give to
fo
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
109
ſo ferious a ſubject, you cannot deliberately affent to any
thing that, in the forms of your public worship, you are re-
quired to fay, you ought not to ſay it at all. If what all the
congregation there join in be any thing not true in itſelf,
and eſpecially falſe with respect to God, and unworthy of him,
you ought not to give your countenance and ſanction to it,
even by your preſence. If you would not fo much as join
in a common fong, or bear your part in the chorus, without
approving of it, much lefs fhould you bear your part in a
common prayer to Almighty God, without the moſt hearty
approbation of the fentiments contained in it.
It is, moreover, taken for granted, that all members of
any particular fociety hold the diftinguiſhing principles of
that ſociety. Otherwiſe they are unworthy and improper
members of it. You, therefore, who profefs to be of the
church of England, alſo profeſs to hold the principles of it,
and eſpecially the belief of all its articles, which the founders
of
your eſtabliſhment have reduced to thirty-nine. Theſe
the preamble to them fays, were agreed upon "for
"avoiding diverſities of opinions, and for eſtabliſhing con-
"fent touching true religion." And the royal proclamation
prefixed to them requires not the clergy only, but "all his
"majesty's loving fubjects, to continue in the uniform pro-
"feffion of them ;" it prohibits "the leaft difference from
"them," and will not "endure any varying, or departing
"from them in the leaft degree."
With respect to the interpretation of theſe articles, this
declaration fays, that "they are to be taken in the true,
“ uſual, and literal meaning of the words ;" and that “ you
are not to put your own ſenſe or comment upon the
"meaning of any article, but to take them in their literal
" and grammatical ſenſe." Now as theſe articles are dictated
in very plain Engliſh, the literal and grammatical ſenſe of
which is very eaſy to be underſtood, you will fee, by con-
fidering them, what the real doctrine of the church of
England is, and what the faith of all the true members of it
ought to be.
Farther
110 Familiar Letters addreffed to the
Farther, as this declaration fays that theſe articles,
"which contain the true doctrine of the church of Eng-
"land," are "agreeable to God's word," and you have
this word of God, your Bibles, in your hands, you may
judge for yourſelves, whether this be true or not. By this
rule you are to try all things, and then hold fast that which
is good.
Your twentieth article fays that, "though the church
"has power to decree rites and ceremonies, and has autho-
t rity in controverfies of faith," yet "it is not lawful for
"the church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's
"written word, and that it ought not to inforce any thing
to be believed for neceffity of falvation, befides what is
"contained in the fame." If, then, any of theſe articles
ſhould contain what you cannot but fee to be contrary
to the word of God, as well as to your own plain ſenſe and
reafon; and if they make any other terms of falvation, be-
fides ſuch as are made to be ſo in the word of God, your
church will ſtand felf-condemned. It appeals to the ſcrip-
tures; and by the fcriptures must all its articles, and every
clauſe in them, be tried.
Now let us attend to a few of theſe articles, and confider
whether the doctrines they contain, according to the plain,
ufual, and grammatical fenfe of the words in which they are
expreffed, be agreeable to fcripture, or not. Pleaſe to have
a copy of the articles open before you, as I now have, and
as you are acquainted with your Bibles, to which the com-
pilers of theſe articles appeal, compare them together, and
then honeſtly judge for yourſelves. I fhall for the preſent
paſs over what relates to the doctrines of the trinity, and
the divinity of Christ, becauſe I referve the confideration of
them to a ſeparate Letter, and ſhall content myſelf in this
with mentioning a few other things, though as you will
fee, of very great importance, if what relates to the favour
of God, and final happiness, be fo.
Your ninth article fays that, "Original fin is the fault.
"and corruption of the nature of every man," and
"therefore
45
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
III
"therefore in every perfon born into this world, it de-
"ferveth God's wrath and damnation?" In confequence
of this, the tenth article fays, that "man cannot turn, and
"prepare himſelf, by his own natural ftrength, and good
"works, to faith, and calling upon God: therefore we
"have no power to do good works, pleafant, and acceptable
"to God, without the grace of God by Chrift preventing
"us, that we may have a good will, and working with us,
"when we have that good will." And your thirteenth
article fays that "works done before the grace of Chriſt,
" and the inſpiration of his ſpirit, are not pleaſant to God;
"for as much as they fpring not of faith in Jeſus Chriſt,
"neither do they make men meet to receive grace-Yea
"rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed
" and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they
"have the nature of fin."
Now, is it not evident, from the plain ſenſe of theſe arti-
cles, that, on account of a finful nature, which every man
fince Adam neceffarily brings into the world with him, it
is not in his power to do any thing but fin? He cannot
even rightly call upon God, or pray, till he receives fome-
thing that is here called the grace of God, and the infpiration
of his Spirit, which muft neceffarily be a thing independent
of himſelf, and only what God is pleafed to impart to him;
all that he can do of himſelf being of the nature of fin, and
offenfive to God.
But how is this doctrine agreeable to the fcriptures, or
to common fenfe? All the prophets, who fpeak by autho-
rity from God, plainly fuppofe that thofe to whom they
addrefs themſelves have a natural power of turning to God,
and of doing what is pleafing to him. What is the fub-
ſtance of all their exhortations but Turn ye, turn ye, why
will ye die? Now, would not this be a cruel mocking, and
tantalizing of men, if they had no power at all of turning
to God, but only a power of turning from him? What
would you fay to any man who ſhould exhort one whom
he plainly faw to have neither legs nor crutches, to get up
and
112
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
and run? And is God more unreaſonable than man? Such,
however, is the doctrine of your articles, in the plain and
obvious fenfe of the words.
You will fay who then are to be faved, and how are they
to be faved, fince nothing that any man can do of himſelf
can contribute to his falvation, by making him acceptable
to God. Your ſeventeenth article tells you all this very
plainly, when it informs you concerning the doctrine of
predeftination, and etion, as follows: "Predeftination to
CC
life is the everlaſting purpoſe of God, whereby, before
"the foundations of the world were laid, he hath con-
ftantly decreed by his council, fecret to us, to deliver from
"curie and damnation thofe whom he hath chofen in
"Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Chriſt to
"everlaſting falvation, as veffels made to honour. Where-
"fore, they which be endued with fo excellent a benefit of
"God be called according to God's purpoſe, by his fpirit
"working in due feafon; they through grace obey the call-
"ing; they be justified freely; they be made fons of God
"by adoption; they be made like the image of his only
"begotten fon Jefus Chrift; they walk religiously in good
"works, and at length by God's mercy, they attain to
everlasting felicity."
You fee then that, according to this article, none can be
be faved but they who have been by God fore-ordained to
it, and that the means of faving men is their being "called
<<
according to God's purpoſe, by his ſpirit working in due
"feafon." It therefore does not depend upon men, but
upon God only, who worketh in them when, and how he
pleates. It allo plainly follows from this, that all thoſe
whom God does not predeftinate to eternal life, and whom
he does not call by his fpirit, muſt miſs of eternal life; the
confequence of which, according to your articles, is, that
they must fuffer everlasting punithment, and through no
fault of their own, but on account of ſuch a nature as they
brought into the world with them, and which, of courfe,
they could not help. This doctrine is faid, in the fame
article
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
113
article, to be "full of fweet, pleaſant, and unſpeakable
"comfort, to godly perfons, fuch as feel in themſelves the
"working of the Spirit of Chrift." But what muſt it be
to thoſe who feel no fuch workings, and who have no
means of procuring them?
di-
Thus, my good friends, has your church decreed con-
cerning this very important buſineſs of future happineſs,
and the way to it. But not fo Almighty God. Every
page in the ſcriptures declares the very contrary doctrine,
viz. that God loveth the righteous, and that the condemna-
tion of finners is not from him, but from themſelves. Pre-
deſtination and election is, no doubt, mentioned in the
ſcriptures, but then it means nothing more, as many
vines of your own church have clearly proved, than the
good pleaſure of God in granting the knowledge of the
goſpel to fome nations and not to others, at any particular
time. And we are exprefsly taught by the apoſtle Paul,
that whether it be more or lefs light that any part of the
human race enjoy, they ſhall be judged by that light, fo
that no more will be expected of any man than God has
given him power to perform, which is agreeable to natural
reafon and equity, Rom. ii. 14. When the Gentiles who have
not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law,
thefe, having not the law, are a law unto themselves, which
fhew the work of the law written in their hearts, their con-
fcience alfo bearing witnefs, and their thoughts the mean while
accufing, or else excufing one another.
Yet the very contrary of this rational and apoftolical
doctrine is expreffed in your eighteenth article, which ſays,
"they are to be had accurfed, who prefume to ſay that
<<
every man ſhall be faved by the law or fect that he pro-
"feffes, fo that he be diligent to frame his life according to
"the law, and the light of nature." According to this,
you fee that all thoſe who have nothing more than the light
of nature, or who have never heard of chriftianity, muſt
periſh everlastingly. For fo harsh a cenfure as this thoſe
who framed the articles have thought proper to give the
following
I
?
1
i
114
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
following reafon. "For holy fcripture doth fet out unto
"us only the name of Jefus Chrift, whereby men muſt be
"faved." This is taken from Acts iv. 12. But if you
confult the paffage you will clearly fee that the falvation
there ſpoken of is not ſalvation to eternal life, but only fai-
vation, or deliverance, from bodily diſeaſes, ſuch as that of
the lame man, who begged at the gate of the temple; and
the plain meaning of the paffage is, that no fuch miracle as
that by which he was cured could be performed by any
power, but that which was poffeffed first by Chriſt, and
afterwards by the apoftles; the truth of which cannot be
queſtioned, becauſe it was a power derived from God, who,
as he firſt eſtabliſhed the courfe of nature, can alone con-
troul it.
Your church fays, article nineteenth, " as the church of
"Jerufalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred, ſo alfo
"the church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living
"and manner of ceremonies, but alſo in matters of faith."
Now I think that, after what we have been confidering,
we muſt ſay that the church of England alſo hath erred, in
matters of faith, as well as the churches of Jerufalem, Alex-
andria, Antioch, and Rome. Indeed, what privilege has
your church to exempt her from error, more than thofe
churches, whofe faith fhe takes upon her to condemn? If
antiquity be pleaded for the purity of faith, the preference
cannot be given to the church of England, which roſe the
lateſt of them all, as it was formed by Diffenters from the
church of Rome; and if, on the contrary, novelty be any
advantage (thoſe who come after others, being able to ſee
farther than thoſe who went before them) we who now
diffent from the church of England, have the fame advan-
tage over her, that ſhe had over the church of Rome. If
the founders of your church would prove their infallibility,
they must work miracles; but this is what they do not
pretend to, though the church of Rome does.
But even
miracles cannot prove that to be true which to reafon and
common fenfe appears evidently falſe; and fuch are the
doctrines
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
115
}
doctrines above mentioned. Miracles can only prove that
to be true which in its own nature may be ſo, and not that
which is abfurd and contradictory either to reaſon, or the
fcriptures. For we muſt take it for granted that God will
not contradict himſelf.
I do not mean to trouble you with an account of every
thing that is evidently contradictory to reaſon and the fcrip-
tures in your Articles, but I could not help dwelling a little
upon ſuch as appear to me to be of particular importance,
and ſuch, you muſt agree with me, are thoſe above men-
tioned. They are not, however, errors peculiar to your
church, but errors of former ages, as I have abundantly
fhewn in my Hiſtory of the Corruptions of Chriſtianity, which
if you look into, you will ſee at what time they were intro-
duced, and by what ſteps they prevailed. But having been
received many centuries, it could not be ſuppoſed that the
reformers from popery would be able to detect them all at
once. Luther, and his noble cotemporaries, did a great
deal, and we have reafon to blefs God for their labours.
But, inſtead of acquiefcing in them, we ſhould feel ourſelves
animated with the fame fpirit, and go on to finish what
they only began.
That fome things, which are at leaft very like to what
you yourſelves would now call popish doctrines, are retained
in the articles and fervices of the church of England, a flight
degree of reflection will convince you. One of the capital
doctrines of the church of Rome is that of the change made
of the bread and wine in the Lord's fupper into the real
body and blood of Chrift. The reformers faw that this was
an abfurdity, and not countenanced either by reafon or the
genuine ſenſe of ſcripture; but fuch were the prejudices of
the common people, and their own too, in favour of a long
received doctrine, that the framers of your articles and
liturgy have retained too much of it. In the Lord's fupper
your twenty-ninth article fays, "the body of Chrift is given,
"taken, and eaten, after an heavenly and fpiritual manner;
and in your Catechifm you are taught to ſay, that "the body
" and
I 2
116 Familiar Letters addreffed to the
"and blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken and re-
"ceived by the faithful in the Lord's fupper."
Now, if this language have any meaning at all, it cannot
differ much from that of the Catholics; for they do not ſay
that this bread and wine has the taste of flesh and blood.
In common ſenſe, theſe elements can be nothing more than
a fign, emblem, or memorial, of the body of Chrift, and not
the body itſelf, which therefore, verily and indeed, is not
eaten, at all, not even in a heavenly, or ſpiritual, or any
other conceivable, manner.
To the receiving of theſe elements ſuch a virtue is aſcribed
by your church as no experience will juſtify. For in the
twenty-fifth article they are faid to be "fure witneffes, and
"effectual figns, of grace, and God's good-will towards us,
"by the which he doth work invifibly in us, and does not
"only quicken, but alſo ftrengthen, and confirm our faith
"in him." Now there is nothing in the fcriptures to
authorize our aſcribing ſo much to this, or to any other in-
ftitution. All that our Saviour faid upon the occafion was
that we ſhould eat bread and drink wine in remembrance of
him; and being inftituted immediately after the celebration
of the paffover, which was appointed in commemoration of
the deliverance of the Ifraelites from Egypt, there can be no
doubt of its having the fame fimple and obvious meaning.
It was defigned to remind us of Chrift, and of our obliga-
tions to him. There is no inviſible agency of God upon
the mind, either expreffed or implied, in either of the
fervices.
The ſuperſtition and abuſes of former times with reſpect
to the ordinance of baptiſm, are alſo retained in the articles
and offices of your church, from which they ought long ago
to have been expunged. In your twenty-ſeventh article,
baptifm is faid to be "a fign of regeneration, or the new
"birth, whereby, as by an inftrument, they that receive
"baptifm rightly are grafted into the church, the promiſes
"of forgiveneſs of fin, and of adoption to be the ſons of
"God by the Holy Ghoft, are vifibly figned and fealed,
"faith
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
117
"faith is confirmed, and grace increaſed, by virtue of
(C prayer unto God.”
This is afferted concerning baptifm univerfally. But
how can it apply to the cafe of infants? And yet perſons
who are baptized in their infancy, are made to ſay in your
catechifm, that by baptifm they are "made members of
"Chriſt, children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom
"of heaven." This is, furely, afcribing a great deal too much
to a mere ceremony, in which alſo a child is intirely paffive.
Will not this doctrine fully authorize the fuperftition of the
church of Rome, the priests of which communion often
boaſt that, in heathen countries, they have privately, and
unknown to their parents, baptized fuch young children as
they met with, and particularly thoſe that were upon the
point of death, thinking thereby to fecure their ſalvation?
Befides, how does this doctrine of baptiſm making per-
fons "members of Chrift, children of God, and inheritors.
"of the kingdom of heaven," agree with the doctrine of
predeftination above mentioned? Are all perfons who are
regularly baptized of courſe predeftinated to everlaſting life?
Does the eternal decree of God depend upon the will of
man? And yet, as if this was really the cafe, whenever
you bury any perſon who has been baptized (and if they
have not, you do not think them entitled to what you call
chriftian burial) the minifter is made to "thank God that
"it has pleaſed him to take to himſelf the foul of his dear
"brother, or fifter," and the body is committed to the
grave "in fure and certain hope of its reſurrection to eter-
"nal life." Though the deceaſed have been ever ſo noto-
rious a bad liver, and even a defpifer of all religion, yet if
he have been baptized, and have chriſtian burial, the fame
confidence is expreffed of his future falvation. Surely, my
friends, these things ought not fo to be. Men can never be-
come heirs of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of
heaven by mere baptifm, nor do all who have your chriſtian
burial go to heaven.
I 3
The
118
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
The popish priests, you know, pretend to a power of
giving men abſolution, when they have confeffed their fins
to them; which is certainly an ufurpation of the rights of
Almighty God, who alone knows the hearts of men, and
has the power of forgiving fin; and yet this very offenſive
part of popery is retained in your office for the vifitation of
the fick. For there the prieſt is directed to ſay to the fick
perfon, who has profeffed his belief of the apoſtle's creed,
"Our Lord Jefus Chrift, who hath left power to his church
"to abfolve all finners who truly repent and believe in him,
"of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences. And by
"his authority committed to me, I abfolve thee from all
"thy fins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
"of the Holy Ghoſt." If these words have any meaning
at all, they muſt imply that ſomething relating to the for-
giveneſs of fins depends upon the priest. For if repentance
alone was fufficient, his abſolution could fignify nothing.
That theſe things, and many others of a fimilar nature,
which I might point out to you, ſhould paſs uncorrected at
the time of the Reformation, near three hundred years ago,
is not to be wondered at. Thoſe reformers are not to be
blamed for doing no more, but to be commended for doing
So much as they did. But furely thoſe who came after them
are to be blamed, thoſe who have ſhut their own eyes, and
have endeavoured to fhut yours too, from that time to the
prefent day; as if Luther and his brethren had been men
divinely inspired and exempt from all error, and as if all
wiſdom was born and died with them; whereas they only
fet an example, which thoſe who came after them ought to
have followed.
I am, &c.
LETTER
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
119
LETTER XV.
Of Subsciption to the Articles, &c. of the Church of England.
My Friends and Neighbours,
YOU will naturally fay, If there be theſe ftrange abfur-
dities in the articles and public fervices of our church,
why are not our bithops and clergy fenfible of them; and,
as they are men of fenfe and education, how can they, as
we know they are required, willingly and ex animo, ſub-
ſcribe to the truth of them. This is a queſtion that I cannot
anfwer. You must apply to them yourſelves, and perhaps
they may be able to give you fatisfaction. However, when
any man declares his unfeigned belief of any thing, I am
not apt to queſtion his veracity, as Mr. Madan does mine.
I have a much better opinion of him than he has of me.
And if he can, in ſo peculiarly folemn a manner, declare
his belief of the Diffenters in general being difaffected to
government, and that their declarations of loyalty are not
to be truſted; if this opinion of his be "the fettled princi-
"ple and conviction of his heart, as he hopes for mercy
"from the God of truth," he muſt certainly have fubfcribed
the thirty-nine articles with the fame ferious conviction of
their truth. For he muſt know that God is a witneſs to that
fubfcription, as well as to his compofing, delivering, and
printing his Sermon.
It well known, however, that the generality of his
brethren do not believe thefe articles, in that ftrict and gram-
matical fenfe in which their fubfcription to them is required.
They publicly preach, and even print, what is directly con-
trary to them. They will even be offended if you ſay that
they are Calvinists, though the diftinguiſhing doctrines of
calvinism are no other than thofe of original fin, predeftina-
tion, and other doctrines neceffarily depending upon them,
which I have fhewn to be contained in the thirty-nine ar-
ticles. This is fo well known, that the late Lord Chatham
(who was a very different man from his fon, our preſent
prime
I 4
120
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
prime minifter, whofe tranfcendant abilities are fo much
admired by Mr. Madan) in a celebrated ſpeech which he
made in the houſe of Lords in favour of the Diffenters, faid,
"We have a popiſh liturgy, a calvinistic creed, and an Ar-
"minian clergy."
You will naturally fay that, as your clergy do ſubſcribe
theſe articles, it muſt be in ſome fenfe or other. But as
bishop Burnet juſtly ſaid long ago, "the greater part ſub-
"fcribe without ever examining them, and others do it be-
"cauſe they muſt do it, though they can hardly fatisfy their
"confciences about fome things in them." Indeed, my
friends, your clergy are trained to this buſineſs of ſubſcrip-
tion much too early, and before they are qualified to judge
about it; but having done it once, and feeing others do the
fame every day, they come to make as light of it as too
many perfons in trade do of a customhouſe oath, as if they
thought that it implied no obligation at all. But in the very
fame manner thieves and pickpockets may be trained to
their diſhoneſt practices, and follow them through life, with-
out ever reflecting on the wickedneſs of them.
However, your clergy, having fubfcribed to theſe articles.
(which they generally do without ever thinking about the
matter) have ſometimes found it neceffary to allege fome-
thing or other in juftification of their conduct; and you will
naturally have ſome curiofity to know what it is that they
çan ſay. Now, there have been no leſs than thirteen dif-
ferent reaſons affigned by your clergy for their fubfcribing
willingly and ex animo, to the literal truth of thofe articles,
which at the fame time they openly profefs not to believe
at all. I fhall not trouble you with all the excuſes, ſome of
which exceed the ingenuity of a Jefuit, but I will just men-
tion a few, that you may have fome idea how very clever
your clergy are, and with what dexterity they can ſplit hairs.
Many ſay that they fign thefe articles "as far as they
"are agreeable to the word of God." But, if that had
been fufficient, why were the articles compofed at all?
Would it not have been fufficient to require a fubfcription
to the Scriptures themſelves? The fubfcription to theſe
articles
"
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
121
articles, if it have any meaning at all, muſt be a folemn
declaration, that they contain the true fenfe of the fcriptures.
Very many of your clergy have faid that they fubfcribe
the articles not as articles of faith, but as articles of peace,
meaning, I fuppofe, that they will not publicly controvert
them. But had this been the meaning of the compilers,
they certainly would not have required a ſubſcription to
them, but only a folemn promife, that the clergy would not
publicly impugn them. This fubfcription to the articles as
articles of peace, will give no peace to the mind of an honeſt
man. The preface to the articles fays that they were com-
piled for avoiding diverfities of opinion, and for eftab-
"liſhing of conſent touching true religion.'
But how does
this kind of ſubſcription prevent diverfity of opinion? Many
your clergy not only hold, but publiſh, and earneſtly con-
tend for, very different opinions, on the moſt important
articles of religion.
of
Mr. Paley, archdeacon of Carliſle, maintains that any
perſon may ſubſcribe the articles who does not belong to
any of the three claffes of men originally intended to be ex-
cluded from the church by them, viz. Papists, Puritans,
and Anabaptifts. Now, Mr. Paley's writings being in very
high repute, and publicly taught to the youth at the Uni-
verfities, this new idea of his concerning fubfcription is
very likely to become prevalent. But can you think that
this was the idea of the compilers, or of the legiſlature, at
the time that this fubfcription was enjoined? If nobody
was intended to be excluded from the church befides Papifts,
Puritans and Anabaptifts, would not the tenets of theſe people
have been particularly marked? And why are a variety of
articles inferted to which they could all fubfcribe? None of
theſe three claffes of men were Socinians, and therefore, ac-
cording to Mr. Paley, they may fafely ſubſcribe theſe articles ;
though the very first of them fays that "in the unity of
"the godhead there be three perfons, of one ſubſtance,
power and eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
"Ghoft." But ſhould not I, who disbelieve this doctrine,
<<
be
F22
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
be a great raſcal, if I ſhould ſubſcribe it, in order to get pre-
ferment in your church?
Many perfons, I am informed, think themſelves juftified
in fubfcribing the articles of the church of England though
they do not believe them, becauſe it is well known to thoſe
who receive their fubfcriptions, that they do not, and there-
fore they ſay that they deceive nobody. But can you think
that a falfhood is rendered innocent, by its being accom-
panied with impudence? What ſhould we fay of any man,
who ſhould take an oath that was known to be falſe by the
magiftrate who administered it? Would not the tranfaction
cover both the parties with infamy? And furely we ſhould
not be lefs fcrupulous in an affair of religion, from which
oaths derive all their obligation, than we are in civil matters.
Beſides, all ſtrangers, who know nothing about the perfons
who receive fubfcription, will naturally conclude that the
man who folemnly ſubſcribes to any thing, really believes it,
and will never imagine that he thought to impofe upon the
world, and himſelf too.
Laftly, there are many who fubfcribe the articles as a
mere form of admiffion into an office; thinking that they
thereby only engage to do certain things, and recite certain
forms of words, which the legislature requires, for a certain
falary; but that their belief of what they are required to
pronounce is not at all neceffary. One of your clergymen
has even faid in print that when he is in the deſk, he only
fays what the law appoints him to fay, and pays him for
faying, but that in the pulpit he fpeaks for himſelf, and is
anfwerable for the truth of what he delivers. But do you
think that nothing more is required of your clergy than of a
public cryer, or a town clerk, who must read whatever is put
into his hands? Public criers are not required to ſubſcribe to
the truth of every thing that, in their office, they recite
aloud. On this principle, your clergy might juft as well
conform to the church of Rome, profefs mahometanifm, or
do any thing elfe, for a fufficient falary; and I fear that there
are too many of them who would not fcruple to do it;
becauſe
}
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
123
becauſe what they would do then, would be no greater viola-
tion of their confciences than what they do now. Com-
mon ſenſe will tell you that no man ought to ſubſcribe what
he has not well confidered, and what he does not firmly
believe.
Inſtead of merely fubfcribing their names to theſe articles,
as the clergy now do, I wifh the experiment was made of
making them declare upon their honour, that they believe
them, as they are required to do, in the obvious, literal and
grammatical ſenſe of the words, and that they make this de-
claration as the fettled principle and conviction of their heart,
as they bope for mercy from the God of truth. This new
mode would at leaſt make many of your clergy think a little
more upon the ſubject than they appear to have done at
prefent; and your teachers, though believing what I have
clearly ſhewn to be exceedingly abfurd, and manifeftly un-
fcriptural, would at leaſt be honeft.
I am, &c.
LETTER XVI.
Of Mr. Madan's Idea of Unitarianifm.
My Friends and Neighbours,
You have heard a good deal of late about Socinianiſm,
or Unitarianiſm, and fome of you may not know much
about the matter, except that you have been led to conceive
that it is fomething of a very alarming nature, fomething
offenfive to God, and highly dangerous with reſpect to its
confequences in another world. But Mr. Madan has ad-
vanced fomething quite new on the fubject; more than inti-
mating that it is dangerous with refpect to the ftate, as much
fo as any thing in popery. "To juftify this affertion, it is
"neceffary" he ſays, p. 9, " to remark that the principles
"of the Socinian doctrine in this place are evidently gain-
"ing ground among the Preſbyterians; and certainly thoſe
"principles are not more confiftent with the doctrine of the
tr
" eſtabliſhed
$24
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
"eſtabliſhed church, and no lefs dangerous to the ſtate,
"than any of the tenets of popery."
As Mr. Madan does not tell you what this Socinianifm,
(which he deſcribes as fo very dangerous both to church
and ſtate) is, it is neceffary that I give you fome information
on the ſubject, and then you wili judge for yourſelves, how
far it is dangerous. Now Socinians believe that Chrift is
not God equal to the Father, as your church maintains,
but they ſay that he was a man inſpired of God, or a pro-
phet; that he was fent of God to teach men the true way
to eternal life, and eſpecially to preach the doctrines of an
univerſal refurrection, and a future judgment; that in order
to enable him to teach thefe great doctrines with effect, he
was impowered by God to work many miracles; that he
was crucified, died, and was buried; but that God raiſed.
him from the dead, and took him up into heaven; where he
is to continue till, in God's appointed time, he will come
again to raiſe all the dead, to judge the world, and to give
unto every man according to his works.
This account of Socinianifm, or more properly Unita-
rianifm, is what I am fure you perfectly underſtand, much
better, I am well perfuaded, than you do your own church.
doctrine of three perfons in one God, and of one of theſe
perfons becoming incarnate, in order, by his fufferings and
death, to fatisfy the juftice of another of theſe three perfons,
for the fins of men. I am ready to acknowledge that this.
Unitarian doctrine is very contrary to that of your church,
more fo, indeed, than any thing in the fyftem of popery.
For with refpect to every thing of this nature, the doctrines.
of your church are exactly thoſe of popery. They were
thoſe that Luther and others had been educated in the belief
of, and which, without any particular examination, they
left as they found. But that ſuch a doctrine as I have de-
ſcribed to you has any thing in it hoftile to the ſtate, is what
I have never heard before, except that whatever is hoſtile to
the church, muſt, of courſe, be hoſtile to the ſtate alſo.
Popery, I believe to be a very innocent thing with reſpect
to the ſtate at preſent, though it was not always fo. Then,
however,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
125
however, the danger aroſe not from any religious tenets of
the Catholics, but from their fubjection to a foreign head,
and their attachment to the family of the Stuarts, to which
family the high church party alſo had a ſtrong leaning.
The danger alfo that fome perfons ftill apprehend from po-
pery, is on the fame account, viz. the political nature of
their ſyſtem. But ſurely there is nothing of a political na-
ture in the Unitarian doctrine. What has the belief of
one God, or of the humanity of Chrift, to do with any
principle of the Engliſh conftitution? No doctrine in phi-
lofophy, or medicine, can have lefs connection with it.
On this buſineſs Mr. Madan ſhould have explained him-
ſelf, and not have afferted that the principles of Socinians
are hoſtile to the ſtate, without fome evidence, fomething in
the form or ſhape of an argument. It is in vain to reply
to a man who advances nothing to reply to, and who only
confidently afferts what we as confidently deny, treating it as
a mere calumny. But according to Mr. Madan, Diffenters
being enemies to the church, they muft, of courſe, be ene-
mies to the ſtate too; and Unitarians being of all other Dif-
fenters the fartheft from the church, they must therefore be
the greateſt enemies to the ftate; whether it can be made to
appear (for this is what Mr. Madan has not yet attempted)
that their principles bear any afpect at all towards the ſtate
or not. Since, however, to my great regret, we are to hear
no more from Mr. Madan, I fhall proceed as well as I can
without him, and in my next give an account of the
grounds of our Unitarian faith, that you may judge for
yourſelves whether reafon and the ſcriptures be on our ſide,
or not. The queſtion is certainly of importance, deferving
your very ferious confideration, and that of Mr. Madan too.
I am, &c.
LETTER
126
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
#
IN
LETTER XVII.
Of Unitarianifm.
My generous Townſmen and Neighbours,
*
N the third part of the LETTERS which I have taken
the liberty to addreſs to you, I promiſed you a fight of
what Mr. Madan has thought proper to call the contaminat-
ing dæmon of herefy; affuring you that it had nothing at all
contaminating, or dangerous, in its nature, but that, on the
contrary, it was as clean and harmleſs a thing as a young
lamb. You may think that in the fourth part of theſe
Letters I neglected to fulfil this promife; but I really did
not. For in it I gave you a diſtinct and plain account of
what Mr. Madan muſt have meant by his contaminating
dæmon, ſince Unitarianifm, or Socinianifm, was certainly in
his eye; this being what he calls herefy, and what he repre-
fents as being of a more dangerous nature than popery it-
felf. And yet I dare fay you ſaw nothing frightful in it,
and for that reaſon imagined that I had forgot my promiſe.
To myſelf, that which is fo great a bug-bear to Mr.
Madan has long been perfectly familiar; for after the man-
ner which he calls herefy, fo worship I the God of my fathers
(Acts xxiv. 14.) and be affured that he is quite miſtaken
with respect to it.
From the alarm which your clergy have been induſtrious
in ſpreading about Unitarians, you will naturally imagine
that we are little elfe than Atheiſts; neither believing in a
God, in a providence, or in a future ftate, and profeffing no
moral obligation at all, ſo that it is nothing but the laws and
the gallows that reftrain us from any enormity. Whereas
* Theſe Letters were originally printed in different Parts, and pub.
liſhed at different times. This Letter was the firft of Part V.
we
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
127
we not only believe in a God, and every other principle of
natural religion, but alſo in the divine miffion of Chriſt, and
in the certainty of his coming again, to raife the dead and
judge the world, as much as your clergy themſelves. We
continually preach thefe doctrines, and lay the greateſt ſtreſs.
upon them; and in confequence we confider ourſelves as
obliged to the ftricteft moral virtue in all reſpects; our
thoughts as well as our actions, being under the inſpection.
of an all-feeing God, whether our conduct be fubject to the
obfervation of men or not. If this be Unitarianiſm, you
will naturally fay, what great harm can there be in it; and
what can be the reaſon of our clergy making ſuch an out-
cry about it. I will then tell you.
This fame Unitarianiſm, plain, fimple and harmleſs,
nay, great and noble, as it is, is not the doctrine of your
church. Inſtead of worſhipping only one God, the Father,
you are taught to addreſs your devotions fometimes, indeed,
to the Father, but at other times to the Son (folemnly ad-
juring him in your litany, "by his holy nativity and circum-
"ciſion, by his baptiſm, faſting, and temptation, by his agony
"and bloody fweat, by his croſs and paffion, by his precious
"death and burial," extraordinary proofs of divinity, no
doubt) and likewife to the Holy Ghost, and fometimes to all
theſe three together, under the appellation of trinity, or three
perfons in one God; and this doctrine of the trinity (a word
which you will in vain look for in your bibles) is connected
with many other fundamental doctrines of your church.
And though this, or any other particular do&rine, might be
changed, and the establishment itself, with its peculiar go-
vernment, revenues, &c. remain unaltered, your clergy fear
that if any change, though ever fo reaſonable, fhould once
be made, others might follow, and they ſhould not be able
to ſay where the reformation might ftop (for which I own
there is ſome reaſon) and therefore they oppofe all changes,
though ever fo trifling, and eſpecially this, which is acknow-
ledged to be a very fundamental one. It is juſt the caſe of
the
128
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
!
the boy who would not ſay A, left he ſhould be obliged to
fay B, and then C, and at laft the whole alphabet.
However, that this reformation in the articles of your
church ought to be made, whatever be the confequence of
making it, I fhall endeavour to thew you, on the fuppo-
fition that truth ought ever to be followed at all events.
And if truth, and the pure worſhip of God, be on the ſide of
us Unitarians, it is an advantage which we would not ex-
change for all the dignities and emoluments of your eſta-
blifhed clergy. Give me then, my friends, your candid
attention, and I ſhall ſoon convince you, that we Unitarians
have both reaſon and the fcriptures on our fide, and that
your clergy have nothing but authority, and acts of parlia-
ment, on theirs.
If you look through the Old Teſtament, you will find
nothing taught there, but the worship of one God, and
the greateſt poſſible ſtreſs laid on that worſhip, as oppoſed
to the worſhip of many gods, to which the world, in the
early ages, was peculiarly prone. The very first command-
ment, in which Jehovah, the only true God, is the ſpeaker,
is, "Thou shalt have no other Gods befides me." Mofes, re-
peating this moſt important doctrine fays (Deut. vi. 6.)
Hear, Oh Ifrael, the Lord thy God is one Lord, and the
prophet Zechariah (chap. xiv. 9.) Jehovah is one, and his
name one.
The God who was thus worshipped by the Jews, was
alſo the object of worſhip to Chriſt and the Apoſtles. Our
Lord deſcribes the true worshippers, as they who worship the
Father (obſerve, he fays nothing of himſelf, or the holy
Spirit, but only the Father) in ſpirit and in truth. John iv. 23.
And when he himſelf prayed, as he frequently did, it was
always to the fame Being, called the Father, whom he re-
preſents as the only true God, John xvii. 3. This is life eter-
nal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jefus
Christ whom thou haft fent, that is, his meſſenger, or fervant.
This fame great Being is called the God and Father of
Chrift,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
129
Chriſt, as well as of other men-Go to my brethren, ſays
Jefus, John xx. 17. and fay unto them, I afcend unto my
Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God.
All the prayers of the apostles were likewife directed to
this one God and Father, and to no other perſon whatever.
For this caufe, fays Paul (Ephef. iii. 14.) I bow my knees to
the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and never to Jeſus
Chrift himſelf.
