16 - Chapter 16

CHAPTER XVI.

Plain Logical Deductions from the Statements of modern Unitarians.

-!N the following conclusions and deductions, we shall endeavor to draw such inferences as the sense most obviously dictates. We have no design to make deductions foreign from the design of the authors we have cited, knowing if we do we shall be contending with a “ man of straw.’*

1. Says one of the authors quoted, “ Jesus Christ is not unoriginated.” From this we conclude he must have had an origin, and there must have been a time when his origin took place, consequently there was a time when he was not originated, and of course when he did not exist. The Bible gives us the origin of his body, that is, his human nature; and if that was all the nature he possessed, he did not exist before the worlds were made.

2. “ Not self- existent.” If he is not self-existent, his existence must have been caused by some being, and that being gave him existence, consequently he is not the Creator, but is in every sense a creature, and if so, is unworthy of acts of religious worship.

3. “Not immortal.” The being who is not immortal must be mortal. This is as evident as the axiom that L “ whatever is, is.” That being that is mortal is subject to death. Then the deduction is, Jesus Christ our Savior may die! Man has one immortal nature, and if Jesus Christ possesses but one nature, and that is mortal, he is far below man.

4. “Not invisible.” Trinitarians do not pretend that the body of our Savior is invisible, but He says, “ Where two or three are assembled in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Certainly his body is not in the midst of every little group of saints, and it is equally certain, that his children know his presence to be invisible. Jesus Christ “ was God, manifested in the flesh,” and we cannot divine how a visible being can fill heaven and earth with his presence at the same time. John 3:13.

5. “Not unchangeable.” We “understand that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Hebrews 13:8. (See chapter vii. page 24.)

6. “Not omniscient.” If this is correct, he has to learn things beyond the reach of his senses, by means of foreign instruction. This is making him like one of us. who only know what we are told, or what we learn from books. This would render him very incompetent to judge the world, or say “depart from me, ye workers of iniquity,” for his lack of omniscient knowledge, might lead him to err in judgment. And in fact, it would disqualify him for knowing the desires and prayers of his dear children here in the world.

7. “Not all-wise.” Then he may be deceived, and led astray. If he is not all-wise, he must be ignorant, at least in some degree. Jude calls him, “ The only Wise God, our SAVIOR.”

8. “Not all good!” How shocking is that sentiment. What blasphemy and irreverence of his sacred character! If this sentiment be correct, there must be faulty or wickedness attached to him.

9. “Not all-powerful.” There are, then, many things beyond his-power. He says he is the first and the last, the ALMIGHTY. He is said to be the “wisdom of God, and the power of God.” If this is true, his power may fail in the accomplishment of his designs, if. he has wisdom to design.

10. “ Not omnipresent.” If our Lord >Jesus Christ is not omnipresent, he is totally unable to fulfill his engagement to be with his disciples always even unto the end of the world. He could not be a much better Savior than Baal, when his prophets prophesied, and cried, “ O Baal, hear us.”

We now see by these negative attributes, where Unitarians place Jesus Christ. Where is the man of whom the same might not be said, that here is said of the adorable Savior? A being who had his origin lately,[1] whose existence depends on another, who is mortal, changeable and in some respect not good, the Savior of this ruined world! Who could trust such a being with an immortal soul, in a day of trial and danger? Who could call on his name for help, in a dying hour, and say, “ Lord Jesus, receive my spirit?” Who could trust the inter-

[1] There is an infinite remove, in duration of existence, between the origin of any being that has had an origin, and the self-existent and Eternal God. ests of an undying soul to one who had, perhaps, only wisdom sufficient to manage his own concerns?

It is the obvious deduction from each, and all the foregoing statements, that Jesus Christ is viewed by modern Unitarians as a mere, creature, in all respects a finite being, the production of creative power that his worshipers are not true worshipers that his worship is idolatry that he is incompetent to be_ our Mediator and unworthy of our worship or our praise; and when compared to the Eternal Being, he appears as a mere ephemera. The very moment he is robbed of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, he is reduced to a creature. What reasoning this. May God deliver his children from this snare, this stratagem of Satan. Soon the writers of the above statements will know whether Jesus Christ is omniscient or not whether he is possessed of the wisdom of the immutable God, or not, and whether he is all good or otherwise. The coming day will reveal the character of our Lord Jesus Christ.