and some many of the preachers and of those who had been representatives of the General Baptist Churches most cordial y expressed their friendship towards me of them declared, that, in their opinion, the attack which had been made upon me was shareful and disgraceful. It was ikewise said by persons of great respecta bility and judgment, and who heard the discourse delivered, that it must be published; and that if it were published exactly as it had been preached, it would be a sufficient vindication from the calumniating charge which some had endeavoured to fix upon it. This I have faithfully done, without uppressing, or having suppressed one single expression which was used from the pulpit. If I am not mi taken the act of the Assembly in acquitting me of the charge, will do the members of it more honour than the whole of Mr. M.'s letter. There are thirteen expressions in Mr. Marten's list of indecency. Seven of these, are not only scriptural, but are found in what we may call the popular passages of the bible. Were not all these passages of scripture publicly read in the Jewi h Church? and are they not still continued to be read? Have they not been quoted by Christ and his apostles, in their discourses, and in the epi tes of the apo tles, which have always been publicly read in the churches of Christians? Have they not been quoted, and that continually, in our public sermons, both ancient and modern? Yes they have. Who ever charged them, with such indecency, that they were not fit for females to hear, before Mr. M.? Nobody Well, then, let him have the honour of the discovery. The remaining six phrases are to be charged to my account. And first. "The husband of the mother must be he father of the son." Where are we to look for indecency in this sentence? Is it in the word husband, mother, father, or son, or in all of them put together? Really I cannot tell. Next comes the word, “commerce." This is used in a quotation translated from Rabbi Isaac, and was used by Dr.Priestley before me. And it is used by every other writer who has had occasion to convey the same idea; yea, even by farmer Trueman in his advice to his daughter Mary. See his 26th di course, page 187, Unitarian Tracts. Next comes, "His descent is traced through the body of Joseph." Where is the indecency in this phrase? Is there any thing more in it than saying, "Jacob berat Joseph." Certainly not. "An unmarried woman should conceive a on." I am perfectly at a loss to know where the indecency of this phrase is to be found. I suppose Mr. M. never reads the two first chapters of Luke in public Wonderfully modest!! I have heard of a man who would not return thanks for a woman after childbirth in public, and I knew one who said, that a woman ought not to suckle her infant in company, and both pleaded indecency. "An eye witness to the miraculous conception." Here Mr. M. has outrun truth. The words "miraculous conception," are his not mine. "The connexion between the Holy Ghost and the mother of Jesus." The word "connexion," in relation to marriage, is frequently used by the best of writers. As I have used it in reference to the power of God with Mary, it must be pure and innocent. Next comes," &c. &c." What is behind I cannot tell; but it is to be wished that he had made his list perfect when he was about it. My opinion is still, that the charge is frivolous and vexatious. But, as Mr. Marten has we 'lobserved, "It sometimes happens that the zeal of good men leads them into impru dence." I now take leave of this charge, I hope for ever, and I shall make no further reply, until I see it better substantiated. I remain, as before, the sincere friend of Mr. Marten, and I hope that we shall meet as such at our next Annual Assembly. Dichling, Nov. 24, 1807. A. BENNETT. MR. B. MARTEN'S REPLY TO MR. STURCHI, ON MR. BENNETT'S SERMON. To the Editor of the Monthly Repository. SIR, YOUR correspondent Mr. Sturch has commenced a war of recrimination against me in a tone very much resembling some of those gentry, who, styling themselves critics and reviewers, assume the right of whipping unmercifully all who happen to differ from them in opinion, while they are the first to be offended at the lash of others. He begins his observations with contending for that which I have never disputed, viz. the right of an Editor's inserting nothing anonymous which relates to matters of fact; but how long and how generally this has been the custom in the Repository, your correspondent has not informed me. I should hope, Sir, for your credit as an Editor, that mine is not a