This is the uniform language of the apostles, and of all
the primitive chriitians. They knew nothing of a trinity,
to which you pray. Could they hear your litany, in which
you fay, O God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy
upon us miferable finners. O God the Holy Ghoſt, proceed-
ing from the Father and the Son, have mercy upon us miferable
finners. O holy bleſſed and glorious trinity, three perſons and
one God, have mercy upon us miferable finners; could they
hear your vain repetitions, exactly after the manner of the
heathen worship, Son of God we beseech thee to hear us; O
Lamb of God that takeft away the fins of the world, grant us
thy peace; O Lamb of God that takeft away the fins of the
world have mercy upon us; O Chrift hear us, Lord have
mercy upon us, Chrift have mercy upon us, Lord have mercy,
upon us, they would be filled with amazement and terror,
not being able to conceive that this thould be the worſhip
of chriftians. And indeed it is the worship of antichrift,
and nothing elſe. For beginning with the worship of Chrift,
chriſtians proceeded to the worſhip of the Virgin Mary,
moſt impiouſly called the mother of God, of Saint Ann, the
mother of Mary, called by the papifts, the mother of the
mother of God, but in plainer English God's grandmother,
and of innumerable faints and angels alſo, which is the ef-
fence of popery, and fo like heathenifm, and fo unlike chrif
tianity, that the whole fyftem is juftly termed antichriftian.
Now, at the Reformation, though the prayers to faints
and angels, and even to the Virgin Mary, were rejected,
prayers to Chriſt, who is no more a proper object of wor-
ſhip than his mother, or grandmother, were retained. But
K
whatever
130
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
whatever has been added to the fcriptures, whatever has
been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets that
ought not to have been built upon it, fuch as Paul calls
(1 Cor. iii. 12) wood and hay and ſtubble, muſt be confumed,
before all the abominations of popery can be ſaid to be done
away, and pure chriſtianity eſtabliſhed in the world.
It is acknowledged on all fides, that there is but one God.
This is fo plainly the language of all the fcriptures, that it
cannot be denied by any chriſtian, and therefore the advo-
cates for the doctrine of the trinity are obliged to ſay that
the three perfons, of whom it is compofed, viz. the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghoſt, make but one God. But if
theſe three perſons make no more than one God, is it not
plain that each of them is no more than a third part of God,
and not a whole, or proper God? For if each of them be a
whole and proper God, there muft, in all, be three Gods.
This is fo evident, that it is moſt abfurd to deny it; and
indeed the curious contrivances of your clergy to make
theſe three divine perfons into one God, though they fhew
great ingenuity, fhew fo much embarraffiment, as muft ex-
cite in plain men like you, when you reflect upon the fub-
ject, a fmile of contempt.
When, for example, they read in John xiv. 28, that Jeſus
faid, the Father is greater than I, which is evidently contrary
to the doctrine of your Athanafian creed (according to which
none of the three perfons is greater or less than either of the
other two) they ſay that he fpake of his human nature only,
and not of his whole felf; his divinity being at the ſame
time fully equal to that of his Father. But if a perſon may
thus ſpeak of any part of himſelf, as of his whole ſelf, he may
ſay the moſt contradictory things, and puzzle and confound
his hearers, fo that language fhall be of no uſe whatever.
If Chrift may ſpeak of his human nature as of his whole
felf, he may, no doubt, alſo ſpeak of his divine nature as of
his whole felf, and confequently he might ſay that he never
fuffered or died, and that he never rofe from the dead.
But would not this be a miferable equivocation, unworthy
of
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
131
of any man, much more of our Saviour? It would be no
better than any of you faying that you were not able to
Speak, fecretly meaning that you could not do it with your
hands or feet. Yet this ridiculous and contemptible proceed-
ing the Trinitarians aſcribe to our Saviour. Mr. Burn fees
nothing amifs in this fuppofed conduct of our Saviour,
which is only calculated to deceive, and muſt neceffarily do
fo; and yet he thinks him, p. 62, "degraded to the rank
"of a fophift" by the idea of his arguing with the Phari-
fees on their own principles. How innocent is the one,
and how wicked the other. But fo are men blinded by
their prejudices.
There can be no doubt, but that when our Saviour
fpake of his Father as greater than himself, he meant what
any other good man would do, when, on bidding adieu to
his friends on his death-bed, he ſhould fay (as is very pious.
and natural) that he left them to the care of one who could
do more for them than he could, meaning God; and he
was then comforting his apoftles under the proſpect of his
departure from them by death.
But one of the most curious reafons for afcribing equal
honour and worſhip to God the Father, and to Chrift, is
that which is alleged by Mr. Burn, in his laſt Letters to
me, from Rev. v. 13, And every creature which is in heaven,
and on the earth, and under the earth, and fuch as are in the
fea, heard I faying, bleſſing, and honour, and glory, and power,
be unto him that fitteth upon the throne, and unto the lamb,
for ever and ever. From this paffage he infers, that "the
"fame effential adoration which is here offered to him who
"fitteth upon the throne is, by the confent of heaven, afcribed
"alfo to the Lamb," and hence he concludes, that "Chrift
"is either the proper object of divine worship, which no
creature can be, or that the first commandment is con-
"tinually violated in heaven." He adds p. 57, "whether
"it appears from this, that in no fenſe whatever is Chriſt
"fo much as called God in the New Teftament, I leave to
"the common fenſe of mankind to determine.”
K 2
Now,
132
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
Now, my friends, I chearfully join iffue with Mr. Burn,
in this appeal to your common fenfe. Pleaſe to read over
the paffage once more, and fee whether in it Chrift be called
God, or not. He certainly is not, but only the Lamb, which
is no name of God, any more than lion or bear, and what
do you fee afcribed to him in it, but fuch glory and power,
as all chriſtians acknowledge to be his due, becauſe in many
paffages of ſcripture it is expreſsly faid that God gave it to
him. All power, he himſelf ſays (Matt. xxviii. 19) is given
unto me in heaven and on earth. He received from God the
father, honour and glory, 2 Peter i. 17. And the reaſon of
this power and glory being given to him is expreſsly faid
to have been his humiliation unto death. Phil. ii. 8, 9.
Becauſe he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross, therefore God hath alſo highly ex-
alted him, and given him a name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jeſus, every knee ſhould bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and
that every tongue shall confefs that Jefus Chrift is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. How clearly does this paſſage ex-
plain that which is quoted by Mr. Burn from the Revela-
tion; and yet how clearly do you fee that in it Chrift is
diftinguished from God, and reprefented as fubordinate to
him. Heb. ii. 9, We fee Jefus who was made a little lower
than the Angels (the very phraſe which the Pfalmift uſes to
denote men in general) for the ſuffering of death, crowned
with glory and honour. Now I appeal to your common
ſenſe, whether the perfon receiving this honour and glory,
can be of the fame rank with him that gives it to him. Can
he be a God who receives from another, and eſpecially as a
reward for ſuffering and dying? Can God fuffer and die?
That bleffing and honour and glory and power fhould be
given to God, and to Chrift at the fame time, does not
prove that they were afcribed to them in the fame fenfe.
We are commanded to honour all men, and alfo to honour
God, and we may do both at the ſame time, but ſurely not
in the fame fenfe. By this curious argument of Mr. Burn,
I can
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
133
I can clearly prove to you that king David was God, as
well as Jeſus Chriſt. For we read, 1 Chron. xxix. 20. And
all the congregation bleffed the Lord God of their fathers, and
bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord and the
king, that is, they paid each of them fuitable homage,
but furely not the fame kind of homage, though Mr. Burn's
argument would prove as much. But the one being God
and the other man, there was no occafion for the writer to
point out the difference between them, it being ſuch as no
reader could overlook. The fame, no doubt, was the cafe
with the writer of the book of Revelation. Confidering
Chriſt as a man exalted by God, he could never imagine
that any perſon would place him on a level with God, who
had exalted him *.
You ſee in all theſe paffages, though Mr. Burn does not,
that God and Christ are ſpoken of as quite diftin&t perſons,
and of very different ranks; and if you look through the
whole New Teftament, you will find that they are never
confounded; that the one is an humble worshipper, and the
other the great Being who is worshipped by him; that God
is always the giver, and Chrift the receiver, and a receiver
on account of fervices done, and duties difcharged; and there-
fore it is that his example is propofed to us; that, like him,
we may
do what God requires of us, and be rewarded for
it, as he was.
The writer of the book of Revelation exprefsly calls his
prophetic vifion, ch. i. 1, The Revelation of Jeſus Chriſt
* As I hope I fhall always be willing to help a neighbour in diftrefs,
and even to lift an enemy's ox or afs out of a pit, when I find him una-
ble to help himſelf, I fhall in this cafe fuggeft to Mr. Burn an anſwer to
this argument of mine, which he may not think of himſelf, but which
will fuit his purpoſe and ideas quite as well as any other argument in either
of his two performances. It is, that David being a type of the Meffiah,
the congregation of Ifrael (who according to Bp. Horſley, ſo much ad-
mired by Mr. Burn, always expected the fecond perfon of the Trinity in
that character) worshipped the Antetype in the prefence of the type; fo that
this adoration was in reality paid to the two firft perfons in the Trinity,
viz. God the Father, and God the Son. In Mr. Burn's next publication,
I fhall expect fome acknowledgment for this affiſtance.
K 3
which
134
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
which God gave unto him. Moreover, whatever power, or
authority, Chrift receives from God, the fcriptures teach us
that he holds it in fubordination to God, who gave it, and
that it is to be ſurrendered up to him, as the apostle Paul
fays, 1 Cor. xv. 24, Then cometh the end, when he shall have
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he ſhall
have put down all rule, and all authority, and power; for he
must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. But when
he faith all things are put under him, it is manifeft that he is
excepted who did put all things under him; and when all things
ſhall be fubdued unto him, then ſhall the Son alfo himself be fub-
ject unto him who put all things under him, that God may be all
in all. This, being a part of your funeral fervice, you muſt
very well remember: and I am perfuaded you muſt fre-
quently have been ftruck with it, as exceedingly unfavour-
able to the doctrine of the Trinity, and the proper divinity
of Chrift.
So far is Chrift from being reprefented as God, that in all
the New Teftament he is never called any thing more than
a man, even in his ftate of greateſt exaltation, after his refur-
rection and afcenfion. How, for example, does Peter cha-
racterize him in his addreſs to the Jews, at the feast of Pen-
tecoft, when he is fhewing his auditors how great a perfon
they had rejected? Even at that time, when he would natu-
rally ſpeak of his mafter in the higheſt terms, he only calls.
him (Acts ii. 22) Jefus of Nazareth, a man approved of God,
by miracles, and wonders, and figns, which God did by him.
Paul uſes the fame language when he ſays in his ſpeech to the
Athenians (Acts xvii. 31) He (i. e. God) has appointed a
day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by
that MAN whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given af-
furance unto all men, in that he hath raiſed him from the dead.
In 1 Cor. xv. 21, Since by man came death, by man comes alſo
the refurrection of the dead. Again, giving as it were the
creed of all Chriftians he ſays, 1 Tim. ii. 5, There is one
God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Chrift
Jefus. And again, I Cor. viii. 6, To us there is but one God
the
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
135
the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one
Lord Jefus Chrift, by whom are all things, and we by him.
Is not Christ here ſpoken of as intirely diftinct from God,
and could the apoftle confider the title of God, as at all ap-
plicable to Chrift, when, in the plaineft language poffible, he
thus gives it exclufively to the Father, To us there is but one
God the Father? It is not one God the Trinity, conſiſting of
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoſt,
according to the ftrange uncouth language of your Litany,
but God the Father only. Can any language refpecting the
perſon of Chriſt be plainer than this of the apoftle? And yet
our adverſaries are continually, but moſt impudently, re-
proaching us with departing from the plain and literal ſenſe
of the fcriptures, and with putting figurative fenfes upon
them. Judge now for yourſelves, whether this be the caſe
or not, and whether they must not have recourſe to ſtrange
fubterfuges, and perverfions of fcripture language, to find
their doctrine of the Trinity in fuch paffages as thefe, or
hold it in any confiftency with them.
I do not wish to tire you by enlarging on fo very plain a
fubject as this. Only read the fcriptures for yourſelves.
Though they are often ill tranflated, by perſons who, be-
lieving the doctrine of the Trinity themfelves, have repre-
ſented them as more favourable to it than they ought to
have done, yet their general ſenſe is ſtill fufficiently clear in
favour of the proper unity of God, and the proper humanity of
Chrift. He is every where fpoken of as our brother, a man,
in all things like unto his brethren; fo that when we are
called heirs of God, we are faid to be joint heirs with Chrift
Jefus. Rom. viii. 17. Does fuch language as this at all
agree with the doctrine of the divinity of Chrift? Would
it not be a ſtrange degradation of a God, to repreſent him as
receiving an inheritance in common with men ?
If you wiſh to read the reafoning of others on this fub-
ject, and particularly the tract fo much recommended by
Mr. Burn, p. 70, which he fays has gone through three
editions, do me, do yourſelves, and the argument, the juftice
K 4
to
136
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
to read at the fame that piece of mine to which it is one of
I believe, not less than twenty answers, all of which have
not prevented the ſpread of the doctrine which I contend for
in it, and of which I believe not less than thirty thouſand
copies have been fold. It is entitled An Appeal to the ferious
and candid profeſſors of Chriftianity on the following fubjects,
viz. the use of reafon in matters of religion, the power of man
to do the will of God, original fin, election and reprobation, the
divinity of Christ, and atonement for fin by the death of Chrift,
to which in the laft editions, has been added, a concife hiftory
of thefe doctrines, fhewing when, and how they came to be
adopted by chriftians. There is alfo fubjoined to it an ac-
count of the trial of Mr. Elwall, for writing against the
divinity of Chriſt, at Stafford affizes, before Judge Denton.
The laft edition was printed by Pearfon and Rollafon, and
is fold for four-pence, and the tryal of Mr. Elwall is printed
feparately by Mr. Swinney, and fold for two-pence. I
would alſo recommend to your notice another ſmall tract of
mine intitled, Ageneral view of the arguments for the unity of
God, and against the divinity and pre-exiſtence of Chrift, from
reaſon, from the ſcriptures and from history, of which the third
edition is now felling, price two-pence. If you wiſh to know
more particularly what I have to fay of thoſe texts of ſcrip-
ture, of which the Trinitarians avail themſelves, as favour-
able to their doctrine, confult another cheap tract of mine,
intitled, A familiar illuſtration of certain paſſages of Scripture
relating to the ſubjects above mentioned, price four-pence.
If you have leiſure, perufe my larger Hiftory of the Cor-
ruptions of christianity, and alfo my Hiftory of early opinions
concerning Jefus Chrift, in which is clearly defcribed the rife
of the doctrine of the Trinity, and where I prove that the
great body of primitive chriftians were ſtrict Unitarians; but
that the philofophizing chriftians, offended at the humilia-
ting idea of having a crucified man at the head of their reli-
gion, after fome time adopted the opinion of his being of a
nature higher than the human; and that this exaltation of
him went on, till they made him to be God equal to the
Father;
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
137
Father; but that this was a work of time, and not accom-
pliſhed in less than about four hundred years after Chriſt.
You may, in ſome meaſure, perceive the progreſs of
men's opinions on this fubject in the three creeds which are
adopted by your church. The first called the Apoſtles' creed,
is Unitarian; for in it God the Father Almighty, is ſpoken of
as quite diftinct from Jefus Christ our Lord. In the ſecond,
called the Nicene creed, compoſed A. D. 325, Chriſt is
called God of God, and Light of light, the meaning of which
is that Chrift, though truly God, is not God of himself
(auloeos) which the Father alone was then called, but that
he derived his divinity from the Father, and therefore was
fubordinate to him. But in the third, or Athanafian creed,
(compofed nobody can tell when, or by whom, but certainly
after the time of Athanafius, who did not believe any fuch
thing) all idea of fubordination is intirely taken away; and of
all the three perfons it is declared, that none of them is
greater or less than the other, none of them afore or after the
other.
Theſe three creeds, you clearly fee, are inconfiftent with
each other, though a common reader may not perceive it,
and therefore the fame church ought not to retain more than
one of them.
You may now, my friends, judge in fome meaſure for
yourſelves, whether there be any reafon for the violent
clamour that your clergy are raifing against the Unitarians,
in general, and myſelf in particular, as if, poffeffed by a con-
taminating demon we held fome ftrange unfcriptural and
damnable doctrine; and whether, on the contrary, we do
not ſpeak the words of truth and ſoberness. In my Appeal, to
which I referred you before, you will find reafons equally
plain and convincing for the truth of the other doctrines
which offend your clergy fo much, because they are con-
trary to thoſe which make part of their ſyſtem.
All I wish is that you would think, and judge, for your-
felves, and then ſay whether fome reformation of your pub-
lic fervices might not be very eafy and practicable. Do
you
138
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
you,
for example, think that your liturgy would be a worſe,
that is a lefs edifying ſervice, if fuch things as thofe I quoted
above, and that are fo offenfive to pious Unitarians, were.
left out. It is only in a few places that ſuch things as theſe
occur; and if the rest of the ſervice, which has nothing of
this kind, give you no offence, why might not the whole be
made uniform, all the prayers being addreffed to God the
Father, as the greater part of them actually are. Then,
notwithstanding all our differences of opinion, we might all
worship together, like brethren, and fellow chriftians, and
even the difference of Unitarian and Trinitarian, not ap-
pearing in the public forms, would give no offence in
private.
If you chofe to have an eſtabliſhment, that is, if it was
thought proper that the ftate fhould make provifion for re-
ligion out of the public funds, and give falaries to the mi-
nifters of it, it would be a truly Christian eſtabliſhment, in
oppofition to a Heathen, a Mahometan, or a Jewish one;
and not, as it now is, a Trinitarian eſtabliſhment, in oppo-
fition to an Unitarian one.
I am, &c.
LETTER XVIII.
Of Mr. Burn's Letters, in Anſwer to mine.
My Friends and Neighbours,
AFTER waiting a confiderable time from the promiſe
of their Speedy publication, I have received, and you, no
doubt, have feen, Mr. Burn's Letters to me, in anſwer to
mine; and as I informed you of what I thought of Mr.
Madan's Letter, I will now tell you as plainly what I think
of theſe. They diſcover a temper extremely chagrined, and
fretful. The writer is evidently embarraffed in his argu-
ment, unwilling to retract his accufation, evidently falfe
and
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
139
and injurious as it was; and without any regard to evidence,
either from reafon, or from fact, he fill avows the worſt
opinion of myſelf and my tenets. It is really painful to ſee
a chriftian, and a clergyman, perfifting as he does in the
great crime of calumniating his neighbour, without the leaſt
fign of repentance, or remorfe, fo that according to the rule
of the gofpel, he is at prefent in a ſtate of mind which dif-
qualifies him for receiving forgiveneſs of God or man, Let
us hope, however, that in time he will fee his conduct in
its true light, and make the public acknowledgment that
his cafe requires; and then no perfon will be more ready to
forgive an offending brother, than myfelf. It will be a fad
thing indeed if, like Cardinal Beaufort in the play, he ſhould
die withoul giving any fign of repentance, or hope of mercy.
>>
"To the continuance of our correfpondence two things,'
he fays, p. 71, "are indifpenfable, the one that I confine
"myfelf to the question, and the other that whatever I may
"think proper to advance on the fubject, it be addreſſed to
"himſelf perfonally." With reſpect to the former rule,
I fhall obferve it more strictly than he has done; but
with regard to the latter, I ſtrongly ſuſpect that I ſhall ob-
lige him the moſt by not obſerving it at all. For then he
will have an excuſe for diſcontinuing a correſpondence,
which you may perceive is unpleaſant to him, and which it
is faid that his friends, if not himſelf, wifh that he had never
begun.
The profeffed object of his original Letter to me was to
prove that "I rejected the apoftolic teftimony concerning
"the perfon of Chrift." In anfwer to this I fhewed him
that, fo far from rejecting this authority, all my writings on
the ſubject proved that I confidered it as being infallible,
that I had conftantly appealed to it, and had endeavoured to
aſcertain what the opinion of the Apoſtles really was, as de-
firous to difcover, and abide by it. Was not this keeping
to the question, and did not he ramble very wide from it,
when he entered upon the difcuffion of the doctrine of in-
Spiration in general ?
Now,
140
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
Now, however, he fays, p. 15, that "my idea of infpi-
❝ration does in fact fet afde the infallibility of their tefti-
"mony, and by confequence renders all appeal to them in
"this controverſy uſeleſs and abfurd." But with what
reafon he can ſay this, do you judge. If the apoſtles had
no means of knowing what kind of being Chrift was except
by inspiration, and I had denied their inſpiration, my appeal
to their teftimony would, indeed, be abfurd; becauſe, in
that cafe, they would be left unable to give me any infor-
mation on the fubject. But if, without any infpiration at
all, they were naturally competent to judge in the caſe, their
teftimony is as decifive, as if they had been infpired for the
purpoſe, and an appeal to it is confequently proper. Can
it be faid that becauſe I admit their teftimony, without fup-
pofing them to be inſpired (and they neither fay that they
were inſpired for this purpoſe, nor do I fee any occaſion for
it) I reject their teſtimony?
In my opinion, the apoftles, who converfed with Jeſus,
were as capable of judging whether he was a man, as
whether John the Baptift was one; and as they always.
called them men, I take it for granted that they fuppofed
them to be fo, and nothing more; though men inſpired of
God. This reafoning would be juft, even if I denied the
apoftolic inſpiration altogether; but this I admit as well as
Mr. Burn himself; and he does not pretend to admit this.
univerfally, but only in certain cafes, viz. when the object
of their miſſion required it. In this alſo we entirely agree,
and only differ with refpect to the articles included in their
miffion.
Though Mr. Burn ſeems to take it for granted that the
teftimony of the apoftles is of no value, unlefs it be founded
on inſpiration, our Saviour himſelf evidently confidered it
in a different light, when, fpeaking of the evidences of his
divine miffion, he fays (John xv. 27) and ye alfo fhall be
witneſſes, becauſe ye have been with me from the beginning,
and not becauſe you are, or will be, fupernaturally inſpired
to bear witneſs of me. If infpiration had been the proper
foundation
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
141
foundation of their teftimony, what occafion was there for
their being with him from the beginning? A perfect ſtranger
to the perſon of Jeſus might have been inſpired to bear wit-
nefs of him; and if their intimate knowledge of him, ac-
quired by long converſe with him, was fufficient, what oc-
cafion was there for inſpiration?
What is the end of teftimony but to fecure belief? If there-
fore, the ground of it be naturally fufficient for this purpoſe,
nothing farther can be neceffary. Now, the hiftorical evi-
dence of the miracles, of the death, and of the refurrection
of Chrift, on which the whole of chriſtianity depends, is of
itſelf a ſufficient ground of our belief in them. And in-
deed, whatever inſpiration we may ſuppoſe to belong to the
writers of the evangelical hiſtory, our faith in them muſt
reft on hiſtorical evidence at laft, unleſs all mankind, to the
end of the world, were equally inſpired. We of this day,
who have no pretenfions to inſpiration, can have nothing
more than hiſtorical evidence for our faith in the inſpiration
of others. There was therefore no real occafion for it in
the first inftance. The evidence of feeing and hearing was
quite fufficient for the purpoſe of thoſe who actually faw the
miracles, and common hiſtorical evidence is all that we can
now pretend to have, that they did fee and hear what they
relate.
It is to fuch evidence as this, and to no other what-
ever, that the apostle John appeals for the truth of what he
fo confidently declares concerning the perſon of Chrift, in
anſwer to the Gnoftics of his age, who held that he had
not a real body, confifting of flesh and blood, but only the
appearance of one, John i. 1, That which was from the begin-
ning, which we have heard, which we have feen with our
eyes, which we have looked upon, and which our hands have
handled, of the word of life-that which we have feen and
heard, declare we unto you. He fays nothing of infpiration,
which was indeed quite needlefs in the cafe, the evidence of
the natural ſenſes being abundantly ſufficient.
This
142
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
This is a fufficient anfwer to Mr. Burn's query, p 53,
"if you allow the apoftolic teftimony to have been infallible
"without infpiration, I beg to be informed what it is in
"that testimony that induces your affent to any thing that
"it contains." The apostle John neither fays, nor inti-
mates, any thing about infpiration in this place, and yet he
expected to be believed on his own evidence, and that of
his fellow apoſtles, concerning what they had actually heard
and feen. All therefore that Mr. Burn adds about the
authority of God, or the decifion of my own reafon, is alto-
gether impertinent.
I find I have not been able, plainly as I thought I had
written, to make Mr. Burn underſtand the uſe that I have
made of thoſe writers who are commonly called chriftian
Fathers, but I hope to fucceed better with you, who have
not his prejudices. He imagines, p. 43. 53, that I have
recourſe to them, meaning the writers among them, in
order to determine the true fenfe of the fcriptures, which
he thinks we can better determine without them, and in
this I entirely agree with him; thinking that as commen-
tators, they were indeed moft wretched interpreters of fcrip-
ture. But then I did not appeal to them for any fuch pur-
pofe, but only to find out, by their evidence, what the bulk
of the common chriftians of their age, perfons who were no
writers, or commentators at all, thought concerning Chriſt.
Becauſe, notwithſtanding the fources of miſtake to fpecula-
tive and philofophizing chriftians, it may be preſumed, that
the bulk of the common chriftians would much longer re-
tain the plain doctrine which they had derived from the
apoſtles; and this I have abundantly fhewn was that Chriſt
was fimply a man inſpired by God, and not God himſelf.
Among the reft Tertullian, who wrote about A. D. 200,
ſpeaks of the unlearned chriftians of his day as not only not
believing the doctrine of the trinity, but as extremely
fbacked at it; thinking it to be an infringement of the great
doctrine of the fupreme monarchy of God the Father; and
I have
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
143
I have fhewn, by a great variety of evidence, that this was
the cafe till after the council of Nice, A. D. 325. I there-
fore infer that this was the doctrine of the apoſtles, and
confequently that, whatever fenfe we now fix to what they
fay concerning Chrift, they could not have meant any thing
elfe than that he was fimply a man infpired of God, as other
prophets before him had been.
(C
(C
>>
Is not this, now, a very clear and fatisfactory mode of
reafoning on the fubject? Why then does not Mr. Burn
underſtand it, and allow the force of it? He is, however,
fo far from allowing it, that he ftill repeatedly charges me
with even wilfully hiding the truth from the eyes of my
readers by this mode of reaſoning. "You muſt have
"known," fays he, p. 24, "that in the queftion before us
"the introduction of thoſe paffages" (viz. from the Fathers)
was nothing to the purpofe;" and at the fame time he
charges me with "a difingenuous purpoſe of confound-
ing the buſineſs." In p. 41, he finds "a freſh fpecimen of
"the fame difingenuous temper. Theſe attempts he ſays,
p. 50, "he muft regard as made with no other defign than
"that of concealing from the public view, and of reſcuing
"from public deteftation, the tendency of my opinions;
and in p. 51, he ſpeaks of "the ſtruggles of my fuperior
"underſtanding," as he is pleaſed to call it, to conceal its
"own embarraffinent." Now, in general, I am on the
contrary, confidered as the moft undiſguiſed, and therefore
the most imprudent of writers, frankly avowing the moſt of-
fenfive fentiments in the plaineft terms, and admitting all
their confequences. Whence then all this ſuſpicion of art-
ful diſguiſe and disingenuoufness, which neceffarily implies a
bad heart? It is mere railing, and the most improbable ac-
cufation, without any proof, or the appearance of it.
,
With respect to himſelf, he fays, p. 67, that he has
fought fairly, meaning that he has not wilfully uſed any fal-
lacious arguments, but has honeſtly fought, and contended
for the truth. Why, then, cannot he have the common
candour to admit the fame concerning me? Are there no
honest
144
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
honest men in the world befides thofe of his own perfua-
fion? I confider him as a man under the force of very
ftrong prejudices, fuch as make him blind to fuch things as
I am confident I can make you fee very clearly; but this
implies no baſeness, nothing d'fingenuous, immoral, or wicked,
which is the idea that he exhibits of me; and therefore I
think that my principles, whatever they are, admit of more
candour than his.
He charged my principles with being big with every mif-
chief, implying a renunciation of the authority of ſcripture;
and that even the decalogue itfelf was in danger of being
diſregarded by me, fo that he even trembled at the applica-
tion of my principles. Now, in order to make him eaſy
on this fubject, for the fake of the quiet of his mind, and
the health of his body (which I was apprehenfive might ſuf-
fer by the terror that he was thrown into) I fhewed him very
clearly that his fears were without foundation; that I was
as firm a believer of every thing that had a good moral ten-
dency as he himſelf, and that the beſt rule of judging con-
cerning the danger of any principles, was that plain one of
our Savicur's. By their fruits ye shall know them. And yet,
without paying any proper attention to this, he ftills perfifts
in faying, p. 3, "the more extenfively your opinions are
“known, the more univerfally they will be reprobated, as
"tending in a direct manner to weaken the credibility, and
"to defeat the end, of the chriftian difpenfation." Now
can this be any thing lefs than abſolute raving? But even
this is far leſs reproachful than what he fays concerning me.
You fee in my writings, and I hope in my life and conver-
fation, that my principles do not weaken the credibility, or
defeat the end, of the chriftian diſpenſation, if that end was
a good moral conduct.
In answer to my appealing to the excellent maxim of our
Saviour above mentioned, By their fruits ye shall know
men, he ſays, p. 59, "you muſt be aware that this maxim,
"though in general a fafe guide, does not hold univerfally."
Now, I do not think that Mr. Burn, with all his wifdom,
will
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
145
will ever find out a better rule of judging than this very
plain one of our Saviour's, though it happens not to an-
fwer his purpoſe of condemning me. Beſides, if I ſay the
fame concerning any ſaying of our Saviour's, viz. that it is
not to be underſtood univerſally, or in it's plain and literal
fenfe, I am inftantly accuſed of denying his authority, and
of ſetting up my own reafon againſt that of God; fo ready
are men to fee a mote in a brother's eye, when they cannot
fee a beam in their own.
I fhall, however, foon quit this fubject of Mr. Burn,
fubmitting what I have obſerved to your reflections, and
his; and defiring him to perufe with more care what I have
written on the fubject of infpiration in general, and other
articles of chriftian doctrine at which he has taken ſo much
offence, and which he has endeavoured to exhihit in fo
frightful a light; and in time he may be better qualified to
write about them than he appears to be at prefent. As yet
he has much to learn even from thoſe whofe writings he
treats, or affects to treat, with contempt. But in order to
prepare himſelf for acquiring more knowledge, he muſt firſt
get a more candid and teachable mind. For there are
perſons whom the plaineſt inſtructions ferve only to irritate,
and not to enlighten.
If we had not facts of this kind to appeal to, the New
Teſtament history would appear incredible. But there are
at this very day minds as obdurate as thoſe of the ſcribes
and pharifees in our Saviour's time; and there is reafoning
fo plain and convincing, that if men can ſo ſhut their eyes
as not to be impreffed by it, they would not be at a lofs to
find means of evading the force even of miracles themfelves,
if they were equally averfe to the object of them. In my
opinion, the man who can ſeriouſly ſay that to acknowledge
three divine perfons, none of them greater or less than the other,
is not to acknowledge three Gods, is capable of evading the
force of any evidence whatever. Mr. Burn, however, fays
p. 54, he "rejects with indignation the opinion which by
any mode of fair conſtruction is chargeable with the con-
"fequence
L
146
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
/
cr
ſequence of worshipping more gods than one," without
ſeeing that his avowed opinion moſt directly implies it.
Be upon your guard, my good friends, againſt ſuch ſtrong
prejudices, and fuch egregious felf deception as this, and dread
any fituation in which a man fhall be expofed to them.
Mr. Burn will fay that the fcriptures teach the doctrine of
three perfons in one God, and, ftrange as it appears to me, I
have no doubt but that he really thinks fo. But the
Catholic, with equal honefty, fays that, according to the
clear doctrine of the fcriptures, and the plain obvious fenfe.
of them, the bread and wine in the Lord's fupper are the
real body and blood of Christ, and they both fay that reafon
must give way to chriftian faith. Be very cautious, how-
ever, how you admit any doctrines which require this fa-
crifice of reason, the great principle which God has given
us, as our only guard againſt the groffeft delufion and impo-
fition. By this principle only can we judge both of the
truth of any revelation from God to man, and of the ſenſe
in which any revealed truths are to be underſtood.
In order to ferve us in theſe important reſpects, reaſon
cannot, furely, be that weak and contemptible thing that
Mr. Burn, and fuch preachers as he is, are continually
repreſenting it to be. It is the gift of God, and, no doubt,
as perfect in its kind, as our hands, eyes, or any other part.
of our conftitution, and has fuffered no more by the fall
of Adam, whatever that was, than our hands, eyes, or any
other of our members.
You must now be fenfible that, in thefe laft Letters, Mr.
Burn has by no means exculpated himſelf from the charge
of grofs calumny, which he incurred by his firft. He perfifts
in charging me with rejecting the apoftolic teſtimony con-
cerning the perſon of Chrift, when it appears from all my
writings, that I pay the fame implicit reſpect to it that he
himſelf does, that I conftantly appeal to it, and am as ready
to abide by it. He alſo continues to charge my principles
with the worſt moral tendency, without being able to prove
any part of his heinous accufation; and now he is ſo far
from
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
147
from repenting of his foul detraction, and abufe, that he
adds to it, by taxing me with infincerity, and much artful
mifreprefentation, on purpoſe to hide the truth, to conceal the
bad tendency of my principles, and to ward off the detefta-
tion with which they would otherwiſe be regarded. You,
who have attended to us both, I am confident, have ſeen.
no evidence whatever of the truth of this accuſation, and
therefore you muſt confider him as aggravating his former
offences, by the addition of a new one.
I do not notice every thing that is contained in Mr.
Burn's Letters, becauſe I think that what I advanced before
is quite fufficient; and with reſpect to many things I am
content that he ſhould have the last word, whatever uſe he
may make of the circumftance. Befides, he fays, p. 70,
"the ſenſe of the fcriptures makes no part of the preſent
tr queſtion between us ;" and I have abundantly replied to
every thing of a different kind.
Many of you to whom I am now addreffing myſelf are
Mr. Burn's hearers; and as I fuppofe he does not confine
himſelf to the teaching of orthodoxy in doctrine, but fome-
times, at leaft, exhorts you to good moral conduct, and
among other things tells you not to revile, but to do to
others as you would have them do to you (precepts which
you fee he has fhamefully violated) join your exhortation
to mine, in order to bring him to repentance. It is the
duty of all chriſtians, and not of minifters only, to reprove,
rebuke, and exhort, and not to fuffer fin in a brother. If he
pay no regard to your friendly admonition, then you muſt
content yourſelves with doing as he fays, but not as he does;
for, like the fcribes and pharifees of old, he faith and deeth
not.
If the bishops took any proper care of the morals of their
clergy, Mr. Burn would be cenfured by them, and if he
did not repent, and make his repentance as public as his
fault, he would be fufpended from his miniſtry. But
in this degenerate age, and relaxed ſtate of difcipline, no-
thing of this wholesome feverity, I fear, is to be expected.
L 2
On
148
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
On the contrary, it is even faid that he has received the
thanks of two biſhops, if not more, for his abuſe of me;
and it is farther reported, that he has even threatened to
put me into the ſpiritual court, for charging him with ad-
vancing a falsehood. But I fhould think that if this take
place, he ſhould accompany me, for advancing that falfe-
hood; and then, being confined together, we might have
an opportunity of difcourfing over, and fettling, the matter
in diſpute between us. I hope, however, that, without the
interference of law, civil or ecclefiaftical, he will learn by
what has already paffed, to deal no more in fcandal, and
then there will be no more occafion for you, or me, to re-
prove him for it.
I am, &c.
LETTER XIX.
A Short History of the Diſſenters, and an Account of their
General Principles.
My Townfinen and Neighbours,
AS it is very poffible that many of you may know little
more of Churchmen and Diffenters, than their names,
and fome external circumftances relating to them; as that
Churchmen frequent the parish churches on Sundays, and
Diffenters other places of public worship, commonly called
meeting-houses, you will not, I hope, take it amiſs if I en-
deavour to give you fome farther information on the ſub-
ject. For it can do you no harm to know your neighbours
and yourſelves a little better than fome of you now do;
and this I hope will tend to prevent the bad impreffions
that your preachers are frequently endeavouring to make
upon
•
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
149
upon your minds with respect to us, eſpecially in fuch Ser-
mons as they commonly deliver on the 30th of January,
the anniverſary of the martyrdom, as they call it, of their
favourite prince Charles I. I fhall therefore give you the
following ſhort and plain hiſtory, the truth of which I wiſh
you to inquire into; for I do not defire you ſhould take this,
or any thing elſe on my bare word.
