Anonymous

“ We must have the spirit of God before we are his people. Believe in the predestination of eternal life, but not in eternal death; people that suffer were beforehand predestined so to do, by God. Bad or horrid is the religion of a proud Pharisee. That religion that is preached by the people of God is God himself. There can be no going forth until the spirit of God has entered. ”

“ Ned! do, pray do: but cruel, cruel Ned, deaf to all intreaties—O why was I permitted to pass the door of Mr. Gibbons when you and West were coming out. Why was I permitted to tramp up and down the New Cut after you; I wanted to speak one bitter heart breaking painful distressing word, farewell: I only wanted to pour my sorrows into your bosom, to shake hands with you once more, but I was denied this indulgence. I never, never thought you would deceive me—O what an unhappy man am I; the thing that I most feared is come upon me, no excuse can justify such apparent duplicity ”

“ I can only say I wish you was as much captivated with sincere friendship as I am but we all know our own feelings best—Friendship those best of names, affection those sweetest power like some powerful charm that overcomes the mind—I could write much on this subject but I dare not trust you with what I could say much as I esteem you—You would consider it as unmanly and quite effeminate, and having already proved what human nature is I must conceal even those emotions of love which I feel. ”

“ Marvellous wickedness! may it not truly be said of such detestable monsters, in human shape, that God has given them over to vile affections and to all uncleanness, through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves. Burning in their own lust one towards another, men with men, working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which is meet. ”

“ Satan and all his spirits never sleeps; the power of life and death is only in the bands of our Lord Jesus Christ. Devils are allowed to harrass the people of God day and night—no wonder they perplex those they cant destroy. ”

“ The practice among Dissenters is, that when any man feels a strong desire to become a preacher, he communicates the same to several Ministers, who make strict enquiry into his qualifications as to piety, learning, morals, &c. and if they find these established on satisfactory evidence, they then confer on the candidate a sort of ordination, without which he can have no authority to officiate as a minister of the Gospel. It seems, that Church did receive some ordination of this kind at the town of Banbury, in Oxfordshire, from which place he was driven away for his mal-practices. ”

“ There must be spiritual life in the soul. The Lord Jesus Christ and the people of God are one. Christ has no sorrow but the people of God must sympathise with him; and the people of God have no affliction but that Christ sympathises with them. ”

“ People may be laughed at for being fools, but you may depend upon it the more God will like them. All that believe not will certainly be damned. The duties of Christianity are not to be preached to an ungodly world; John Church is very much spoken of, but they had much better speak of Jesus; the people of the established church feel no spiritual joy. Spiritual discourse is enlivening to the senses, &c. The bread of life is not to be given away to Dogs. ”

“ The point to direct the attention of the public is, the extraordinary circumstance of a man continuing to exercise the functions of a christian pastor up to the present time, with such heavy imputations as these hanging over his head. He knew that the whole neighbourhood rung with accusations; he knew that some hundreds of publications containing charges so severe, that any statements compared to them, “were lenity and compassion,” have been sold in St. George’s-fields.
The reader may probably have some curiosity to know what sort of a preacher this person is. ”

“ It may not be improper to state one of the tricks made use of to throw the prosecutor off his guard. A limb of the law it appears, of the Jewish persuasion, gratuitously offered to conduct the prosecution for the young man; but upon a refusal being given to him, on account of Mr. Harmer being selected for such purpose, it was ultimately discovered that this philanthropic Israelite had been exerting himself towards exculpating Church, with all the ingenuity he was master of in his defence, from the heinous offence alledged against him. ”

“ A Gentleman who happened to attend two or three times at Church’s Meeting-house, took down the following sentences from his Sermons. They may gratify the curiosity of the reader.
“God is frequently going forth, and we also are often going to the window to look for him; The more vile I am made to appear to the World, the more God will assist me. Every citizen is a free-born. ”

“ The house would be frequently more like a play-house (I might say a bawdy house) than a minister’s house, where a set of young people would come, and behave more indecently than ought to be mentioned. ”

“ Seeing so much of his inconsistencies and shocking filthiness in their rooms, (though they always paid the rent,) we were determined to give them warning to quit our house, and we do think that a worse man or woman never came into any man’s house before, especially as Mr. Church pretended to preach the gospel; such hypocrites are much worse than others, and besides this, we never heard any man tell lies so fast in all our lives. It is a great grief to us that ever we went to hear him preach, or suffered him to stop so long in our house.”
“GEORGE AND FRANCES GEE.” ”

