CHRISTIAN PIONEER.

No. 73.

SEPTEMBER, 1832. Vol. VII.

Scottish Unitarian Christian Association.

THE Second Anniversary of this Society was held at Glasgow, on Sunday and Monday, July 22d and 23d. Illness prevented the attendance of many individuals from various places; but friends were present from Edinburgh, Dundee, Lanark, Paisley, Greenock, Dumbarton, Renfrew, PortGlasgow, &c. On Sunday morning, the Rev. H. Montgomery of Belfast, conducted the worship, and preached a most powerful, eloquent, and argumentative discourse, which deeply interested and impressed a very large congregation, from Eph. iv. 1-3. In this sermon, the evils resulting from the attempt to enforce uniformity in matters of faith, were most forcibly delineated. Ireland, in her episcopal establishment-in her presbyterian inquisitionillustrated those evils most fearfully. In both these instances, in every attempt to establish uniformity of faith, the unity of the spirit of Christianity has been grossly violated. That unity could not be one of thought, but of feeling; individual minds would differ, but every heart might be at one in the diffusion of knowledge-in the practice of charity. Uniformity of faith could only exist in profession, not in principle; it was the source of hypocrisy, the enemy of honesty, and its fruits were time-servingness and indifference-ignorance and servility. Surely no one could hear that sermon, without resolving that he would henceforth "afford to keep a conscience.'

In the afternoon, the Rev. B. T. Stannus of Edinburgh led the devotions, and delivered an eloquent illustration of the wanderings of Christendom from the Great Father of all, and on the gradual adoption of repentant feelings for their alienation from the pure worship of the One God, and on the progress of Christian righteousness and truth, founded on the words, using them as a motto merely, Luke xv. 18, "I will arise and Father." my The Chapel go to

was crowded.

Between the afternoon and evening worship, many of the friends from the country, joined by several of the Glas

B

gow congregation, and the ministers, drank tea together. Mr. Montgomery again preached in the evening, showing the blessings of knowledge-blessings which had not been bestowed on mankind either by civil governments or established churches.

On Monday afternoon at three o'clock, a Public Meeting was held in the Chapel. It was well attended. The Rev. W. Smith of Dundee having constituted the meeting by prayer, it was moved by Mr. Peter, and seconded by Mr. Bryson of Glasgow, that Dr. Anderson of Edinburgh be respectfully requested to act as Chairman. On taking the Chair, Dr. Anderson delivered the following address:"My Christian Friends,

"It is not necessary that I should take up the time of this meeting by any lengthened detail of its object, as this will be sufficiently done by the Report of the Committee about to be read, and by the Resolutions founded on it. I cannot, however, allow the opportunity afforded to me by the situation which, through your kindness, I now occupy, to pass, without congratulating those who are here assembled on the cheering prospect of that cause for the promotion of which we have associated ourselves together. In doing so, it is not from anything we have yet accomplished that I derive the encouraging hope, that our principles must ere long attract that attention which is alone wanted to ensure their success (though, even in this respect, we have no small cause for congratulation); neither is it in the truth or vast importance of our cause, abstractly considered, that I place my reliance; but it is to the signs of the times, as indicative of a change about to take place in the time-hallowed opinions of mankind on subjects of the highest interest and importance. That truth is great, and must ultimately prevail over error, no lover of the truth could ever doubt; but though the truths of Christianity have now been in the world for nearly two thousand years, to how small an extent, alas, have they yet spread, and how much narrower still the limits within which their genuine influence has been felt! Shall it be said, then, that the mission of Jesus Christ, commissioned of God to make known his will to mankind, has proved to be in any respect a failure, or that it has not accomplished the good for which it was intended? Certainly not; for into whatever country his religion has been carried, there do we mark the commencement of civilization; and, corrupted though it may have been, its development has displayed the gracious designs of that Providence which adapts itself to the wants of mankind in the rudest no less than in the more advanced stages of society. So far am I from regarding the successive changes which the Christian system has undergone, as any objection to its divine origin, that I consider it derives an additional claim on our attention in having adapted itself to an infant state of society; while the sublimity of its truths are alike fitted to exalt the character of man in his most advanced

state of civilization.

Pure as was the light which emanated from the Saviour, it was destined to be obscured for a time by that mist which for ages darkened the intellectual atmosphere; but even in those days of moral blindness, the power of the gospel sun never was extinguished. Its blessed light and heat has already dissipated much of the darkness that prevailed, and encourages us to hope that the earth may soon be blessed by the rays of its meridian splendour. Again, I say, we are to look to the spirit of the times for that change in men's minds which must be the precursor of a purer faith than has ever yet animated the Christian world. But before we can expect to plant with success those principles from which we expect to gather the fruits of genuine Christianity, it is necessary that the soil from which they are to spring should first be cultivated; and, in this respect, what age of the world ever presented a more glorious spectacle than the present time? Corruption at home nods to its centre, while on every side we are cheered by the progress of education and civilization, in their march over the face of the world; and where tyranny and despotism would fain erect their standards, even there the friends of liberty are encouraged, by witnessing efforts which, if not in every case crowned with success, give evidence at least that there exists a deep-seated power, which, as it gathers strength, will be equal to the overthrow of every oppression, and the emancipation of the whole human family. Kings and priests, forgetful of what belong to their stations, have too long lorded their authority over men's minds, and despoiled the sacred temple of conscience. Forgetful that they are the ministers of the people, and that the power which has been conceded to them for the general good, may be again withdrawn when felt to be abused, they have fortified themselves with bulwarks which now begin to crumble by their own weight, and the fall of which must for ever crush the power by which they have been raised. It is, my friends, our peculiar privilege, that, as a Christian body, we acknowledge conscience as the only authority in matters of faith that we have but one master, even Christ, and that all we are brethren.' The precepts of Jesus we receive as that living bread which came down from Heaven, and that book, on whose pages are stamped the character of an authenticated revelation, we would prize as the best gift of God to man.