From the time that chriſtianity was preached to our
Saxon anceſtors, about A. D. 597, till the time of Henry
VIII. they continued attached to the Roman fee, and fome
articles of reformation being urged by Wickliffe and others,
the bishops perfecuted their followers, putting many of
them to cruel deaths. For it was then a fixed maxim, that
herefy was not to be tolerated.
Henry VIII. wiſhing to be divorced from one wife, and
to marry another, quarrelled with the pope, who delayed to
grant him the neceffary diſpenſation, and made himſelf the
fupreme head of the English church, inftead of the pope;
but he retained all the effential doctrines of popery, and
actually put to death ſeveral perfons who denied them.
After his death Edward VI. promoted a farther reforma-
tion; but it was all undone, as far as power could undo it,
by queen Mary. In her reign many proteſtants were
burned alive, and others fled, eſpecially to Geneva and
Frankfort. There they differed about the beſt method of
church-government, fome thinking it better that the go-
vernment of each congregation fhould be within itſelf,
while others preferred ſuch a dioceſan epifcopacy, as they had
been uſed to in the time of popery. They alſo wiſhed to
retain the uſe of fome popifh habits and ceremonies. Queen
Elizabeth, who was a great lover of pomp and power,
taking part with the latter, diſcouraged and perfecuted the
former, during the whole of her long reign.
James I. and Charles I. were still more fond of bishops
than queen Elizabeth, finding in them an addition to their
own power, ſuch as our kings experience to this day. In
the reign of theſe kings, notwithstanding a very fevere
perfecution, in which many died in priſon, and many fled
L 3
the
1
-
150
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
the kingdom (of whom a confiderable number took refuge
in North America, then an inhospitable defert, and at their
own expence founded colonies in it) there was a great in-
creaſe of perfons difaffected to the church of England. For
though the things about which they differed were not of
much importance in themfelves, and were even acknow-
ledged to be fo, they thought it of confequence to reſiſt the
impofition of them by fo improper an authority as that of
men; fince, in matters of religion, they thought themſelves
bound not to reſpect any human authority whatever, but
only that of God and of Christ.
Though this fcruple, as it is fometimes called, has gene-
rally made theſe perſons to be confidered as men of weak
minds, it was in fact a proof of great frength of mind, and
ſhews that they acted upon more juſt and enlarged views of
things than they who fuperciliouſly ftigmatized them in that
manner. For a power of decreeing rites and ceremonies,
and much more of determining controverfies of faith, which
the church of England affumes, is a power that is abfolutely
indefinite, and of the very fame kind with thoſe claims which,
in things of a civil nature, always give the greateſt alarm.
A tax of a penny, for example, is a trifle, but a power of
impoſing ſuch a tax is never confidered as a trifle, becauſe it
implies abfolute fervitude in all who fubmit to it.
It was natural alſo that the fame perfons who thus ftrenu-
ouſly afferted their religious liberty, facrificing to it all that
was dear to them in life, fhould have a ſtrong ſenſe of
their civil liberty; and accordingly thoſe who at that time
were called Puritans, from profeffing a purer mode of
worſhip, and farther removed from the abuſes of popery
than the members of the church of England, were among
the firſt to take alarm at the meaſures of James and Charles
to extend the power of the crown, and to trample upon
the rights of the people *; fo that when the civil wars broke
out, theſe Puritans, or Diffenters, and thoſe who favoured
*Mr. Hume, though a friend to the Stuarts, fomewhere acknowledges
that this country is chiefly indebted to the principles and ſpirit of the
Puritans for its civil liberties.
them,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
151
them, who were the more ſerious and fober part of the na-
tion, took part againſt the king, and the more looſe and
profligate joined him.
Whether it was that the troubles of the times contributed
to give the people a more ſerious turn, and by that means
diſpoſed them to join the Puritans, and the friends of liberty,
it appeared that, though the parliament called by the king
was at first epifcopalian*, the members of it were afterwards
in general of the Preſbyterian perſuaſion; and after the
death of the king, the Preſbyterian government was, to all
appearance, as firmly eſtabliſhed in this country as epifco-
pacy is at prefent.
The reſtoration of Charles II. though chiefly promoted
by the Preſbyterians, gave ſuch vigour to the cauſe of epif-
copacy, that the friends of it ſoon prevailed in parliament;
and the king and the court, forgetting their obligations to
the Preſbyterians, adopted every meaſure to diſcountenance
and punish them. Epifcopacy was reftored, and fuch an act
of uniformity paffed, as excluded two thouſand learned and
confcientious clergymen from their churches; and no provi
fion being made for their fupport, and various acts of par-
liament being made on purpoſe to diſtreſs them, great num-
bers of Nonconformists, not less than eight thouſand in all,
periſhed in priſon, and not lefs than two millions of pro-
perty, on one pretence or other, was unjustly wrefted from
them. A lift was taken of fixty thoufand perfons who had
fuffered on a religious account from the reſtoration to the
revolution. From thofe who could not comply with the
terms of conformity in the reign of Charles II. and who
fuffered in confequence of it, it is the boaft of the prefent
Diffenters to be defcended.
In the reign of James II. an avowed Catholic, the church
of England, being in danger, was glad to avail itſelf of the
aid of the Diffenters, and both parties concurred in calling
* Neither Pym, Hampden, Hollis, nor any others of principal note
in the long parliament were Prefbyterians; and the Earl of Effex, who
firſt commanded the army of the people, was a ſtrenuous epifcopalian.
1
L 4
in
152
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
in William III. This prince fo ftrongly recommended
toleration, that preſently after his acceffion, an act for this
purpoſe paſſed both houſes of parliament. But notwith-
ſtanding their recent obligations to the Diffenters, the
biſhops and other zealous churchmen, foon fhewed the ill
will they bore them, by refufing to repeal the Corporation
and Test Acts, and alſo another act for the comprehenfion of
the Diffenters in the church, by an alteration of fome things
which were then chiefly objected to, though the meaſures
were ſtrongly recommended by the king; who, having been
educated in Holland, was well acquainted with the benefit
of toleration; ſo that it may ſafely be concluded that, had
not the Act of Toleration been propofed at that particular
period, it would not have paffed at all. Biſhop Burnet ſays,
that his credit was much funk, meaning with the clergy, by
the zeal which he fhewed for this Act. Hiftory of his own
Times, vol. 3, p. 12. Preſently after he fays, p. 15. "the
clergy began to fhew an implacable hatred to the Non-
"conformiſts, and ſeemed to wiſh for an occafion to renew
"old ſeverities againſt them."
The Diffenters, being from their circumſtances (for no
other kind of merit is pretended) the friends of civil liberty,
and of a limited monarchy, will always be favoured by thoſe
who are called whigs, in the eſtabliſhed church, and their
chief oppofers will be thoſe who are called tories, or the
friends of arbitrary power.
Still the Unitarians were left expoſed to all the rigour of
the former ſtatutes, and none could enjoy the benefit of the
toleration, but upon condition of fubfcribing all the doc-
trinal articles of the church of England; or teach a ſchool
without a licence from a bishop. More liberty has lately
been procured in theſe refpects. But Unitarians, whoſe
numbers are allowed by all to be greatly increafing, were
not only expoſed to the former laws, but a new one was
enacted againſt them, which makes it eventually confiſca-
tion of goods, and impriſonment for life, to profeſs that
doctrine. This was a law made in the time of William
himſelf,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
153
himſelf, and which, you ſee, Mr. Madan would not have
repealed.
Notwithſtanding all theſe difcouragements, the number
of Diffenters is probably increaſing, and thoſe who adopt
our principles in the church, but who cannot perfuade them-
felves to abandon it, are increaſing in a ſtill greater propor-
tion; ſo that the inconveniences of the preſent eſtabliſhment
are every day more apparent. And as the minds of men
cannot fail to be more and more enlightened, the evil muſt
in time appear to be fo great, that fome redreſs will be
found; and the longer it is delayed, the more complete it
may be expected to be. Senfible of this, we are not very
folicitous about any reformation at prefent. Let the evil
grow more conſpicuous, and the remedy will be more cer-
tain and effectual.
I am, &c.
LETTER XX.
Of the Situation of the Clergy of the eſtabliſhed Church.
My Friends and Neighbours,
F it be of confequence to all men to have fome know-
ledge of their neighbours, with whom they have fre-
quent intercourſe, it muſt be much more fo to know them-
felves, the fociety to which they belong, and the govern-
ment under which they put themſelves, with all its defects,
as well as its excellencies; and fince nothing in this world
is perfect, we ſhould be continually endeavouring to put
things into a ſtate of improvement. Having therefore
endeavoured to give you fome idea of the rife and principles
of the Diffenters, I fhall now point out to you ſome things
that it behoves you to attend to in the conſtitution of your
eſtabliſhed
154
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
eftablished church. And as your clergy are continually dif
playing its excellencies (which I am far from denying, but
on the contrary endeavouring to adopt) you will naturally
expect from me fome account of its defects. In this I am
not unwilling that you fhould make what allowance you
think proper for my prejudices, as well as theirs; and all
that I wish is, that you would inquire, and judge impartially
for yourſelves. It is a buſineſs that much more nearly con-
cerns you, than it does me.
I fhall not enlarge upon all the particulars that, in my
opinion, require to be reformed in the fyftem of your eſtab-
liſhed church, for that would require a volume; but in this
Letter I fhall mention a few circumſtances in the fituation
of the clergy unfavourable to them, and to religion, becauſe
of theſe you will be better judges than of many other things
in the conftitution of the church, and by theſe you may
judge of the rest of the fyftem. And it is the fyftem to which
they are ſubject that makes the clergy to be what they are,
and they muſt be more than men to withſtand the fatal in-
fluence of it. No other fet of men whatever could be ex-
pected to be, or to do, more than they are, or than they do,
in their fituation. This general acknowledgment, in the
making of which I am perfectly fincere, will, I hope, ex-
cuſe any feeming breach of candour in what I fhall have
occafion to ſay on this fubject.
1. The first thing that I fhall obferve unfavourable to
your clergy, and conſequently to religion, and to yourſelves,
is that the perſons whom their fervices refpect have no
power of appointing or difmiffing them. Should this be the
cafe with your clerks, and agents, what could you expect
of them? Would they not foon behave more like mafters,
than fervants? And, accordingly, with you the very idea of
the clergy being your fervants, men who are paid for doing
a certain duty, is in a manner loft, though that is the very
meaning of the word minifter. It is this one circumſtance
that contributes molt to make the ftriking difference that
there actually is between the character and behaviour of
diffenting
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
155
diffenting miniſters and thoſe of your clergy. A drunken, a
fwearing, or debauched miniſter among us, I will venture to
fay, you never heard of, though fuch characters are not un-
common among you. This is not becauſe we are naturally
better than they, but becauſe our circumftances oblige us
to be fo. Take away the reſtraint that we are now under,
and in time, when the effect of good habits, which now
prevail among us, fhould be over, and when the new cir-
cumſtances ſhould be able to operate, there would be no
difference between us and them.
In general, alfo, no perfon with us ever thinks of edu-
cating a fon for the miniſtry if he be not thought to be a
youth both of a pretty good capacity, and of a ſerious turn
of mind; becauſe his reſpectability, and his ſucceſs in his
profeffion, depend upon them. But this, you well know, is
not the cafe with you; becauſe a man who has good con-
nections, though very flender qualifications, and no extra-
ordinary character, may be introduced into very high, if not,
the higheft, dignities in your church. Many of them are
conftantly filled with the younger fons of good families.
merely becauſe they furnish a reputable maintenance for
them; and this is one circumſtance that intereſts the great
families in this country in the fupport of the eſtabliſhment;
and the fame is the cafe with refpect to the eſtabliſhment of
popery abroad*.
* As there is no ſyſtem ſo bad as to be without its admirers (and
indeed there is no evil without fome good attending it) many think it
much better that their pariſhoners ſhould not have the choice of their
minifters, fince that would endanger the peace of the parish. But for the
fame reaſon, it would alſo be better for the people of this country to have
no votes in the election of members of parliament, or any controu!, di-
rect or indirect, over any part of the civil government. One abfolute
mafter would much better preferve the peace, and prevent diffention and
cabal. Every power that man has requires prudence in the uſe of it.
But muſt fuch à creature as man, whofe diftinguiſhing faculty is reaſon,
be debarred from the uſe of it, and abandon all his natural powers, be-
cauſe, if any thing be left to his difcretion, it is of courſe left to his indif-
cretion alfo? It would then be much better to be a brute animal, under
the abfolute direction of another.
In
156
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
In the late glorious revolution in France this great abufe
has not been overlooked. All the bishops, and officiating
clergy in general, have been made elective by thoſe whom
their fervices refpect, and neither the pope nor the king has
ſo much as a negative on the choice of the people. Nay,
Proteftants and Jews have equal votes with Catholics.
2. Another circumftance unfavourable to your clergy is
that their education does not tend to prepare them for the
proper duties of their profeffion, fince they are not of a
theological nature. As the clergy are a body of men whofe
buſineſs it is to teach others religion, you would expect that
they ſhould first be taught it themſelves. But this is not
the cafe. No provifion is made for it in the univerſities.
There nothing is neceffarily taught but the claffics, and
other branches of what is generally called profane literature,
and even in this refpect the great body of your clergy are
but indifferently furnished; for as I am informed, great
numbers of them have no univerſity education at all. In
the nothern counties this is faid to be a very rare cafe in-
deed. It is alfo much too eafy a thing for perfons of other
profeffions, the law, the army, or navy, or even from com-
mon trades, to get orders, provided they can procure titles
to livings.
Well did our Saviour fay, the children of this world are
wifer in their generation than the children of light. Would
any of
of you take a clerk into a counting-houſe who had not
been taught arithmetic, or who, in any other reſpect, had not
been trained to the buſineſs in which you wanted to employ
him? Would you, inſtead of having recourſe to a regular
attorney. get important writings drawn by a perſon who had
not been properly inftructed in the nature of them, and who
had had no practice in things of that kind? Or would you
truſt any man with the conduct of a manufactory merely
becauſe ſome great man, or fome particular friend, wanted
to find a decent provifion for him? If you did, you well
know there would foon be an end of the bufinefs of
your counting-houfes, your manufactories, and all your
affairs;
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
157
affairs; and, that you would want fome proviſion for
yourſelves.
I do not boaſt of the fituation of things among the Dif
fenters; but it would be very extraordinary indeed if we
were not better qualified for the performance of what is
required of us, than your clergy are, for what is required of
them; becauſe the duties of our profeffion are the great ob-
jects of our education. Claffics, mathematics, and philo-
fophy are not neglected; but with us every thing is made
fubfervient to the ftudy of theology, the knowledge of the
fcriptures, the compofition of fermons, and the diſcharge of
other parts of minifterial duty.
It is obviously neceffary that every chriſtian miniſter
ſhould underſtand the languages in which the Bible was
written; and in our places of liberal education we are
always taught Hebrew as well as Greek. But with your
clergy this is a voluntary thing. They may learn Hebrew,
as they may Chineſe, or any other language, but they are¸
under no obligation to do it. Their getting orders does
not depend upon it. Do you inquire among the clergy in
this town and neighbourhood, and I will venture to fay,
without knowing any thing particular of the matter, that
you will not find one clergyman in an hundred who can fo
much as read a Hebrew word, and not one minifter edu-
cated at any of our academies, who cannot read and con-
ftrue it. Greek, your clergy learn becauſe it is an article
of claffical education, and not becauſe it is the language of
the New Teſtament.
In confequence alfo of our mode of education, a habit of
compofition is univerfal among diffenting minifters, but it is
by no means fo among yours. It is generally thought that,
though there are ten clergymen for one diffenting miniſter
in this country, we compofe more fermons than they do,
and our publications of other kinds are far more numerous
than theirs in proportion to our numbers; which is a proof
that, in general, we are of a much more ftudious turn than
they are. The fermons the moſt admired for their com-
pofition
158
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
}
pofition of any that your church has boafted of in the pre-
fent age, 'were thofe that were published by Dr. White,
profeffor of Arabic, at the Bampton Lecture. But a great
part of them now appears to have been written by a Dif-
fenter, a perfon educated at the very meaneft of our acade-
mies, and formerly my moft humble admirer, though after-
wards my opponent, Mr. Badcock.
The deficiency of the clergy in that kind of learning
which most becomes their profeffion is evident from my con-
troverfy relating to the perſon of Chriſt. Bishop Horſley's
Tracts you will hear cried up by Mr. Madan, and others.
But the probability is that they have not read even them,
and much lefs what I have written on the other de of the
queſtion, eſpecially my Hiftory of Early Opinions concerning
Jeſus Chriſt. Let Mr. Madan himſelf, who ſpeaks of my
"fmarting under this biſhop's lafh," ſay upon his honour
whether he has or not. I have too good an opinion both
of his judgment, and of his integrity, to think that he will
fay thus much; though, without much reading on the ſub-
ject, he may think himſelf warranted to join in the general
plaudits of his order on the fide of their champion. A
biſhop lately deceafed, and who was acknowledged to be
one of the beſt ſcholars not only on the bench, but of his
age, told me about the time of the opening of this contro-
verfy, that fo low was the ftate of this kind of learning, viz.
an acquaintance with the Fathers, and chriſtian antiquity,
that he did not know that there was a fingle perfon among
the clergy who was at all prepared for any difcuffion of the
kind; and this has been abundantly verified in the courſe
of the controverſy.
3. It is highly unfavourable to the character of the
clergy that the temptation they are under to make falſe de-
clarations is, in feveral cafes, greater than there is any reafon
to ſuppoſe that the bulk of mankind can withſtand; and if
we go upon the idea that one fet of men will, in general, be
better than another, we ſhall certainly be deceived. In the
firſt place, the clergy are obliged to ſubſcribe the thirty-nine
articles
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
159
articles of the church of England at a time when it is ab-
folutely impoffible that they ſhould have properly con-
fidered them, and this fubfcription is to be repeated on their
induction into every new living. Now, I do not ſay there is
no clergyman who has fairly confidered theſe articles (which
however, judging by my own experience, will require the
ſtudy of ſome years, and in general it is to be feared that it is
not the buſineſs of a fingle day) who can ex animo ſubſcribe
to the belief of them all, in that plain and literal fenſe in
which his fubfcription is by law required. But at this day,
when fo much more light hath been thrown upon theſe ſub-
jects than was to be found at the time the articles were com-
pofed, it is highly improbable that this fhould be the cafe;
and the bulk of the clergy do unquestionably fubfcribe them
without any thing that can be called examination, and con-
fequently without any proper belief of them at all.
Now, is not this an unpromifing introduction into an
office in which it is a man's duty to teach the importance of
truth, the neceflity of enquiry for the diſcovery of truth, and
the obligation of fincerity in the profeffion of it; duties
which he muſt be conſcious to himſelf he has wholly
neglected, or grofly violated? The clergy muſt alſo give
their unfeigned aſſent and confent to every thing contained in
the liturgy of the church of England, the book of canons,
and other things which at this day it is barely poffible they
ſhould really approve. But when men have been educated
to a profeffion, ſo that they can get a genteel fubfiftence by
it, and have no profpect of any maintenance at all without
it, what can you expect? All men are not faints, and no
men are angels.
How, alfo, is it to be expected that men fhould indulge a
ſpirit of free enquiry in matters of religion, when they know
before hand that they cannot change a fingle opinion with-
out making it neceffary for them, if they be honeſt men,
and will not have recourfe to unworthy artifices, to give up
all their means of ſupport? In this cafe, if they have a turn
for ſpeculation, they will naturally make choice of any other
fubject
160
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
fubject rather than religion. I have heard of more inftances
than one of clergymen refuſing to read my own publications,
left their minds fhould be difturbed by them. One, I was
told, who had experienced that inconvenience himſelf, fe-
riouſly cautioned a younger clergyman never to look into
any of them.
Alſo, having no motive to free enquiry themselves, the
clergy will naturally be enemies to it in others, and, on one
pretence or other, they will difcourage the reading of any
books that can tend to unfettle men's minds, and change
their opinions; becauſe it might eventually lead them to
think more unfavourably of the eſtabliſhed fyftem. It is a
remarkable fact that, in almoſt all places in which there are
public libraries on fuch a liberal and open plan as that which
has lately been eſtabliſhed in this town, the clergy have in
the firſt inſtance diſcountenanced them; and when that
could not be done, they have endeavoured to get the con-
troul of them, for the fake of keeping out fuch books as
they wish the common people not to read; while the Dif-
ſenters have always been foremoſt to promote theſe libraries,
and when they have been inftituted, have been as ready to
introduce into them books unfavourable to their opinions,
as thoſe in favour of them. We are uſed to free enquiry,
and love to encourage it.
The folemn declaration which the clergy are required to
make at the time of receiving orders, viz. that they are
moved to undertake the office of a chriſtian minifter by the
Holy Ghoft, is what ought not to be required; becauſe, if
the words have any meaning at all, their declaration implies
that they feel fome fupernatural impulfe upon their minds.
leading them to it; when the moft that can be faid is that,
from a pious and good difpofition of mind, they are in-
clined to undertake that employment in preference to any
other. But in how many cafes is it not apparent that even
this is more than can be afferted with truth; fince they
chuſe their buſineſs as you do yours, with no other view
than to get a ſubſiſtence by it.
The
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
161
The oath againſt fimony at the inftitution of the clergy into
their benefices, is, I fear, much too ftrict for the actual
practice of many of them. It is as follows, "I, N. N.
"do fwear that I have made no fimoniacal payment, con-
"tract, or promife, directly or indirectly, by myſelf or any
"other, to my knowledge, or with my confent, to any per-
"fon or perſons whatſoever, for, or concerning, the procur-
"ing, and obtaining, of this ecclefiaftical dignity, place, pre-
"ferment, office, or living, nor will at any time hereafter
<c perform, or fatisfy, any ſuch kind of payment, contract,
"or promife, made by any other without my knowledge or
"confent. So help me God through Jefus Christ." Now,
beſides buying advowſons with the right of preſentation, and
then preſenting themſelves, which is virtually the fame
thing as purchafing the living, is it not well known that, in
various other ways, livings are really purchafed, as much as
other life eſtates, and reverſions? For my own part, I fee
no good reaſon why, confidering the reft of the conftitution
of the church, it might not be permitted to clergymen,
properly qualified, to buy places in the church, as well as
for officers to buy places in the army. It would certainly
be far leſs fcandalous, and in all reſpects better, than the
prefent practice.
5. The inequality in the provifion that is made for
the clergy is another great and crying evil in your church, as
it both adds to the expence of the fyftem, and is the cauſe
of the clerical duty being worfe performed. For in general,
the perfons who receive the largeſt falaries do the leaft duty,
being able to get it done for a ſmall allowance by inferior
hands; and in fome cafes the difproportion between the re-
ceipts of the perſon who does nothing, and thofe of him
who does the whole, is enormous and ſcandalous. Now
the queſtion with a fenfible and economical people is, whe-
ther any kind of duty cannot be as well done at a leſs ex-
pence. If the real duty of any parifh be actually done for
fifty pounds a year, for example, why ſhould another perſon
enjoy perhaps five hundred for doing nothing? Money
M
that
:
162
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
that might be faved, you know is thrown away, and might
be better employed.
We Diffenters think that we manage our affairs much
better than you do yours. There are, for example, in this
town twelve diffenting minifters of different denominations,
who, to the fatisfaction of their reſpective congregations, do
the duty of eight places of public worſhip; and yet all their
falaries put together hardly amount to that of the rector of
St. Martin's. Now it is not denied that, in this particular
cafe, his affiduity in the care of fouls is equal to that of
twelve of us; and that, finding himſelf more than equal to
the care of this pariſh, and having the free offer of another
at fome diſtance, he has been encouraged to undertake it;
yet this is not to be expected of the ordinary race of men.
Mr. Madan is another happy inftance within your know-
ledge of one man being capable of much clerical duty, and
having a field of action in fome proportion to his exertions.
But there are in other parts of the kingdom, clergymen
whoſe characters are lefs refpectable, and whofe labours are
lefs inceffant, who receive much more for doing much less.
Yet, notwithstanding this abundant provifion for the
clergy, fo unequal is the appropriation of it, that you are
often obliged to be at a great additional expence yourſelves
to have the duty of your churches done to your fatisfaction;
ſo that, in many cafes, befides what is exacted by law, you
pay as much by voluntary contribution as the Diffenters
themſelves. Ample as is the revenue of the church of St.
Martin's, you find it neceffary to provide one of the two
curates, and to pay him yourſelves.
6. Pluralities and non-refidence are other ſhameful abuſes
in your church government, and greater, I believe, than in
any Catholic country at this day. That any chriſtian, and
eſpecially a chrilian minifter, ſhould be able to fatisfy his
confcience with this fource of wealth (which neceffarily de-
prives others of his brethren of a competent provifion) will
always be thought impoffible by the unprejudiced laity.
But, as I would be always underſtood to fay, it is not the
men,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
163
then, but the fyftem that is to be complained of. The temp-
tation fhould be removed, and the law fhould from time to
time define that decent provifion with which a chriftian mi-
nifter, with and without a family, ought to be content; and
if one or two hundred, if four or five hundred, be deemed
fufficient, no clergyman ſhould, on any pretence whatever,
whether as chaplain to a nobleman, or any other, take any
livings the income of which fhould exceed that fum. If
that proviſion will not anſwer their purpoſe, let them betake
themſelves to ſome more lucrative profeſſion, and not carry
their avarice and rapacity into the fanctuary of God.
I fear, however, that the preſent ſyſtem, bad as it is, is
more agreeable to the generality of the clergy themſelves. It
is like a lottery, in which there are, indeed, many blanks,
but alſo many confiderable prizes, fome or other of which
every one flatters himſelf may fall to his lot. Many alfo, no
doubt, are, in ſome fenſe, proud of the wealth and dignity
of their order, though they do not themſelves partake of it;
as the poorest Frenchmen formerly were proud of their
grand monarque. You must have heard how an excellent
propofal for the equalization of livings, by taking from the
rich and giving to the poor, made by the preſent biſhop of
Llandaff was rejected fome years ago; and it is not proba-
ble that any other propofal, which ſhould have the fame ob-
ject, would be treated in a different manner.
7. The method of providing for the clergy by tithes has
a great tendency to debaſe their minds, and to put them on
bad terms with their parishioners, by a conſtant oppoſition
of interefts. To prevent this great inconvenience, ſo as to
promote the great ends of the chriftian miniftry, the falaries
of the clergy ſhould be abfolutely fixed, and be paid in fuch
a manner as to be no obftruction to improvements in agri-
culture. But this is fo far from being the cafe, that there is
no country in chriſtendom in which the maintenance of the
clergy is fo oppreffive to the people as in this. A profeſſor
in the univerſity of Palermo, who lately called upon me, faid
that there are no tithes paid in all Italy or Sicily. In thoſe
countries
M 2
164
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
countries the clergy are maintained from church lands, let
out to tenants, like any other lands; and in Holland the
clergy are paid from the public treaſury, like the officers of
the army or navy. In Scotland, I am informed, the tithes
are all in lay lands, and are never paid in kind, but according
to a moderate invariable modus.
Indeed, the evil arifing from tithes is fo great, and ſtrik-
ing, that I take it for granted it will not be borne much
longer; and a reformation in this reſpect may draw after it
others of more confequence. But for this very reaſon the
friends of the fyftem, that is, all who are gainers by it, will
be ſtrenuous advocates for their continuance, and for every
other abuſe, however manifeft. It is therefore your bufi-
neſs, who ſuffer by them, to prefer your complaints; and
if your applications to the legiſlature for this purpoſe were
general, your petition would, no doubt, be heard. Meet-
ings for the abolition of tithes, like thofe for the abolition
of the flave trade, begun by reputable perſons in any one
town in England, would foon fpread through the whole,
and in due time procure effectual redreſs of this great and
crying evil.
8. The inconvenience of the ſpiritual courts have not
come under my cognizance, but I fhall recite what biſhop
Burnet who, no doubt, knew them well, fays of them.
"As for the ecclefiaftical juriſdiction, it has been the burden
"of my life to ſee how it was adminiſtered. Our courts are
"managed under the rules of the canon law, dilatory and
"expenfive; and as their conftitution is bad, fo the bufi-
"nefs in thein is fmall, and therefore all poffible contri-
(6 vances are uſed to make the moſt of thoſe cauſes that
r come before them, fo that they are univerſally dreaded
"and hated. God grant that a time may come in which
"that noble deſign, ſo near being perfected in king Ed-
"ward the fixth's days, of the reformatio legum ecclefiafti-
"carum, may be reviewed and eſtabliſhed." Then, fhewing
the fuperiority of the diſcipline of the church of Rome, he
fays, "but fince that is not to be thought of, we are in a
"woeful
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
165
"woeful condition, in which the clergy are, as it were, fhut
out from any ſhare of the main parts of the care of ſouls”.
Hiftory of his own Times, vol. IV. p. 411.
<<
9. But, perhaps, the moſt unfavourable circumftance, of
many that are all highly unfavourable, in the fituation of
your clergy, and what is enough to bias, and pervert, any
order of men in the world, is their continually looking for
any confiderable preferment to the court, which has, di-
rectly or indirectly, the diſpoſal of all the bishoprics, and
other great livings. This circumftance will give them, even
more than themſelves can be aware of, a leaning to the
meaſures of the court, which at the fame time tends to de-
baſe their own characters, by giving them a difpofition to
fervility and flattery, and to give ſuch a weight to the power
of the crown as may be inconfiftent with the liberies of the
people. In theſe circumftances, even the virtue of the clergy
will miſlead them; for they will deem it ingratitude not to
abet the meaſures of their patrons. Hence the biſhops who,
if left to themſelves, would, no doubt, think as differently
from one another as other men do, are well known to vote
as uniformly on the fide of the court, as the fixteen peers
of Scotland, who are in fact chofen by the court.
It is well known that, in the arbitrary reigns of the
Stuarts, the great body of the clergy openly preached the
doctrines of paſſive obedience and non-reſiſtance, as if, by the
conſtitution, our kings had been arbitrary; and if the fpirit
of the people had not overruled that of the church, our go-
vernment would at this day have been as defpotic as that of
Turkey. The misfortunes of that unhappy family, the
Stuarts, are in a great meaſure to be afcribed to the clergy of
their times, who were continually foftering their high no-
tions of kingly power, and inculcating thoſe maxims of
government which iffued in their ruin. In your liturgy,
which was compofed by clergymen, there is no trace of a
limited monarchy. The king is always fuppofed to be fupreme,
and the members of parliament his counſellors; ſo that
you would naturally imagine that he was accountable to
M 3
none
166
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
none but God. Befides, how unfavourable an impreflion
must the prospect of fuch temporal elevation as the biſhops
attain, by having a feat in the houfe of lords, have on their
own minds; and how muft it divert their attention from
Spiritual matters? In the primitive times it was deemed
improper for a clergyman to be fo much as guardian to a
child, becauſe it would involve him in fecular buſineſs, in-
compatible with his fpiritual functions. What, then, would
have been thought of placing a bifhop in fuch a fituation as
ours are in, with a right to fpeak, and give their votes, in
all affairs of ſtate, which neceffarily implies that they make
them their study.
This is an enormity unknown in any other proteftant
church, and what would not have been borne by any chrif-
tian people in the primitive times.
Were this one manifeft and great abuſe alone corrected;
were the bishops confined to the fuperintendency of their
dioceſes in matters Spiritual, and were, at the fame time,
an end put to their moft indecent tranflations from one
bishopric to another (a thing which was always confidered
as fcandalous, and which was very rarely practifed, till
more than a thouſand years after Chrift) what a great and
happy change would it make in the face of things, temporal
and ſpiritual, in this country. Comfort yourfelves, how-
ever, with the thought that your children, at leaft, will fee
*The English clergy, like all other bodies of men, have acted different
parts, and on different principles, according to their circumstances;
having been a controul on the power of the crown when their own in-
fluence with the people was fufficiently great for the purpoſe, and being
fubfervicnt to the court, when they had no other fource of wealth or
power. They are characterized in the following manner in the feveral
periods fince the Norman conqueft by the Chriftian Freeholder, in the
Collection of Teftimonies in favour of religious Liberty, p. 118, “Did
"not this clergy play the tyrant both over fubjects and kings, acknow.
ledge a foreign fupremacy, grafp at all property, till the laity checked
poffeffions in mortmain, invade the province of lawyers, oppofe the
“reformation with fire and gibbets, fupport the Stuarts, obſtruct the
"revolution, countenance feveral rebellions againſt the reigning family,
"and fhew fuch a temper in their convocations, that the crown has
"never of late permitted their fittings."
<s
this,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
167
this, and many other happy changes in the conftitution of
their country, and will wonder at the ftupidity, and want
of ſpirit, in their anceſtors, in bearing ſuch groſs abuſes ſo
long as they did.
In confequence of theſe circumftances it is that, not-
withſtanding many eminent characters among your clergy,
feveral of whom I think myfelf happy in reckoning among
my friends (and it would be extraordinary indeed if fuch
a profeſſion, confifting of more than ten thoufand perfons,
did not produce fome fuch) it is, I believe, univerſally ac-
knowledged, and lamented, that the generality of the clergy
are not much reſpected in this country, and that in many
cafes they are extremely difliked; and yet the people bear
with them, becauſe they ſee no eaſy remedy. In one place
where I lived, the behaviour of the officiating clergyman
was fuch, that not a fingle perfon would for fome time go
to hear him. At length, indeed, he was for a short time
fufpended.
I do not pretend to be myſelf acquainted with the diſci-
pline of foreign churches, but I believe that the officiating
clergy are much more reſpected than they are here, which
muſt be owing to a different and a better fyftem of govern-
ment, becauſe men are the fame in all countries. The tef-
timony of bishop Burnet is very strong to my purpoſe, and
and no perſon will fay that the qualifications, or morals, of
the clergy are improved fince his time. "In our church,”
he fays (Hiftory of his own Times, vol. IV. p. 411) "at
"preſent the clergy have lefs authority, and are under more
" contempt, than in any church that I have ſeen.” This
is accounted for by what he obferves, p. 419, "I fay it
"with great regret, I have obferved the clergy in all places.
"through which I have travelled, Papifts, Lutherans, Cal-
"vinifts, and Diffenters; but of them all, our clergy are
"the moſt remifs in their laboùrs in private, and the leaft
"fevere in their lives."
"Unleſs" he adds, p. 430, <<
"better fpirit poffeffes the clergy, arguments, and what is
et more, laws and authority, will not prove ftrong enough
3
M 4
❝ to
168
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
"to preferve the church." But thus men will be always
ferved who have no choice of their own fervants, and no
authority in the conduct of their own affeirs.
I ſhall alſo fubjoin the account that Dr. Hartley, one of
the wifeſt and beſt of men, a ſerious member of the church
of England, and who has never been accuſed of want of
candour, gives of it in the concluſion of his Obfervations on
Man, published A. D. 1749.
"I chooſe to ſpeak," he ſays, vol. II. p. 450, " to what
"falls under the obſervation, of all ferious attentive perſons
"in the kingdom. The fuperior clergy are, in general,
"ambitious, and eager in the purfuit of riches; flatterers of
<<
great, and fubfervient to party intereft; negligent of their
"their own immediate charges, and alſo of the inferior
"clergy, and their immediate charges. The inferior clergy
"imitate their fuperiors, and in general take little more
"care of their parishes than barely what is neceffary to
"avoid the cenfure of the law. And the clergy of all
"ranks are in general either ignorant, or, if they do apply, it
"is rather to profane learning, to philofophical or political
"matters, than to the ftudy of the fcriptures, of the oriental
(c
languages, of the Fathers, and ecclefiaftical authors, and
"of the writings of devout men in different ages of the
"church. I ſay this is in general the cafe, i. e. far the
greater part of the clergy of all ranks in this kingdom are
"of this kind. But there are fome of a quite different
“character, men eminent for piety, facred learning, and the
"faithful diſcharge of their duty; and who, it is not to be
"doubted, mourn in fecret for the crying fins of this and
"other nations, The clergy in general are alſo far more
"free from open and grofs vices than any other denomina-
❝tion of men among us, phyficians, lawyers, merchants,
"foldiers, &c. However, this may be otherwife hereafter.
