If he thinks for himself, there is an end to
uniformity of faith--a conclusion which such men as Chillingworth and
Jeremy Taylor were willing to accept; and, therefore, they desired an
all-inclusive church, in order that freedom and unity of faith might be
both maintained.
In its beginning the liberal movement in New England was not concerned with
the Trinity. It was a demand for simplicity, rationality, and toleration.
When it had proceeded far on its way, it was led to a consideration of the
problem of the Trinity, because it did not find that doctrine distinctly
taught in the New Testament. Accepting implicitly the words of Christ, it
found him declaring positively his own subordination to the Father, and
preferred his teaching to that of the creeds. To the early liberals this
was simply a question of the nature of Christ, and did not lessen for them
their implicit faith in his revelation or their recognition of the beauty
and glory of his divine character.
[1] Paul Lafargue, The Evolution of Property from Savagery to
Civilization, 18, 19. "If the savage is incapable of conceiving the
idea of individual possession of objects not incorporated with his
person, it is because he has no conception of his individuality as
distinct from the consanguine group in which he lives.... Savages, even
though individually completer beings, seeing that they are
self-sufficing, than are civilized persons, are so thoroughly
identified with their hordes and clans that their individuality does
not make itself felt either in the family or in property.
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