Excerpt from The Universalist, Vol. 1

Our church of England friend reciprocated our sentiment and lamented, as we do, the narrowing influence thus exerted over the heart, an influence which is one of the first fruits of such divisions.

We were right in our conjecture, that the title of our magazine was a designation our worthy friend had never thought of in connection with religion and theology; and, when we frankly told him we were Universalists, he looked thoughtful and exclaimed, I like that term Not that it conveyed to him all that we associate with it; but by it were suggested principles in which his Christian charity and generous spirit fully sympathized - principles which, in their proper development and final results, embody our highest aspirations, and confirm our most holy faith.

To maintain, on the one hand, that we are not the advocates of party - that our object is unsectarian; and to assert, on the other, a distinct individuality by the assumption of an appellative which must dis tinguish us from any and all ecclesiastical bodies, may appear somewhat paradoxical. We observe, and we are anxious to be understood, that since a magazine, such as that with whose interests we have the honor to be identified, must have a name to distinguish it from others of the same species, just as the writer must have a name to distinguish himfrom other men, that name was adopted which should most honestly, and most accurately express or suggest the principles we designed to advocate. And, so far from proposing to ourselves another addition to those ecclesiastical bodies, of which, as such, the New Testament knows nothing whatever, and to which we believe the Scriptures to be opposed, we have been anxious, and take this opportunity seriously to protest, against any such design. And it is a satisfaction to us to know, that, among our contributors and subscribers, there are members of various communities - Christians of different denominations.

Our great object is sufficiently made known in the pages of the volume which we now have the pleasure to present to our readers. And we verily believe, that the errors which we oppose are as much the cause and fuel of those divisions which disgrace the Christian world, as the truths for which it is our privilege to contend are antagonistic to the spirit of sectarianism and party.

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