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THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN. 71'


jJenk to tllllt POi~ l, hut was so freqnently in­rrupted


lind ~ alled to order by the ': lOdera­r


uiul members ofthe church, thut I stopped


rill. this remark that 1 had not said; all that


tlllil to say, but bud been ' voted down here,


nbarrussed by irrelevant qu estions, and orh­wise


interrupted so frequently, rhut I could


,0' 1 proceed wiih the defence. It was th en


oved hy II member of the c hurch, that l\ lr.


arnson be allowed to pr oceed without intfr­~


ptio ll , until he shall have concluded his re­lurks.


This ' motion was debuted at some


ngth, and finallyd ecid ed in the ~ ffirmalive.


then inquired if I should be permitted tore­ulne


my remarks npon the qu estion upon


r hi c h I had beel. voted down. This was al­!


O decided ' hy vote in th e utlirmntive.


" l ll ien sa id, ' my reururks huve been so dis­oiinected


in consequence of cmhun: lIss IIICn't


ndluterruprion, rhnt in order to be under­rood,


it will he necessary for me to rep eat


some things I have said. I hnve shown that


her e is no diff er ence in our id ens of th e lui­l~


lIity of th e Sh vior : though we ea nuot ugree


II the use of IlIlIguage in express those itl ells.


,\ nd I WIIS proceeding to show that no othel'


iflerence' ohtuined uetween us il\ regard to


, Iis divinity, wheu I WitS s loppef!. \ Vhat . then


i'e yon'r itleus of his divinity? The etern al


}' ath~~, th-;; t'infil;' ite nllllnll- atlored ~ iirt'Ww h i cil


h~ at ed the uuiverse und 1111 tlaing s, is the


[


llIrce of life nntl all hlcssetlness, ' was in


' larist reconcilin ~ llle world to hinlselt:' Thllt


. j'ri st. receivcd of IIJ, is S pir it witlaollt rlleus­I'


~. 1M it not YOllr ide", IImt tlais IInion of


IGoti with hi>! lan/ llan nnture, 01' witll Ihe lIlau


Phr. is t J esll s, is wlaat constitutes his 11i\' ill e nil ·


, l\ lre? I laave IInd er st olld tllis ( 0 hc allll idtm


L illi intelLigcllt ' T: l · illit" r i" uM. with wll olll ,\


I: WC couvescd upon tllis poinl, tllld I Illlve


lcon\' ersed wilh se\' eral. If I alll (~ Ol... ect,


: lien th er e is no diflill'cn ce hlltweeu us. \ Vu


", e\: t" rtain pr eei :; cly th p. sallie dllctrine.


, And is it not so? is Ullt this tile idea which


" iesus lIlelll.. 1 to l: on '"" ey , wh eu he said, ' Of IIlY­self


I ca u till uothing: ru)' Flllher that , hv ell­ella


ill lIle, he d oeth Jlle works j' lIud hy IIllluy


! ulicr pa ~ sll g e s whic: lllw e rllight qllote? Is it


1I11l. yom irl.:" that it wns hy th e power of Jh is


one di. vinily, which wa s with Christ, dwel Ciif


.• J, illl, nlld m'ershat\ owed hilll, that his miracles


lv,' re \\' I'( III :; hl ? thllt the , lead were I'lliserl, th e


cars of the deaf unstopped, tho eycs of tile


blind 1I11l: losed, till: tongne of the dlllllb loosed


mill th " gluries of tile spiritual \ Vorla\ unfolll­ed?


Willlt else constituted his divinity?


Now l\ lnry ueli eves 1111 thi s j I helieve it nil j


Ullitarinus. genernll)', heli e\ ' e it ull Au~ I ' it


.) lIel\ seem to / lie, thllt if yon will ' lay asille


5' ou r l! llc lrll1Cul hut IIllseriptnral, { Illd to us un ·


weaning, expressions of ' Thrce persolls ' in


Olle God,' 111111 situilllr expression s, uwl l'Ollle


10 II ( Jarulid nnd elca r , explat1ntion of yonr renl


~ deus upou the suhject, uot eonf{ llullling' thing~


whidl 11re iu th ellls elv es di still et and se para tli,


th ere would uot he a shllliow ill', liflercuce ue­tween


IloI si11r~ al" ll to this Iloctrille.