"For it is faid that in fome foreign countries the fuperior
"clergy, in others the inferior, are as corrupt and aban-
"doned, or more fo, than any other order of men. The
"clergy in this kingdom feem to be what one might expect
"from
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
169
"from the mixture of good and bad influences that affect
"them. But then, if we make this candid allowance for
"them, we muſt alſo make it for perfons in the higher ranks
"of life, for their infidelity, lewdneſs and fordid ſelf-intereſt.
"And though it becomes an humble charitable and impar-
"tial man to make all theſe allowances; yet he cannot but
"fee that the judgments of God are ready to fall upon us
"all for theſe things; and that they may fall firſt, and with
"the greateſt weight upon thoſe, who having the higheſt
"office committed to them in the fpiritual kingdom of
"Chriſt neglect it, and are become mere merchants of the
"earth, and fhepherds that feed themſelves, and not their
" flocks."
That it is the fituation of the clergy, and nothing elſe,
that makes them to be what they are, you will eaſily per-
ceive from fuppofing that all perfons belonging to the pro-
feffion of medicine were in the fame. In fact, it is human
nature, which will always be the fame thing in the ſame
circumftances.
Suppoſe, then, that all the phyſicians and apothecaries of
this country were to begin the practice of their profeffions
with only a claffical education, without any previous ſtudy
of medicine, or knowledge of drugs.
Let it be made perfectly eaſy for any man who does not
like the buſineſs to which he was brought up, or in which
he does not fucceed, to exchange it for the profeffion of
medicine, and immediately commence either phyſician, or
apothecary, as it fhall fuit his convenience.
Let care, however, be taken that they all ſubſcribe a fet
of medical aphoriſms, though they ſhould have had no op-
portunity even of perufing them; and let the aphorifms be
ſuch as have been determined upon by a body of men who
were not of the profeffion, two hundred years ago. Let
the ſubſcription be repeated when any phyfician or apothe-
cary changes his fituation.
Let the people of the town where they are appointed to
act have no choice refpecting them, nor any power of dif
miffing them.
Let
170
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
Let the falaries of all medical people be paid, if not by
tithes, at leaſt in fome other manner that fhall create an
oppofition of intereft between them and their patients; and
whether theſe be more or fewer, let not their ſalaries be
affected by that circumſtance.
Let every phyſician be allowed the fuperintendence of
more towns than one, according to his intereft at court, or
with particular patrons; and let him employ, on as cheap
terms as they can be procured, whatever ſubſtitutes he pleaſes,
with power, uncontrouled by his patients, to act in all
refpects for their principal.
Laſtly, in order to do honour to the profeffion, and to
give it fuch a respectability in the eyes of the nation as may
be neceffary to its having a proper effect, let a certain num-
ber of the more eminent in the faculty be appointed by the
king to have feats in parliament, and to give their advice.
when any queſtion relating to the health of his majeſty's
fubjects fhall come before them.
Thus the profeffion of medicine will form an alliance with
the ftate, which may be beneficial to both, and for which
it has as good pretenfions as that of religion. This, indeed,
ſeems neceffary to complete the fyftem of alliance; as then
the minifters of ftate will have in their pay, and in their
intereſt, all thoſe who have the care of both the bodies and
the fouls of men, whereas at prefent, their fyftem is mani-
feftly imperfect.
Let all this be done, and then fay what kind of medical
affiftance could you (obferve I do not fay the miniftry, or
the court, but could you) expect from fuch phyſicians and
apothecaries? You would certainly take from them every
motive they could have to give any attention to you, becauſe
you had made it their intereft to be looking always to their
fuperiors. In this cafe, I imagine, you would rather truſt
yourſelves to nature, in caſe of ſickneſs, or to any empiric
whatever, whom you were permitted to employ, than to
fuch phyſicians of the eſtabliſhment.
Can you then wonder at the increaſe of Diffenters and
Methodists of various kinds on the one hand, and of unbe-
lievers
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
17
lievers on the other, in fuch a ftate of things as this? Now,
my friends, if you only took the fame care of your fouls, as
the phrafe is, that you do of your bodies, you would ſee the
abfurdity of a state ministry in the fame light with this of
ftate phyſicians and apothecaries.
Thefe, my friends, are only a part of the complex ſyſtem
of your church eſtabliſhment. On which ever fide you
view it, you will fee fimilar weakneffes, fuch as, without
gunpowder, or any high wind, threaten an approaching fall.
The univerſities, in particular, from which, perhaps with
the beſt intentions with refpect to us, you exclude our
youth, call moſt loudly for reformation. But this muſt be
the reſult of your own thinking and exertions. You muſt
not expect that the clergy will promote any reformation of
a fyftem in the continuance of which they are ſo much in-
tereſted. You must do it yourſelves, by petitions to the le-
giflature; and if you be in earneft, and any thing like
unanimous, you will be heard. Is it not a difgrace to a
proteſtant country, that there ſhould, in ſo many important
respects, be greater abuſes in its church government than
in that of the Catholics; that our civil conſtitution ſhould
be ſo excellent, and yet its ally, as it is called, the ecclefiaftical
part, of the fame fyftem, be fo imperfect?
The use of this expenfive fyftem is to provide for the in-
ftruction of the country in the principles of chriſtianity; but
it by no means anſwers its end. For it is not one half of
the inhabitants that are taught any religion at all. They
attend no public worſhip, and it is not the intereft of the
clergy to promote their attendance; becauſe their incomes
are altogether independent of it. In popifh countries the
cafe is far otherwife. In all of them care is taken, by one
means or other, that every perfon is inftructed in his re-
ligion, and every open neglect of the known duties of it is
regularly animadverted upon. The ftate, in my opinion,
has no buſineſs to meddle with it; but if it pretend to do
it at all, and if an order of men be amply provided for on
this account, care fhould be taken that the end of the
inftitution
།
172
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
inftitution be anſwered. At prefent, the whole kingdom is
taxed, and in the most inconvenient manner poffible, for
the maintenance of religion; when, after all, the religion of
a very great proportion of thoſe who have any is provided
for out of their own private purfes, and they who do not
chufe to have any, which is the caſe of the greateſt part of
both the higheſt and the loweſt claffes of the people, are not
fo much as admonished on the fubject.
Whenever the wants of the ſtate ſhall make it neceffary
to examine ſtrictly into its refources and expenditure, the
great fum that is now given for the maintenance of religion,
will either be wholly withdrawn, or care will be taken that
it be better applied. Would it not be better, for inftance,
if the government made fome provifion for having all the
poor taught to read and write; that when, by this means,
they had acquired the civilization, and capacity for judging,
which they now want, they might chufe a religion for them-
felves, than impoſe upon them, one which they are not ca-
pable of examining. This fcheme for communicating
knowledge in general, would not coft the country one tenth
part ſo much that it now does to have them taught religion,
which, after all, is not taught to any purpoſe.
I am, &c.
LETTER
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
173
LETTER XXI.
Of the Calumnies contained in a Pamphlet intitled
THEODOSIUS.
My generous Townímen and Neighbours,
HAVING refuted the calumnies of Mr. Burn, by which
he endeavoured to exhibit me as a perfon who paid
no regard to Revelation, and who avowed principles fubver-
five of all moral virtue, I fhall, in this Letter, give you an
account of an attempt of a ſimilar nature, the object of it
being to repreſent me as an abfolute Atheist, and a teacher
of Atheiſm to others, when my life has been devoted to the
purpoſe of teaching, from the pulpit and from the preſs,
the principles of natural and revealed religion; and my
writings on theſe ſubjects are more numerous than thoſe of
any perſon in this, or probably in any other country what-
ever. The defamatory tale has, however, been eagerly
circulated by the clergy, not only of this town and neigh-
bourhood, but by thoſe of higher rank, in London and elfe-
where. For a long time I only fmiled at the ſtory, and
never meant to take any public notice of it. At length,
however, I was prevailed upon to make fome inquiry into
it, and I ſhall now lay before you the reſult of that inquiry.
The calumny is contained in a pamphlet intitled,
THEODOSIUS, written in the character of an aged clergy-
man, who fays, that he visited Mr. Silas Deane on his
death-bed, and then received from him, in a long converfa-
tion (the particulars of which are given in the form of a
dialogue in five pages, p. 11, &c.) an acknowledgment of
his having been taught his Atheiſtical principles by me*.
* In a Print, intitled, Sedition and Atheiſm defeated, Silas Deane is
reprefented on his death-bed, and a clergyman ftanding by him, in the
attitude of holding up his hands, and faying, No God! acho taught you
itat
1
174
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
am
He alſo repreſents many perfons, p. 59, as affirming that I
"the most gloomy, the moſt miſerable, and moſt dif-
"fatisfied perſon in exiſtence; fometimes wearing a face of
"refignation in public, but unable to conceal the perturba-
"tion of my mind in private." "Whether," fays this
writer, "he is fhocked at approaching annihilation; or
"whether he is but a partial convert to his own ſyſtem, I
"cannot determine; but I perfectly coincide in the pur-
<c port of the Marquis of Lanfdown's remonftrance, Sir,
"faid his lordſhip, ſpeaking to Dr. Prieſtley, were you fin-
"cerely satisfied of the truth of your theory, you could not
"be that wretched defponding man you conftantly appear to be
“when withdrawn from the public eye."
Laftly, he ſays, p. 26, "When a Socinian minifter, like
"Dr. Prieſtley, has the temerity to attack the chriſtian reli-
"gion from the pulpit and the prefs, in terms of infult and
" abhorrence*; when he affirms in language that cannot
"be miſtaken, that the Virgin Mary is a whore, and the
"Redeemer a baſtard, I feel an honeft indignation in my
"breaſt, and conceive forbearance is criminal.'
In a Note to this writer's narrative, concerning the death
of Silas Deane, p. 13, he fays, "I defire to be unknown,
"nor will I gratify idle curiofity, but if any refpectable
"character doubt the truth of this narrative, I will refer
"him to a clergyman of eſtabliſhed reputation, who was an
"auricular witneſs of the fame language, and of the fame
" avowal from this deluded man. A line directed for the
"author, to be left at Mr. Buckland's till called for, will
"meet with due attention."
that doctrine? while the dying man replies, Dr. Priefley. This com-
partment in the print is called, The death bed avowal of Silas Deane,
to which is annexed the following Note. "The particulars of this
"awful and interefting converfion to Atheism, may be ſeen in a pam-
"phlet intitled, Theodofius, and fold with or without the print.”
*I fhould think that malice itſelf could not be fo credulous as to
believe that any ſociety of chriftians would bear their miniſter in his
"attacks on the chriftian religion" from their pulpit, even without
"terms of infult and abhorrence."
:
You
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
175
You will naturally imagine that a ſtory fo circumftan-
tially told muſt at leaſt have ſome foundation in fact, though
greatly misconceived and mifreprefented. But I will ven-
ture to ſay it has none at all, and that, ftrange as it may
appear, and difficult to account for, it is, in all its parts, an
abfolute invention of the writer.
Being in London in April laft, and finding that Mr.
Buckland abovementioned had returned all the copies of
the pamphlet that were fent to him (thinking it difreputa-
ble to have any concern in fuch a publication) I left the
following letter for the Author with Mr. G. Bourne, an-
other of the publiſhers, in Panton-ſtreet, Hay-Market.
< REV SIR,
No. 72. St. Paul's Church Yard, April 15, 1790.
'As, in your Note, p. 12, you fay that, "if any
"refpectable character doubt the truth of your narrative"
' about Silas Deane and myſelf, "you will refer him to a
"clergyman of established reputation," I take the liberty to
' requeſt an interview with that clergyman.
6
'I am, &c.
'J. PRIESTLEY.'
To this I received the following anfwer:
. REV. SIR,
I am favoured with your letter of the 15th
inftant. My antwer will appear in a few days from the
' prefs: for I conceive the affair of Silas Deane to be of too
'ferious and important a nature to be diſcuſſed by private
• interview. The bufinefs is before the public; and by
'public decifion, Sir, you muſt ftand or fall.
'A copy of my anſwer ſhall be ſent conformably to your
' directions the moment it is truck off. Mean while I
remain,
'Sunday, P. M.
Sir,
• Your obedient fervant,
THEODOSIUS."
I then
1
176
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
I then wrote as follows:
REV. SIR,
'As you propoſe to anſwer my letter from the prefs,
'I must take the farther liberty to defire you would produce
'your authority for the remonftrance of the Marquis of
• Lanfdown, p. 59, and alfo for the opprobrious language
'which you aſcribe to me concerning Jefus Chrift and the
• Virgin Mary, p. 27.
I am, &c.'
<
'P. S. In your printed anſwer I fhall expect to find the
name of the clergyman of established reputation to whom
'you referred.'
Having waited a full month for an anſwer which was
promiſed in a few days, and being returned to Birmingham,
I wrote again as follows:
C REV. SIR,
C
Birmingham, May 17, 1790.
In yours, which I received the 17th of laſt
'month, you promiſed me an anſwer from the prefs to one
• that I wrote the 15th, in a few days, and ſaid that you
'would fend it the moment that it was ftruck off; I have
not yet received any fuch anſwer, and fhall be glad to
'know when I may expect it.
I am, &c.'
To this I did not receive any anſwer; but, in the mean
time, being informed that Dr. Bancroft, with whom I had
formerly fome acquaintance, knew more of Mr. Deane
than any other perfon in this country, I wrote to him as
follows:
< DEAR SIR,
'As I am informed that no perfon in England was
'better acquainted with Mr. Silas Deane, his fentiments,
' and his affairs, than yourſelf, I fhall take it as a favour if
you will give me your opinion of the probability of the
❝ account of his death in the pamphlet intitled Theodofius.
C
I am, &c.'
To
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
177
To this the Doctor fent me the following anſwer:
DEAR SIR,
"I AM favoured with your letter, requeſting my opi-
"nion of the probability of the account of Mr. Silas Deane's
"death as related in a pamphlet intitled THEODOSIUS,
' and mentioning as the motive of this requeft, that you
have been informed that no perfon in England was bet-
"ter acquainted with Mr. Deane, his fentiments and affairs.
" than myſelf :" This, indeed, is a fact which has been
fufficiently known, and was a confequence of my having
'been partly educated under him; and alſo of a particular
'inſtruction given to him by the fecret committee of con-
'greſs when he was fent to Europe by that body in 1776.
<
C
The account of Mr. Deane's death is comprehended
in that part of the pamphlet which the author calls his
"Narrative;"the truth of which he "folemnly affirms,"
' and ſtakes upon it his hope of "divine protection and ſup-
"port in time and eternity." The firft part of this nar-
'rative chiefly relates to a letter which Mr. Deane is fup-
'poſed to have written to Mr. de Sartine, then miniſter of
'the marine department in France, "folemnly proteſting
"that he would propofe terms of accommodation to Eng-
"land if a declaration of immediate fupport were not figned
"by France in eight and forty hours;" together with a
'converfation which is faid to have paffed between Dr.
'Franklin and Mr. Deane, refpecting that letter; and a fub-
'fequent interview with Mr. de Sartine, for which the Ame-
'rican commiffioners are fuppofed to have been hurried
away at midnight, to a villa, that he is faid to have had,
' about five leagues from Paris; where "the fatal declara-
“tion” is alledged to have been "inftantly figned.”
C
'
< The fituation in which I lived, under the fame roof with
'Dr. Franklin, and Mr. Deane, when thefe tranfactions are
'fuppofed to have happened, and the intimate knowledge I
'had of every thing which paffed between them and the
• French miniftry, intitle me to decide reſpecting the truth
' of this part of the author's narrative; and on theſe grounds
'I do
N
178
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
'I do not heſitate in pronouncing it to be an abſurd fiction;
' confident as I am that Mr. Deane's official intercourſe in
• France never was at any time, or upon any occaſion, with
'Mr. de Sartine, or any body in his department; that no
'fuch letter was ever written, nor any declaration of ſupport
ever required by any American commiffioner, and figned
by any French miniſter, before the treaty of amity and
' commerce, and that of eventual alliance, were actually con-
'cluded, on the 6th of February, 1778.
<
<
The other part of the author's narrative begins with theſe.
' words, viz. "The laſt time I faw Mr. Silas Deane was
C on a bed of fickneſs and death; he fent for me. ' and
' then the author proceeds to ſtate a converſation which he
fays paffed between himſelf and Mr. Deane, and in which
the latter, on his death bed, is made to
C
re
""
of a deity; ' and being defired to
(C
"deny the existence
"3
name the wretch,
' who had infuſed into his mind "fuch horrid blafphemies"
'is faid to have named Dr. Prieſtley; and to have added,
"yes, Dr. Prieftley was my inftructor, my faviour, and my
"God.".
6
•
That you, Sir, may be able to judge of the probability of
this account, I need only fay, that Mr. Deane left Lon-
don, in a poft chaife, on Tueſday the 22d. of September
laft, with captain Davis of the Bofton packet, in which
< ſhip he was to embark for America, and from the captain's
• written account of his death, it appears, that after fleeping
that night at Gravefend, Mr. Deane made a hearty break-
'faſt there the next morning, at the houſe of captain Davis's
father in law; and afterwards went on board with the
captain, when the fhip immediately took her departure;
that about ten o'clock the fame morning, whilft Mr.
'Deane was walking on the quarter deck, with the captain,
'he fuddenly complained of being unwell, and this com-
'plaint increaſing very faft, he was taken down into the ca-
'bin, and there for the first and only time, was laid on his
death bed, or the bed on which he died; and that he there
' almoſt immediately became fpeechlefs, and continued fo
until his death, which happened about two o'clock in the
• afternoon
<
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
179
f
* afternoon of the fame day. The captain mentions the fe-
veral perſons who were with Mr. Deane whilft on his
'death bed, who appear all to have belonged to the ſhip, and
' all of them incapable of comprehending any of his inarticu-
late founds, when he once or twice attempted to fpeak,
' whilft on his death bed. Mr. Deane had, indeed, for-
<
'
:
merly been attacked by a complication of diſorders, but he
' had been gradually recovering from them, for more than
eighteen months before his death and during the time
when he might be ſaid to have lain on a bed of "fickneſs,”
though not of "death" his mental faculties were fo
'much impaired, that he muſt have been incapable of that
' part of the converſation which has been aſcribed to him.
<
<
،
<
C
'There are other facts alſo which concur to make this con-
' verfation altogether incredible. I do not believe that Mr.
• Deane would have been more open upon religious fubjects
'with an aged clergyman, fuch as Theodofius deſcribes him-
ſelf, than he was with me; and I certainly never heard
'him intimate, much iefs profeſs, any diſbelief" of the ex-
"iftence of a deity." Doubts he may have had of revealed
religion, but theſe I am perſuaded were neither produced,
C nor increaſed, by any perſon in this country. On the con-
'trary, I believe, and on very good grounds, that the reli-
( gious fentiments which he entertained in the latter part of
'his life, were exactly the fame, as thoſe which he had
' avowed in France to feveral of his friends, before he ever
• ſaw either England or yourſelf.
<
،
C
C
This ſtatement of facts, I think due to you, Sir, as well
as to truth, and the memory of Mr. Deane, and I cannot
object to its being uſed where it can be of fervice to either,
though I certainly am very far from withing to attract any
'fhare of public attention to myſelf. I have the honour
< to be, with great eſteem,
<
‹ Dear Sir,
• Your moſt humble
Francis-ftreet, Bedford Square,
• May 8th, 1790.'.
• And obedient fervant,
< EDWARD BANCROFT."
180
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
This, I imagine, will fatisfy any reaſonable perſon, that the
whole of the narrative in THEODOSIUS, though publiſhed
with fuch uncommonly folemn affeveration, is nothing elſe
than a malicious fabrication; and it is certainly fuch an
impudent one as, I believe, few perfons can recollect any ex-
ample of. But I leave the ſubject to the reflection of the
writer, if he be capable of any, and to that of you, my rea-
ders, who, I am fure, will lament over this inftance of the
extreme depravity of human nature, both with reſpect to
the perſon who could invent and publiſh ſuch a ſtory, and
thoſe who have taken fo much pleaſure in propagating it.
My acquaintance with Mr. Deane, began with his feek-
ing mine. With this view, being at Birmingham, on a Sun-
day, he attended the place of worſhip where I preach, and
there happening to meet my brother-in-law Mr. William
Wilkinſon, whom he had ſeen abroad, he was by him in-
troduced to me. After this I faw him at different times and
places, and was much pleafed with his converfation; which
will not be thought extraordinary, as he is well known to
have been a very intelligent man, and particularly well ac-
quainted with the hiftory of the American war, which in-
terefts the curiofity of every Engliſhman, and I found him
very communicative on the ſubject. But I never exchanged
a word with him on the ſubject of religion. I very well
knew that he was an unbeliever in chriſtianity; but ſo are
many of my acquaintance, on whom I never unneceffarily
obtrude the topic, though I do not wish to decline it when-
ever it happens to be introduced.
Mentioning this affair of Mr. Deane to Mr. Benjamin
Vaughan, an old pupil of mine (the perfon to whom I de-
dicated my Lectures on History and General Policy) and he
being able to corroborate the evidence of Dr. Bancroft, with
the addition of fome other particulars relating to the accu-
fation, you will excufe my inferting fome extracts from his
letter on the ſubject, though too flattering to me.
1
My
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
181
6
6
6
( MY DEAR SIR,
• London, May 20, 1790.
'I readily perform my promife refpecting the charges
brought againſt you by the writer of the pamphlet under
the fignature of Theodofius.
'I first faw Mr. Silas Deane at Paris in the winter of
1775-6, and again in the fummer of 1777; and I cer-
'tainly conceived, from the tenor of his converſation, that
'he was then no believer in chriſtianity. He appeared to
me not only a free thinker, but in ſome reſpects a free liver.
'When your acquaintance with Mr. Deane commenced,
'which was on his coming to England, I apprehend that
little remained to be taught him on the fubject of deifm,
eſpecially after his long refidence in the midst of many
' deiſtical writers and connections at Paris. I do not ſuppoſe
'that he ever was an Atheist, though the above pamphlet
'imputes this to him. My reaſons are, that he did not want
' underſtanding, and that one of his intimate friends, with
whom he was far lefs likely to uſe referve, than with per-
fons of the deſcription alluded to by Theodofius, had no
'fort of reaſon to ſuſpect it.
<
c
C
'The want of religion afcribed to Mr. Deane, whatever
was the degree of it, is not ftiled by your accuſer as ori-
ginating, from any communications and conferences on
your part which were of a private nature: and it is indeed
very unlikely that you ſhould communicate to Mr. Deane
'any thing, which you were fearful of publiſhing.-The
tendency of your publications is a feparate queſtion, which
' is open to the deciſion of every one.
،
'
'If it had ever been your intention to make converts to
' deiſm or atheiſm, I, who have been your pupil, and known
'fo many of your pupils, and who have been your intimate
'friend, and have known ſo many of your intimate friends,
'must have ſeen or heard of traces of it in a character fo
'little diſguiſed as yours. But I have done neither; and the
'fame I am perfuaded will be found to be the cafe with your
other pupils and friends; and I cannot conceive why it
← can
N 3
182
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
<
<
can be thought 'probable, that you ſhould fingle out a
ftranger, to place a trust in him capable of being rendered
'fo fatal to your character, profeffion, and repoſe.
*
This is more than you appear to have done to Mr.
'Deane's countryman, Dr. Franklin, with whom you have
'been in great habits of confidence and friendſhip. I judge
'that you never attempted this in his cafe from a paffage
' in a letter which I received ſome time ago from that ad-
'mirable man, whofe knowledge of human nature and
'whofe fincerity on this occafion, none can difpute. He
' expreffes himſelf as follows. "Remember me affection-
"ately to the honeft heretic Dr. Priestley. I do not call
"him honeft by way of diftinction; for I think all the he-
"retics I have known have been virtuous men: they have
"the virtue of fortitude, or they would not venture to own
"their herefy; and they cannot afford to be deficient in
(6 any of the other virtues, as they would give advantage to
"their many enemies; and they have not, like orthodox fin-
"ners, fuch a number of friends to excufe or juftify them.—
"Do not however, miſtake me. It is not to my good
"friend's herefy that I impute his honefty: on the con-
' trary, it is his honeſty that has brought on him the charac-
❝ter of herefy.'
""
The good humour which accompaniesevery thing that
'falls from Dr. Franklin, will readily affure you that he uſes
the word heretic and herefy in no individuous fenfe, but
' only in allufion to the charges on this fubject which have
frequently been brought against you, and to which you
< are no ftranger.
(
'
'As to your manners in private, which have been criti-
cized by Theodofius, I prefume myſelf competent, from a
familiar acquaintance with you during the greateſt part of
'my life, and a long refidence with you at different times
' and places under the fame roof, to deny that they partake
in any degree whatever of "gloom" In oppofition to the
' ſtatement in his pamphlet, I not only apprehend that you
have no habitual gloom about you, but that you are
C
uſually
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
183
C
ufually moſt chearful in very ſmall domeftic focieties,
' though frequently grave in large companies, unleſs parti-
'cularly intereſted, or called forth.
<
C
Inde-
For myfelf, I have to return you thanks for many agree-
• able and chearful moments ſpent in your fociety; and
'your talents for pleaſantry I apprehend, are not unknown
alſo to ſome of your opponents.-
-But I am happily
'bound to you by ties of a more ferious nature.
pendent of your kind and conftant friendſhip to me, and
'the cultivation you have endeavoured to give to my mind
' upon general fubjects, which I fhall feek fome better oc-
'cafion to acknowledge; you have conftantly laboured to
'confirm and encourage my general faith in religion. Per-
< haps the time is at hand, when I fhall have the means of
'proving that your zeal has not been unprofitably beſtowed
' upon me in this laft and most important object.
‹ I need not add, therefore, with how much gratitude and
' reſpect it is,
'that I remain your affectionate friend,
'BENJAMIN VAUGHAN.'
By the refutation of this, which is the moſt important
part of the ſtory, and the truth of which the author afferts
with the greateſt air of ſolemnity, you may form fome judg-
ment of the probability of the other articles. The reader
may, if he pleaſes, apply to the marquis of Lanfdown, with
reſpect to his expoſtulation with me, on the gloominess of my
temper, about which I do not think it worth while to trou-
ble his lordship. On the contrary, every perſon who knows
much of me, will bear witneſs, that my temper is more even,
and perhaps more 'chearful, than that of moft men. Let my
hearers be applied to as to what I preach, and my publica-
tions are open to all the world. It is my opinion, for
which I have given my reafons at large, that Jefus was
the legitimate ſon of Jofeph and Mary. But this is, furely,
a very different thing from making him a baftard, and his
mother a whore.
N 4
From
·
184
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
From what I have advanced on this fubject, you will not,
I hope, be fo ready to believe other ſtories, of which many
are current, that are propagated to my prejudice, fome of
them flightly mentioned in the Preface to my Letters to
Mr. Burn, though I fhould not take any pains to trace the
origin of them, as I have done with refpect to this, and as I
did once before, with reſpect to my being accuſed of declar-
ing that "I would never reft till I had pulled down that
'impoftor Jefus Chrift," which was formerly as widely and
as eagerly circulated as this ftory of Theodofius. Many other
calumnies, I doubt not, are circulated to my prejudice,
which have not come to my hearing, though they may to
yours. With reſpect to theſe, I muſt truſt to your candour,
and that of the public at large; hoping that you will not
haftily give credit to any fuch affertions, however confidently
advanced, fince nothing can be more fo than theſe which I
have inveſtigated, and have found deftitute of all foundation.
Having fhewn this ſtory of Theodofius to be nothing but
a malicious fiction, you will naturally wiſh to know who is
the author of it. To my great ſurpriſe, it has been very
generally afcribed to Mr. Weſley. But he is certainly in-
capable of any fuch thing. Much as I differ from Mr.
Weſley in religious fentiments, I have the higheſt opinion of
his integrity, and I confider his ſervices to chriſtianity as of
more importance than thoſe of many benches of biſhops. I
doubt not he intends great good, and in my opinion he will
be the cauſe, in the hands of providence, of much more good
than he intends, or wishes. Time, which brings moſt things
to light, may perhaps reveal this deed of darkness. It is fuf-
ficient for me at preſent to fhew that, whoever be guilty of
the atrocious deed, I, againſt whom it is levelled, am inno-
cent. I can only pray, as I fincerely do, that whoever he
be, he may repent, and, as an evidence of true repentance,
make his acknowledgment as public as his crime. I fhall
then forgive him. The moſt probable opinion is, that
Theodofius is a clergyman of the church of England, who
formerly wrote me a confidential letter, which I yet preſerve.
I am, &c.
7
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
185
I
LETTER XXII.
The Conclufion.
My Friends and Neighbours,
HAVE now exerted my beſt endeavours to repel an
unprovoked attack upon myſelf, and my brethren, the
Diffenters of this country, made by Mr. Madan, and alſo
to refute the grofs calumnies of Mr. Burn, two of your
Spiritual guides, but whoſe example I hope you will now fee
no inducement to follow. They have brought railing and
unjuſt accuſations againſt perſons who neither did, nor meant,
them any harm, and who lived quietly in their neighbour-
hood. You have feen the injuftice and folly of their own
various charges, and thoſe of other perſons which have been
induſtriouſly propagated; and I hope that for the future
they will learn to pay a greater regard to truth and juſtice,
and that you will fee reafon to refpect thoſe whom they
have endeavoured to exhibit as the objects of your averfion
and abhorrence.
Truth is fure to be a gainer by every open difcuffion, and
will, no doubt, be fo by this; not perhaps in any great de-
gree at prefent, but always after due reflection.
If you
have received either informatiou, or amusement, from theſe
Letters of mine, pleaſe to remember that you are primarily
indebted to Mr. Madan and Mr. Burn for it, and do not
fail to make them a fuitable acknowledgement. For cer-
tainly their publications gave occaſion to mine.
As to myſelf, if, as Mr. Madan ſays, controverſy be ne-
ceffary to my ſupport, if not to my existence, I am obliged to
him, and to Mr. Burn, for the fatisfaction that I most of all
wanted, and (by giving me an additional degree of anima-
tion) for prolonging my life. It was, I ought to ſuppoſe,
their
186
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
their pure good will to me that prompted them to give me
this exercile, fo neceffary to my health and happineſs.
It is poffible alſo that Mr. Pitt, and thoſe whom we have
generally confidered as the enemies of the Diffenters, may
have given us our late defeat with the moft friendly inten-
tions, viz. to promote the difcuffion of important topics,
and to keep up a controverſy in which they fee we take ſo
much pleaſure. For had we gained our point, we muſt, in
common decency, have been quiet at leaſt ten or a dozen
years; which, befides ill fuiting ſuch reflefs fpirits as I, and
fome others, are reprefented to be, would have ſtifled in
their very conception a number of excellent publications,
with which, I doubt not, the prefs will now teem for years
to come.
However, as the best way to come at a thorough good
underſtanding is fometimes to begin with a full difcuffion
of all our differences (and I hope I am not prone to bear
malice) my ſeveral antagoniſts and myſelf may, by this
means, come to underſtand one another better than we
otherwife could have done, and thus be better friends than
before.
In fettling the account between us I have more to forgive
than they have. For I have never taxed them with malevo-
lence, or wilful miſrepreſentation, which they have perpetu-
ally laid to my charge, as if they were words of courſe, with-
out which controverfy could not be carried on; like the
phrafe at the inftigation of the devil, in all indictments for
felony; and I am willing to hope that, being unuſed to con-
troverſy, they did not confider them in any other light. All
that I have to afk pardon for, is a little innocent, and as
they will call it, awkard, pleafantry, like that of the aſs in
the fable, fuch as can do them no material harm; and there-
fore I hope that, after fome time, we ſhall meet on, at leaſt,
as friendly terms as ever.
A good lady who wrote me an anonymous and ſcolding
letter, on the idea, as fhe faid, that, being unworthy of the
caftigation of any man, the pen of a woman was more pro-
perly
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
187
perly employed, began her curicus letter with faying, that I
" feized on Mr. Madan as a cat ſeizes on a mouſe. But
if ſhe had recollected that both Mr. Madan and Mr. Burn
were the aggreſſors in this controverfy*, ſhe would have
feen that they confidered themſelves as the cats, and me as
the defenceless moufe. However, if they have found them-
felves miſtaken, and fee reaſon to think, with my anony-
mous correſpondent, that I am the cat and they the mice,
I hope they will be fatisfied that, though I have played with
them a little, I have done them no material injury (fuch as
they would have done to me) but have taught them for the
future not wantonly to provoke other animals of prey,
more favagely difpofed than myfelf.
It is true I am an avowed enemy to the church establish-
ment of this country, but by no means to any who belong
to it. I write against Calvinism, but have the greateſt reſpect
for many Calvinists, and wish to make them exchange their
darkness for my light. I am alſo an enemy to Atheiſm and
Deiſm, but not to Atheists or Deifis. I have a particular
friendship for many of them, in this country and other
countries, and I write in order to inform and reclaim them.
There is nothing perfonal in all this. They think as un-
favourably of my fyftem, as I do of theirs. Let all points.
of difference be freely difcuffed. Truth will be a gainer by
it. But let us refpect one another, as we refpect truth itself;
love all, and with the good of all, without diftinétion.
This is true candour, and confiftent with the greateſt zeal
for our particular opinions.
* Mr. Madan, and the Rector of St. Martin's, out of their abun-
dant zeal, went about the country, I am informed, like two ecclefi-
aftical knights errant, in order to collect as great a force as they could
of the genuine friends of the eſtabliſhment, on a late occafion at War-
wick. If, therefore, the church of England, on any future emergency,
ſhall want two champions, either to take the field, or to take the pen,
ſhe may know where to look for them. It is fomething remarkable
that the freeholders of Warwickshire were among the foremoſt in their
addreffes to procure a repeal of the bill in favour of the Jews, in 1753.
Muft every thing narrow and illiberal originate in this part of the
country? Let us exert ourſelves to wipe off the difgrace.
To
188
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
To cloſe with ſeriouſneſs: I hope that, on reflection, we
fhall all take more pleaſure in exerting our endeavours to
promote the knowledge and practice of the great things in
which we and all chriſtians agree, than in contending about
the things of comparatively fmall importance with refpect
to which we differ; as I formerly told the excellent biſhop
of Waterford, with whom I had a friendly controverſy
about the duration of our Saviour's miniftry; and with
what I obferved to him on the fubject (as my publications
of this kind will hardly ever fall into your hands) I fhall
cloſe theſe Letters.
<
"Your lordship is pleaſed to ſpeak of our differing in
' fome conclufions of greater importance than thoſe we are
now controverting.' Of this I am fully apprized; the
"articles of your lordship's faith, as a member of the
"church of England, being upon record, and mine being
"fufficiently known by my writings, as alfo the ftrefs I lay
<< upon them, as oppoſed to the tenets of all the eſtabliſhed
"churches in the world. Yet, my lord, it gives me more
"pleaſure to reflect that, notwithſtanding theſe very con-
"fiderable differences, there are ſtill greater things in which.
"we both agree, and on which we both, I hope, lay ftill
greater ſtreſs; and they are things in which all perfons
"who call themſelves chriſtians are agreed.
<<
"We both believe in a God, the intelligent author of
"nature, in his conftant over-ruling providence, and in his
<<
righteous moral government. We both believe in the
"divine origin of the Jewish and Chriftian revelations; that
"Chriſt was a teacher fent from God, that he is our
"Maſter, lawgiver, and judge, that God raifed him from
"the dead, that he is now exalted at the right hand of
"God, that he will come again to raiſe all the dead, and
"fit in judgment upon them, and that he will then give
"to every one of us according to our works.
