Jesus, Prophet of Islam - The Islamic Bulletin

212 Jesus, Prophet of Islam

The formation of the Essex Street congregation soon inspired other
Unitarian 'chapels' to be built in Birmingham, Manchester, and
other English cities. Ecclesiastical independence fostered doctrinal
freedom, sa that in 1790, in an address ta the students of Oxford
and Cambridge, Lindsey asserted the following 'facts, clear and
plain ta every understanding ... which all men, who believe the
scriptures, sooner or later must bow down to and acknowledge':

•    There is One God, one single person, Who is Gad,

the sole Creator and sovereign Lord of all things;

•    The holy Jesus was a man of the Jewish nation, the

servant of this God, highly honoured and distin­

guished by Him;

•    The Spirit, or Holy Spirit, was not a person, or an in­

telligent being; but only the extraordinary power or

gift of God, imparted ta Jesus Christ himself, in his

life-time; and afterwards, ta the apostles and many

of the first Christians, to empower them to preach

and propagate the Gospel with success (Acts 1; 2);and

•    This was the doctrine concerning God, and Christ,

and the Holy Spirit, which was taught by the apos­

tles and preached ta the [ews and heathens.^52

With these almost modem convictions, English Unitarianism en­

tered its greatest age. In his writings, Lindsey made the following

points in order to demonstrate the fact that Jesus Christ is not God:

•    Jesus never styles himself as God; nor does he give

even the least intimation that he was the persan by

whom all things were made.

•    The Scriptures of the Old Testament throughout speak

of but one Persan, one Jehova, as God by Himself,

Alone and Creator of all things. With reference to 1

John 5: 7,it is therefore not credible that John, a pious

Hebrew, should ail at once introduce another creator,

a new God, without any notice. It is not known

whence he drew this strange doctrine, or by what

authorityhe deliveredit; especiaHywhenwe consider

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