You , helieve th er e is, tlne Gotl ' junll only one,


w~ lIlm it is the chicI' e llfl of ull int elli gent he ·


illgs tic! oIilles , to lov e, udom 1II1l1 worship with


6upreme ufliJctioll allli rcli g- ious veu eration. ­This


is ul80 what all Uuita r iulls heli eve. ' Vhei'l


you ' speak o f the ' Holy Ghost,' you mellll uy


that phrase, th e Olle IGod, th e only ~ SlLprellle


DivinitlJ ; I'US he IlIls reveal ed himself ' to the


\\ Iorlil, oOOlI1lllunecl w, it'b his dlOs ell se n' ants ,


a;: lf\' carri es on thc work of regenl Jl'llliou. You


~ e / i e v c in no other di< V, inity, th el'e is 110 other.


Unill\ r illn!' helie\' e in this nnd 110 otlle,', ' Vhen


it you speuk ofThe divinelIature ofJe. ms. CIIl1: s{,


you lIIeun uy it, this One, only Ii\' in g. anil


vue God. You heli e\' e in 110 o: her divinity.


l~ re ueli eve ill thi s allli no other , Ii\' inity. ­This


is i\ lury's hel; ef. ' Vhat th en is the great


tliffercllce hctween us? Do es it not eonsi~ t


entirely in the use of lallguugc ? WII: lt you


meun to; desiguate hy til e term, ' Divine nature


of Christ,' we call" God- we worship the sarn e.


, T hen are we heretics, and s illi ll we he ex- .


. commnnieated hy yon, wh en wo b elieve pre ·


, c ise ly what you iJeJie,' e? 1 heli eve th e whole


warfare hetween Unitariuns and Trinitlll'illns


in . re lation to thi s lloctrine, ha s lIec'll th e slay.


il1g over'lInrl over a;; ain, '~ I mllll of strllw.' ­A,


fair explanatioll , w o4lhJ' huve tihOWlI Ih:. tJt


theil', ideas UpOIl ' lh e s u bjoct wer e lhe sallle ~ ­If.


t! len, l have sucl: eede uln showillg that 1\ la­J'y's


ideas of the d a. el. l · iue i- u ( Iue stioll ar e th e


same as yo uI' VIVII, allowing YOllrs to ue cor-re


ct, she has not departed 1' 1' 0111 the f~ ith.- ­Her


only heresy then, will consist in thl !!, tlmt


sh e cannot adopt th e language of YOUI' creed


' fis expressing her faith. Will you excommuui­cate


her for this? Do you regard th e lett er of


so 11II,,: h conseque.; ce? is it not en ough thai


she has th e essence urul spirit of th e doctrine ?


She object s to the language of YOUI' creed:


you yourselves hav e modified and c ha nge d


the lallguage of that cr eed within u few years:


is not your departure in this resp ect as grea t


us hers? It does seem to rue, your cburge of


' d eparture 1' 1' 0111 tile faith' aguinst her is 1I0t


su stain ed.


2d. l now corue to the last charge ill the


count, viz.: A violation of cov euunt vow S. ­She


solemnly promised to wulk with this


church but hils not attended its meetiugs, nor


~ o rn rn u n'ed with it for yeurs.' ' 1' 0 this charge


also 1\ Iary pleads not guilty, Y OUI" cove nunt


docs not bind its members to couu n une ul­ways


with this pnrtieulnr ' d ll irc h and no oth­cr.