"Thefe, I need not tell your lordship, are, properly
"ſpeaking, the only great truths of religion; becauſe they
are thoſe which have the greatest influence on our con-
“duct,
ર
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
189
"duct, and to theſe not only the church of England, and
the church of Scotland, but even the church of Rome,
<< gives its affent. If we fufficiently attend to the im-
portance of theſe great truths, and give ourſelves up to
"the full influence of them, we ſhall love as brethren, not-
"withſtanding all leffer differences, and eſpecially ſuch as
"we are now diſcuſſing.
<<
"Whether our Lord preached one year or three years,
"three years or thirty years, we are perfectly agreed with
"reſpect to the great object of his preaching, and the obli-
"gation we are under to regulate our lives according to it;
"and from the catalogue of proper chriftian virtues we can
"never exclude humility, benevolence, or candour. We muft
"judge others as we would be judged ourſelves, waiting
"for the final fentence of our great and common Judge,
Jefus Chrift."
Hoping we ſhall all adopt theſe truly chriſtian ſentiments,
and that nothing that Mr. Madan, or Mr. Burn have ſaid,
or can have to ſay, will make you loſe fight of them, and
induce you to think worſe of the principles of any chrif-
tians, than reaſon and candour require,
I am,
My friends and Neighbours,
Your very humble ſervant,
J. PRIESTLEY.
Birmingham,
June 7, 1790.
POSTSCRIPT.
190
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
POSTSCRIPT.
Of the Author's Intercourfe with the late Mr. Badcock.
As the name of Mr. Badcock, who has engaged much of
the public attention, in confequence of his writing againſt
me, has been mentioned in thefe Letters, and they are fuf-
ficiently miſcellaneous to admit of it, I fhall take this oppor-
tunity of gratifying the curiofity of fome of my readers by
the following brief account of my intercourfe with him.
My knowledge of Mr. Badcock began by his being a
writer in the Theological Repofitory, when I was at Leeds.
This leading to a various correſpondence, no perſon ever
fhewed a ſtronger attachment to another than he did to me
for feveral years; and on my removal to Calne, in Wilt-
ſhire, he made a journey of near one hundred miles on
purpoſe to ſee me. I was then printing my anſwer to the
Scotch writers, on the fubject of their principle of Common
Senſe; and into all my views on this, and every queſtion of
a metaphyfical or theological nature, he entered with great
fpirit. He made no pretenfions to philofophy, or what is
uſually called learning, but in converfation, and ready ani-
mated compofition, he excelled greatly. One of his letters
to me I had occafion to publiſh in a late Gentleman's
Magazine, as a proof of his attachment to me, and of his
concurrence with me in theological fentiments, and I ſhall
infert it here.
• DEAR SIR,
Barnftable, Dec. 23, 1774.
I received your letter with peculiar pleaſure; but
' was concerned to hear of your illneſs. May God preferve
your
valuable life, and make it ſtill a bleffing to the world!
Your being ſo ſhocked at the abject fuperftition of the
Papiſts was what might be expected from one whofe con-
'tempt for folly had not totally fwallowed up zeal for truth,
C
<
' and pity for the deluded. A man of mere wit would have
6
given an outlet to his indignation by ridicule, which, in ſome
cafes,
Inbabitants of Birmingham.
191
<
< cafes, is an excellent medicine to carry off the humours
which nonfenfe and abfurdity breed round the heart. But
'the pious and compaffionate mind finds exerciſe for other
'paffions, when the object is of fuch infinite importance as
religion. The bare diſguiſe of it might of itſelf excite
laughter. But, when we reflect on what is difguiſed, and
how ferious the confequences are, the tear of pity is juftly
' demanded; and it is a tribute the true chriftian ought not
to deny to his poor benighted fellow-creatures. We have
'the best example to recommend it; even that of the bene-
volent Jefus, who wept for a city wedded to error, and
devoted to deftruction, as the aweful confequence of its
< obſtinacy and blindneſs. You remind me of St. Paul at
Athens, whofe fpirit was moved when he beheld that
"in all things it was too fuperftitious.”
<
•
You very affectionately enquire into my fituation with
my people. Some give me uneafinefs, and, I believe, would
'do every thing in their power to diftrefs me, or injure me.
I never preach upon any fubject of a difputable nature.
But this, with many, is a bare negative qualification. "He
"that is not for us is againſt us," is their conftant lan-
<
guage. I am obliged to avoid their company, as I always
'meet with fomething or other which gives me pain. One
C
or two have begun to withdraw their fubfcriptions; and
I am threatened by others with a feparation. The male-
' contents have not number or power to fupport a divided
intereft. I have defired thoſe who are difcontented to
withdraw, and leave me with my friends in quiet. But
their aim is, to infufe jealoufies into others of greater confe-
quence, and thus weary me out by complaints, or drive
me out by mere force.
€
I faw their defign moſt plainly this very week. I was
'defired to uſe the Doxologies, as my predeceffor uſed to
<
<
do, both in prayer and finging. I told them, I would
keep to the words of fcripture, knowing that would be
• moſt acceptable to God, and ſafeft for man. They then
'inſiſted on my teaching the Affembly's Catechifm. This at
C
once, without heſitation, I pofitively refufed. They afked
me
192
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
me the reaſon. I told them, I had not only objections to
' many of its principles, but thought it abfurd to teach chil-
'dren a ſyſtem of religion that contains in it many points of
abftrufe, fpeculative, and difputable Theology. This pofi-
'tive and explicit refufal hath, I believe, totally confirmed
'their fufpicions of my heterodoxy.
<
،
<
"What the confequences will be, I know not. This is
my confolation, that nothing can eventually harm me if I
am a follower of that which is good. I will maintain my
independency, and hope never to violate my honefty. It
• diftreffes me beyond meaſure to think that I cannot wholly
and unreſervedly ſpeak out the fentiments of my mind. I
'would mingle prudence with innocence, and keep peace
' with man and confcienee; but if a facrifice is demanded,
'I hope I fhall not heſitate which to make the victim. I
• wish to be ſettled among a people of more uniformity of
fentiment, and more liberal-mindedneſs. It is odious to
• walk about in fetters. I fhould grieve to ſee the congre-
gation leffened by my means. If they could be united in
one more univerſally liked, I would willingly reſign, though
'I ſhould have no place in view. Yet there are numbers.
<
'who would grieve to loſe me. I thank God that I have
< been enabled to maintain a confiftency of character, and
• that I have not forfeited the eſteem of one perſon through
' a defect in duty, moral or religious. With this thought
'I bear up, and hope boldly to meet the worst.
'I have not been able to recover any more of Mr.
• Weſley's letters. The lady in whofe poffeffion they were
'died foon after my return from Calne. Her huſband fled
<to Ireland for fome mifdemeanor, and hath not appeared
'fince. I hear the goods are to be fold foon.
If I can
'meet with any more of the letters, you may depend upon
'their being fent. As the lady before her death made me
a preſent of what papers fhe had, I lay claim to thoſe
letters as my own. She ſaid, I was welcome to any.-
'I beg you will not give yourſelf the trouble of tranſcribing
the letters on the apparition. Take the original. You
C
' are
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
193
' are welcome to it. Did I leave a fermon or two behind
'me? I wish you would enquire, and fend them to me as
'foon as poffible. I want them much.
'I communicated fome account of the Weſley family to
'the Weſtminſter Magazine. I intended to have conti-
'nued it, but defiſted from my deſign. I have fent it you.
It was an aca-
The Analyfis upon Bonds in mine too.
demical maggot.
'I aſked you for that amiable lady Mrs Jones. Do not
'fail to let me know in your next.-Mrs. Davy begs her
compliments to Mrs. Prieſtley. We often talk of her
' with great pleaſure; and I am glad there is one in this
county that knows her, for I am very fond of talking of
'thoſe whom I eſteem and love. Pleaſe to remember me to
'Mrs. P. and family, and always think of me in the ami-
'able light of a fincere and affectionate friend.
<
،
'S. BADCOCK.'
My reſpects to Mr. Williams. I hope he is well.
'P. S. I have lent your Inftitutes to a fenfible and reli-
'gious Rabbi, bred at the Univerfity of Halle. He hath
'read them with great care, and taken curious extracts from
'them. The clergyman of the pariſh warned him of the
' danger of your works, and abuſed me for lending them to
C
a Jew. The latter had ſenſe enough to deſpiſe him, and
'told him that, as long as chriftianity was thought contra-
'dictory to the firft law of judaiſm, the converfion of his
brethren would be impoffible. The parfon wants to bap-
'tize him. The Rabbi faid, that religion was a ferious.
< matter, and that he would be
a convert in reality before
' he would be one in profeffion. He hath been much with
(
me. I hope to be able to ſend you a pleaſing account of
' him.'
O
A poem
194
Familiar Letters addreſſed to the
A poem in praiſe of me (in imitation of Horace's Integer
vitæ fcelerifque, purus) he publiſhed in the Weſtminſter
Magazine for May 1774. It begins thus:
The man whofe noble heart diſdains
A fordid education's chains,
And free from fuperftition's load,
• Obeys, and ftill enjoys, his God;
Needs neither pope's, nor bishop's bleffing,
To fix that peace his heart's at reſt in ;
And afks divinity alone
To teach him what to do, or ſhun.'
Having with much humour deſcribed various claffes of
chriſtians (in which thoſe who are generally termed orthodox
are not ſpared) he thus introduces the clergy,
Place me with men ecclefiaftic,
'Who to the church for living faſt ſtick.
• And think us fools who will not eat
The ready cook'd and carved meat,
Which Queen Eliza, that fhe-biſhop,
'Took ſo much pains to dreſs and diſh up.'
He thus deſcribes the orthodox popular preachers.
"Place me among the fons of thunder,
Who roar to make the vulgar wonder,
And ftare, and ftamp, and damn, in nonſenſe,
To wake the devil in the conſcience;
'Or thoſe ſoft fons of confolation,
Who whine out tidings of falvation,
And lull their auditors aſleep
By telling them that grace is cheap,
• And may be had without much trouble;
с For works are all an empty bubble:
• But fplendid fins are beſt to cover
? A heart by nature foul all over.'
He
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
195
He then clofes the whole as follows:
With any, or with all theſe, fix me,
'Tho' impudence and nonſenſe vex me,
< Yet ftill I hope to keep my temper,
'The man the chriftian idem femper;
• Nor ever fwerve from truth or love,
'Nor in the ſerpent loſe the dove ;
Nor fear to ſay to this, or 'tother,
'I'm Dr. Priestley's friend and brother.
Alas! how changeable was this idem femper. With
reſpect to his principles, however, I fear he never changed.
Thefe and his conduct were, unhappily, at variance.
Even after our public controverfy; having occafion to
write to me about the publication of fome letters relating
to Mr. Weſley, which he had formerly given me, he ex-
preſſed himſelf as follows: "You will, I hope, excufe the
"trouble I give you by this line. I mean not to give the
CC flightest offence, by prefuming to caution a man, whom
"I never fcruple to acknowledge to be my fuperior in every
"qualification, but the honeft with of doing what is right,
"and correcting what is wrong; and here, Sir, I yield to
“no man, and here only think myſelf your equal." This
letter is dated July 7, 1785.
In the laſt letter that I received from him before our dif-
ference he informed me, that he was fuffering under a ca-
lumny, which would probably oblige him to leave Barnſtable,
and begged that I would recommend him as a tutor in fome
nobleman's family. Having no fufpicion what the caſe
really was (as I had no other correſpondent in that part of
the country) I wrote him a letter of chriſtian and philoſo-
phical confolation; obſerving, that I had myſelf ſuffered
by many calumnies, and that he must learn to difregard
them, as I did. However, the thing appearing to be no
calumny, he being obliged to leave his place in confequence
of it, and no diffenting miniſter noticing him afterwards, he
never anfwered my letter, and I did not think proper to
renew the correſpondence.
O 2
Some
196
Familiar Letters addreffed to the
Some years after this, finding that he had no reſource
among Diffenters, and being much careffed by the clergy,
and gentlemen of fortune in the eſtabliſhment, he con-
formed to the church of England; and with a view, I
doubt not, of drawing more attention upon himſelf, and
getting preferment, he adopted the meaſure of writing
againſt me. But not fucceeding in that, or in his views of
rifing in the church, I much fufpect that, extremely irrita-
ble as he naturally was, impatient of neglect, and full of
ambition, the diſappointment contributed to fhorten his life.
He had an ardent mind, and was certainly capable of
great things; but giving way to his paffions, he got into a
labyrinth from which he was never able to extricate him-
ſelf. He certainly made a facrifice of his integrity on that
great altar (with thirty nine horns) on which have been
offered thouſands of ſuch expenſive victims, and on which,
it is to be feared, that many more fuch will be offfered
before it receives the fate of the altar at Bethel, which
is certainly reſerved for it. May the example of this unhappy
man be a warning to others.
How zealous he once was in the cauſe of free inquiry,
will appear from an ingenious paper, called, An Analyfis upon
Bonds, written, as he obferves in the preceding letter, while
he was a ſtudent, and afterwards publifhed by him in the
Weſtminſter Magazine. Under the head Academy is the
following paragraph:
C
• Full belief before admiffion of every article of divinity,
' and every conundrum of a Dutch Medulla (it ſhould be
offa; for they are dry, and very dry) THEOLOGIA—“ In
“verba magiſtri jurare," or be expelled for an obſtinate
'heretic.—To keep Turretine, or Ridgley, or Dr. Criſp,
<
open upon the defk; but to huddle away Clark, and
'Fofter, and Priestley into any dark corner, or to lock them
، up
in an unſuſpected box. Examination by a cloudy
' headed fool, or a quibbling ſophiſt, or a barren coſtive
brained fyftematic, or a wordy felf-important pulpit cox-
>
' comb.-Oh! 'tis enough!—and whoever thou art, poor
foul! that art ſtruggling with the manacles of academic
' tyranny,
Inhabitants of Birmingham.
197
. tyranny,
I feel for thy diftreffes, and would lend a helping
'hand to eaſe thee of thy bonds. But time itſelf will do
'it for thee, if thou canst venture to follow the poet's ad-
'vice-Sapere aude.'
In what light he at one time confidered conformity to the
church of England, may be feen in the following ingenious
Parody upon Shakeſpear, entitled, The Prefbyterian Parfon's
Soliloquy, published fome time ago in the Gentleman's
Magazine.
'Conform, or not conform? That is the queſtion.
• Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to fuffer
The ftings and arrows of outrageous bigots,
'Or to take refuge, 'midft a fea of curfes,
And by fubfcribing end them. To preach in form canonical;
'No more—and by a gown to ſay we end
The heart ach, and the thouſand fcoffs, or wants,
• The poor
cloak'd teacher's heir to-'Tis a confummation
6 Devoutly to be wifhed. To preach-to ſpeak in church;
To ſpeak in church? Perchance to weep at home.
'Aye, there's the rub
For by conforming thus what tears may fall,
• When we have fhuffled off the coil of conſcience,
'Muft give us paufe. There's the reſpect
<
That makes the meeting-houfe of fo long-ſtanding.
• For who would bear the fcorns of upſtart prieſts,
• Our people's frowns, complaints, and fhort fubfcriptions,
The pangs of thankleſs labours paid by yawning,
• Their infolence to catechiſe our faith, and all the ſpurns
That patient preachers from th' unworthy take;
< When he himſelf might his quietus find
< Upon a benefice? Who would bear neglect,
'Or groan in want, whilft fome men fweat with feafting;
But that the dread of fomething worſe than hunger,
< (That fting of confcience, whofe malignity
'No benefice can footh) puzzles the will,
03
• And
198
Familiar Letters, &c.
• And makes us rather bear theſe ills we have,
Than fly to church by flying from our peace.
• Thus conſcience keeps us Preſbyterians ſtill;
And thus the native hue of refolution is ftill kept up
By every ſerious thought; and preachers too
'Who foon might be promoted, by this regard
'From biſhops turn away, and loſe the name
• Of clergy.
LETTERS
LETTERS
то
THE REV. EDWARD BURN,
OF ST. MARY'S CHAPEL, BIRMINGHAM,
IN
ANSWER TO HIS,
ON THE
INFALLIBILITY OF THE APOSTOLIC TESTIMONY,
CONCERNING THE
PERSON OF CHRIST.
By honour and diſbonour, by evil report and good report; as deceivers,
and yet true.
2 Cor. vi. 8.
Blame not before thou haft examined the truth. Underſtand firft, and
then rebuke.
Ecclefiafticus xi. 17.
THE
PREFACE.
I AM fenfible that to many of my readers an apology for
this publication will be neceffary. There is, I freely
own, ſomething peculiarly irkſome, and unpleaſant, in a pub-
lic controverfy with a perfon refiding in the fame place with
one's felf, and eſpecially one with whom we have fome
degree of acquaintance, and whom we are in the habit of
occafionally meeting. On this account I was forry to hear
of Mr. Burn's publiſhing any thing againſt me; and though
he was fo obliging as to fend me a copy of his Letters, I
forbore to peruſe them, till I was informed that they were
much read, and made an impreffion unfavourable to the
principles which I have maintained. Publications afcribed
to two other clergymen of this town, the profits of the
latter of which were to go to the General Infirmary (though
I do not ſuppoſe that it has been this that has encouraged
the truſtees to undertake the new wings of their buildings)
being aware of my natural infirmity, which is a too great
promptneſs to write, I never read at all; becaufe, if I have
any controverfy (except it be of a perfectly amicable nature)
I prefer having it with perfons at a diſtance, and with whom
I have no particular connection. But Mr. Burn has thought
otherwiſe, and he has been the aggreffor.
That there is nothing in myſelf ſo particularly hoſtile to
the established clergy, as is generally imagined, may appear
from fome circumftances of my life, which (as, in a Preface,
writers claim the privilege of ſpeaking concerning them-
felves) I fhall mention.
* Since the writing of this Preface there has been a fecond edition of
Mr. Burn's Letters.
202
The Preface.
I had my grammar learning under a clergyman at a large
public ſchool, and though he lived to fee me write againſt
the principles of the church, to which he himſelf was
thoroughly attached, he retained a friendſhip for me, as I
did for him, as long as he lived.
At Needham Market in Suffolk, where I was first fet-
tled, the most intimate friend that I had was the rector of
Stow-Market, three miles from me.
We had, as it were,
but one heart, and differed in nothing but opinion.
At Namptwich, my next fettlement, the vicar of Acton,
at the diſtance of one mile, had a room in his houſe which
he called mine, and which I always made uſe of whenever
it was convenient to me to ſpend an evening, and fleep,
from home, which I never did except with him. He faid
that he had never known a Diffenter before me.
common love of ſcience brought us acquainted, and I have
now in my poffeffion a teleſcope, made with his own hands,
which he gave me as a token of his friendſhip.
But a
At Leeds I need not fay how happy I was in the ſociety
of Mr. Michell, ſo well known as the inventor of artificial
magnets, and for his diſtinguiſhed merit as a philofopher in
general. My Hiftory of Discoveries concerning of Vision,
Light and Colours, fufficiently fhews my intercourſe with
him, and the obligations I was under to him.
When I was with the Marquis of Lanfdown, Dr.
Frampton, in that neighbourhood, whofe principles in church
and ſtate were the highest, as they are called, of any man's
that I ever met with, who even retained a ſtrong predilec-
tion for the family of the Stuarts, and who retained it to
his death, for fome time kept aloof from me. But a com-
mon love of literature at length brought us intimately ac-
quainted; and at last, when his troubles came upon him, I
was perhaps the only perſon who had his intire confidence,
and
The Preface.
203
With
and whom he confidered as his moft fincere friend.
fome failings, he was a moſt extraordinary man, and I am
not forry to have this opportunity of mentioning him. In
converfation, and preaching extempore (which he ufually did
without preparation, from the leffon of the day) his talents.
were, indeed, wonderful. I took great pleaſure in hearing.
him, but more eſpecially on particular occafions, when he
excelled every man that I have yet heard. He then com-
pofed long difcourfes, and fometimes read them to me before
they were delivered; faying (which I doubt not was literally
true) that after reading them once with care he could deliver
the whole verbatim, without notes, making only fuch altera-
tions as occurred to him at the time of delivery. The laſt
time that I heard him was at the confecration of a church
by the late biſhop of London, who had a great friendſhip
for him. After the fervice (at which I was much more
pleaſed than I expected to have been) he introduced me to
his lordſhip, and we dined and ſpent the day very agreeably
together.
In London, where at this time I ſpent my winters, I was
happy in the friendſhip and fociety of fome of the moſt dif-
tinguiſhed clergymen that this country can boaft.
If liberality of fentiment be the refult of general and
various acquaintance, few men now living have had a better
opportunity of acquiring it than myſelf. This has ariſen
from the great variety of my purſuits, which has naturally
brought me acquainted with perfons of all principles, and
characters. One day I remember I dined in company with
an eminent popish priest; the evening I ſpent with philofo-
phers, determined unbelievers; the next morning I break-
fafted, at his own requeft, with a moft zealously orthodox
clergyman, Mr. Toplady, and the reft of that day I ſpent
with Dr. Jebb, Mr. Lindſey, and fome others, men in all
reſpects after my own heart. I have fince enriched
my ac-
quaintance with that of fome very intelligent Jews; and my
opponents,
204
The Preface.
opponents, who confider me already as half a Mahometan,
will not ſuppoſe that I can have any objection to the fociety
of perfons of that religion.
Theſe facts may fhew that, notwithſtanding my avowed
hoftility to what is called the church, I have no particular en-
mity to the eſtabliſhed clergy, and that I am not diſpoſed to
moleſt them, if they do not moleft me; nor, while contro-
verfy is conducted in a fair and open manner, will this cir-
cumſtance make any unpleaſant difference between me and
any man. I am at this day in habits of great intimacy with
ſeveral of my opponents, and I have no objection to meet
any of them, numerous as they are, if they have no objection
to meet me. Mr. Burn would not have entertained fo fright-
ful an opinion of me as he expreffes, if we had been better
acquainted.
One reafon for this publication is to fhew thoſe who will
hear reaſon, what ſtrange miſconceptions have been taken up
by well meaning people (for fuch I take Mr. Burn to be)
who are governed by prejudice, and who, through that in-
fluence, will not take proper pains to inform themſelves of
the truth of what they hear generally propagated, concerning
thoſe whoſe religious principles they difapprove. What he
advances in thefe Letters, void of all foundation as it is, is
ſuch declamation as I am informed is continually founded
from the pulpits of the churches, and other places of worſhip,
in this town, and indeed in many other parts of England,
as well as by the preachers in the freets (to whom, however,
I am a fincere well-wifher) reprefenting me as the declared
enemy of revelation, and a fetter up of reafon in its place.
Indeed, I think myſelf pretty well off when I am not ex-
hibited as an abfolute Atheist, as I have been in ſeveral pub-
lications, particularly a very late one, intitled Theodofius, the
writer of which reprefents Mr. Silas Deane, as declaring
upon his death bed, that he derived his atheiſtical principles,
and
!
12
The Preface.
205
and his ruin, from me, that I have called Jefus Chrift a
baſtard, and his mother a whore; and that the Marquis of
Lansdown ſeriouſly remonftrated with me on the fubject;
afcribing an habitual gloomy turn of mind whenever I am
not in company, which he is pleaſed to give me, to thofe
fecret misgivings and apprehenfions of finking into annihi-
lation to which Atheiſts are liable. Others have afferted
that I have publicly declared that, "I would never reft
"till I had pulled down that impoftor Jefus Chrift;" and
a preacher at Bristol, in the hearing of a friend of mine,
faid in his fermon, that "I had faid I would be damned
" rather than be ſaved by Chriſt.”
But can I wonder at this from ſtrangers, when Mr. Burn,
who living in the fame town with me, has had a much bet-
ter opportunity of knowing my real fentiments, as well as
my general conduct, appears to be no better informed on
the fubject; having been ſeized with ſuch an unaccountable
alarm himſelf, and propagating that alarm among others,
about the dangerous tendency of my principles; unmind-
ful of the excellent maxim of my motto from Ecclef. xi. 7.
Blame not before thou haft examined the truth, understand
firft, and then rebuke?
If I could be furprized at any thing in this buſineſs (but
I have ſeen ſo much of the blindneſs of bigotry, that I am
furprized at nothing which originates from it) it would be
at my being repreſented as undervaluing the ſcriptures, which
is the burden of the fong of Mr. Burn; when it is evident
that few men, if any, have given more attention to them
than myſelf. And what muſt be his own opinion of the
fcriptures, who can fuppofe that the confequence of an ac-
quaintance with them is the contempt of them?
I was brought acquainted with them, I may fay, from a
child, and read the Old Teftament in Hebrew earlier than
any perſon I have yet met with. To ſay nothing of what
I have written in fupport of the evidence of revelation
(which
T
206
The Preface.
(which ſuppoſes the authority of the fcriptures) in my
Inftitutes of Natural and Revealed Religion, Letters to a
Philofophical Unbeliever, Letters to the Jews, my Church
Hiftory, and feveral other works; as a minifter, befides
preaching, in which the doctrines and maxims of the fcrip-
tures are illuſtrated or enforced, I always largely expound a
confiderable portion of them, and I intend in due time to
publifh thoſe expofitions. The fole object of one of the
three claffes into which I diftribute the younger part of my
congregation, and which I attend to every Sunday, is the
knowledge of the fcriptures, and for this purpoſe I have
compiled two ſcripture catechisms.
Many of my theological publications are employed in the
illuftration of fcripture. It is pretty well known that the
Notes to a late edition of the Bible, eſpecially thoſe that
were taken from the collation of Hebrew manuſcripts, and
the late verfions, were collected by me, and that I under-
took it from the mere liking that I had to the work; and I
am now engaged with ſome friends in a work of much more
labour, which will fhew in a ftill ftronger light how much
I value the ſcriptures, and how defirous I am that they
ſhould be underſtood and valued by others. Before Mr.
Burn had charged me with want of due reſpect for the fcrip-
tures, he ſhould at leaſt have done as much to fhew his own.
In this reſpect my cafe is fingularly hard. The greater
part of my philofophical acquaintance ridicule my attach-
ment to chriſtianity*, and yet the generality of chriſtians
will not allow me to belong to them at all.
When I was at Paris, after a very free and ſerious converfation on
the ſubject of religion, I was told by one of the company that I was the
only perſon they had ever met with, of whofe underſtanding they had
any opinion, who pretended to believe chriſtianity. When I aſked what
there was in chriſtianity that appeared to them ſo very abfurd, as to make
it altogether incredible, they immediately mentioned the doctrine of the
trinity. An enemy as I am confidered to chriſtianity by fome, have
faved many from that infidelity into which the bigots are forcing them.
While I am writing this Preface I receive a letter from a man whoſe
abilities are univerfally acknowledged to be of the firſt rate, with whom
I had
The Preface.
207
Having been long uſed to this kind of mifreprefentation
and abuſe, from perfons who have had no very bad mean-
ing, I am very ready to make allowance for thoſe prejudices
by which they have been firſt miſled themſelves, and then
miſlead others, and it does not affect me at all. But for
the fake of fome who are not abfolutely deaf and blind, but
that they can hear and ſee what is plainly brought before
them, I thus endeavour to rectify their miſtakes, which hurt
themſelves only, and not me.
But my chief motive for writing thefe Letters in reply to
Mr. Burn, is to draw the attention of our readers to the
important fubjects to which they relate; nothing being
wanted but this attention, and free difcuffion, continued a ſuf-
ficient length of time, to give a firm eſtabliſhment to what-
ever is truth. As I only wish for a candid hearing, I ſhall
think I have not written in vain, if by means of thefe
Letters any perſons ſhall be induced to look into my other
publications on the ſubject.
On this account I rejoice to fee the warmth with which the
cauſe of orthodoxy (that is of long established opinions, however
erroneous) and that of the hierarchy is now taken up by its
friends. Because if their fyftem be not well founded, they are
only accelerating its deftruction. In fact, they are affifting me
in the proper diſpoſal of thoſe grains of gunpowder, which have
I had no previous correfpondence, who fays, "I am indebted to you for
"the little I know of rational defenfible chriftianity. But for your
"friendly aid I fear I ſhould have gone from enthuſiaſm to deiſm; but
❝ a faith founded upon evidence reſts on a rock.
As a contraſt to the conduct of many bigots in this country, I fhall
farther obſerve, that when I was abroad, a very fincere catholic prieſt,
hearing that on all occafions I avowed my belief of chriftianity, em-
braced me with tears literally running down his cheeks, faying, that all
who were called philofophers that he had met with before were atbeifts.
I told him that, though I was a chriftian, I was what he would call a
great heretic. He replied, fpeaking English, "No matter, you are a
chriftian." At home, where I ought to be better known, I am con-
fidered as one who is affiduouſly undermining chriftianity.
been
208
The Preface.
!
been fome time accumulating, and at which they have taken ſo
great an alarm, and which will certainly blow it up at length;
and perhaps as fuddenly, as unexpectedly, and as completely, as
the overthrow of the late arbitrary government of France. If
an inhabitant will not fubmit to a thorough examination, and
reaſonable repairs, of the building he occupies, the confequence
must be that, without gunpowder, or even a high wind, it
muft fome time or other fall, and happy may he think himſelf
if he can eſcape unhurt from the ruins. If this ſhould be the
cafe with the church of England, the clergy cannot say that
they have had no warning. They are labouring for its de-
fruction much more than I am. If I be laying gunpowder,
they are providing the match, and their part of the buſineſs
feems to be in greater forwardness than mine*.
For the reaſons abovementioned, I feriouſly rejoice at
the violent oppofition that is now fo unexpectedly, and fo
unreaſonably, made by almoft the whole body of the clergy,
and the high church party throughout the kingdom, to the
repeal of the Corporation and Teft Acts (Acts fingularly dif
graceful to this country, eſpecially as pretending to liber-
ality, fince no fuch thing exiſts no where but in this, and
which, I am confident, do no ſervice at all to the eſtabliſhed
church) and eſpecially in the numerous publications to
which the difcuffion is continually giving rife. By thefe
means the minds of men will in time be enlightened, not
only on this, but on other more important fubjects con-
nected with it, concerning which Diffenters, as well as their
opponents, have hitherto been much in the dark. They
will now be in the way of being much better inſtructed in
the facred rights of men, and of nations, and especially in the
nature of the connection that has hitherto ftrangely fubfifted
between the church and the fate, a connection than which
*The parts of this Preface printed in Italics are thofe that were ex-
tracted froin it, printed feparately, and fent to all the bishops, and all
the members of the houfe of Commons, juſt before the late debate on
the motion for the repeal of the Corporation and Teſt Acts.
nothing
The Preface.
209
nothing can be more unnatural, the one being a kingdom of
this world, and the other not; fo that it was neceſſary for
the latter totally to change its nature, and guard itſelf by
civil pains and penalties, in order to become capable of the
alliance. Thefe difcuffions will, I truft, prepare us for far
greater improvements than any that we yet have in contem-
plation.
Such is the blind zeal which at prefent actuates a great
part of the nation against the Diffenters, that I am verily
perſuaded that, were any law exiſting by which they were
excluded from the peerage, from feats in the houſe of
Commons, or from voting at elections for members of
parliament, they would not be repealed. The meaſure
would be faid to be inconfiftent with the fafety of the church,
to which every thing, how valuable foever, muſt be ſacri-
ficed. The Act of Toleration would hardly paſs now, and
ſtill leſs would the liberty of the prefs be permitted, if it was
not enjoyed. This would certainly be thought to be infi-
nitely dangerous, both to church and ftate. Indeed, it is a
thing at which any thing unfound in church or ſtate has
reafon to tremble. Now, what we have good reafon to
think would not be given, we have ſome reaſon to fear may
be taken away.
The ſpirit that has now gone forth may perhaps carry
into execution thofe penal ftatutes, which we had flat-
tered ourſelves had been for ever dormant; and yet in
this fituation we are continually infulted with being told,
that we actually enjoy a complete toleration for the profeffion
of our religion; whereas it is evidently nothing more than
a very precarious connivance.
The dreadful penalties of the Teft Act have been
threatened to be exacted at Nottingham, a place famous for
the erection of the ſtandard of Charles I. at the commence-
ment of what has been called the grand rebellion. By this
P
A&,
210
The Preface.
Act, for the diſcharge of a civil office, for which their townf-
men thought them qualified, the late magiftrates of that
place might, befides paying the fum of five hundred pounds.
each, be hereafter difabled from fuing or profecuting in
any court of law, being guardians of any child, being exe-
cutors or adminiftrators of any perfon, or being capable
of any legacy or deed of gift*. To this dreadful penalty
(a puniſhment proper for only the greateſt crimes) is almoſt
every diffenting minifter now fubject, only for collecting the
tax that is to be paid at the birth of a child; which, how-
ever, they are obliged to do, under the penalty of twenty
pounds. It will be faid that this was an overfight, and was
not intended to affect them. But neither was the Teſt
A&t itſelf originally intended to affect Diffenters. At pre-
fent the queſtion is not whether a thing be right or wrong,
reaſonable or unreasonable. It is fufficient that it will mor-
tify the Diffenters. To this blind rage, both the honour
and the beſt intereſts of the country muſt be ſacrificed.
What a contraft is now exhibited between the two rival na-
tions of France and England, and how may Engliſhmen bluſh
to look upon it.
The general infatuation on this fubject is ſo great, as to
call to our minds fimilar infatuations which, in the courfe
of divine providence, have frequently preceded the greateſt
* It has always been my opinion that Diffenters ſhould not accept of
any civil offices for which the majority of their countrymen have pro-
nounced them difqualified, but patiently acquiefce in their exclufion from
them till it fhall pleaſe God, in the courfe of his providence, and by
means of our peaceable reprefentations and remonftrances, to open the
eyes, and enlarge the minds, of our countrymen, and thereby give them
more just ideas of the natural rights of men, and the true intereft of their
country. If the Diffenters would listen to me, they would from this time
every where deſiſt from exercifing any civil offices to the diſcharge of
which they were not compelled by law. That this is no new fentiment
of mine, is well known to many. The true chriftian maxim is patiently
to bear every kind of perfecution till it fhall pleaſe God to put an end to
it; and to expect our reward not in this world, but at the refurrection of
the juft. But in proportion as a chriftian will be patient in fuffering,
he will be bold to fpeak, and to write, riſking every thing in the cause of
God and of truth.
and
The Preface.
211
and moſt unexpected revolutions in ftates. Of this nature
was that which affected the zealots, as they were called,
among the Jews, who fancied themſelves actuated by no-
thing but the pureft zeal for the laws of Mofes, and the
honour of their nation and religion. But it was a zeal
which brought on with aftonishing rapidity the deſtruction
of Jerufalem and the temple, an event which they deemed
to be abfolutely impoffible.
Could any of the numerous pamphlets written by the
friends of the court, many of them very ſenſible men, be-
fore the commencement of the American war, be now
found, we ſhould ſee that the reaſons urged for the coercion
of America (which was then the favourite phraſe) on the
principle that we paid taxes and the Americans not (and
which was maintained to be a meaſure equally just and ex-
pedient) were fo weak as to favour of this infatuation. And
the confequences of this ſtrange delufion, which began with
the court, infected the clergy, and was propagated through
the nation, occafioned the total lofs of America, an event.
which was deemed to be impoffible, and indeed which no-
thing but fuch an infatuation could have brought about.
But what is more wonderful ftil, is that, excepting the
great addition to the national debt (which, if the feparation
of the countries had taken place amicably, might have been
faved) we find ourfelves not the worfe, but the better for
the event, which both friends and enemies imagined would
be our ruin. Let us hope then that, though the preſent
infatuation about the Corporation and Teft Acts, and the
violent zeal for the established church, fhould iffue in the
lofs of that church, which the clergy would perfuade us is
neceffary to the fupport of the ftate, this fame flate, which
exifted long before this church was known, may, contrary to
their predictions, find itſelf not the weaker, but the ftronger,
the lighter, and in all refpects the better for it; that after
this dreaded event, there will be, what I can eafily conceive,
P 2
even
212
The Preface.
even more uſeful religion in the country than there is now,
and this fupported at much leſs expence, and with far leſs
reluctance.
