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God ever has imparted any one infinite perfec

tion to a finite creature. possible in its own nature."

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I therefore beg to

same ground it is

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ask whether or not on the not impossible in its own whole of the omnipresent God should be brought into a circumference of a small space, subjected to all human feelings, and clothed at one time with two opposite natures, human and divine.

The Revd. Editor in the concluding part of the subject of the atonement attempts to prove the infinite perfection of Jesus, forgetting perhaps the denial made by Jesus himself of omniscience as well as of omnipotence, as narrated in the evangelical writings. He entirely avoids here noticing what I stated in proof of the finite effects of Christ's appearance in the world; which I now repeat, and beg that the Editor will favor me with a reply thereto. My argument is that the effects of Christ's appearance on earth, whether with respect to the salvation or condemnation of mankind, were finite and therefore suitable to the nature of a finite being to accomplish, is evident from the fact that to the present time millions of human beings are daily passing through the world, whom the doctrines he taught have never reached and who of

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course must be considered as excluded from the benefit of his having died for the remission of their sins" (Second Appeal page 62.) Besides it is worth observing that an avowal of the beginning of creation and of its end amounts to a proof of the finite number of creatures however numerous they may be; therefore au atonement even for the remission of the sins of all of them must be of a finite nature.

Should it be alleged that the sins committed by a single individual, in the limited period of his life, though they are finite in themselves, yet are committed against the infinite God and thereby they are infinite, and that an atonement on the part of an infinite being is therefore necessary for their remission: I shall reply; In the first place the assertion that the guilt committed against an infinite being is infinite in its consequences, is entirely unsupported by reason or proof and is contrary to scriptural authorities; for we find that the Israelites were, from time to time, afflicted with finite punishment for the sins they committed against the infinite God. I Chronicles XXI. 11. So Gad came to David and said unto him; thus saith the Lord choose thee either three years famine or three months to be destroyed before

thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee, or else three days the sword of the Lord, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel &c. 15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand" &c. Judges XIII. 1. "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

In the second place were we to admit the truth of this argument, we must upon the same ground, as far as reason suggests, esteem a good act done for the honor of the commandment of the infinite God, or a prayer offered to propitiate the divine majesty to be also worthy of infinite reward as its effect. Under these circumstances we cannot help observing that among those that believe in any revelation, either true or received as true, there is probably no man that has not performed at least one single righteous act during the whole period of his life; but as he is a mortal and imperfect being, he cannot be supposed to have escaped every sin in this tempting world: Every man

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then must be both guilty of infinite sin and an agent of infinite virtue. If we suppose that this very person is to be punished for eternity, according to the Editor, for the infinite sin he has committed, there will be no opportunity of his enjoying an infinite reward for his good work; But according to the position he must be either rewarded for his good or punished for his evil actions for eternity, while justice requires that he should experience the consequences of both. Would it be consistent with the perfect nature of the just God to afflict one with eternal punishment for his guilt, leaving, at the same time, his good deeds unnoticed entirely, though performed with a view to the glory of God? Is it not therefore scriptural as well as reasonable that all men should be judged after death according to their good and evil works and then that through the intercession of one who stands as a mediator between God and man, those who have, through Christ, truly repented, shall be admitted to enjoy infinite beatitude by the free bounty of the father of the universe, to which they are not entitled by their own merit.

As to such phrases as everlasting fire or everlasting punishments found in the English version, I beg to refer my readers to the origi

nal Greek, in which the term as being derived from a denotes frequently duration or ages; that is "durable fire" or "durable punishments." Besides they may find the term "everlasting" when applied to an object not divine, implies long duration : Genesis XVII. 8. "And I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, &c." XLIX. 26. "The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills" &c. Habakkuk III. 6. "He stood and measured the earth: He beheld and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered and the perpetual bills did bow." Vide Note in the Second Appeal page 133.

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