174 
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS. 
Art. XL. A Review of Christian Doctrine, a Sermon ‘Sane? at St. Thomas’s, Southe 
qwark, Dec. 26, 1802, and at the Gravel-Pit, Hackney, 
signing the Office of a Minister in those Societies. 
Art... XLI. 
em 2d, 1803, on ree 
By Joun Kentisu- 8vo. pp. 29. 
A Letter to the Rev, Fohn Kentish, occasioned by some remarkable Passages 
in his Sermon, entitled a Review of Christian Doctrine, delivered at Hackney, on Sunday, 
Fanuary 2, 1803. 
8vo.. pp. 33. 
THE first of these articles is, as 
the title imports, a discourse delivered 
by the author to two societies of chris- 
tians, upon relinquishing the charge he 
had held as one of their ministers. ‘The 
preacher, we believe, is generally known, 
and by his more intimate friends highly 
respected, ~as a liberal and zealous uni- 
tarian. Addressing for the-last time, 
in the character of their minister, the 
people with whom he had long officiat- 
ed, he thought it not improper to review 
upon that occasion, the doctrine which 
they had heard from him in his public 
services. He, therefore, in a brief but 
very able manner, recapitulated the lead- 
ing- subjects of his discourses: God— 
Divine Worship—--Revelation—--Jesus 
Christ—the Scriptures—Christian Ordi- 
nances—and the Situation, Duties, and 
Expectations 'of Mankind. Concern- 
ing each of these he candidly states what 
has been the nature and burden of his 
instructions, and concludes his discourse 
with some practical reflections adapted 
to the particular situation of his hearers. 
In the course of his address, the 
preacher observed, that Jesus was not 
only the subject of prophecy, but him- 
By Wirtiam Sruren. 
_siders as unfounded. 
“ Semper ego auditor tantum ?” 
self a prophet, having distinctly fore- 
told the destruction of Jerusalem by 
the Roman armies: that the hope of a 
future resurrection must be built solely 
on the death and resurrection of Jesus 
Christ; that naturally man is mortal, 
but Christianity renders him immortal ; 
that the Scriptures represent death as a 
state of profound sleep; and, that the 
neglect of social worship is disgraceful. 
These assertions, Mr. Sturch, the sup- . 
posed author of a’Free-thinking Tract, 
entitled Apeleutheros, and occasionally, 
at least, a hearer at the Gravel-pit, con- 
With respect to 
some of them we are inclined 'to think 
with him; but others, and especially the 
first, rest upon a foundation which no 
efforts of Mr. Sturch can shake. But 
we leave the proof of this with the 
preacher; who, if he judges it worth 
while to republish arguments which 
never have been, which we are fully 
persuaded never can be refuted, will 
easily subvert all that Mr. Sturch has 
advanced to destroy the character of 
Jesus as a prophet, and to disprove the 
publication of the gospels previous to the 
destruction of Jerusalem. 
Art. XLII. The Nature and Duties of the Christian Ministry; and the Co-operation 
of a Christian Society with the Labours of its Ministers: two Sermons preached at the 
New Meeting, in Birmingham, Fanuary 23, 1803, on undertaking the Office of a reli- 
gious Instructor in that Congregation. 
THESE two discourses may be read~ 
with advantage, both by Christian mi- 
nisters and their hearers They are 
plain, serious, and impressive, and con- 
tain many observations of great impor- 
tance to persons of these respective cha- 
racters. 
We subjoin the eaghs extract as 
worthy of the attention of those who 
occupy stations in society similar to that 
of the author : 
«< Tt has sometimes been asked, whether 
the Christian minister ought to lay before the 
audience whom he statedly addresses, the 
full result of his opinions respecting the 
doctrines of the gospel? With us, my bre- 
thren, I trust that there can be no such 
question. Among the numerous causes 
By Joun Kentisu. 
Svo. pp. 40. 
which have hindered the progress of divine 
truth, none, probably, has been more hurt 
ful than the resolution formed by some in- 
structors to conceal or disguise their religious 
sentiments from their respective congrega- 
tions: so that during, perhaps, a long con- 
nexion, the society has remained totally 
ignorant of its teacher's faith upon subjects 
of the first importance; and the teacher 
has boasted of his keeping them in this 
ignorance. For myself, whether I reflect 
upon the very end and nature of our 
office, upon the uniform practice of Christ 
and his apostles, upon the enormous cor- 
tuptions under which it has been almost 
buried, or upon the circumstances and 
wants of man, I camnot doubt but that it 
is our duty to declare unto you the whole 
counsel of God ;—to declare it with meek 
ness, indeed, yet with honesty and firmness ; 