How do we Diffenters fupport our religion? and are not
the morals of our people, which is the end of all religion,
eſpecially as it refpects the state, as good as thofe of the
eſtabliſhment? and fhould not we do this with more eaſe,
if we were not burdened with the fupport of our ſhare of
the eſtabliſhed religion befides. The fairest thing would
certainly be for all the members of the ftate to bear their
own burdens, without laying them on the ſhoulders of others.
Religion costs the American States nothing at all, and
yet they have more of it than we have; whereas for the
fame commodity, and of an inferior quality, we pay a moſt
enormous fum, collected in the worst manner, and befides
this give ſomething else that cannot be eſtimated by money.
Let the clergy be only more ftrict, and perhaps but a
little more ftrict, than many of them now are in the ex-
action of their tithes, and the whole buſineſs of tithes may
foon be over. The greateſt enemies to the church are by
no means the Diffenters.
Nor is this the only way in
which the clergy have been working their own deſtruction.
Another foolish and unjust war, like that with America, which
was chiefly urged by the clergy (and fuch another, if the court
propoſes, the clergy will certainly fecond) can hardly fail to
bring their affairs to a crifis*. If they be wife, they will
confider the figns of the times, and be very temperate in all
their proceedings. Fas eft et ab hofte doceri.
* When I was attending a debate in the house of Lords in the courſe
of the American war, and one of the bishops was taking the part of the
minifter in it, the Duke of Richmond fuddenly rofe, and bade the bishops
beware of war. "War," faid he, "is attended with expence; and if
we be diſtreſſed, and muſt have money, we know where we may get
"it." Indeed, the addition of one hundred and fifty millions to the national
debt, occafioned by that war (which may be called a war of the court
CC
and
The Preface.
213
Let them take care left, by too vigorously refifting our appli-
cation for what was never intended to hurt them, and what in
itself cannot poffibly hurt them, they should, by their own vio-
lence do themſelves the most ferious evil. I have always been
an avowed enemy of all civil eftabliſhments of chriſtianity,
but many Diffenters are not fo. I forefee, however, that they
foon will be, and that by means of thefe difcuffions, the fenti-
ment will become more general in the nation at large. It be-
gins to be adopted even by the catholics. See Mr. Berington's
admirable Tract intitled, the Rights of Diffenters.
The utility of ecclefiaftical eſtabliſhments is a queftion that
it behoves the clergy always to keep out of fight as much as
poffible. But their rage against the Diffenters will obtrude
it on the public, and in confequence of this, if they proceed as
they have begun, I fhould be forry to infure their fyftem twenty
years longer. Whether I be more pleaſed, or diſpleaſed, with
their prefent violence, let them now judge. The greater their
violence, the greater our confidence of final fuccefs. Becauſe
it will excite more public difcuffion, which is all that is ne-
ceffary for our purpoſe.
I have been infenfibly led much farther than I intended
when I began this Preface, but the circumftances of the
times muſt be my apology. If any person whofe eye it may
catch, take an uſeful hint from it, it will be well; but an old
and true proverb fays, Experience keeps a dear ſchool, but
fools will learn at no other. Nations, and all great bodies
of men, are generally in this fituation. They will learn very
little except in this dear fchool.
and of the clergy) I confider as a great step towards the deftruction of
the hierarchy. How powerful an inftrument of reformation a beavy
national debt may be, we fee in the late glorious revolution in France.
May all great evils produce as great a good.
LETTERS
TO
THE REV. EDWARD BURN.
LETTER I.
On the Principle of Mr. Burn's Objection to my Reaſoning
concerning the Perfon of Chrift.
REVEREND SIR,
AVING had many Letters, and treatiſes in almoſt
Η Α
every form, addreſſed to me on the ſubject of my re-
ligious opinions, and knowing your zeal for what is ufually
called orthodoxy, I was not furprized to fee an advertiſement
of Letters of yours to me, though I could not imagine why
they ſhould be on the Infallibility of the Apoftolic Teſtimony
concerning the Perſon of Chriſt, becauſe it was an authority
which I had never called in queſtion.
I always took it for granted that the apoſtles, and all the
early diſciples of Chrift, knew very well what kind of being
their maſter was; and in all my writings on the ſubject my
only object has been to aſcertain, by their own writings in
the firſt place, and other media of proof in the fecond, what
was their opinion. This, I ſhould have thought, muſt
have abundantly appeared from the whole ftrain of my con-
troverfial works, which are written in a manner not very
liable to be understood. For, having nothing to conceal,
and being indifferent to all conſequences, in the fimple pur-
fuit of truth, I always write with great frankneſs, and con-
fequently with fufficient perfpicuity.
Mis
Λ'
Looking
216
Letters to the
Looking farther into your Letters, I was furprized to find
that, without producing any evidence whatever from my
own writings, you content yourſelf with taking it for
granted that, in the queftion concerning the perfon of Chriſt,
I intirely undervalue, and endeavour to invalidate, the
authority of the feriptures, as knowing, or ſuſpecting, it to be
againſt me, and having recourfe to I know not what other
ſhifts, as you call them, p. 28. (which of courſe implies
difingenuity, and a defign to impofe upon my readers) to
gain my purpoſe. All this is fo contrary to fact, and every
appearance of fact, that, verfed as I am in controverſy, I own
myſelf for the firſt time, at a loſs how to reply to ſuch groſs
and unfounded calumny.
All the paffages you quote are from the Theological Repofi-
tory*, in which I have maintained that fome texts in the Old
Teftament have been improperly quoted by writers in the
New. But this is not the queftion between us, but whether
they were miſled in their ideas concerning the perfon of Christ,
ſo as to miſlead others, by fuch mil-quotations. It does
not follow that becauſe I fuppofe the apoftles to have been
fallible in fome things, that they were therefore fallible in all.
You muſt certainly, Sir, have written for the uſe of thoſe
only (and they are very many) who will never look into
any of my writings, to fee whether your repreſentations be
fair or not. And, indeed, it is hardly poffible for plain men,
accuſtomed to hear, and to ſpeak truth, to ſuſpect that ſuch
charges as thoſe in your Letters could be advanced without
fome foundation, eſpecially as Letters publiſhed and indif-
criminately fold, must be open to my inſpection as well as
that of the world at large, fo that your unfair conduct
would be liable to be expofed.
* Mr. Burn only infers from the congruity of fentiment, and other cir
cumſtances, that the pieces he quotes in this work are mine. But this, in
point of etiquette (obferved, I believe, by all writers) will not juſtify his
quoting them as mine. However, had he read the laſt number of the laft
volume of that work, he would have feen that I acknowledge thoſe
papers to be mine. I will add, that I do not yet ſee reaſon to retract any
thing that I have advanced in them,
Not
Rev. Mr. Burn.
217
Not imagining, as you might do with respect to me, that
this charge of mine againſt you will be admitted without
proof, I fhall not follow your example, in repreſenting your
fentiments in my words only, as in the above general ſtate-
ment, but ſhall give your own. And, indeed, I read the
paffages feveral times before I could fatisfy myſelf that any
man, and eſpecially a chriftian, and a chriftian minifter,
could advance fuch unfounded charges against a fellow
chriſtian.
"With the generality of Proteftants," you fay p. 9. "I
"confider this teftimony," [viz. that of the apoftles con-
cerning the perſon of Chrift] "as infallible. You have
"taken confiderable pains to eſtabliſh the contrary doctrine.
"It is on this ground profeffedly that the argument from
"the compariſon of ſcripture with itſelf, in proof of Chrift's
"divinity, has by you been rejected, as utterly impertinent
" and inconclufive."
Taking it then for granted, that I confider the apostles
as incompetent witneffes in the cafe, you fay, p. 15, "If the
"reſtimony which the Spirit bore to Chriſt-left the apcf-
"tles ftill under the dominion of prejudice and mistake
"concerning the perſon of the Meffiah, common ſenſe will
"oblige us to confider their qualifications as effentially de-
"ficient." Then you add (with what you would think
to be ſome humour) "It will be difficult to conceive how
"fuch conduct in the apoftles could confift with the pro-
"mife of their mafter, unleſs we fuppofe that leading others
“into error, and in a point too which formed no inconfider-
"able part of their miffion*, may be admitted as the
"evidence that they themſelves were guided into all truth."
* Mr. Burn confiders the doctrine concerning the perfon of Chrift to be
one of the objects of the apoftolic miffion; but it will not be eaſy for him
to prove this. Nothing of this is ſaid in our Saviour's own inftructions, or
commiffion, which only require them to preach the gospel to every creature.
That this is implied in the term gospel must be an arbitrary fuppofition,and
certainly a thing of which the apostles could have no idea at the time of
our Saviour's fpeaking to them. At that time, Mr. Burn himſelf muſt
furely allow, that they confidered him as being a man, though a prophet.
He always lived and converfed with them as fuch; and fince, in the whole
· history
t
218
Letters to the
•
You alfo give the following general view of my conduct
in this controverfy, the whole of it, however, taken from
your own imagination; neither producing, nor, I will ven-
ture to ſay, being able to produce, any evidence whatever
for any one of the affertions in it, fome of which are indeed
fufficiently contradictory to others.
"Let any man of candour attend to the manner, in
"which you would difpofe of the argument from fcrip-
"ture in proof of the trinity: let him examine with care
"your very ingenious attempt to bring this only decifive
"mode of proof into difcredit by diverting the attention of
"chriftians to early opinions and general confideratious, me-
"diums of proof which in the determination of this contro-
"verfy are little better than learned impertinences; let
"him contemplate you, now depofing Chrift and his apof-
"tles from the feat of infallible authority; anon, exalting
"them on the ſhoulders of Ebion, and other his worthy
contemporaries, as teachers fent from God. Let him be-
"hold even Dr. Priestley floundering in the toils of popiſh
fophiftry; at one time invalidating the authority of ſcrip-
"ture; at another, fupporting that authority by the teſti-
mony of the church: and again, when expedient, bring-
"ing the authority of both into question! And what will be
"his inference from fuch conduct? Will he inſtantly con-
"clude that a divine, who can have recourſe to ſhifts like
"thefe is ferious, when he talks of the fcriptures as favour-
"able to his opinions?"
cc
Cl
CC
It appears to me that every thing that you have here laid
down as facts, concerning my fentiments and conduct in
the controverfy concerning the perfon of Chrift, has arifen
not from any attention that you have given to my real con-
duct in it, becauſe it has been the very reverſe of what you
history of the Acts of the apostles, nothing is faid about his nature, it is
evident that they had gained no new ideas on the fubject. Peter, after
the defcent of the Spirit, when Mr. Burn fuppofes his mind to be molt
fully illuminated, contents himſelf with calling Jefus a man approved
of God by figns and wonders which God did by him, which is certainly
defcriptive of nothing higher than a prophet.
defcribe
Rev. Mr. Burn
219
deſcribe, but from your taking it for granted, that the
doctrine of the divinity of Chrift is fo plainly taught in the
fcriptures, that all but fools or knaves, muft fee and acknow-
ledge it, "If" you ſay, p. 28, "the infallibility of this
teſtimony can once be eſtabliſhed, nothing farther ſeems
"to be requifite to determine its fenfe in favour of ortho-
doxy, than a common underſtanding accompanied by
"chriftian fimplicity."
CC
cr
It follows, therefore, that, as I do not acknowledge this
orthodox doctrine, as you call it, I muſt be deftitute either of
common underſtanding, or of chriſtian ſimplicity; and as you
are pleaſed to allow me the former, you muſt of neceffity
deny me the latter. Not being poffeffed, then, of chriftian
fimplicity, I have recourfe to what you call ſhifts, that is, I
fee the truth, and know it to be contained in the fcriptures,
but, from fome principle, or fome caufe, which you call,
p. 27, a love of innovation*, I perfift in denying it, and
fighting against it, and againſt the fcriptures too, becauſe they
contain it.
Now, Sir, let the perſon whom you have brought to the
bar of the public be heard in his own defence, with reſpect
to his treatment of the fcriptures, and the ufe that he has
made of them in the controverfy concerning the perſon of
Christ, that it may be feen whether it be true in fact, that I
do reject the authority of the ſcriptures, as impertinent and
* To ſhew that I am actuated by a love of innovation (which, how-
ever, is an odd kind of principle, and leads to no certain end) Mr. Burn
ſhould ſhew that I am, or pretend to be, an innovator; whereas in all
my theological opinions I am merely a follower of others. My ideas of
inspiration, at which Mr. Burn takes the greateſt alarm, are only thoſe
of Caftalio, Le Clerc, and many others, the most intelligent and excel-
lent of men, and among the beſt chriftians of the ages in which they
lived. With reſpect to my opinion concerning the perſon of Chriſt, Í
certainly cannot be faid to be any innovator; for thouſands confider
him as merely a man inſpired of God, and many from the earlieſt times,
as well as of late years, before I was a writer, or before I was born, have
been of opinion, as I am, that he was the legitimate ſon of Joſeph and
Mary. How then does it appear that I have been fo greatly milled by
the love of innovation, when in fact I have innovated in nothing at all.
I may as well charge Mr. Burn with the love of innovation. For his
opinions are as peculiar to himſelf as mine are to me.
inconclufive,
220
Letters to the
inconclufive, and whether I have taken the pains you lay I
have done to prove this.
As what I may advance at prefent may be ſuſpected to be
produced by the force of your expoftulations on the fubject,
I fhall quote what I have faid before, and in the courſe of
this very controverfy, which your Letters reſpect, and with
which you ought to have been well acquainted. Now,
you will find that you yourſelf cannot appeal to the fcrip-
tures with more confidence in proof of your opinion con-
cerning the perſon of Chrift, than I have always done in
proof of mine; having ever confidered the testimony of the
apofiles as being infallible in this cafe, as much as you can
do. And the queſtion between us at preſent is not which
of us appeals to the ſcriptures with the greateſt propriety and
effect, but whether I appeal to them at all, or not, and
whether I be willing to abide by their evidence. For you
confider me as even labouring to invalidate it. Your con-
duct on this occafion is the more extraordinary, as it has
been that of ſeveral of my other opponents, whofe mifap-
prehenfions I have repeatedly corrected. But there feems
to be no end of replying to the fame calumny.
The author of the tract called Primitive Candour made
the fame objection to my conduct in the following words,
"I would modeftly and reſpectfully aſk what can be the
"reaſon that Dr. Priestley ſhould put the iffue of this im-
portant controverſy on the teftimony of the Fathers,
"rather than on that of the inſpired writers of the New
"Teftament."
">
C
<
To this I replied as follows, If he will look into my
other writings, he will find that I confider the great firong-
hold of the Unitarians to be the fcriptures. It was the
ſtudy of the ſcriptures that made me an Unitarian; and I
' have faid it must be that which will make others fo. I
'would take the liberty to refer him to my Appeal to the
Profefors of Chriſtianity, the Illuſtration of particular Texts,
'the General View of Arguments, &c. and the Introduction
to my large Hiftory, which I hope will foon be in his
‹ hands
<
Rev. Mr. Burn.
221
C
hands. However (if I may be indulged in a little allegory)
'thinking myſelf in full poffeffion of this ſtrong hold of my
faith, I thought I could alſo ſeize upon a certain out-work,
of fome importance, in which the enemy had thought
' himſelf ſecurely lodged. Accordingly I made a fally, and
'diflodged him. Attempts have been made to difpoffefs
< me of it, but hitherto they have been ineffectual. I am
' now ftrengthening the fortifications belonging to it; and
here I am determined to ftand a clofe and regular fiege,
• conducted I hope by my preſent able opponent; and if I
' be compelled to furrender, I hope to acquit myſelf in ſuch
a manner, as to be entitled to leave it with all the honours
of war.
Still, however, I fhall have my strong-hold to
' retire into.'
Surely," fays this writer, p. 8, "it must be acknow-
"ledged, that the divinity of Chrift is a doctrine which the
"facred fcriptures feem to maintain; and Dr. Priestley
"himſelf will not wonder that a plain unlettered chriftian,
"who has borrowed but little light from philofophy, ſhould
"imagine he reads it there.” 'So, I own the cafe did ap-
pear to myſelf formerly. But as I read them now, the
'fcriptures do not feem to teach any fuch doctrine, but, in
the plaineft of all language, fuch as the most unlettered
'chriſtian muſt underſtand, they uniformly and emphati-
< cally teach the contrary doctrine, viz. that the Father is
'the only true God, and Chriſt the creature, the meſſenger,
' and the fervant of that God.
C
<
• Without entering particularly into the argument at pre-
fent, I appeal to the general tenor of the fcriptures, in
'which God and Chriſt are conſtantly mentioned as beings,
C or perfons, of a quite different rank, much more ſo than
man and beast. They are never once confounded; and
in no fenfe whatever, not even in the lowest of all, is
'Chrift ſo much as called God in all the New Teſtament.
I beg my candid antagonist only to read over the few fol-
lowing plain paffages, and let him fay, if he does not find
'great difficulty in accommodating them to his fyftem.
• And
1
222
Letters to the
• And theſe are only a few of what I might have produced,
as containing, in the plaineft words, the fame great doc-
trine.
Exod. xx. 3. Thou shalt have no other God befides me.
'Deut. vi. 4. Hear, O Ifrael, the Lord our God is one Lord,
which is called (Mark xii. 29.) by our Saviour himſelf,
the first of all the commandments. 1 Cor. viii. 6. To us there
is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we
‹ in him; and one Lord Jefus Chriſt, by whom are all things,
' and we by him. Eph. iv. 56, One Lord, one faith, one
baptifm. One God, and Father of all, who is above all, and
through all, and in you all. 1 Tim. ii. 5. For there is
one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
• Jefus Chrift.
<
"
With reſpect to that one text, which this writer feles,
' as no doubt thinking it to be particularly favourable to his
purpoſe, viz. 1 John v. 20. And we are in him that is true,
even in his fon Jefus Chrift. This is the true God and
eternal life. I take the liberty to refer him to my Illuf
'tration of particular Texts of Scripture, p. 31, where he
'may learn that by the phrafes, viz. him that is true, and
the true God, we are to underſtand God the Father only,
'the fame whom our Saviour himſelf exprefsly ftiles the
only true God, when, in his folemn prayer (John xvii. 3.)
he faid that they might know thee the only true God, and
Jefus Chrift whom thou haft fent. This alone fhould make
'us confider any interpretation of a paffage which thould
• make it ſay that there was another true God, as neceffarily
wrong, whatever other meaning fhould be put upon it.
C
،
<
(
Suppofing that in fome part of the English Old Teftament
(in which the doctrine of the unity of God is fo fully
' taught) it ſhould be faid that Mofes was the true God;
'would any man, on that account, believe him to be fo.
'He would immediately fay that it muft either be a wrong
tranflation, that fomething elſe was intended befides what
'the words feemed to import, or that the paffage was an
< ' interpolation.
If
Rev. Edw. Burn.
223
If we be influenced by what only feems to be contained
in the fcriptures, without uſing our reaſon in the interpre-
'tation of them, we may as well at once admit the doc-
'trine of tranfubftantiation. For nothing can be more di-
<
<
<
rectly taught in the words of fcripture. Does not our
'Saviour himſelf ſay (Matt. xxvi. 26.) Take eat, this is my
body; and likewife, v. 27, drink ye all of it, for this is my
blood? Did he not alfo fay, in the fynagogue of Caper-
naum, Verily, verily I fay unto you, except ye eat the flesh
of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me
and I in him, with much more to the fame purpoſe?
There is no maxim of criticifm clearer than this, viz.
'that no man of common underſtanding could mean to fay
' either what was manifeftly abfurd, or what ſhould be a
• flat contradiction to what he had exprefsly and repeatedly
• afferted. Now, nothing can be more abfurd than the
• doctrine of three divine perſons making only one God; nor
can any writers more exprefly contradict themfelves, than
C
C
(
by first teaching the doctrine of one God, calling that God
the Father; and even the God and Father of Christ, and
then ſaying that this Chrift is himſelf God, equal to his
< own God and father. If I could make no ſenſe at all of
<
any particular paffages, that might be found in any of the
facred writings, I fhould fay, without fcruple, that this
' could not be their fenfe.'
As your Letters, Sir, fuppofe that you have attended to
the courſe of this controverfy, you must, I prefume, have
read this paffage. With what face, then, can you ſay that
my appeal is not to the feriptures, and that I refuſe to abide
by their evidence?
C
In my reply to Dr. Purkis, who charged the Socinians
in general, with a fceptical defire of explaining away
'the phraseology of ſcripture,' I ſaid, 'The plain language
of fcripture is much more in favour of Unitarianifm than
"
' of the doctrine of the trinity, and it is with difficulty made
to accord to the latter. The great doctrine of the frict
• unity
224
Letters to the
• unity of God, and alſo that of the pure humanity of Chrift is
'the common language of the fcriptures, where no figure
'is uſed, or can be ſuſpected. As when the apoſtle fays
To us there is one God, and one mediator be-
·
،
(1 Tim. ii. 5.)
By what con-
doctrine of the
tween God and men, the man Chrift Jefus.
'ftruction of words and phrafes can the
trinity be reconciled with this paffage? Muft not the
literal meaning be explained away before it can be made
'confiftent with this myfterious doctrine?
C The texts which the Unitarians have to accommodate
'to their ſyſtem are very few indeed, compared with thoſe
which the Trinitarians muft fubject to their mode of
'torture.'
Perhaps you will fay that, thefe pieces being written in an
early period of the controverfy, you had overlooked them.
But, furely, you muſt at leaſt have read that part of the con-
troverſy, in which your great champion, the learned Biſhop
of St. David's, is concerned. He more than once made
the fame groundleſs objection that you now do, and I more
than once replied to it; the fecond time reminding him of
what I had obferved before. Pleaſe, Sir, to peruſe the fol-
lowing extracts from my Letters to him, when Archdeacon
of St. Alban's.
<
* But perhaps the moſt extraordinary part of your whole
'work will be thought to be the following. In anſwer to
my faying that "many paffages in fcripture inculcate the
"doctrine of the divine unity in the cleareſt and ſtrongeſt
"manner." you ſay, p. 141.
you fay, p. 141. "Be pleafed, Sir, to produce
"one of the many;" meaning evidently, that there is no
'fuch paffage; and p. 17. you add, "the Unitarians them-
"felves pretend not that their doctrine is to be found in the
"plain literal ſenſe of holy writ. On the contrary, they take
"the greateſt pains to explain away the literal meaning."
C
'Now, Sir, if you had really read any unitarian treatiſe
at all, you muſt have known that this reprefentation is the
• reverſe of the fact. We Unitarians certainly pretend at
leaſt, whether we be able to prove it or not, that the general
6
• tenor;
Rev. Mr. Burn.
225
f
tenor; and plain literal fenfe of fcripture is in our favour,
"that they are only particular texts, and thoſe ill-understood,
' that you avail yourſelves of; and we ſay, that there is no
'difficulty in interpreting even thoſe texts in perfect con-
'fiftency with the unitarian doctrine, if the true idiom of
'the language be confidered.
C
C
ર
You complain of my not reading, but only looking
through authors. But furely, you cannot have even
• looked through the very Letters of mine that you are pro-
feffedly replying to. Let me therefore, bring again before
'your view, a paragraph or two in thofe Letters, which, as
far as pretenfions go, directly contradict your confident.
affertion. See p. 90, where you will find as follows: “I
"will venture to fay, that for one text in which you can
"pretend to find any thing harfh, or difficult to me, I will
engage to produce ten that fhall create more difficulty to
you. How ſtrangely muſt you torture the plainelt lan-
guage, and in which there is not a fhadow of figure, to
"interpret to your purpoſe, 1 Tim. ii. 5. There is one
"God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Chrift
(c
<<
CC
(c
Jefus. I Cor. viii. 6. To us there is but one God, the Fa-
"ther, of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord
Fefus Chrift, by whom are all things, and we by him; or
"that expreffion of our Saviour himſelf, John xvii. 2. That
"they might know thee, the only true God, and Jefus Chrift
"whom thou haft fent. Never upbraid us Unitarians with
"torturing the fcriptures, while you have theſe, and a hun-
"dred other plain texts, to ftrain at, and to bend to your
"hypotheſis; befides many general arguments, from reaſon
"and the fcriptures, of more real force than any particular
"texts, to anſwer.'
<
This, Sir, was certainly anfwering your challenge to
produce one plain text in favour of the unitarian doctrine
'before it was thrown out. I appeal to yourſelf for the
'obvious fenfe of the paffages 1 have now recited; and you
fay, p. 23, "It is a principle with me, that the true ſenſe
"of any phraſe in the New Teftament is what may be
❝ called
C
1
226
Letters to the
<<
"called its ftanding fenfe, that which will be the first to
occur to common people, of every country, and in every
66 age."
<
<
<
C
I would alſo refer you to a ſmall piece I lately publiſhed,
entitled, A general View of the Arguments for the Unity of
• God, and against the Divinity and Pre-existence of Chrift,
from Reafon, from the Scriptures, and from Hiftory, which
you ſeem to have feen, as you refer to my two-penny
pamphlets, for this is fold for two-pence. There you will
find, not only that Socinians pretend to have the clear
ſenſe of ſcripture in their favour, but many of thoſe paffages
'expreffive of that clear fenfe, produced. I there obſerve,
(
<
<
C
p. 10, that "the fcriptures contain the cleareſt and the
"moft expreſs declarations, that there is but one God, with-
"out ever mentioning any exception in favour of a trinity,
"or guarding us againſt being led into any miſtake by ſuch
general and unlimited expreffions." And if this language,
as you fuppofe, always refpected the multiplicity of gods
among the heathens, why is this one God, in the New
Teſtament always called the Father, and even the God and
Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift; and why are we no where
'told that this one God is the trinity, confifting of Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghoft? This, Sir, is the language
' of your litany only. The Bible uſed in our conventicles,
• contains no fuch barbarous jargon.
<
<
"I would alſo recommend to your perufal another pam-
' phlet of mine, called, An Appeal to the ſerious and candid
Profeffors of Christianity, of which more than ten thouſand
have been fold for a penny each; and of this I have lately.
• publiſhed a new edition, and have annexed to it the remark-
able Trial of Mr. Elwall, of Wolverhampton, in this
'neighbourhood, for his publications in defence of the Soci-
nian doctrine. Theſe fmall publications of mine have, I
' truſt, done much good, though you will call it much mif-
'chief, in this country. I rejoice in perceiving the increaſe
of this good, or this miſchief, every day; and I have no
doubt of the fucceſsful ſpread of religious truth by means
• of
Rev. Mr. Burn.
227
of theſe publications, notwithſtanding all you can do to
' counteract them.'
It may appear ſtrange to quote fo much from my own
writings; but is it not more ſtrange that your conduct, Sir,
ſhould make this of mine neceffary? The quotations, how-
ever, abundantly prove that, whether I underſtand the
ſcriptures or not, I am not afraid to appeal to them, and that
I even make the great hinge of this controverſy to turn
upon them; though you infift upon it that I profeſſedly
reject the argument from the fcriptures, as impertinent and
inconclufive.
After reading your Letters, I fhall not wonder at your
ftill perfifting in ſaying, that I even now reject the autho-
rity of fcripture. For I can fay nothing ſtronger on the
ſubject than I have repeatedly done before. This conduct
of yours puts me in mind of the humorous attempt of Dean
Swift to prove against Partridge himſelf, that he was dead;
and when the poor man replied, that if he was dead, he
could not have anſwered him, the dean ſaid that ſuch an
argument was to no purpoſe, as no man's evidence could
be admitted in favour of himſelf. So you, Sir, will per-
haps allege that, though the queſtion between us is fimply
whether I appeal to the fcriptures or not, my own actual
and repeated appealing to them is to be confidered as no
evidence at all. You will next, I fuppofe maintain that the
publications are not mine. Indeed, there is no other method
of fupporting your accufation of me, and of vindicating
yourſelf. However, you will not easily find any other per-
fon who will chufe to lay claim to them.
I am, &c.
Q 2
LETTER
228
Letters to the
LETTER II.
Of the Argument for the Divinity of Chrift from Heb. i. 8.
REV. SIR,
HAVING confidently afferted, and feverely cenfured, my
utter rejection and contempt of ſcripture evidence, in
the controverfy concerning the perſon of Chriſt; you pro-
ceed to a particular inftance, as an exemplification of my
conduct in it. And as it happens that I have actually con-
fidered the very fame text that you produce for this pur-
poſe, our readers will have an opportunity of comparing
your repreſentation of my treatment of this paffage with my
own actual treatment of it, in a treatife publiſhed long be-
fore your Letters were written, and probably long before
you were of age to write at all; and the contraft will be not
a little ftriking.
"I will endeavour," you fay, p. 10, "to ftate this opi-
"nion by an example. Suppofe the fixth verfe of the
"forty-fifth pfalm. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and
"ever the fceptre of thy kingdom is a right fceptre."
"Let this, in connexion with its parallel place in the firſt
66 chapter of Hebrews, 8th verſe, be the paffage adduced in
"favour of Chrift's divinity; according to your hypotheſis
"there is no dependence to be placed on the argument,
"becauſe the apoſtle, in his application of this fcripture to
"the Meffiah, was misled by a prejudice common among the
Jews, refpecting this and other paſſages of the Old Teſta-
"ment. In this statement, the principle at leaſt of your
"objection, is faithfully preferved; a principle which I fhall
"now proceed to prove, has for its object, not the emenda-
❝tion of an interpolated paffage, nor the correction of ſuch
"caſual errors as are incident to every writer of antiquity,
" but the total demolition of revealed truth."
<<
You
Rev. Mr. Burn.
229
You then proceed to confider, and reply to, this treat-
ment of the paffage in queſtion, taking it for granted, that
it was mine, at least that the principle, as you ſay, of my ob-
jection is faithfully preferved in it. With what fidelity let our
readers now judge for themſelves.
In my Illuftration of particular Paffages of Scripture, firſt
publiſhed in the year 1772, I confider this very text; and
after peruſing your Letters, the reader muſt be ſurprized to
find that, inſtead of going upon the principle of the writer
being misled by any prejudice, fo that no dependence can
be placed upon his argument, I actually explain it on the
very oppofite principle, viz. of its being a very proper cita-
tion; the paſſage quoted not being at all miſunderſtood by
the apostle, and fully proving what he had in view, which
was not the divinity of Chrift, but his dignity, as conferred
upon him by God; the character and authority of God, on
which that of Chrift refted, being properly mentioned on
the occafion. What I then wrote, and which I ſtill approve,
is as follows, p. 34.
C
Heb. i. 10. And thou, Lord, in the beginning haft laid
the foundation of the earth, &c. As there are feveral ex-
'preffions in the first part of this chapter, which are not
eafy to be understood, I fhall give a brief explanation of
' them all, in their order. The great objection which the
'Jews made to chriſtianity being the meanneſs of Chrift's
< appearance, and the ignominious death that he ſuffered;
to obviate this, the author of this epiftle begins with re-
'preſenting the great dignity to which, for the fuffering of
death, Chrift is now exalted at the right hand of God.
Having faid that, God, in theſe last days, had ſpoken to us
by his Son, he immediately adds, ver. 2, whom he hath
appointed heir, or Lord, of all things; by whom alſo he
'made, or appointed, not the material worlds, but the ages;
that is the preſent difpenfation of God's government over
* mankind, which is eſtabliſhed by the gospel, the adminiſ
'tration of which is committed to the Son. Who being the
brightness of his (that is God's) glory, and the expreſs
Q3
<
<
• image
230
Letters to the
<
C
image of his (that is God's) perfon, and upholding all things
by the word of his (that is God's) power, &c. fat down on
the right hand of the majesty on high. It is plain from this
paffage, that whatever Chrift is, he is by divine appoint-
'ment, whom he APPOINTED heir of all things.
C
C
A
Afterwards this writer proceeds to prove that Chrift is
'fuperior to angels, and at the clofe of this argument, he
' has theſe words, but concerning the fon he fays, Thy throne,
O God, is for ever and ever; or as it may be rendered, God
is thy throne for ever and ever; that is, God will eſtabliſh
"the authority of Chrift till time fhall be no more.
Sceptre of righteousness is the fceptre of thy kingdom. Thou haft
loved righteouſneſs and hated iniquity, therefore God, even
thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows. From this paffage nothing can be more plain,
than that whatever authority belongs to Chrift, he has a
fuperior from whom he derives it; God, even thy God, has
C anointed thee. This could never have been faid of the one
'true God, whofe being and power are underived.
،
(
'
C
•
<
In verfes 10, 11, 12, the apoſtle quotes an addreſs to
'God, as the great Creator and everlasting Ruler of the
'univerſe, but without any hint of its being applied to Chriſt,
'from Pfalm cii. 25, 27. And thou, Lord, in the beginning
haft laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are
the works of thine hands. They fhall perish, but thou re-
maineft; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment, and
as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they fhall be
changed: but thou art the fame, and thy years shall not
'fail. This quotation was probably made with a view to
exprefs the great honour conferred on Chrift, on account
of the dignity of the perfon who conferred it. For it
immediately follows, ver. 13, But to which of the angels
faid he, that is, the great Being to whom this deſcription
belongs, Sit thou on my right hand until I make thine ene-
mies thy foot-flool. Or, fince this quotation from the
‹ Pfalmiſt deſcribes a perpetuity of empire in God, it may
'be intended to intimate a perpetuity of empire in Chriſt
C
• who
Rev. Mr. Burn.
231
i
'who holds his authority from God, and who must hold
' it, unleſs God himſelf be unable to ſupport it.'
This, Sir, I hope, will be a leffon to you in your future
attempts at controverſy, and teach you not to write from
imagination only, but to have ſome facts to go upon. What
would you think of a judge, or jury, who ſhould treat a
criminal as you have done me, that is, condemn him not
only without evidence, but contrary to evidence, and that of
the plaineft kind?
I do not profeſs, any more than you do, in this cor-
reſpondence, to enter into the controverſy itſelf, but only to
confider the principle, or ground, on which it proceeds. I
cannot, however, avoid obferving with refpect to theſe quo-
tations from the Pfalms, by the writer of the epiftle to the
Hebrews (which you, I doubt not, think fo decifively in
favour of the proper divinity of Chrift, that I muſt renounce
all ſcripture authority before I can evade the force of them)
that if your interpretation be juft, worfe confequences will
follow than any of thoſe which you have aſcribed to my
principles, and which it behoves you and your friends to
confider. It is, that if the perfon here deſcribed by the
characters of him who laid the foundation of the earth, the
work of whofe hands are the heavens, who will even change
them with as much eaſe as a garment, and who is for ever
unchangeably the fame, be deſcriptive of Christ, there is no
fuch perſon as God the Father at all. For, certainly, the
Being who is thus defcribed by the Pfalmift was the only
God that he acknowledged, or that is acknowledged in all
the Old Teſtament, and confequently in the New. For
make what you will of the word elohim, there certainly is
but one Jehovah. And thus that great Being, to whom
Chriſt himſelf prayed, as the only true God, John xvii. 3.
will not only be no God at all, but an abfolute non-entity,
and whoſe abſence from the creation would not be miffed.
Blafphemous and dreadful confequences are frequently
afcribed to my opinions; but what are they, Sir, in compa-
rifon of this? It is more than dethroning; it is no lefs than
annihilating
Q4
232
Letters to the
annihilating, the Almighty Maker of all things, and ſetting
up a mortal man (one who actually did die, and whom
God raiſed from the dead) in his place.
There is another paffage of fcripture in the interpretation
of which you exceedingly exult, viz. Pf. cx. 1. quoted by
our Saviour as applicable to the Meffiah, calling any inter-
pretation that I can give of it, p. 19, "the very extreme
"of impiety, hoftile to the authority of the New Teftament,
"and utterly inconſiſtent with his character who was en-
"dued with the holy Spirit without meaſure." You here-
upon requeſt my explicit anſwer to our Lord's queſtion, If
David then call him Lord, how is he his fon. "No doubt,"
you infultingly add, "your fuperior advantages of know-
"ledge, in this as in all other refpects, will effectually
"fecure you from the embarrassment, and confequent
"filence of thoſe to whom the queſtion was originally
"propounded."
