480 



Account of the late Edward Evaitfon, A.M. [DeC. Tj 



Evanfon's rciidcnce at Mitcham, the educa- 

 tion of fcv(.ral young men of very refpefta- 

 blc families wjs entriifted to his care ; among 

 thefe was t^ie grand-fon of Lord Bute. This 

 araiahic youth, who died at an early period, 

 was i"o rrmch attached to his tutor, and felt fo 

 ltvor.gly the obligations which he was under 

 for the arteftionate care tnken in forming his 

 mind to the principles of virtue and found 

 learning, tliat, on his dying bed, he requeft- 

 ed his father to teftify his fenfe of the kmd- 

 Defs (hewn to him, by fome fubftantial Tr..>rk 

 of his regards. With this Colonel Stuart 

 willingly ci mplied, and when he found that 

 he could be of no fervice to Mr. Evanfon in 

 advancing him to any preferment under Go- 

 vernment, he readily granted him an annuity 

 for his life, which was regularly paid to his 

 death. In the year 1777, Wr. Evanfon pub- 

 lilhed " A Letter to Dr. Kurd, Bilhop of Wor- 

 tefter, wherein the Importance of the Pro- 

 phecies of the New Teftament, and the Na- 

 ture of the Grand Apoftacy predided in them, 

 are partlciiUriy and impartially confiJered." 

 The object of this pamphlet, " which," 

 fays Mr. Lindfey, " dcferves nothing lefs 

 than die ferious confideration of the whole 

 Chriftian world, while it ihcws the rare abi- 

 lities and ilrong method of reafoning of the 

 writer,"* was to prove that every cilablidied 

 church in Chriftendom, from the fourth cen- 

 tury to our own times, has bein built upon 

 on!> and the fame orthodox foundation, and 

 •hath adopted the very fame primary cffential 

 articles of religious dodlrine and belief; and 

 that, cither they have all apoilatized from 

 the true Chriftian faith, accoidirfg to the te- 

 nor of tiie jiropJiccics, or no fuch apollacy 

 has happened. In other words, either the 

 Chriftian revelation is not true, or the reli- 

 gion of every orthodox church in Europe is 

 fabulous and falie. In July, 17S6, Mr. 

 Evanfon married Dorotiiy the fccond daughter 

 of the late Mr. Robert Alchorne, many years 

 one of the moft refpectable inhabitants of tiie 

 Old Jewry. The next fubjet\ which Mri 

 Evanfon undertook to difcufs in the way of 

 controverfy v/as the I'abbarical obfcrvance of 

 Sunday, by a ceffation from all labour. In 

 feveral excellent and vyell written papers, in 

 the fifth volume of the " Theological Repo- 

 fitory," he attempted to prove not only that 

 no pahagcs of Holy Scvipture can be produced 

 which recommend to ClsriftiiTis the keepij;g 

 of the firft aay of the week i'acred ; but that 

 there are others which exprclsly teSch us, 



as unncceHarily oPfcnfive ; I am furc I never 

 intended any fueh iheuld exift, and I aui not 

 fagacious or impartial enough todifcover them 

 myfelf. To feem to pay a defei'cnce to any 

 man's m.ere prejudices, or unfounded conceits, 

 at the expcnce of a thing fo higUy import- 

 ant as religious truth, appears to me exceed- 

 ingly criniiiial, but in all other cafes my fin- 

 tere d'-fire is to avoid ofl'cnding any body." 

 * iJie Hiilorical View, &c. 



that the Gofpel does not require r)f its difci- 

 pics any fuch 'obfervance ; that it was ordain- 

 ed folely by the interpofition of the civil 

 power in the reign of Conftantine, and tliat 

 it naturally leads the labouring orders of the 

 people into difiipat ion and intemperrnce. The 

 arguments of Mr. Evanfon excited eonfider- 

 able oppofition from Dr. Prieftley and others, 

 but Mr. Evanfon felt himfelf fo itrong on the 

 ground that he had taken, that he co!lec?led, ii» 

 1792, the whole controverfy, and publilhed 

 it in a feparate Tratt, with an additional let- 

 ter on the fubjeft to Dr. Prieftley. In this 

 he aifumes as proved, that the Chri.lians of 

 the fecond century did not obfer ♦?, and cfonfe- 

 quently had not received from the Apoftles 

 and their fucccffors, the inftitution of the 

 Sabbath, or. day of reft from labour; ami that 

 Conftantine, .^'ho inftltutcd the obfervanc;; of 

 the Sunday, gave his fubjefts permiirion t» 

 follow the bufinefsof hulhandry on that day, 

 not only in harveft time, but in every feafon 

 of the year : and he adds, by way oi conclu- 

 fion, " Foi my part, I have not the arro- 

 gance to expecl that my feeble voice fhould 

 reach the ears, much lefs attract the atten- 

 tion of our civil governors. But had I any 

 influence with the legiflature, I allure you. 

 Sir, it ihould not be to induce them to oblige 

 any perfons to work on Sunday, or any other 

 day, contrary to their inclination or religious 

 prejudices. — I wifli only that all men might 

 be left to enjoy the liberty in this refpetl 

 %vherewjth the Gofpel of Chrift has made 

 them free ; and that 1 could pt;rfuade our 

 rulers from the impolitic, unnatural, and, i&- 

 its inevitable conf:quenC"S, immoral tyranny 

 of compelling their fubjeits to be idle." The 

 opinions advanced by Mr. Evanfon on thii 

 fubjeft made him many enemies, of perfons 

 who had not patience to attend to the contro- 

 verfy. Becaufe he contended that the mo- 

 dern Sabbath was not of divine origin, the 

 generality of readers, and fome of his own 

 neighbours, concluded that he was a man de- 

 void of all religion, and rejected the worfhip 

 of the Deity as of no account ; whereas, at 

 Mitcham, in Surrey, and in other places of 

 his refidcnce, he was accullomed to have 

 worlhip in his family on the Sunday, making 

 ufe of Dr. Clarke's refur.med Lilurgy, with 

 fome alterations of his own; and whenever 

 he had any viiitors he adminiltered the Lord's 

 Supper, which he confidcred as the folrt 

 Chriftian rite, and ahvays to be adminiftered 

 when a number of the profcilors of the reli- 

 gion of JeUis met for focial worlhip.* Mr. 

 Evanfo.T 



* Mr. Evanfon, in a letter to his friend 

 Mr. Spurrel, fpcaking of tha Theophilan- 

 thropifts in France, fays, " If I were fitu- 

 ated near a fuiticient number of thofc who 

 agreed with me in fentiments ot religion, I 

 would gladly alTift in forming a fociety of 

 Chriftophilanthropifts, meeting like the 

 Ouiiiians of the fccynd and third senturies, 

 UiCrely 