“ If every one that is saved should be as bright as the sun, what a place Heaven must be, where there will be so many millions! Angels beckon me away, and Christ bids me come. The sight of Christ, you may depend on’t, will be worth suffering for. ”

“ Sometimes the painful thought of a separation overpowers me, many are now trying at it but last night I told the persons that called on me that let them insinuate what they would I would never sacrifice my dear Ned to the shrine of any other friend upon earth—and that them who did not like him, should have none of my company at all. ”

“ He has in fact gone about as a mere isolated adventurer; and no minister would preach in a pulpit belonging to him. Yet he continued to preach, in defiance of Christian as well as moral ordinances, because he could not be silenced by any legal authority, and because he rejected all ecclesiastical government.
One character peculiar to the person we are speaking of is, that wherever he has been admitted as a preacher, he has disturbed the religious system, and upset the order of the place. ”

“ I cannot sleep, its near three o’clock; alas! sleep is departed, how great my grief, how bitter my sorrows, the loss of my character is nothing to the loss of one dearer to me than any thing else. O let me give vent to tears ”

“ I find dear Ned many are using all their power to part us but I hope it will prove in vain on your side the effect that all this has upon me is to make me love you ten times more than ever, I wish opposition may have the same effect upon you in this particular but I fear not. ”

“ It must here be observed, that the decision on this solitary complaint of eleven years standing, does not in the slightest degree affect any of the numerous accusations of a more recent date which have been made against John Church.
Several persons have been at a loss to know by what authority this man presumed to take upon himself the functions of a Minister of the Gospel. They have asked how could a man so profligate—so notoriously criminal, come forth to instruct others in religion. ”

“ In Colchester he turned the whole congregation against their minister, by preaching doctrines tending to encourage licentiousness and to foster the worst passions. All persons acquainted with history will recollect, that this mode of healing the consciences of profligate men was practised by the Romish Church before the Reformation, and when it flourished in its rankest state of corruption—when indulgences for sins to be committed, and pardon for sins past, were openly sold for money. The manner in which the Obelisk Preacher has conducted the affairs of his p. ”

“ Indeed this latter remark is founded upon something more than conjecture; for a great number of persons who are in the habit of frequenting his chapel, have taken up the cause of their preacher with a zeal that cannot easily be accounted for in any way but one. ”

“ However great may be the mass of folly, ignorance, and fanaticism, which prevail throughout most of the low conventicles of this metropolis, and however injuriously they may operate on the human mind, their effects are innocence and virtue, compared to the influence of that guilt which has so recently been exposed ”

“ Lest I should not have time to call on you or converse with you at I shall not be alone to Day I thought it But right to Drop you a Line I wish you all the success you can desire in getting a house fit for the Business in the public Line as you had a great many acquaintance, they ought not to fail you if every one acted right according to there ability I am sure you would soon accomplish it. ”

“ Even one Sunday morning they made such an uproar, as that they broke one of the windows, and after that, they would go with him to his Chapel, and after that he would give the sacrament to such disorderly people, let their characters be ever so loose.”
“He was always ready to go fast enough out to dinner or supper, where he could get good eating and drinking; but poor people might send to him from their sick bed, times and times before he would come to them. ”

“ Indeed, it was never imagined that any other verdict than one of acquittal would have been given. If the reader looks back to the proceedings at Union Hall, he will find that this prosecution was ORDERED by the Magistrates of that Office, p. 13and did not originate with the prosecutor, William Webster, on whom the abominable attempt was alleged to have been made (now fourteen years ago) . The very mention of the attempt was a mere incidental circumstance arising out of another proceeding then before the Magistrates. ”

“ A self-sent divine and a beloved brother of the Reverend J. Church, whose name is T. A—, positively declared— (but a few weeks ago) that the very affectionate Vere-street “Mr. Church kindly put his arms round my neck and kissed me twice, and asked me politely to sleep with him.” Lord, what has sin done! However the Reverend brother T. A. further adds, “I declined the latter offer, of course,” &c. ”

“ They were absolutely wedded together. One evening, when Church visited this infamous place of resort, one of the gang observed, “Here’s Parson Church. Aye, Parson, how d’ye do? Have you come to see our Chapel?”—Church replied, “Yes, and to preach too.”
In addition to the above account is the following, communicated by the before-mentioned E. B. who happened, unfortunately, p. 5to be an attendant at Church’s meeting house, when the latter took notice of and formed an acquaintance with him, commencing as usual with pious exhortations, and then followed up by distrusting freedoms. Mr. ”