SIR, Lines on the late Rev. Samuel Cary. To the Editor. The following lines are taken from the Monthly Repository. Mr. Cary was formerly a minister in Boston, but died in England, where he had gone for the benefit of his health. By giving these lines a place in your Miscellany, you will greatly oblige a SUBSCRIBER. Cary! to bid thy native shores adieu, J. T. R. Dr. Watts's Thoughts on Free Inquiry. NOR should a student in divinity imagine that our age is arrived at a full understanding of every thing, which can be known from the Scriptures. Every age since the reformation has thrown some further light on difficult texts and paragraphs of the Bible, which have been long obscured by the early rise of Antichrist; and since there are at present many difficulties and darknesses hanging about certain truths of the Christian religion, and since several of these relate to important doctrines, such as the origin of sin, the fall of Adam, the person of Christ, the blessed trinity, and the decrees of God, &c. which do still embarrass the minds of honest and inquiring readers, and make work for noisy controversy, it is certain there are several things in the Bible yet unknown, and not sufficiently explained; and it is certain that there is some way to solve these difficulties, and reconcile these seeming contradictions. And why may not a sincere searcher of truth, in the present age, by labour, diligence, study, and prayer, with the best use of his reasoning powers, find out the proper solution of those knots and perplexities, which have hitherto been unsolved, and which have afforded matter for angry quarrelling? Happy is every man, who shall be favoured of heaven, to give a helping hand towards that introduction of the blessed age of light and love. [Improvement of the Mind, chap. i. We stated in our Second Number, [p. 77] the expecta tion, that the Rev. Richard Wright would come to this country, as a Unitarian Missionary. From later accounts, it would seem, that this point is not fully settled. It was discussed at an Extraordinary Meeting of the Fund Society in London, but the decision of the question was postponed till the Annual Meeting, which is to take place about the middle of June. Letter from the Rev. Mr. Eastin, of Kentucky, to E a Friend. [We have much pleasure in presenting to our readers the following letter, with which we have been politely favoured. There have been few more remarkable instances, we believe, of conviction from patient, unbiassed, and persevering inquiry, than the one we are about to adduce. The conversion of Mr. Eastin affords the strongest proof of the power of the gospel alone to bring the mind to rational, consistent, and consoling views of religion. Having been long darkened and perplexed with human systems, he at last resolved to throw off their shackles. He studied the simple truths of the gospel, and, unaided by the theories of philosophers, the counsels of the wise, or the discoveries of the learned, and in opposition to his early prejudices, he came to a firm belief, that the doctrine of the trinity, and the necessary, but cumbersome appendages of that doctrine, have no foundation in scripture. Such, no doubt, would always be the result, under similar circumstances. There is no better mode of learning the unadulterated truths of the gospel, than by studying the gospel alone. Had this been made the standing creed of all christians, the world would not now be distracted with so many irrational, contradictory, and extravagant schemes of faith, which are equally distinguished for their difference from one another, and their departure from the truth as it is in Jesus.We cannot better detail the successful course pursued by Mr. Eastin, than in his own brief and artless narrative.] DEAR SIR, You desired me to give you some account of my theological opinions, and the mode in which I have adopted them. I readily comply with your request. You must know, then, that I am an old man, turned of seventy years, and have been a professor of vital religion since I was eighteen years old. I made my first profession among the Baptists at that early age, and became a zealous exhorter soon afterwards. As I was warm and vehement, great effects were often produced in meetings; but I soon observed those effects were not lasting, and did not produce the reformation at which I aimed. This led me to reflect, that mere declamation was not calculated to reform, and I never thought any thing religion, which did not produce reformation leading to holiness. This induced me to try to enlighten the mind, by informing the judgment. I became a licensed preacher at twenty-one, and remained unsettled between what is called Arminianism and Calvinism, till the year 1802. For about thirteen years and six months before this, my mind had been greatly perplexed on the subject of the trinity. I read every thing I could lay my hands All the books I read were in favour of the trinity, for I saw no others. But these produced no permanent settlement of opinion, and my troubles of mind increased. on. I determined, therefore, to lay aside all authors, and read the scriptures of the New Testament, and that whatever they said, should be my creed, let the consequence be what it might. I wrote out all the noted texts, and set down chapter and verse of every passage which mentions the name of God, Christ, or the Spirit, that I might have them all before me at one view. The consequence was, a full conviction that this famous doctrine of the trinity is founded in error, and was not a doctrine taught by Christ and his apostles. About this time, one of the members of the church of which I was the pastor, then governour of Kentucky, disclosed his mind to me, and expressed his disbelief of the doctrine of the trinity. The case began to be noised abroad, and gave great offence. I wrote three Letters on the doctrine to one of the principal ministers of the Elkhorn Association of Baptists, then the principal association in this part of the country, and of which I was a member. These Letters brought the subject before the public, and it was taken up by the Association, and myself, and a majority of three churches to whom I ministered, and who adhered to the same doctrines with me, were denied our seats in the Association. My Letters were replied to, and an Answer published. We immediately published Emlyn's Humble Inquiry, which was distributed. I afterwards replied to the answer of my former letters, in eight additional Letters; since which, we have had nothing on the subject from the press. The doctrine of the divine unity is still unpopular here, though we have had some additions to our numbers. I am persuaded, that the seed already sown, is so deeply rooted, that though we ourselves may never sit under the shade of the tree which will grow from it, |