But members being ubseut from town,


commune with other c hurc he s . Ami wh en


th ey ohlaiu II perlllunent resid en ce in another


town, th ey relllove their relalioil li'om tlli s to


th e ch urc h wh er e th ey rcsid e. And all thi s


is in perfi lct aceordlluce wi lh th eir co ve na nt


engngern e: rlls / lud "' ith e ccl csi" Slif~ nl usage. ­It


is1Til ~ tlb i one of yOIll" ' C lurl'e li 1' l1les re­quires


that they shall associllie with sister


ellllrchcs. \ Vllidl mC: II. s chnrellcs of YOUI'


OWII denomination. llut th e co venant snys


nothing of siste r or sel' taria n c llllre hes . And


you wilillot content! that tim co vena nt ohli ges


her to suhruit to all the arllitrury rul es which


thi s hody is ple ased to eunet. ' I I' thi s c hurc h


walks not after the Lord, is she uouud to wall,


wilh it?


lIlnr. v coulrnun ed with tllis e h nrc h , whilc


sllC ' renmiucd iu towu. \ Vhile nbs ellt li'oril


town it was of cou rse incol1\' eliiellt for hcr to


t\ o so. Aud tbi~ i " off" I' us a i( ood lIu, 1 suffi­cient


reason why sh e hus 1I0t conI/ lined' with


this c l~ I" rc h dmiug that time.


l\ Ir.' Cross denied th at this was a s nfiie ient


reason. I uppea led to th e c hn l'l: h, alill th e


c lni rcl , voted tllllt it teas 1I0t a sujficie nt reason.


Lsui, l flll: iii el" :~ J: Y_ I !!! rSlled ' lhe cOUrI> C which


members usually pim; ue ; and which is e vi­deutly


rhe right eilllr se. \ y'h en she rem oved


to Berliu, she endeavored to ohtuin a rellloval


of iler relation to tI, at ehurch. ' This was , Ie­i'ied


her on the groUlHI th'lIt th e ehnrl'h in


Bcrliu ' is 1I0t e \' lll1gelieal iu selltillle ut.' S he


tlle ' u sent in a resiguation of lIIell1hersl: ip wilh


IIIis ell11rch. aUfl connect ed herset'f " with that.


Hnt that ' resi;: natioll is 1I0t alll o~ v ed hy tl{ is


ehnrch 10 he of auy force j and Ihere! ore s he


is uUd,; r discipline. She has absented II er~ clr


Irorn the cornmuniou of thi s c1l1ireh only


when circumstauces hnve rendered it necessa­ry.


Ancl she illl;; cI,!" e tIm dilly thing whi ch


c'oulcl he clone lIud er th e c ire nll, stnnees of th e


' cn 8~" ~ i z,: cOlin ~ eie, l Irer s'elf to a chmch


wf'i clr she looked upon us a, Christian church,


I .


where s he conlcl att end on its commun ions.-


~\ Now t\\\' iWroll'set Ihi s ,,! owil ' ns'a criillirYal - vi=


ola! i on of cowmant vow s, and proceed to pass


II ( ormal vote of excommnnicntion u gain~ i


lieI'. I do not s~ e how it clin uppear to th e


c h~ rc h tlrat sh e has either violated her CO\' C-


" nant or departed from the filith, allli if not,


you cannot exeommnnieate ) Ie\ · .


But even admitting the ch! lrges to hnv e heen


su stained, I seriously qu estion your authority


to pass s~ ntence of excommunication. , ; Do


you not assume the pr erogul: ve of Clrrist ? is


not he Ihe only IlIllsler oftl! e , individuulillein­bel'S


of Iris mystical uody? Yon may iud eell


withdl" llw fellowship li'opl any per son fOl'


gross immorality, h ~ t where is YOUI' uuthority


lor ampntating IIny ofChrist's memher s, mer e­ly


101' refusing to sulJscriue to )' our hlll1lun


creed, or conforming to )' our humlll! rul es?, ­1\


11'. Cross here qu ? te(] several pussug es


of Scripture, which he seemed to


suppose gave th e church , ample authority to


excomjllunieate. As wh ere TilliS was di­rected


by Pau I to ' reject a her!' t ie after th e


/ irst amI second admonition.' Also wlrore ihe


Corinthians were direeted ' to ' put aWllY f!" Om


alllong tlrem that e vil pcrson.'


