Unitarianism in America: A History of its Origin and DevelopmentCooke, George Willis
History
Unitarianism in America: A History of its Origin and Development
Cooke, George Willis
Unitarianism -- United States
He would therefore leave every man free to interpret the Bible for himself,
and he would make no dogmatic test to deprive any man of this right. The
chief fact in the Bible being Christ, he insisted that Christianity is
loyalty to his spirit. "To believe only in Christ" is his definition of
Christianity, and he would add nothing to this standard. He would put no
church or creed or council between the individual soul and God; and he
would direct every believer to the Bible as the free and open way of the
soul's access to divine truth. He found that the religion of Protestants
consisted in the rational use of that book, and not in the teachings of the
Reformers or in the confessions they devised. It is the great merit of
Chillingworth that he vindicated the spirit of toleration in a broad and
noble manner, that he was without sectarian prejudice or narrowness in his
desire for an inclusive church, and that he spoke and wrote in a truly
rational temper. He applied reason to all religious problems, and he
regarded it as the final judge and arbiter. Religious freedom received from
him the fullest recognition, and no one has more clearly indicated the
scope and purpose of toleration.
Another English religious leader, much read in New England, was Archbishop
Tillotson. It has been said of him that "for the first time since the
Reformation the voice of reason was now clearly heard in the high places of
the church."[8] He was an Arminian in his sympathies, and held that the way
of salvation is open to all who choose to accept its opportunities. He
expressed himself as being as certain that the doctrine of eternal decrees
is not of God as he was sure that God is good and just. His ground for this
opinion was that it is repugnant to the convictions of justice and goodness
natural to men. He maintained that we shall be justified before God by
means of the reformation that is wrought in our own lives. We have an
intuition of what is right, and a natural capacity for living justly and
righteously. Experience and reason he made concomitant spiritual forces
with the Bible, and he held that revelation is but a republication of the
truths of natural religion. Tillotson was truly a broad churchman, who was
desirous of making the national church as comprehensive as possible; and he
was one who practised as well as preached toleration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account