The History of Lynn, Vol. 1 [of 2]Richards, William
History
The History of Lynn, Vol. 1 [of 2]
Richards, William
Fens, The (England); King's Lynn (England)
Besides the parish church, there are at Wisbeach six other different
places of worship; one belonging to the _friends_, commonly called
_Quakers_, one to the _Independents_, or _Culymites_, one to the
_Wesleyan Methodists_, and three to those of the _baptist_ denomination.
Between the latter, though they all go under the same name, there yet
exist some strong shades of difference, so that very little of any thing
like good understanding or christian harmony is discoverable. Yet they
all lie, more or less, under the imputation of heterodoxy, from the great
or main body of their brethren, who are usually termed _particular
baptists_,—as well as from the rest of the right orthodox clans. Of
these three societies one belongs to a certain order or description of
arminian or general baptists, who are pretty numerous about
Leicestershire and the adjacent counties, and also in some other parts.
Except on the point of baptism, they agree very much with the Wesleyans,
and may, perhaps, without much impropriety, be called _Wesleyan
baptists_.—Another of these three societies belongs to a small party of
baptists, sometimes called _Johnsonians_, from the late John Johnson of
Liverpool, to whose peculiar tenets and spirit they are very much
attached; and they have, seemingly, but little charity or forbearance
towards any thing that does not come up to, or accord with that standard;
which may be said to be the worst trait in their character. They are
otherwise respectable, and so are the members of the society before
mentioned. Less bigotry would make both more amiable and more
respectable. The people who constitute the other baptist society assume
the name of _Unitarians_, and belong to a notable class of that
denomination which is said to be now much on the increase in different
parts of the kingdom. The leaders of this new religious class profess to
have for their main object to restore Christianity to its original
purity: they adopt a popular strain of preaching, and are by some people
looked upon as highly _evangelical_; so that, as we have had for some
time _evangelical trinitarians_, both in the church and out of it, we are
now, it seems, to have likewise _evangelical __unitarians_. Some zealots
among the orthodox will probably nibble at this, and even pronounce it
absolutely impossible; but the pastor of the said society, at Wisbeach,
is said to be ready to maintain, against the very best man among his
opponents, not only that those of his connection are really _no less
evangelical_, but even much _more so_ than any of those on whom it has
been the fashion of late years to bestow that honourable appellation.
Nothing further needs here be said on the subject: the public will have
an opportunity to judge for themselves, if any one will enter the lists,
or step forward to discuss the point with the said pastor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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