lu regard to the authority c1uimed Ii'olll


tt1' eSe pllssages, severnl questions lIlight he


l'llis ed j Lut we , have ' not time to go lar gely


into thersubj ect. A few relllarks aud I leav e


it. Admittiug ~ he n , ( which is vei')' douutlhl)


th e case in tire Corinthian church to be one


of excoinmu nicntion, what analogy is th ere


between that ancl th e pr esent cuse? thai was


for foruienti ou . In th e present, no immorali­ty


is all eged. ' I n Paul's charge to ' I'imothy,


WIIS it'a gen eral direction, to be tak en hy uny


and ev ery Christiau? 01' did he giv e authority


to ' I'Im othy alone, and through him to oth er


bishops and rul ers iu th e c h urc h ? I I' tile lor­mer,


th en it may he that the excommun lea­tion


of thi s c hurc h by " an individual, will be


just as vulid, us you rs in th e present, 01' any


other case. If the former, if the power is he­reditary,


it urny have descended upon the


pop es an i! bishops ' 0 1' Rome. Ind eed, it mu st,


in order to have reached us, it must hav e come


through then i. Hilt we have all been excom­;


uullicutcd hy ' lhem- all Protestants nrc here­tics,


excommun ieut ed, rightfully so j and of


c ou rse hav e 110 authority to excounuuuicute


one another. It do es seem to me you lire act­ing


upori the very principle whi ch you con­dernu


in Cntho licis rn ; an d with less show of


authority than the Pop e call prps ent.


For th e sake 01 Chris rinnity , I beg of you


to pau" e 111111 revi ew th e rea soils and · conse­(


juences of yonrcourse. Are yon nor ' assum­ing


tll do w'hal 6 1; rist alone hail authority to


do ? Do yon not assn/ l1e the jndgment se at j


nlHI that 10, to perform an act whicb" the right­ful


J utlg e lllay , see, fit to reverse? Is it a small


thiug tn'cnt off from his church one who is


de vontly s triving to follow him, a1111 wh ose


flloral ch arnctel' is without reprollch? And


are you not acting upon that principle of ns­~


l llri p t i o n nnd pursuing that vel')' couse which


hus flivi, l e, 1 th e churc h of Christ into a thons­and


eonteuding parties? ' Ve se e th e church


di\; irlecl int o's ect s almost innulllel'llhl e, s pe ncl­illg


th eir enc rgies nl; on eac h other, 111111 tllllS a


SlOp is put to the pro gress of the Rell e'elller's


kingllolll ou the earlh. ' An, l whnt is the


cause of all thi s? is it not the very thing which


yon nrc ahOl ~ i to do? : r his setting- up a hn­man


cr eed , and nudertakiug to ohlige every


hody to squar e his fi, ilh by that. If auy one


flllril think 1' 01' himself so fill' liS to have lIny


diffi~ rellt view s from those expressetl in the


creed, hC/ Ilust \, e ( I ~ nicd the Ch .. isti, 1I1uallle,


tilllst he cast out liS a her etic. Thus violence


, is don e II{ th e h~ dy of Christ, his i~ i~ gdom is


divid ed, and its \ Irogre; s hindered. Thns, is


the S lIviol' wounded in the honse of his


fi'iends. Hm'lJ you duly mawrI'd thi s sn hje ct ?


I s it a small thing to assume th e authority of


Ch rist ? ' thut yon can hastily castiJfl' oue


wh o'nl it may he he will rec eive. And why is


s he cas t Olll? is it 101' an'y crime or illJmonlli ­ty?


