CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



that the controversy was most active. After the 

 passing of the Toleration Act in 1689, whereby 

 Nonconformity was made legal, the way was pre- 

 pared for that gradual change by which the ortho- 

 doxy of the English Presbyterians passed into 

 Unitarianism. During the latter half of the i8th 

 century, Priestley appeared as the champion oi 

 the humanitarian view of Christ's nature ; and in 

 1744, Dr Lindsey resigned his charge in the 

 Church of England, and became pastor of the 

 Unitarian congregation of Essex Street, London 

 an event which formed an epoch in the history of 

 English Unitarianism. In 1813, the Unitarians 

 were placed by law on a par with other dissenters. 

 The Unitarians of England and Wales are purely 

 congregational in their church government, their 

 only organ for combined action being the British 

 and Foreign Unitarian Association, which holds 

 its meetings annually in London. The Unitarians 

 have 355 ministers, 352 chapels, and about 80 

 mission stations in the British Empire. 



In the United States, the first secession from 

 the Episcopal Church took place in 1787 on 

 Unitarian grounds. About 1815, the important 

 influence of Channing was thrown into the scale 

 in favour of Unitarianism; and since then, Mas- 

 sachusetts, and particularly Boston, has been the 

 stronghold of Unitarianism in America. The 

 Unitarians have upwards of 250 societies in the 

 States, and upwards of 20 in Boston. 



The Unitarians of the present day must be divided 

 into two classes : a conservative and a progres- 

 sive class, or, as they are often called, an old and 

 a new school. The former adopt the old rule of 

 the sufficiency of Scripture, though with many 

 such qualifications as the scientific criticism of the 

 Bible appears to them to render indispensable. 

 They generally hold the simple humanity of 

 Christ, but retain the belief in miracles, which 

 they regard as supernatural sanctions of the 

 truth of Christianity. According to this view, 

 Christ is an ambassador from heaven to earth, 

 the miracles he wrought are his credentials and 

 the moral and religious truths which he taught are 

 his message. The progressive school of Unita- 

 rians, on the other hand, regard Christianity not as 

 a message or a system of truth communicated and 

 authenticated from without, but as the highest 

 expression of the Divine in humanity, not depend- 

 ing for proof on miracles, which a minority of 

 their number reject, on the twofold ground, that, 

 as it seems to them, they are intrinsically incred- 

 ible, and that the evidence for them is conflicting 

 and uncertain. Holding that inspiration is a 

 quality which is not peculiar to the Bible, they 

 maintain that each book of Scripture is to be 

 studied, not as a collection of infallible oracles, but 

 as a record of the mind of the age in which it 

 was produced. The Unitarians of all shades of 

 opinion are agreed in rejecting the entire orthodox 

 scheme, which they conceive to be essentially 

 antagonistic to free inquiry. 



THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 



It is perhaps more in the spirit than in the 

 letter of their faith that the Society of Friends 

 (or Quakers, as they are sometimes called) differ 

 from other orthodox Christians. They themselves 

 assert their belief in the great fundamental facts of 

 Christianity, and even in the substantial identity 



412 



of most of their doctrinal opinions with those of 

 other evangelical denominations. Their principal 

 distinguishing doctrine is that of the 'Light of 

 Christ in Man,' on which many of their outward 

 peculiarities as a religious body are grounded. 



Founded in England by George Fox in the 

 1 7th century, the Society of Friends has made 

 greater progress in America, where the celebrated 

 Penn belonged to their number. About the year 

 1827, Elias Hicks created a schism in the Society 

 in America by denying the miraculous concep- 

 tion, divinity, and atonement of Christ, and the 

 authenticity and divine authority of the Holy 

 Scriptures. A reactionary movement took place 

 both in England and America towards Evan- 

 gelism, which was headed by Joseph John Gurney 

 of Norwich, and which resulted in a division 

 among the orthodox Friends themselves, and in 

 the formation of a new sect, called Wilburites, who 

 are noted for the strictness with which they main- 

 tain the traditions and peculiarities of the Society. 

 The Friends do not consider human learning 

 essential to a minister of the gospel, believing that 

 the call to the ministerial work is ' not of men, 

 neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the 

 Father ; ' and that it is bestowed irrespectively of 

 rank, talent, learning, or sex ; that the ministry 

 ought to be exercised freely, and, in general, that 

 Christians should do all for love, and nothing for 

 money. Their mode of conducting public worship 

 illustrates the entireness of their dependence on 

 the ' internal light.' In other religious bodies, the 

 minister has a set form of worship ; the Friends 

 meet and remain in silence until they believe 

 themselves moved to speak by the Holy Ghost 

 Their prayers and praises are for the most part 

 silent and inward. The doctrine of the ' internal 

 light ' has also led them to reject the ordinances 

 of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, as outwardly 

 observed by other Christians. The taking or 

 administering of oaths is regarded by Friends 

 as inconsistent with the command of Christ, 

 ' Swear not at all.' They are opposed to the 

 payment of tithes, the use of arms, and war in all 

 ts forms, as well as to capital punishment. They 

 lave all along been distinguished for the part 

 they have taken in the movement for the emanci- 

 jation of slaves. They object to ' balls, gaming- 

 alaces, horse-races, play-houses, oratorios,' which 

 hey regard as ' profanation.' 



The arrangements and regulations pertaining 

 o the interests of the Church are provided for in 

 he institution of certain 'meetings' or assemblies, 

 analogous to those of the Presbyterian denomina- 

 ion. These are four in number : the preparative, 

 monthly, quarterly, and yearly meetings. To the 

 atter, which consists of select or representative 

 members of the quarterly meetings, belongs ex- 

 clusively the legislative power. The Friends are 

 distinguished by their liberality and provision for 

 the wants of the poor of their body. 



The Society of Friends numbers in the British 

 Empire 17,000 members, and has 265 recorded 

 ministers, and 400 unrecorded ; and 327 places of 

 worship in England and Wales. In America, 

 their number exceeds 100,000. 



MORAVIANS. 



This religious community (also called United 

 Brethren^ Moravian Brethren, or Bohemian 



