This, so far as we can judge from the authorized statements of Trinitarianism that we have seen, is the professed belief of all, or nearly all, Trinitarians; and yet, strangely enough, either the language used is so difficult of comprehension, or the ideas involved in the terms are so contradictory, that the supporters of this doctrine, whenever they venture to describe or explain what they mean, and sometimes even in their briefest definitions, affirm or concede some particular point which is fatal to the principle itself on which their belief is founded. Thus, many Trinitarians-adopting the Athanasian Creed so called-declare the uncreated and eternal Son to have been begotten of the Father, and the uncreated and eternal Holy Ghost to have proceeded from the Father and the Son; but it is freely acknowledged by not a few theologians of high eminence, some of whom have been distinguished for their opposition to Unitarianism, that the doctrines of eternal generation and procession clash with the idea of self-existence and independence, -an idea involved in the very conception of a first Supreme Cause. According to the same train of thought, a host of learned Trinitarians have not scrupled to affirm, that a pre-eminence and a subordination obtain among the three persons in the Godhead; - that the Father is the Source, the Fountain, the Head, the Principle of being; and that the Son and the Holy Ghost derived their existence and their attributes from the Father; language than which none can more clearly imply superiority, inferiority, and inequality; or, in other words, that the Father, and he only, is the true God. On the other hand, some have boldly affirmed, that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are as distinct from each other as Peter, James, and John, — that they are three distinct, infinite Beings or Minds; thus virtually giving up the notion of a Triune Deity, and adopting, though with a vague unconsciousness and without profession, that of three Gods: while others, again, have defined the word "person" to signify, not a distinct, intelligent agent, but a mere relation in the Godhead, as if only one divine agent acted in the several characters of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Thus, as it appears to us, and as in the following pages will be demonstrated, is Trinitarianism inconsistent with itself. Thus, in its very attempts to free itself from difficulties, is it obliged to acknowledge principles which war against, and tend to destroy, its own elements. We are not unaware, that the various parties into which Trinitarians are divided clearly perceiving and pointing out, as they do, the errors and absurdities of their brethren, but with only a dim recognition of their own—have each felt unwilling to regard the others as orthodox,* and have been often disposed to shut them out from their own fold, or to throw them into the ranks of their professed opponents, the Antitrinitarians. But, however they may differ in their explications of the doctrine from which they are denominated, and — in their several attempts to explain the unexplainable, and reconcile the irreconcilable and absurd - give out, in spite of themselves, glimmerings of Scriptural truth, or yield up positions serviceable to the cause of Unitarianism, - we venture to affirm, that, whether favorable to the views of Athanasius or of Sabellius, of Sherlock or of South, of Bishop Bull or of Archbishop Whately, they are al, with but few exceptions, properly classed under the general designation of Trinitarian, and not Unitarian. They have all acknowledged themselves to be Trinitarian, and many of them have gloried in the name, — have all belonged to Trinitarian churches, have all subscribed to, or acknowledged a belief in, the dogma of a Triune God, — have all professed Jesus Christ to be, personally, Almighty God, or equal to him, — and have all refrained from being united to churches or to individuals who openly and unequivocally regard God as one, and only one; and who believe the Lord Jesus, whether as human or superhuman, to be

* The term "Orthodox," whether as a noun or an adjective, will be used, in our own remarks, not to imply literal soundness of doctrine, or, as commonly employed in the New-England States, to distinguish Trinitarian from Unitarian Congregationalists, but merely to indicate a belief in the doctrine of a Triune God, of whatever character that doctrine may be, as opposed to the opinions of Unitarians, who are regarded by their opponents as heterodox, or unsound in the faith. In other words, the term, when used by us, is to be regarded as a mere quotation, whether marked as such or not.

a created being, inferior to the God who gave him his existence and

his powers.

To state, however, Trinitarianism in its most general form, and with an accuracy sufficient for our present purpose, it is the doctrine which teaches that in the one God there are three co-essential, co-equal, and co-eternal persons, the second of whom became, in the fulness of time, the Messiah. To uphold this doctrine, the stores of erudition, the subtilties of philosophy, the eloquence of the pulpit, and the productions of the press, not to mention the decrees of synods and of councils, the articles of one church, and the confessions and catechisms of others, -- have all been called into requisition. On behalf of this doctrine, in particular, have treatises and comments unnumbered been written and published. For this purpose the Bible has been opened, ransacked, and re-ransacked; and its texts- - in fractions, in units, and in thousands have been brought into logical and metaphysic play. The first words in Genesis have been deemed to intimate a plurality of persons in the Godhead; the last in the book of the Apocalypse, the Deity of Jesus Christ. Indeed, we might say, almost without a rhetorical figure, that nearly every sentence in the Sacred Records has been adduced, either by itself or in combination with others, to prove, confirm, or defend the dogma of a Triune God.*

