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Excerpt from Dissent Vindicated: With a Particular Reference to the Question of National Religious Establishments Amidst these agitations of the public mind, the Dissenter from the Ecclesiastical Establishment of his country finds himself in a painful position. To his practical dissent, toleration is vouchsafed, as a concession to his weak conscience: but no sooner does he aoow his conscientious obj eetions against the forms, and much more against the principle of the Establishment, than he is viewed with suspicion and subj ected to obloquy. Such avowal is regarded as an offence; he is charged with the Spirit of malignity, and even branded as a traitor to the cause of our com mon Christianity. It is, I say, a paimfiil position. If conscience demands secession, it must be equally the dictate of conscience to avow and vindicate and promote the principles which necessitate secession; yet it is painful to be suspected of malignity to Christian brethren, because we argue against certain usages and principles to which they conform; It is no easy thing at once to avoid compromise, and to preserve temper. To combine decision with meek ness, the love of truth with the gentleness of th e gospel, sound logic with a right spirit. - we need much of that wisdom, which can only be imparted by the word and grace of God. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.