"There were those who lamented that so good a man as Mr. Ellis should be a Unitarian and outside the pale of salvation, for at that time the line was pretty sharply drawn between the Orthodox sheep and the Unitarian goats. Even the Orthodox children in the schools took their Unitarian mates to task for the heresies of their parents, and confidently asserted that there was no salvation for such as they.
Among those who came to think Mr. Ellis altogether too good to be a Unitarian was one of those strong-minded, energetic women once so well known in most New England households. She came to my mother as an occasional helper whenever there was an accumulation of sewing in the family, or in any crisis,— for having skill and ingenuity, she could turn her hand to anything. We all enjoyed her coming, for she had good sense and ready wit; could tell a story of the early days in Northampton, or discuss foreordination and the decrees in an interesting way, though her grammar was not that of the schools. She was a member of the church of Jonathan Edwards, a firm believer in all its doctrines, and seemed to think there could be no salvation for any outside that church...
She first saw Mr. Ellis " near to," as she expressed it, at our house, and she soon began to wonder that so good a man should be a Unitarian. " I declare," she exclaimed one day, " Mr. Ellis is the best man I ever saw. Such a pity he aint a Christian ! "
Blessings
1 comment:
Well, I am proud & honoured to call myself a Unitarian, but I would never ever under any circumstances call myself a Christian.
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