This is not pr etended. Is it hecause slJe


di sh eliev es th e Bible? NOl al all . Her fitith


is as strong as yonrs, and she lov es her Savior


as well. S lJe is t riel! uot by th e Bi hle, but by


yonI' cree,!. S lJe is to he jndged, not by th e


wo1' I1 ofGrJlI,' uut by a . human IIIW j aIHI uot


accol'lliug to , I iviu e, but, human wi'sdom . Aud


ev eu th en, it has not ue en proved that she has


urol~ en yunr humlln law, ' 01' departed 1' 1' 0111


your hulllllu , CJ'eet, l : Ihe. o nly_ c1111rgcll. urought


uguinst her.


I IIl1\' e ma, le these remarks \" itl. no other


than u friendly spirit. And not to emharl" llss


YOUl' a'etioll, hilt that yon might act under­stal1llingly.


Not oeeause Sou were IIbout to


110 a gr eat injury to l\ lary, for this is OIl! of


yonI' power. · But beeanse such action will


iufli ct lin injury upou yourselves, Lut a fnr


gr euler upon Christianity. I , ha ve said thns


mu ch, not us the lll ~ r1eriltor has chllrged me,


to hohl ' the rod , in terrorWll'over your heads,'


Ullt uecanse'my duty to the innoceut, lind IlItlrc


es peeilllly ; I helieve, to the ellus~ of Ch ris t,


deUlaJllled it 01 lile. Neither ' hecause


I heli e\; c" y ou ha ve IIny more a llthority


in th e Cllse than~ the ' Pope ' of the Roman


ClJur c lJ, nor your deci sion of any ' more virtne


thun his, in Ilejlriving her of any of the tru e


riches, 01' privileg es, in the true kingdom. ­Alii!


now th: it I may not trespass'fa rth er npon


yonI' time lInd ' patieuce, I say no more.


The model'lltor here matle remllrks at some


length in reply. St ating, among oth er things,


thut th e very fact that Mrs. ' LlIllIson WII S a


pr ominent lI1emher in a Unitarian Church: wa s


II suflieient rea son 101' disciplin e. , li e sUlted


vcry s trong ly, also, that Unitarian ism and Or­thodoxy


were as far fi'om eac h' olh er as the


East from tlJe ' Vest- were lIutagonist to each


oth er . Ulli tarianisl1l was the last delu sion of


the devil. li e c ou ld tell them wh at Unitar, i ·


anisrn wi'ts. liekn ew all about it- was the


son ofa Un iturinn, wa s ed ucated a Unitm- ian,


& c : A 1\[ 1'. Kirk had been preaching in


Bostou, who took th e sam e ground 1\ Ir. Lam­son


had , via.: thnt there was no difference be­tw


een Uuiturinnism and Orthodoxy. A party


hlllL [ becn rai sed Ul' called Unionists; and


who ar c th ese Uniouists P They are exc om­municat


ed per son s.'


1\ 11'. Cross h arl . rcfill'lmce here, undoubtedly,


to a rep ort by the Rev. Durlly Phelps, before


the Gcn eral Associurion, on th e state ofrefig­ion


in th e 1\ lillfll(~ sex Association- in which


th e author g ives the imprcssion ihnt th e Union


Church in Groton wer e, II large portion of


them, exc ommunica ted persons. In reply to


thi s, 1\ 11'. lIawlY, itlJe pastor of that Churc h ,


snys : ' At th e [ rime of its organization it con­tuin


erl thi,. ty-! ollr member s. Before the ex­piration


of three 1110ntlJs, th ere were added


to lr, as th e fruits of a most precious revival,


someth ing more than eighty person s. Of th e


origiuul numher, a lar ge shure wer e from 1\ 11'.


Phelp s Chu rch, an" were regularly dismissed,


IImon g whom were uoth ilis act ing Deacons.


. Of Ihe rellluinder, some : we re li'olll the Bap.


tist, so me from the Methodist , lind some from


I. olh er Orthodox Chnn: hes . Ther e , va s on e


cxe ommu nieate d per son llmong th em, " nd


Ollis- one;'


l\ I.:. Cross sai,\ mcmbers now hud th e priv­ilege


of asking !\ Ir . Lnrn son s lJ(~ h ql ! estions as


as th ey thought pl'op er. lI er e a yonng mun


, urose who had pr evi ou sly stnte d, that he had


no douht, that could he he permitted 10 ask


th e ge ntlema n a few IJllesti un s, l. he could con­vict


him of heresy ' in a ver y few lIlinutes. ­lI


e said, we will tllke the Lliule lor our stund­ard.