Now, Sir, I feel no embarrassment on the ſubject, and
therefore no caufe for the filence to which you imagine you
have reduced me. The Pharifees confidered their Meffiah
as another David, viz. a great king and conqueror; nor
does it appear that they had any idea of his being a perfon
fuperior to David in any reſpect. It might, therefore, well
puzzle them to find that David fhould call him Lord; as I
think it must not a little puzzle you to make out how a God
could be the Son of man, or how it ſhould be neceffary that
Jeſus ſhould have the Spirit of God without meaſure, to en-
able him to work miracles, if he had that power in himſelf,
independent of this Spirit, or of that God whofe Spirit it
is. Meanly as, in your idea, we Unitarians think of
Chriſt, we confider him as a perfon greatly fuperior to
David, and very juftly called his Lord and Mafter, as well
as ours. When his proper kingdom takes place, he will be
king over David himself. If you ask how came one man
to be fo greatly exalted above others, I afk how came
David, who was only a shepherd's boy, to be made ſo great a
king?
Whether
Rev. Mr. Burn.
233
Whether Jefus confidered the paffage he quoted as ori-
ginally relating to himſelf, or whether he only argued with
the Pharifees, as he frequently did, on their own principles,
does not appear. I feel no embarraſſment in conſequence
of either fuppofition, though I confider the paſſage as re-
lating to David, or Solomon, only. But this fubject I have
difcuffed elſewhere. What I have advanced is fubmitted to
the judgment of the public, and I am willing that it ſhould
ftand or fall by its own weight.
I am, &c.
LETTER III.
Of the Reasons for appealing to Early Opinions concerning
the Perfon of Chrift.
REV. SIR,
OUR account of the ground, or principle, of my en!
YOUR account of
quiry into the ſentiments of the early Chriftians con-
cerning the perſon of Chriſt appears as ſtrange to me, as
your account of my treatment of fcripture authority on the
fubject. That fo very plain a bufinefs, and for which I
have fo frequently given the plaineft reafons, could be fo
greatly miſunderſtood, and misreprefented, is, I think, not a
little extraordinary.
"It has as often," you fay, p. 5,
"as I have confidered the fubject, appeared to me in a
"high degree prepofterous to advert to early opinions in
proof of a doctrine, which, from its nature, can ulti-
"mately be determined by the fcriptures only. Difcuffions
"of this nature," you fay, p. 6, "can do little more than
"excite the fneer of infidelity, and are manifeftly incon-
"gruous and abfurd." Again, p. 28, you repreſent them
as
234
Letters to the
!
¡
as "an ingenious attempt to bring the only decifive mode
"of proof into difcredit," and call my arguments "me-
"diums of proof which in the determination of this con-
"troverſy are little better than learned impertinences.
As it is evident that you have never read, or, which
comes to the fame thing, have never confidered, what I have
already advanced on this fubject, I ſhall once more place
before you two of the paffages which fufficiently explain the
reaſons of my conduct. To the author of Primitive Can-
dour I fay, p. 98, I am not a little furprized that this
' learned and ingenious writer ſhould need to be informed,
'that, to aſcertain the opinion of the chriftian world in the
age immediately following that of the apoftles, cannot but
be of great uſe in order to aſcertain the opinion of the apof-
tles themſelves, and confequently the true fenſe of their
writings. There may be many caufes which at this dif
'tance of time may miſlead us in our interpretation of their
'writings; but they muſt have been underſtood by thoſe
for whoſe uſe they were written, and who could have had
• recourſe to the writers themſelves to explain their meaning,
' if it had been doubtful.
C
<
I have no doubt but that, if this writer himfelf could
clearly prove, from independent evidence, that the com-
'mon people among the early chriftians, both Jews and
Gentiles, were fuch Trinitarians as he is, he would make
no fmall account of the fact, as being nearly decifive in
proof of the apostles having been Trinitarians, and that
the doctrine of the trinity is contained in their writings.
'I think that I can prove that the chriftians of the early
ages were Unitarians, and this is one reafon, independent
of my own interpretation of their writings, why I con-
'clude that the apostles were fo.'
C
c
In my letter to Mr. Barnard, I fay to the fame purpoſe,
p. 83, You think it extraordinary, p. 334, that I ſhould
• have recourſe to fuch guides as the fathers to fettle my
opinion concerning the doctrine of the trinity, thinking,
C
I fuppcfe, that the ftudy of the fcriptures might render all
' other
1
Rev. Mr. Burn.
235
<
،
<
other helps unneceffary. Now I have more than once
given my reaſons for this conduct. It is, in ſhort, this,
'Chriftians are not agreed in the interpretation of fcripture
language; but as all men are agreed with refpect to the
'nature of hiſtorical evidence, I thought that we might per-
haps better determine by hiftory what was the faith of
'chriftians in early times, independently of any aid from
the fcriptures. And it appeared to be no unnatural pre-
'fumption that, whatever that ſhould appear to be, ſuch
6 was the doctrine of the apoftles from whom their faith
was derived; and that by this means we fhould be poſ-
'feffed of a pretty good guide for diſcovering the true ſenſe
of the fcriptures.'
c
If, after reading theſe paffages, you ftill have no clearer
idea of the nature and object of my late difquifitions, con-
cerning the opinions of early times, than you had when you
wrote your Letters to me, I am not able to do any thing
more for you, and my conduct muſt ſtill remain as inex-
plicable as ever.
Your curious allufion, p. 28, to my floundering in the
toils of popish fophiftry in this inquiry fhews, if you have any
meaning at all, your total mifapprehenfion of this bufinefs.
For I have had little or nothing to do with any writers that
are ever called popish; having quoted only thoſe chriftian
fathers with whom the doctrine of the trinity originated,
and whofe own account of it I have faithfully exhibited,
that my readers might fee from what principles this ſtrange
doctrine of three perfons in one God (a doctrine as abfurd in
itſelf, and in every poſſible explanation of it, as it is abhor-
rent to the whole tenor of revelation) firſt roſe, and how
differently, and abfurdly, it has, in all its ſtages, been ex-
plained. It was not therefore my floundering, but the
floundering of the fathers of your own faith, and your own
flounderings, who have followed them, that has contributed
to your amuſement, as well as mine.
What you quote from Mr. Seed, in vindication of the
conduct of thoſe learned individuals, as you call them, p. 6,
who
236
Letters to the
who have thought it neceffary to meet me on the ground
of hiſtory, is notoriouſly falſe in point of fact. "The anti-
"trinitarians (fays he) first introduced metaphyfics into
"the queftion, on purpoſe to perplex it with laboured ab-
"ftractions, and ftudied refinements; and then the Catho-
"lics were obliged, though reluctantly, to follow them
"through all their mazes and windings, to fhew that the
"doctrine would abide the teſt of metaphyfics. For if fome
"men's underſtandings, like the earth under the curfe, will
"be fruitful of little elfe but thorns and briars to entangle
" and perplex; it is a duty incumbent on the labourers in
"the vineyard to weed the foil, and not let the doctrine be
over-run and choaked by them."
t
Now there is no inftance of any Unitarian having had
recourſe to metaphyfical reaſoning till the platonizing fathers,
the authors of the doctrine of the trinity, did fo. It is this
doctrine only, and not that of the Unitarians, that requires
any metaphyfics. Had all chriftians been content, as the
Unitarians are, with confidering the fupreme Father as the
one true God, and Jefus, like Mofes and other prophets, as
a man fent of God, no nice diſtinctions had been neceſſary.
For God and man are very different beings. But when
Chriſt was firſt repreſented as an attribute of the Father
perfonified, and then as God equal to the Father, a diſtinct
divine perfon, and yet not another God, then came in meta-
phyfics,that is, the moſt ſubtle diftinctions, or rather the moft
palpable nonſenſe on the one hand, in order to reconcile.
the moſt manifeſt contradictions, and accurate diſcuſſion on
the other, to fhew the infignificance of fuch diſtinctions.
I am, &c,
LETTER
Rev. Mr. Burn.
237
LETTER IV.
Of the Doctrine of Inspiration.
REV. SIR,
HE ſubject of the Inspiration of the Scriptures, on which
THE
you enlarge ſo much, I have no occafion to difcuís
with you, becauſe I allow the infallibility of the writers
as far as the queſtion between us is concerned. Befides,
our difference on this head is not fo great as you would give
your readers to underſtand. For you allow, Note, p. 27,
inaccuracies, of fome kind or other, in their writings, and
fay that, "where there was no extraordinary occafion to in-
"terpofe, God did not think fit to interpoſe in an extra-
"ordinary manner." We adopt, therefore, the ſame rule,
and only differ in our application of it; you confidering
thoſe as extraordinary occafions, which I fee in a different
light; and as you judge by your own reafon, what thoſe ex-
traordinary occafions are, I do the fame by mine, which is
only ſetting up the reafon of one man against that of another,
and not againſt God, which you perpetually infinuate that
I do.
You add, indeed, that befides this plenary inſpiration where
it was neceffary, the authors were "fo far fuperintended in
"writing as to fecure them from all error." But this, Sir,
is arbitrarily afferted, and more than your own general maxim
requires. For had Paul, for example, forgotten himſelf,
and left his cloak fomewhere elſe than at Troas, you would
hardly have thought that a proper occcafion for a divine in-
terpofition, to rectify the mistake. Now there is no error
that I aſcribe to the apoftles of any more confequence to
the real object of their miffion, than fuch a miſtake as this.
As to the perfon of Christ, it was impoſſible, without any
inſpiration, for the Apoſtles to be under any miſtake about
it;
238
Letters to the
it; and what they thought of him, both before and after
his refurrection, is evident from their language concerning
him. Before that event they confidered him (Luke xxiv.
19) as a prophet mighty in word and deed, before God and all
the people; and after the deſcent of the holy fpirit, when you
ſuppoſe them to have been divinely illuminated, as a man
approved of God by miracles and wonders and figns which God
did by him (Acts ii. 22) whom men had put to death, but
whom God had raiſed from the dead. Theſe are all charac-
ters deſcriptive of a prophet, and what the Jews meant by
that term is well known. Mofes was a prophet, Samuel,
Ifaiah, Jeremiah, &c. were prophets, that is, men inſpired
by God, not themfelves Gods. Such a prophet, therefore,
no doubt, the apoftles and early chriftians took Chriſt to
be, when they gave him that name, and aſcribed to him
thoſe characters.
Though I have no occafion, as I have obferved, to dif
cufs the fubject of infpiration with you, I cannot forbear
quoting fome extraordinary paragraphs of yours relating to
it, eſpecially fome of thofe in which you reprefent the con-
Sequences of my opinions, that our readers may judge for
themſelves how confiftent they are with your declaring
p. 23, that you would not wantonly place my opinions.
"in an invidious point of light. Many of our readers,
however, will probably think that the word not is here in-
ferted by an error of the preſs, becauſe the following para-
graphs will do much better without it-"I would not
'
wantonly place your opinions in an invidious point of
"light; but I would ſeriouſly alk, may not any man, con-
"fiftently enough with your doctrine, fet up a defence of
"the worſt opinions, and even excuſe the moſt villainous
"practice by only alleging, that the paffages of fcripture
"which condemn, or prohibit his conduct are not of divine
"authority? This confequence, Sir, however fhocking
"to common ſenſe, and ſubverfive of every found principle
"of morality, feems to my mind, the neceffary reſult of
"this dangerous opinion. For, let the ftable bafis of in-
fallible
Rev. Edw. Burn.
239
{{
fallible inſpiration be once deſtroyed, and it will inevitably
46 follow, that the authority of the New Teftament muſt
"revert to private judgment.
"It is feriously incumbent (p. 25) upon Dr. Priestley,
"before he utterly renounces the authority of fcripture, to
"produce fome more efficacious and explicit ground of moral
"obligation. Your theory of inſpiration appears (p. 26) to
<<
my underſtanding, big with every mifchief. I tremble,
"(ibid) at the application of your principle! Under its
"aufpicies the decalogue is not more fecure than the apoftolic
"teftimony. For if the reafon of the individual is to be the
"fole umpire in matters of faith, why not in the choice of
"conduct alfo? It is evident, Sir, from your own example,
"that there is no authority which this reafon may not diſ-
tr
pute, and it requires but little difcernment to perceive,
"that when once the authority of the legiflature is called
"in queſtion (whether that authority be human or divine)
"an opportunity only is wanting to juſtify diſobedience,
"It is in this view that your opinions are worſe than ridi-
❝culous.
"C
P. 27.
"The licentiouſneſs of opinion (p. 27) generated by a love
of innovation which difdains fubmiffion to every authority
"that may be fufpected to interfere with the intereſts of
"Unitarianifm, &c.*
*It is fomething extraordinary that Mr. Burn fhould afcribe fo very.
much to a mere defire of promoting Unitarianifm. For if I be the man
that he deſcribes, what can Unitarianifm do for me, and therefore why
ſhould I be fo much concerned for it, and eſpecially make myſelf ſo ob-
noxious as I have on this account? In this fituation certainly the moſt
natural, as well as the moft candid, fuppofition is, that I embrace Unita-
rianifm, and endeavour to propagate it, becauſe I confider it to be the
cauſe of important truth, which it becomes every man to reſpect, and to
promote. What other recommendation can it have for me, or any other
man, in this country, according to the laws of which it is confiſcation of
goods and impriſonment for life to profefs it? But we think we ought
to obey God rather than man, at any rifque. There must be fome ftrange
charm in Unitarianifm, if, as Mr. Burn feems to fuppofe, independent
of a love of truth, of a regard to intereft, and of every other rational motive
that can actuate the human mind, it ſhould have this great power over
men. Why should not Trinitarianiſm operate in the ſame manner ?
Laftly,
1
240
Letters to the
T
Laftly, you more than infinuate that I am determined to
oppoſe the authority of fcripture, notwithſtanding theſe
horrid confequences, when you fay, p. 17, "an inſpira
"tion, Sir, which leaves a man in ignorance, and qualifies
"him to blunder on thoſe very points which it was the
"defign of his miffion to reveal, may be a defireable thing
"to thoſe (if fuch men there be) who have ſyſtems to main-
"tain in oppofition to its authority."
On what you fay of the decalogue itſelf not being ſafe
with me, of my calling in queſtion the authority of the fu-
preme legislature, and my making the reafon of the individual
the fole umpire in matters of faith, which, you ſay, will juſtify
all diſobedience to the laws of God, I muſt remark with ſome
ſeverity but with juſtice.
The pofitions abovementioned are no applications of any
principle of mine, though you are pleafed to call them ſo.
This whole ftring of affertions is nothing less than the
groffeft and moft unfounded of calumnies, for which you
have no authority at all, not even that of an inference from
any thing that I have advanced; though that would be un-
fair to aſcribe to me; fince no man is properly anſwerable
for any thing more than he himſelf allows.
Where, Sir, have I ſaid that the reason of the individual is
the fole umpire in matters of faith? I call upon you to pro-
duce any thing that I have written that will bear fuch a
conftruction. You muſt abfolutely have been reading
Bolingbroke, Hume, or Voltaire, and have imagined their
writings to be mine. I think I may fay that no man now
living in this country, nor perhaps in any other, has written
more to prove the very reverſe of what you aſcribe to me,
viz. the infufficiency of human reason, and the neceffity of di-
vine revelation.
The two truly great doctrines of revelation, are thoſe of
the unity of God, and the refurrection of man to a future life;
neither of which, in my opinion, could the unaffifted reafon
of man have difcovered, and leaft of all the latter. But
though you virtually deny one of thefe doctrines, by
maintaining
Rev. Mr. Burn.
241
maintaining a trinity of divine perfons, or Gods; and though
you, in fact, ſuperſede the other, by the doctrine of a foul,
thereby rendering the refurrection of the body of no value at
all, I do not charge you with denying revelation. Both
thefe infringements of the great truths of revelation, I
would farther obferve, were made by human reafon, or phi-
lofophy, as in my writings I have abundantly proved. They
aroſe from the vain fpeculations of men, operating to un-
dermine the great and diſtinguiſhing doctrines of revelation.
It is you, Sir, therefore, and not me, who fet up reajon
against revelation.
That your notions on the fubject of infpiration and the
authority of fcripture, are extremely crude, and indigeſted,
or elſe that you do not know how to exprefs your own
meaning, is evident from your ſuppoſing, p. 32, that the
fenfe only, and not the authority of fcripture, is to be deter-
mined by reaſon, and from your faying that otherwife "our
"faith, contrary to the fcripture, will ſtand in the wiſdom
" of man." But, pray, Sir, how do you actually judge of
the authority of feripture, if you fet afide the uſe of reason?
You have two books, for example, prefented to you, the
Bible, and the Koran, and the authority of each is to be de-
termined. If, inſtead of the uſe of reafon, you have recourſe
to what you here oppofe to it, viz. the infallibility of the
apoftolic teftimony, how are you to afcertain this? You are
not to take the mere word of the apoftles, for their infalli-
bility, any more than that of Mahomet for his. Certainly,
then, you muſt have recourſe to this fo much dreaded and
reprobated reaſon, if you make a wife decifion at all. You
will hardly ſay that God, or the apostles, have revealed
themſelves to you perfonally, and told you which of theſe
two books is to be your infallible guide. Or if they have
revealed themſelves to you, they have not to me, and many
others; and in a matter of this confequence we ſhall not
take your word, or any man's word. We require the proof
of your inſpiration, and of the degree of it, and ſhall judge of
the evidence you produce by our own reafon only.
R
When
242
Letters to the
When you next declaim in this random manner againſt
the use of reafon, remember the old faying, that "No man
"is againſt reafon, till reafon is against him." Notwith-
ſtanding I refuſe to ſurrender my reaſon to you, or to any
man, the Bible, rightly understood, is as much my religion,
as it was that of Chillingworth, yourſelf, or any other Pro-
teſtants, though you fuppofe, p. 29, that I renounce it.
I am, &c.
LETTER V.
Of the immoral Confequences of my Opinions.
REV. SIR,
WITH
ITH refpect to all the immoral confequences that
you ſo liberally afcribe to my opinions, I fhall con-
tent myſelf with faying, that if your principles be confiftent
with fuch manifeftly unjuſt and injurious infinuations, by
which nothing could be meant but to render my character
odious (though with a view, as you may fay, to the ad-
vancement of truth) I diſclaim fuch principles, unknown
and unexamined, and prefer the extreme of herefy, with
candour, to the moſt perfect orthodoxy without it. As the
Indian faid to the Spaniſh priest, who would have perſuaded
him to be baptized in the article of death, threatening that
if he did not fubmit to that ceremony, he would certainly
go to hell, whither all his anceſtors had gone before him,
that "he chofe to go to his anceſtors, rather than to any
place whither the Spaniards went;" fo, Sir, judging of the
tree by its fruits, I fhall willingly take my chance with pious,
virtuous, and candid Unitarians, with fuch men as Dr.
(6
Lardner,
Rev. Mr. Burn.
243
Lardner, Dr. Jebb, &c. who brought no railing accufations
againſt any man (though fentenced by your church without
doubt to periſh everlaſtingly) rather than with thoſe who
fcruple no mifrepreſentation, or abuſe, to promote their
cauſe, though in itſelf it thould be ever fo good. Fearing
God, and refpecting his truth, I hope I fhall never fear what
man may ſay of me, or do to me, leaſt of all in another
world, where, happily, your power does not extend.
Had you, Sir, been more attentive to our Saviour's ex-
cellent and plain rule in judging of men, viz. By their fruits
ye fhail know them, you would not have been fubject to fuch
dreadful alarms about the confequences of my opinions, or
any others, as you now either are, or affect to be. You
ſay that my fentiments are big with every mischief, that they
attack the very baſis of moral obligation, that they are unfa-
vourable to the intereſts of ſociety, that even the decalogue itſelf
is unfafe, that all principle being gone, nothing but opportu-
nity is wanting to juſtify diſobedience. To alarm your
readers, if poſſible, ftill more, you add, p. 27, " to thoſe who
"confider the influence that, in the concurrence of events,
"favourable to innovation, fuch opinions may have on the
"conduct, it is a truly ferious concern.
Had I taught principles profeffedly atheistical you could
not have expreffed greater apprehenfions than theſe. For
when all moral principle is deſtroyed, men are prepared for
every villainy. With thefe ideas I fhould not wonder if
you ſhould adviſe the immediate apprehenfion of all Unita-
rians, left you ſhould not be able any longer to fleep in your
beds, or travel the public roads in fecurity, or let your
wives and daughters fhould be expoſed to the moſt brutal
outrages. For there is nothing that human nature is capa-
ble of, ſo atrocious that you do not think us actually ready
to perpetrate.
But pray, Sir, have you confidered what time it will re-
quire for fuch principles as ours to operate, and produce
their proper effect? For if they have any tendency to pro-
duce miſchief, it cannot lie dormant for ever. If, according
R 2
to
244
Letters to the
to our Saviour, moral principles may be compared to a tree,
there muſt be a time for its bearing fruit. Now to ſay no-
thing of primitive times, theſe very principles have been
publicly profeffed in many countries of Europe, at leaſt,
ever fince the reformation. I myſelf have taught them
more than thirty years. Many others are as indefatigable
in the buſineſs as myſelf, and it is univerſally acknowledged,
and pathetically lamented by many, that they gain ground
every day, and pray, Sir, what do you actually ſee, to make
you tremble in this manner? If our lives had not been as
fober, and exemplary, as yours, indifferent fpectators would
have perceived it, and have taken the alarm as well as you;
but if no apparent miſchief has arifen from our principles in
three hundred years, I fhould think you might difmifs your
fears, and conclude that it was merely a falfe alarm that had
agitated you ſo much.
Befides, I could with to quiet your fears on your own ac-
count. For the many fleepless nights which your apprehen-
fions, if real, muft neceffarily have cauſed you, accompanied,
of courſe, with much earneſt prayer and fafting, muſt in
time affect your health. This conftant trembling, fafting,
watching, and praying, will foon wear any man, more cor-
pulent than you are, to a fkeleton; unleſs, with Falſtaff,
grief ſhould have a contrary operation with you, and blow
you up a like a bladder.
Confider then, I fay again, for the fake of your own
peace of mind, and health of body, what time you think our
principles may require to operate, and whether that time
may not be actually elapſed, ſo that you may make yourſelf
eafy about them. If they be big, as you fay, with miſchief
(and especially with every mischief, crimes of every kind and
degree, including treafon, murder, burglary, &c.) they muſt
fome time burſt; if they attack the baſis of moral obligation,
with any vigour, it muſt ſooner or later give way: and if
nothing but opportunity be wanting for the commencement
of our outrages (all moral principle being totally gone) it
muſt have occurred in a reaſonable ſpace of time. Indeed,
fuch
Rev. Mr. Burn.
245
fuch opportunities are preſented every day, becauſe crimes
are committed every day. But are they committed by Uni-
tarians, more than Trinitarians?
As to the decalogue, you certainly break one of the com-
mandments, viz. the firft, which, from that very circum-
ftance, we may ſuppoſe, not to be of the leaft importance.
It is that which folemnly enjoins the acknowledgment, and
worſhip, of only one God. And the ninth, which requires
you not to bear falfe witneſs againſt your neighbour, you
have ſhamefully violated in this very publication. Now
which of theſe commandments do you charge us Unita-
rians with habitually violating? I believe, however, that
though you have broken theſe commandments, you have
not had a very bad intention at the bottom; but you cer-
tainly do not know what ſpirit you are of.
That you may not hereafter fear where no fear is, pleaſe
to take from me, a preacher of chriſtianity as well as your-
ſelf, though not appointed according to your rules (which,
it is ſaid, you did not wait for) and one who has ſtudied
chriſtianity at leaſt longer than you have done, this plain
leffon of it. That which is moſt favourable to virtue in
chriſtianity is the expectation of a future ſtate of retribution,
grounded on the firm belief of the hiſtorical facts recorded
in the fcriptures, efpecially the miracles, the death, and refur-
rection of Chrift. The man who believes theſe things only
(which I imagine I do as firmly as you) and who, together
with this acknowledges an univerſal providence, ordering all
events, who is perſuaded that our very hearts are conſtantly
open to the divine inſpection, ſo that no iniquity, or purpoſe
of it, can eſcape his obfervation, will not be a bad man, or a
dangerous member of fociety. Theſe principles, which are
common to all chriftians, habitually impreffed upon the
mind, would lead us all to fet God always before us; and
thus conſtantly living as feeing him who is invisible, cheriſh-
ing an habitual love and reverence for him, and having an
immortal ftate hereafter in continual profpect, our hearts
will be loofened from all improper attachments to this world,
R 3
all
L
Letters to the
246
all inordinate defires will be fuppreffed, all undue reſent-
ments ftifled, and we fhall rejoice in nothing fo much as
the purſuit of truth, and the uniform practice of virtue.
If your religious principles, Sir, can do more for you
than this, fhew it by your conduct. As yet, it does not
appear from your Letters, that you have learned even fo
much. The reafon of it is that there are tares mixed with
your wheat; there is in your ſyſtem of chriſtianity ſomething
that debaſes the pure ſpirit of it, and does not conſiſt with
either the perfect veneration of the divine character, which
is the foundation of true devotion to God, or with perfect
candour and benevolence to man. I mean thoſe corruptions
of chriftianity, which your church retains, and which it is my
great object to explode, from the full perfuafion I have of
their bad tendency, though I am far from confidering them
in fo frightful a light as that in which you have repreſented
my opinions.
I am, &c.
1
REV. SIR,
LETTER VI.
The Conclufion.
AS I have as much apprehenfion of your being embar-
raffed, and reduced to filence by what I have urged in
thefe Letters, as you had from what you addreſſed to me;
and as you ſeem to have wanted the advice of fome judi-
cious friend in the conduct of this bufinefs, and it is poffible
that, in lieu of it, that of an adverfary may be of fome ufe
to you, I fhall freely give you mine.
If you be difpofed to reply in the fame fpirit and on
the fame principles, with which you wrote your Letters,
ſay
Rev. Mr. Burn.
247
A
fay boldly (for ſtrong affertions, you muſt have found by
the reception your Letters have met with, will have fome.
weight) that, finking under your charge of deſpifing the
ſcriptures, I was reduced to the neceffity of utterly renoun-
cing, as you plainly foretold, p. 25, that I fhould do, the
authority of ſcripture; and that, not being able to produce any
more efficacious and explicit ground of moral obligation, I firſt
did as your predeceffor Mr. Venn (to whofe performance
this of yours, Sir, bears a very ſtriking reſemblance) declared
that he would do, if his opinion fhould be confuted, viz.
that I formally burned my Bible, and that, then, agreeably
to the maxims which he afcribes to all new fchemers, I went
and hanged myself; and this will give you a fine opportunity
of exerting all your powers of pathos in warning other Uni-
tarians, and the world in general, by my example. If you
ſhould even proceed to publiſh my laſt dying ſpeech and con-
feffion, together with a commentary upon it, it will only be
of a piece with the ftrange and groundleſs affertions in your
Letters; and as few of your readers will question any thing
that you think proper to publish, you may, before the truth
be diſcovered, have the credit of having totally demoliſhed
me, of having happily rid the world of fo peftilent and
reſtleſs a heretic as I am, and may confequently riſe in pre-
ferment even above the haughty biſhop of St. David's.
This, Sir, would be writing as you actually have written,
that is, without the leaft regard to truth, or probability.
But if you have any remains of chriftian principle within
you, afk pardon of God, of the public, and of myself, for
your grofs and ill founded calumnies, and then, I ſhail be
happy to fhew my chriftianity by forgiving you. By ſuch
teſts as theſe try me as much as you pleaſe.
To conclude with perfect ferioufnefs, I call upon you,
Sir, in the face of this town, and of your country, before
whom you have publiſhed your accufations of me,
1. To produce if you can, (for as yet you have not
even attempted to do it) any paffage in my numerous
writings from which it can, by any fair conſtruction, be in-
R 4
ferred,
248
Letters to the
ferred, that I reject the apostolic teftimony concerning the perſon
of Chrift; which is the principal object of your Letters.
2. Make it appear by fomething elſe than your own
confident affertions, that my object. in inquiring into early
opinions concerning the perfon of Chrift was an injurious
attempt, as you fcruple not to call it, to bring the only decifive
mode of proof into difcredit. And
3. Shew where I have, in the moſt diſtant manner, in-
finuated that the reafon of the individual is, in your ſenſe of
the phraſe, the fole umpire in matters of faith, fo that the
decalogue itſelf fhall be in danger of being no more reſpected
by me than you ſay the apoftolic teftimony is. If, unſuſpected
by me, there be any ſuch paffage in my writings, I promiſe
to expunge it with indignation, though it muſt be abun-
dantly refuted by the general tenor of them.
To a charge of this ferious nature, you muſt not, Sir, be
filent. I demand a diſtinct and explicit anfwer. Your Let-
ters would fuggeft many more queſtions, but as you are a
young writer, and our correſpondence may continue fome
time, I fhall not proceed farther in this catechifm at prefent.
It will be a matter of fome curiofity, if you should find
fome difficulty in your reply, to fee in what manner your
brethren of the clergy will confider your conduct. There
are ſome circumſtances of this kind already before the
public, which give no favourable idea of the ſpirit of ſome
of your corps in this refpect. Mr. Howes has been ſhewn
to be guilty of a manifeſt falsehood in his account of my
conduct in this controverſy, and he has been repeatedly called
upon to vindicate himſelf, or to afk pardon; but though
he has been reduced to abfolute filence, none of his
brethren have expreffed the leaft difapprobation of his con-
duct. It looks as if all fins of a brother were venial ones
with you. Other clergymen have published pieces of
fcurrility against me of the loweſt kind, conſiſting of nothing
but the moſt abfurd and intemperate railing, fuch as I have
been aſhamned in any manner to notice, and yet I have
never heard that they were the worfe received by their
acquaintance,
Rev. Mr. Burn.
249
Like
acquaintance, fuperiors, or equals, on that account.
Balthazar, who fhot the Prince of Orange, I doubt not
they have received abſolution on account of their good inten-
tions.
Others of the clergy, however, I well know, are afhamed
of their conduct. With many of the clergy, both in the
church of England and the church of Rome, I have long
been in habits of intimacy, and I efteem their acquaintance
and friendſhip an honour. So I do that of the liberal and
intelligent of all perfuafions; and I am far from confining
all good fenfe to thoſe who think as I do.
Wishing your future conduct may intitle you to claſs
with fuch men as thefe, of whom your church is not worthy,
I remain,
Reverend Sir,
Birmingham, Feb. 17, 1790.
Your very humble fervant,
J. PRIESTLEY.
P. S. Recollecting a general fimilarity between your ac-
count of my religious principles and that of Mr. Venn, I have,
fince the preceding Letters were ſent to the prefs, looked
into my reply to him, and I find the likeneſs more ſtriking
than I had imagined it to be. He fays that I am not a whit
better than a rank Deift at the bottom, that my notions in
religion are pagan, that according to the new schemers in
general (but evidently meaning myſelf in particular) the
faculty of man is of itſelf fufficient to determine what it becomes
Jehovah to reveal of himself, his councils, and his way of faving
his rebellions creatures, that we believe no divine teachings,
that we diſclaim the divine authority of the fcriptures, that we
infift upon a right to reject what we think to be unreasonable in
them, be the words that affirm it ever ſo plain.
This was advanced twenty one years ago, when I had pub-
liſhed nothing in theology except my firſt ſmall catechiſm, and
the Tract on the Lord's Supper. However, as, according to
Venn,
:
250
Letters &c.
Venn, I was at that time advanced as far in irreligion as you
repreſent me to be at prefent, I fhould think you might
conclude, that notwithſtanding your diftreffing apprehen-
fions, the evil, whatever it be, will not proceed much
farther.
After calling upon Mr. Venn, as I do upon you, to prove
the feveral charges advanced against me, which I diftinctly
pointed out to him (though it was to no purpoſe; for like
the man without the wedding garment, he remained speech-
lefs on the fubject from that day to this) I faid to him, as I
do to you, I defire you, as a man, and a chriftian, to lay
C your hand upon your heart, and queſtion yourſelf concern-
< ing the real temper of mind in which you wrote to me,
the true motive of your conduct, and the end you had in
' view in endeavouring, as you have done, to expoſe me to
'the odium and indignation of mankind.'
<
As the Reply to Mr. Venn abundantly anſwered its pur-
pofe, I have no defign to reprint it. But as the Confiderations
on Differences of Opinion among Chriftians, which I prefixed
to it, may be as uſeful now as they were then, I ſhall ſub-
join them. This was the first piece of religious controverfy
that I wrote, and much as I have written fince, I hope it
will appear that I have never loft fight of the obfervations
(equally proper for all who write or read controverfy) which
I then made.
CONSIDERATIONS
Ο Ν
Differences of Opinion among Chriftians,
Originally prefixed to the Reply to Mr. Venn.
SECTION I.
Of latent Infincerity, and direct Prevarication.
HAVING, in my Letter to Mr. Venn, advanced as
much as I think fufficient, by way of reply to his
Examination of my treatife, I was not willing to omit this
opportunity of addreffing, to the public, a few general confi-
derations, relating to differences of opinion among chriftians.
If the nature and fpirit of his pamphlet be confidered, there
are but few perſons, I imagine, who will think an anſwer,
addreffed to him only, in the leaft neceffàry, or expected
from me. Indeed, I never confidered the anfwering of Mr.
Venn as my principal object; but I thought it afforded me
a fair occafion of expofing the grofs mifreprefentations, and
unworthy cavilling, which not Mr. Venn only, but too
many others, fcruple not to make uſe of, in order to render
thofe who differ from them, in fome fpeculative points,
odious to their fellow chriſtians.
This is not a complaint of mine only, or confined to the
preſent occafion. Numbers of the faithful fervants of Chriſt
have been greatly injured, and have had their uſefulneſs
impeded, by the fame ungenerous and unjuſt treatment. It
has been the cafe, more or lefs, in all ages; and I am forry.
to ſee ſuch a profpect of the continuance of it in time
to come.
How
252
Confiderations on
How many worthy minifters of the gofpel, who have
taken great pains to underſtand chriftianity, and are ſeriouſly
diſpoſed to promote both the knowledge and the practice of
it, to the utmoſt of their power, have their hands, as it were,
tied up, by thoſe who bufy themſelves in Spying out their
christian liberty. Many of them are fo circumſtanced, that,
ſhould they endeavour to ſerve the intereſts of chriſtianity,
and of mankind, in the way which they fhould think beſt
adapted to anſwer the purpoſe; ſuch a clamour, they can-
not but foreſee, would be raiſed, and fo furious an oppofi-
tion would immediately be made to them, that they are
convinced they ſhould do more harm than good by the at-
tempt. There are but few whofe advantageous fituation,
ability, and firmnefs of mind, concur to enable them fuc-
ceſsfully to encounter the difficulties they would hereby in-
volve themſelves in; fo that, being incapacitated for doing
all the good they are defirous of doing, they are content to
do the little they can do, in as quiet and inoffenfive a man-
ner as poffible; following the prudent advice of our Lord,
who admoniſhes us, not to caft our pearls before fwine, left
they trample them under their feet, and turn again, and rent us.
That the interefts of practical chriftianity fhould ſuſtain
fo great a lofs, is a thing truly to be lamented; and though,
fuch is the ſtate of things in this world, that thefe offences
will come, and we are, therefore, to lay our account with
meeting with them; we cannot help faying, with our Sa-
viour, who foretold them, Woe unto them by whom they come;
that is, to thoſe who are the criminal cauſe of them.
Far am I from cenfuring thofe perfons who are merely
mifled, or thofe who, in conſequence of having been miſled
themſelves, endeavour to miſlead others. Every allowance.
fhould be made for all thofe who offend through ignorance,
though they be carried away, even to the moft violent acts
of perfecution, by a zeal that is merely not according to know-
ledge. But the woe of Chrift will certainly fall with its
whole weight upon thoſe, who make a handle of the preju-
dices of mankind, to gratify their own pride, or promote
their
Differences of Opinion.
253
their own worldly interefts and ambition; and who labour
to inflame thoſe prejudices with a view to making them
fubfervient to ſuch bafe purpoſes. Nor will thoſe eſcape
animadverfion, who are, in part only, actuated by fuch un-
worthy motives; and who, though they may think the
cauſe they are engaged in a juſt and good one, yet profe-
cute it with more ardour and vehemence, than a pure regard
to the goodneſs of it would have excited in them.
