The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-01-15 00:00:00

But even opponents might condescend to remember that
Unitarians accept Christ's words, and what they reject
is Dr. 111'Neile's sense of them. The two things seem
distinct. A Roman Catholic addresses the reverend
speaker, and says, Yon reject Christ's words when he
says, ',this is my body." "No," is the reply ;" I only re-
ject your meaning of them." Exactly so. The Unitarians
accept Christ's words, but reject the doctor's meaning of li
them. It is doubtful if there be a single Socinian in Eng-
land. though, happily, there are several Unitarians. The
Unitarian interpretation is, at least, a possible one, and
could be sustained by usage of Scripture language. Why
may not God and Christ be one, as all good men are cue
with God, according to the prayer of Christ (John xvii. 21),
" That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me,
and I in thee, that they may be also one in us"—not one
being evidently, one personality, hut united in sym-
pathy, in purpose, in holiness. "He that planteth and
he that watereth are one," iu a certain sense, according to
the Apostle (1 Cor. iii. 8) but, surely, they are not one
metaphysical being. Neither are Christ mad God one iden-
ticil being, for then the death of Christ would be the death
of God ; and if God had died, how could the universe live?
Christ says, " good my Father are"— two beings and a
plural verb is used. Again, that there are two ‘'istiect
beings is made evident by John viii. 16, where Christ says,
I am not alone, but I aed the Father that sent me. It is
written also in your law, that the testimony of two men is
true. I am one that beareth witness of myself, and the
Father that sent me beareth witness of me." JCSII3
and the Father are represented as two separate beings
though in another sense they are described as one or united.
But this sort of criticism is mere chile's play, and leaves all
the great moral and theological problems untouched. The
mere Unitarian controversy has dwindled into a very little
thug, about which personally we feel slight interest. But
every one knows, or ought to know, that Christian Unita-
rians believe that Christ wes the Son of God, but they leave
it to others to read the Scriptures backwards, and call him
God the Son. When Dr. Tal‘Neile says they treat Christ as a
liar, he is simply forgetting the ninth commandment in the
witness he bears against his neighbours. Well, indeed,
may be said, "it is awful." And the sad and awful
thing is, that he should permit himself to propagate old
and refuted calumnies against a body of men who, as
really as his own church, are trying to find the truth
and 'serve God—that he should hold up to obloquy
a denomination to whom Christianity, education,
and everything that is liberal in England, owes so
much and that he should arrogate the tone
of infallibility, and assume to condemn other men, his
equals, for not accepting h;s neanings of Fcripture as
final and authoritative. When wilt the clerical body cease
to be stirring up the fires of animosity, and sending the
bitter waters of sectarian dissension over the face of society ?
When will they apply themselves to teach human duties,
instead of retailing and wrangling about old creeds, ant
taking truth for their au thorityrather than always childishly
hunting after authority for their truth ? All unite to feed
this mighty peoVe of England with a daily bread of growing
knowledge and quiet goodness—and all proclaim that old
religion which was in the beginning is now and ever shall
be, namely,—to be good and to do good.