Now, th en, do you ueliev e th e propllet


. Isai ah, wh en he sa ys : ' U nto ns a child is uorn,


a son is given, his nllme s hall lJC ca lled \ Von­dei'lid,


Cou use llor , th e l\ 1ighty God, the Ever­lastiug


Father, the Prince of Peace?' ' Mos t


eel: tuinly.' ' Do you beli ev e it has rcferen ce


to Chr ist ?' ' Cc r ta i n ly .'~, ' Does it 1I0t teach


thnt lie is God? C hrist says; ' They wer e


call ed gods to whom the word of Go d cnlTui.'


' I du not heli eve it teach es tI, Uthe is. rhe Infi­lIite,


th e J ehovuh. I will ulso quote you II


pa ssng c fi'om our S a\' ior , which is a good


comme llllu'y on your pa ssnge. 119 say8, ' 1\ ly


Futher is greut er than I.' And thi s is 1I0t the


figurative lunguage of prophccy, hut th e plain


statement of ' a plu in fact. ' I think it evident,'


sai ll ihe ca tec hist, ' that the ge n t l ~ lIla n docs not '


helieve th e Bihle.' I ~ aid, ' pe rmit me to ask


yo u olle qll esti on in referen cc to thcpassa gc


)' ou havc quoted. Y OIl IlIIve qu oted it to p~' o\' e


that th e c hild th er e pr edieted, is J ehovuh. ­Now


do yo u uelieve th e infinite J ehovah was


ever hurn ?' The eall! chist tlrou ght this un


improper qu csli on, llllli dill 1I0t unsw'er it. ­Bllt


next refer red me 10 th e first chapter of


John. \ sa id I s ho u ld he very happy 10 give


IllY view s at len gth on th e passages 01 Scrip­ture


quoted. Alld unl ess tllli' gmillelllun with­dr


ew the qu esti on, I s hon ld insist upou my


J"' ivil ege to do so: The q'ucsti on \ vas with­drawu.


It was tlren ask ed by some oth cr mC/ lluer, if


1\ Irs. Lamson worshippcd Ch rist? I sa id , s lle


worships what you call the divine lIalnre of


Ch rist, uy which you mean, donbtless, the


only living und tru e God, as he was nnited


to hnlnan nature for th e red emption lind sal­vation


of th e world. What you cull the ( Ii­\'


ine nutul'll ofChr- isl , s he call s God, lind \\' 01' ­sllips


th e same. I hav e uefore ex plaine d her


view s " rr~ n thi s subject. This answer was


lIot satisfuctol'y, hut th e questioll s till p~ cssed.


Do es she worship Christ?' I sa id , ' do you


meun to asl, ifshe worships th e human nature


o f CllI'ist? If so, permit / lle to return the


qu estion , Do yon wor ship lh e hlll1ll1n nature


of Christ? ( This qu estion wusuot answered.)


Mary worships th e oll e living und Irue God,


wh ether he ue ' in Chr is t recenciling the world


to hinl seifj' 01' under th e II/ Ulle of the COlil­foner


01' Holy Ghost communing wilh Iris


c hose n servants, or revenls himse! fas the Fa­th


er of s piriis. In all she recognizes th e one


Silpreme Divinity, hesid es whom th ere is no


otlrer. Let me asl, YOII, do you , worsh ip any


o lher? and do yo u douot lhat s he worships


him as sincer ely as yoursel\' es ? Why then


qu estion me on thi s poiut ?


Itwas th ell ask ed , ' Does Mrs. Lamson wish


tu ret aill her co nlleclion with this church?' 1

Page 71 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840