solitary case. Mr. S. has thought proper to as ert that my design in writing was to fix a stigma on Mr. Bennett, which declaration ill becomes him after the frank and friendly opinion which I have expressed towards that gentleman, who I am persuaded cannot by this correspondent's mischievous insinuations be made to think that I entertain again t him any motives of personal animosity. I have, Sir, only given it as my opinion that Mr. B. was incorrect when he said that he obtained a patient hearing of his sermon, while Mr. S. most dogmatically asserts the contrary. Mr. S. ap. peals for the truth of his assertion to the expressions of some of his friends, who I suppose like himself were present merely during the time of public service, and at the dinner table afterwards: while I equally appeal to a number of my friends who were present during the whole business of the day, and whose disapprobation Mr. Bennett himself was both an eye and an ear witness to, nor would it be a difficult task to prove, that during the delivery of the sermon there were visible marks in the congregation both of impatience, interruption and disgust. If Mr. Bennett is an injured man, to what cause is it to be attributed? Certainly not to me nor the Assembly, but to himself and those of his friends who have rashly advised him to add one improper act to another: nor has Mr. Sturch's delicacy towards his friend Mr. Bennett appeared very conspicuous in agitating a subject, which perhaps would have been much better laid at rest. When I wrote my former letter, I was not aware that amongst your numerous readers, there could have existed a disposition so captious as to have taken an advantage of my words, while the meaning was sufficiently obvious. Was it possible for any one but Mr. S. to have understood me to mean (notwithstanding some incorrectness of expression) that each of the passages which I quoted, was repeated thirty or forty times, and not that such like passages occurred so often in the discourse? And if I had substituted the word introduction for that of repetition, I might have escaped the talons of this angry critic. Indeed, Sir, were I in my turn to recriminate, I might charge Mr. S. with asserting that Mr. Bennett's own passages in his sermon were "more unexceptionable" than those which he borrowed from scripture, but this would betray a spirit which every friend to truth ought to deprecate. I am as anxious as any man for the spread of pure and unadulterated christianity, and the true worship of the one supreme God, but I hope my zeal in the good cause will never betray me into errors, and especially into that great absurdity of defending the measures of any advocate, right or wrong, merely because I believe him to be a good man, and much more so, when his conduct tends to stigmatize a large body of his equally well meaning brethren. And as I have never, either directly or indirectly, charged one word of scripture language with indecency, so I think the levity of Mr. Sturch in the latter part of bis letter is ill timed; it may indeed suit the feelings of a sneering, or gratify the spleen of an angry critic, but it deserves by me only to be treated with silent contempt. I remain, Sir, your's &c. Barston, Dee. 10, 1807, ERRATA. "B. MARTEN. In the last No. p. 598, 1. 20, for "graven" read grave. P. 614. col. 1. for "Ante-Mercator," read Anti-Mervater. P. 617. col. 1. 1. 23, for "be praised, "read bepraised. punctually. 23, from the bottom, for "to punctually obey ”* read do INDEX. A. AFRICAN institution 219 America, progress of religious in- 15. Of Dr. Paley, 141. Of a Arianism, its origin, 138, 595. Its 409 514 Bacon, Lord, his Christian paradoxes 535 Belsham, Rev. Mr. strictures of on 559 124 66 268 sermon 434 Bennett, Mr. strictures on his ser- 584 Atonement, on the doctrine of, Bretons, peculiarities of Buonaparte, his dexterity in impo-- C. 387 293 613 509, 621 Christianity, spread of, assured by Church discipline, arguments 641 182 Controversy, more beneficial to so- Conversation, theological 580 Druidism incorporated with Chris- 289 Druids, account of 225 205 Duelling, 356. Proposed remedy for 65 Duncannon, E. poem by Convocation, strictures on by Gog- 21, p. 146. 1 John, iii. 1, 2, 5, E. East, Sandys' contrasted account of, Emanuel, name, no relation to the Empirics in theology England, church of, a " cage of un- Error, extirpation of, declared by Essex clergy, resolution of, in re- terms Chris- n 479 68 84 351 312 644 72 565 315 131 Evangelical Magazine, its appeal on F. Flamborough lights, Milne's ora- 605 451 414 52 |