Very few of the actions of men have, I believe, one fim-
ple cauſe. We are generally influenced by a variety of
motives in whatever we do. It, therefore, behoves us the
more carefully to diſtinguiſh the influences to which we are
ſubject, and under which we really act. God forbid that I
ſhould take upon me to condemn any individual of his
creatures. Himſelf only knows our hearts, and he will ren-
der unto every man according to his works. But the general
nature of our motives, the kind, or clafs, to which they are
reducible, may in ſome meaſure, be known by the manner
in which they operate. And the moſt diſtinct of all, in their
nature and effects, are thoſe which have the intereſt of this
world, and thofe which have that of another for their object.
The man whoſe ſole ſpring of action is a concern for loſt
fouls, and a care to preſerve the purity of that goſpel, which
alone teaches the most effectual method of their recovery
from the power of fin and Satan unto God, will feel an ardour
of mind, that will prompt him ftrenuously to oppoſe all thofe,
whom he confiders as obftructing his benevolent deſigns.
An ardour of mind will likewife be felt by the man whoſe
fole object is the advancement of his reputation, his party,
or his fortune; but this ardour cannot be fuppofed to operate
in the very fame manner in both cafes, ſo as that they can-
not be diſtinguiſhed by an attentive obferver. There will
certainly be fome difference in the choice of means to pro-
mote theſe ſeveral ends. We fhould naturally expect more
fairneſs, more candour, more meekneſs, and more generofity,
from the chriftian, than from the mere man of this world.
The paffions of the latter would, alfo, be apt to run into
perfonal
254
Confiderations on
perſonal animofity, envy, jealoufy, hatred, and malice;
whereas the utmoft zeal of the former would not only ever
appear to be confiftent with, but would be greatly produc-
tive of, the moft difinterefted benevolence, and the moſt af-
fectionate brotherly love. By this rule we may, in fome
meaſure, try the ſpirits whether they be of God. But let the
utmoſt diffidence and candour accompany every judgment
we form, remembering that we must all stand before the
judgment-feat of Christ.
When perfons exprefsly avow the motives of their con-
duct, not to acquiefce in their declarations has the appear-
ance of queftioning their veracity; becauſe it is taken for
granted, that every man muft know the principles of his
own conduct. But the human mind is fo complex a thing,
that there is great room for felf-deception; efpecially in
cafes where the paffions and affections are ftrong, and when
they occafion fimilar emotions, as well as produce fimilar
effects. In this caſe a bystander may be a better judge than
a man's felf. A zeal for our opinions, and a zeal for our
party, on the advancement of which our own perfonal re-
putation and influence depend, are neceffarily connected,
and reciprocally promote one another. For the fame
reaſon, a diſlike of opinions has an affinity with the diſlike of
thoſe who hold them, as men who are embarked in an in-
tereſt oppoſite to ours, and whofe credit and authority ob-
ftruct our own. Alfo, all the emotions of mind that are
excited by the fame objects, how different foever they be
originally, by frequent affociation mix together, fo that the
parts of that complex feeling which refults from their union,
are no longer diftinguishable. When two perfons, who
have had frequent intercourfe, have been a long time at
variance, and the fubject of their contentions have been.
numerous; can either of them analize the fudden emotion
they will feel upon an unexpected meeting, and by which
they may be inftigated to ſome inſtant and violent act?
We often begin to act with one motive, but, as we pro-
ceed, we come infenfibly within the influence of others; fo
that,
Differences of Opinion.
255
that, in ſome caſes, the habit fhall continue, though the ori-
ginal motive have no force at all; and yet it may be im-
poffible to fay, in what part of this progrefs the influence.
of one motive ceafed, and that of another began; the
change of character being infenfible, and altogether imper-
ceptible.
For my own part, I have no doubt, but that the leading
men among the Methodists were influenced, originally, by
none but the beſt of all motives, a generous concern for the
fouls of men. Nothing elfe, I think, can account for their
conduct, as they were then circumftanced. But finding
themſelves, by degrees, at the head of a large body of peo-
ple, and in the poffeffion of confiderable power and influ-
ence, they must not have been men, if they had not felt the
natural love of power gratified in fuch a fituation; and they
muſt have been more than men, if their fubfequent conduct
had not been, more or lefs, influenced by it; and if they had
not acted in many cafes, juft as the heads of any other
party would have acted. I am far from meaning to infinuate
by this, that their original motive is become extinct. I hope
it is fill the leading one with them; but it becomes every
man to diſtruſt himself, and carefully to examine his own
heart. Otherwife, as I believe may have been the cafe with
many perfecutors, we may begin with the love of God, or
a regard to his glory, and end with the moft diabolical dif-
pofitions.
Thefe obfervations may throw fome light on the feem-
ingly different accounts that Paul gives of his own character
and conduct, before he was converted to christianity. Be-
fore the chief priests and council of the Jews, he declared,
Ats xxiii. 1. that he had lived in all good confcience before
Gol until that day, and before Agrippa, Acts xxvi. 5, that
be thought with himself he ought to do many things contrary to
the name of Jesus of Nazareth; whereas, writing to Timo-
thy, he ſays (1 Tim. i. 14, 15,) that he had been a biaf-
phemer, a perfecutor, injurious, and the chief of finners, though,
at the fame time, he adds, he had acted ignorantly, in un-
belief.
256
Confiderations on
belief. They may alſo ſerve to illuſtrate the following paffage
in the prophet Jeremiah (and as the words are thoſe of
God himſelf, they ought to command a general and very
ſerious attention; and more eſpecially fhould they alarm
every man, who imagines himſelf to be actuated by religious
motives, when he is inftigated to any act of violence againſt
another; whether it be to the injury of his perfon, his for-
tune, his reputation, or his intereft.) Jer. xvii. 9, 10. The
heart is deceitful above all things, and deſperately wicked, who
can know it? I, the Lord, fearch the heart, I try the reins,
even to give every man according to his ways, and according to
the fruit of his doings.
The application of this doctrine may be made both by
thoſe who ſeem enraged at others, for holding opinions
which they think damnable; and by thoſe who infult and
laugh at others, for opinions which they think to be merely
ridiculous and abfurd. In many cafes, I am fatisfied, that
the pure love of truth is, on both fides, abforbed in paffions
of a very different nature. I could overlook every thing in
a man, who, I thought, meant nothing but my everlaſting
welfare; or to inform me of any thing that I was ignorant
of, and defirous of knowing; but thoſe perfons who have
theſe pretences in their mouths only, when they are far from
their hearts (though they may deceive themfelves, as well as
others) are by no means intitled to fo favourable a re-
ception.
It behoves us, however, carefully to diſtinguiſh between
this latent infincerity, under the influence of which men de-
ceive themſelves, and that direct prevarication, with which
thoſe who are engaged in debate, are too ready to charge one
another; as if their adverſaries knowingly concealed, or op-
poſed the truth. This is a crime of fo heinous a nature,
that I ſhould be very unwilling to impute it to any perfon
whatever. It is poffible, indeed, that, in the heat of con-
troverſy, when the eyes of the public are upon a perfon, and
he is afraid of appearing in a difadvantageous light, he may
uſe a little ſophiſtry, in order to ſeem to have the better of
an
Differences of Opinion.
257
an argument; but for a man voluntarily to undertake the
defence of error, and knowingly to pervert the fcriptures,
in order to make them favour his purpofe; and eſpecially
to perfit through life in avowing fentiments which he really
believes to be falfe, argues the heart to be fo void of all
principle of rectitude; it is fuch an infult upon the God of
truth, and fuch a contempt of his judgments, that I think
human nature could never become fo depraved as to be
capable of it; and that no fituation in human life could
fupply a fufficient temptation for fuch conduct.
If a man do but fufpect that he is engaged in a cauſe that
will not bear examination, he is naturally difpofed to be
filent; or if, confiding in his ſkill in difputation, he ſhould
be tempted to challenge another to oppugn it, it would be
in converfation only; and it must manifeft a degree of
temerity, equal to madneſs, to proceed to write in ſuch a
cafe, when he could take no advantage either of his own
preſence of mind, or of the weakneſs and embarraſſment of
his adverfary. There are fuch well known inftances of the
force of prejudice, that I had rather afcribe any opinion,
how abfurd foever, or any defence, how weak foever, in a
man how fenfible and intelligent foever, in other refpects,
to wrong judgment, than to a bad heart. I can hardly ima-
gine any cafe, in which, exclufive of all confideration of can-
dour and charity, the chance would not be in favour of the
former.
If this remark be juft, with what caution and tenderneſs
ſhould we cenfure any perfon, with refpect to a point of
mere fpeculation. To abufe any one becauſe he does not fee
things fo clearly as I may think I do myſelf, is cruel with
reſpect to him, and has a much worſe aſpect with regard
to God, who made us both, and who has placed us in our
different fituations for feeing, judging, and acting. How
ſhould I be affected at the great day of judgment, to be
convinced of the integrity, and perhaps the right judgment,
alfo, of an adverfary, whom I fhould have treated in fo illi-
beral and infulting a manner.
S
SECTION
258
Confiderations on
SECTION II.
Of the Source of Bigotry, and Perfecution.
IT
T is unhappy, in ſome reſpects, that chriftians are divided
into ſo many ſects and parties. This circumftance, how-
ever, was certainly forefeen, and therefore wifely permitted
by that great and good being who governs all things; and
it will, I doubt not, notwithſtanding ſeveral intermediate ill
effects, contribute, at laft, to the firmer eſtabliſhment, and
the greater efficacy of the chriſtian ſcheme. In the mean
time, let it be our joint care to obviate and leffen thoſe
neceffary intermediate and temporary evils, which reſult
from our differences of opinion.
Let every queſtion in debate be propoſed to the freeſt
examination; and, without indecent paffion, or perſonal
animofity (which are equally a diſgrace to us as men, or as
chriſtians) let us weigh the merits of every cauſe; and,
without concealment or referve, advance every thing that
occurs to us in ſupport of our reſpective opinions. If the
pure love of truth influence us, we fhall, in this way, much
fooner find it. And, eſpecially, being each of us conſcious
of the uprightneſs of our own intentions, let us not eaſily
admit a doubt of the fincerity of others.
Let thoſe who maintain that the mere holding of any opi-
nions (without regard to the motives and ſtate of mind through
which men may have been led to form them) will neceflà-
rily exclude them from the favour of God, be particularly
careful, with reſpect to the premiſes from which they draw
fo alarming a conclufion. Of all the tenets that can be the
ſubject of debate, this has the moft dreadful practical confe-
quences. This belief lays fuch hold on the mind, and is
apt to excite ſuch a horror of the reprobated opinions, as,
in the frail ſtate of humanity, is with difficulty brought to
be conſiſtent with any efteem or love of the perfons who
hold
Differences of Opinion.
259
ħold them; and, from the affinity of our paffions, it is, in too
many minds, capable of degenerating into abfolute hatred,
rancour, and the diabolical fpirit of perfecution. Such per-
fons are apt to be ſo tranſported with zeal, that they will
even do evil that good may come, and deftroy the bodies of
fome, to promote, as they fancy, the good of the fouls of
others. Indeed, no other opinions than fuch as theſe can,
with the leaſt plaufibility, be alleged in favour of perſecu-
tion; and we find, in fact, that thoſe have ever been the
moft violent perfecutors, who have thought falvation and
the favour of God appropriated to themſelves. Where,
therefore, fuch an opinion as this has unhappily been
formed, we muft guard ourſelves against the effects of it, as
we would againſt thoſe of abfolute infanity in the perſons
we converſed with; and we ſhould uſe every method we can
think of to bring them from fo fatal a turn of thinking, to a
fober ftate of mind.
On the contrary, if we can be ſo happy as to believe, that
there are no errors, but what men may be fo circumſtanced,
as to be innocently betrayed into; that any miſtake of the
head is very confiftent with rectitude of heart; and that all
differences in modes of worſhip may be only the different
methods, by which different men (who are equally the off-
Spring of God) are endeavouring to honour and obey their
common parent; our differences of opinion would have no
tendency to leffen our mutual love and eſteem. In this ſtate
of mind, moſt of our differences would be in a fair way of
being terminated; and all that could remain would do no
more than furniſh an eaſy and agreeable exerciſe for the
chriſtian virtues of candour and moderation. Different par-
ties in religion would then only afford room for a generous
and friendly emulation, which of them ſhould moſt advance
the cauſe of truth, and recommend their feveral profeffions,
by the most benevolent and exemplary conduct. Every
man would ſpeak or write with more or lefs warmth, in
proportion to the apprehended importance of his fubject;
but this could never be fo great, as to afford the leaſt co-
lour or pretence for the violence of thoſe, who imagine that
S 2
they
F
260
Confiderations on
they are oppofing damnable herefies; and could hardly ever
betray them into any indecency or intemperance of lan-
guage. Their anger would be moft in danger of getting the
better of their meeknefs and their pity, when they were
attacked with the pride and fury, that is peculiar to thofe
who fancy themſelves to be the only favourites of heaven,
and all the rest of the world to be reprobate from God and
goodneſs.
Thoſe perſons who think that their falvation depends
upon holding their prefent opinions, muſt neceffarily enter-
tain the greateſt dread of free inquiry. They muft think it
to be a hazarding of their eternal welfare to liſten to any
arguments, or read any books, that favour of herefy. It
muſt appear to them in the fame light as liſtening to any
other temptation, whereby they ſhould be in danger of being
feduced to their everlafting deftruction. This temper of
mind cannot but be a foundation for the moſt deplorable
bigotry, obftinacy, and ignorance. Whereas thoſe perfons
who have not that idea of the importance of their preſent
fentiments, preſerve a ſtate of mind proper for the difcuffion
of them. If they be wrong, as their minds are under no
ftrong bias, they are within the reach of conviction, and thus
are in the way to grow wifer and better as long as they live.
SECTION III.
Of the practical Tendency of different Systems of Doctrine.
MUCH has been faid concerning the practical tendency
of particular opinions in religion; but, in general,
this has been done with little accuracy, whereas it is a ſub-
ject that deſerves the niceſt attention of philofophers and
divines; requiring an intimate knowledge of the human
paffions and affections, and of the various influences to
which men are expofed in life. As to what Mr. Venn has
thought
Differences of Opinions.
261
thought proper to call a proof of the incomparable excellence of
the orthodox fyftem confidered in a practical view, I do not ſo
much as pretend to examine it at all; and he or his friends
may, if they pleafe, confider this, as a confeffion, that I am
not able to refute what he has advanced upon that ſubject.
I fhall only, in this place, fuggeft a few general obfervations;
and may poffibly, upon fome other occafion, enter into a
more particular difcuffion of this truly curious and uſeful
fubject of inquiry.
All that can be done to influence men's moral conduct is,
in the first place, to preſent to their minds fufficient motives
of hope or fear; and, in the next place, in order to make
that courfe of actions, to which thefe motives lead, pleafing
and eafy, fo as to form a habit, and engage the heart and
affections; we must give them fuch ideas of the Divine
Being, of their fellow creatures, of themfelves, &c. (that is,
of all the beings and things with whom they have any con-
nection, and whom their duty refpects) as will make them.
appear to be the proper objects of thofe difpofitions and
affections, which we are required to exercife towards them.
The great objects of hope and fear, which chriftianity
preſents to mankind, are the joys and torments of a future
life. It is the conviction of the infufficiency and inftability
of every thing on this fide the grave; it is a regard to a
treaſure in heaven, which neither moth nor ruft can corrupt,
and which thieves cannot break through and feal; it is the
firm belief and expectation of the great recompence of re-
ward, that awaits our perfeverance in well-doing, at the
refurrection of the juft: thefe, I fay, are the confiderations
that raiſe the hearts of men above this world, and place
them beyond the influence of its pleafures or pains; fo that
they can neither be feduced by the one, nor deterred by the
other, from keeping the commandments of God. Theſe great
and leading motives to virtue, theſe conſiderations, whereby
we become habitually to look upon ourſelves as citizens of
heaven, and only pilgrims and ſtrangers on earth, muſt be
nearly the fame in all the forms of the chriſtian religion;
S 3
and,
262
Confiderations on
and, in proportion to the degree in which we give our at-
tention to them, and thereby ftrengthen our faith in them,
they must influence us all alike.
All the difference, therefore, with reſpect to the practical
influence of any particular opinions, can only be occaſioned
by the different views with which they prefent us, of thoſe
perfons and things that are objects of our duty. I ſhall give
a brief illuſtration of this in the idea that is exhibited of the
Divine Being, according to what are generally called the ra-
tional and the orthodox fyftems.
According to all fyftems, God, our creator, preferver,
and moral governor, is to be reprefented as the object of
our reverence, our love, and our confidence; and this end
feems to be completely effected by the rational chriftian,
when he confiders the Divine Being as having produced all
creatures, with a view to make them happy, in a manner
fuited to their respective natures; bearing a moſt intenſe,
and abfolutely impartial, affection to all his offspring; pro-
viding for their regard to virtue (the only fecurity of their
happiness) by equal laws, guarded with aweful fanctions;
inflexibly punishing all wilful obftinate tranfgreffors, but
freely pardoning all offences that are fincerely repented of,
and receiving into his love and mercy all who uſe their beſt
endeavours to difcharge the duty incumbent upon them;
when we confider him as moft minutely attentive to all the
works of his hands, invifibly conducting all events with at
view to the greateſt happineſs of all that love and obey him;
ſecretly affording them all neceſſary affiſtance, in proportion
to their real occafions, and abundantly and everlaſtingly re-
warding, in a future life, their patient continuance in well-
doing, during their abode in this ſtate of trial and probation.
How is it poffible, made as we are, not to revere, love, and
confide in ſuch a being as this?
On the other hand, thoſe who affume to themſelves the
diſtinguiſhing title of orthodox, confider the Supreme Being
as having created all things for his own glory, and by not
means for the general happineſs of all his creatures; as im-
puting
"
Differences of Opinion.
263
puting to all mankind the tranfgreffion of their firft parent,
and dooming every man, woman, and infant, to everlaſting
and unutterable mifery, for an offence to which they were
no way acceffary, of which it is impoffible they fhould be,
in any ſenſe of the word, guilty; and for which it were ab-
furd in them even to affect repentance. In this fituation of
things, when all mankind were incapable of doing any
thing, in thought, word, or deed, but what tended to aggra-
vate their condemnation; they ſuppoſe the univerſal parent
arbitrarily to ſelect out of the whole number a few, whom
he defigns for eternal happineſs, leaving, that is, in fact,
decreeing, all the reſt to everlaſting and unſpeakable miſery.
According to them, alfo, even the elect cannot be ſaved,
till the utmoſt effects of the divine wrath have been ſuffered
for them by an innocent perſon. The grace that faves them
is irreſiſtible, and irrevocable, ſo that they can never loſe the
divine favour.
If it be poffible to revere, love, or confide in ſuch a being
as this, I must own that I know nothing of the human
heart, or its affections. Sure I am, that a man of this cha-
racter, and who ſhould act in this manner, would be the ob-
ject of dread and abhorrence, to all who fhould be fo un-
happy as to be dependent upon him. What advantage
favourable to virtue can be made of the imitation of fuch a
being as this? Muft an earthly parent be encouraged to love
one of his children, and to hate another of them, inde-
pendent of a regard to their moral conduct; and muft he
never forgive an offence in any of them, till a full fatis-
faction, or atonement, have been made to him for it?
It is the great boaſt of thoſe who ftile themſelves ortho-
dox, and particularly of Mr. Venn, that their fentiments
have a great advantage in inculcating humility. But when,
without that peculiar fyftem, we confider ourſelves as the
workmanship of God; that all our powers, of body and of
mind, are derived from him; that he is the giver of every
good and of every perfect gift, and that without him we can
do and enjoy nothing, how can we conceive ourſelves to be
$ 4
in
264
Confiderations on
in a ſtate of greater dependance, or obligation? that is, what
greater reafon or foundation can there poffibly be for the
exerciſe of humility? If I believe that I have a power to do
the duty that God requires of me; yet, as I alſo believe
that that power is his gift, I muft ftill fay, what have I that
I have not received, and how then can I glory, as if I had
not received it. If the Divine Being have given me a natu-
ral power to move my arm, is not the obligation the ſame,
as if he ſhould, by a fupernatural power, move it himſelf,
whenever I have occafion for it?
If, confcious of many imperfections, and many failures in
the diſcharge of my known duty, I have recourfe to the
divine mercy and clemency, is not my gratitude and humi-
lity as great, when I conceive that I am indebted for the
pardon of my fins to the free, unmerited, goodneſs of God;
as it could be, if I thought the pardon I received was pur-
chafed, by a full fatisfaction made to his offended juſtice?
If the ſenſe of gratitude and obligation, in this caſe, ariſe
from my idea of the freeness of the gift, I think it muſt be
greater upon the former fuppofition than upon the latter.
A fenfe of our obligation to our Lord Jefus Chrift, alfo,
as a perfon commiffioned by God to redeem, that is, to
deliver, fave, or rescue, us from a ftate of fin and mifery; to
give laws to mankind, to be Lord of all, and judge of the
quick and dead, is as efficacious to attach us to him (as far
as our regards to him are confiftent with our primary re-
gards to God his father; who, out of his own love to
mankind, fent him on this great and gracious errand) and
to enforce obedience to his laws, as a fenfe of obligation
that can arife from any particular hypothefis whatever.
Upon the whole, notwithſtanding what Mr. Venn, and
others boaſt, it does not ſeem to be a fact, that thoſe who
call themſelves orthodox are at all more humble, and lowly
minded, or more free from fpiritual pride, and oftentation,
than others. As far as my obfervation goes, I am fatisfied,
that the contrary is the cafe: nor from any knowledge that
I have, or can procure, concerning theſe profeffors and their
principles,
Differences of Opinions.
265
principles, do I think that there is the leaft reafon to con-
clude, that (if we feparate what belongs to the form, from
what is peculiar to the power of religion) their ſcheme has
any one proper advantage for religious and moral purpoſes.
On the other hand, it ſeems to me to be, in many reſpects,
unfavourable to the true ſpirit of chriſtianity, or to that tem-
per and diſpoſition of mind which is peculiarly called chrif-
tian; confifting, in a more eſpecial manner, of the virtues
of humility, meekneſs, mercy, and benevolence. It is un-
favourable alfo to genuine piety, and indeed to every branch
of vital practical religion. I think I could point out the
caufe of this, but it would lead me much farther than I
propoſe to enter into this fubject at preſent.
If I be aſked why thofe perfons who hold theſe opinions
are not abandoned to all wickedness, when they evidently
Jay them under fo little reſtraint, I answer, that this is often
the caſe, with thoſe who purſue theſe principles to their juſt
and fatal confequences; for it is eafy to prove, that the
Antinomian is the only confiftent abfolute Predeftinarian. But
our wife creator has by no means left our moral conduct at
the mercy of our opinions; and the regard to virtue that is
kept up by thoſe who maintain the doctrines above men-
tioned, is owing to the influence of fome principles im-
planted in our frame; which, in many cafes, will not fuffer
us to follow, or even to perceive, the immoral tendency of
the moſt licentious opinions; fo that, in general, they are
only thoſe who are previouſly depraved, that openly avail
themſelves of them. The confideration of this fhould
make us both humble and thankful.
Befides, the opinions above recited are fo contrary to na-
tural reaſon, and the general tenor of the fcriptures, that
better fentiments are continually obtruding themſelves upon
the mind; and theſe are the principles that, really, though
fecretly, influence the conduct of thoſe who are truly pious and
virtuous among Calvinifts; and by no means the principles
which they openly profeſs, when they are queftioned about
them and it is happy that they do not diftinctly perceive
the
266
Confiderations on
the inconſiſtency there is between their principles and their
conduct. We are, alfo, fo formed, that we naturally turn
our chief attention to the most favourable aſpect of our ſen-
timents, as well as of every thing elſe belonging to us; fo
that we ſeldom attend to what is very fhocking, and has a
bad tendency in them.
It confirms this obfervation, that many of the more mo-
derate Calviniſts, as I am informed, and the greater part of
the Methodiſts, feldom infift upon the doctrines of abfolute
election and reprobation, eſpecially in their public difcourfes.
This muſt be owing to their being fecretly diffatisfied with
them, to fome latent fufpicion, or confuſed kind of feeling,
that they are not to be depended upon; at leaſt that they
are not fit to be the ſubjects of frequent meditation with the
bulk of mankind, and that they are in great danger of being
abuſed. Mr. Venn himſelf, though he makes a great
parade of, I believe, every other branch of what he calls
orthodoxy, in his anfwer to my treatife, is quite filent on
this head. If his good fenfe be really ſtaggered at theſe
doctrines, a little more thinking will give him reaſon to en-
tertain fufpicions of the reft: for the whole ſyſtem is cloſely
connected, and the doctrine of unconditional election, to-
gether with that of the ſubjection of the whole human race
to the everlaſting wrath of God, on account of original ſın,
are the chief corner ftones of the whole building. Take
away theſe, and the whole complex, but compact fabric, falls
to the ground.
Difficult as it is to account for the virtue of thoſe who
call themselves orthodox on the principles mentioned above,
they are fuch as themſelves muft neceffarily allow for they
confider our fentiments as exceedingly licentious; and yet
(whatever Mr. Venn may do) I know there are among
them, who cannot help acknowledging, that there are ge-
nuine marks of unfeigned piety and goodness among thoſe
whom they call new fchemers. To account for this fact,
therefore, they must have recourfe to the influence of prin-
ciples that are not explicitly avowed by us, just as I do with
reſpect to them.
SECTION
Differences of Opinion.
267
SECTION IV.
Of the Caufes of Difference of Opinion, and the Reading of
the Scriptures recommended.
I
CANNOT help wiſhing that perfons of all fects and parties
would ſtudy their bibles more, and books of controverfy
lefs. But all perfons have their favourite authors, to which
they too much confine themſelves, even to the neglect of
thoſe authorities, from their agreement with which all their
merit is acknowledged to be derived. Were it not for this
circumftance, it would be abfolutely impoffible that the in-
dividuals of mankind, whofe intellects are ſo much alike,
fhould differ fo widely in their religious fentiments as they
now do; at leaſt that they ſhould lay ſo great a ſtreſs on the
points in which they differ.
fo
Since the underſtandings of men are fimilar to one an-
other (at leaſt ſo much, as that no perfon can ſeriouſly
maintain that two and two make five) did they actually read
only the fame books, and had they no previous knowledge to
miſlead them, they could not but draw the fame general
conclufions from the fame expreffions. But one man hav-
ing formed an hypothefis from reading the fcriptures, an-
other, who follows him, ftudies that hypothefis, and refines
upon it, and another again refines upon him; till, in time,
the fcriptures themſelves are little read by any of them; and
are never looked into but with minds prepoffeffed with the
notions of others concerning them. At the fame time, fe-
veral other original readers and thinkers, having formed as
many other hypothefes, each of them a little different from
all the reſt, and all of them being improved upon by a fuc-
ceffion of partifans, each of whom contributes to widen the
difference; at laſt no religions whatever, the moſt diſtinct
originally, are more different from one another, than the
various forms of one and the fame religion.
To remedy this inconvenience, we muft go back to firſt
principles. We muſt begin again, each of us carefully
ftudying
268
Confiderations on
ftudying the ſcriptures for ourſelves, without the help of
commentators, comparing one part with another. And
when our minds fhall, by this means, have been expoſed,
for a ſufficient time, to the fame influences, we ſhall come
to think and feel in the fame manner. At leaſt, all chrif-
tians, being fenfible that they have, in many, and in the
chief reſpects, one Lord, one faith, one baptiſm, they will keep
the unity of the fpirit, in the bond of peace.
In reading books of controverſy, the particular texts, from
which favourite opinions are chiefly inferred, are kept con-
tinually in view, while others are kept out of fight; fo that
the perfon who confines himself to the perufal of them, ne-
ceffarily forms a very wrong notion of the general tenor of
the fcriptures, and lays a diſproportionate ſtreſs on particu-
lar opinions. He never looks into the fcriptures, but it is
with a ſtate of mind that leads him to expect to find his
opinions either clearly expreffed, or plainly referred to,
in every chapter. Now, it is well known, that all ſtrong
expectations tend to fatisfy themſelves. Men eaſily perfuade
themſelves that they actually fee, what they have abſolutely
depended upon ſeeing.
Were it poffible for a number of perfons to make but an
effay towards complying with this advice, by confining
themſelves, for the compaſs of a fingle year, to the daily
reading of the ſcriptures only, without any other religious
books whatever; I am perfuaded that, notwithſtanding
their previous differences, they would think much better of
one another than they had done before. They would all
have, more nearly, the fame general ideas of the contents
of fcripture; and of the chief articles of chriftian faith and
duty. By reading the whole themfelves, they could hardly
avoid receiving the deepeft impreffions of the certainty, and
importance of the great and leading principles, thofe which
they would find the most frequently and earneſtly inculcated;
and their particular opinions, having come lefs frequently in
view, would be leſs obftinately retained. It was in this.
manner, I can truly fay, that I formed the moſt diſtinguiſh-
ing of my opinions in religion.
I do
*
Differences of Opinion.
269
I do not ſay that this practice would have the ſame ef-
fect with all perfons. I have no hopes of its fucceeding
with thoſe who are advanced in life. I would not even re-
commend it to them; fince the confequence of unhinging
their minds, though by a converfion from error to truth,
might poffibly do them more harm than good. Nor have
I have much hope of thoſe who are hackneyed in contro-
verfy, and to whom the methods of attack and defence, pe-
culiar to any fyftem, are become familiar. But I would
earneſtly recommend this method of ſtudying the fcriptures
to young perfons, before their common fenfe and natural
feelings have been perverted; and while they are capable of
underſtanding the obvious meaning of a plain expreffion.
In this cafe I cannot help thinking, that, notwithstanding
the feeming force of the texts that are continually in the
mouths of thoſe who call themfelves orthodox; and notwith-
ſtanding our preſent tranflation of the bible, which (being
made by men who were fully perfuaded of the truth of that
fyftem) is, in many places, much too favourable to it; yet
that both the general tenor of the whole (which, with a per-
fon who reads the fcriptures much, cannot but have far
greater weight than any particular texts whatever) and alſo
that numbers of emphatical ſingle paſſages, would effectually
over-rule any tendency to that which is commonly called
orthodoxy.
To mention a fingle inftance. Would not a conſtant
attention to the general ftrain in which Mofes, all the an-
tient prophets, John the Baptift, our Saviour, and the
apoſtles, addrefs finners, wear out, in time, every trace of
the doctrine of unconditional election and reprobation?
The language in which the Divine Being is uniformly re-
prefented in ſpeaking, is, As I live, faith the Lord, I would
not the death of a finner, but had rather that he would repent
and live. Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die, oh houfe of Ifrael.
What a folemn, and cruel mocking of mankind would
this be, if the Divine Being, at the fame time that he made
this declaration, was purpofed that many, if not the greateſt
part of them, should not repent, but die without mercy?
SECTION
270
Confiderations on
1
SECTION V.
General Advices.
LET all the different fects and parties of chriftians at-
tend with candour to the opinions and practices of
others, and freely adopt whatever they are convinced is good
in any of them. There is no fect or party but hath fome
thing belonging to it of an adventitious nature, and that is no
neceſſary part of the general ſyſtem; and let not our party
prejudices blind us ſo far, as to make us condemn and re-
ject what is good in any ſet of men, merely becauſe they
hold it; but be the fyftem ever fo bad, let us glean from it.
every good idea, and every uſeful cuſtom. Were all
parties faithfully to attend to this, the very worſt of them
would be made tolerable, and they would all foon be
brought nearer to one another in affection and mutual
charity, if not in opinion alſo.
Let us all accuftom ourſelves to the confideration of hav-
ing one proper head, and make leſs uſe of other names, by
way of party diſtinction. We are to call no man father,
or maſter, upon earth; for we have one father, even God;
and one maſter, even Chrift. The uſe that is made by many
of the authority of the Reformers, and others, appears to me
to be an infringement of this injunction. The uſe of the
names of men-tends much more to enflame a party fpirit,
than any other method of diſtinguiſhing one another. Be-
fides, by frequently calling one another Arians, Socinians,
Calvinifts, &c. we are too apt to forget that all theſe are
only different denominations of chriſtians; and in order to
raiſe an odium againſt their adverfaries, many fcruple not
in fo many words, to fay they are no chriftians. Now had
men kept to the dictinction of opinions only, I cannot con-
ceive how any man could ever have been called a deiſt,
or an infidel, who profeffed to believe the divine miffion of
Chrift,
Differences of Opinion.
271
Chrift. But the terms Arians, Socinians, &c. eafily pafs
into that of no chriftians. This, however, is a moſt baſe,
and difingenuous proceeding; and thoſe perfons might,
with the fame propriety, call their adverfaries Mahometans.
In all our diſputes about different tenets, and modes of
the chriftian religion, let us be careful not to loſe fight of
the great end and deſign of chriſtianity in general, viz. that
Chrift came to blefs mankind, in turning them away from their
iniquities; to redeem (or deliver) us from all iniquity, and to
purify unto himſelf a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
The chief thing, therefore, that we ſhould attend to, and
the only rule for eftimating the importance of any opinions,
is their efficacy for this moral purpoſe. Let us, then, not
fuffer ourſelves to be deceived by mere words, and pompous
founds. As to thoſe who follow other rules of eſtimating
the importance of opinions, and who think that mere belief
can be of any avail to recommend them to the favour of
God; they ought, as I obſerved before, to have very good
reaſons for their perfuafion. For, if once the above men-
tioned plain and obvious rule be quitted, it will not be eaſy
to find another that can be applied to any good purpoſe.
After lofing this clue, men will be involved in an endleſs
labyrinth. They will often cry peace, peace, to themfelves,
when there is no peace; and they will, alſo, often fear, where
no fear is.
I have nothing more to recommend to the different fects
and parties of chriftians, but to remember that we are all
men; and to be aware of the force of prejudice, to which, as
fuch, we are all liable. If we be not ftrangely infatuated
indeed, we ſhall be fenfible, that there have been great and
good men of all parties. Ridley and Latimer were men
who entertained very different opinions, with reſpect to the
points which are now denominated orthodox; yet they were
both burned at the fame ſtake, and ſuffered martyrdom with
equal conftancy. This confideration alone, if fufficiently
attended to, cannot fail, I fhould think, to ftagger the faith
of thofe, who believe the favour of God to be confined to
any
272
Confiderations on
!
any one party, eſpecially if they be naturally men of mo-
defty and candour. As men, however, we are certainly all
of us fallible, and liable to adopt opinions without fufficient
evidence. Let us, therefore, as becomes reaſonable beings,
in theſe circumſtances, be careful to keep our minds always
open to conviction; let us cultivate humility, and a diffi-
dence of ourſelves, and earneſtly apply to the God of truth,
that we may be led into all truth.
What effect theſe confiderations may have upon my
readers is very uncertain. It is not improbable, but they
may inflame the animofity of fome againſt the author and
his friends; but on others, it may be hoped, they will have
a different and more favourable influence. If they be of
any uſe to make any perfons think and reflect, and fearch
the fcriptures more than they have hitherto done, it is all
that I defire; having no doubt, but that the refult will be
favourable to what I think to be the cauſe of truth and vir-
tue. Whether we preach or write, we are properly com-
pared to thoſe who ſow feed; and this it is our duty to take
every proper opportunity of doing, though we know not
whether it will be productive. Eccl. xi. 6. In the morning
fow thy feed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for
thou knoweft not whether ſhall profper. For though Paul may
plant, and Apollos water, it is God that gives the increaſe;
that is, the fuccefs depends upon the operation of cauſes,
and the influence of circumftances, which, though they be
unknown to us, are under the direction of that great Being,
who, in his infinite wiſdom, difpofes of us and of all things.
May his will be done, and to him be glory, through Jefus
Chrift. Amen.
THE END.
ра
J
4
1
}
{
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
3 9015 06927 2907
}
B 451483
DUPL
さ
​