Had the doctrine adverted to not been impugned, all this vast apparatus of learning, of philosophizing, of decreeing, of catechizing, of writing, of preaching, and of printing, would not, of course, have been brought into operation. Accordingly, it has been found, that, in all ages of the Christian church, even when the hand of power wielded its weapons of silence, extermination, and death against "heretics," there were witnesses for the contrary doctrine, — that God is one, not three; and that our Lord Jesus Christ, "anointed with the oil

* John Wesley, in his Sermons on Several Occasions, vol. i. p. 238, says that the "Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity, [is] discovered to us in the very first line of his [God's] written word,. ,... as well as in every part of his subsequent revelations, given by the mouth of all his holy prophets and apostles."

of gladness above his fellows," was inferior, in nature and in attributes, to the Infinite Being whom he called his Father and his God. Many of these witnesses have also, in the most public manner, declared their reasons for their belief; have appealed to Scripture passages which they regarded as proving the simple Oneness of God, and his unqualified Supremacy over all other beings; and have endeavored to interpret such texts as were adduced in favor of a Trinity in Unity, and of the Deity of Christ and the Holy Ghost, in harmony with what they thought to be the dictates of reason and the teachings of revelation.

The usual mode of answering the arguments and interpretations of Unitarians has probably been that to which we have just adverted, the adducing of an immense quantity and variety of proof, of which a large portion had no possible relation to the subject. But, unhappily, this lack of discrimination in judging of evidence, this wholesale treatment of Sacred Scripture, - -so common, indeed, amongst all sects and on all theological subjects, was not a matter the most objectionable. Unacquainted with the principles of a generous toleration, or forgetful of the mild and beneficent spirit of their great Master, the dominant party, when they did not happen to use the sword of the civil magistrate, were frequently tempted to employ other weapons equally effective in the subjugation of free thought, and the annihilation of opinions regarded as heretical. Many of the older books of polemical Trinitarians are filled with accusations against their opponents, of denying the Lord that bought them, · of wilfully wresting the Scriptures to their own destruction,

of being dis

believers in the Bible; schismatics, blasphemers, infidels; who, unless converted to the true faith, or, as we should interpret it, unless they believed in opposition to the evidence presented to their own minds, or professed opinions contrary to their own convictions, — would be consigned by the God of love to everlasting woe.

In speaking thus, we should regret to be thought justly chargeable with the very fault which we condemn. We do not mention it for the purpose of throwing any odium either on Trinitarianism or on its

advocates. The truth is, that in past times the principles of a genuine religious liberty were but faintly understood, scarcely recognized except by a few of those who suffered for their adherence to an unpopular cause. Had Unitarians been the prevailing sect, it is not improbable, that though, from the more benign character of their belief and their professions of greater liberality, less worthy of excuse — they might have been equally, or nearly as, regardless of the claims of brotherly love and universal toleration. We would not, therefore, rake up the evils of the past, in order to blame the present; we would not collect the errors of the fathers, to accumulate them on the heads of their children; but show, on the contrary, that though still, now and then, may be heard the cry of heresy and the doom of damnation, a more kind, charitable, considerate, and Christian spirit is working its way into the hearts of all sects; and that, despite of a theology which would exclude from heaven all who spurn at priestly power and creed-control, many Trinitarians are actuated by a generous impulse - -the impulse of Christian principle — to overthrow the barriers which separate them from Unitarians, and, whilst sincerely attached to the characteristics of their faith, glad to acknowledge, that out of the pale of their own temple, as well as within its precincts, there are great and good men; sincere disciples of the Lord Jesus; and heirs, with themselves, of the same immortal glory.

Accordingly, in the following pages, a portion of the beautiful and noble lessons which have issued from the more catholic minds of the class to which we have referred will be presented for two reasons: First, To aid and encourage the reader to cherish a spirit, which, while it prayerfully and dispassionately seeks for light, increasing light, and brooks no human control over its own thoughts and utterances, would grant to others the same privileges which it claims for itself; humble in the possession of its faith, zealous in the promotion of what it deems to be truth, and universal in its love. Secondly, To show, that, if, according to the admissions of their opponents, Unitarians are many of them pure, devout Christians, as well as virtuous and honorable