"That a church, so little exclusive in its character, should be the object of angry persecution and bitter invective, does certainly appear extraordinary; and the more so, as there does not exist in the creed of the Unitarian, a single proposition, to which the adherents of every other sect and party can refuse their assent. That God is one, and that he is the Father of all his creatures, and that Christ was his commissioned messenger, to make his will known unto mankind, and that conformity to his commandments must be the grounds of our acceptance with him, are the great principles of the Unitarian's creed; but as these articles are in themselves unexceptionable, our opponents find it easier to assail our system, not for what it is, but for what it is not. Instead of defining a Unitarian to be a worshipper of One God in one per

son, he is stigmatised as an enemy to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity! When he represents the tender mercy of God as the Universal Parent, extending itself to his disobedient children, he is represented as one who would confound vice with virtue, and incurs the guilt of offering an insult to the purity of God's holiness, which it is conceived, can only be vindicated by the everlasting exclusion of the great bulk of his children from his presence; and thus it is with the other dogmas of self-styled orthodoxy. That our opponents should assume this mode of argument, is not to be wondered at; since, by doing so, they can enlist against us all the prejudices of early education, and represent our object to be, the undermining of all the essentials of the Christian faith!

"To meet these objections, my friends, let us study the example of him who never returned raillery for raillery, and who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. Let us endeavour to show to the world what our opinions really are, by the fruits which they are capable of producing; and the angry passions of mankind will in vain be lifted against us. Our situation is at present similar, in many respects, to that of the primitive church. Our numbers are comparatively small, bigotry is directed against us, our name is evil-spoken of; and though now protected in the enjoyment of our worship, we cannot but feel we thereby expose ourselves to the harsh judgments of those, who, from ignorance or a less excuseable cause, misrepresent our sentiments and intentions. Like the first Christians, then, let us disarm our adversaries, by cultivating that charity and love, which made their enemies exclaim, see these Christians, how they love one another;' and taking for our guide, the principles so admirably developed yesterday, in the discourse of our greatly respected visitor and friend, let us, united in the bond of Christian charity, endeavour to cultivate unity of spirit in the bond of peace."

Mr. Harris read the Report of the Committee of the Association for the past year. It was as follows:

"It is with mingled feelings of gratitude and sorrow that the Committee, in resigning the trust committed to them, present the Report of their proceedings during the past year to the members of the Association. It is one of the pleasing features of the institution, that it bands together the scattered and isolated individuals whose minds have pierced the veil of prejudice in which the instructions of childhood and the institutions of society had involved them; that it brings into union and co-operation from various parts of their common country, those who otherwise probably would not have known each other; that friendships are thus formed, lasting and beneficent; and that once a-year at least, a solemn, combined, and public testimony is borne to the conscientious convictions of their minds to liberty, virtue, Christian truth, the unrivalled supremacy and boundless benevolence of an Almighty Father. The

sorrow, however, is not small, when those who have aided in a common cause, and have devoted themselves to truth and duty, no longer take their wonted place in the assembly of their brethren-when their seat is empty, when their labours on earth are ended, and their voice is no more heard, or their exhortations read, encouraging the advocates of an unpopular faith to persevere in well-doing. That sorrow, again, is mitigated, when, as in the case of several valued friends and correspondents of the Association, in various places, who have been called away since the last Anniversary, their devotion to truth and duty is remembered, their firm reliance on God as a Father, and the comfort they derived from the hope of the Christian, is known. In the spirit of the religion which teaches its disciples to weep with those who weep, the sympathy of the Association, the Committee are persuaded, is with the bereaved mourners. And warmest gratitude would the Committee express, to the Father of Mercies and God of all consolation, that they themselves have been permitted, amidst the vicissitudes of the world's pilgrimage, and the unusual mortality which has been prevalent, once again to meet their friends and brethren, and to rejoice with them in any portion of success which may have attended their labours, and earnestly to deliberate as to plans of usefulness for the future.

"The Committee, however, cannot proceed to the detail of the more especial business of the Association, without congratulating their friends on the result of the eventful struggle which has distinguished their common country since their last Annual Meeting. They regard that struggle as of incalculable advantage to the interests of truth and of humanity. Principles and powers have thereby been developed, whose practical application opens up a heart-cheering prospect of political, moral, and religious improvement. Any thing, almost, is preferable to stagnation. When the affections are withered by grovelling selfishness, and the intellect is overborne by slavish deference to power-when to differ in opinion is a crime, and the call to liberty is accounted sedition, it is impossible for the freedman of Christ Jesus to hope for the speedy reformation of abuses, or the extirpation of time-hallowed error. In the most favourable circumstances, the eradication of evil and the inculcation of truth is an arduous and difficult undertaking. Honourable is it to the characters